FAMILY AFFAIR: Jillian Wilson with her nine children,

front row, from left: Stephen, David and Joseph;

middle row, from left: Rachel, Samuel and Peter;

back row, from left: Sonya, John Henry and Katherine.

Having nine kids who never leave home might be hard for some parents but Jillian Wilson counts it as a blessing.

The Otahuhu resident and her husband Brian homeschool all their children and have done for more than a decade.

It wasn’t planned, Mrs Wilson says, but started because she didn’t have a car and walking three small children to kindergarten “seemed like too much work”.

Someone at church mentioned homeschooling and the idea stuck.

“I just didn’t like the idea of not knowing what was going on in my children’s day,” Mrs Wilson says.

“Sending them to someone else to look after for the whole day – I just thought I’d rather be with the children.”

She believes it’s a great way to get things done because there aren’t the same constraints on time.

The children are proud to be homeschooled and put on a concert at the Otahuhu library as part of Homeschool Awareness Week this week.

They regularly go out on “school trips” and have the freedom to do so whenever they want, Mrs Wilson says.

Books, the internet and the kids sharing their knowledge with each other are the primary ways she likes to teach.

When someone doesn’t know an answer they can feel confident in asking one of the older siblings, she says.

And if no one knows then there’s always the library or the internet right at hand.

“Everything these days is institutionalised and most people believe that you need to attend courses to learn anything.

“Nobody ever gave me a course on how to be a mum – I just learned by doing.

“I didn’t have to follow a curriculum to teach my children how to speak English, I didn’t have to follow a curriculum to teach my baby how to walk.

“I just gave lots of encouragement.”

Being able to work with her children on their schoolwork has allowed Jillian to follow their progress intently.

Eldest son John Henry showed an early interest in electronics and she has helped steer him towards that.

“When he was eight he wasn’t that good at reading but he could follow a circuit diagram,” she says.

It isn’t hard to imagine why – his dad is an electrical engineer who teaches at Manukau Institute of Technology.

John Henry says he enjoys homeschooling because it gives him time to dismantle things like old cellphones.

He also plays numerous musical instruments. And learning with his brothers and sisters offers plenty of entertainment and competition, he says.

When it comes down to it, family is the most important aspect of homeschooling, Mrs Wilson says.

“It’s not about whether you have a degree, it’s whether you have the confidence and want to spend time with your family.”

– Manukau Courier

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/5909132/Nine-kids-and-hooked-on-ho

TROELS SOMMERVILLE

Please pray for the Pratt family. The Pratt’s were amoung the first families to begin home schooling in the Manawatu. They were very involved in the Manawatu Home Educators in it’s very early days.

Young farm worker dies in

tractor accident from home

educating pioneer family

A young farm worker has been killed after the tractor he was driving appears to have rolled.

22-year-old Samuel Pratt, from Ashhurst, had been using a tractor to turn over soil prior to planting at a farm off Huia Iti Road, Pongoroa.

At 9.30pm when Samuel hadn’t arrived back at the farmhouse a concerned colleague went looking for him. The colleague found Samuel’s tractor in a paddock on its roof midway down a steep hill. Samuel was deceased and trapped by the tractor.

Heavy machinery was used to lift the tractor unit to free Samuel from the scene.

The death is not being treated as suspicious but the circumstances are being investigated by Police on behalf of the Coroner. The Department of Labour has been notified.

Rotorua home schoolers include

Madelyn Skilton, 12 (left), Anna Pilaar, 11, Ellen Bethune, 12, Simon Scothern, Aimee Wolsey, 14, Alex Bethune, 9, and Michael Pilaar, 13.

Photo / Andrew Warner 251110aw13

Contrary to popular belief, not all home school families are weird and highly religious – not in the 21st century anyway.

Rotorua’s Denise Wolsey, who home schools her 14-year-old daughter, Aimee, says home schooling families are misunderstood.

She has the impression most people think they’re weird and religious.

“Most people think home schoolers are wrapped in cotton, but that’s far from reality,” she says.

Fellow home schooling mother Leslie Bethune says there’s now an increasing number of tertiary-educated professionals choosing to home school in a completely new way.

Both women are part of the growing home schooling community in Rotorua and say most people question it because they don’t understand it.

Legally in New Zealand, all children between the ages of 6 and 16 must be enrolled in a registered school.

However, they can get an exemption from enrolment with the permission of the Ministry of Education.

The ministry needs to be sure parents are able to educate their children regularly and as well as a registered school.

Home school parents are not obliged to follow the national curriculum or create a mini-school at home.

Denise believes her children are far better off being home schooled.

“I feel responsible for their education so I make sure I expose them to things.”

She says the main difference between home schooling and public school is that parents can teach their children at the level they’re at.

“The huge difference for us is that if they need extra help, you don’t have to worry about 20 other kids.”

While it is a bit more difficult for home school children to get qualifications, there are a number of options.

Some home school students are able to align with local schools and do internal NCEA assessments or sign up to sit external NCEA exams via the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) website. Another option is to sit the Cambridge exams.

Despite that, Denise says being at home means her children can focus on things in which they’re interested and she never has to worry about them missing out on learning things they would in school.

She says one of the most common questions people ask is whether home schooled children are adequately socialised. She believes they are more socialised than children who go to school.

“They’re exposed to life – they don’t just sit at home.”

Home school lessons include maths, English, French, Spanish, history, geography, science, art, graphics, music, photography, drama, horse riding, swimming and more.

This year, some have also taken courses in kayaking, mountainbiking, computing, sewing, cooking, skiing and te reo.

Denise and Leslie say the Rotorua home school community often organises group classes and excursions.

Modern technology plays a huge part in the way they teach their children. Via the internet, home school children are able to take courses or qualifications from anywhere in the world.

Leslie says many of the classes are live in virtual classrooms with a real teacher and real classmates.

She likes the relaxed, flexible nature of home schooling.

“We do things at our own pace without having to compare with other students.”

Leslie says she has confidence in home schooling because she has a good idea of her children’s quality of work.

She believes home schooling allows her children to get a more well-rounded education.

View link here: http://www.rotoruadailypost.co.nz/life-style/news/does-home-schooling-work/3932114/

[Link: Home schooling myths and facts]

Many of you will have heard of the tragic accident on Saturday that took the life of our friend and colleague, Trish Fraser.  Trish was killed while cycling at Mt Stewart, training for the ride around Lake Taupo.

The opportunity to farewell our beloved friend, fellow homeschooling mum, and sister in Christ will be this Thursday 18th, 1pm at Life Church, 590 Featherston Street, Palmerston North.

Any offers of help at the funeral (food or help in the kitchen) would be much appreciated and can be directed to Mandy.

Your prayers for Trish’s husband, Joe, their children and their extended family would be appreciated.

Grieving husband taking on Taupo race

The widower of a Longburn mother of four who died while training for the Lake Taupo cycle challenge will ride the race in her honour.

Joe Fraser said he planned to ride with two race numbers – his own and the one that would have been worn by his wife, Patricia Anne Veronica Fraser, known as Trish.

“I’ll probably be crying all the way,” he said.

Mrs Fraser, 34, and a friend were cycling single file on State Highway 3 near Mt Stewart on Saturday, when she was hit by a car travelling in the same direction.

Police are investigating the crash.

Mr Fraser, a Christian, told the Manawatu Standard last night he did not have any malice towards the driver, but he hoped the Fraser family’s pain would be understood.

Mr and Mrs Fraser have four home-schooled children – Jakob, 13, Eylish, 10, Lily-Rose, 7, and Paityn, 5.

Jakob, who turned 13 today, was to be flown to Australia as a surprise for his birthday, but the trip had to be cancelled, Mr Fraser said.

The funeral for Mrs Fraser will be at the Life Church in Palmerston North on Thursday.

Mr Fraser said he would probably continue to home-school their children because he wanted to honour his wife, who had done most of the teaching.

“We discussed that if something like this was to happen the kids would still be our number one priority.”

Mrs Fraser had been involved in organising events such as athletics for home-schooled children. Mr Fraser, who works for the parents of his wife, said he would probably cut back his hours.

The crash occurred two weeks before the 160km cycle challenge.

Mrs Fraser’s death was the second recent blow to the family, after Mr Fraser’s father, Ian, was diagnosed with cancer.

Mr Fraser described his wife as “magnetic”.

“She pulled us all together and she could discern if something was wrong. She knew how to ask hard questions,” he said.

“Trish loved to laugh, drink coffee and eat good food, surrounded by good people.

“She was an amazing mum.”

GRANT MILLER AND JONATHON HOWE – Manawatu Standard