Dr. Raymond Moore was part of a task force of leading American educators who studied early childhood learning for the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity. Based on his research, Dr. Moore reached three conclusions:

(1) many children suffer needless physical, emotional, and mental stress because they are placed in academic settings before their vision, hearing, nervous system, reasoning abilities, and muscular coordination are developed enough to complete conventional schooling tasks;

(2) children are often taught academic skills before they have enough life experiences and background knowledge to comprehend what they are learning or grasp the concepts involved;

(3) children under the age of 12 who spend more time with their peers than with adults become "peer dependent", that is, they learn to derive their sense of self-worth from their peers.

Dr. Moore and his wife, Dorothy, have since become two of America's leading advocates of home education. They have written many books on home schooling, all of which share these common themes:

• Formal education should be delayed until the child is mentally, physically and emotionally ready. Readiness occurs at different times in different children, but the perceptive parent is capable of knowing when the time is right.
  
• Academics are better begun in the form of multi-sensory programs. Workbooks are to be avoided, and the reading of factual, moral literature is to be encouraged.
• A child's activities should be divided so that roughly 1/3 of his time is spent on study, 1/3 is spent involved in family activities, and 1/3 is spent in service to others.
• Children who learn good habits, help with housework, and are involved with service projects or home businesses, will learn to be responsible and to serve others both inside and outside the home.
• If a child's associations with peers are carefully limited and guided, the family will remain the center of his life and he will not become peer dependent.
• Children will excel at academics when they are surrounded by loving, interested adults who will interact with them, read to them, show them a great deal of affection, and present them with as many enriching life experiences as possible.
• Projects or unit studies are the most productive methods of teaching, but drills help in mastering basic facts, such as math.

Pros:

• Allows child to learn when ready
• Avoids peer dependency
• Stresses strong character, service to others, family involvement, and meaningful work
• Allows more time for family bonding
• Avoids academic "burn out"

Weaknesses of the Delayed Academics Approach:

• Hard to explain to others
• May delay learning longer than necessary 

Related Links:

Moore Foundation