Blending School and Homeschool

FAQ: Does anyone else homeschool and have kids at school as well?

© Beverley Paine

We homeschooled for a couple of years when April and Roger were first at school age, then attended an alternative class where parents could attend and be involved as much as they like for a couple of years. We dropped out when they sprayed termiticide under the school building for six months, then returned as a part-time school and homeschooled family. We had another stint of full time homeschooling, then April chose to go to regular highschool part-time, and finally full-time for years 11 and 12. Her brothers remained completely homeschooled.

I think any time spent homeschooling is empowering, for both child and parents (and any school going siblings). It shows that there are many ways to become educated, not just one. It gives parents and children an opportunity to really get to know one another, work cooperatively through difficult situations as they happen, and to find satisfactory solutions that suit individual family members and current circumstances. It shows that the 'one size fits all' solutions often paraded about in our society as the best aren't the only ones out there.

Sometimes I think that it would be good to rewrite our past - there are things I fantasise about doing differently, but realise that we wouldn't be the wonderful family we are today if not for the experiences we went through. Would I risk changing that? Everything in our lives is a learning experience and it's up to us to find the 'lesson' in each and every moment, savour it, and move on... to the next. No regrets - only learning opportunities!

Our haphazard school/homeschooling life over the last 20 years has only made us wiser and stronger. We've tried a little of everything on the smorgasbord, rejected that which didn't seem best for us at the time and embraced that which worked well. The most empowering thing about home education is that it gives us CHOICE.