You don't want to "reinvent the wheel," and you want a proven method that works.

You prefer guided, thought provoking dialogues and exercises in abstract thinking over tests and quizzes.

You love the idea of studying the "Great Books", the most influential books ever printed in English.

You are generally unimpressed with trendy emerging learning methods, and child psychology theories, that aren’t backed by the test of time, or well proven.

You prize logic and critical thinking to the extent that you want your student to have focused study on these subjects.

You think history should be taught as a narrative and would like to see different subject areas aligned with chronological history.

You value foreign languages, and want your child to study ancient dialects such as Greek and Latin.

If you grew up attending a private or public school, you have most likely had a traditional learning style path. The traditional learning style separates learning by subjects, with assignments, tests, and books in accordance to various separated subjects.

Similar Format to Public and Private School

Students can stay on roughly the same pace with peers at the local public or private school. With the Traditional Learning Style, students are conforming conforming to state and federal standards, homeschool students can be confident that their education is comparable to their grade level peers in public or private school. Using the School-at-Home model, parents can use the exact textbooks from their local private or public school.

Formal Standards

Classes are usually aligned with federal and state learning standards. This can be beneficial for parents who want to align their children/students with criteria for college admissions, and scholarship applications.

Pre-Packaged Choice Options

The educational market offers a wide variety of pre-packages, ready to use options. From online learning, to do-it-yourself curriculum packages, there are widely effective and available choices for Traditional Learning Style tools and curriculum.

Easy Transition from Public or Private School

It is less of a learning curve to transition into Traditional Learning at home because the learning path is much the same as your previous learning method. You can use the Traditional Learning Style to start, and then eventually move into a more custom learning style as time goes on.

Not as Creative

School-at-home style learning is packed with learning requirements, and therefore doesn't provide a lot of creative flexibility in how you offer learning to your student. You are following a systematic criteria for curriculum per subject, and you don't have much room to deviate from your curriculum package.

Expensive

While there are some inexpensive and even free options with this method, typically School-at-Home education is just as expensive as private school. These sorts of curricula are typically designed to be sold in packages, and are usually pre-planned courses of study, spanning grades K-12. So, for example, the textbook is useless without the teacher’s guide and answer key, and none of those will work unless students have already studied the recommended subjects and topics from the prior years.

Must Meet Requirements

If you are choosing to partner with a public or private school for your homeschooling, you can’t "opt-out" of a subject area, an exercise, or a lesson. You must meet the requirements of your homeschool.

Student/Teacher Burn-Out

School-at-Home parents/students/teachers often burn out. This method is very time consuming, with a heavy work load put on teachers and students each day. It can be too time consuming (consisting of 6-8 hour school days, 5 days a week) compared to half the time of other homeschool methods.

Unschooling allows homeschool parent-teachers to question, and re-mold conventional schooling. Parent-teachers act as facilitators, rather than lecturers. Unschooling is a free-form learning model which is student-centered, unconventional, and based on the individual preference of the child. Learning focuses largely on the student’s interests. This method is activity based, and utilizes learn-as-you-go education modalities. Unschooling still incorporates some systematic and rigorous teaching when it comes to basic skills like reading, writing, and mathematics, but this is often administered with a variety of technology and materials, and does not deploy rigorous testing. Unschooling allows homeschool parent-teachers to question most everything about conventional schooling whether public, private, or homeschooling. In this model, parent-teachers tend to be facilitators rather than lecturers, instructors or otherwise "conventional" teachers.

Structure-less

Because this method is focused on student led learning, teachers take a loose structured approach to daily learning, and facilitate exploration rather than direct teaching.

Promotes Individuality and Uniqueness

Unschooling treats each student as an individual, with unique talents and learning styles. Unschooling does away with a one size fits all approach, and encourages creative expression over efficiency.

Passion Driven

Unschooling allows students to mold their academic plans according to talents, passions, and hobbies. Lesson plans are created around sports, love for animals, robotics, rock collecting etc.

Multi Faceted Learning Experiences

While traditional schooling is focused on books, paper, and writing words, unschooling incorporates a multi dimensional approach including real world experiences, human interaction, live encounters with the world around us.

Promotes Individuality and Uniqueness

Unschooling treats each student as a unique and creative individual. Students can lead their own lessons based on individual interest. This can lead to students zoning in on one subject for weeks on end, and becoming an expert in one field on study.

Structure-less

For the same reason that teachers are drawn to unschooling, some may find less structure a challenge. It may be difficult to feel accomplished each day without a set number of tasks to be completed. If your student is task oriented, enjoys the feeling of "climbing the ladder" each day , and focuses on goal setting, this may not be the right fit.

Gaps in Academic Learning

Unschooling can create gaps in ones learning profile over time. Because of the unsystematic approach, issues may arise if your child desires to apply for college, or an academic scholarship in the future. It can also leave students lacking important core competencies, which they may need down the road.

Repetitive

Without a laid out plan of academic advancement, the student and teacher may run into road blocks when attempting to create a productive lesson plan each day. This can also lead to boredom for the student, and can leave the student disengaged.

Atmosphere—a cultivated home life

Discipline—developing good habits and character

Life—academics characterized by living books and ideas vs. learning raw facts

Using “living books” to guide and teach subjects

Very limited use of curriculum or textbooks

Nature, composers, handcrafts, and artist studies

“Build relationships” with great authors, composers, thinkers, etc., through “living books”

Emphasis on learning home life skills

Developed by Dr. Maria Montessori

Child-directed, educator guided

Carefully crafted environments that support hands on learning

Mixed-age collaborative approach

Specific use of Montessori toys

Birth to age seven - early childhood

Seven to 14 - middle childhood

14 to 21 - adolescence

Concepts are introduced through story telling

emphasis on hands on learning

Lots of art, handcrafts, and songs

Mythology and storytelling