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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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AussieHomeschool

AH Blog: Collaboration for the Homeschool Family

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Collaboration for the Homeschool Family AussieHomeschool

Collaboration is a very big word in education these days.  Collaboration is working with others on a joint project.  Now, when you look at the family, this isn’t a particularly new concept:  we work together on many things, homeschooling or not.  But at some stage we need to teach our kids to work together with other people – people who may not think like they think, people who may not understand them so well.

In our homeschooling lifestyle there are many different ways we can work collaboratively:

  • Siblings – this is a first step.  Working with siblings gives our children the opportunities to define a project, communicate ideas, be flexible, work to a deadline, recognise skills in other people etc.
  • Extended family – The old tradition of cousins putting on a play at Christmas time, or cleaning up Grandma’s yard are opportunities for family to work together.
  • Another homeschool family –Recently we worked on a multi-media project  and built a fish-ladder model with other homeschool families – both projects gave the kids opportunities to share their own abilities but also learn from people with different skill sets and passions.
  • A homeschool co-op – A homeschool co-op can have many functions and structures but it is a great opportunity to learn to work together with other people towards the same end.
  • Sports teams – being a team is collaborative – when playing sport your end goal is to win the game.  Sport often brings the extra challenge of intense emotions!
  • Volunteering groups – Jessica has been involved in the Mainly Music committee since she was 13years old;  kids can get involved in Church committees like the music team or missions group, volunteer projects, sporting teams or community events.

Many of these opportunities are more than likely already happening in your homeschool life – but the question is – are we using those opportunities to teach our kids to work collaboratively?

To work collaboratively you need to:

  • Know the objective – what is the end project you are working towards
  • What time do you have available and what due date are you working towards, how often will you meet together
  • Be able to brainstorm, listening to other people’s ideas – (Bono’s 6 Hats is a good tool to help our kids look at things from a different perspective)
  • Recognise the strengths (and weaknesses) in the team – work with and be gracious towards people
  • Break down tasks, delegate someone to be responsible for each task, set completion dates for set tasks
  • Communication – to be able to communicate ideas, as well as communicate struggles or personal conflicts
  • Ability to resolve conflicts and move on
  • Understanding the chain of command – someone has to take ultimate responsibility (in a work situation this would be the employer, the supervisor, or the client)  Often a ‘chair’ may be necessary as well.

In “Do Hard Things”, the authors Brett and Alex Harris encouraged teens in three areas:  character, competency and collaboration.  We need to be intentional in teaching our kids these skills, and home life, homeschool life, gives us plenty of opportunity.

 

Belinda

About Belinda

Mum (of 4 children) who lives in the North of Australia. One of my primary goals for this season of my life is to disciple my children – to help them grow in their love for God, to give them what they need to achieve what they are made for.

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