Practical Advice for New Home Educators

The first thing you have to do is "Don't Panic" - All of us have been in your shoes - it's all so overwhelming - take a Deep Breath - and read on......

You are not alone!!! Just look here at the statistics of how many other homeschooler's there are in Australia alone, let alone the world.

You are probably on information overload and your brain probably feels like it will explode - you are probably thinking - "Yes, Yes, Yes" - this all makes sense and I'm gonna Do it" - and then you sleep on it - or discuss it with relatives or friends and panic sets in - Oh NO What Have I Done?????????.

We have heard it all, from sisters being accused of child abuse for making the decision to home school their children -to sisters who have been told they are denying their children their right to an education.

First, If this is what has happened to you then please realise that most of these people making these accusations know NOTHING about home schooling and they genuinely believe that they are protecting you from making a big mistake - and they are also really scared that if - by some chance you succeed - it might make them feel bad that they didn't join and support you in the first place. And seriously -what do they really know about Home Schooling anyway??? Usually nothing- I remember a similar reaction when I embraced Islam 16 years ago - its called - FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN...................and it too will pass. (insha'Allah)

Subhana'Allah, Trust Allah that if you have made this decision to please Him - then He will make it easy for you. Always ask Him for help. He has given you children as a trust and He knows that you are most able to take care of your trust, if you always turn to Him for help and guidance.

Below we have listed some articles and advice that we hope will help you get started (insha'Allah):

• Advice to New Home Schoolers
• Oh No! I'm Home Schooling!!!
• Home Education on a Budget
• Home Schooling a Large Family
• An Example of a Time Table For a Home Schooling Family
• The Various Approaches to Home Education

Depending where you are in Australia or the world you need to find what the legal requirements are for home schooling If you are in Australia you will find the laws relating to your state located in this article: Is Home schooling Legal?

If it is necessary to register contact the government department in your area and ask them to send you the appropriate application forms. In most cases it takes up to a month, depending on how busy they are. You will probably receive a letter as a receipt of your application, followed by a phone call to organise an appointment so they can discuss your application to home school and to approve you for registration. (Insha'Allah)

The next step will be deciding what you are going to teach your children and how. We have prepared an article on The Various Approaches to Home Schooling. Most new Home Schoolers initially try to implement "school at home", so for this reason they usually use a classical text book method to start off with.

If you are not sure what curriculum to use there are a few Home Schooling Curriculum Review sites where you can read and compare the various programs to help you decide.

You are not just restricted to using curriculum available in Australia you can also source programs produced overseas, some of which are imported and are available here from Home schooling Suppliers.

Many of the programs are Christian based so remember to buy from suppliers that have a return policy incase you don't like the program and wish to return it. I have not seen an Islamic based secular program, no use complaining that we don't have one - if you end up using a Christian based one , tell your children when they grow up (insha'Allah) to design an Islamic one.

If you find a program overseas that you would like to use, you can often contact them directly to find our whether they have a supplier here, or if you can order from them directly.

Here is a list of suppliers who concentrate on supplying programs for homeschooler's in Australia:

• Home Schooling Supplies
• Fountain Resources
• Kingsley Educational P/L Online
• Australian Correspondence Schools
• Australian Home Schooling Second Hand Curriculum Board

Also, for online ordering of text books we have found the following links:

• Australian Bookshop Directory
• Andrews Books
• Angus & Robertson Online

There may also be Education Resource Centres located near you that supply educational materials usually to teachers or schools. Many of them will give you up to 10% discount if you tell them you are home schooling. (Insha'Allah)

It is also a good idea to find a support group in your area. They are often really helpful in providing support and resources. They usually meet regularly often going on excursions and educational or just getting together to brainstorm helpful ideas as to how to home school.

Many of these groups are Christian based here in Australia and you will have to shop around for the one that suits you. My experience has been that generally many of these groups cater to their particular sect of Christianity.

There are some support groups that are not religiously based and that just focus on the needs of home schooling families. They are few and far between though, so keep looking if you are not close to any Muslim Support Groups. (Insha'Allah) Or if you have met a few Muslim Home Schooler's in your area start a Muslim Home Schooling Support group yourself. (Insha'Allah, we will include notes on the How to's of that soon)

If you are not close to anyone that home schools another great support idea is the vast amount of mailing lists on the net:

Mailing Lists:

Homeschool List through Stepping Stones - e-mail address:
homeschool@australia.edu  Send an e-mail to homeschool-request@australia.edu

with the word subscribe in the body of the e-mail, nothing in the subject.

Australian Homeschool (AHS):

http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/australianhomeschool

Christian Home schooling in Australia:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChristianHomeschoolinginAustralia

Home schooling or Unschooling in Australia message board:

http://communities.ninemsn.com.au/HomeschoolingorUnschoolinginAustralia

CM & Friends Australia:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CmandFriends-ANZ/

Waldorf Inspired Home schooling list:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Waldorfhomeschool

Australian Unschoolers:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/australianunschoolers

Classical Home schooling in Australia:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chooz/

If you decided to home school children that have been in school for a while, you may have to de-school them for a while in order that they get used to being taught at home and also become used to have their Mum or Dad as their teacher.

"Deschooling specifically refers to that period of adjustment experienced by children removed from school settings. It also can include the process of De-schooling parents; that is, the unlearning of concepts and beliefs about the nature and purpose of education. Often this is best begun with a 'holiday' at home, a time to observe and record what naturally occurs in the child's life, and where additional resources are needed to introduce additional learning activities considered important and essential. It often takes many months, and sometimes even a year, for the process of De-schooling to unfold. During this time it is a great idea to seek support from families who are home schooling to yourself. " [—Beverly Paine]

We hope that this information has helped you get started with less stress. Please let us know if you think we could add any further information in order to assist new homeschooler's (Insha'Allah)

We are dedicated to provide encouragement and support to you as you educate your child(ren) at home. Feel free to contact us at any time if you have any questions about home schooling

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