Modern Homeschool Today

Say what?  Socialisation is a benefit of homeschooling? Aren't all homeschoolers weird and unsocialized? Since homeschooling, I've discovered the home education community is very diverse and yes, there are children who display some unsavoury, unsocialized behavior at times - mine included - but you find children like this everywhere. Yes, even in schools. Sometimes parents are motivated to homeschool because their child struggles socially in mainstream school. Perhaps they are different, with a learning disability or giftedness or perhaps they are extremely introverted and shy. So, you may find that some parents homeschool BECAUSE their child is socially awkward. I t is not that homeschooling causes social awkwardness but moreso, that homeschooling becomes a solution when a child's self-esteem is threatened by an experience in a negative social environment (school). So how does homeschooling benefit socialisation ?  In order to answer this question ...

We are rel atively new to the hom e edu cation or homeschooling world . This s e ries on why we LOVE homeschooling is i nspired by all the questions I get asked about why we homeschool .  When people ask I usually reply with a different answer depending on what benefit of homeschooling I am enjoying most at that time. I also normally choose an answer that the person asking will understand or relate to in some way. I LOVE homeschooling! In fact, I sometimes feel I have discovered some sort of amazing secret that most people don't know about......and it is so liberating!     Homeschooling = Freedom from the rush of daily life Homeschooling affords us freedom from the rush of daily life. Although our days are (mostly) structured and sometimes busy we don't feel tied down. We are doing life on our own terms. I hate to admit it as some of my friends honestly believe I started homeschooling for this reason but I LOVE not doing the school run! I love ...

When planning our Northern Territory adventure we were told that Desert Park was the the must-see destination for homeschoolers. Upon arrival each child is given a set of headphones with a device so that they can find out more about each area by entering the corresponding number. This is a bit of fun for the older kids who can figure out how to use it and are willing to listen to the explanations. Get your walking shoes on..... You need your walking shoes on as there's a lot of walking through beautiful natural bush land. The path leads you around to different habitats unique to the Northern Territory including dessert rivers, ranges and gorges, sand country and woodlands along with information about how Aboriginal people lived off the land. I found that the most interesting realising just how intimately Aboriginal people knew the land and survived for centuries in such a dry climate. Go see the live show.....   It also has a center where you ...

  It was back to homeschool for 2013 for my boys yesterday.  This year I have a child in year 2, a son in reception and a three-year old (and of course, the baby).  One of the benefits of homeschooling is being able to work to our own schedule. I do a bit of contract work during school terms so homeschooling during holiday times means we (I) can get a few weeks of pure homeschooling without juggling work committments. We began the day with our new homeschool daily planner . The boys were really keen to see their new morning boards which I had prepared. I even introduced a morning board for DS3 which is really simple as I made the decision to begin including him in our morning routine the best I can. The day went relatively smoothly except for meltdowns during music. Sadly, I've realised that I am not the best person to teach my children music. I am many things and one is a musician and I am really passionate about seeing them succeed in this are...

The Christmas break has been an awesome opportunity for me to rest and reflect on what we want to achieve as a homeschool this year. I admit that I love planning for a new year and a few weeks ago I completed our homeschool daily planner for 2013 . So, now I thought I would list the curriculum we are planning to use for Term 1 and beyond. Devotion / Bible Study - 10 days of character studies  Confessions of a homeschooler is one of my favorite non-Australian blogs. It is beautifully written and she offers great insight, tips, curriculum reviews and also free material such as the character study  What I love about this character study is that it's ready to go and includes memory verses (which I print and laminate) as well as cute little apples to stick on the wall for each character trait which include patience, self-control, diligence,  honesty etc. Maths - Singapore Maths   I am a huge fan of Singapore maths. My boys both really love maths wh...

I find facebook a much easier way to follow the blogs I like. So, if you're anything like me you may prefer to follow or 'like' our facebook page to stay connected with updates. My vision for this facebook page is not to reinvent the wheel (there are lot's of excellent Australia homeschool community pages out there) but to focus on personal stories, blogs and experiences from other homeschooling parents in Australia. Are you a blogger?  If you are Australian and have your own blog, you are welcome to share your posts on this facebook page and link to your own site. So, click to 'like' and receive updates without filling up your inbox!

In light of my recent post a bout planning for a new homeschool year , I have put together a homeschool daily p lanner for 2013. Now, don't freak out !  It looks rigid but it is really just a guide to make sure all the imp ortant el ements are included each day . One of the benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility e.g i f maths is going awesome we may go longer and explore their questions or if my children are having a melt-down then we cut i t short and do something else.  T his planner is really the 'bare bones' and allows the kids to have a basic outline of what happens when.  The more detailed lesson planning comes later.  2013 HOMESCHOOL DAILY PLANNER Term 1 – 12 weeks 8:45 – 9:00             Morning Charts / Chores 9:00 – 9:15             Devotion / Bible Study 9:15 – 10:00  ...

While travelling in the Northern Territory we visited the Alice Springs Reptile Center. DS1 told me we HAD to see a crocodile while we were in the Northern Territory because otherwise the trip would be pointless! So, off we went. It was a fantastic opportunity for the boys to see and learn more about reptiles. It inspired many questions and opportunities for discussion as they were able to not only see snakes and lizards but also touch them. The reptile show was a good introduction to the world of reptiles and the kids were given the opportunity to hold a snake. It's not a large center so we took our time reading the information provided then finished our morning by visiting what we had all been waiting for - Terry the crocodile. The reptile center has an underground viewing area so you can see the crocodile up close and personal. It was fascinating. We stood for quite a while as he (she?) slowly moved through the water watching us very intentl...