“The Whaley” Homeschool Structure.

1. Homeschool – Identity.

I treat my homeschooling activity as a business. We have named this business ‘The Whaley Academy’.

We are proud of our school and have a mission statement on the schoolroom wall, reminding us of what our school is about.

2. School – Training.

Once I had chosen an academic program, I went for a week’s training, to learn how to use the ‘Accelerated Christian Education’ program. ACE is a wonderfully structured course, which clearly guides, in a user friendly manner, as well as giving one the confidence to kick off and succeed with homeschooling.

3. Homeschool – Building.

I converted a small farm garage into our schoolroom. The children both have their own ‘offices’ within the schoolroom, where they can work undisturbed. I like having the schoolroom central to our home, as it makes it easier for us to start early in the morning, without venturing outside. Education in our home is part of our daily lives and not something we have to go away to do. Our schoolroom also doubles as a play room and my personal office. As I have two homes, (one on the farm and one in town), I needed to create another schoolroom in our town house. This schoolroom is also central to our town home, as it is situated between the bedrooms and the living areas. Having our two schoolrooms in our homes, enables me to keep an eye on the staff, who take care of our houses and gardens, whilst I am busy at school.

Both our schoolrooms have a warm, relaxed atmosphere, whilst also being very well ordered. The children often use the schoolroom as their fun place to do art, puzzles, and to play indoor board games etc. I stock each schoolroom identically, with stationery etc., so that we only have to move school books from the farm to town. It is the children’s responsibility to pack their own school books, for travel to and from Harare.  

To guide and remind us of our Christian ethos, we have bible verses on the wall, in each of our schoolrooms. I sometimes like to play Christian music quietly in the background. I find that Christian music keeps our school in an atmosphere of praise and worship.

‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’.  
Philippians 4:13

4. Homeschool -Yearly Plan.

Our program ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) has a guide line book, as to what each child should achieve each year.  It’s not set in stone and each child works at his/her own speed. I keep my year flexible, as we can never set our leave/holiday dates at the beginning of the year. Basically we school, until we are able to plan our leave/holiday dates, which center around the farming seasons. I don’t like school terms to be longer than ten weeks, as I find that is the maximum time period for my young children. No doubt, as they get older, they will be able to study for a longer period of time.

I like to take a very long break at the end of our school year, which is December/January, which fits in with our farming activities. Subsequently, we take many smaller breaks, staggered  throughout the school year. The beauty about homeschooling is that one can be flexible and adaptable. This suits our lifestyle and gives us lots of freedom.

 5. Homeschool – Daily Timetable.

As we live in Zimbabwe, which has a wonderful climate, we never get too cold. However, during the summer months we do have hot days, which is when we like to start school early.  

Our daily summer timetable is as follows.

• · Start at 6.30am.
• Breakfast at 8am-8.30am.
• Tea Break at 10am-10.30am.
• Lunch at 12.00-2pm.  

The children complete their daily goals, as and when they can.   Murray-John, being younger, can get his work done well before 12.00 noon. Paula-Joy often takes longer, so she finishes around lunch time, or early afternoon. Obviously, as the children get older, they will need to spend more time on their school work.   On the days that we go into town (Harare), for sport, we have to change our daily timetable to fit around sporting activities, as some of our sports are in the morning. On these days we school for a few hours, then attend a sports activity, before returning to complete school. The children have adapted well to this and have learnt to manage their daily goals around their sport. I don’t give the children homework to do at night, as I feel that we can cover everything during school hours. (This may change, as they get older…)   

We tend to do extra work pages and all extra activities, like project work etc., when we are on the farm, (Monday and Tuesday), as we have these two whole mornings, without sport. The challenge is to juggle the school and sports times. As my children are very sporty, with sport goals to achieve, we need to be more organized with our timetable -and disciplined to keep to it.  

6. Homeschool – Social Interaction.

During our time in Harare each week, the children do some of their sports with other children, so they are getting social interaction. We also like to invite their friends to the farm, for play interaction and some sports fun days. I enjoy being able to decide with whom, and when, the children interact with others. I also pray daily for them to find Godly friends.  

7. Homeschool Uniform.

As we live in a country where most children attend government(state), or private schools, where uniform is compulsory, I like to have one set of sports clothing with our school logo on, so that our children can identify themselves with our school. We don’t have a daily uniform but they have to adhere to arriving at school clean and tidy, with sunblock applied. (Due to our lovely weather, the children generally play outside during break times and during the afternoons).

8. Homeschool -Way Forward…

I like to make sure my children are keeping ahead with their studies and I have learnt that, with our lifestyle in Zimbabwe, we have to be very flexible and adaptable. We also have to consider the travel time of living in two homes… I believe that, as long as we keep our focus on our end goals, we should be able to adjust and adapt accordingly.  

9. Homeschool – Goals.

Yearly goals are reached one day at a time… I like to make sure my children are keeping ahead with their education and sport, compared with their government/private schooled peers. Being ahead means that we have time to accept and enjoy spontaneous opportunities, whenever they arise.  

At the time of writing this blog our country was in the throes of civil unrest, so we were unable to keep to our Harare travelling schedule. We decided to stay on the farm and we pushed ahead with academics… Once the country stabilized, we returned to our Harare schedule, to catch up on all the sport we had missed.  

Our long term education goal is university scholarships for each of our children, which means that we have to stick to our yearly plans, in order to achieve this goal.

With prayer, wisdom and guidance we believe they will achieve their dreams, goals and desires.    

‘Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.’
Psalms 119 vs 105 (NIV).

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, as we seek wisdom and discernment from You, please pour it liberally upon us. May our paths will be filled with peace and love. We turn to You for all decisions, so that we don’t make poor choices. Guide our school and bless it abundantly.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.  

• Our Victoria Falls Celebration Trip.
• Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for May-June 2024.
• What is a Healthy Homeschooling Culture?
• Our Homeschooling Adventures and Activities for March-April 2024.
• Developing Life Skills through a Houseboat Adventure.

Please tell us about your school in the comments below….