Eclectic

Three Children – 14yrs, 10yrs, 5yrs

Every morning my children care for their animals, then often take turns on the computer on educational programs or researching items of interest. We discuss the plan for the day and play “20 questions” over breakfast. The children follow their own interests – currently they are into making things with paracord, dog training, painting, jewelery making, drawing, reading, writing, Lego, learning piano, writing to penpals, learning Māori and French, etc. They choose to do some lessons via the internet (a mix of paid and free). The children help with the chores throughout the day. In the afternoons the children often go to the beach, do gardening, visit, or go to the library. We finish off the day with a bedtime story or two. Meal times are a good time to catch up on what everyone is doing and to discuss (and debate) ideas and theories, and tell jokes.

Every day is so unique and different (one of the treasures of home education), there is no ‘one typical day’ which would properly convey what day-to-day life looks like for us. Our goal is to offer a kind and respectful learning environment that nurtures the whole child – that celebrates and extends her talents, nourishes her passions, encourages her to learn at her own pace (ignoring grade level), and supports her uniqueness. A learning environment that helps the child to discover, day-by-day, who she is and all she can be. This is why we chose to home educate our gifted daughter.

One Child – 8yrs

Our daughter is drawn to novelty. She loves to have the time and space to fully explore her many interests (and uncover and discover new ones). Being able to explore a topic, uninterrupted, helps her to develop her concentration and to engage at a deeper level. Home education supports her social and emotional growth, and allows her to develop her resilience and manage her intensity. It also enables us to include a lot of physical activity (trampolining, trips to the beach, bush walks, playgrounds, etc). We enjoy the family bonding time we have together.

We embrace the flexibility home educating gives us. Each day is totally different and we work with her interests, learning style, personal rhythm and the rhythms of nature (we make the most of the outdoors whenever possible). We talk (a lot!) about a broad variety of topics and read a wide range of materials every day. My daughter often sits and writes stories or poems. Sometimes she uses a computer for learning (maths, writing, graphic design or general research). She takes classes – real-life and online (drama, creative writing, kids yoga) – and we join other home educating families for social gatherings and trips. She also loves to create and invent – just about anything. There always seems to be a new invention on the go!

We don’t follow any one, single curricula – anything and everything becomes part of our curriculum. A news story can turn into a deep, philosophical discussion about the environment or issues facing society; a scientific study could be the impetus for a mini project or experiment; anything can be the seed of an idea for a new invention. For her, home education is creating a lifelong passion for learning – to her, learning is fun.