How to Find Your Homeschool Philosophy (and Why It Matters Before You Start)

If you've started researching home education, you've probably come across words like "unschooling" or "Charlotte Mason" and wondered whether you're supposed to have an opinion about them. Many parents arrive at home education with a strong feeling about what they want for their child, but no idea what category it falls into.

That's fine. You don't need a label to start. But understanding the main approaches, and figuring out which one resonates with your family, will help you in two practical ways: it steadies you when doubt hits, and it shapes your Ministry of Education exemption application.

Why your philosophy matters before you begin

Home education involves making thousands of small decisions. What do we do today? How do I respond when my child refuses to engage? Should we follow a curriculum or follow her interests? When do we push through and when do we step back?

Without a guiding philosophy, each of these decisions feels like a fresh problem. With one, even a rough one, they become easier. You have a reference point. You know what you're trying to do and why.

The second reason is practical: your section 38 exemption application, the document you submit to the Ministry of Education under the Education and Training Act 2020, asks you to describe your approach to education. Vague answers don't serve you well there. A clear philosophy makes your application more coherent, more specific, and easier for the MoE to approve.

The main approaches

These are not rigid boxes. Many families blend elements of several. But knowing the broad outlines helps.

Unschooling

Unschooling is the most child-led of all approaches. The core idea is that children learn best when they follow their own genuine curiosity, and that imposed curriculum often gets in the way of real learning. Parents using this approach create rich environments and say yes to a lot of interests, but they don't assign lessons or follow a structured programme.

Unschooling can look very different from family to family. Some families are almost entirely child-directed. Others use a softer version sometimes called "relaxed homeschooling," where there is some structure but the child's interests drive most of what happens.

If the idea of trusting your child's curiosity excites you, this approach might be worth exploring. If it makes you anxious because you're not sure how anything will get learned, that's a signal it may not be the right fit, or that you need more time reading about it before you'd feel confident.

Charlotte Mason

Charlotte Mason was a 19th-century British educator whose ideas have found a devoted following among home educators worldwide, including in New Zealand. Her approach emphasises living books (real literature rather than dry textbooks), nature study, narration (children retelling what they've learned), short lessons, and wide exposure to art, music, and poetry.

Charlotte Mason families tend to value beauty, quality, and time outdoors. The approach has a warm, slightly old-fashioned character that appeals to many parents. It is not unstructured, but it is very human in its rhythms.

If you find yourself drawn to books, nature, and a slower pace, this is worth reading more about.

Classical

Classical education follows the trivium: grammar (the foundational knowledge stage), logic (learning to reason about that knowledge), and rhetoric (learning to express ideas persuasively). It is one of the oldest educational traditions in Western history, and it has seen a strong revival among home educators.

In practice, classical education tends to be more structured and academically rigorous than other approaches. It often involves Latin, formal logic, Socratic discussion, and a strong emphasis on great texts.

If you value academic rigour, love ideas and argument, and want your child to be able to think and communicate clearly, classical education may appeal. It asks more of the parent as a teacher, particularly at the secondary level.

Structured or school-at-home

Some families want the flexibility of home education without departing too far from a traditional school model. They buy a curriculum package, follow a timetable, and work through subjects in a structured way.

This approach can work very well, particularly for parents who want clear guidance on what to teach and when. It is also the easiest approach to explain in a Ministry of Education application, because it maps directly onto curriculum expectations.

The risk is that it can feel constraining if the child does not thrive with that format, and it misses some of the natural advantages of home education.

Eclectic

Most home-educating families end up here. Eclectic means drawing from several approaches based on what works for your child and your family. You might use a structured maths curriculum because your child needs that clarity, while taking an unschooling approach to science because your child has a passion for it, and using Charlotte Mason narration for history because it suits both of you.

Eclectic is not a cop-out. It is honest. It says: we know our child, and we use what works.

How to figure out what fits your family

Start with your child. What do they find engaging? Do they thrive with structure or resist it? Are they a reader, a maker, a mover, a talker? Your approach needs to work for them, not just appeal to you.

Then look at yourself honestly. Are you a planner who feels anxious without a clear programme? Or are you comfortable with emergence and trust? Are you willing to do a lot of your own reading and preparation, or do you need a curriculum to guide you?

A useful question: when you imagine a great day of learning in your home, what does it look like? That picture tells you something about the approach you're naturally drawn to.

You don't need to commit to one philosophy permanently. Most families shift over time as they learn what works. Start with something that feels honest and manageable, and adjust from there.

How your philosophy feeds into your MoE application

When you apply for a section 38 exemption, the Ministry of Education wants to understand how you will educate your child. Your philosophy is the backbone of that explanation.

A parent using a classical approach can describe a structured programme with clear curriculum coverage. A Charlotte Mason family can describe their use of living books, narration, and nature study. An eclectic family can describe the different resources and methods they'll draw from and why.

What matters is that your application is coherent. The reader at the Ministry should be able to understand what your child's education will actually look like, day to day, and feel confident that it will be broad and consistent.

If your philosophy is clear in your own mind, that clarity comes through in the application.

---

Frequently asked questions

Q: Do I have to choose a named philosophy for my MoE application? A: No. The Ministry of Education does not require you to use any particular label. What they want is a clear description of your approach: what you'll teach, how you'll teach it, and how you'll know your child is learning. If your approach is eclectic, describe it specifically rather than using the label.

Q: What if my child and I disagree about how we want to learn? A: This is common, and it is worth taking your child's input seriously, particularly as they get older. Many families find that involving their child in deciding how they learn leads to more engagement and less resistance. If your child hates worksheets and loves projects, that's useful information for shaping your approach.

Q: Can I change my philosophy after I've received my exemption? A: Yes. Your exemption does not lock you into a specific approach. If you started with a structured curriculum and want to shift to something more child-led, that is your decision to make. You do not need to reapply or notify the Ministry unless the change is so fundamental that your original application no longer reflects your approach at all.

Q: Is there a New Zealand community for specific homeschool philosophies? A: Yes. There are Charlotte Mason groups, classical education communities, and unschooling networks active in New Zealand, some in person and many online. Connecting with others who share your approach is one of the best ways to build confidence and get practical ideas.

Q: I'm not sure what my philosophy is yet. Can I still apply for an exemption? A: You can, but your application will be stronger if you have some clarity about your approach. Taking a few weeks to read, reflect, and talk with other home-educating families before you write the application is time well spent. The exemption application asks you to describe what you'll do, so having a genuine answer matters.

---

When you're ready to apply for your home education exemption, Pulled can write the application for you. Find out how →