Please do! I would be interested in hearing about your management of such a large age gap between kids.
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Please do! I would be interested in hearing about your management of such a large age gap between kids.
is this still valid, i would love some info on homeschooling also i am in QLD and have a 7yr old, almost 8yr old
Evening all just popping in again.
Thanks for this thread BB. Nice to be able to chat to others about homeschool related stuff as well as BB stuff.
Age gap between children.
It's a non issue for me.
We have a routine and we always follow the routine as boring as it is, so the kids know what comes next and they don't have to ask me all the time.
dd is 6 so she needs a lot of help right now and still needs prompting and ds does need help from time to time. But he gets himself started and asks for help if he needs it.
I guess you could say we tag team it. I help each of the children when they need it but sometimes they have to wait till I have finished with the other.
We do study stuff together such as Historyand some unit studies. Both the kids really really enjoy it. The biggest difference is theat ds digs a little deaper into them than dd but thats cause he's older and capable, enthusiastic and super interested.
One child is first year primary and the other first year secondary, so very different educational needs. But it's not as hard as it sounds really. At first I was truly worried but now we have settled in it's fine and really I'm not sure what I was so worried about. Yes the children are at different levels, very different, but really it's all about routine for us.
Dd finishes her work a lot sooner than ds so she gets to run off and play while ds and I do the harder stuff.
At this stage it has not been an issue.
Hi All,
Popping in to ask a question of any and all who read this thread.
I got a GREAT bargain at our local library yesterday and was able to get my hands on about three dozen National Geographic magazines (most year 2000 or earlier) for only $4!
My question is how do I use them!!
Should I keep the magazines intact and store them until my children are older (as a lot of the content is not appropriate for younger children) or should I tear them apart a bit?
I was thinking of perhaps going through them and carefully removing the photographs of any and all animals and perhaps laminating some and putting some in an envelope for craft and projects???
What do you all think?
For someone who used to teach primary school I am feeling like a failure at the moment!!
Hi All,
It is very quiet in here but I'm hoping someone will have some thoughts/suggestions for me.
DS1 is writing very well now and is so enthusiastic about it and spends a good portion of each day doing some writing.
However, he insists on writing in all capitals except for the letter "i" which he insists must be lower case.
How much should I encourage him at this point to write with both capitals and lower case?
I had been thinking of homeschooling, but put the idea out of my head as I never thought dh would go for it. Then this weekend just gone, both MIL and DH suggested it.
Other than education QLD, could someone pm me a list of sites to look at? At this point, it's just trying to figure out if it's right for us.
Thanks heaps for your help!
I am interested in this thread to....we have 3 boys under 4, my eldest is due to start prep next year and I have been reluctant to pop him name down at any school!
We have talked about homeschooling since he was a baby, but we are not well off financially and i want to go to uni part time next year. We don't have much family to help with the kids, and they are currently in daycare a few days a week so i can get everything done and my son does go to preschool. He loves it, but is still hasn't made friends, he loves to play!
Definately not sure of what to do, it is a big lifestyle hange and means I can't go to uni if that is the path we go down... :(
What to do! Any advice? :wall:
lilprecious75
With handwriting I sugest a handwriting/copy work book such as Getty Dubay, or Targeting handwriting.
These type books have both upper and lower case letters to trace and copy to encourage young writers. There are also free handwriting books available online that you can print out.
There are many different styles of writing to choose from and that is the hardest part. There are also font programs available. You pay for the font, it's comes with a tracable type and a dotted type the children can use as they gain confidence, if you have the money to spend on this type of thing it's real value. A once off payment of approx $50. and you just type it up on word and print it out for your child to use.
sconeonamission
Try dedicated homeschool forums such as Rockpoolhomeschool.com the ladies are well informed and can direct you to where you need to go. YOu should also try Home Education Assocation(hea.asn.au) and Homeschool Education network
(home-ed.vic.edu.au)
3cheekyboys
What about internet based uni courses such as open uni? or other online uni's. There are quite a few "normal" uni's that offer courses online.
My advise to anyone interested in homeschooling is to definatly look at the dedicated homeschool forums. There is a wealth of information about homeschooling in general. Such as rockpoolhomeschool.com aimed at Aus. and NZ. (prod.Aus)
Not to mention dedicated homeed web sites such as HEA and HEN both australian based sites(both listed in above post).
I think the key is research, research, research.
There are several different homeschool styles to look at and decide which is right for you. From "school at home" to "Natural learning" Just to name two.
Homeschooling can be as cheap (library card) or as expensive as you can afford.
Enjoy your research
I'm looking into Unschooling at the moment - I'm going to be looking after my nephews a couple of days a week (2 1/2 and 1 1/2) and I want to do more with them than watch Wiggles! The eldest has some speech problems and ASD tendencies, so I'd like to try and work on that as well. Hoping for some firsthand experience from peeps, as well as some you beaut links :)
I don't unschool so have nothing useful for you sorry. I don't even have friends that unschool to ask.
I take an eclectic, classical style.
Ask Mr Google he'll be able to point you in some sort of direction surely. Well I hope so.
Good luck with your search.
Can you post your findings please so others can look at the unschool style as well?
Thanks. Sorry again.
Hi,
I havent' had a chance to read all of the posts in this thread but I will get around to it :)
My first born won't start school (prep) until 2014 when she turns 5 so we have another couple of years. We have a wonderful public primary school just 5mins walk from our house which has a fantastic reputation in our community & a great private school for when our girls are in high school years, however lately DH and I have been looking into the homeschooling option and considering it. I am at the research stage, finding out as much as I can about it, the different ways to HS, the different styles of HS, what it involves, the commitment involved, how it impacts the other siblings in the family etc.....the social aspect of homeschooling etc.....
Thanks for all the great references and links in this thread, I have a lot of reading to do!!!! :)
I posted in the homeschool thread however it's not a highly active thread so thought I'd start one here.
I've been researching homeschooling for my kids, even though the eldest is only 3yrs, I want to look into it all now. HS really, strongly appeals to DH and I & has so many advantages to not only the child, but the family as a unit.
Just interested to hear from any BB members who homeschool their kids?? Surely there are a few of you out there?
I know I can be their teacher because I can read & write and I'm so passionate about my children's education and their journey in learning. It's understanding the full commitment of it all etc that I need to look into it.... knowing that there is always school around the corner if the HS doesn't work out as planned.
This thread is not open for a debate on homeschool Vs classroom schooling either.
And any recommendations, information, you can provide would be wonderful :)
Grab a copy of the curriculum your son would follow if he were in mainstream school and make sure that's your minimum target.
Aim for an outing at least once a week too - a park can be educational (I mean, schools do pe, right?) as can a museum. Sometimes you'll need the change of scene just to avoid going crazy! Also have a dedicated "sit down and work" place and time. Most things can be learnt through fun and cooking dinner with you is a lesson, not a chore, but sitting and actually doing some pen/paper work every day and in that routine, even if it doesn't seem much, is important.
I'm not a HSer, but I was HSed for some of my primary education and wish I could HS DS.
:bump: :)
Heaven, :lol: I was just coming in to do this.... thanks.
Flying Butter - thank you for your post.
I'm very interested and have done some reading about it too. There are loads of homeschool networks, although most seem to be religion based.
You need to be registered and have your teaching 'plan' reviewed regularly, but it seems pretty sight forward.
I would only homeschool of normal school doesn't suit my children, but I'm certainly going to be prepared just in case! I especially like the idea of homeschooling in high school.
Double post
Have sent a PM
I wish I could! There is loads of Steiner/Waldorf stuff out there you could use and adapt as some of it is from the US. Check out The Parenting Passageway blog. She has wonderful parenting stuff on there as well as homeschooling info and links to many other blogs who homeschool. There are loads of networks around as well as websites where you can look up VELS frameworks etc. (Vic? - not sure what the other states are called -brain blank!)
Thing is for most homeschoolers, they do have a curriculum but it is nothing like a "school" curriculum as they teach through life. They may do maths in the garden while planting veggies and counting their harvest and then do storytelling and writing as a part of story time before nap time or while washing dishes etc. ITMS! That is what I love that it is life based and fits in around you rather than trying to fit a curriculum into your life! Good luck hun!
That sounds more like Natural Learning than actual curriculum-based homeschooling :):
I think anything is possible Shanti. I don't homeschoo, but I do know a lot who do (IRL and online) and you don't have to be registered, but it is highly recommended and makes you look like you're doing the *right thing* kwim? But I would definitely follow a curriculum of some sort to give you an idea of what they are supposed to learn. All the syllabus' for each state are available online as there is some variation between the state but not much. One thing I do know a lot of HSers find hard is time management and fitting in all other daily household tasks etc so that is something to consider as well.
I was homeschooled in a 'natural learning' style and if we homeschool that's definitely the approach I'd take. Despite no formal learning we all did really well at Uni and I think that the natural learning approach is a much more exiting way to learn. My only concern with homeschooling is whether I could hack being out of paid employment for years. We'll see what the future brings and what our kids need
I'd love to homeschool but I love the socialisation they get from mainstream. Dd1 & dd2 just had to have two weeks off school and the amount of stuff we got through was amazing.
The best thing I have heard of with homeschooling is that it only takes about three hours to do all the work a day. Woohoo!
Good luck
Trill most of the blogs that I have seen and read from homeschoolers seem to do their curriculum in a natural learning style as they disagree with the rigidness and the way curriculum is taught in schools and that is the reason why they are homeschooling ITMS??? Yes they would have a guide of what they want to teach but if you are simply going to try and replicate what schools do I would send them to school :rofl: Thats JMO though!!
We homeschool have done now for 4 years.
I would say we follow a more structured aproach than those mentioned so far and are definatly more schooly then unschooly. I like to follow a clasical approach although with me being sick for the last few months with Hyperemesis gravidarum we did have a stint of natural learning although we are back to the workbooks now.
Depending on which state your in depends on the reporting and such. I am in Victoria and other than registering with the VRQA I have nothing else to do...well other than actully teach the kids.
Someone commented early on in this thread to obtain mainstream curriculum...or something along that line...sorry tired and short attention span today was up half the night with rather intense braxton hicks (though at one point I was sure I was in labour but all is well baby still where it should be, all be it mummy brain fog is severe today)
Ok back to the topic. Personally we found this approach rather stifiling and unproductive and rather damaging to our whole homeschooling vibe actully rather counter productive.... School curricula is structured for a class room environmet not on a one to one level..some of the activities are, well, less than ideal for a homeschool situation so we sorce our own curricula suitable for a homeschooling environment and each childs learning style (we taylor school for each child) and we choose to ignor the essential learning standards as well. The reason we avoid them is due to several different the main one reason being......for us we intent to homeschool indefinatly we have no intention to stop...therefore we encourage the kids to learn at the level they are at, not at where the system dictates they should be. For example ds has dyslexia and if still at school would be in year 7 at highschool....If we followed the standards he would be doing english well above his comprehension level and therefore not getting anything from it other than confusion and frustration, yet his maths is well above grade level so he would not be challenged and find school work bording at best. If we followed the standards we would be fighting an up hill battle to educate him. He spend a good few hours doing formal studies although the length of time he spends doing school work depends entirely on his level of commitment and focus each day.
DD is a bright 6 year old and would be in grade 1 now if she went to school. For her, I never looked at the standards till late last year due to a friend who is a school teacher and homeschools, stressing about her dd same age but thats a whole other story. Now if we had of followed and covered the standards she would have missed out, not florrished like she did. I discovered when I actully looked at the standards we had covered and exceeded the essential learning standards for the year with dd who at the time I looked was on grade level with all her subjects although was almost past with both reading and maths.
The standards are there for teachers to basicly check each child off against to make sure they are where they should be at, to make sure each student hasn't been lost in the system.
The standards have not been designed for a homeschool situation which is entirely different. As registered Victorian homeschoolers we are required to follow the 8 key learning areas which are totally different to the Essential learning standards and now of course with the advent of the Naional learning standards. Imo it's all just gobbildy gook to spook parents off homeschooling their children and to leave it to the Government. Personally I find this quite scary I mean would you let the government dictate to you your childrens bed time routine down to the one kiss only policy? No of course not.
Providing your children are learning and flourishing you have no need to worry about Essential Learning standards. Each child learns at their own rate and no standards can change that. Some kids learn quicker, others learn slower, it's just the way it is.
For dd6 when she was in prep formal school work only took around one and a half hours. What you have to concider is that I was not waiting for 24 other kids to set up and pack up, no keeping hands busy and no herd management. Just one on one time and formal learning takes no time at all. She loves it.
Socialisation is often bought up by non homeschoolers as an issue which it's not, and funnily enough when I was at school I was constantly being told I wasnt there to socailise so go figure?
There are many "social outlets" for homeschool children. In fact I would say the parents of homeschoolers try very hard to socalise their children. There are many opportunitys for homeschool children to socailse with other homeschool children such as park days and social groups specially designed for homeschoolers not forgetting to mention some groups also run excursion and group classes for homeschool kids only and usually run during schoolhours. Not to forget scout groups and sport groups and the like. My kids like their sports so are active with schooled children in swimming, basketball, horse riding, ballet and other groups and activities that involve homeschool kids. To begin with I found the homeschooling groups hard to find but since I have been homeschooling for a while I have found due to the level of difference out there homeschoolers tend to keep to themselves and can be hard to find at times.
Many groups are religious but there are just as many secular groups around it's all in asking the right questions.
A few homeschoolers in my local area discoverd we are all here and started up a park group, the majority are secualr (non religiuos teaching) and some are religious. We all respect each others differences so it works well but as we are all homeschoolers we all know it's about providing support to each other through homeschooling not based on your religion or lack there of. Not all groups are this way inclined.
Support forums there are a few australian groups online although I must agree most I have come across are of a religious nature.
There is one called Rockpoolhomeschool it is a dot com group no au. that is very inclusive. Actully I prefer this group to some of the other forums. Everyone is just so nice and inclusive and ready to assist you.
I do know there are several natural learning forums but as I'm not a natural learner I have not sought to find them.
There is also groups like Home education network and homeschool assocation there are fee to be paid for these two groups but they are an in valuable tool when you first start and I do know if your interested the Home education network can provide you with a list of names and detais of other members if you include yours on the list so you can network with others.
Homeschooling is a commitment, but well worth it.
Thanks so much everyone for your posts, particularly from scratch's post.
Fromscratch - I found that forum a few days ago actually and signed up! So far it's been very resourceful and full of info!! So much reading to do.....!! Thanks for your post. :D
Wow, it's such a huge decision whether or not to HS or do mainstream. There are sooo many advantages to HS over the mainstream system.
The big question for me is - "can I fully commit to it?" and how hard will it be? :lol:
Funny thing is, my Mum is actually a primary school teacher, so I'm trying to imagine what she's going to say when I (if I) announce that we'll be homeschooling the girls :rofl: :rofl:
For me when dd was little and we decided to homeschool her I actully found it rather easy and a big relief. It's easy when they want to learn. Ds on the other hand had been in the system for some time and he's another different kettle of fish all together. He's hard to keep motivated. It was hard in the beginning trying to encourage him to want to learn again. School ruined his love of learning.
I must say the hardest part of homeschooling is dealing with others oppinions (often miss guided oppinions) of what homeschooling actully is and of course the fall out of that. But on the most part people are quite good about it. Family on the other hand can be different again.
My friends were initally quite scathing and I think as most were school teachers saw it as a knocking of their professions and took us homeschooling as an insult.
My dad has always been supportive as his education sucked! My Mum initally wasn't on board and kept trying to get us to do distance ed....she's cool now but I have to keep reminding her, just cause we are home she can't visit us in the mornings or even call as we are doing school....constantly reminding her actully!
My Inlaws were fine with us homeschooling ds as he is a stepgrandchild but when it came to dd wow they hit the roof. Poor poor them..it really is their problem not mine and I was quick to point out that they educated their children how they wanted and now as dd is MY CHILD I will educate her as I see fit.....I fight back unlike dh who is more of a roll over and show his belly type.
Both of our siblings one mine one his, are both strongly in the worst thing you could do camp. Mine has one school age child his has none.
My niece has been moved three times in three years as they moved for better work sits and she is not coping at all well so I scoff at mine's oppinion. Mine are settled in and learning to their potential and happy and content at home. Hers is constantly in trouble for nasty bullying behaviour and had fallen behind in a serious way.
His as mentioned is a s.i.n.k's bloke really has no idea.
I have pointed out to them all, that none of them actully know anyone that has been homeschooled so really they have no clue what they are on about. Us on the otherhand do know a woman in her 20's who was homeschooled. She is a lovely person, bright, articulate, everything you'd want in a child and a lovely grown up. so blegh!
I grew a very thick skin! and it sure does see me through just fine. I usually respond with something comical right back at them now when acosted. tee hee!
As some one who was HS'd & grew up with lots of friends who where also HS'd, I can honestly say there are endless types of curriculum to choose from.
The curriculum I was taught from mostly is ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) it's very bible based workbook packs (PACEs) not the easiest to teach & originally American based. (not the best one out there but it's what my parents chose)
My favourite is the LEM phonics method (Light Educational Ministries) yes it started out as I religious based curriculum but you can easily teach it without the the religious aspects if you want.
My advice is to see what curriculum empowers you to understand what are teaching your kids & gives you confidence in what you are doing (some offer a course to help parents understand the curriculum & tips on teaching).
A tip from a friends who is a qualified teach & HS her own kids.
"if people give you grief about HS, point out that you are giving your children the one-on-one attention with their education that they won't get in a mainstream school." children thrive with one-on-one attention.
Chris
DS1
DD
DS2
#4 due Sep
Thanks so much Chrispe!
That last line is so true!!! I will definitely use that one if I decide to HS and I'm sure I will need to say that a few times indeed!!!!
Yeah it's good to know a lot of those religious curriculums can be taught with the religion components taken out as we are a non-religious family. :D
I can't believe how much there is to read on this HS topic, it's insane!!! I am a bit overwhelmed TBH, just looked at so many you tube videos and now I feel I have exhausted that, I am now looking at different homeschooling websites and then finding so many resources/websites on those sites!!
Good thing DD1 is only 3yrs old so I have some time up my sleeve to research and think about all this.
Chrispie brings up some very relivant points in her post.
I teach with prodominatly religious based curriculum and as a secular (non religious) family I delete the religious content from each relevant subject as we go.
I have found most secular families I know who are schooly do this easily.
It is very easy in the early days to become overwhelmed with all the information that is available.
Slow down and take one step at a time. Your little people are still little, so I suggest you have a look around at the different styles and see which apeals to you and then work from there. There really is no rush.
Please remember that if you do decide to homeschool your not locked into it for your childs entire academic life. If it dosn't suit your family or child you can always send your child to school. Same is true for schooled children. I took my eldest out of the school system when he was in grade three.
Good luck, take it slowly :)
Hi is this thread still active? I'd be interested to hear how homeschool is going for the op's. I'm reading Free Range Learning to get me started. The School system & it's naplan shenanigans doesn't interest me. I know there's a better way for all our children. :)
Hi inky, I hope a few other members will join us too. :)
hi all.
We are just starting our homeschool journey. We aren't registered yet, DD is only 5, but I am treating this as her kingergarten year. We can register in about 6 mths.
We are fortunate to be a part of a great homeschool network (HENCAST) and have about 6 local families to hang out with. I love that we can be with people of all ages (our group is baby - grandparents). We meet once a week. This week the kids organised their own cross country (the local school was having one). Next week we are celebrating a birthday. Some times we do craft, or sports, or tour something. We alternate between houses/properties. The more experienced homeschoolers are full of ideas....we are getting there!
We got to the library once a week and ABA meetings fortnightly. We also occasionally do a Big Outing with the HENCAST, as DD gets older we can do more things. Recently we saw a play (james and the giant peach) and toured the glassworks and coming up is an activity for littlies at the botantic gardens.
I guess I would fit the 'natural learning' style. I have workbooks for different things and DD dictates if and when we will do some. She is interested in reading and writing. I use the 5 key learning areas from the NSW dep ed site to guide us, so I can put a portfolio together, so when we register I can show what we are doing.
I'd be interested to hear how others have found the registration process.
Fromscratch - Ive applied to join that forum almost 2 weeks ago and have yet to receive my email do you know how long it takes?
Hi all. Looking into homeschooling ds1 who is 12. Were in wa so any advice or help would be awesome
It shouldnt take that long? Mine was within 12hrs from memory?! I can't remember exactly but it wasn't long at all, maybe even instant? I have serious brain fog at the moment!:
Try again or check junk mail ?
I have a question, although ds is only a bub! With the religious curriculums, is it just like standard subjects plus a religious subject, or is the religious influence across most/all subjects?
Excuse my sucky spelling, I'm on my iPhone
I plan to homeschool DS. As an ex Primary and Secondary teacher, I have not found much in the school system (in both of the countries I have taught in) that makes me want to send him to school. I also don't see the point in me spending all day devoted to other people's kids while I could be doing the same with my own child at home!
Here in the UK there are quite a few parents who homeschool and you can even unschool here. I am already a member of a localish homeschool group although I haven't taken DS to any of their meetups yet because he is still only small and I don't have a car to get there. However I am thinking of setting up my own in my town, so transport won't be an issue and more regular meetups will be possible.
On a side note, someone mentioned how all the schoolwork can be done in three hours when homeschooling and I am not surprised. It probably would be the same in schools if the day wasn't taken up with so many interruptions and delays that occur because of behaviour management, crowd control and the general logistics of trying to cater for thirty little individuals and making sure they are where they should be at the right time and place! How many minutes are eaten up with lining up, getting them all to listen, making sure they are attentive, sitting down, looking the right way etc etc, handing out equipment, cleaning up afterwards etc? I am sure the actual learning and working time is only about three hours!!! LOL!
Yeah exactly!! So much time is spent in schools with all that where the kids are waiting or lining up or like you said crowd control stuff happening.... I read for a child being educated at home at the age of 5-6 they only really require at the most 1hr of one-on-one attention with the parent and even then that is broken up into 15min intervals with mini breaks as kids this age still have short attention spans!! They are more productive if given more mini breaks I'm sure.
So by 11am most days they could be finished and spending time chilling out or playing with their siblings (if they have them) or reading, playing outside, being KIDS!!
And for all that read 'the real learning'!!! Being a kid, exploring their world around them, unstructured play etc etc! Active participants in their world instead of docile passive little fact reciters...oops you didn't want debate about the disadvantages of school or HS ;):