Homeschool Australia Newsletter News

Those of you who have followed the Homeschool Australia newsletter adventure since it's inception in October 2003 will know that my thoughts have often been on creating changes in my life.

Can you believe that Thomas turns 19 next week, Roger is now 23 and April will soon be 25? It's been a wonderful parenting and home educating journey… and we don't see it ending any time soon! Our commitment to providing support and encouragement to homeschoolers across Australia is just as strong as ever. However, I have some ‘pet' projects I want to work on and when I went searching for time – a precious and rare commodity in this busy household – I knew that some sacrifices had to be made.

I love producing the Homeschooling Australia newsletter. I began writing for, and assisting the production of, newsletters in my early teens, so it's with a reluctant heart and mind that I write to tell you that the December 05 / January 06 Homeschool Australia issue is the last…

We have many excellent homeschooling magazines and newsletters in Australia. Visit Homeschool Australia to find one produced in your state, or subscribe to Education Choices, the magazine that took over from Grace Chapman's excellent long-running Stepping Stones to Home Educators. As a regular contributor and reader I have great faith in Education Choices. We've waited a long time for a national magazine of this calibre, one worthy of appearing in newsagents across the country.

If you'd like to keep in touch please consider joining my two Yahoo groups:
Homeschool Australia FAQ and Daily Homeschooling Tips.

Over the next year or so I hope to make significant progress on the development of the natural learning curriculum project a few of us began two years ago – doesn't time fly?! I'll be using the Daily Homeschooling Tips to help collect and shape my thoughts. If you are interested in a natural learning approach to home education you are welcome to join our discussion list where we share examples of how learning naturally unfolds at home and in the community, as wells as tips and ideas that help that process along.

Robin and I aim to produce more booklets in the Practical Homeschooling Booklet Series , bringing to light – at long last – several drafts left languishing for too long on my hard-drive! So please keep an eye on our Always Learning Books website for new arrivals.

We also have several projects about the house underway… Our bathroom renovations began exactly a year ago, and alas, stopped three weeks later, just after we removed the bath and re-aligned the wall. It's time to finish that much neglected job! After that we hope to finally finish our kitchen, and then build the extension to the deck, fence off the goose yard, and help April put the finishing touches to her holiday house.

As Robin's mother's health inevitably deteriorates we have to think about creating more time in our busy lives to take care of her needs. It's hard to be upbeat about the coming year, and to make plans enthusiastically. I am thankful for the generous and warm support given to us by our many homeschooling friends, both now and in the past. As always, talking with people who have ‘been there, done that' helps us find our way.

We thank you for your loyal support to the Homeschool Australia newsletter and hope that you will continue to stay in touch.

Beverley & Robin Paine
Always Learning Books

Have a homeschooling question? Become a member of the friendly Homeschool Australia Frequently Asked Questions email group. Visit Homeschool Australia for more original content. No time to visit the site? Sign up for Daily Homeschooling Tips!
Visit www.alwayslearningbooks.com.au for a great range of homeschooling, unschooling and books on natural learning!

© 2005

That "S" Question Again - An Answer to Questions about Socialisation and Homeschooling

"If you homeschool your kids they are not going to know how to be social as an adult and if you don't expose them to the negativity that is in the world then they won't know how to deal with it when they get out there on their own."

I realised very early on that most people weren't that interested in why my children were homeschooled, or how they will eventually turn out. Their questions were often quick reactions to the idea of homeschooling, with little thought beforehand, kind of like something to say that sounded as if they were really interested. That's why the questions are always the same old 'what about socialisation', 'they won't learn to cope in the big bad world', 'what about university'... Often it depends on who the person is and what they consider most important in life.

Many times I've taken the time to respond thoughtfully and people begin to stare off into space. Silly me. They're really not interested. And then there are those who feel defensive, and are asking because they feel the need to beat you into submission, to see the error of your ways and do it their way, so as to reassure them that they aren't making a big mistake by not homeschooling their children. Parents and in-laws can be really defensive, because you homeschooling your kids is like saying they weren't good enough parents. In fact, most of my friends felt 'judged' in this way by our decision to homeschool. I finally ended up by prefacing any answer to any homeschooling question by saying "homeschooling isn't for everyone, only weirdos do it, and we never know how it will turn out, but if things don't work out the kids will be back in school, for sure." That's the magical line almost every inquirer wants to hear...

The other magical line that worked everytime for busybodies that weren't really interested: "our homeschool is approved by the government" (whether it was or it wasn't). The number of people that simply shut up and went about their business after hearing this was amazing. Even the ones that looked ready to brow beat me to death!

If people are really interested in our children's welfare they will ask more intelligent questions.

Have a homeschooling question? Become a member of the friendly Homeschool Australia Frequently Asked Questions email group. Visit Homeschool Australia for more original content. No time to visit the site? Sign up for Daily Homeschooling Tips!
Visit www.alwayslearningbooks.com.au for a great range of homeschooling, unschooling and books on natural learning!

Questioning the Need for Regular, Frequent Peer Interaction - the Homeschool Socialisation Questions Again!

Years ago I found examining and reflecting on the way I naturally learn and socialise was a fast track to understanding what my children needed, educationally and socially. Often our expectations of children generally in society are totally out of whack with what is 'real'. When I began regarding my children with the same respect and manner that I do myself or others, I found that most of the issues and problems we'd been battling with as homeschoolers disappears, as did many of our worries!

Pondering on just why we have this expectation that children need to be with crowds of others made me look closely at the media, beginning with story books and then television programs and movies, kids magazines and shows, etc. I haven't done extensive reading on why society believes that children should hang out in big groups, but I suspect that it's driven by the Industrial Revolution and the need to alienate people from their communities to make them pliable and agreeable - a sort of socialist (in the worst, not best sense of socialism) plot. When we break down strong family and clan ties we can easily move people from A to B, even if it's to the other side of the country, or even the world. We can make sure we always have an amenable workforce... The result - the nuclear family and persent day western society, which is based on individualism and materialism.

In the past, when children from indigenous tribal communities played it was within sight and sound of many adults, not just one or two, as happens in schools and other 'constructed' communities. The adults ranged from teens to grandparents and wise old crones. Working parents - male and female - were probably not so attentive, but then again, children played where parents worked, or worked alongside them... It's still like this in many places in the world, but we (westerners) keep pushing the idea of school, because education is probably the quickest way to eliminate poverty. I'm not against educating folk, I just think there has to be a better solution for these countries than offering them school as the only approach...

Creating Learning Communities is a great book and a fantastic idea. It's what I wanted for my children - a learning community that respected all learners as learners - even the teachers! But especially the young folk in our lives.

Children do have different social needs from adults though. Toddlers have different social needs from children. And individuals have different social needs to each other. It's important for children to 'compare' themselves to others, to 'try on' different personalities, imitate the actions of others and see if they work or are suitable. Not just other kids either, but a range of folk. Mentors come in all shapes and sizes! Kids need free time - free from unnecessary adult interference or construction - to explore, investigate and experiment on their own terms, within a safe, caring environment. They need time to be alone, in groups, or as individuals. Beyond three or four years of age children need to hang out with other children to learn how to get along cooperatively, to learn about compromise, and rules. Siblings really help this cause along, but the family is a limited environment and children love a good challenge! They need to bounce of others, with the odd exposure to strangers, who may become friends, to grow.

I have found that children will ask for more social contact when and if they need it. We needn't supply it before then, unless we suspect our child has social learning difficulties, in which case we'd be plotting a course to help his or her development along, suitable and sensitive to his or her needs and timing.

© Beverley Paine

Have a homeschooling question? Become a member of the friendly Homeschool Australia Frequently Asked Questions email group. Visit Homeschool Australia for more original content. No time to visit the site? Sign up for Daily Homeschooling Tips!
Visit www.alwayslearningbooks.com.au for a great range of homeschooling, unschooling and books on natural learning!