Home SchoolingThis article is about home schooling. Many people understands this concept differently, for some, this may bring to mind the picture of two or three children sitting at a table and writing in their exercise books, while a parent stands nearby. This is the not entirely true. There are different methods of home schooling, and the method you choose will decide the curriculum and your style of teaching. Given below are some of the most influential and popular methods. The Charlotte Mason method: Charlotte Mason is known as the founder of the home schooling movement. Mason was an expert, she was passionate in her zeal to lay out the foundations for an effective a complete programme that is fun and educational at the same time. This method focuses on all the core subjects with emphasis placed on classical literature, poetry, fine arts, classical music and craft. Mason used a variety of books from classical literature, which she called 'Living Books'. Since this method encourages a passionate awareness of literature, the child is read to daily from the 'Living Books'. After this, the child is asked to narrate what she has heard. This process begins at the age of six, and by ten the child is expected to write her narrations in her book. Mason also advocated the use of 'Nature Diaries'. After each short and interesting lesson, the child is asked to go to Nature and draw observations from Nature. Thus the child also gains a sense of respect for her environment. Mason believed that development of good character and behavior was essential to the complete development of the child's personality. The Eclectic Home schooling: This is a mixture of various techniques. Here, the innovative parents trust their own judgment and pick out the topics that make the best curriculum for their child. Such parents continuously look out for the best products that will meet the needs of their home schoolers. Most Eclectic curriculums are improvised. This means that the basic curriculum is ready-made. The parents then make changes in the curriculum to accommodate the individual needs and interests of their children. The child's gifts, temperament, learning style and interests dictate the curriculum. Eclectic programmes include visits to the museum, libraries and factories. Unschooling: A Boston public educator named John Holt laid the beginnings of the unschooling method. He believed that children learned best when they are free to learn at their own pace and when they are guided by their own interests. His message was to 'unschool' the child. This method is a hands-on approach to learning, where the parent takes definite cues from the children. There is no definite curriculum, schedules or materials. This method is the most unstructured of the various home schooling techniques. The Montessori Method: The origins of this method if from Italy, when it was observed that children have acute sensitive periods, during which they undergo periods of intense concentration. During such phases, a child will repeat an activity till he gains a measure of self-satisfaction. The Montessori method depends on a prepared environment to facilitate learning. All the materials used in this method are designed to satisfy the inner desire for spiritual development of the child. The materials used progress from simple to complex, and are rather expensive. These are just a few of the methods of home schooling. Whatever the method, the underlying factor is flexibility and a keen interest in the desires of the child. The secret is to use the child’s desire for knowledge to further his education. In our case, for our child with cerebral palsy we have used a combination of home and public schooling. Our daughter was taken to a public school when she was about 7 years old. Besides the school work from the public school, as family we would supplement the public school work. The supplementation would be in various forms. One method we have adopted is to identify gaps in the public schooling and then we fill those gaps. Presently, the critical gaps are in the hand writing, reading and to push the wheel chair on her own. We have made some programme in the family to assist Christabel in her work. We maintain daily records of the work and we are able to assess and monitor the progress. She is making progress in these three activities and we are happy with her achievements.
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