A child-led approach where learning follows the child's interests rather than a set curriculum or schedule.
Eclectic Homeschooling
Mixing materials and methods from several approaches to fit each child, rather than following one packaged program.
Unit Study
Teaching several subjects at once through one theme — studying ancient Egypt, say, across history, reading, art, and science.
Montessori
A method emphasizing hands-on materials, child-chosen work, and mixed-age learning, adapted by many families for the home.
Gameschooling
Using board games, card games, and play as a deliberate teaching tool — common for math facts, strategy, and vocabulary.
Roadschooling
Homeschooling on the move, using travel and the places a family visits as the classroom.
Deschooling
A transition period — often a rough month per year of prior schooling — where a child decompresses from a classroom routine before settling into home learning.
An approach rooted in Rudolf Steiner's ideas that emphasizes imagination, rhythm, the arts, and an unhurried childhood, delaying formal academics in the early years.
Using the wider world — travel, cultures, museums, and real places — as the primary classroom.
School-at-Home
Recreating a traditional classroom at home — set schedule, textbooks, tests, and grades. Common for families just starting out who want familiar structure.
Traditional / Textbook
An approach that follows conventional textbooks and workbooks subject by subject, often with tests and grades — structured, predictable, easy to hand off.
Relaxed Homeschooling
A low-pressure blend of light structure and child-led learning — some planned lessons, plenty of room for interests. Sits between unschooling and a set curriculum.
Reggio Emilia
An early-childhood approach that follows young children's curiosity through hands-on projects, with the environment treated as a teacher.
Project-Based Learning
Learning organized around extended, hands-on projects, where skills across subjects get used in service of building or investigating something real.
A map of what skills and topics a curriculum covers and the order it teaches them in.
Loop Scheduling
Rotating through a list of subjects in order without tying each to a fixed day, so nothing gets permanently skipped when life interrupts.
Spiral vs. Mastery
Two ways curricula sequence material: spiral programs revisit topics repeatedly across years, while mastery programs stay on one topic until it's solid before moving on.
Copywork
Copying well-written passages by hand to build handwriting, spelling, and a feel for good sentences.
Narration
A child telling back, in their own words, what they just read or heard — a Charlotte Mason staple for comprehension and memory.
Whole, well-written books — often by a single passionate author — used in place of dry textbooks to bring a subject to life.
Block Scheduling
Concentrating a subject into a focused block — a season of intensive history, say — instead of touching every subject every day.
Morning Basket
A short shared start to the day — poetry, a read-aloud, a song, a picture to study — that gathers everyone before individual lessons. Also called morning time.
Notebooking
Recording learning in a personal notebook through writing, drawing, and narration, building a keepsake record over time.
Lapbooking
A hands-on project where a child folds and fills a file-folder 'lapbook' with mini-books and flaps summarizing a topic — popular with younger learners.
Interest-Led Learning
Letting a child's current passions drive what gets studied, then weaving in reading, writing, and math through the topic they already love.
Mastery Approach
Staying with one topic until a child has it solid before moving on — contrasted with spiral programs that revisit topics across years.
A letter some states ask families to file stating they intend to homeschool a child.
Portfolio
A collected record of a child's work and progress — samples, reading lists, logs — that some states ask to see and that many families keep regardless.
Umbrella School
A private school that enrolls homeschoolers under its cover, handling record-keeping and sometimes transcripts, so families file under the school rather than directly with the state.
Standardized Testing
A nationally normed test (like the Iowa or Stanford) that some states accept as one way to show a child's yearly progress.
Evaluation
A yearly review some states accept as proof of progress, where a qualified person looks over a child's work and confirms they're learning — an alternative to standardized testing in many states.
Certified-Teacher Evaluation
A written assessment by a state-certified teacher who reviews a child's portfolio and progress — accepted in some states as the yearly proof.
Work Samples
Saved examples of a child's actual work — writing, math pages, projects — kept as evidence of progress and sometimes required for a portfolio.
Attendance / Days of Instruction
The count of school days or hours a state expects in a year. Many families log these even where it isn't required, to keep an easy record.
Compulsory Attendance Age
The age range during which a state requires a child to be educated — the window homeschooling has to satisfy. The specific ages vary by state.
Letter of Intent
Another name for a Notice of Intent — the letter some states ask families to file when they begin homeschooling. See Notice of Intent.
Cover School
Another name for an umbrella school — a private school homeschoolers enroll under for record-keeping. Common in some states. See umbrella school.
Portfolio Review
A meeting or submission where a reviewer looks through a child's portfolio to confirm progress — one of the ways states accept yearly proof of learning.
Assessment
Any formal check of a child's learning — a standardized test, an evaluation, or a portfolio review. States that ask for proof usually accept more than one kind.
A state program that puts public education funds into an account families can spend on approved educational expenses.
Eligible Expense
A purchase a funding program counts as allowable — the definition varies by state and program, which is why keeping the receipt and noting its purpose matters.
Microgrant
A small pot of education funds a family can apply for and spend on approved expenses — similar in spirit to an ESA but usually smaller and program-specific.
Reimbursement
Getting paid back for an approved expense you've already paid for, after submitting your receipt. Clean records are what make it smooth — About Time's ESA Wallet organizes those receipts for you.
Tax-Credit Scholarship
A scholarship funded by donations that businesses or individuals make in exchange for a tax credit — one way some states route money to families.
Education Freedom / School Choice
Umbrella terms for policies that let public education funds follow a child to options outside the assigned public school, including, in some states, homeschooling.
Eligible Vendor / Approved Provider
A seller or service a funding program has cleared for purchases — buying from an approved provider is often what keeps an expense reimbursable.
529 Plan
A tax-advantaged savings account for education expenses. Rules on using 529 funds for K–12 and homeschool costs vary, so it's worth checking your state and current law.
Use-It-or-Lose-It
A rule in some funding programs where unspent money is forfeited at year's end — though many ESAs instead let balances roll over. Knowing which yours is shapes how you spend.
Community & Activities
Co-op
A cooperative group of homeschool families who share teaching — parents take turns leading classes, or the group hires instructors.
Hybrid Homeschool
A model where children attend a school or program a few days a week and learn at home the rest, splitting the week between the two.
Enrichment
Classes and activities beyond the core subjects — art, science labs, drama, music — often offered by co-ops, hybrids, or community programs.
Hybrid Academy
A program where children attend class in person a few days a week and learn at home the rest — more structured than a co-op, lighter than full-time school. See hybrid homeschool.
Park Day
A regular informal meetup where homeschool families gather at a park to let children play and parents connect — a backbone of local homeschool community.
Field Trip
An outing that turns a place — a museum, farm, factory, or historic site — into the lesson. About Time's Field Trip Finder helps you find ones near you.
Conference (Homeschool)
A gathering, in person or online, with speakers and a vendor hall where families learn approaches and browse curricula.
Vendor Hall
The exhibit floor at a homeschool conference where publishers and services set up booths — a chance to handle materials before buying.
Charter / Public Homeschool Program
A publicly funded program that supports at-home learning, sometimes providing funds or a teacher of record. Rules and independence vary widely by state.
Support Group
A local or online group of homeschool families who share advice and resources — sometimes organizing classes, field trips, or park days.
Special Situations
Twice-Exceptional (2e)
A child who is both gifted and has a learning difference or disability — strong in some areas while needing support in others.
A written learning plan tailored to a child with special needs, setting specific goals and the supports to reach them.
Accommodations
Adjustments to how a child learns or shows what they know — extra time, audio books, fewer problems per page — that change the how without lowering the bar on the what.
A structured, multisensory method for teaching reading, widely used with children who have dyslexia.
Dyslexia
A common learning difference that makes reading and spelling harder despite normal intelligence — well-suited to structured, multisensory teaching like Orton-Gillingham.
Dysgraphia
A learning difference affecting writing — handwriting, spelling, and getting thoughts on paper — often eased with typing, scribing, and extra time.
Dyscalculia
A learning difference affecting number sense and math, helped by concrete manipulatives, extra practice, and a slower, mastery-paced approach.
Gifted
Learning markedly ahead of age peers. Homeschooling suits gifted children well because the pace and depth can flex to them instead of holding them back.
ADHD / Attention Differences
A profile where focus and impulse regulation are harder. Short lessons, movement breaks, and hands-on work — things homeschooling offers easily — often help.
Sensory Processing
Difficulty handling everyday sensory input like sound, texture, or movement. A calm, adjustable home environment can be a real advantage for these children.
Special Needs Homeschooling
Homeschooling a child with a disability, learning difference, or medical need — chosen by many families precisely because the one-on-one pace can be tailored to the child.
Acronyms
HSLDA
Home School Legal Defense Association — a membership organization offering legal help and state-law information to homeschooling families.
AOP
Alpha Omega Publications — a Christian curriculum publisher whose lines include LIFEPAC, Horizons, and Monarch.
CC
Classical Conversations — a national network of classical, community-based homeschool programs.
TOG
Tapestry of Grace — a classical, literature-based curriculum teaching history, writing, and more together across all ages.
IEW
Institute for Excellence in Writing — a structured, widely used writing curriculum.
AO
Ambleside Online — a free, Charlotte Mason–style curriculum available online.
BJU
BJU Press — a Christian curriculum publisher offering textbooks and video courses.
MUS
Math-U-See — a mastery-based, manipulative-driven math curriculum.
TT
Teaching Textbooks — a self-grading, video-based math curriculum popular for independent work.
SOTW
The Story of the World — a narrative four-volume history series widely used in classical and Charlotte Mason homes.
CM
Charlotte Mason — a gentle books-and-nature approach. See the full entry.
NOI
Notice of Intent — the letter some states require when you begin homeschooling. See the full entry.
DE
Dual Enrollment — a high-schooler taking college courses for credit. See the full entry.
PBL
Project-Based Learning — organizing learning around extended hands-on projects.
ASD
Autism Spectrum Disorder — a developmental difference; many families homeschool to give an autistic child a calmer, individualized environment.
Bring it all together
About Time turns your plan, your logbook, and your state’s requirements into one place — for when you’re ready to begin.