Reaching Higher Homeschool Ezine, Issue #023

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Little Footprints l Heritage Program lHighschool Program l Projects

Issue #23 - October 2008

Real Life Learning

As I, Wendy, write this ezine, Shirley is one week into a 3 week trip with her family. They are travelling around South Africa on what we like to call “A Footprints Holiday”.

When we wrote Footprints On Our Land our vision was to have families exploring the country around them as part of their learning experience. We did not want to create fabricated learning situations for families, but wanted to excite the children’s minds with living ideas through our great literary works and cement the topics with real life learning.

A few of our families have used Footprints in this way. Amongst others, one family was fortunate enough to spend 18 months travelling around South Africa and doing Footprints at the same time. Another took a 6 week caravan trip after they had completed Footprints and we (Young Family) have taken short breaks to various spots in South Africa. Currently Footprints is also going on a world wide tour with a family who is seeing the world as they travel in a 4X4 over the next 3 years.

One of the questions we have all been asked by well meaning friends and family is “What about school?” This is a common misconception about what “school” is. People generally equate learning with school, and school with lots of workbooks and some sort of product to show for it. But learning in children’s lives happens almost constantly.

Learning happens from the time they are born as they watch parents interact, listen to their speech, encounter a creepy-crawly outside or have walks around the neighborhood. Learning continues in the preschool years as they learn to interact with their community, natural environment and literature.

Yet as the school years hit, it seems that many only see learning as how many workbook pages are completed and what the mark is on the report or test at the end of the year.

We believe that learning happens constantly. This is why as parents we need to be very careful to make sure what we are exposing our children to. But it also means that every experience is a learning experience. Whether it is the plumber visiting, planting a veggie garden or going on a 3 week trip around the country.

Advice

What do you do when friends and family members query your decision around homeschooling and other lifestyle choices? At a recent expo there were many moms who expressed their sadness about comments that were passed by family and friends when they told them that they would be homeschooling.

Whilst homeschooling is becoming a more accepted way in South Africa there can still be old mindsets prevalent which believe that “school is better”. New homeschooling parents need to be aware of these mindsets when they enthusiastically share their decision with others.

Moms also need to be aware of another more subtle issue when sharing with their peers that they are going to homeschool their children. This issue is that the receiving mom may feel threatened or even judged by your decision. She may be thinking; “I could never do that” or “I don’t want to be with my children 24/7” or “I am not equipped to homeschool.” Their own feelings may be so overwhelming that it comes across to you as judgmental and they may even voice their opinions rather forcefully to protect themselves.

Your children’s grandparents may or may not be supportive of your decision. Some may be very verbal about their disapproval. You need to handle your parents or parents-in-law with honor and firmness while you bring across to them that while you love their input in your children’s lives, they are actually YOUR children and you need to parent them (of which homeschooling is part) the way you believe is best.

Lastly, you also may need to check your own enthusiasm and share your decisions selectively. This is true for all lifestyle choices from homeschooling to eating choices and parenting techniques to church choices. Share with those you know you have a receptive heart or where you feel prompted to guide through the fruit of your own life choices.

Free Printables

This month we added a notebooking page on Jock of the Bushveld and on gold discovery in South Africa. Visit this page to download the new notebooking pages.

Websites

Seeing that we have been talking about travel in South Africa, please remember to read about Shirley’s last trip to the Garden Route.

For those wanting to plan a trip around South Africa, make sure that you visit South Africa Tours and Travel which gives you the insiders edge on many places to visit.

For kids this month we would like to recommend National Geographic’s Geospy

Footprints News

There are four upcoming events for homeschoolers.

On the 10th October in Cape Town is the annual Kidz Lit Quiz. This is the 3rd year that we have homeschool teams entered. This year there are going to be four homeschool teams of young bookworms who will be competing against schools from all over the peninsula. Please come and support them at Rondebosch Girls Primary School 5.30 – 8.30pm.

The Eastern Cape Homeschool Association is holding their annual curriculum expo and encouragement day on the 11th October in East London.

On the 24th October, Wendy will be hosting a homeschoolers information and encouragement afternoon for new homeschoolers as well as a Footprints On Our Land viewing. Please use the contact form to request more information.

On the 8th of November at the MTN Science Centre in Cape Town First Lego League will be hosting this years Lego League Challenge. This year is the first year that a homeschooled team has entered. We will give more details closer to the time so that you can support them.

Please remember to let us know of any other happenings in your homeschool community which we will happily advertise in this newsletter next month.

Till next month, we wish you every blessing

Wendy and Shirley

www.south-african-homeschool-curriculum.com

Footprints On Our Land - South African Homeschool Curriculum

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