Flywest replied:

SIDE

School of Isolated & Distance Education.

Lived on an offshore Island for best part of a year and our eldest had to complete yr 12 via SIDE and by computer/internet/email for assignments etc.

She got thru - but not easy at all, in fact very tough!

For a 5 or 6 year old - well only you can decide!

She would need a lot of help I imagine to be able to study this way.

Cheers

Peter 2 replied:

As long as you teach her the basics, reading, writing and maths she will learn heaps more about life and her environment while travelling.

craig2 replied:

We are looking at doing the same thing next year as well with our 5 and 7 y/o. I think if you go into Target of Big W you can get those learning books for the appropriate ages that should help a lot because all they learn in the first 3 years of schooling is the 3 R's and they will get more out of it one on one than 32 to one. Just as long as you set at least 2 hours a day for teaching they will be right.

So that's my 2 bob worth.

Saharaman (aka Geepeem) replied:

Hi All,
In my opinion the period of time children should be home schooled should be minimised. While travelling it may be the only option. But coming from a family of teachers (I am not one myself) I know of(and heard about) many children who have been disadvantaged by extended periods away from a conventional classroom. When they do return they can have poor social skills, difficulty mixing with other children and are behind in their formal education requiring remedial tutoring to catch up. The fact is school, even in the younger grades, is far more than the 3 Rs. In the school where my wife teaches they learn a language now from Grade 3 (Japanese). There is also the encouragement from direct contact with teachers, testing to compare each child with age appropriate benchmarks, competitiveness with other children in the same grade, school sports, gymnastics, music, school drama and plays etc etc as well as the academic curriculum. School is (and should be) a comprehensive package that allows a child to develop its skills and talents to its full potential. This cannot be achieved, in my opinion, by home schooling.

In fact recent research identifies significant deleterious effects of prolonged home schooling. In the USA (California) they have, I believe, recently banned home schooling from July 2008 unless the parents are qualified teachers.

"In California, home-schooling a situation where non-credentialed parents teach their own children, exclusively, at home whether using correspondence courses or other types of courses is not an authorized exemption from mandatory public school attendance." California Education Dept Memo July 16, 2008

I am not suggesting for a moment, don’t travel and home school, but I think parents should be aware of the disadvantages the children will have from a prolonged absence from a formal classroom. It is true they will learn a lot about Australia and its history and geography while travelling but that is only a small part of the education process.

There are teachers who are members of this forum. I would be interested in hearing their comments on this important topic.

Holden4th replied:

I'm a teacher and I have a few questions before I reply in full with my own thoughts.

Has your daughter been in daycare/preschool/daily contact with other children of her own age in an institutionalised environment?

How well does she socialise with other children?

Currently, what are her reading, writing and logic/mathematical skills like?

How confident are you in being able to help her in the above areas? After all, you will be her teacher for 12 months.

wendys replied:

As a secondary teacher have dealt with kids who have been home schooled, and had prolonged periods on distance education, including some who have not rejoined conventional school education until Year 11. They have invariably been more advanced than their peers and with much better independent study skills. I would comment that "home schooling" is not the same thing as just travelling and ignoring any systematic attempt to educate, which might account for some of the bad anecdotes already listed. In my view, for a child of the age of yours, some form of home schooling would be of benefit. Yes - she will be ahead of her peers when she rejoins school (that says it all, doesn't it?) but you can take up that difference by putting her into a school with a good acceleration program, and/or continuing to enhance her education yourselves. Go for it - really the best thing for the child.

P7OFFROAD Accredited Driver Training replied:

I am/was/sometimes still a school teacher too.


(wow, a few of us around).


I say go for it, I don't think that it's the ideal time, but if it's the only time you have, then make the most of it. We have a 2 year old and 4 year old, and for us it would either be next year ie before they start school, or in 4 or 5 years time (after the youngest has started, let her have at least prep and year 1). This enables you to have a link to formal education, and also the familiarity with 'subjects' would prove useful. But then, if the opportunity presented itself in two years... (My wife is/was also a teacher)


Talk to whoever is in charge of Early Childhood at your school, let them know your plans, get the booklist and pick up all of the 'workbooks' this gives you something to work from, but also sees your child being familiar with their layout as most schools use the same 'program' right through the school.

I'm not getting into the homeschool debate.

At the age you are talking about, don't tie yourself to any sort of program, rather, get yourself some resources and be prepared to be flexible, but committed to making learning a priority.

Member - Norm C (QLD) replied:

My only recent experience with this is meeting a nubmer of families on the road in a similar situatioin.

As for social skills, young kids travelling normally develop better social skills. Meeting people all over the country. Sitting with adults having a chat around a camp fire. playing with other kids you meet along the way. Great opportunity for development.

Also the opportunity to learn far more about our country than almost any other kid.

Another plus. I read a report the other day about many fathers spending less than 1 minute per day with their kids during the week. Well you will be able to beat that a thousand times over. Up to you how benificial that time is.

Go for it. Home schooling in the early years seems the go. All the home schooled kids I have met on the road have seemed very well adjusted, well behaved and with very advanced social skills. If handled right, probably better than regular school for a few years.

Norm C

joff1 replied:

JG, As I said in your other thread, our kids are 9 & 12 (10 and 13 when we head off). My son would be in 5th grade and my daughter, Year 8. We will be home schooling for the year we are away. While I'm not going to weigh into the long term issues surrounding the home school thing, I really don't think you need to be too concerned about your 5 year old.

Can you imagine all the stuff your child will take in over the next 12 months? She will be meeting so many new people everyday so poor social skills is not something that you need to be concerned about.

With the right tuition she will be far ahead of her contemporaries when she does hit mainstream school.

By the way, I too am surrounded by teachers, from primary to senior science and, to a person, all have applauded our decision to head off.

There is a NSW Gov web site that we have been reading but I’m not home so can’t remember the URL. I’ll be home tomorrow night so I’ll post it up then.

Damo1970 replied:

We are doing a 12 month trip next year with our daughter who will miss grade 3 & son who will miss grade 2.

They are both at least 6 months ahead of where they need to be so we have absolutely no concerns about taking them out of school for a year.

We organised a meeting with the school to discuss a course for next year & they had no hesitation in directing us to Distance Education, so that is what we are going to do.

ian replied:

I was a primary teacher. I don't think 6 is too old to start, in fact mostly it is an advantage.
Our kids have missed chunks of school at various ages to travel..no probs.
Social skills can benefit, or regress, depending on your approach, but academically there will be nothing you can't do for her.
You will need to learn not to be too ambitious for her. Take it easy, let her get a love of learning through the places you visit, teach her through games, listen to stories on CD together and discuss (NOT headphones while you do other things), arrange things into groups (ie shells, seeds), and have a routine that you stick to.
There will be pluses and minuses, don't get spooked. The time together is more valuable than anything else.
Important to get home a month before school starts and have her play with kids who will be in her class. This is very important.
There is a bit of work involved for you both, but you can enjoy it to.
rgds
Ian

Member - Old Girl (QLD) replied:

Any parent that decides to spend 24/7 for 12 months with their children should be congratulated. Were not confined in the car and a caravan were out constantly teaching. Wanting to show our children the beauty of this country of ours. Wanting to teach our children. Come on that's a recipe for a loving family. Our kids have only known their father to work. Hes too tired at the weekend that's if he's not working mowing or fixing something. Most of these people like us need a break. I dearly regret putting our babies through day care because i had to work to help pay the mortgage.
We met some people that corresponed their two children through the Casino Distant Edu. My sister did it with her children for 3 years on an outback property.
Sharon

Member - Royce replied:

5 years old! ??

Forget all about it! Don't worry. No structured schooling.

Get her assessed when you get back and see what the teachers think. They will probably pop her into a class where she can skip the first year in it seems appropriate.

Make sure she meets lots of other kids and has heaps of experiences. Read to her, and let her be involved in any incedental maths... there will be lots.

My kids travelled Oz with me for many extended months. Even though I'm a teacher, I certainly didn't wreck their trip by 'teaching' them. Oh... all right, I could help myself... I did teach them 24/7.... so will you.

IMHO... in my professional opinion and my experience.

Have a great trip.

John and Lynne replied:

You should have no difficulty giving a five year old the small amount of structured learning she needs to fit back into school. It will come naturally during normal living. It is a good idea to talk to a local school and find out about some useful programs and resources eg number cards, recommended word lists etc.etc. Don't rely on Target etc as the books on sale are often of poor quality and not related to Australia. Go to recommended educational suppliers and you will find wonderful resources that will be fun for you all to use.
With older children home or distance education often turns out to be too hard for the parents. Some parents find they don't really have the commitment or patience to perservere with a structured program and "home schooling" becomes an excuse for doing nothing much that involves real effort. If parents are willing to give some effort and structure to the project they and their children will benefit hugely but it does require real commitment and some regular time (not as many hours a school but a routine is very helpful).
As a teacher I had students who had benefited enormously from travelling. Parents of older children usually found Distance Ed. the best way to go because the program was worked out for them and excellent resources provided with on-going feedback and assistance to boost parents' confidence and prevent them stressing themselves or children. Good luck! Lynne

slammin replied:

We've done School of the Air for 3 years with our 6.5 year old which uses a lot of the WA Distance education material. He enjoys it but it is a lot of work and opens your eyes as to what teachers actually do.

What I have learnt after meeting with other parents and carers is that it's all to do with the parents attitude. As the posts above reflect it will run around 50/50. Some people consider education to be important and will do all the activities and send them in on time and really do the work. The other group will be more she'll be right and get less done but be confident that it'll be OK.

I'm not criticising either group I'm just pointing out that you need to be aware of what your attitudes are and what you feel comfortable with. There's no point in trying to be something that you're not.

What do you think is important in education?
How will you feel in Dec 2009?
When do you want her to be able to read?
When do you want her to be able to handle money, tell the time, add and subtract etc etc?

Every activity is done for a specific reason and does affect their education. Let's look at cutting and colouring in. It seems like a stupid and pointless activity and can be tedious and seemingly boring but it's not a time filler - it does refine and teach fine motor skills and enable better handwriting. That is the great benefit of a structured learning system, everything is done for a reason.

I have bought the "supermarket" etc texts as activities for while we are driving and I can confidently tell you they are by and large rubbish. If they were any good teachers would use them in class.

For me an important aspect to teach is not just literacy and numeracy but why we learn and how to be a good learner. If you can instill a need to be educated and how to be educated then you will give her the best gift in life.

Having a structured program enabled me to not waste my sons time and he has benefited enormously from it. Yes we have had to adapt some things and adapt ourselves as well but that is the beauty of home education. YES it is a lot of work and planning but I feel my son is worth it.

If you do go to mainstream schools (more parents should) you will see time wasted by other children's behaviour and the faster students waiting for the slower students. Tragically you will also see the slower students left behind as the class has to move on. As someone above said, one to one educated children out perform any mainstream group of children in all performance criteria and benchmarks.

I don't think there is really any right or wrong answer and that's why life is what it is - it takes all types.

Good luck with it.