For Michelle Morrow, cracking the code with homeschooling wasn’t always filled with good days. As a homeschooling parent herself, she personally experienced lots of adjustments–from curriculum tweaks to changing schedules and finding her own pace.
When she started in 2001 with her four kids, there wasn’t a plenitude of home learning resources in Australia. Homeschooling was then an unchartered territory, a potential yet to be unlocked. They had to primarily follow the American curriculum until she had to make personal choices to adapt to her kids’ interests. With the help of a few of her close friends, she realized it’s time Australian families explore this new venture.
From there, they started mapping the homeschooling curriculum and obtaining publishing rights in creating textbooks that can assist parents like them. And finally, in 2018, they introduced MyHomeschool to the world, with a goal to serve as a platform for homeschooling parents to provide their children a good and robust Christian-centered academic curriculum.
“Take them to the park, visit their grandparents, go shopping. But always have that attitude that every moment is an educational opportunity for your child. Teach them about the history of a place. Make them learn about the traffic signs, educate them about the name of the flowers in the park. Make it a conversational type of learning. I think those are the best.”
Learning about nature via iStock.
While homeschooling may not be everyone’s cup of tea, Michelle says it’s the best way to educate your child. She emphasizes the “individualized” approach of homeschooling in giving parents the freedom to customize when, how, and where their children will learn as they grow. Michelle suggests homeschoolers take extracurricular activities by targeting the things your child enjoys.
“Take it chronologically. One year at a time. Map out what year your child has to learn reading, writing, arts, geography, and the like.”
Michelle narrates that she has never met a parent who was 100% confident–and that’s normal. She, herself, first had the impression that homeschooling was a daunting concept. As she treads through those first years, she realized that the key was simply common sense. She now boasts that through homeschooling, she was able to personally hone her children’s potentials, who are now a doctor, an entrepreneur, and educators in their own names. She says that you don’t have to be a genius to be a good homeschooler, but you have to be an attentive parent.
Cracking the code with homeschooling: setting a curriculum for your child via iStock.
When a parent approaches them for help, they lay out their two-pronged approach. One, show and make the parent believe that they teach and two, show them the resources fit for their teaching styles and their children’s learning paces. It’s very simple but different from the traditional replication of school at home.
MyHomeschool is compliant with the government guidelines, the Australian curriculum, and the Charlotte Mason Method. On their webpage, they have forums open for parents to inquire and platforms available to assist them in their registration and documentation needs. MyHomeschool boasts itself of a 100% success rate and is positive that it continues to have such now that they are taking things globally.
Charlotte Mason Method to Crack the Code
My Homeschool adopts the Charlotte Mason Method. This is a learning method where you integrate nature with their studying, giving children tools that adults use in real life. This does away with worksheets, and maximizing “notebooking”–a method where the learning provider teaches through the use of books and the learner takes down what they learn and thereafter, shares what they got from the lessons.
When asked if it’s easier now, she says ‘yes’ with a sigh of relief. The past twenty years have taught her that there isn’t a hard-and-fast rule in homeschooling. With the availability of a lot of global educational resources and the current situation of the world, homeschooling is now more accessible than ever. For her homeschooling is “the real way forward.”
On a final note, Michelle has these tips to prepare your child for global competence:
“When you are starting out with homeschooling, don’t worry about university yet.”
You will get there. You have to focus on how your child will learn to read and write and be socially aware. Everything else will naturally follow.
“Make sure that they have a solid education base.”
Michelle says that it’s best your child knows the basics–maths, geography, reading, and writing. That’s what she observed being able to raise successful young professionals by simply homeschooling them. She says that when you have a solid education base, it will be easy to treading into more complex lessons.
MyHomeschool offers modules on Charlotte Mason Method Courses and One-on-One courses. They also provide free trials on Australia’s K-to-10 curriculum. In addition, they have a Reading Lounge with a wide range of book lists tackling lots of topics like history, sciences, and the arts.
Get to know more about Michelle Morrow on Remote Classroom’s #RemoteLearningSummit2022 this coming January 30-31, 2022, 9 AM to 5 PM. You may read more about it here and register to have access to forums like this one.
#RemoteLearningSummit2022 #speakers
