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Homeschool Australia
Teach your children at home!


After 20 years of being a contact and support person
Beverley no longer takes phone call or email inquiries.
Please join one of her yahoo groups (see below) if you want
to know more about homeschooling or have a question.

 

Save time and simplify your homeschooling life...
Learn from experienced homeschoolers how to write your own curriculum.
It really is that easy!
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Back in print for a limited time only! Beverley's manual on how to write your own homeschool curriculum! $25

Getting Started with
Home Schooling:
Practical Consideration

 
photos of children learning at home
photos of children learning at home
photos of children learning at home
photos of children learning at home

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Mathematics

Teaching Toddlers Maths

© Beverley Paine

Gerard asked: "I'd like to know at what age it would be relevant to start an infant on mathematics... What process is involved initially to start using numbers and their value?"

I wouldn't simply focus on numbers and their value. Maths is so much more than this.

Think about spacial qualities - talk about the shape of things. Talk about colours. Learning occurs mostly through language and conversation - you can talk your head off, describing all kinds of things in a friendly, meaningful way... When reading picture books talk about the pictures - the tall, pointed mountain, the gently curving stream. Use adjectives to their full advantage. All this build firm mathematical concepts. It is never too early to do this.

Another really important aspect of grounding mathematical knowledge is touch - young infants and children need to feel the world around them. Lots of opportunities, combined with interesting and meaningful comments from folks around really cement those early concepts in - this is the foundation of scientic, especially physics, knowlegde and understanding too.

Don't coddle the infant in a clean environment - let them explore the messier and gooier sides of life!

One thing I like doing is chatting about that frustrating process of dropping things that babies delight in. "Oh, the red side landed on the ground first this time. What will happen next? Oh the blue one, see the blue one. Wow, wasn't that noisy? That is four times you've dropped it!"

They just love the singsong pattern of sounds - watch their eyes 'listening' to your voice! It is so exciting!

After 20 years of being a contact and support person Beverley no longer takes phone call or email inquiries. Please join one of her yahoo groups if you want to know more about homeschooling or have a question.

  
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Getting Started with Homeschooling - how to write your own learning programs
Beverley's E-books
Learning Without School - how 30 families homeschool
The Homeschooling Trail - Christian unschooling life
Learning in the Absence of Education - how we did it
Practical Homeschooling Booklet Series - your questions answered!
Educational Games Booklet Series - make learning fun!
Practical Homeschooling Language Development Series
Natural Learning Series
Homeschool Diaries
Ready to use Portfolios / Report Cards
Fridge Magnets - handy reminders!
Homeschool DVDs
Sample Learning Programs
Stock Clearance

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Home education is a legal alternative to school education in Australia.
State governments are responsible
for regulating home education.
Different states have different
requirements, however homeschooling
families are able to develop curriculum
and learning programs to suit the
individual needs of their children.
For more information:
Home Education Association


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photo of Beverley and Robin PainePioneering members of the home education movement in Australia, Beverley and Robin Paine are passionate advocates of true educational choice for families. They began homeschooling their children in 1986 and three years later started the South Australian Home Based Learners network.
Beverley wrote Getting Started with Homeschooling in 1995-97 and since then continues to write books and booklets on home education. She balances spending time helping home educators with working in her garden and renovating her home, as well as continuing to build her collection of writing on a variety of homeschooling subjects. Beverley maintains an extensive collection of websites as well as several Yahoo groups supporting families teaching their children at home. In 2007 Beverley joined the HEA and became a committee member in 2008: she also edits and produce the HEA Newsletter, HEA magazine, Stepping Stones for Home Educators, annual Resource Directory and other HEA publications. If you'd like to keep in touch with what Beverley is up to her in her life, sign up for the Homeschool Australia Newsletter or visit her Facebook page.