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How many hours a day? © Beverley Paine From the outset, recognise that children are learning every minute of every day. They are like sponges - when kept wet they don't seem to mop up much at all, but leave them alone and when a puddle happens they soak up so much. Of course, the more 'puddles' they have access to the better, although I am not an advocate of the 'smorgasbord' approach to education. Home education is more effective than classroom learning which less time needed on lessons. Plus you can take away the hours spent in managing and organising twenty plus other children that every school teacher has to take into account. If you set up your home so that thing are easy to tidy, within reach and accessible without needing your help to find them, you'll need a lot less time than any school teacher to impart the same skills and knowledge. And then, of course, not everything needs to be taught in the same way schools do - some happen much more naturally and in context of every day living. If you learn to recognise the informal learning as it happens throughout the day and name it using educational jargon - either as a skill, attitude, concept, piece of knowledge from each each subject area - you will soon realise just how much of the curriculum is already embedded within a busy, productive normal household! From there is it is easy to add topics and concepts that you feel are essential and important to your children's education without getting bogged down with trying to fit everything into each day! There is no need for a time table unless you or your child wants or needs one. Educational authorities across Australia realise that these belong in the classroom and serve to organise large numbers of people in relatively crowded conditions. We had a flexible timetable because it helped me to feel confident and organised. I used it in the same way I used the monthly calendar. Other people feel lost without a diary. If the authorities want to see a schedule and you don't have one, offer an outline of a 'typical day' instead. Every day will be different, so create a 'typical' one that is most representative of how you normally homeschool. Most families concentrate on maths and English in the morning, unit/themed studies in the afternoon as this generally suits the energy levels of younger children. Teens might prefer studying later in the afternoon or into the evening. If you are a night owl and your children are okay with staying up late too, then your homeschool day will probably start sometime after lunch! There is no hard and fast rules - whatever works for your family. As you can see, home education is very flexible. Keep records for a week, jotting down how long your children are busy doing their homeschool lessons. Add in the time they spend reading or playing on their own (these are educational activities too). Add in the time they spend watching documentaries on the television or listening to news services on the radio. Add in the time they spend doing the chores - either on their own or with you. Don't forget to add time spent with pets... Also write down how long you spent chatting to them, dicussing different thing that are important to them or you, problem solving, resolving conflict, etc. It is all educational! Divide the total number of hours by seven and you will know how many hours of instruction your children at getting being educated at home each and every day! From this exercise it is easy to see that your children are getting a lot more one-one instructional time than any school child could ever hope to receive. Plus they don't have to wait in line, wait until everyone else is finished before they can continue, or share scarce resources. And finally, here are some tips worth remembering that will help to ease the transition from school parent to homeschool parent:
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education in Australia. State and Territory governments are responsible for regulating home education and have different requirements, however home educating families are able to develop curriculum and learning programs to suit the individual needs of their children.
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Pioneering members of the home education movement in Australia, Beverley and Robin Paine are passionate advocates of true educational choice for families. They began homeschooling their children in 1986 and three years later started the South Australian Home Based Learners network.
Beverley wrote Getting Started with Homeschooling in 1995-97 and since then continues to write books and booklets on home education. She balances spending time helping home educators with working in her garden and renovating her home, as well as continuing to build her collection of writing on a variety of homeschooling subjects. Beverley maintains an extensive collection of websites as well as several Yahoo groups supporting families teaching their children at home.
In 2007 Beverley joined the HEA and was a committee member for three years during which time she edited and produced the HEA Newsletter, Stepping Stones for Home Educators magazine, annual Resource Directory and other HEA publications.
If you'd like to keep in touch with what Beverley is up to her in her life, sign up for the Homeschool Australia Newsletter or visit her Homeschool Australia Facebook page.nor do they endorse or recommend products (other than their own) listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements.