Discovering Your Homeschool Style: The Traditional Approach

Many homeschoolers follow a Traditional approach, especially if they’re just starting out. Traditional style homeschooling (also known as a school-at-home approach) closely mimics the education your child receives in a mainstream public or private school.

Are You Drawn to the Traditional Approach?

Here are a few signs that you might be a traditional homeschooler:

You prefer your days to be heavily structured with every subject in its place and maybe even time slots for recess and lunch.
You want your homeschool space set up like a mini-classroom.
You like a curriculum with a detailed teacher’s guide including step-by-step lessons for you to follow.
It’s important to you that your kids stay on track with their peers in public or private schools.
Departing from your schedule makes you anxious. You much prefer to follow a prescribed plan for each day.
You’re comfortable with textbooks, workbooks, tests and quizzes, and assigning grades.

If you see yourself in the descriptions above, it’s likely that you align with a Traditional style of homeschooling.

Advantages and Disadvantages to the Traditional Approach

This approach has lots of advantages. First of all, it’s the method that most of us were brought up with, and there’s often comfort for both children and parents in following a school rhythm that’s familiar. Secondly, if you follow a traditional school-at-home curriculum, you can be assured that if your children return to the classroom, they’ll likely be in line with the rest of their peers. You’ll also have an easier time putting together a transcript if you’ve followed a traditional curriculum. Finally, a traditional style curriculum gives you lots of guidance on exactly what to say and what to do as you teach your children. For new homeschool parents especially, having a detailed plan to follow can make life easier as you make the transition to homeschooling.

One downside to the traditional approach is that it can lead to burnout. Imposing a classroom dynamic on your home life doesn’t always work well because school and home are different! Working with multiple children at different grade levels, balancing home management with education, and trying to do school while caring for an infant, a toddler, or both are just a few of the challenges that make it difficult to follow a traditional school format at home.

That being said, some children (and parents) simply thrive in the highly structured environment that the Traditional style provides. If you or your child fall into this category, following a school-at-home approach may be just what your homeschool needs!