"The child, though under supervision, should be left much to himself--both that he may go to work in his own way on the ideas that he receives, and also that he may be the more open to natural influences."
-Charlotte Mason

Literature Based Learning is a Christian based approach developed by British educator Charlotte Mason who invested her life to improving the quality of children's education in the late 1800's.

Her method, the Charlotte Mason method, is centered around the idea that education is three-pronged: Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.

Atmosphere; refers to the child's surroundings or environment the child lives in. A child absorbs a lot from their home environment. It is believed that atmosphere makes up one-third of a child’s education.

Discipline; refers to the discipline of good habits — and specifically habits of character. Cultivating good habits in your child’s life is believed to make up another third of their education.

Life; refers to academics.  Charlotte Mason believed that children need living thoughts and ideas over dry facts and therefore she used "living books" over textbooks to make up the final third of the child's education. Living books refer to books written in narrative form by single authors with passion for the subject.

This idea of learning with living thoughts and ideas and through living books is the foundation for Literature Based Learning.  Well chosen books make any topic come alive and build an interest for more exploration.  High quality, interesting literature, hand picked by parents, promotes a desire to read, to learn and to absorb the information and is the first and main step to becoming a life long learner.

“Accept the children with reverence, educate them with love, send them forth in freedom.”
– Rudolf Steiner

Waldorf education was developed by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) at the beginning of the 20th century.  Along with Steiner's broader philosophy and teachings, called anthroposophy (literally, wisdom or knowledge of man) and his profound understanding of human development that addresses the needs of the growing child, Waldorf education unfolded. 

Waldorf education strives to educate the whole child - the heart, hands and head.  The specific methods used in Waldorf education come from the view that the child develops through stages from childhood to adulthood. The Waldorf curriculum is specifically designed to work with the child through these stages of development. 

Steiner's teachings provide rich insights not only into what to introduce when, but how to teach children of various ages. Because children from 7-14 learn best when their imaginative and artistic faculties are engaged, Waldorf education helps parents/teachers present every subject in a lively and artistic way. Steiner breaks childhood down into developmental stages that occur of periods of seven years. Each stage has its own specific learning requirements.

1. Early Childhood Learning: This stage is listed from birth to age seven. Learning is accomplished through experimenting, imitating, and the use of practical activities.
   
   
2. Elementary School: Children do not start elementary school until they are seven years old. Learning is accomplished in this stage by recognizing the artistic and imaginative abilities within the child. The approach for learning will emphasize these abilities and by promoting artistic expression and life experiences.
   
   
3. Adolescence: The emphasis is placed upon developing intellectual and ethical thinking, including the importance of social responsibility.
   

Since we can't know what knowledge will be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned.
-John Holt

The term was coined by educator John Holt who became known as the 'father of unschooling'.  His experience and research in the field of education found that children are natural learners with their innate curiosity and playful approach to life.

Unschooling is a broad term that can encompass many learning philosophies.  At the core of unschooling is a child led, self directed approach that does not follow any set standardized curriculum or grading system.  Learning becomes a natural part of living and hands on, real life opportunities are everywhere.

Unschooling in no way equates unparenting.  It is actually quite often the opposite.  Parents are highly involved in their child`s education playing a role of a facilitator or consultant.  Parents help expose their children to new and interesting ideas.  They are role models and can be found living their own learning.  They help guide and direct their children as the child navigates their interests.  Parents help find mentors, classes or community organizations for their child when their interest needs a deeper level of exploration.  Parents are their for encouragement and to offer the spark of enthusiasm.

No two homes of unschooling look the same.  Learners are left to find their own style of learning, their own methods of expression and their own pace.  Some homes use a variety of different learning approaches forming something very unique for their own family.

"Scientific observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment."
- Maria Montessori, Education for a New World

Montessori education was founded by Dr. Maria Montessori in 1907.  She based her educational methods on her scientific observation of children's learning processes. 

Guided by her findings that children can teach themselves, Dr. Montessori designed a  'prepared environment' in which children could learn freely by choosing from a variety of developmentally appropriate (and designed) activities.  According to Dr. Maria Montessori,  learning is a natural, self-directed process which follows certain fundamental laws of nature. 

Her method of education was designed to assist the child's development towards independence in the society within which they live.  The child is provided a carefully planned and prepared environment in which they have the freedom, within limits, to do as they wish. 

The Montessori Method is based on the following principles:

Children want to learn and enjoy learning (as long as nothing has interfered with this natural state).

Children deserve respect and confidence in their achievement.
Each child is unique and will learn at their own pace and will have their own interests and direction.

Teaching academics is not enough.  The whole child must be considered.

"Thinking is like exercise, it requires consistency and rigor. Like barbells in a weightlifting room, the classics force us to either put them down or exert our minds. They require us to think."
-Oliver DeMille

Leadership Education is an individualized self-education approach laid through the foundation of defined phases of learning, exposure to the classics and great mentors with having the purpose to encourage free thinkers and the creation of the next generation of leaders. 

The primary goal of leadership education is to teach individuals how to think.  It is to guide them to critically think for themselves with creativity and problem solving capabilities. 

The second goal is to train these individual thinkers to become leaders in their homes, business' and communities.  It is to expand them to do the right thing and to do it well with character and competency. 

The third goal is to perpetuate freedom. It is to educate these leaders with the understanding of what freedom is, what is required to maintain it and how to exert the will to do what is required.

A leadership educator Oliver DeMille studied the greats through time, more specifically he studied how they became who they were, how they thought, how they studied and how they learned to think.  He found some similarities and commonalities in the learning approach of these not so common greats.  He founded a new approach named after one of the greats himself, Thomas Jefferson. 

This educational approach, also known as Leadership Education is based on 7 Keys of great teaching that DeMille discovered through his research of Thomas Jefferson's learning with his mentor George Wythe. 

These 7 Keys of great teaching are:
1. Classics, not Textbooks
2. Mentors, not Professors
3. Inspire, not Require
4. Structure Time, not Content
5. Quality, not Conformity
6. Simplicity, not Complexity
7. You, not Them

Along with these 7 Keys, DeMille found that there existed phases of learning of the individual. Through each phase of learning, the learning environment, learning plan and objectives are adjusted and individualized to the learner, providing an opportunity for greatness.

The phases of learning are as follows.

Core Phase: 
Although the maintenance and nourishment of the core phase is a continual life long process, the foundation of this phase occurs roughly through the years of 0-8.  The individual's concept of self and family along with the beginnings of their world view are defined through critical life lessons throughout this phase.

Love of Learning Phase:
With a 'successful' core phase established, the learner will naturally transition with ease into the love of learning phase where they will explore their interests and build their repertoire of skills throughout the years of 8-12.  In this phase the learner will have the freedom of self expression without critique.  They may hop from topic to topic but as they begin to transition to the Scholar phase they will devote more focus and time to particular subjects going further in depth.

Scholar Phase:
Typically with the onset of puberty, changes in the learner's physical, emotional and social expression occur.  This marks the beginnings of the transition to scholar phase. This is a time for personal academic commitments and accountability.  It is within this phase, which roughly happens throughout the years 12-16, that the student propels themselves into their studies for long hours, working hard and learning because they love it.

Depth Phase:
The student will reach a point where they feel they want to contribute to their community(home/world) in a deep and meaningful way.  In this phase, which roughly occurs through the years of 16-22, the student wants to prepare for their upcoming responsibilities and future role they wish to play.  They will be wanting to submit themselves to a mentor, program or life experience that will push them to new heights and give them a fuller grasp on their place in the community.


For more information on Leadership Education visit A Thomas Jefferson Education at tjed.org

As usual I find myself getting wrapped up in my ongoing, internal, nagging dialogue of whether the boys are learning enough and what have they really done this week. 

I stop myself, breath and attempt to let it go. 

I decide refocus is needed (also known as distraction).  I start working on this website that I am wanting to get up online.  I become enthralled, focused on detail, free.  The boys come by to ask me a question ... 'I am busy" I tell them.  'With what?' They ask.  They peer over my shoulder, curious.  What are you working on. 

After a bit of explanation of my goals and my whys, they are so excited.  'Can we make a website too?' 

Next thing I know my 11 year old who generally avoids to write is typing intros for his favourite characters.  And my 8 year old who usually cares less about how he spells a thing is looking up words and asking all kinds of questions.  My 8 year old then gets out his video camera and decides he wants to add video and pictures and all these great ideas come flowing through him. 

They are inspired, excited, motivated, and learning!

By the end of the day they had their core of their site up and online.  Now they can't wait to add more and create more websites on all their topics of interest.

It really is true that the best curriculum out there is life!