Homeschooling in New Zealand

Member since 01 June 2015

BhavnaTeam20 November 2019 04:32:18

41192

Hello everyone,

Homeschooling your children as an expat in New Zealand will definitely come with its load of challenges. Here is a special call to parents who are already homeschooling their children or who plan on doing so to share any information they might have.

Should you opt for homeschooling, is it legal in New Zealand ? Do you require to register your child or do you need any kind of permission / exemption from the authorities ? If it is not legal, what alternative option/s do you have ?

How do you go about getting all the necessary educational resources (books, syllabus, notes etc) to pursue your childrens education in New Zealand ? Does it depend on the curriculum ?

What do you add in your homeschooling techniques to help educate your child that might not be offered or available in traditional schooling ?

How do you socialise homeschooled children in New Zealand by providing them opportunities to interact with other children ?

If you have any interest in homeschooling, could you please share your views on the pros and cons ?

Thank you for sharing your experience,
Bhavna

yeolblt Member

Member since 16 January 2017

yeolbltMember26 November 2019 20:37:34

We homeschooled our son until he was at the junior high school level.

The pros are:

1. You get to select the learning materials as long as they are broadly in line with the New Zealand curriculum. Therefore, if you prefer UK or US learning materials, for example, your children can benefit from using them.

2. You are also free to focus more on subjects or topics that interest your children.

3. You can nurture their love of learning by giving them tasks such as researching on their chosen topics.

4. A major advantage is that each child can learn at his or her own pace.

5. In most homeschooling families, at least one of the parents is an educator. This implies that they believe their children will benefit more from homeschooling then from going to school. We have found this to be very true.

6. Among the practical benefits are saving lots on school uniforms that children outgrow, and on commuting to and from school. Not to mention that the time savings are substantial.

7. In home education, the teaching and learning can happen during times when your children can learn best. We have found that starting reasonably early in the morning allowed our son to have a head start in his learning.

Some cons of homeschooling:

1. A major disadvantage is that when applying to be a home educator, you need to really convince the Ministry of Education that your homeschooling will provide your children with a quality all rounded education. There is quite a process to follow and there is rather substantial paperwork to be done.

2. If you are homeschooling an only child, you will need to ensure that you arrange frequent opportunities for him or her to socialise with other children. However,this may not be that difficult when the neighbours' children are back from school.

I hope the above information helps.

Thank you

Leonard