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Reaching Higher Newsletter from |
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Homeschool Record Keeping*
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Please enable images to display in this newsletter so that you don't miss important information.
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To keep records or not, that is the question?*
Does the Department of Basic Education (DBE) actually want homeschooling records? If you look at the BELA Bill and proposed draft policy on home education, the answer is "Yes". However, what they prescribe is not necessarily in the best interests of the child. It will tie a mother up with so much admin that one could argue it hinders learning.
Moreover, how your children are progressing in their education and related information, such as any learning difficulties they may have, is PRIVATE information that no one has a right to see, unless ordered by a court of law - such as if you were being investigated for educational neglect, which is highly unlikely.
It is recommended that you make a yearly report at the end of each year, for your own records and peace of mind. Here is a summary of some of the things you could include in a written report:
You could also keep a sample of some of your child's learning as a souvenir and as a summary of the year if you choose...but all of this is OPTIONAL.
Remember that any workbooks or materials that you have used with your child are also evidence of what she has done - should you ever need it. (You don't have to keep it all, but for each year, you could SHOW what your child has been studying if you are using learning products.)
Consider too that home education is NOT school at home. There is a lot of learning that happens that is not found between the pages of books. ALL OF LIFE IS LEARNING.
Some children can cook a three course meal and mow the lawn, before they can read fluently - because not all children learn academic or other skills at the same rate!
This does not mean that the children are not progressing with their education.
In our Footprints parent guides, we explain to parents how to use various forms of expression by the children to assess and evaluate their learning, for example:
• Narration – the art of telling back what has been read or learned.
• Discussion and debate – talking about or arguing about topics of interest helps children to really grasp what they have discovered
• Creative writing – freedom to express their own ideas
• Small assignments and projects to express learning
• Drawing – a picture can speak a thousand words
• Hands-on activities – children can often demonstrate aspects of what they have learned by building models, creating crafts, performing experiments or even dressing up, acting or role-playing etc.
Much of a homeschooled child’s learning is experiential and creative so photographs are a great way to record outings, creations and sport activities.
So, Mom, don’t stress too much about record keeping. We hope you will use some of these ideas to re-assure yourself (at least) of your children’s amazing progress in learning in the years to come.
*Disclaimer - The content of this newsletter does not claim to be or substitute for legal advice.
All information is provided for informational purposes only, although every effort is made to provide accurate and current information.
Always seek the advice of a suitably informed legal advisor for your specific family circumstances.
Since there are few legal practitioners in South Africa, who specialise in educational law and specifically the laws pertaining to home education, the Pestalozzi Trust, the homeschool legal defence assocation, is recommended for this purpose. Contact them at www.pestalozzi.org
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For parents who want to be well-informed, Shirley has compiled a free resource on Home Education and the Law, which includes information about Homeschooling legislation in South Africa, homeschooling as a human right, cottage schools and the law, removing or returning a child to the school system, provincial registration requirements and more. |
| | Join Wendy Young and Shirley Erwee for a day of tips, advice, info and encouragement, based on their 20 years of experience of homeschooling their own families of 4 and 6 children respectively.
Date; 7 July 2018
Venue: Friends of God Goodwood AFM, Cnr Frans Conradie and Vasco Boulevard, Goodwood, Cape Town
Time: 10h00-16h30
There will be three optional sessions:
1. Footprints Workshop - tips and advice for using the 3 Footprints On Our Land programmes that Wendy and Shirley created
Time 10h00-11h30
Cost: R100 per person
2. Homeschooling with Pleasure
Tips and advice for homeschooling with pleasure and with confidence from preschool through to the high school years.
Time: 12h00-14h00
Cost: R100 per person
3. The GED® - a grade 12 solution
Shirley Erwee will present information and answer questions about preparing for and getting the GED® in South Africa.
Time: 14h30-15h30
Cost: R100 per person
All Day Ticket - R300pp
You can book online at Quicket
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