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Homeschool Australia
Teach your children at home!
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A Brief Outline of a Sample Home Education Learning Program
© Beverley Paine Home Education can be as varied as the individual families who choose to do it. There is no one right way to educate your children, and your learning program will reflect your family values and personal goals for your children. Many families begin with collections of text and work books, and then relax as they realise the enormous learning potential of normal, everyday living activities. Home education is flexible, dynamic and immensely satisfying! The following outline is an abbreviated sample of a learning program, suggested as a guide to help you devise your own. It is by no means complete, and has not been 'approved' by any educational authority in Australia. Philosophy We believe that we can best cater for our child's individual intellectual, social, emotional, physical and spiritual developmental needs, as we 'know' our children best and love them. We will provide a learning environment rich in educational resources and opportunities, catering to their individual learning needs and styles. It is our desire to allow our children to fully develop all of their unique talents and abilities by providing them with a non-competitive environment to enable them to learn at their own pace. We aim to offer a broad and basic education which will serve as a platform for continuous, life long learning, and launch our children into any desired direction, further study or employment. Our home education program is designed to promote the development of the following skills; communication, literacy, numeracy, analysis and problem solving, information processing, computing, technological, scientific, and work practices. We wish to encourage our children to develop an understanding of the roles of culture, science and technology in their lives, and an appreciation of Australian and world history, geography and cultural development. We hold in high regard the need to promote the development of tolerance and respect for all cultures, including the opportunity to learn another language and study another culture in depth. Different cultures and periods in history will be examined, mainly focussing on local, state and national cultural development, including use of mass media, historical and cultural institutions, and a variety of texts and people. These will be drawn from personal interest, cultural interest (special events, etc), and developed theme studies. It is our aspiration to develop an appreciation of The Arts (Visual, Performing, Music, Drama, Craft) and the opportunity to develop our children's personal artistic talents and abilities. Opportunities will be made for the development of critical appraisal and appreciation of the full range of artistic expression by other artists; with provision for the development and practice of artistic skills for expression and enjoyment. Our home learning program will promote an awareness of, and responsibility for, personal care, hygiene, safety, relationships, and citizenship. There will be an emphasis on effective communication through language development - reading, writing, listening and speaking; skill and process building, comprehension and critical appraisal; drawn from everyday activities meaningful and relevant to the children's immediate life, and supplemented with chosen educational material, texts, workbooks, and resources suitable to their personal developmental levels. Attainment of mathematical skills and understandings in number, space and measurement will occur through daily activities; art/craft (technological) projects, play, games, and also progression through chosen maths texts. There will be a focus on environment and science, drawn from personal and cultural interests, and conducted through practical investigation and experience, research and reporting. Extensive use will be made of community and environment resources. Focus will be on interdependence, independence, evolution of species and landscapes, and the physical and chemical nature of all things. We will encourage personal responsibility, an understanding of social structures, the need for law and order, conflict resolution, tolerant and co-operative behaviors. Attention will be focussed on personal hygiene and physical development, personal health and nutrition. Resources & Evaluation We will pursue subjects and activities of general interest or focus, using a variety of activities and learning styles and resources, following the children's inclinations and interests as they develop. We will make use of the whole home, including outside, with specific areas set aside for study, storage of resources, display, project work in progress, specific activities (study, work and recreation), etc. We will introduce activities and lesson plans in particular areas, and use revision and pre-testing as required. There will be opportunities developed for group learning situations as well as individual study. Resources used in all areas of the learning program will include local libraries, educational institutions, community organisations, educational suppliers for curriculum information, texts and other materials, computer software and the Internet; participation in community festivals, exhibitions and events, local homeschooling networks (social & educational activities, support, and idea sharing). This will include continuous reflection and evaluation of the educational process, examining progressive development of abilities, attitudes, feelings, preferences, goals, knowledge, processes, etc. Recording of progress will be by use of personal journals and diaries, collections of the children's work, scrapbooks, subject work and project books, art folders, photo albums, video and audio tapes, collection of participation and meritorious certificates, use of individualised and commercial tests, reference to checklists and curriculum guidelines, and the use of sequential developmental work books in subject areas. We will use the local and wider community and environment - people (tutors, classes, etc) places (conservation parks, museums, library, field trips, etc) and materials. We will continue to participate in community events and organisations. There will be provision for regular access to friends and group activities. We will participate in home education social networks - excursions, social gatherings, organised sport, conferences, camps, etc. The children will participate in organised community educational program activities - Friends of the Museum, Investigator Science Center Workshops, Double Helix Club, etc. Outline of a Typical Day Morning
Afternoon
More Information Home education groups and networks are excellent sources of information, advice and support when applying for approval for exemption from attending school. Very few families are rejected on their first application, and although the process appears intimidating and overwhelming, it is relatively simple, and not a lot of detail is usually sought. "Getting Started with Home Schooling: Practical Considerations for Parents of School Aged Children" is an excellent and practical manual, written by long term South Australian home educating parent, Beverley Paine. With over 130 informative pages, the manual covers developing a home learning curriculum, preparing the learning space (physical and psychological), writing a learning program, examples of planning methods, examples of different practices of recording, assessment and evaluation techniques, connecting with others, extensive checklists in each subject area, examination of learning styles and lists of useful materials. |
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Please note: |
and support person Beverley no longer
takes phone call or email inquiries.
Please join one of her yahoo groups
if you want to know more about
homeschooling or have a question.
Beverley supports:
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Annual National |
Home Education Association
AussieHomeschool
Rockpool Homeschool
Joyous Learning
Life Learning Magazine
Parent at the Helm
books, ebooks and booklets by Beverley!
Interested in homeschooling, but still not sure? Read All You Need Is...'
Looking for educational resources?
Home Education Directory
Questions about homeschooling?
Browse the Article Library.
Wondering what to teach? See
Australian Homeschool Curriciulum
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Children Learning Naturally Support Group
Travelling and homeschooling? Keep in touch with
Aussie Homeschool Campers!
HEA Resource Directory
to find some of the best Australian
home education resources available!
Including...
Always Learning Books
Downunder Literature
Spiral Garden
Australian History Pictures
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
Home Education Association
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 became a committee member in 2008: she also edits and produce the HEA Newsletter, HEA magazine, Stepping Stones for Home Educators, 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 AustraliaFacebook page.