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25.01.2022 Our classroom for the week! Uluu-Kata Tjua National Park

25.01.2022 Unchallenged claims of an evidence base leave stakeholders vulnerable to the ideological bias of those with vested interests....

25.01.2022 When it comes to teaching our children Aboriginal history, it's hard to know where to start. Often what we were taught in schools was a carefully constructed overview that failed to acknowledge the richness of Aboriginal culture and their early achievements before white settlement. Although the current (Aus) curriculum does acknowledge the cost of invasion for the Aboriginal people, it still manages to paint the white settlers as 'heroes' to be admired. This leaves us with ju...st a 'tad' of white superiority which fuels the low level racism and prejudice that we see today. Aboriginal people continue to be percieved as 'less' - if not, just in our thoughts and opinions. When my kids were young, I had to admit I knew nothing so I went on a quest to learn and discover.....As my knowledge grew, I felt deeply ashamed of my acceptance of what had been taught in school. I've since taught my kids a different story: One that is true and doesn't contain a political agenda. Now, when my kids see an Aboriginal person they think of rich culture and history and feel honoured that they share this land with one of the oldest living ancient civilisations in the world.

23.01.2022 Check out the best nanna ever Carol Turner, in this preview of ABC's Premiere Broadcast on Sunday at 9:30pm! "We spoke our language, but we couldn't read and w...rite in our language until we left school. We want our children to grow up learning in both ways. Carol Turner This is the story of one family trying to maintain a connection to language, culture and identity while navigating the western education system. How can learning in your first language and culture benefit your educational journey? In My Blood It Runs will air on ABC TV and iview, Sunday the 5th of July at 9.30pm #WalkingTogether #InMyBloodItRuns Thanks to our partner Children's Ground run by Dujuan's grandmothers and grandfathers, and all the work they do to support First Nations education.

23.01.2022 This was a difficult, but important read. I’m someone who doesn’t take warnings seriously unless I understand the science behind it and this book explains it all so well. I highly recommend!

23.01.2022 Homeschooling means a choice to go against the flow of the ‘norm’ . This means that our ‘normal’ clashes or at least contrasts with other people’s ‘normal’ and that’s okay. This is why we should never really expect others to understand our choice or be surprised at their confusion or comments. We need to realise that going against the flow is confronting to the natural insecurity we all have as parents: Am I making the right choices for my children? Is my child learning? Are... they happy...safe? thriving? When we say we homeschool, people often feel the need to justify their choice by criticising ours. This is not really an attack on homeschooling. It’s the simple fact that ‘different’ will always expose insecurity. If we learn to recognise insecurity in ourselves and in others, we will become much kinder and accepting of the variation of ‘normal’ that exists in our society.

22.01.2022 This pic was taken 8 years ago on a day that forever transformed our homeschool. I’d been up all night with our newborn and decided ‘school’ was cancelled. As I lay on the couch, I watched my then 6yo (pictured) get paper, glue & textas and make a board game numbering 1-100. My 4yo sat building LEGO for what felt like hours and Mr 2 brought a matching game and matched all the pairs up while we talked about colours and shapes. It was the first time I saw the value of self-di...rected learning. I observed that kids are naturally inquisitive and interested in the world around them and given the right environment & resources are capable of directing their own learning. In fact, when given the freedom to explore what is meaningful to them, they are learning more than just information, but about themselves and who they are: what they are good at, not-so-good at and what they are passionate about. For the majority of kids, they have to wait until they finish school for the freedom to discover themselves and what brings them joy. Sadly, many people later find themselves dissatisfied in careers / jobs that are not meaningful to them; all because they never had the freedom to explore and follow their interests beyond a narrow scope (school) to discover their passions. After that day, I stepped into the true freedom of homeschooling which meant releasing my well-intentioned (but misguided) need to control everything they were learning. Instead, I embraced self-directed learning and have watched their passions unfold!

22.01.2022 This was the first thing I noticed when our eldest started school. His teacher said to me, "He asks too many questions. I just don't have time to answer them"....and then he stopped asking questions - even at home. This was one of the reasons we chose to home educate. I couldn't bear to watch the light in his eyes fade any longer. School literally drained all the joy and passion for learning he had as a pre-schooler. I'm so thankful we discovered homeschooling where we can discover the answers to all the questions together and there is no such thing as 'too many' questions.

17.01.2022 Think very carefully about your own experience at school. Remember what was positive and negative. Now that you’re an adult (and more self-aware) ask yourself whether it met your needs, prepared you for life and whether you may have benefitted from a different approach or way of learning .... This was my question to a young mum simultaneously intrigued and terrified at the concept of home education. She laughed while sharing how much she hated school and how she had attend...ed 6 different schools in search for the ‘right’ one yet never found it. Isn’t it interesting that despite our own experiences most of us accept that our kids must endure school in the same way? Why is it that we are afraid to ask deeper questions and consider other ways to learn? So many parents watch their children struggle year after year, dissatisfied with schools, complaining about teachers and yet never consider their power to change their circumstances (and their child’s life!) through homeschooling. Home education isn’t for everyone but it's always worth considering as an option. In fact, for your child and family it might even be the better way.

16.01.2022 Yes. Via Wilder Child

16.01.2022 This is a good one to share if you're finding lots of "How on earth do people homeschool? My kids are driving me nuts..." on your newsfeed!

15.01.2022 Encouraging children to follow a linear path makes them cautious and competitive, when what they are most likely to need are curiosity, a willingness to take risks, and a talent for collaboration...

14.01.2022 Getting our resources ready for our First Australians unit study! We found some great free resources here: https://inmyblooditruns.com/education/

13.01.2022 This is a great read about the value of self-directed education in light of world events events... COVID.. Racism.. and of course, the brokenness of the school system. It is US based but very relevant to us here in Australia particularly as we delve deeper into our own colonial past as we teach our children.

09.01.2022 Learning something new - Trombone lessons!

09.01.2022 https://www.psychologytoday.com//forced-schooling-anxiety-

09.01.2022 What is 'real' life? I used to use 'real' in this sense, the way Sandra uses it in this meme, all the time, especially to defend home educating... But school is... real too, and a kid's life at school is real. And it reflects the life many of us born last century experienced post-school: stuck in a factory or office for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, most weeks of the year. In that way school was the perfect environment to prepare children for a life of work. But life is more - much more - than work. It's about love, laughter, enjoyment, discovery, exploration, investigating, discussing, playing, creating... and more. When I think back on my childhood it is the memories of life outside of school that readily float to the surface, playing with my siblings and the neighbourhood kids, family camping trips and my hobbies. School was part of my real life. And I think it is for school kids today. I know it is easy to use 'real' the way it is used in the meme, but it is a bit meaningless... What do you think? See more

08.01.2022 Yes! *** What’s your homeschool mom personality? Take my quiz here to find out and get personalized tips to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality needs most: https://simplehomeschool.net/quiz/

06.01.2022 A decade ago I was interviewed by a journalist student on the question of whether parents without formal teaching qualifications are equipped to home educate th...eir children. Here is a transcript of the interview. :-) Julia: In your opinion, are parents without formal teaching qualifications, equipped to home educate their children? Why, or why not? Beverley: Parents do not need formal teaching qualifications - or any kind of qualifications for that matter - to help their children learn, either as parents of schooled children or home educated children. The majority of parents are equipped to 'learn-on-the-job' and simply pick up and continue using the skills they honed in their child's first five years of life. Some people might think that teaching a five or a ten year old is tricky, but it's a breeze compared with trying to work out and meet the developmental needs of a one year old! I believe that to get the most out of the home education experience for both the parent and child, parents must enjoy the company of their children. They need to have an open mind, willing to be flexible and adaptable. It also helps if they are willing to let go of some of the myths and misconceptions about how to learn and how to teach. I've found that children are excellent at guiding parents to find the best resources and methods - especially if their parents are practiced users of observation, reflection and evaluation skills. Being able to find one's way around a library and the internet are helpful. Basic literacy and numeracy skills, which most of us have, come in handy. There are no requirements for home educating parents to have formal teaching qualifications in all states and territories of Australia. Julia: Do you see a need for a homeschooling teaching qualification or course for parents? Do you think this would assist or hinder homeschooling parents? And why or why not? Beverley: I personally don't see a need for formal teaching qualifications or courses for home educating parents. Voluntary, inexpensive or free courses and workshops do have a place in helping those parents that lack confidence or wish to improve their skills, knowledge and understanding in any topic. Home educating parents are always learning and the opportunity to learn with peers, either in small groups or by distance or online education, are welcomed by many parents. We - home educators - organise conferences, seminars and workshops for other home educating parents. As a course or workshop presenter I find that the majority of questions relate to parenting rather than educational issues. Parents are confident educators but, like all parents, worry about parenting. Managing life and parenting issues, especially organisational issues, can be a source of stress that is often expressed as a lack of confidence in ability to teach. Questions about time management are fairly typical: looking after toddlers while helping older children, finding time for mum's activities, getting the children to help with chores, etc. These types of issues are raised more often than how to teach the times tables or Australian history, for example. Home educating parents are very resourceful. There is a strong support network across Australia, especially online. Home education is very hands-on learning too. Parents often take an experimental approach to methods and materials. They drop what isn't working and find new resources and approaches as soon as it is obvious - and it is usually very obvious! What works for one child might not work for another. They develop truly individualised learning programs for each of their children that are responsive to the child's developmental and learning needs. Because home education tends to be very responsive to the child's learning needs, parents are always looking out for better methods and resources. Many are often using tools and techniques at the cutting edge of education. I'm not sure that teacher training would be of any benefit to parents such as this: in any case, parents are constantly self-educating about more effective ways of helping their children learn. Julia: With your great experience, what in general is the opinion of the homeschooling parents in the teaching industry? Beverley: I don't know and can't really make a general comment on what educators and bureaucrats think about home education because I tend to chat and support home educating parents. I think that there is a growing understanding in society that home education can be incredibly successful for children and that many teachers opt to home educate their own children. But most schools still don't understand the nature of home education and what gives rise to that success, they still want us to replicate classroom teaching and learning at home as if home based education is the same thing as school based education. Most of the thousands of parents I have met in person or online would feel affronted if formal teaching qualifications were required to home educate their children. After 30-40 years the home education movement has adequately proven both here and in the USA and UK that parents from all walks of life and educational backgrounds are capable of teaching their children from home. Research studies have confirmed this - though hundreds of thousands of adults who were home educated are proof enough. Nearly all of the parents I have met would think that implementing a teacher training course to qualify parents as home educators would be a waste of resources and money. The time and energy to provide this would be better spent on appropriate support for families and groups. Teachers need training because they are teaching up to 30 children whom they do not personally and intimately know, and because they are answerable to the parents and to society in general. Home educating parents know their children very well and use this understanding and knowledge to help their children become motivated, self-confident and enthusiastic learners. Home educating parents are answerable to their children and society in general. They are not being employed to do a job - they are home educating because they love their children. Julia: What do you believe parents bring or give to their children when homeschooling, that 'regular' schooling cannot? There is no short answer to this question. Parents bring or give their children so much. Parents simply need to be great parents, interested but not obsessed in their children's development and future. Interested enough to make space in their day to be with their children and to do things together. In other words, be attentive to their children and their needs. It's been my experience and privilege to hang out with a special bunch of parents who enjoy the company of their children and love learning alongside them. More have been home educating parents than parents of schooled children. Some time ago I wrote a list of the benefits of home educating my children from a personal perspective: http://homeschoolaustralia.com/articles/benefits.html . Although it lists the benefits I've gained, it is obvious that many are two-way, benefiting my children too. I know I am a much better parent because I taught my children from home and this is a common experience in homeschooling families.

05.01.2022 Great advice! :)

05.01.2022 When given the freedom, time and space, our naturally inquisitive children will always learn! Today, the kids are a bit unwell so I said we wouldn’t do any formal schoolwork. Just go do something good for your brain, I said. I can hear one child playing Bach on the piano ...one is laying down reading a book on Australian history (pictured) and one is watching a Netflix documentary on Bill Gates.....all self-directed, interest-lead and meaningful to them. I used to feel guilty when it felt like we didn’t do any ‘work’ but now I know, without a doubt, they are always learning!

04.01.2022 Are you considering homeschooling or know someone who is? This is worth checking out!

02.01.2022 One of my biggest concerns when we started homeschooling 8 years go was what would happen in high school. I wish I hadn’t wasted the energy worrying! My eldest is nearly 15 and thriving in the freedom and independence of homeschooling. Recently, he has shown an interest in becoming a psychologist. It turns out kids can learn skills very quickly when they are interested, motivated and have a goal in mind. He has been getting up early (yes, early) to complete an online psycholo...gy course via outschool and is devouring his textbooks. Suddenly the writing skills he has resisted thus far, have new meaning and he is asking to learn to write more complex essays and research papers. He’s even designed a business plan for his future clinic. The teenage years are when we see the benefits of homeschooling emerge. We see our children grow into the independent, creative and self motivated learners we desired to create. It is pure joy to see them pursuing their passions and interests and exploring future jobs and careers!

01.01.2022 This is a perfectly normal ‘scene’ for us. What’s not normal is people walking / driving past smiling and waving and calling out encouragements like Well done, Mum!....Oh, how the world has changed.

01.01.2022 Sir Ken Robinson's books challenged so many of my own beliefs around education and learning that I found myself asking deeper questions about 'school' and eventually found myself homeschooling my kids! His book "How finding your passion changes everything" in particular is such a great reminder and encouragement for home educating families. His life was one of deep and powerful impact