MERIDIAN —    Did you know that home education may be the fastest-growing form of education in the United States; with over 2 million students?

    Home educators represent a demographically wide variety of people —these are Christians, Jews, atheists, and agnostics; conservatives, libertarians, and liberals; low-, middle-, and high-income families; black, Hispanic, and white; parents with Ph.Ds, GEDs, and high-school diplomas. Like the rest of the country, home education is also gaining popularity in Lauderdale County.  

    To home educate in Lauderdale County, you will need to notify the County Attendance officer of your intent. But before you dive in, you need to do some research. Although the Internet has millions of articles on home education, it produces information overload!  

    One of the best ways to find out how it really works is to get to know families who are already educating their children at home. I have home educated my children since 2006, and I recommend joining a local home educators group. By joining one of these groups, you can meet families and ask questions about what approach has worked and not worked for them.  These groups are nonprofit and are there to provide support. The Meridian Christian Home Educators (MCHE) group has over 250 student members and has a kickoff meeting Aug. 18 where you can sign up for sports, field trips and activities. The County Attendance officer will be there as well.  

    Another support group is PEAK Homeschool Network, which is available to homeschoolers of all faiths. PEAK Meridian has approximately 45 members. They are a member-led group that organizes activities such as park days, field trips and parties, book clubs, art clubs, geography fairs and camping trips in the past. Website information for these groups is included at the end of this article.



Popular Homeschooling Approaches



    When home education families get together, the most common first question is “what curriculum do you use?” or “what approach do you use?” Most homeschoolers do not follow one style or method, but select from among different approaches to best fit their family's needs. Many of these methods have several common elements, such as defined objectives, lesson plans, frequent library visits, family nights, portfolios, and even tutoring and mentoring.

    The following provides brief descriptions of the most popular methods.



Enrichment Programs  



    Because of the growth in home education, there are now many options and approaches available to families. One of the newest options available in Meridian is the Meridian Center for Classical Learning (MCCL), a nonprofit home education enrichment program which follows the Classical Method and is open to 50 students. Students attend enrichment classes two to three days a week and continue their studies at home on the other days. MCCL students study Latin, Logic, Spanish or Mandarin, Art, History, Math, Science, Music, and Writing with College-level tutors.



Classical Homeschooling



    The "classical" method began in the Middle Ages and was the approach used by some of the greatest minds in history. The goal of the classical approach is to teach people how to learn for themselves. The five tools of learning, known as the Trivium, are reason, record, research, relate and rhetoric. Younger children begin with the preparing stage, where they learn basic reading, writing and arithmetic.

    The grammar stage is next, which emphasizes compositions and collections, and then the dialectic stage, where serious reading, study, and research take place. All the tools come together in the rhetoric stage, where communication is the primary focus.



Unit Studies



    Unit studies use your child's interest and then ties that interest into subject areas like math, reading, spelling, science, art and history. For example, if you have a child who is interested in ancient Egypt, you would learn the history of Egypt, read books about Egypt, write stories about Egypt, do art projects about pyramids, and learn about Egyptian artifacts or mapping skills to map out a catacomb.



School-at-Home



    Most families who follow the school-at-home approach purchase a boxed curriculum (either books or online) that comes with study schedules, grades, and record keeping.



Unschooling  



    Unschoolers learn from everyday life experiences and do not use school schedules or formal lessons. Instead, unschooled children follow their interests and learn in much the same way as adults do by pursuing their interests or curiosity.

Eclectic Homeschooling  



    Basically, eclectic homeschoolers use workbooks for math, reading and spelling, and taking an unschooling approach for the other subjects.



The Charlotte Mason Method



    The Charlotte Mason method has at its core the belief that children deserve respect and that they learn best from real-life situations. Children are given time to play, create, and be involved in real-life situations from which they can learn.

    They take nature walks, visit art museums, and learn geography, history and literature from living books; books that make these subjects come alive. Students also show what they know, not by taking tests, but via narration and discussion.



The Waldorf Method  



    Waldorf education is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner and stresses the importance of educating the whole child — body, mind and spirit. In the early grades, there is an emphasis on arts and crafts, music and movement, and nature. Older children are taught to develop self-awareness and how to reason things out for themselves. Children in a Waldorf homeschool do not use standard textbooks; instead, the children create their own books.



Montessori  



    Montessori materials are also popular in some households. The Montessori Method emphasizes "errorless learning," where the children learn at their own pace and in that way develop their full potential. The Montessori homeschool emphasizes beauty and avoids things that are confusing or cluttered. Wooden tools are preferred over plastic tools, and learning materials are kept well-organized and ready to use. This method is used primarily for younger children.



    As you can see, there are many approaches and that is a good thing!  Because every family and every child is unique, you can customize an approach that works for you.



    The following are some resources for further research:

    Mississippi Home Education Association: http://www.mhea.net/

    Home School Legal Defense Association: http://www.hslda.org/hs/

    Meridian Christian Home Educators: http://www.meridianchristianhomeeducators.com/

    Meridian Center for Classical Education: meridianclassical@gmail.com or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Meridian-Center-for-Classical-Learning/194557850598707

    Peak Network: http://peaknetwork.org/