Home Education methods

The traditional homeschool method is the textbook-workbook style approach often used in the regular school system.  The link below shows an example from Seton Home Study School.

Books:

Catholic Home Schooling:  A Handbook for Parents by Mary Kay Clark

The Charlotte Mason method stresses the use of "living books" and narration as opposed to traditional textbooks and workbooks.  Other hallmarks of a Charlotte Mason style education include virtuous habit training, picture study, time outdoors and nature study, and handicrafts.

Books:  

For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer MacAulay, 

The Three R's by Ruth Beechick

Laying Down the Rails by Sonya Shafer

Classical education is education in the liberal arts based on long standing educational methods that were used in western civilization since the middle ages.  There is a focus on learning the grammar of language and basics of various subjects which includes memorization.  There are stages of learning according to students' ages and mental development called the grammar stage (learning to read, write, and work with numbers), logic/analytic stage (learning to compare and analyze), and the rhetoric stage (learning to defend, explain, and teach).  The socratic discussion method is used.  Classical education frequently includes a study of ancient Greece and Rome and study of Latin.

Books:  

Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum:  A Guide to Catholic Home Education by Laura Berquist  

The Three R's by Ruth Beechick

Video:   What is Classical Education? short video by Memoria Press 

Maria Montessori was an Italian, Catholic doctor who cared for and educated children in the early 1900s.  She taught that children under six years old have an "absorbent mind" with their learning coming through their senses and movement.  She observed "sensitive periods" or ages at which children easily develop language skills, a sense of order, sensorimotor skills, and socialization.  Her method focuses on training the senses, developing an ordered mind, gross and fine motor skill development, and basic life skills.

Books:  

Teaching Montessori in the Home:  the Pre-School Years by Elizabeth Hainstock

Teaching Montessori in the Home:  the School Years by Elizabeth Hainstock

Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook by Maria Montessori

Mommy, Teach Me! by Barbara Curtis  

Mommy, Teach Me to Read! by Barbara Curtis 

The Unit Study method incorporates learning in all the subjects taught around a topic or thematic "unit."  Usually, multiple units are used such as bugs, the farm, seasons, medieval life, etc.  This is often used for preschool, but is also used for other grades and even to combine children of various grade levels.  The link below gives an example of a unit study/lap book from the Catholic homeschool blog, Shower of Roses.  

Books:

Videos:  Colonial Life Unit Study Projects with Homeschool in the Woods

The Eclectic Method is used when parents pick and choose from among various styles, methods, and materials available to design a unique program for their own children.

Books:  Catholic Homeschool Companion by Maureen Wittmann and Rachel Mackson