My approach to Home Schooling was casual, inventive, changed every day, fun and Life Learning.

And although we did agree to Home Schooling as a school taught children, that desire dropped off when I discovered that a formal approach to teaching was limited, frustrating for teacher and child, and not very productive.

What I would do was…

I would get up every week day morning at around 5 am.
I would then get the washing on, have a coffee, and then I would set out each child’s work for the following day.

The first was pencil and paper work, but from there there was computer work.

I had written many small software packages to help Home Schooling.

I could teach one child while another was on a computer. We had a few computers.

At one stage Balmoral School gave us many computers when they upgraded as a reward for years of my fixing their computers.

Then if anything needed doing around the home I would include that in the children’s day.

I tried to be inventive, but also to include the things that I had not been taught or shown as a child.

My desire was for the children to think for themselves while learning.

I did this by setting out work for them after showing them how to use the tools/equipment and about safety.
Once they had something to do then they would go about it in their own way as a group project or individually.

Once they had done the practical work often I would ask them to come up with something to make and then to get to it based on what they already had learned up to this stage.

The final result was the test and examination was the work to make the final result possible.
But I was loose on that because all I required of them was that they gave it their best shot and got something from the experience.
For example if it was cooking and one was so thrilled about it but didn’t make great cookies, it still could be enough experience to decide on a career in cooking later on in life when they were better at baking.

The Home Schooling teacher/guide should always be thinking of the child’s future and if the child is gaining fro the experiences that they are having as a home schooled child.

I would get a huge thrill each time one of them accomplished what they had set out to do.

Sometimes if one was behind I would have the others do something else and help the one who was behind catch up, but in their own time so that they would not feel pressured to achieve.

I was never more happier than teaching my own children.

The fun activities we have, the fun times, the lessons still help them today.

One should go into the teaching knowing that all the years of effort could seem fruitless, especially since all families seem to have a black sheep, the one who goes bad, and while this does happen, our goal as guides in their lives is to give them all the best start in life as we can by preparing them in every way that we think would help them.

If they leave home with knowledge, wisdom, and still go bad, well at least you know that you did your complete best.
In life if we do our utmost best then we cannot ask more of ourselves.

We should always incorporate our own talents  and abilities, hobbies and likes into the Home Schooling as well.
Not to show them that they should follow us, but to give them as much opportunity to learn many different things, and if we are good at something then teaching them that would be a big advantage to them.

If your approach is of excitement then theirs will be as well.

Be aware that the goal is to not make them copies of their parents, but instead to make them approach life with hope, wonder and faith in themselves and to see the world as a place of opportunities to go do what they wish to do and be on their own.