Modern Homeschool Today

2018 marks our 6th year of learning, laughing (and crying) together at home. When we first began homeschooling the most common question after, "But, how will you stay sane?" was "But what on earth will you do for highschool????". I had no idea - my son was 6 and secondary education seemed a million years away.... Then... just like that we have an almost 12 year old ready for highschool. ME: Did you realise year 7 is the beginning of highschool? HIM: Nope. So am I going to go to a highschool? ME: Oh...um, do you want to go to a highschool? HIM: No - not really. And so begins those 'highschool' years - at home. After initially freaking out about what I needed to change to get more 'serious' about schoolwork and put a stop to all this 'fun' we were having,  I received some wise advice. If what you are doing is working - why do you need to change anything just because he's in highschool? So I cancelled the book...

One of the first trips we took when we began homeschooling 5 years ago was to the Northern Territory. We spent time with good friends and immersed ourselves in Aboriginal culture. We learnt so much about the beauty of one of the oldest cultures in the world.  But I was ashamed to admit that most of what I learnt was new to me.  I don't remember learning about the stolen generation in school or that the Aboriginal people killed / massacred by the colonists numbered in the hundreds of thousands wiping out entire languages and tribes. I don't remember learning about how colonists actively infected the Aboriginal people with disease in an attempt to wipe them out. I didn't know that almost 100% of Tasmanian Aboriginal people were murdered. I didn't know that white people introduced alcohol into Aboriginal communities as a way to manipulate and control the Aboriginal people.  This new knowledge seemed to cast a shadow on the idea that the first settlers were her...