The questions I’m most frequently asked by new homeschoolers, or by people who are considering homeschooling, are: “How do you know your style? There are so many resources and methods available. How do I decide what kind of homeschooler I am?”
I’m afraid there are no easy answers to those questions. So much depends on your personal philosophy of education, your style of teaching (or what you predict your style will be), your children’s learning styles, and your state’s laws. Some of us don’t know what kind of homeschooler we’ll be until we’ve been doing it awhile.
But, there are a few things you can do to narrow choices and help you make decisions about your style and approach.
Read. Read every book about homeschooling that you can get your hands on. When I was considering homeschooling, I read books that recommended everything from very structured days and rigorous curriculum to books that touted the joys of unschooling. There were a few things in between, as well, and I found myself drawn to those books repeatedly and more strongly than the others. I began to see that I was already defining my style, based on the examples I was reading about.
Talk to other homeschoolers. Ask what has worked for them. Ask what their style is, and how they arrived at it. Ask what “typical days” are like. Did they know from the beginning that they wanted to use a classical curriculum? Did their love of nature lead them to Charlotte Mason methods? Did unschooling beckon, promising spontaneity and adventure? Hearing about how various homeschools function can help you discover what you’ll be the most comfortable with.
Join online discussion boards. You may feel too shy to do much but “lurk” at first, but try to take the plunge and post some questions. Get involved, express your doubts, share your excitement. Interacting with others who have more experience will help you to see a couple of things. One is that no approach is perfect; every approach has its pros and cons. The other thing you’ll see is that it’s not uncommon to have a mix of styles, or to see your own style evolve over the years.
Nothing is set in stone. “What kind of homeschooler am I?” is usually tentatively answered in your planning stage. It’s more sharply defined after you’ve been living the homeschooling life for a year or two. And a few years after that, it’s just a part of who you are. You realize one day that you no longer struggle to define yourself or your style. It’s just there. And it fits.