Homeschooling Gifted Children Jo Freitag

Reasons for Homeschooling 4 Personal philosophy of education 4 Geographical isolation 4 Medical conditions 4 Parents are itinerant workers 4 Religious beliefs 4 Social/emotional issues 4 Special educational needs

Advantages of Homeschooling 4 Can work at required level for each subject 4 Can work at required pace for each subject 4 Can go on excursions, trips, etc. when it is most convenient 4 Can learn real life skills 4 Can access a variety of courses

Possible Problems & Solutions 4 Socialisation 4 Mother not qualified teacher 4 Will see friends at church, youth groups, sports, clubs, etc. 4 Can use whole curricula, Internet courses, tutors, mentors, TAFE and Community House courses etc.

Possible Problems & Solutions 4 Will the student gain meaningful qualifications? 4 Will discipline be a problem? 4 Can use DECV if eligible, TAFE courses and alternative entry for tertiary courses 4 Can use appropriate strategies

Sources of Teaching Materials 4 Complete courses 4 TAFE, Community House etc. courses 4 Internet courses 4 Gather collection from book shops, Op shops, garage sales, fetes, etc. 4 Write own units

Internet courses 4 Christian studied with the Virtual school for the Gifted 4 -What a Laugh 4 -Visual Basic Programming 4 -Writing fantasy fiction

Chess 4 Christian played Chess by with a girl from Western Australia

Learning from everyday happenings 4 When we found a possum which had been hit by a car the Possum Lady visited and Christian sketched the possum she brought with her.

Mentoring 4 Christian has sessions with Shaun Hately for maths and Kim Edwards for English

L.O.T.E. Pot-Pourri 4 L.O.T.E. Pot-Pourri was a little taste of several languages. 4 We had characters from around the world who shared their phrases and songs with us

Textiles 4 Erica’s 12 Days of Christmas Quilt

Textiles 4 Erica refurbished this doll’s cradle and made the mini quilt and pillow

Home Economics 4 Christmas food

Music 4 Erica visited her flute teacher once a week.

Maths/Art -3D Constructions 4 Rainer’s star was made from paper squares and triangles

Maths/Art -3D Constructions 4 These shapes were made from spaghetti and Milky Way bars

Library 4 Croydon Library - source of research materials, text books, fiction, foreign language courses on tape & CD, jigsaws, Internet access, family tree research and with a lake for a picnic lunch

Nativity Windows 4 Painting nativity windows for the Sunday School was an activity for Art and Social service.

Enrichment 4 Christian attended Aim High and Minds for the Millennium classes

Activities - Society for Creative Anachronism

Sport - Squash