Getting Started with Homeschooling
Practical Considerations for Parents of School-Aged Children
© Beverley Paine
Index
Homeschool
Australia
Examples Of Learning Programs
(continued)
Poetry: We have tapes and records of nursery rhymes which April enjoys listening to, as well as reading from children’s poetry books. Rhyming games are played, and April is encouraged to make up rhymes, songs and poems and to record them on tape or paper.
Grammar: As April increases her vocabulary of written words, sentence structure and punctuation will be introduced, beginning with capitals, full stops, simple sentences, conjunctions and commas for phrases and lists. Attention will be given to correct tense when speaking, and correction of incorrectly pronounced words.
Talking and Written Language: Conversation is encouraged, with emphasis on being able to express herself and her needs clearly. We will continue to scribe for her when requested, but will encourage her to record for herself. Opportunities for writing and talking will generally arise out of general daily activities and work in other subjects. April will be involved in making books, labels for pictures, letter writing and writing in a daily diary.
GENERAL STUDIES
Social Studies: April has access to the television (although this is regulated by us) and is able to watch a variety of programs on subjects related to history, geography, other cultures, as well as children’s educational programs. On these occasions we will generally watch with her, and answer questions and discuss the content and her reactions. We intend to visit the Birdwood Mill and historical places in the Barossa Valley to give April information about European settlement of South Australia and how people lived in the early days of the colony.
Science: Practical science will be concentrated on - as part of everyday life. As April observes the world about her and how it functions we will endeavour to answer her questions and initiate discussions. April is a very curious child with an inquiring and mind and interested attitude. We will focus on the natural environment, particularly on living things, and begin a natural history collection. April is already interested in rocks and shells and her interest will be fostered.
Health: Basic understanding of diet and nutrition, personal hygiene and exercise is a natural part of her life. We will look at the role of health professionals in our lives, with visits to hospitals, doctors, and dentists. April will be encouraged to be involved in the preparation of simple meals and celebrations. Physical education will be a feature with attention to physical co-ordination and ball games to improve hand-eye co-ordination. Walking will continue to be our main form of exercise.
MATHEMATICS
Numbers: As April already knows her numbers and understands what they represent we will continue with expanding on number sentences - addition, subtraction, division and multiplication with the numbers 1 - 10, and to be able to calculate in simple sums. We will be teaching April to count to 100 with practical activities drawn from daily life, the abacus, counters, games, M.A.B. blocks, etc.
Measurement: This will include learning to tell the time (to the hour and half hour and understand minutes), understanding scales and weights, and volumes (mostly by practical activities in the kitchen and playing in the sand pit!). April will also be introduced to distance, with measuring activities using the ruler and tape measures. Through shop games and pocket money we will introduce April to handling money, and teach her to recognise all of the denominations.
Shape: Focus will be on shape recognition in both two and three dimensions, colour and size differentiation. An ability to understand and use words relating to space will be fostered. Recognising and creating patterns, both inside and outside, will be important.
The final example of a learning program is a very extensive one, worked out for a young teenager. It covers all of the areas his parents and he thought would be necessary to prepare him for early adult life. His program included a certificate course in a vocational subject from a correspondence school. To develop this program Roger was asked to consider what he wanted his learning program to cover a week before he and his parents sat down to discuss and record it, a process lasting almost two hours. Notice how this program is not segmented into traditional subject outlines, but relates directly to real life learning experiences for Roger, something his parents felt was very important to keep him motivated.
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Excerpt from Getting Started with Homeschooling, Practical Considerations
© Beverley Paine, 1997
