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      AussieHomeschool Closing Down   11/14/2019

      All good things must come to an end and AussieHomeschool is no different. It is with much sadness yet even more necessity that this must be so.   As of Sunday evening, 17/11/2019 the Discussion Forums will close. The Classifieds, for now although not indeterminate, will continue as is.       Why is this happening now? In all honesty, it probably should have happened many years ago but I created this forum, which originally a homeschool classifieds forum for Aussies, about 20 years or so ago. I, along with others for whom I am gratefully indebted to, have spent many, many hours sweating, laughing, praying, crying, writing, apologising, pleading and speaking about this wonderful place. In this day and age of Social Media, along with our ages and therefore differernt stages of life, it is simply not viable in any way for it to continue. You may think differently and that's okay - you honestly have to have lived through some of the dramas and learning opportunities that we all have to truly appreciate why we have the standards that we do - they were borne out of necessity and not undertaken lightly. Much blood, sweat and tears have been spilt over this place. Even more friendships, learning, debate, love, prayer and great times have been had becuase of AussieHomeschool. No one could ever be more thankful for it than I.

      I understand you may feel frustration or even anger and for that I apologise, I feel you. But now it is YOUR time to go out and spread the word of home education and its benefits. Share YOUR story, tell those you know and don't know about homeschooling and what is has done for your family.   On behalf of John (my long suffering and patient husband), myself and the ENTIRE moderating team over the many years - I THANK YOU and WISH YOU ALL THE VERY BEST IN ALL YOUR ENDEAVOURS.   God Bless, Susan (HomeGrownKids /  AussieHomeschool)

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AH Blog: It’s All New To Me!

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It’s All New To Me!!AussieHomeschool

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I have four children and sometimes I think – I’ve been here before, I’m an experienced parent, why do I not know what to do?  The honest answer is though that I have never parented this child at this age before.  Homeschooling issues fall into the same context – we may have homeschooled a dozen children successfully but we have never taught this child at this age/stage before and that changes things.

My kids are all different.  They are different in personality, in strengths, weaknesses, habits, needs, learning styles, and passions.  This is why what I face today – is all new to me!!

One of the big educational benefits with homeschooling is that we get the opportunity to tailor make our kids’ education to their individual needs.  Which means each year we need to take time to stop and seriously consider where each individual is at and what they need to take them forward.

First of all we need to know our child.  What makes them tick, what excites them, what do they struggle with, where do they excel.   As our kids get older we also need to tap into their dreams.  Do they want to go to university, do they want an apprenticeship, do they want to start their own business or go into mission work (not even sure this is an exhaustive list of options!)

Then we need to know the things that they need to know.  We can use curriculum guides, the National Curriculum, or even write up a list of the things you know in your heart they need to know.   I like to consider the following – these points guide me to thinking about a whole life education (not just the academic).

  1. Their ability and desire to study God’s Word
  2. Their basic skills – reading, writing, maths, thinking skills, computer skills,
  3. Their life skills – how they handle their responsibilities, money, time, relationships
  4. Their talents – how we can incorporate their talents, interests and passions into their learning experiences
  5. Their general knowledge – studies such as History, Science, Geography

Once I have assessed these things I can start to put together an educational plan – unique and individual.

I have homeschooled for 14 years and have four kids (two have graduated).  Our first two learnt very much in keeping with my personal learning style (which translates comfortably to my teaching style as well).  My younger two though are much more hands on – something I struggle with.  I have had to learn new ways of doing things regardless of my experience.  My younger two understand language differently than my older two – once again I have had to learn news ways of expressing truths.  I have a bookshelf full of fantastic books, but the subject matter doesn’t interest my younger two – we have had to find different topics; still history, still science but it looks different, using different teaching methods, and different resources.

As a parent/teacher we need to be flexible if we are going to serve our kids well.  We also need to be humble enough to change and learn new things.  As we begin to look towards 2013, we need to make sure we don’t lose the opportunity to meet our kids where they are at just because we think we’ve been here before.   Next year may need to look very different!

 

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