Deschooling, A work in Progress, Bridget Muhrer I loved school. I was that super cool kid who refused to skip classes with her friends, unless it was PE, or the last day of term. I enjoyed studying, I enjoyed writing essays, I enjoyed highlighting lines in books that might come in handy for a debate about the text. Without putting too fine a point
Tracey G ‘I will only do it if I know I won’t be hindering them from becoming an astronaut, orthopaedic surgeon or anything in between.’ These were my ‘famous last words’ words as my husband and I discussed the option of ‘trialling’ home education. Having had a private school education, tertiary opportunities, and a wonderful job in the medical-health profession, I was adamant this
New to home Education – Our Journey Catherine J. Our family is made up of me (Catherine, 37), dad (Darren, 40), Noah (son, seven), Joy (daughter, five) and Jemima (daughter, four). We have been home educating since January 2022. It was prompted by the uncertainty of how schools would fare throughout the pandemic, and the difficulties associated with remote learning. We decided it would
A week in the life of our home educating family (Sara) Sara I’ve been a home educating parent for almost nine years. We’ve always had a bit of an eclectic style, I prompt and strew a few activities, but the kids (now 12 and 14) have always been mostly self- directed learners as they have many interests to keep them engaged. The best thing
By Shweta S Every new home educator (and non-home educator) is always concerned about the social life of the home educated child. I think the concern is valid, especially from those adults who had an active social life at school and still enjoy life-long close friendships with their childhood friends. For many families, a school gives an out-of-the-box community that you can plug
By Kirsty James Unless the family situation is unusual, the HEN support team usually suggests interest based learning, which some people interpret to mean natural learning or unschooling (which is by definition interest based). However, interest based learning is relevant to every philosophy, and also to those who are new to home education and have not identified any particular style that appeals to them.
Normalise Reading By Pamela Euckerman When I was ten years old, we lived with my grandfather for seven months. He lived in an old stone house surrounded by lush farmland in Cornwall, in the south of England. The house had once been a butter factory and in his younger days my grandfather ran a nursery—he had a shop room, greenhouses and what he called
Unschooling Neurodivergent Kids Carla Clark Our family consists of mum, dad and two boys now six and three. We are unschoolers with our oldest going into ‘grade 1’ this year. Because we live in Victoria, we are lucky to have the flexibility and freedom to educate our children in a relaxed way that meets their needs. My husband and I are both at home
By Alicia Hoppit I stood in the hallway, just before the door. I steeled myself, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew what would come. “Why are you on your iPod?” “I’m not. I’m listening to music.” “It’s not good to have headphones in all the time.” “I need the music to help me concentrate on my work.” “Were you playing
Our Journey Prema Saraswatil Our journey should have started when our only child was four. But looking back on it, my ingrained schooling experience, friends, and family persuasion allowed me to brush it off for another six years. I was working fulltime and our three-year-old was in full-time day care/kinder. He loved every day of it. There was constant play, games, and creative outlet
Megan Blair Running a small business from home can be challenging at the best of times. Running a small business from home while you’re home educating your children adds a whole different level of challenge. Running a small business from home while you’re home educating your children and you’re a single parent is beyond just challenging. It’s absolute madness! For many years writer, Anaïs
What is a co-op and is it for you? A home education co-op (co-operative) can be a fantastic way for your kids to make connections and be exposed to a range of group activities. What is a co-op? An Australian co-op is quite different to an American one. Co-ops in the US are often parent-run schools where parents teach classes – complete with projects,
Joanna Bindon Over the 10 years of home-educating my three youngest children, my family has been almost continually involved in some type of homeschool group, which are now more commonly termed “co-ops”, short for “co-operatives”. Some have simply been groups meeting for a social play with an activity or two thrown in; others have been family groups where we shared in a regular activity
Lunch with … my mother (and my father comes along for the ride too) By Yi-Shuen Chan My seven-year-old son, not known for mincing his words, hits her with a doozy the moment Mum sits down, ‘Which is better, home education or school, and why?’ ‘Sammy,’ I tell him gently, ‘you know she’s basically preaching to the converted, right? Everybody who’s going to
Following their Interests Annie Regan In a recent conversation with a schooling family, I was asked the usual question about how I know what to teach the kids, and I gave my usual answer along the lines of, ‘We just follow their interests and all the learning is covered as part of that’. While this is definitely true, I realised that the picture that
