Homeschool Subjects
What homeschool subjects do you need to teach?
What Is The Australian Curriculum?
The Australian Curriculum is the Australia wide school curriculum standard written to help young Australians learn about and engage with the world. This curriculum is used as a guiding principle in many states for home education registration. It is managed by the Australian Federal Government. It is secular.
It was introduced in 2012 for all schools in Australia and its goal is to standardise teaching outcomes around Australia. Consequently, schools Australian use the Australian Curriculum.
The Australian curriculum is outcome based. It focuses on what students should achieve rather than focusing on what is taught. You can find the full government curriculum here.
Wanting to use the NSW NESA Syllabus for homeschooling here are some details explaining the difference.
My Homeschool Australian Curriculum Compliance
At My Homeschool we have written our homeschool programs to comply with the Australian Curriculum.
We include the ACARA cross curriculum priorities which includes teaching about:
- diversity,
- sustainability,
- indigenous history and culture,
- and Australia’s place in Asia and the world.
capable of understanding.
Australian Curriculum With A Global Focus
My Homeschool’s homeschool subjects have a global focus and we’ve included many global goodies into their curriculum. So whether you’re from Australia or an international school you will be part of our international homeschooling community and also be connected to the Australian schooling system. We understand that many families find the Australian Curriculum courses provide stability and continuity no matter where they learn (or move!) .
Homeschool Subjects With My Homeschool
The Australian Curriculum, whilst considered a robust curriculum, is not Charlotte Mason inspired and lacks the elements that a Classical Education can provide. It is also secular. At My Homeschool we aim to bridge that gap and teach a contemporary version of Charlotte Mason which includes the key learning areas and Charlotte Mason homeschool subjects.
You can read more about our specific approach to homeschool subjects.
Charlotte Mason Inspired Homeschool Subjects
With a Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum, you may give your child a broad range of subjects and opportunities to develop interests and talents. You can include nature study, fine arts, technology and design, sport, or dramatic arts in your child’s individualised learning curriculum. With my Homeschool graded courses, you can mix group activities and extra-curricular studies to get the perfect balance of both vital educational components. That’s why worldwide families choose My Homeschool for their homeschooling needs.
History must afford its pageants, science its wonders, literature its intimacies, philosophy its speculations, religion its assurances to every man, and his education must have prepared him for wandering in these realms of gold.” Charlotte Mason V6 p.43
Charlotte made the point that “children are born persons” and that we need to respect their intellect, faith, and thirst for knowledge. She encouraged us to educate our children with “substance and vitality” which today would be interpreted as a solid, strong, vibrant education. Unfortunately, many of the primary school textbooks and worksheets offered to children are simple and uninteresting and they miss the excitement that we know our children’s’ intellects are capable of understanding.
Australian Curriculum With A Global Focus
My Homeschool’s homeschool subjects have a global focus and we’ve included many global goodies into their curriculum. So whether you’re from Australia or an international school you will be part of our international homeschooling community and also be connected to the Australian schooling system. We understand that many families find the Australian Curriculum courses provide stability and continuity no matter where they learn (or move!) .
My Homeschool Australian Curriculum
My Homeschool offer parents an opportunity to teach a homeschool curriculum that raises globally educated children whilst still aligning with the best practices and content of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA).
Our curriculum was written by homeschoolers for homeschoolers. We’ve made it homeschool friendly. Our approach to education is different to the traditional school method of textbooks and worksheets. Whilst Charlotte Mason’s method of homeschooling is our guiding educational philosophy, we have deviated from her approach somewhat as we comply with the content demands of the Australian Curriculum.
With all our curriculum we offer many free homeschool resources to support you teach.
Is This Faith Based Curriculum?
My Homeschool’s homeschool curriculum is faith based. We believe that education of the whole child is important and we encourage parents to nurture their children’s spiritual, intellectual, emotional and social needs.
In addition we have also included the core principles of a Charlotte Mason education such as good literature, nature study, world history and international issues that are integral to a modern world class curriculum for global citizens.
Our weekly routine includes a group family time and we encourage you to nurture your child’s faith, however we have left it up to you to decide how you want to do that. We also alert parents to sections of the curriculum that they may like to pre-read, review or discuss prior to a lesson.
Can You Use This Curriculum In A Secular Way?
A number of families not professing to the Christian faith use My Homeschool courses and enjoy our homeschool programs. Some adapt aspects to better align with their family’s beliefs and values and see the value of teaching their children about God as a part of their broad educational feast. Our curriculum was written to give all your child a rich education.
Many of our homeschool resources are secular. We have done our best to choose wholesome books that provide good role models and teach character. We do not exclusively use Christian resources. We do not emphasise religion but our history books will have some religious themes because of the period in which they are set.
If you want to substitute some of the curriculum suggestions to better fit the needs of your family you can. However, you’ll be in charge of the tweaking, it’s not a service My Homeschool provides.
The Charlotte Mason method is a great approach to homeschooling and is used by people of many different faiths. If you are still unsure please read Charlotte Mason Homeschooling: Christian or Secular?
Online Homeschool Lessons
My Homeschool uses Moodle, an online learning platform created for schools and universities.
It’s easy to use and doesn’t require much technical skill. It also has a handy app for your smart phone or tablet. All your resources are stored in one handy place that you can find and download as needed.
We’ve carefully selected our videos and the links your child needs to follow. Your child’s online safety is important to us.
It’s not all online though, many of our lessons require reading from a real book or a paper-based resource.
My Homeschool has been the perfect fit for our family. It has provided the “hand-holding” I needed as a new homeschooler while still being flexible enough to be workable in everyday life.
It took the stress out of writing the application for exemption to homeschool as everything was laid out for me, and we were granted 18 months exemption.
I love that it uses a relaxed CM style, can be taught from a Christian worldview and is Australian. The weekly plans are not overly prescriptive so can easily be implemented according to the child’s individual interests and pace of learning and whatever else is happening in our week.
Timetables & Schedule
Our Australian homeschool programs are streamlined to include various subjects at the same time without cutting out content. We suggest using a Charlotte Mason schedule.
Academics can be completed in three or four half days a week in the primary years and four to five days in high school. Spend the extra free time pursuing your other interests and allowing your child to embrace the wonder of learning naturally. Home educating is a lifestyle, so the learning never stops.
Whilst we have done our best to minimise teaching preparation and lesson planning we still believe that you, the educating parent, play an essential role in your child’s education. We encourage you to reclaim your own education as you learn along with your child. The ideas that will be enriching your children’s lives will also be enriching you.
Approximately three to four hours per week of reading aloud is required in this course. Many lessons can be done independently as children get older, however, children will differ in the level of support they need and at first you will need to be actively involved in helping them form good study habits. Research suggests it takes 6 weeks to form a new habit, so expect to have a greater level of intensity during this time as your student adjusts to home education. This may not take as long if your child has been homeschooling for a while.
Four Terms – 36 Weeks of Lessons
A 36 week, four term schedule, is used in our homeschool programs. There are nine weeks per term, eight weeks have set lessons and the ninth week is a catch-up week that can also be used for assessment.
This course has a flexible format that can be started at any time. If you wish to begin mid-term or mid-year you can still pick up the course from week one. Since maths homeschool resources (from Year 3) are purchased separately you can follow the level you were using prior to starting our course.
While I’m responding I just wanted to take a moment to say that we are absolutely loving the My Homeschool curriculum. My children and I feel like we have breathed a breath of fresh air after a turbulent first and second term this year with a distance education school. We had signed up with them in an effort to reduce the amount of time I spend planning and reporting for HEU [Queensland government registration unit].
In fact the only reason we hadn’t signed up with My Homeschool initially is because anytime HEU was mentioned my heart rate would increase and I’d want to run!
We were, and are, a Charlotte Mason style family and in hindsight I should have realised that the distance education route was going to be a disaster. Let’s just say, in term 1 and 2, no-one saved any time, there were lots of frustrated tears from children and mother, and there was so much busy work to do and no time for a proper education!
Enter My Homeschool, oh how we loved term 3, our first term with you. My children were once more excited about ‘school’, I was once more loving learning alongside them. There was time to explore some of the creative tangents the children go off on when were learning new things, you know the sort, “if that happened, I wonder what happened when…”, or the classic “why?”.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the hard work you do, your curriculum has provided a platform (and the reporting documents) that satisfies the HEU while still leaving us loads of flexibility and room to explore our amazing world and the people who have lived here and still live here.
You have saved me time in planning and reporting and the word HEU no longer makes me want to run. I have been so thrilled I tell all my homeschooling friends about your amazing program and one of my friends signed her family up with My Homeschool (PS they’re loving the curriculum too).
Many blessings to you and your team, continue the good work you are doing. The hours are most likely long and some days feel fruitless, but you are without a doubt a blessing to many families.
