Why we Switched to Homeschool
We have decided to homeschool Chantelle who has been having issues with a number of students for several months. This was not a decision we made lightly. Switching to homeschool was the decision we made mainly due to bullying and physical assault. Chantelle was in a group of friends who were targeted by a group of girls.
It was a big group. This is how they got away with this behaviour.
The girl that bullied today wouldn’t bully again for 3-4 weeks so according to the school it’s not bullying because that person hasn’t been repetitively bullying them.
Chantelle was physically assaulted in her classroom because she was standing up for a friend who was being bullied by a fellow classmate. This boy turned his attention to Chantelle. There was pushing and shoving which escalated to Chantelle being grabbed by the throat, pushed into the computer table and punched in the jaw. While this was happening, the relief teacher just stood by and watched the incident without lifting a finger.
Daniel and I spoke to the Principal several times and expressed our concerns about the safety of our children. We were told that the school was not even allowed to inform us if the boy had been punished or suspended. At times, it felt like our concerns were falling on deaf ears.
Chantelle was moved out of that class and away from the boy but that did not alleviate our concerns about Chantelle running into the boy who assaulted her in the playground in between classes. Chantelle even told us later that she didn’t feel safe going to school.
That was the moment that helped us decide to pull her from school and to take Chantelle’s education into our own hands.
Homeschooling Chantelle has had its trials. She is a very mild mannered girl but she needs a lot of motivation and prompting to complete the work we set for her. But we know that the one-on-one attention is good for her, something she would never receive at school. Also, an up side to help her get to where she needs to be academically to achieve the career she wants. In the past she has expressed an interest in working with animals.
I wanted to homeschool Chantelle for a long time, however, Daniel was quite reluctant. Daniel thought it might be too much for me with him working away on the mines and me working and the other children at school. I kept telling Daniel she was nowhere near her year level. Daniel would reply “ I know she is a little behind “ it wasn’t till I showed him some work the teacher had sent home as she injured her knee, that he realised how far behind she was.
We were looking at the pros and cons for our situation.
Cons: Daniel and I both work, so we aren’t always with her to give her guidance.
The other children feel left out. What if they ask to be homeschooled
too?
Are we going to be organised enough?
Do we have enough resources?
Cost of homeschooling. Free resources v’s paid resources
Motivation and discipline for Chantelle and myself
Pros: We can go back to the level she is actually at
We can keep a closer eye on her academic progress
We are in control of what she is learning
One-on-one learning
Take her on homeschool outings and excursions
Now the decision has been made, where do we start? I know she is not up to her year level, which is year 7. Mainly using IXL maths and english on the computer and some english workbooks we worked our way from year 7 down till she got a minimum of 50% correct and we started from that year level. No point in doing work that’s too hard, she also needed a confidence boost.
We want to do book work and computer work as she loves to be on her iPad.
We have used a variety of computer programs including IXL maths and english. We used Reading Eggs at first but she found this too babyish and degrading.
She loves Khan Academy as it has loads of videos to watch and the narrator is very engaging. We have also used Education Perfect, Mathletics, Skwirks, Study Ladder, and Literacy Planet. We have purchased lots of RIC Publication workbooks, and focused on mental maths, mental spelling, and teaching Chantelle time telling. In doing this last activity we were surprised to find out how many children can’t actually tell the time on an analogue clock.
6 months later
We are still homeschooling Chantelle. There have been lots of challenges along the way. One of which was finding her correct year level. With some subjects she is further along than others.
A great part of homeschooling is the homeschool community. We joined a homeschool playgroup. Chantelle was the eldest but not by a lot. We have been on a lot of excursions that we would never have gone on if she had stayed at school and didn’t join the playgroup. Chantelle has seen puppet shows and Alice in Wonderland ballet at the theatre, Scitech, Science in the Park. Chantelle also attended a sports carnival which I think she needed as she is not very athletic and needs to spend more time outdoors. It’s great for her to get outside and run around. Liam joined in on that one, he thought it was so great. He had so much fun.
In a small amount of time my roster at work went from working Monday, Tuesday and every second Wednesday to working one week on one week off and then back to the original roster. And at the same time Chantelle’s “school week” changed alongside it.
As you can see with homeschooling it’s very flexible. You don’t have to be educated Monday- Friday. Or educate just in the morning, you can do it when it suits you and your family. As long as you achieve your objectives.
I was setting Chantelle work to do every day or when I was more organised weekly. But this term, due to working more, we have decided to go with an already set curriculum. A friend of ours uses this curriculum and has found it very helpful and time efficient.
Www.Completeeducationaustralia.com.au ( they changed their name since this post was written www.euka.edu.au )
Complete Education Australia (euka) is a wonderful resource for homeschooling parents where curriculums can be downloaded from grade one to grade 10, covering all the major subjects taught in Australian schools.
Individual terms can be purchased at about $160 each, ( prices may have changed) or alternatively, the entire year can be purchased for a discounted price. You can print off a week free of a term so you can see what it is like. ( I think a lot of it is online now)
We paid for one term to begin with to see how we go with it. They play a lot of games in the primary school side of it so there is a lot of prep to do. But so far, Chantelle finds the games fun and educational. So for me it’s a win-win, she is having fun and learning.
So far there have been plenty of ups and downs with our homeschooling experience. Chantelle seems to be coping with the changes along the way and she is slowly making progress.
It’s a learning curve for us both.
We are only on week one of the new program but it’s working well so far. Homeschooling is so flexible and you can make any activity into a learning activity.