From the end of July 08 this website will no longer be updated but will remain online as an archive.
For current information about home education in Australia please visit the Home Education Association of Australia.
While there, please consider joining this vital support network that works hard to promote home education in Australia.

Home education is a legal alternative to school education in Australia. State governments are responsible for regulating home education.
Different states have different requirements, however homeschooling families are able to develop curriculum and learning programs
to suit the individual needs of their children.

© Beverley Paine, March 08

"My child is not year a year old and I'm planning on homeschooling her. What do I need to do to educate for myself to prepare for the journey. I've read I can on parenting and homeschooling but am beginning to feel the need for a education degree or diploma to help stave off any doubters who challenged our reasoning."

Naturally my first (not so modest!) suggestion would be to read anything by me. Take a look at my Always Learning Books website - you might want to purchase my FAQ booklet and my Overcoming Objections booklet for starters. The second one is good for tips on what to say to those doubters.

You won't need to consider my getting started book as it's a manual for how to write your own curriculum, but the language series of booklets might be useful and will help you to realise just how easy teaching your children at home is going to be.

Learning in the Absence of Education is one book that doesn't sell well (unfortunate title - my then ten year old son suggested it because he felt it described learning at home!), but the feedback I get is very positive. The essays help to empower people to realise that what they are already doing is generally enough, and that it's okay to not keep up with schools or teach like teachers, etc.

I also suggest that you begin your education in the library. I spent a lot of time in the pyschology section looking up accelerated learning, not because I'm into that, but because it is where you'll find the scientific evidence that backs the concepts of learning styles and how learning actually happens, how people learn, and how best to faciliate that proces. Plus there is usually a lot of information on early child development.

Next, research different educational philosophies: Rudolf Steiner, Charlotte Mason, John Holt, Maria Montessori. All old hat now, but the school system is built on their ideas. It's all good sensible stuff (perverted by schools because schools are not really about education, they are about management of populations).

In the meantime, don't educate your child, PLAY with him, and involve him in your life. OBSERVE him. Learn who he is, what he likes, what he dislikes, what his strengths and limitations are. What turns him on and what turns him off. Really get to know this little person. That's the bulk of your homeschooling preparation education process.

Lastly, begin to hang out with homeschooling parents. If you want you can start a playgroup for families with young children who are either homeschooling already or intend to homeschool. Go to any activities or events planned for homeschoolers in your area. Even if they are planned for older children, you'll find the information you glean from the other parents invaluable in boosting and maintaining your confidence in your educational choice.

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