Welcome to The Educating Parent Beverley Paine's archive of articles about homeschooling and unschooling written over a period of 30 plus years

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Free download a quick guide to getting started with homeschooling and unschooling by Beverley Paine The Educating Parent in this excellent Resource Directory

 

Free directory of Australian homeschooling and unschooling support groups organised by national, state and territories

 
Plan, record and report all in the one document! Always Learning Books planners available in each year level to suit your homeschooling needs, includes curriculum checklists
Australia's original homeschooling manual from veteran home educator Beverley Paine, how to write your own learning plan and curriculum to meet your child's needs
Let Beverley and friends help you design and write your own curriculum to suit your child's individual learning needs, learn how to prepare lessons, unit studies and more, record and evaluate your children's learning in this series of 3 parent workbooks developed on Beverley's popular homeschool manual Getting Started with Home School Practical Considerations
Introduction to
Home Education
  National and State
Support Groups
  Yearly Planner, Diary & Report Beverley's Original Home Ed Manual Series of How To
Parent Workbooks

Support Groups: National SA VIC NSW QLD TAS ACT NT
Registration Guides: VIC NSW QLD SA WA TAS ACT NT

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Join Beverley's The Educating Parents Homeschooling and Unschooling Facebook online group.

 

About Beverley, the educating parent...

A long time ago, in a town (not so) far away, a young couple contemplated the idea of home educating their five year old daughter and three year old son. Fast foward 30 or so years and this (still) young couple are proud grandparents, happy to helping this aforementioned daughter and son home educate their children.

As a grandma I'm super excited by the opportunity to enjoy learning about learning all over again as I watch my awesome grandchildren grow and develop.

I've tried to retire from this educating parent role several times but it's my passion, a vocation or calling. I haven't been able to retire yet... I believe education is critically important and that for many reasons schools aren't doing a good enough job for everyone and that they are failing way too many children. And if I can help one more parent find a solution that works for his or her child, well, I consider my day to be complete, my work done.

I began my career as a voluntary home education adovocate and support person a couple of years after we officially began home educating our children in 1985. There were only a handful of families in our state home educating their children (officially) back then and I drew us together via a regular newsletter which my family put together, printed and posted each month. I'm rapt that this newsletter continues to be produced by another home educating families some 30 years later.

I'm at my best when I'm encouraging and reassuring people that home education is definitely an option for them, that it isn't as hard or onerous or as challenging as they first think. I love helping people find their feet and their confidence as homeschoolers and unschoolers, and am convinced that learning outside of schools is efficient and child-friendly and can be incredibly successful.

Networking on social media and answering email inquiries keeps me busy but when I can I get back to working on revising my original home educating manual for parents Getting Started with Home Schooling Practical Considerations and writing new booklets. I think I have about 60 titles published so far, including one young adolescent novel (and another waiting for a final edit before sending off!)

I love to share my thoughts and insights regularly and hopes to bring the stories and experiences of other home educators onto the site as well - if you're a blogger or a writer and would like to add your experiences and submit an article to this site please contact me!

My aim is for The Educating Parent to become a premier resource offering reassurance and information for home educating families across Australia and beyond, tapping into decades of practical homeschooling and unschooling experience.

If you are a home educating mum or dad running a small business from home, or are an educational supplier or provider, please think about advertising on our site or in our widely distributed free Resource Directory.

Becoming a parent profoundly changed my views on education and parenting. As a teen and then a young woman I had very definite ideas about what and how children should learn but once I had children of my own I moved from a 'layering on' and 'filling the pail' view to one that works with and honours the nature of each individual child and situation.

I understand how important it is to support parents and help them learn and grow and feel confident about being parents, especially educating parents. There is no one right or wrong way to do this work: we're all different, in different situations, with different needs and circumstances. I'm here to help you identify and meet your needs, your way.

My educational experience includes playgroup coordinator and volunteering at the local kindergarten, and later, a four year voluntary stint working in an alternative classroom with children aged 5-13 years during which time my confidence in home education grew exponentially!

I'm not just passionate about homeschooling and unschooling: I'm also a keen gardener, landscaper, builder and writer. My practical and logical approach to these areas of my life informs my views on education and learning. I love to talk and write passionately about what I believe are the essential learning and developmental experiences for children, and how families can build a curriculum around simply living in a way that naturally and largely effortlessly develops the skills and knowledge children need. At heart I am a natural learner and unschooler and in practice probably am more of an eclectic home educator who wishes she had more time to explore many more of the different resources and activities that I read about every day!

Over the years I've created a few different websites celebrating the different aspects of our family life. More recently I've been able to add my offspring's websites as they venture out into the world, creating niches for their talents and abilities.

As a home education activist for 30+ years it sometimes feels like I've "been there done that" many times over. When my youngest was about 8 or 9 he pleaded with me to get off the phone and to spend some time educating him rather than talking endlessly about education to other parents! At about the same time the internet really started to take off and I joined and then started some online support groups. Cyberspace is where I thrive and live, mainly because I love writing, it's what I do... You'll find me there on my support groups every day. If you email me and ask me a question I'll ask you to join my group, so I can share the answer with hundreds of other parents and we can learn together from each other.

I've spoken at and participated in a few (25!) workshops, seminars and conferences, beginning in 1995 with the most recent one in 2017. We attended our first ever homeschool camp in 1990 and the next year organised one in South Australia. I'm happy to say we've been to dozens of home educating camps, only nowadays it is with the kids who are home educating their kids. Home education camps are absolutely fantastic at building our confidence as educating parents and the kids love them.

Between the years 2008-2011 and 2016-2017, I was an active volunteer with the Home Education Association of Australia, a committee member as well as editor and production manager of their newsletter and magazine Stepping Stones for Home Educators. In 2017, as a founding member, I helped re-start the South Australian Chapter of HEA. In May 2018, following a takeover of the association by a group of disgruntled members who then proceeded to unsuccessfully sue 4 other members, and then the association itself, through the NSW Supreme Court, I revoked my life membership. Until the current HEA committee unreservedly appologises to the four home educating mums and pays the outstanding invoices of the contracted 2017-2018 admins, I am unable to support, endorse or recommend the HEA Inc. to homeschooling and unschooling families.

I'm happy to say my three awesome children are thriving, building lives together with their partners and families, getting on with what they want to do, staying (probably a little too) busy as active life-long learners.


Me, a few years ago.. I still look much the same,
only I wear glasses and my hair is a little bit shorter!

Welcome to Beverley's CyberPlace!
About Beverley, the educating parent
Workshops, seminars, conferences, camps

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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.

"You've been an inspiration to me, I love the way
you really listen to people."
Vanessa

"Whenever I read your writing I always come away
with increased confidence in my ability to provide and
share a wonderful learning journey with my family!"
Davina

"Your guidance, understanding, support and words of
wisdom changed our lives. We now offer support and
organise many homeschooling events for others."
Lesley

"Thank you once again for your prompt and friendly service.
I am convinced that your books are going to add
quality and peace of mind to my journey of teaching my kids
at home! Just from studying your website, until almost
2am in the morning, I 've been encouraged!"
Louisa

"Thank you for all your many,many reassuring words
over many, many years. You probably don't know exactly how valuable you are to the Australian Home Education community. I've been reading your stuff for maybe 8 years or more now. And I'm very grateful."
Gythaa


CLICK HERE if you want to learn
how to write your own education plans
to suit your unique children's individual learning needs?

Or you are looking for quality curriculum and teaching tips...

Welcome to the World of Home Education
and Learning without School!

We began educating our children in 1985, when our eldest was five. In truth, we had helped them learn what they need to learn since they were born. I am a passionate advocate of allowing children to learn unhindered by unnecessary stress and competition, meeting developmental needs in ways that suit their individual learning styles and preferences. Ours was a homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning family! There are hundreds of articles on this site to help you build confidence as a home educating family. We hope that your home educating adventure is as satisfying as ours was! Beverley Paine

3 ESSENTIAL STEP BY STEP GUIDES

Getting Started with
Home Educating Series of

PARENT WORKBOOKS

#1 Create Your
Own Curriculum

#2 DIY Lesson Plans
& Unit Studies

#3 Recording and Evaluation Made Simple

$10.00 each (includes postage)

let experienced home educators Beverley, Tamara and April walk you through HOW to create a learning plan that builds on solid foundations that works for YOUR family AND ticks all the boxes for home educaton registration with part 1 of this getting started with home educating serioes of parent workbooks, Create Your Own Curriculum!
Let experienced home educators Beverley, Tamara and April walk you through HOW to create a learning plan that builds on solid foundations that works for YOUR family AND ticks all the boxes for home educaton registration!

To see the full range of Beverley Paine's books on homeschooling, unschooling and natural learning visit Always Learning Books

Tap into Beverley's experience
through her books

"Your books, your blogs helped me beyond words... they helped me to find comfort in knowing it is ok to choose exactly what is best for my family." Nisha

"Your books and information are mind blowing and already I am feeling good about this new experience." Diane

"Your guidance, understanding, support & words of wisdom changed our lives." Leslie

"I feel specially inspired by Beverley's words and, the more I read her comments, the more inspired I feel, since my need for support, respect for different parenting styles, and information are fully met." Marijo
purchase Beverley's practical and common sense books on homeschooling and unschooling
Connect with Beverley and ask questions
through her online The Educating Parents Homeschooling and Unschooling Facebook support group
.

The information on this website is of a general nature only and is not intended as personal or professional advice. This site merges and incorporates 'Homeschool Australia' and 'Unschool Australia'.

The Educating Parent acknowledges the Traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Owners, the Custodians of Australia, and pay our respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people viewing this website.

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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 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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Beverley Paine, The Educating Parent
The opinions and articles included on this website are not necessarily those of Beverley and Robin Paine,
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