Aussie Homeschoolers

My DD is 3 and I've started thinking about what school she might go to. But I don't like ANY of the schools around here and I am starting to seriously consider home schooling.

Are there any Aussies out there who home school? Who do you go through? What do I need to know?

[La Loba]

Well....... J is only 2, but we will definitely be homeschooling My husband is doing all the legal "how to" research at the moment-- I'll ask him if he's found any useful links.

[emmalouise]

Subbing....I decided today to pull M out of preschool (he'll be 4 in August).

[mummy2boys]

tree_hugger homeschools. You could look up her username

[joyfuljourney]

Hi we are in WA and homeschooling.
There is a site aussiehomeschool.com.au - lots of Aussie Christian homeschoolers.

i am so all for now

[Meli]

Originally Posted by mummy2boys

tree_hugger homeschools. You could look up her username

So does FlyinKiwi

ok, so there are a few out there.

Jen - which curriculum do you use? is it linked with a school?

Am I insane for thinking about homeschooling?

Could I send them to the scary public school so I can get a break and supplement their learning with activites at home?

I'm sure the public school isn't that bad, I just don't like the attitudes of other kids. I can't be sure what they are going to learn in the playground.

The other question is, can we afford it? We can't afford private school, is homeschooling any cheaper?

I rang a couple places for some information, and felt like a bit of an idiot that my daughter is only 3 but the years are going so fast!

I get very excited at the thought of setting up the "playroom" like a little classroom, and having school supplies & maps and education supplies, and teaching my children. How awesome to be the one to teach your children and watch them learn! That's what excites me about homeschooling, I feel like if I sent my kids to school I'm missing out on seeing the lightbulb go off as they realise they understand something.

I have been searching the internet and printing out worksheets for my daughter to do. She goes to daycare 2 days a week and they are learning the alphabet and learning writting skills, so I am printing out alphabet trace sheets and matching games, she loves it.

I'm just so confused.

Oh I was giong to say, there is a Christian school near us that has a distance education program, so you work with a teacher to find the write curriculum, you send work in to them to assess. So a lot of the hardwork is done for you. Also if you have any problems or don't understand something you can contact the teacher. And the school is about 10 minutes from us. I think that the homeschool kids can join in on some of the activities at the school or something. So that might also be an option.

[Naxi]

Hi Lou,

I like that distance education idea!

I have to admit that I am thinking of sending the kids to school so that they can make some local friends, but am in a dilemna about schools, too. (Also, I don't think DH would be into homeschooling )

A friend of my sister started homeschooling her kids at I think Year 2 and Year 4. At first it was really hard, but now she loves it. I will see what I can find out from her. (I am also on another forum that has some homeschoolers in Aus and NZ, so I will see if I can get some references there.)

I really don't want to send the boys to pre-school, 'though.

Nat

I wonder if it would work to send her to school for a couple years and then homeschool...

[naechelle]

HI, I'm on the Sunshine Coast (QLD) and I am homeschooling my 4 eldest (12,10, 7 & 5). We are going through distance ed through Groves Christian College in Brisbane at the moment, but are looking at going through the QLD Home Ed unit in the near future. I'm happy t chat with you if you like, drop me a post and I'll give you my email or phone number.
Renee

[joyfuljourney]

We are using 'Little Hearts fir His Glory'this year. Next year Five in a Row and maybe Sonlight.
Sooo many choices for curriculum. www.homeschoolreviews.com is one place to start.
ACE or one of the distance ed programs are a good place to start if you dont want to do a lot of prep work.
Putting them into school then pulling them out will only work if they don't like school.

You have to think about your reasons for wanting to homeschool as it is a commitment and responsibility. Also a great joy. Has God laid it on your heart?

Originally Posted by naechelle

HI, I'm on the Sunshine Coast (QLD) and I am homeschooling my 4 eldest (12,10, 7 & 5). We are going through distance ed through Groves Christian College in Brisbane at the moment, but are looking at going through the QLD Home Ed unit in the near future. I'm happy t chat with you if you like, drop me a post and I'll give you my email or phone number.
Renee

Groves is the school that is about 10 minutes from us. What do you think of their stuff? Do you feel stuck with having to do what they say? What is the qld home ed unit?

You have to think about your reasons for wanting to homeschool as it is a commitment and responsibility. Also a great joy. Has God laid it on your heart?

I guess my main reason for wanting to homeschool is because the schools around our area aren't the best. We are in a low income area and the schools tend to be a bit crappy. I have not heard the best of things about the schools. We have a friend who is a teacher at our church and I have asked him about the schools and he said that he had some students come to his school from the one nearest to us and those kids didn't know anything.

Also the attitudes of other kids worries me. I would love for my kids to get a good Christian education, but we can't afford the private schools.

Personally I hated school and would have loved to stay home and learn, I was always a long way behind everyone else. Some students just seem to get lost.

My sisters kids are in primary school and she is thinking of pulling them out and homeschooling, her oldest is probably doing the best, he is in grade 6 (she just worries about high school now). Her daughter who is 9 is in grade 4 and still has to add 8 + 2 = 10 on her fingers, her son is in grade 3 and has detention at least once every week, he is just lost, his learning is not good enough to get the extra attention from the teacher, but not bad enough to get special ed. I guess I don't want this to happen to my kids as well.

I know it's a big committment, and that worries me too, but I love seeing my daughter learn. We have been doing some stuff just kinda randomly. She has a great memory, she heard a song at church one day that she never heard before, only heard it once, and that afternoon she was singing it (only 1 line over and over), not sure if that's normal or not, but I was impressed

My idea is... use ACE while we get the hang of learning and homeschooling, and then when I'm feeling confident switch and change things as I see their needed... then do something like Groves Home Education for high school so that they get a high school certificate and an OP score.