Homeschool Australia

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Homeschool Australia!

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	Home educate the easy way... simplify and save time... Learn from experienced homeschoolers how to write your own curriculum.
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What Could Be Simpler Than A Natural Education?

© Beverley Paine

Natural learning emphasises a natural education and what could be more natural than children observing parents getting on with the busy of living, helping out every now and then when needed or convenient? Children needs lots of time to be children. That's what school curtails, or more specifically, rewrites child development to fit into the artificial social environment of the classroom.

Children don't want constant attention from parents, though it's a sensible parent who is within sight and sound of her youngsters. Children feel secure when they know there is someone supervising: there to pick up the pieces, kiss the wound better, intervene when emotions begin to get out of control, etc.

By living in front of and beside our children we are gifting them an excellent foundation for their adult life. Few children get the opportunity to 'play' house (garden, shopping, working, etc) for real long enough to feel truly confident as the end of childhood approaches. Nothing prepares a person for rearing children than hanging out with older and younger siblings all day, or getting together with bunches of children aged 0-18 on a regular basis!

By the time my eldest was 12 I had worked out that if I attended to my children's needs without hesitation (where possible) they were less demanding on my time. If I played with them for half an hour a day, or gave them my undivided attention for that span of time, they would generally keep busy and play nicely together. I would usually get anything from an hour to four hours of relatively uninterrupted time to myself. My youngest was six by this stage.

I think that because I was doing a lot with my children every day they were happy to leave me alone. Children who have recently left school can take up to a year to lose the dependence on the teacher for setting activities and directing them all day long. The only thing I can recommend in this situation is to have patience and try not to give in to their demands to be entertained or told what to do next.

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	Choosing Homeschool Curriculum
	Getting Started - how to write your own learning programs
	Natural Learning Answers
	Beverley's E-books
	Learning Without School - how 30 families homeschool
	The Homeschooling Trail - Christian unschooling life
	Learning in the Absence of Education - how we did it
	Practical Homeschooling Booklet Series - your questions answered!
	Educational Games Booklet Series - make learning fun!
	Practical Homeschooling Language Development Series
	Natural Learning Series
	Homeschool Diaries
	Ready to use Portfolios / Report Cards
	Sample Learning Programs
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Please note:
the information
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March 13th-18th 2012

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Home education is a legal alternative to school education in Australia. State and Territory governments are responsible for regulating home education. Different states have different requirements, however home educating families are able to develop curriculum and learning programs to suit the individual needs of their children. For more information visit the
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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.

The opinions and articles included in the suite of Homeschool Australia websites are not necessarily those of Beverley and Robin Paine,
nor do they endorse or recommend products (other than their own) listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements.