The Educating Parent (merging Beverley Paine's Homeschool Australia and Unschool Australia)

Summary of feedback about homeschool packages

Sept 2022

I've collected together feedback about different Aussie homeschool packages from comments in the group over the past couple of years. I'll keep adding to this list from time to time, plus add other products as they come up.

SIMPLY HOMESCHOOL

PRO

Not online
Structured, but not too structured
They provide the lessons, which the parent needs to print, parent has to buy the books and supplies
Fairly cheap
Allows you to choose what interests the kids, follow those 'cores', delve deeper into interests
Kids complete work before lunch
Organises homeschool camps
Interesting
Easy to use and understand, lessons and activities are easy to follow
Hands-on activities
Focus on books, discussion and activities relating to those, doesn't use textbooks or workbooks
Aligns with Australian curriculum, includes outcome codes
Relatively inexpensive way to homeschool multiple children
Younger kids enjoyed the cores
Impressed by quality of the core activities
Prompt customer service with inquiries and questions, support group
New cores added frequently
Up to year 10 level
More of a resource rather than a curriculum as it offers choices rather than prescribe set learning

CON

Considerable immediate additional cost for materials needed
No refunds if the parent changes their mind without using the materials
Confusing, difficult to navigate website
Disappointing customer service
Not online
Many families supplement Simply Homeschool with other programs such as Reading Eggs or Maths Online, therefore it isn't a complete curriculum for them
Kids didn't like the lessons (no reason supplied)
Pay a monthly or yearly subscription
Can't just buy one core
Tweens and teens didn't like the cores
A lot of work for the child and parent
Lots of prepping for lessons by the parent needed
Trial was too limited to get a feel for what it was about

EUKA

PRO

Online platform
Very school-like, highly structured, basically school-at-home
Organised, super easy to follow, great for first year, basic but good starting point
Flexible, adaptable to suit family requirements, able to be tweaked
"You grade the work and tick it off online when it is done. They give you an entire info and planning booklet on lessons, what to keep as examples of work, etc. Lessons are divided weekly for easy planning."
"If you want to do one full subject only each day you can or if you want to do a lesson from week 9 then you can. You decide which lessons to do and when."
Older kids can use without supervision, work and revise at own pace
Access to year 12 certificate
Will personalise learning plans
Kids finish homeschool work quickly, usually in a couple of hours
Simple lessons, engaging and exciting, fun
Easy to follow, work at your own pace
Hands-on and crafty, fun activities for lower year levels
Helpful with support and extras available
$199 per term
Free trial
Makes registration application process easier
Uses Swirk for maths, Literacy Planet for English (both are available separately to Euka)
Need to add music and language other than English
Worth it for the peace of mind to get through registration

CON

Basically school-at-home, highly structured
Requires parent supervision, one-on-one with the kids
Considerable set up for lessons/activities
Online platform, need good online access
Confusing mix of different learning platforms
A lot of lessons linked to YouTube videos
Resource more than a curriculum, had to supplement with other resources
A lot of printing is required, worksheet based
'every lesson for every subject every day in every learning style' promise didn't match children's learning styles
Required 'on the fly' gathering of resources to make lessons work, including some hard to find at home materials
Repetitious, boring, dull
Used less than half of the content
Not in-depth enough
Inappropriate and inaccurate content
Expensive, over-priced
Too many games for maths
Lollies feature in many of the games and activities
Less logically structured in the upper year levels
Need to supplement with other resources/programs for maths
A lot of silly busy work, pointless busy work, dead-end work
Children found boring
Oriented around group learning so not appropriate for single children living rural
Increasing resistance to engage with materials
Full of spelling and maths errors, mis-named files, missing information, broken links,
Poor quality and inappropriate resources
Poor quality material
Long delays when seeking support
Missing documents, insufficient information in parent pages, inaccurate information provided on the phone
Not suitable for different aged kids in a family
Too hands-on with craft activities, doesn't suit all children
Many families supplement with other Math and English resources/programs other than those provided in the package
Have to pay a fee if you cancel
Only get access to purchased courses for 18 months before content disappears, can't use for younger children
Didn't end up using the plan they wrote
$199 per term
Regretted purchase as proved to be unnecessary after a few weeks of homeschooling
Doesn't include evaluating or recording of children's progress: parents have to fill out the paperwork

Education Perfect
*** no longer providing access to its platform for home educating families

My Homeschool

Pro

5-16 years old
Rich, well-rounded 'classical' complete curriculum, 'relaxed' Charlotte Mason approach
Christian worldview
Covers requirements of Australian Curriculum
Easy for the parent to use, flexible, not overly prescriptive
Older students can use independently
Students submit work which is assessed and responded to by My School
Help with registration, good customer support
Good to build confidence before creating own curriculum plan

Con

Can get expensive, need to purchase books used in the program as well as term fees
Stopped using after a month
Don't use it for everything, supplements needed

Homeschool in a Box

Pro

Doesn't rely on the internet, not screen based
Children love receiving the parcel
Can select subjects, works well for children who are working at different levels in different subjects
Easy to use
Everything included
Weekly guide included
Price includes delivery
Provided a structure, helpful when getting started
Uses a lot of Australian resources
Follows a Charlotte Mason approach

Con

need to supplement or replace parts of their curriculum to meet family's needs

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Beverley Paine with her children, and their home educated children, relaxing at home.

Together with the support of my family, my aim is to help parents educate their children in stress-free, nurturing environments. In addition to building and maintaing this website, I continue to create and manage local and national home educating networks, help to organise conferences and camps, as well as write for, edit and produce newsletters, resource directories and magazines. I am an active supporter of national, state, regional and local home education groups.