Home Schooling Part 1

As a home schooling mother, I have often been asked “what about socialisation?” My answer to that, is that my daughter has friends... She has friends of all ages in our church, both children and adults, and she has a couple of friends that don't go to church! But for some of my critics – that answer is simply not good enough! So then I go on to tell them that when we go fossicking she gets to meet and greet all the people that join us, and that is how she has met many of her friends! Granted, we only see some of these people once a year because they live 6+ hours drive away! But, she has friends, and they are many and varied!

The main reason that I was first interested in home schooling, was the fact that I could oversee all aspects of my childs education! And as a result, I could see to it that she didn't slip through the cracks as many institution schooled children seem to! I, myself, was one of those children that slipped through the cracks... And I wanted a half decent education for my child! I also believe that it is a parents responsibility to teach their children, not the governments responsibility!

With the school program that my husband and I do with our daughter, we have flexibility and the peace of mind, knowing that she is doing the best she can and the subject isn't being changed or advanced beyond her level! We have noticed, that if she was in a school, then we would have to work twice as hard to keep her up to speed! While she is a bit behind the average, for her age, her general grades are A's with one B! Her overall percentage is 97% - yes, there is room for improvement! But, I am damn proud of her progress! (And knowing that I have no official qualifications, means that she is doing brilliantly!)

I enjoy the flexibility of the system. It means that if, like last Friday, when I had a tooth pulled out and my husband was away, no school happened! I didn't have to worry about organising someone to drop her off at school and then pick her up after school, nor did I have to worry about organising her a lunch! She came to the dentist with me! She sat with our friend in the waiting room, and they were talking about all kinds of animals and other interesting stuff... And because I was kinda not there with the codeine, I didn't have to worry about school for her! She had a day off! Kind of a sick teacher day! When Monday came around, she did a little extra work!

Another good thing with the flexibility, we can take holidays when we please! It doesn't have to be on school holiday time when things become so much more expensive! And a supermarket suddenly becomes a classroom! A trip to the pet shop, for a toy for the puppy, becomes a small lesson on fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, various birds and whatever other weird and wonderful animals they happen to have! Trips to the vet become lessons on how to care for the puppy or cat (whichever animal happens to be visiting this time around!). The park is a place to run (that is bigger and more fun then the half acre backyard) and a place to potentially meet new friends! Learning doesn't just happen in a classroom with 30+ other students!

She gets one on one teacher/student time, as opposed to one teacher to the average sized class of 30-35 students! In my high school English class, my teacher had approximately 30seconds per student! So if you had a question, it had better be a quick one otherwise you risk taking another students 30seconds of teacher from them!

Another plus of home schooling – no home work!! It's all been done and once school is finished, that's it until tomorrow!

The biggest thing is, the children that are home schooled have no peer pressure or bullies (unless they have older siblings)! And they tend to learn what no means from mum and dad! They learn in a safe environment to say no, or yes!

If the parents set it up correctly, then the child/ren get plenty of outdoor exercise and plenty of socialisation! The government has a set of curriculum guidelines, which makes sorting out what on earth to teach a little easier! And there are many private schools that offer curriculum to home schooling parents! And then there is the internet, where you can find many helpful and potentially unhelpful resources! You need to be a little more creative, in the area of teaching! But, once you sort out the childs particular way of learning, it flows smoothly!

There have been many studies on the pros and cons of home schooling! I will get to them, next time!