I didn’t think I’d be able to homeschool. It seemed too huge a responsibility. What if I taught the wrong facts? What if I omitted a vital part of the curriculum? Plus, I hadn’t quit work to start teaching—I had a novel to write.
But when one of our sons became really unhappy at his school, we had to do something. Towards the end of 2010, we made the decision to change schools and our sons’ names were added to a waiting list at another school. We crossed our fingers, hoping spots would come up for them, but none did. So, we decided to homeschool both of our boys for the year.
This is what I discovered:
1. It’s easier than you think.
You have a lot more knowledge than you think you do. You’ve probably got a lot more knowledge than many teachers.
2. Kids want to learn.
Mine did anyway. One of the reasons our son didn’t like school was that he was bored. He spent so much time waiting, when he wanted to be doing. But he had to wait for others to finish, wait for the rest of the class to settle, or wait while someone was disciplined. Believe me, kids don’t tolerate boredom for very long.
3. You can tailor the teaching to the child.
You’re their personal teacher, and you, as the parent, intuitively know your child better than anyone. My boys loved creative writing and science. We began each day with a twenty-minute free write, then read aloud what we’d written. When the timer went off, their hands would shoot in the air, ‘Can I read first?’
They also loved being hands-on. Science experiments ranked highly on their list of fun things to do. It’s amazing how many things you have around the home that you can make dissolve, or grow, or explode! I made them write up the experiments and snuck in a bit of English that way.
4. You can be really creative.
This was the most fun part. For example, after our excursion to Fremantle Prison, the boys wrote a script. I hired a couple of costumes, and we filmed it:
Homeschool gave us more free time. We finished our school days about lunchtime, which left free time before the girls came home. The boys did their music practice, then filled the rest of the afternoon doing what they wanted. My younger son wrote a novel and my older son wrote music. Now they’re back at school, they miss this space.
5. Discipline was not an issue.
Sometimes, they’d start wrestling each other on the ‘classroom’ floor, and I’d send one of them to their room to work alone for five minutes. When I’d call him back, often he didn’t want to come—he was enjoying the peace and quiet. My older son often took himself off to his room to work alone anyway.
I was a firm taskmaster: they knew they had to do their work, and they knew that although there were subjects they didn’t enjoy, they had to be swallowed. Just like vegetables.
6. Flexibility
We could work at our pace and during hours that suited us. We usually started between 8 and 8:30 in the morning and finished between 12:30 and 1:30, with a break for morning tea. If they were into their work and there was no reason to stop, we kept going. I scheduled the ‘heavier’ subjects—like English and Maths—earlier in the day, and things like science experiments for later. We often took excursions on Fridays.
If something cropped up—for example, my father was very ill that year—and we missed a few hours, or even days, it didn’t matter.
7. You complete work faster.
We got through the year’s curriculum in less than half the year. There are fewer distractions at home than at school—no changing classrooms, or assemblies to attend, or waiting around—so they worked a lot faster.
8. There is a big homeschool support network out there.
I probably didn’t make the most of this as I knew it was only for one year, but if it had been longer term, it would have been great to tap into. The Homeschool Association organise loads of excursions and activities.
9. There is so much online.
I’m sure you could find the whole curriculum online. We made use of Mathletics and Spellodrome and utilised YouTube, especially for History and Science. We tended to use a textbook, and support that with video and online activities. A lot of texts come with access to a website these days.
10. I learnt things, too.
I had to know a subject in order to teach it, or, I had to at least appear knowledgeable. I read up on history, for example, as I prepared the lessons. I learned also during the course of the day. We took many excursions and visited places I’d never been, like the Perth Mint and Fremantle Prison. Our favourite excursion, and one the boys still talk about, was a walk around our local area. We took lunch in our backpacks, along with a map of the historical indigenous landmarks. It captivated us all. Afterwards, as usual, I made them write it up so they got some English out of it, too.
11. I broadened my experiences
I was doing something new, taking a chance, pushing myself beyond my comfort zone. It’s nice now to sit back and say, ‘Hey, we did it!’
12. Most importantly, I really got to know my kids.
This was the best bit. Before I started homeschool, if anyone had asked me if I knew my kids, I would have said, ‘Yes, of course’. And I did. But after homeschooling, I knew them even better. I got to read their writing, and it surprised me how much about them and their little idiosyncracies that I didn’t know. I discovered, for instance, that they are very witty. And we talked as we worked or walked—lots of inane chatter, but we also discussed the big stuff, too, like history, politics, and religion. Sometimes, they would feel as annoyed as me about issues. My older son became so upset by Australia’s past treatment of indigenous Australians that he started crying during the lesson, and when I came upstairs later that day, he was at his desk writing an essay on his thoughts.
At the same time as I got to know my boys better, they got to know more about me, too.
~
This is just a quick overview of our year of homeschooling. There were days when I felt like I had no time to myself, no time to go shopping, no time to write. It was, however, a convenient excuse not to do housework! Far and away, the good outweighed the bad, and, looking back, we all remember it fondly. As the year drew to a close, we were sad it was ending. The three of us had bonded during the year together and the boys still say it was their best year at ‘school’.
How fabulous, Louise! I never did it, but can relate to your comments about children being bored because they’re waiting for others to finish or ‘get it.’ I’d be too intimidated at the thought, despite being a teacher for a large part of my life…in fact I was so conscious of it, that I tried not to be ‘teacherly’ at home and still got the occasional… ‘stop treating me like I’m your student’ jibe occasionally!
It took me a while to gather the courage to do it, believe me Rashida — my older son had been unhappy for a number of years. I think now, he is one of those kids that would have been better off homeschooled for the whole of primary school. He thrived at home, and every now and then he still asks to be homeschooled — but I couldn’t teach high school. I know my limits!
And I did get, ‘Stop treating me like you’re my teacher, too’ from one daughter in particular.
Don’t you love it? BUT they grow up, and appreciate it! My daughter is now 29 and buys me grammar books for my birthdays and writes little notes saying I’m responsible for her attitude towards people who can’t spell as being deficient human beings!!
There’s nothing rong with bad speling. How dair you… 🙂
I am resisting the temptation to correct that, Glen. I’m sitting on my hands as I speak …
I no, Glennnn, not a ting rong, but dey are deffishent alldasame 🙂
Yes, Rashida, I have a spelling policewoman here, too. I was grateful the other day, however, when she pointed out that I’d written ‘Square Peg’ incorrectly on the subtitle of my website. I’d spelt it with a hyphen!
What a fascinating post, Louise. I think my son and I lock horns too much for me to ever attempt this! Why did you only home-school for a year?
(Also, if you have another piece like this you should think about submitting it to a blog like Mamma Mia, for greater exposure).
Thanks, Annabel. Homeschool wouldn’t suit everybody. I already had the two girls and never considered homeschooling for them as they’ve always been relatively happy — well, as happy as any kids are at school. But boys will not tolerate as much as girls, and my older son in particular, hated school. It was excruciating for him, and every day he tried to get out of going. We tried to fix things when I was still working, but after I stopped work, homeschooling became an option. It is still his favourite year. With hindsight, I should have done it much earlier. He did Year 6 at home and then started high school at a new school. I just didn’t feel I could teach high school subjects, plus I knew he’d have to go out into the world at some point. There are still lots of things about school that are not to his liking — some he just has to accept, and others we try to tweak. And it is slowly, slowly improving for him.
And thanks for the nudge about sending it off. I haven’t written much about that year, but I have thought about writing it up as a series. I still have all their work, of course, and a few hundred photos and video clips to go with it!
What a wonderful gift you gave your two sons Louise! You gave them a year of you — you as Mum, you as a teacher, you as an enthusiastic learner, you as a friend. This is a great post and extremely illuminating. I was gob smacked at how short the school day and year was for your sons. But it made sense i.e. the amount of time wasted at school waiting and waiting. Good on you for homeschooling for a year, seems like everyone benefited especially your two sons.
p.s. Jeez Glen lern owl to boody sell.
Like I say, the three of us remember that year fondly. I treasured it, because it was my chance to really get to know my sons. They’re numbers three and four, so I was spread thinly by the time they arrived. And I know it’s not rose-coloured glasses, we enjoyed it also at the time. My older son would kiss me every time he left the room — he was so happy to be at home rather than at school.
Once we’d finished the set curriculum, we did keep working for the rest of the year. We either moved onto the next year’s work, or moved laterally, doing things in more depth. Our actual school day was very short, except if we went on an excursion, and I think that’s why they could be creative — they had the time and space.
And someone will have to teach Glen to spell …
Well done, Louise. We’ve never done anything else. Knowing your children so thoroughly is a real privilege.
Thanks for commenting, Ruth. I’d love to hear more about your homeschooling. How old are your children? Are you going to continue with it all the way through?
Hi Louise,
I graduated from medicine in 1992 and was at Alanvale with Scott. I only worked for a year.
We have ten children. The eldest is nineteen and is doing second year at the conservatorium. The youngest is three. We started home-schooling when Lauren was four and have continued along ever since. We use the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum and add on bits where we want to, particularly in maths in the higher grades – we’ve accessed the state government flexible learning programs.
I really enjoyed reading about what you have done with your boys. The little film was lots of fun. With a large family, it has been a challenge to do extra things like that, but we do what we can. I really appreciate being able to get to know my children and encourage them in the areas that interest them. I can see that some of them would have struggled in the school system – for different reasons.
Thanks for sharing,
Ruth
Hey, great to run into you again, Ruth! I remember your name and Scott definitely remembers you. I must say, you took my breath away when you said you had ten children! Wow-eee! I don’t know how you’ve done it. Ten pregnancies. Ten morning sicknesses. Ten labours. Ten everything! And homeschooling through all of it, too. That’s amazing! You deserve something for that — I guess a lovely, bouncing family is the greatest reward! Thanks for popping over and please stay in touch. Best wishes and may your homeschooling continue to be successful. 🙂
Louise, I am in awe of you! It is a privilege to share in these moments of your life. I am sure your boys cherished this time with you.
Every so often, I question whether or not I should be homeschooling my own little people–and I am just not fearless enough. Yet.
Thank you for the inspiration 🙂
I’d forgotten about this year! It’s one of my favourites ever, and for the boys, too. When they returned to mainstream schooling, they used to ask me if they could be homeschooled again, particularly my elder son. I couldn’t have done it, though—he was in high school by then, and I just didn’t have the expertise to teach him all subjects. Plus, I wouldn’t have been able to write my novel!
Having said all of that, in sending my kids back to school, I’m not sure I did the best thing for them, particularly that son. My view is that our education system suits 90% of kids. It’s a single system and it can’t cater for everyone. It’s unfortunate that a couple of my kids fall/fell outside of that 90%. I used to try and get them catered for, but in the end I had to accept the limitations of the system. Like I say, I do wonder if I did the best thing for them. Nevertheless, they’ve survived and seem happy enough! 🙂
Wow Louise, I’m in awe of you and others here who’ve tried homeschooling. I wonder whether I’d have the patience for it, but it sounds like such a fantastic idea. Such brilliant memories as well.
Thanks, Lis. It was a wonderful year—I wish I’d done it with the girls, too. More than anything else, I think it helps you bond with your kids. I’ll be forever grateful we had that precious year together.
Lovely to revisit this piece Louise and see your boys having fun learning. From your recent pieces, it looks like it paid off for you all, looking at each of your children’s needs and tailoring their experiences.
Thank you, Louise! Yes, as a parent you always wonder if you’re doing the right thing, don’t you? But, you’re right—it doesn’t seem to have done any harm! These boys are gorgeous young men now! 🙂