|
Homeschool Australia!
Teach your children at home!
|
Have a homeschooling question?
Join our free support group |
| Home educate the easy way... simplify and save time... |
|||||
| "Thank you... The information you supply is real and generous - fantastic reading. I am so inspired... Your honesty is rare. Most books do not really explain 'how' as well as you do." Tracy "I cannot seem to get enough of your writings on the whole home ed subject! You portray a lot of wisdom, knowledge and experience..." Marie "A fabulous source of information and inspiration. I am very pleased to have some of your titles on my bookshelf... providing me with wonderful, detailed information and resources." Faye |
"Every time I read your writing it feels like a pat on the shoulder, and that feels really good...Thanks!" Maaike
|
||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home | Quick Guide | Articles Index | State Info | Resources | Blog | Beverley's Books | About Beverley Limited places available at National Homeschool CampFest 13-18 March Bowna (Albury) NSW - book now! |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
What To Do When the Children Don't Want to Homeschool...
© Beverley Paine, Dec 07 "We want to homeschool our three boys but they are so against it that I wonder if we should even try. I'm worried we will have them working against us from the start. So my question is - is this a normal response? We have plans to be socially active." It's not a typical reaction, but then again that's probably because most of the families that withdraw children from school to homeschool do because one or more of their children are encountering problems with schooling. These range from not being educationally challenged through to horrendous cases of bullying. You don't say when you intended to start homeschooling but I assume that because it is late in the year you will be looking at next year. Are you withdrawing them from public or private school? I'm not sure about private schools, as the arrangements for paying fees may mean that you would incur a financial penalty unless you organise withdrawing them this side of Christmas. However, if your boys are in a public school there is no reason why you can't arrange the withdrawal at the beginning of the next term, contacting your principal and the education authorities that oversee home education in your state on the first day back at school. Or the week before... I wouldn't be surprised if they would welcome this, as the last few weeks of the school year are exceptionally busy and no one really likes extra work to do then, whereas they all expect it at the start of a new year. : So, given you have plenty of time to make the necessary arrangements to withdraw your children, I would spend the next 6 to 7 weeks getting that alternative social program for your children happening. One of the most important aspects from their point of view is establishing regular out of school contact with their existing friends. I don't know how you feel about sleep-overs, but if you host a few of these throughout the holidays, maybe even take their best friends on a short holiday (camping trip perhaps at a national park, as this is the cheapest way to holiday). Demonstrate in real practical terms that home ed will mean plenty of access to these friends. If your boys aren't involved in after-school activities, now is the time to think about it. You could arrange for each of them to join an activity with a friend from school - think of scouts, taekwondo, sport, youth club, whatever. You may need to do all the running around, picking up and dropping off your boys' friends to encourage or persuade their parents that their kids really need this in their life. Alternatively, if your guys are keen on something like bmx or skateboarding you could cooridinate one night a week at the local track or park where you supervise a session for your sons and their friends. At the same time you need to become involved with the local or nearest homeschool group if there is one - you can begin to do this now, if you haven't already made contact. If there isn't a group near you find out where the nearest one is and make the effort to get along to one or two or more of the scheduled activities. Put a notice in the local library indicating that you are willing to meet other home educating families in your area. Start a local group that meets at a playground or other suitable place each fortnight. You have a couple of months to persuade your boys that no much will change in their social life once you begin to homeschool. Sure, they won't see their friends at lunch time, but that's only five hours a week and you're going to well and truly make that time up. If, at the begining of February, homeschooling still looks like such a dreadful proposition to them, then you there is a good chance will need to consider your question to me again. With luck you will have organised the issue out of existance! Click here for a full list of articles and pages on this website. |
SEARCH this site:
Be the first to find out about new Beverley's LATEST book
was LAUNCHED at the Unschooling Conference!
|
Need More Help?
Spend a WEEK!
The Homeschool Australia suite of websites is paid for by the revenue from Google Ads. Without this we could not continue to provide over 700 pages of information and articles to home educators. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Please join one of our yahoo groups
if you want to know more about
home education or have a question. |
Home Education Association
what to teach? See the Site Map for our
full list of articles.
Read All You Need Is...'
Home Education Directory
Thank you for visiting!
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.