Home Schooling Word List

Our main word list is organized for people who want to read it from beginning to end, rather than in alphabetical order.

For those who just want to look up one word, we have the following alphabetical list, to take you directly to the word you want to read about.

Alphabetical Listing of Words

Classical Home Schooling
Curriculum
Deschooling
Eclectic Home Schooling
E-mail Acronyms
Home Education
HS
HS'er
Home Schooler
Home Schooling
Institutional Schools
School at Home
Teaching
Unit Studies
Unschooling

Main Word List - In Reading Order

HS

A common abbreviation for "home schooling."

HS´er

A common abbreviation for "home schooler."

Home Schooler

The term "home schooler" can refer to a child who is being home schooled, or to a parent who is home schooling their child.

Home Schooling

Home schooling is teaching your children at home. Many people say technically this is "home education" however, most people, even non-home schoolers, call it "home schooling."

Home Education

Another name for "home schooling."

Some people prefer to call it "home education" because they use different methods than traditional schools (more hands-on activities, field trips, home school curriculums and materials, etc.), and so they are not doing "school at home," they are doing "home education."

(And, some people say, they go on so many field trips and weekly home school events, that they are never at home.)

Also, see "home schooling" on this page.

School at Home

Using school like methods at home. Some home schoolers teach their children at home with the same methods, workbooks, texts, worksheets, etc. that typical schools use.

Some people call this a "more structured approach."

Also, see "home schooling" above, and our article Decide Method for more details on this and other methods of home schooling.

Classical Home Schooling

A method of home schooling that uses more classical texts and materials. to educate the child. Parents using this method would normally purchase a classical curriculum and materials.

Also, see our article Decide Method for more details on this and other methods of home schooling.

Eclectic Home Schooling

A method of home schooling where the parents choose from a variety of methods, usually based on what works with them and their child, for each subject.

Also, see our article Decide Method for more details on this and other methods of home schooling.

Unschooling

Child led learning.

Some people see this as waiting until the child "wants" to learn a particular thing. Some people see this as following the child's "interests."

Also, see our article Decide Method for more details on this and other methods of home schooling.

Deschooling

After pulling a child out of a bad situation in an institutional school, many people have found it is best to let their child just play for a while, to forget the negative experience, and re-build their self-confidence. This process is commonly called deschooling.

Also, see our article Decide Method for more details on this and other methods of home schooling.

Unit Studies

Unit studies use a project approach, and they normally bring several different subjects into a single project. They can make learning fun, hands-on, and often they can be used with several children of different ages at the same time (the activities and expectations would be adjusted for each child).

Teaching

Teaching is communicating knowledge and/or skills to someone (the student) who knows less than the person doing the teaching, and doing it faster than if the student were learning it on their own.

Curriculum

Technically, a curriculum is a list of topics, concepts, and ideas, that will be taught in a particular subject. For example, a government specified math "curriculum" for grade two might specify that single digit addition be taught, but it wouldn't say how to teach it or give exercises.

When you buy a home school curriculum, it normally includes the texts, workbooks, manipulatives, parent instructor manual, and other materials needed to teach it to your child. Technically, this is really a course, but people call it a home school curriculum.

E-mail Acronyms

You may see these acronyms used by hs´ers in e-mail discussion groups.

DH - Dear Husband.

DD - Dear Daughter.

DS - Dear Son.

MIL - Mother-In-Law.

LOL - Laugh Out Loud.

ROFL - Roll on floor laughing.

FYI - For Your Information.

There are many other less common abbreviations. If you see others that you don't know, just ask what they mean.

Personally, I try not to use above acronyms in e-mail discussion groups with lots of people, because often there are a few people who don't know them. But I've listed them here, just in case you run into them.

Institutional Schools

Regular schools. This refers to schools that use the common classroom approach, usually with lots of students and one teacher.

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