The little school in the sun

24/05/2022

YES! 🙌

21/04/2022

Educating Boys
There is widespread dissatisfaction around the education system being fit for purpose for all students, but especially for boys. Yet throughout the world there are teachers - kindergarten through to tertiary - who have found the way to engage our boys so that they can grow into their greatness. Their recipe is deceptively simple:
• 'See' the boys for who they are
• Don't ask yourself, 'what's wrong with them' - ask 'what's happening for them'
• Connect with them, the quality of your relationship is the key
• Read them stories they love, no matter how old they are. That way they get to know what adventures are hidden between a book's covers, that's an incentive to read.
• Relevance Relevance Relevance - make it relevant. A 'story starter' isn't relevant for a child, not when every child has stories waiting to be told. As my good friend Gail Loane says in her fabulous book for teachers, "I've Got Something to Say", every child has something to say - no exceptions, because every child has a life full of experience.
• Make sure there are plenty of opportunities for them to make stuff (daily), that's their preferred avenue for creativity and problem solving.
• Factor in lots of movement and physicality.
[Now read the list again and you'll see it is the same recipe that works best for girls too.]
Rcommended read: "Getting it Right for Boys" by Neil Farmer
https://www.bookdepository.com/Getting-it-Right-for-Boys-Neil-Farmer/9781408140710?ref=grid-view&qid=1650403685139&sr=1-1

17/04/2022

It’s her first year of high school this year. Things are getting serious, right? Except they’re not. She gets up in the […]

02/04/2022

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-02/education-shake-up-advocates-say-its-time-to-reimagine-education/100929068?fbclid=IwAR3foMuCzUIoeRX5StRLC7rZJ_ZvXoM7pQFCntK1_DTlMX_qmKyCDDO2Og0

An increasing number of families are taking their kids out of school and taking on the teaching role at home — and they say they're loving the change.

27/03/2022

“…people today do not even know what children are actually like. They only know what children are like in schools.” “It is […]

21/03/2022

When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school It's a wonder I can think at all. And though my lack of educati...

12/03/2022

When I boldly inform people, who inquire why my children are not at school, that we home school, I am usually met with the response, especially from mothers, "I would never have the patience to teach my children at home!"

I usually reply by asking, "What patience does it need to look after the educational, physical and emotional needs of up to thirty children, all the same age with similar developmental needs and problems, clamouring for attention all at once!"

Have these parents given consideration to how much patience the teachers of their children have? How teachers manage to share their attention between thirty children? What type of behaviour management techniques are employed? How much of the actual teaching time these techniques consume? And what actually happens to thirty children's emotional, moral, intellectual and physical development when their teacher can no longer cope?!!

The patience needed to look after the needs of my three children, including their educational needs, and also my own and my partner's needs, are much more realistic by comparison, and I believe far more obtainable!

Sometimes I am questioned further by these well meaning parents, "But what about your children's socialisation?"

To which I answer confidently, "In the absence of unnecessary pressure to conform and perform to other people's standards, bullying and examples of other generally unsociable behaviour, my children learn with their self confidence and self esteem intact. When they choose to socialise it is with a range of people from diverse age groups and backgrounds, and they do so with confidence and respect."

People generally leave me alone after that.

11/03/2022

Here’s your friendly reminder that grade levels are an artificial construct. They didn’t exist until 100 years ago. They were designed specifically for mass education in public schools.

It doesn’t matter what grade level of math or grammar or science your kid is in. What matters is that they are always progressing. Checking off boxes like grade levels is a trap full of stress and guilt, yet for some reason, homeschoolers insist on copying the very system they claim to disdain.

When people ask me “what do you recommend for 3rd grade grammar” or “6th grade science” I don’t give them the answer they’re looking for. I don’t know what 3rd grade grammar even is. I just know that my kids start with phonics, then reading, and then learning to spell based on phonics rules, then move on to copy work, and by about middle school they take their first Easy Grammar course. It’s the same with all subjects.

Progression is the goal. Being well-educated is the goal. Not checking off a list. So if my kids take pre-Algebra at age 10 or age 16, it’s not a big deal. What’s important is they they grasp the content and are able to move on to the next level.

It’s like video games. Just keep going until you level up, and if the kids aren’t getting it, stay in that world a little longer. If they are, advance to the next level. 🌟

Have confidence in your ability to make decisions for your kids! A curriculum is only a tool; YOU are the one in charge of construction.

08/03/2022

My 7-year-old says to me often ‘Mum, when I grow up I don’t want to do anything. I just want to be […]

02/01/2022

Charlotte masons ideas have inspired much of what we do. Here’s a bit about her…

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-59124124?fbclid=IwAR0C3nQDGqEwCs_g2KJRTBk4-wNW8tLCRyXhQgnPpLlEO3WZJD18_aEVia4

New Year's Day is the 180th anniversary of the birth of a woman who aimed to reform teaching methods.

29/08/2021

https://fearlesshomeschool.com/homeschool-to-university-australia/?fbclid=IwAR1LDWWRTVTknKCNoo33ijCGDtU2uvPFYXnVmpwldBXvfq5Rj4eZQc4b1Sg&=1

Transitioning from homeschool to university in Australia is EASY. Seriously! Find multiple pathways and create your own easy entry pathway here.

04/07/2021

I couldn’t agree more! Thank you, God, for the freedom to homeschool.

>> http://bit.ly/2TYkTvZ