Homeschooling in New Zealand

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