It Started Before I Was Ever a Mom

I was in 8th grade and we had just got a new teacher for mathematics. He was a odd kind of fellow, he was from abroad and he had some interesting ways of teaching. He did as most teachers do writing sums on the board and showing us how to work them out only I was beginning to get stressed because as much as I tried I couldn’t get the same result as him. I showed him my work and how I did it. He said I was wrong. I took my work home and told my parents what had happened and my father said he would take a look, he was very good at math.

I was right.

and so when I returned the school the next day, I told my teacher. After that he told the students who had issues with their work to come to me. Soon I had taken over the class and was teaching everyone, marking their work with a ‘good work’ and smiley face. Of course, it didn’t take long for parents to begin to call in asking why their child was being taught by a fellow student.

The teacher was sacked and a new teacher was brought in to take over the class, as for me, I was moved from the middle math group to the top. I had no idea of this when I lined up for class a few days later, The head of the math department came over to me and said ‘You’re in the wrong place. If you can teach a whole class then you should be in the top class.

I never forgot the lessons I learned.

One big move to a new country (from England to Australia) and 4 children later. Here I am spending my days at home teaching my children.

​I create many of the materials they learn from and I take the lead in what they are learning and doing. There was a period of time where I wondered if I was capable, If I could be enough to teach my children.

Do you ever feel this way?

Then I reminded myself of the math teacher and how he had been trained, certified and was in a classroom teaching.
I was more capable than he was as an 8th grader.

The truth about education in the school environment is that it often sucks creativity and robs children of the enjoyment of learning. This then effects those children when they become adults, instead of school preparing students for life and adding valuable things to the world. It teaches children to regurgitate information, find learning grinding and pass the standardized tests that they set to see if they’re worthy of going to college.

After finishing high-school, going to TAFE and then going to University, I got a very well rounded view of the schooling system.

I saw people who loved to teach and people who hated teaching, teach because they couldn’t make it doing what they wanted to do. I spent many hours in the classroom and found the most I learned was at University BUT no not for the reasons you’d expect.

The teachers weren’t better, even the material wasn’t better.
By the time I got to University I was different.

I had made the decision to gain knowledge to change and grow so that I could do what I wanted to do with my life.

This is how I run my homeschool. My focus is on their love of learning and building the character traits that will help them achieve great things in the world. If you look at anyone successful in the world, they didn’t get there by accident. They were determined, curios and resourceful. They learned what they needed to learn and weren’t afraid to fail. This is what I have been cultivating in my children. They’re excited to learn. My eldest loves tests, especially when they’re timed, which is just so bizarre to me.
THIS is the fruit that is possible when we teach our own children.

What I Love About

Homeschooling

I call it homeschool BUT it’s not just school at home. I did attempt this at first but, it doesn’t work. Homeschool to us: is educating your children yourself, instead of sending them off for someone else to teach. Homeschool means learning about the world, exploring new places, and discussing everything.

I Get the Most Enjoyment From My children’s:

• Faces: When they learn something new, or finally solve a problem they’ve been working on.
• Excitement and enthusiasm: When we have a new topic to learn about or new school supplies and learning materials.
• Resourcefulness and creativity: As they come up with solutions and think about ways they can make a big difference in the world, and solve big issues in culture.

I Also Love How I’ve Grown:

• Character: I’ve become so much more of the woman I hoped to be. My patience has only grown and my confidence along with it.
• Excitement and enthusiasm: I get just as excited and curios as the children do when we’re learning about new topics or delving into old ones from a new perspective.
• Resourcefulness and creativity: I have had to find ways to create the learning materials my kids needed and wanted because our budget often wouldn’t allow me to pay out for expensive educational programs. I’ve spent a lot of time studying all the subjects I need to teach them, I even got myself a set of free Books for Teachers in University that many teachers reference in their first years of teaching. I’ve sources old encyclopedias so the children can learn without always needing a screen.