Bring Them Home
There are a variety of reasons to homeschool your children and any one you choose is valid! While there are many parents who believe that schools are doing a fabulous job with their children, there are an equal number of parents who find that a school has failed their child for one reason or another.
“Failed” does not refer to a pass mark for a grade but rather that they have failed to realise that each child is an individual or that each particular child learns differently to others, or even that the child has been bullied by peers. But in classes of 35 – 40 children, how can a teacher cater for each child?
Home education offers parents the chance to hone their child’s gifting and talents and then raise them in their weaker areas to an acceptable standard. Homeschooling also allows parents to interact on a deeper heart level where their children’s characters can be moulded as they spend time together in the home environment.
Homeschooling is much more than just a choice for academics!
Perhaps you have signed up for this e-course because of one of the following reasons:
- Your child has been hurt emotionally through peers or teachers at school
- You feel it is God’s calling on your life as parents
- Your child has a specific learning difficulty, like ADD or ADHD, and you believe that you can help him or her better at home
- You are concerned with the content of the current South African education curriculum
All of these reasons are valid and are good reasons to investigate home education as an option for your family. There are also many others, but once you have decided…where do you go from here?
The first step is making the decision to bring them home. The process of doing this is as simple as contacting the school, informing them of your decision and receiving from them the required transfer forms. Click here for more details about Removing a Child from School.
For information about whether or not to register with the Department of Education – read this and then get professional advice for your specific situation. A telephone call could accomplish that. Read on: Registering for Homeschooling
And then what should you do?
1. Nothing. DO NOT TEACH. You will be surprised to discover that your children will learn more (than at school) without you teaching them. They may not be filling pages of a workbook, but this does not mean that they are not learning.
2. DO NOT RUSH TO BUY A CURRICULUM. Invest money in retraining YOURSELF and learning about homeschooling. Attend seminars, workshops, invest in homeschool parenting books, surf the internet and learn as much as you can about other models of learning, besides the classroom+teacher+text book scenario. Records of a homeschool consultant shows that 85% of families in SA change their curriculum after 2 years as its not working or they have found a better way to homeschool. Don’t waste money on something that you don’t need and that will probably be the wrong choice your family.
Continue with the rest of this course, and you will find many useful resources to help you learn more about homeschooling and avoid making costly mistakes – costly in terms of money, but also costly in stress, conflict and emotional anguish caused by choosing the wrong type of curriculum for the personalities in your family!
3. Become part of the homeschool community, both offline in your neighbourhood and online. There are dozens of egroups, Facebook groups and other forums to join. Ask questions and learn from more experienced homeschooling families and try to avoid the common pitfalls of so many.
In this way, you will be spending time and money learning about home education so that you can base what you choose to do on the experiences of others, not your own limited experience of schooling.
Suggested Reading
Homeschooling the Primary Years – a comprehensive guide for South African Homeschoolers by Shirley Erwee
Homeschooling High School – a look at options for South Africans by Shirley Erwee
The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook – Raymond and Dorothy Moore
Educating the Wholehearted Child – Clay and Sally Clarkson
Websites
Homeschooling and the law – PDF
The Exodus Mandate – Christian Education
Find out when homeschool consultant, Martie du Plessis will be holding a seminar near you. Go to www.dynamislearning.co.za
Coming up in the Part 2 of this E-course: Deschooling – your first 6 weeks to three months.