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Issue #45 - September 2012

Don't Be Overwhelmed at Homeschool Expos

Its South African Homeschool Curriculum Expo season!Homeschool expos are being planned all around South Africa, kicking off in Cape Town this Saturday, 15 September, followed by Durban on Monday 24 September and then one in George on 20 October and Johannesburg on 5 November.

Details of times and venues can be found on our site HERE.

It can be quite overwhelming to attend a homeschool expo, especially the first time and especially if you are a new homeschooler!

You walk into a hall that is filled with tables of educational goods and you don't know where to start.

There is so much stuff, how do you choose what your family needs?

How do you avoid impulse shopping and buying a lot of neat goodies that you actually don't need?

1. Take stock before you leave home.

Think about what you need for the upcoming school year. What do you already have? If you are starting homeschooling for the first time, plan to shop for JUST THE BARE ESSENTIALS.

• a Maths curriculum


• a Language Arts programme in your child's mother tongue


• Afrikaans / English second language if your child/ren are grade 3 or higher


• Social Studies


• Science (maybe)

What you might need, will vary depending on the ages and grade levels of your children, the number of children you are homeschooling and what you already have.

2. Locate the curriculum providers.

When you walk into the hall, make a point of finding the vendors that sell homeschooling products specifically. Walk right past all the tables selling toys, games, books, CDs, learning aids and anything that is not designed specifically for homeschooling.

As you circle your way around the hall, this should lead you to the mere handful of homeschool curriculum providers. Look, listen, ask your questions and be sure to take a flyer or pricelist.

Don't commit to anything on the spur of the moment, unless it is specifically what you came to find.

Too often we hear from parents who were drawn in by convincing sales talk, only to regret the choice they made. Take your time to investigate your options thoroughly.

3. Look at the other products.

Finally, when you have looked at all the homeschooling stuff, then take your last trip around and see what else there is. You might find bargains for gifts, great books to add to your home library as well as other optional extras that are just good to have.

4. Sort your product info.

When you get home, sift through the pamplets and flyers you have gathered. Don't toss too many away as there is a good chance you may want to refer back to some product at a later stage of your homeschool journey.

Go back to the list you made when you started out and see if you have found what you need.

Remember, that not all the available products will be on display at the expo. Ask veteran homeschoolers to recommend other products to you too. We have some recommended products on our site - ones we have tried and tested and liked ourselves!

5. Buy after doing your homework.

Contact the companies whose products you like and get the details that you need to place your order when you have calmly weighed up all your options and worked out your budget. Its a good idea to order the most expensive items early (now in September, if you can) and then month by month, buy the remainder that you need before January. In this way you can break up your payments.

Homeschool Q & A

On our Footprints website, we recently created a Homeschool Question and Answers page where South African homeschoolers can ask anything about homeschooling.Here are some answers to frequently asked questions:

How to Get a Homeschool 'Matric'

What are the Benefits of Homeschooling?

What about Curriculum Compliance?

The Procedure for Removing a Child from School

Information about Registering for Homeschooling (or not!)

Please feel free to ask any questions that YOU may have for the benefit of others who will also read the answers!

We are also looking for more Homeschool Success Stories to share!

Till next time, 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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