Some parents prefer “school at home” using traditional homeschooling curriculum and programs.
A traditionalist’s materials would generally help your home function like a regular day school program with distinct textbooks, workbooks and other resources for each subject area. Within these programs, children would be learning what many other students at their grade level are studying.
Why Some Parents Choose The Traditional Homeschooling Curriculum Approach
Traditional homeschoolers generally adopt this type of program for the following reasons:
1. It gives the parents the security of established routines and teaching methods.
2. They have older children who have attended a day school and are comfortable with the “school routine.”
3. Parents may be “trying out” homeschooling and figure that if it doesn’t work, then the children will be back in school and will need to easily integrate back into the those routines.
4. They are concerned that their children learn the fundamentals in line with their same age peers.
Many new homeschooling families are more comfortable with this approach. Some continue this style homeschooling while others may change methods as they become more experienced.
Our family chose a very traditional program our first year because our daughter had been in school and was comfortable with the routine. It was nice for parents to have a planned program and to have a defined direction!
Some traditionalist use the Core Knowledge Series by E.D. Hirsch to determine what their children “need” to learn each year. They have a year by year schedule of information that their foundation believes that each child should learn at each grade level. Many day schools follow this same recommended learning schedule.
This is actually one of the greatest benefits (or comforts) of this method: the security of knowing that all of the necessary material for each grade is being covered, and there will be no learning gaps. If and when the these children enter the regular schooling system, they will have no problem making the transition.
Traditional Homeschool Program Choices
Some popular publishers that use this style of learning include:
- Abeka
- Alpha Omega LifePac
- Bob Jones University Press
- Modern Curriculum Press
- Scott Foresman
- School of Tomorrow PACE Program
- Rod and Staff