Home Ed Stories

Family Values and Time

Belinda Lee When did society start to put family values behind those of progress and being ahead? Increasingly, what we are witnessing in society is a way of life which chases a notion of being better, being smarter, having more and having done more. When we talk about family being central to the happiness of a child, we are suddenly seeing a societal climate that

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Home Ed Stories

Homeschooling Mum

By Alison Mazza  As a homeschooling mum all I seem to do is rush from here to there,  With barely any time to even brush my hair. It’s always ‘quick, everyone, shoes on and out the door’, No time now for all those last-minute chores.  Then once we’re safely in the car the questions start.  ‘Mum, what’s faster, a three- or four-wheel cart?’  And

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Concerns and Confidence

Struggling – Part 1

Indrani Perera I’m really struggling with home-ed at the moment. I’m finding spending pretty much 24/7 with the kids quite gruelling.  My husband and I tried both of us working part time and getting a business of the ground. It was awesome – I felt much happier sharing the load. He was the sport teacher at our “school”. The kids loved time with dad

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Concerns and Confidence

Remembering Why I Chose This Life – Part 2

In our last issue Indrani confessed to struggling with home education. A low point such as this can be a valuable to reassess our reasons for home education and progress. It was honest and brave of her to share her thoughts at such a low point but, as you can read below in this article, a quiet summer has given Indrani time to reassess

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Concerns and Confidence

Dear Indrani – Part 3

John Barratt-Peacock In our last issue Indrani confessed to struggling with home education. A low point such as this can be a valuable to reassess our reasons for home education and progress. It was honest and brave of her to share her thoughts at such a low point but, as you saw in the last article, a quiet summer has given Indrani time to

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Home Ed Alumni

Home Educated Olympian

Thousands of us watched as Oceana represented Australia in women’s sport climbing. Here we learn a little more about her. Meet Oceana Mackenzie Nineteen-year-old Oceana is the youngest of six sisters who were always home educated using a natural learning style. Her parents are from New Zealand but were living in Germany when Oceana was born, and moved to Melbourne when she was very

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Key Learning Areas

Exploring Options for the Languages KLA

Parents considering their options for the Languages key learning area (KLA) are often concerned that they will not be able to meet the requirements. Fortunately, there are a wide range of options, so even parents who have never studied another language can relax. Home ed language learning does not need to look like school for a number of reasons: You can choose your language

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Home Ed Stories

River Education

John Barratt-Peacock This account was told to me when I was interviewing hundreds of home educating families across Australia for my doctoral research.  You live in the city? Check! There will be a waterway somewhere and even if it is not as rustic as the one in this story, it will reveal great treasures to those who befriend it!  === It was my husband’s idea

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engineering drawing
Higher Education and Careers

Non-year 12 entry to university: an example

Non-year 12 entry to university: an example Home educated students have successfully applied to universities all around the country using non-year 12 pathways. In Victoria, high school students at school typically sit their VCE exams and receive their ATAR, which then allows them to enrol in a university degree if certain requirements are met. But what do you do when home educated kids can

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Advice for Home Educators

A Safe Place to Land

Pavlina McMaster A little over a year ago, we moved out of our community of 20 years. I was excited to find a mould-free rental with a back yard, but at the time, there were so many unknowns. How was I going to find friends for my kids? How was I going to find the same support level? Was I going to find adults

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HEN News

VHEAC Election – Candidates Information

The VHEAC election is now open and all registered home educators have received voting instructions from the VRQA. If you did not receive your email, contact them on 9637 2806 or home.schooling@education.vic.gov.au You can find their nomination blurbs below. Voting opens on Aug 2 for two weeks ===================== The Victorian Home Education Advisory Committee (VHEAC) provides feedback to us and the VRQA about the

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Home Ed Stories

Well, we are up for Review!

Well, we are up for Review! Catherine Durrant Our family has been chosen as one of the families to have a review. Although Paul and I were against the review process and any changes to the regulations, we have no choice but to be open to the reviews and use it to our advantage. We feel the reviews will be a good opportunity to

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Lessons on the Road

Cheryl Dedman I am from Tatura in Victoria and I home educate our son Jacob (11). My husband Pete, Jacob and I have just embarked on an eight-week trek through parts of South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and NSW. Our adult son is home, caring for our ‘Castle’, whilst we travel in our portable ‘Castle’ which some may call a caravan. This is the second

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Home Ed Stories

Home-Ed Friendships

Jacqui Rickard The Rickard family have shared some amazing home ed adventures on the road by car and bike. See Otherways issues 141 and 143 for details. They are Jacqui, James, Nathanael (13) Ezekiel (12) Levi (11) Joash (8) Elijah (6) and Adeline (3). Here Jacqui talks about their pursuit of home ed friends on the their latest adventures in America.   At home in

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Advice for Home Educators

Socialisation – JBP

John Barratt-Peacock “But what about socialisation?” is the second most asked question of home educators. Why? If you want a technical definition of socialisation Berger and Luckmann will tell you that it is about relating to others, learning to fit into your allocated place in society and that school attendance is vital for accomplishing it. For over fifty years home educators have been demonstrating that the

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Home Ed Stories

7 Precious Years of Home Education

Jane Sultana I live in Moe, Victoria, and have two sons aged 12 and 10 . Until the beginning of 2016 neither son had been to school.  I chose home education primarily because I really enjoyed spending time with my children and did not want to hand them over to others for a large part of each day. Secondly, having worked as a primary

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Home Ed Stories

Mental Health and Home Education

By Belinda Lee Sometimes it’s difficult to write a post on how our days have been. And this isn’t because it’s difficult to write about. Simply, every time I write about how wonderful, amazing and fulfilling a day has been, I realise that it absolutely comes across as arrogant, conceited and, to be honest, showing off. This is never the intention.  You see, most

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HEN News

Otherways needs you!

Otherways is Australia’s longest running alternative education magazine, produced quarterly by a team of HEN volunteers. Otherways supports you by bringing together an amazing collection of stories and advice from home educating families willing to share their experiences with others. This makes Otherways truly a community effort!  Putting together a 50 page+ magazine is no small feat and takes at least two months to

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