Although I’ve looked at homeschooling for about 3 years, I’ve spent at least 6-8 months doing intensive research on homeschooling before I finally adhered to my husband’s pleas to homeschool and took the plunge with our youngest in August last year due to learning problems at school.
I’ve done quite a bit of surfing lately and found many useful sites for homeschooling assistance. My head is still spinning from information overload…
I must, quite honestly, admit that all the info available made for loads of reading & at times was quite overwhelming. I was bookmarking pages & later found that I couldn’t remember why I bookmarked certain pages. Hence I decided to add these to my blog with descriptions in order to help me find material again at a later stage.
Since research is so time consuming, I thought I’d also share the great links I found, in order to save some other "newbie" mom the time I spent finding it…
Legal defence fund for home educating families.
has so much to offer all South African homeschoolers in every province, including …membership, community forums, chats, great articles, links to great websites, links to forums, events calendars (that we can add to!) and more.
HomeSchooling SA @ Yahoo Groups Homeschooling in South Africa
HS Kitchen Table @ Yahoo Groups Practical Support for South African Homeschoolers
Tuisonderwys @ Yahoo Groups Gesprekgroep oor tuisonderwys in Suid-Afrika.
CIEatHome @ YahooGroups A Group for South African Homeschoolers preparing for the Cambridge International Examinations privately or through a curriculum provider. Membership is open to both students and parents current or past. The aim is to link with one another for support & to share information, resources & experiences relating to CIE while homeschooling.
HomeSchool SA is a friendly supportive group where homeschool families can gather to discuss anything related to homeschooling in South Africa. It is particularly designed to assist and encourage new homeschool families by providing information and links to curricula and homeschool methods, as well as support. Those new and old to homeschool, are welcome to post their questions and suggestions.
SA Homeschool Curriculum South African Homeschoolers – Buy and Sell Used Homeschool Curriculum here! List your posts as WANTED or FOR SALE and when listing items, give a price excl. postage and the condition of the item. You then contact the seller directly and organise the purchase, payment and postage.
Christian Home Education and Homeschooling Resource. This site offers home education information, articles, resource and suggested reading to Christian homeschoolers in the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa.
The premier online community for homeschool moms! Find encouragement and support for the journey! Forum, reviews, chat, groups & more.
16. Android Apps for Home Education
Both of these offer free basic features as well as a membership option that offers additional features.
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Here’s a 
for your internet explorer to help you quickly find homeschooling Blogs, Community, Top Sites, Freebies and Feeds. It offers
This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page. In the meantime, head to SACH Carnival #8 – Co-ops and Support Groups for this week’s carnival. We hope you enjoy the carnival as much as we have!
Dadda’s been the driving force behind our homeschooling efforts. He’s been wanting me to do it for 3 years, but due to my lack of confidence, I wouldn’t budge. Finally due, to Misha’s school experience I decided also decided to face my fears in order to help my boy.
Please also stop by & visit Clive on his blog at An African Dad's Perspective on Homeschooling where he will be sharing his experiences on homeschooling.
So we’ve finally made it through the school year. We managed to finish all the workbooks on time & have received reports.
Jesse’s grades have dropped, but he still passed grade 7 and received the “Chess Player of the Year Trophy”. Well done, Jesse!
In spite of all the stress & frustrations, Misha’s had to deal with this year he still managed to pass Gr. 2 with good results. He achieved 93% for English & 95% for Maths on Smart Tutor. His bookwork still needs improving, but for now he’s on a well deserved break. Well done, Misha, we knew you could do it!
Initially he was supposed to continue some learning during the holidays, but I have since decided to give him these few weeks to totally destress & rest. We’ll tackle rest of his problem areas in the New Year when he’s fully relaxed & well rested.
Instead I’ve devoted my time to rest, preparing the new school room & working through some Homeschooling reading material. I have also finally handed over my MIA Secretary duties after 5 years of service to the school. now I can give my undivided attention to my family & focus on homeschooling my boys, although it's going to be strange not having the additional "job" anymore.
Next year we’ll take the bull by the horns & work on any of the other areas that need improving.
Until then, wishing you all a restful holiday & God’s very richest blessings for Christmas and the New Year.
Well, with Misha’s schooling finished for this year, I’ve finally had some time to start sorting out the school room for next year. Now all it needs is a fresh coat of paint, and a black chalk board.
Misha chose this corner for his desk. It worked out quite well, because he benefits from the extra wall space for posters & visual aids.
Jesse’s wanted his desk in front of the window. All he needs still is a chair. For now these bookshelves will suffice, but I expect that pretty soon we’ll probably have to find alternative shelving space.
This will be our poster & “writing” board. I’m going to get some “black board” paint & daddy will paint the wall but leave space at the top & bottom for posters. And of course the chair & music desk have to find a new spot elsewhere.
All their books have arrived & are awaiting the new school year in the bookshelf.
WoW, I’m oficially impressed!
I just stumbled across this cool game earlier today & downloaded it to try it with Misha. Initially I thought he might get bored because he has to answer the questions, but it has proven to be an absolute winner. In his words: “Mommy this is the most awesome game you have ever got me”. He’s already been at it for over an hour whereas usually he gets bored quite fast.
I can’t imagine an easier way to teach timetables to a kynesthetic learner. Now if this doesn’t end up helping my little one with his multiplication, I really don’t know what else will…
…and the best of all is that there’s Addition, Subraction & Division coming in 2011. ~ I can’t wait for those !
Timez Attack has revolutionized multiplication games. It's as polished as a high-end real video game, yet as effective as a top math tutor one-on-one. The built-in assessment, adaptation, and post-test research data guarantee total mastery.
Screenshots below:
If he keeps this up, at least, if nothing else, Misha will be learning multiplication this holiday.
We’re nearing the end of the schoolyear & the difference in Misha is amazing since we started homeschooling in August… He is no longer a whiny, frustrated child. To top it all my boys who used to be fighting all the time, have had their first fight since August about 2 weeks ago. Although he’s very reluctant when it comes to school books, he enjoys the Smart Tutor lessons.
Of course since, Wum passed away in September, this has become his favourite way of schooling & I’m sure Trixi’s not going to complain.
Every now & then he even manages to get hold of Smokey to sit with him.
So who cares how the work gets done? just as long as we manage to finish our goals…
For the past 2 years, whenever homeschooling was mentioned as an option for our boys I protested: “There’s just no way I’d be able to do that”, “I’m not teacher material”, “I’d strangle them within a week.” etc. etc. Those were my excuses… but in the end it was more a lack of confidence in myself than anything else…
Well, it’s been 2 months since we’ve started homeschooling Misha & he’s still very much alive & amazingly enough I’m more relaxed than I could have ever imagined I would be. I have since learned that he’s a strong kinesthetic as well as Visual Spacial Learner and dug up all the info I could as to how to teach him in his learning style.
Now Misha's portfolio's back from Le-Amen & it seems they are happy with his schoolwork thus far. Here’s the feedback: "I wish you well for the next term. Keep on working well and you will succeed. Well done Misha, you're a star".
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This term we hit the ground running and he’s making good progress. We still have the odd days when he’s reluctant to work, but this week he’s actually started to show some enthusiasm at getting the work done.
We’ve also invested in the WiiFit Plus & he starts every day with some physical training via the WiiFit and some exercise games to get the brain started. It’s absolutely amazing what a difference the little bit of exercise at the beginning of the day makes to his learning abilities.
I’m also noticing a willingness to help around the house. This morning, by the time I got home from dropping Jesse at school he’d already taken his washing from the line, folded it & packed it away. He’d also unpacked the dishwasher & packet the stuff away & still wanted to more stuff around the house. It took some convincing on my part to get him back to his books instead. But by the time his first break came along he was off vacuuming in the lounge & wiping down surfaces… amazing…
We try to stick to 8h00 to 13h00 school day with lots of breaks in between. Sometimes he’ll opt for a longer break & choose to do the work later in the day. Then if at times we don’t manage that we’re lenient & reschedule what we weren’t able to achieve. I don’t stress about work that’s not done & he doesn’t stress with too much workload, but somehow we’re still managing to stay well on track to have his workbooks completed by the time they need to be ready for monitoring at the end of November.%5B2%5D.png "chriscrap_el (14)")
I’m still very new to homeschooling but have already found that a whole lot of mom’s time goes into planning & creating schedules for the kids so they can get their work handed in on time. Fortunately I have just discovered this awesome schedule & report tracking site for homeschoolers. I just had to share it, please go check it out.
Homeschool Skedtrack is a FREE online lesson planner, scheduler, and tracking system rolled into one. The heart of the system is the automated scheduling of activities that frees you from the headache of rescheduling everything once an activity/lesson is missed.
The whole system is a personal virtual school that features:
Now here’s a very encouraging story I just read at Homeschool Articles
What an eye opener. Thought I’d pass it on…
We often learn more from a story. Below is a short story that you can use to facilitate important conversation between you and your children.
The Importance of You
I am about to tell you a true story of three most unlikely heroes. Seabiscuit was a race horse that was considered to small to be a winner. Mistreated and poorly trained he lost most of his races. He was seen as a “loser”. Frustrated and angry, because his natural desire to win had been suppressed, this horse had become unruly and unmanageable…angry if you will.
However one trainer, the Native American Tom Smith, saw a winner in Seabiscuit when no one else could. You see, time and time again Mr. Smith demonstrated that he had the ability to take “ordinary” horses and make winners of them. He was able to do this by understanding their uniqueness… their strengths and weaknesses. He knew Seabiscuit needed help focusing, and his legs were shorter than the other race horses. But he also knew his horse loved the competition, and had a big desire to win.
The untrusting Seabiscuit needed a jockey, but didn’t seem to like any of them until he met Johnny Pollard, nicknamed “Red” for his fiery red hair. Homeless and penniless, Red was himself considered a loser. He was considered too big by jockey standards, and was blind in one eye. But he loved horses, and had a gentle way with them. When introduced to the cantankerous horse he gently offered him a sugar cube. Seabiscuit touched Red’s shoulder in a rare gesture of affection. Seabiscuit had chosen his jockey.
Most everyone laughed at these three friends… a trainer to old to train , a jockey to big and blind in one eye, and a race horse too small. But the three unlikely winners began training, and to the surprise of those who ridiculed and laughed at them, they began beating larger horses rode by smaller jockeys.
This all took place during the “Great Depression” when many people had lost jobs, farms, and homes. This was a time when many people were feeling like losers. Seabiscuit and Red became an inspiration for the down trodden. The people showed up by the thousands to cheer on Seabiscuit, their champion. The horse, who was too small, raised spirits as he won race after race eventually even beating the top race horse, War Admiral.
But their climb to success was not without challenges. In his first race against War Admiral, Seabiscuit lost. But in a second race against War Admiral he won! While riding another race horse Red broke his leg, and was told he would never ride again. During one race Seabiscuit injured his leg unable to race or train for a long time.
Against such odds, many people would have given up. After all Red was told he could never ride again. But Red did not give up on his beloved horse, and while suffering from his own injury began caring for his beloved Seabiscuit nursing him back to health. As he focused on the needs of his crippled horse, he also began to heal. They did race together again, and again rose to the top.
Often when we focus on helping others we find our own way. Do you ever feel like you are different, and don’t belong? Are you told you are too short, to fat, ugly, stupid, dumb or other unkind things? Well remember the lesson of Seabiscuit and his friends. It is not you who are lacking. It is the inability of others to see the winner in you that is the true lacking.
How others treat you is a reflection of their character… not yours. How you treat yourself and others is a reflection of your character. When you discover the winner, you become an inspiration to others. That is your gift.
You understand what others can not. You see what others can not see. By vowing to extend kindness to those most in need of it, you have a heart when others can not find their own. And remember this one: You can not control what others do or say, but you can control what you do, and what you accept. By refusing to co-operate or be controlled by those who ridicule, you become a champion.
Roma Cox worked as a para-professional in the public school system. She was part of a government funded program called Follow Through in which she was trained by psychologists on how to work with the children. Roma now shares what she has learned with others through her website Read-Phonics.com, workshops, and articles.
Source: http://www.homeschool-articles.com/short-story-the-importance-of-you/
We have a very active, yet highly intelligent 7 year old, who has been struggling through school for the past 2 years. It has recently come to our attention that his gross & fine motor skills foundation has not been addressed properly at a Gr. R level. He is also a visual & active learner & this learning style is not catered for in most of our schools today.
“A mother’s first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet and growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air.” ~ Charlotte Mason
…that's where the "system" failed our little one quite miserably...
The school focused too early & too much on academics & neglected the motor skills as well as visual perception. Midline crossing & skipping, being very important skills for fluent reading are just 2 of many areas that have not been addressed properly. Although he can memorise paragraphs, like a parrot, he struggles to read. He Aces his spelling tests but cannot spell when writing sentences. These are just a few of the issues we’ve been working on together with his pre-school teacher to get him through Gr. 2. Up to now he’s been able to cope with his intelligence, but the struggling has impacted his self-esteem very negatively & caused him to dislike school with a passion.
Although the school tried to address the problem with remedial (at additional cost to us as parents) & extra lessons, these showed very little success, but instead placed extra workload & repetition rather than addressing the foundation of the problem... hence we've took him back to his preschool teacher twice a week since August last year so she could do physical activities & brain gym with him in order to get the brain development going. This has shown huge improvement, but his backlog is so big that he still gets very fidgety in class when he doesn’t understand the tasks at hand.
We know now that Misha’s just a normal active little boy who’s trying to cope with a situation that's way beyond his control. It breaks my heart to see such a highly intelligent child struggling at school & being so frustrated...
We've recently registered him with Le-Amen Education Centre in Ruimsig & have pulled him out of school on Friday. What I like about Le-Amen is that they are registered with the Gauteng education department and they supply the curriculum at very reasonable prices. The kids’ work books have to be handed in 3 times a year to be monitored by qualified teachers & at the end of the school year they issue school reports to the children. Both parent & kids are monitored & at matric level they write the same IEB exams as the private schools.
We’ll be using this week to let him destress & deschool Misha. In the interim he’ll be using www.time4learning.com online curriculum to put the fun back into learning. Then we'll continue his schooling, but will also have to go back as far as Gr. R in order to address his foundation. I just hope we caught it on time to repair the damage & that we will be able to help him reach his full potential in life.
When I look at the amount of kids in our schools that end up in remedial & extra lessons, I cannot help but wonder how many of them are highly intelligent kids, like Misha, whose foundations have been proved lacking & due to that will be struggling through school for the rest of their lives… I just cannot understand how it is possible in today’s day & age, with all the knowledge available to our teachers regarding the importance of physical activities being the foundation to develop brain functions in our little ones that they still let them sit cooped up in classrooms with academics all day at such a young age. Our little ones should be playing more & learning less… the academics will follow as soon as the body is sorted…
I must confess, I’ve spent months stressing about Misha’s situation & was fuming, when the teacher’s plan to resolve this issue was aimed at Misha’s preschool teacher & myself addressing the foundation in order to get him through Gr. 2. As far as I was concerned, we pay expensive school fees & he shouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place. Today, however, I can honestly say the burden’s lifted & I have peace in my heart that we’ve made the right decision for our boys.
The school & their staff have been forgiven… I’m letting go & we’re moving forward… I pray for wisdom to make the right decisions in order to continuously guide our sons into reaching their full potential…
Released to Love - Ezine for Christian women
A free ezine to encourage women to become all they were created to be in Christ.
Revived Christian Woman—Homeschooling Begins with Home
Homeschooling is a tool for mom’s growth, too!
Become a homeschooled mom.
South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page. We hope you enjoy the carnival as much as we have!
Timez Attack has revolutionized multiplication games. It's as polished as a high-end real video game, yet as effective as a top math tutor one-on-one. The built-in assessment, adaptation, and post-test research data guarantee total mastery.
My boys just love it!
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