A general approach to homeschooling is called 'classical' education. This method is modeled after the ancient Greek system where children were taught in two steps. First, the Trivium, which has three parts itself: grammar, dialectic and rhetoric. Second is the Quadrivium, which is university level.
Many homeschoolers use curriculum based on Charlotte Mason, Montessori and Waldorf methods. Charlotte Mason was a British teacher who developed a philosophy of education that is based heavily in nature, literature and real-life applications. Montessori and Waldorf methods are hands-on in their approach and allow students to be the guides in an environment designed for them.
Some parents choose the traditional approach and acquire books and lesson plans from their home school districts and simply teach their children at home. Other parents develop their own plans based around unit studies. Students will see a recurring theme through all of their lessons. For example, a math lesson may have students add the different animals in the zoo. Students will read about different animals in their science lessons and for language arts, will write a sentence, paragraph or short story about the animals they've studied.
Homeschooled students consistently ranked at least 34 percent higher on average percentile scores than public school students, according to "Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics," a study commissioned by the Home School Legal Defense Association or HSLDA. Government regulation, parental education and household income had almost no impact on the scores.
ACT officials published their overall test results for 2009 and reported that homeschoolers beat the national average on the college entrance exam. The ACT is a good indicator of how well a student will do in college and how effective was the teaching he received.
Many people confuse having a social life with having social skills. It is frequently noted that homeschooled children are well behaved. Being around people who love and care for them, these students learn from their parent's examples how to behave in many social situations. There are several studies to show that homeschooled children are not the isolated and lonely children that some perceive.
Dr Thomas Smedley administered the Vineyard Adaptive Behavior Scales test to a group of homeschooled and public-schooled children. The test measures maturity and well-adaptive behaviors. The homeschooled children ranked in the 84th percentile while the public-schooled children ranked in the 23rd percentile.