What Do I Teach?
Choose your philosophy. Your philosophy shapes everything. It answers the question: what is the purpose of education? Is it to check boxes, or to cultivate wisdom, character, and a love for learning? A strong philosophy will guide your decisions and give you confidence when methods and opinions compete for your attention.
Choose your methodology (your homeschool style). Your methodology is how your philosophy is lived out day to day. This is where you decide what your homeschool will look like in practice. Will you use living books, hands-on discovery, narration, and nature study, or traditional textbooks, graded worksheets, and tests? Your method should support your philosophy and nurture your peace and your child’s love for learning. (The panels below walk through every major method.)
Choose the subjects. Once your philosophy and method are in place, choosing subjects becomes simple. You are not trying to do everything. You are choosing what matters most and teaching it in a meaningful way.
Begin with the basics, the three R’s: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. We call reading and writing language arts. The purpose of language arts is to equip students to read well and write well, not to conjugate verbs, diagram sentences, or identify parts of speech in isolation. Language arts includes reading literature and poetry, handwriting, composition, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and literary devices. Ideally, you will use one program that develops strong writing while weaving in these elements naturally, such as Living Verse.
Before any formal language arts program, your goal is to teach your child to read. If your child is not yet reading, that’s your primary academic goal, while read-alouds and play remain your child’s primary occupation.
The building blocks of language arts
Literature is an integral element of language arts. Rich books shape taste, imagination, vocabulary, and moral understanding. (See my literature lists.)
Poetry is essential to the development of a child’s language. Through hearing, memorizing, and reciting poems, phonological awareness increases, vocabulary grows, oral language is enriched, and children naturally begin to use strong sentence patterns in their own speech and writing.
Copywork develops handwriting, composition, vocabulary, spelling, grammar, wisdom, attention, and clear thinking.
Vocabulary should be taught based on what is read in literature.
Spelling can be taught separately, but should always be a focus of copywork.
Handwriting is taught and reinforced through copywork.
Writing (composition) develops progressively, ideally through notebooking, as an extension of what your child is reading rather than as a separate, out-of-context subject.
Grammar is naturally learned through reading well-written books and hearing proper grammar in everyday speech. Grammar concepts are best taught in the context of what one is reading or studying.
Math teaches children to think with order, precision, and logic. It gives them the skills needed for daily life and trains the mind to solve problems, recognize patterns, and understand the structure built into God’s world.
Beyond the three R’s: the subjects for K–8
Bible. Children long to know God. It is an innate desire within all of us. Start each day by grounding your children in truth, turning their hearts to God, and building a solid foundation of faith.
Nature Study. More than science, this is not a subject you teach but a lifestyle of time outdoors that cultivates curiosity and develops a child physically, spiritually, emotionally, and academically.
Science. Science brings the world around a child to life. It is best learned through engaging books written by authors who love their subject and inspire children to observe, ask questions, and delight in God’s creation.
History. History teaches children wisdom and explains who people are and why. Children learn that actions have consequences and that power can be used for good or evil. It is best taught through stories that bring the past to life.
Geography. Children love learning about the earth and the people who live on it. It helps them see how land, climate, and location shape the lives of nations and cultures.
Art Education and Appreciation. Children are made in the image of God and drawn to create. Developing their skills brings joy and confidence, while regular exposure to great works cultivates their sense of beauty and inspires their own creativity for years to come.
Handicrafts and Skills. Children develop patience, diligence, attentiveness, and care in the work of their hands, growing in competence and usefulness as they learn to make things that are beautiful, practical, and beneficial to others.
Music and Composers. Music forms the heart and mind by cultivating attention, taste, memory, and delight in what is good and beautiful. Through hymns, folk songs, and the study of great composers, children learn to treasure truth and connect with their heritage.
Foreign Language. A foreign language enlarges understanding of people and cultures beyond one’s own. It is best taught as a living language through songs, simple conversation, memory work, stories, and daily use.
Think about your own education. How much did you remember about world history, American history, or science when you left high school? Is that the education you want for your children?— Jeannie Fulbright