Save time and simplify
your homeschooling life...
Learn from experienced
homeschoolers how to write your own curriculum.
It really is that easy!
Use this website with Beverley Paine's Getting Started with Home Schooling - Practical Considerations to help you develop your own educational curriculum to suit your family situation, beliefs and lifestyle. The checklists can help you identify your children's current educational skill level in each subject area, as well as find any 'gaps' in their learning, plan what they need to cover or keep track of what has been learned. As you can appreciate this website is continuously under development... It's our aim to add pages on a regular basis in all curriculum areas: check back frequently. Feedback and comments welcome. We hope you enjoy the articles and activities and find the links and recommended resources useful. Over the next year we will be working our way through each subject area and writing fresh, new content which will also be reproduced in a reasonably priced handy reference booklet from our Practical Homeschooling Series. |
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"Congratulations on a terrific website. It's a great resource." Steven "By sharing your experiences, we are into our third year of homeschooling and enjoying it thoroughly." Marina "Thank you so much for your wonderful website! I was getting quiet frustrated with finding appropriate information on homeschooling - thanks to your website we are now on the right track... Using your checklists for reassurance helped me to have the confidence to come up with my own programme that suits our needs." Rachael "I'm a frequent visitor to your website... I gain valuable knowledge from your website, luckily recommended in the very early stages of our homeschooling journey." Geradine "I checked out your website today and was incredibly impressed by it. I can tell it will be a great resource for our family for many years. THANKS for all the hard work that has gone into making homeschooling easier and much less isolating for families like us." Cynthia |
Computers and Home Education
© Beverley Paine, Mar 2002
Our family began with using a computer mostly for word processing, especially for the production of homeschooling newsletters. Soon the kids were playing all sorts of games. They found the so-called educational games dull and boring, and felt the 'shooting' ones provided enough learning opportunities in language and maths skills.
After eight years of 'playing' with the computer all three children are proficient with managing files, word processing for letters, brochures, advertisements, stories and a range of applications, as well as finding their way around complex role playing or simulation games.
More recently Thomas, eleven years, has developed an interest in letter writing using email. This has improved his writing skills and given him confidence. The best thing about email is the speed with which a reply returns, boosting motivation to write!
Families don't have to spend a fortune to 'get' into computers. At seventeen April purchased an IBM compatible 486 with a CD ROM drive for $300. Although a computer this 'old' won't play the latest games, it is good enough to run useful applications such as Microsoft Word and Publisher and spreadsheet programs like Excel. April can produce top quality essays and projects, incorporating photographs and artwork, to equal anything put out by a publishing company. This really helps motivate April in her studies, and helps her to become familiar with the world of computers.
Roger, at fifteen, is more interested in the hardware side of computers, and how to integrate them with his other love - Lego! He is pursuing studies in personal computer upgrade and repair and hopes to start a business with his father in a year or two. Understanding computer jargon is essential in his life. It is a whole new language! Roger's problem solving skills and deep understanding of computer systems and programs astound me.
Thomas insists that playing computer games has been the main vehicle for learning to read for him, as increased playing time has coincided with his increased reading ability. The games he plays all require a great deal of reading, and his brother is often off doing something by himself, and unavailable to read for Thomas.
I marvel at the speed in which both boys scan the screen and locate information, and make decisions based on that information. Often there are complex tables to be read, or key words to be found in scrolling text.
Computers have stimulated learning in very many different areas in our household.
on this website is of a general
nature only and is not intended as
personal or professional advice.
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Beverley and Robin Paine
PO Box 371 Yankalilla 5203
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Thank you for visiting!
Pioneering members of the home education movement in Australia,
Beverley and Robin Paine
are passionate advocates of true educational choice for families.
They began homeschooling in 1986 and three years later started the
South Australian Home Based Learners
network. Beverley continues to write for homeschooling newsletters
and magazines as well as hosting several websites dedicated to promoting
and supporting home education in Australia. Her aim is to demystify the
education process and make it accessible to all parents. Enjoy Beverley's
wealth of practical knowledge, homeschooling and unschooling tips and
ideas through articles and books and online at
www.homeschoolaustralia.com.
Since the late 1990s Robin and Beverley have been building their home education
publishing business - Always Learning Books - from home with the help of their son Thomas.
"Education is not a preparation for life. Education is life itself." John Dewey
Please note that the opinions and articles included in the suite of Homeschool Australia websites are not necessarily those of Beverley and Robin Paine, nor do we endorse or necessarily recommend products (other than our own) listed in contributed articles, pages, or advertisements.
Please visit the following websites for information on homeschooling in Australia:
Homeschool Australia : SAHEN : Australian HS Curriculum : About the Paine Family
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All rights reserved.
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