Ashleigh Whaley
Before I started homeschooling my children I made the following lists:
Who am I?
- An organised, disciplined person.
- Loads of business experience.
- Not a qualified teacher.
- Live in a third world country.
- Commute between two homes.
- Love the Lord!
What do I need to look for in a homeschooling program?
With the above list of who I am, I was then able to make the following list about what I was looking for in a homeschooling program.
- Who wrote the program?
- How long has the program been in existence?
- Has it been tried and tested?
- How many people are using it globally?
- Is there ready access to training and support?
- Do I know of a child who has completed the program and gone onto University?
- Do I know of a child who received a scholarship to University, using the program?
- Can I use this program, to achieve my long term goals for my children?
- Is there ongoing research to improve the program?
- Does the program teach learners to teach themselves?
- It is a disciplined program?
- Do they have systems in place for accountability?
- Does the program cover the core subjects?
- Can the learner go at his/her own speed?
- Can I move between homes easily with this program?
- Is the program Christian based, where the children learn Godly characteristics and wisdom?
- Will this program enable my child to be on par with, or ahead of, his/her mainstream school age group?
- Is the program user friendly and easy to follow?
My Final Homeschoooling Core Program Choice.
Accelerated Christian Education. From the USA was my final choice, as the core educational program for my children. ACE ticked all the above criteria… I have since come to love the program and I now know that my children can reach all their academic goals.
My additional programs.
Once I had the core educational program in place, I then looked for extras which I could add, to enhance my children’s educational growth. My children, who are currently 7 and 9 year old’s, do the following extra activities.
Mental Math. These books are from Australia. Each child does this first, on a daily basis. It is a great way to start the day and helps with Math. It also gives me a cross reference to my core program. I can see that my children are reaching the same Math level as children on two other continents.
Math-U-See. An American Math program, which helps the children visualize math. It is a very thorough system, which reinforces basic Math concepts. As we have such a great core Math program, we just do the weekly tests, but it is good to know that, should we hit a Math challenge, Math-U-See is there to reinforce the basics.
Eye gym: This is done right at the beginning of the day. It’s an excellent program, which develops children’s hand/eye coordination, for sport. We have a manual and computer version.
Shona. Shona is a native language of Zimbabwe. Once a week the children have a verbal Shona lesson. This is the start to learning a second language.
Choices. This is a Zimbabwean produced Bible study guide. We do the study once a week, to increase Bible knowledge. Once we have finished this course, we shall look for another Bible study guide.
Typing Fanatic. This is a free, online typing course. The children do it, whenever they are free, -at the end of school or between subjects. The children have done it for a year now and are getting the hang of typing. The goal is for the children to be able to type emails by the time they are 10.
Diary. The children write one diary post, per week, in a dedicated book. These news accounts encourage creative writing. They also love to illustrate their news. Each year they have to increase their accounts by a sentence. News books are printed out at the end of the year, so that they can share a hard copy with friends and family.
Project: This we do weekly on a crop on the farm. The children go out to the field each Monday to study what is happening with the crop. It’s a great way for them to learn what their Father does for a living. I also like to show them how they can apply what they have learnt at school into real life. Slowly they are growing an unbelievable knowledge of farming.
Art. This we do, as and when we have time,- usually during the holidays. Do fun things like garden art, Christmas wreaths, canvas drawings. There is so much out there to find a do. We get a great deal of ideas from Pinterest.
The sky is the limit when it comes to extras.
There is just so much out there -and we constantly adapt, as and when we need to. Google is a great resource for us and we spend loads of time googling interesting things.
Therefore enjoy the challenge of finding the right program to suit your life and your children. Keep an open mind and research extra ideas and teaching methods. Finally don’t forget to prayer.
“All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.” Isaiah 54:13 (NIV).
Prayer: Heavenly Father please instill in me the wisdom and discerning heart I require in order to choose the correct education program for my children. Bless my choices and guide me daily. Give me faith; give me perseverance, In Jesus name, I prayer. 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.
I would love to know about all the wonderful programs you have chosen to educate your children. Please leave your comments below….
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