Curriculum

Question -Curriculum
Who decides what has to be learned? You, your child, some specific curriculum, social pressure?

AK :
You according to the child/ children's interests and weaknesses.


Dr. MRK: 3 children / 7 yr son, 4 yr daughter , 1 yr son

My children never went to school and I use the children guidance method. Whatever the children take interest in I teach them. I have developed their habit of asking questions and observing things, and never let down their question, whatever question they ask we research it together and every time we cover a topic like this.

Sb: 2 boys, 1 girl ages/ 5-10

It's a bit of all three, but mostly, I decide the curriculum. I like to have some structure so I use the Oxford books as a guide line for science and humanities. The order we learn in varies according to what the children's interests are at the time, or what I'm more prepared to teach.

I like to tie in learning with religious events, national events or things happening in the news. It makes the book work more relevant to the children.

Social pressure would affect me more in the first year or two of homeschooling. I'd feel stressed that i wasn't doing enough after meeting schooled kids. I know better now. We all get through at our own pace, enriching our children's learning as best we can.

TS: 3 daughters/ 4 yrs, twins 2 yrs
Since my eldest daughter had eczema the day she was born I knew that she is not going to attend school in near future,so I decided to start schooling her at the age of 8 months. At the age of 9 months she already knew the actions for most of the opposites and counting from 1-5 and random stuff like salaam and actions for nursery rhymes. So the point is that a mother can sense at a very early age whether her child needs social grouping in the form of school or he /she can learn from only the family.
From 6 months onward you are in-charge of her social development, so you can decide what is best for her but as a toddler u should definitely observe what your child NEEDS: if he just needs you then the answer is clear, if he is more comfortable with kids around him then its also clear.

Umm Raeyan: Daughter 8 yrs, son 2 yrs (this family lives in the middle East)

For geography, history, social studies I go with child's interest or on going events; news, books  we are reading or a movie we watched.For English, science and mathematics I buy workbooks and use them as a guide (of) what the child of that age group / grade should know. 

My daughter is now doing grade level 4 and I have a feeling the workbook I am referring to isn't covering all the topics so I do online research and refer to Bay view Academy and Headstart course outline / syllabus so there aren't any 'gaps'.

I am totally convinced with the idea of homeschooling however due to lack of co-curricular activities I often consider sending my daughter to school Hence I feel the need to follow a curriculum for these subjects.

Mrs AH: 2 boys/ages 7 and 15

The short answer is I decide.

But the reality of it is that I have to take into consideration more than just my wishes.Sometimes they just have different interests than what I've anticipated,other times I feel that if there is a certain skill they haven't gained confidence with then they need to work on it a bit harder and then there is the time when they come of age and exams are knocking at the door.Some might be fortunate enough to be able to take exams in subjects that truly interest them and some will feel that the examination curriculum and methodology doea not suit their natural way of learning;in this case,if one chooses to go through the whole process,one must also make an effort to maybe learn things that will soon be forgotten or not come in any use,but it's a necessary evil in the system that's set up nowadays

Ummibaps: 8 sons, 1 daughter / 2yrs to 18yrs

What to teach depends on the parents, children and your situation;  BUT that does not mean that homeschooling has to be a DIY project (regarding teaching materials and content).

In Karachi we now have several stationers and book stores where you can compare books and chose those best suited to your family's needs. You can even pointedly ask them to show you books for a certain subject used by particular schools and then browse through them.

IF your children decide to sit for Cambridge examinations they will need to use the books and follow the curriculum for the O level and A level paper . Curriculum, text books and past papers are available in shops here too.

Prior to the O/A examination ,  you can choose to teach subjects and content of your choice. Once your child and you decide to begin preparation for O levels ,Matriculation, etc you can seek tutors and tuition centers to help you prepare for the paper.

We also take advantage of the various workshops Science, crafts etc) offered for children in the city.

HS: 2 daughters , 1 son./Age 15-11

Well, we try to discuss about our curriculum. We set short term goals. And once we achieve  them, we move on. At times we lose interest so we try to shift a bit. Now Alhamdulilah my two elder ones are preparing for O levels so even i am following the path that Ummibaps  just discussed. The only difference is I am trying to conduct variety of sessions and workshops for my kids at home.



 MN: Would it be ok if change my homeschool strategies frequently.....?? caz sometimes my son doesn't respond good




Ummibaps: How old is your son Mariam?



MN‬:
He is 9




Mrs AH:
I have personally changed methods numerous times.Ad homeschoolers we try to figure out how our kids' minds work and try to cater to their specific way of processing information.
I don't think there's anything wrong with changing something that doesn't work.



Umm Salaar :
I would say that's the whole positive edge of homeschooling
That it gives a family that freedom to explore and decide as per the child



MN:
This is the main benefit of homeschooling.....something our teaching style doesn't match with our kid's learning style.....

Ummibaps:
Conclusion:

-  what a child is taught is determined by many things:the child's needs,  parents priorities,  curriculum provided by a organization,  availability of resources

- parents may design the content of study themselves
- there is flexibility in the curriculum : if a topic or book seems not beneficial they can set it aside for later or discard it all together

- families may choose to send their children for tutions to study different subjects

- they can opt for workshops as well as online resources

In short homeschoolers have the ability to choose what their family will study and how they want to go about doing it.

(Note: The above is a copy of a Whatsapp conversation,   partly edited for clarity)

When is a good age to start Homeschooling? When do they begin to learn?

Question : Age 
At what age do I begin homeschooling my child? When do they begin to learn?

Ummibaps: 8 sons, 1 daughter / 2yrs to 18yrs

Homeschooling is considered a choice of a family's lifestyle.  As such the parents decide when to best begin homeschooling their children depending on a family's situation and needs.Some families send their children to school for a while then homeschool when they reach higher grades. Others do the opposite.  Some families chose not to send their children to school at all. 

Atika : 2 kids, Daughter 4.7 years, son 1 year

When my daughter was 1.6 years old I put some interactive and fun books in her toy basket. This made her familiar with books. They were short story books with textures and sounds (easily available at weekly bazaars). She learnt to turn pages this way. We began socialising with homeschooling veterans simultaneously and learnt how reflecting into little things matters for little children. Children learn through play. You can teach colors, textures, numbers and alphabets all through playing with them. You can start as soon as you feel like your child is ready.

I wanted a very structured approach for my daughter and made a curriculum when she was 2. But I realised she was not ready to sit down and learn formally. So we took off with unschooling. Since then that's what has worked for us. She still likes to do things spontaneously. I go by her demands. She comes up to me when she wants to do an work book or any other activity. I don't like to force anything on her. She knows much less compared to what kids her age know but I am not in a hurry. We play and learn. I have put a lot of things (art materials and books) within her reach and we work through them the whole day. With a baby now, its even more flexible.

Ummibaps: 8 sons, 1 daughter / 2yrs to 18yrs Alhumdulillah

Age:
As parents we begin teaching our children as soon as we see them....repeating their names to them,  reciting and singing to them,  talking to them when they are babies...then guiding them into sitting up, talking, recognising objects......next moving into names of colours ,  identifying people and how to talk to them....etc

So parents who consciously teach their children about the world around them are already educating them....regardless of when they decide to send them to school or not...

Academics like textbook work etc for homeschoolers  is more a matter of the child's maturity and ability to comprehend and grasp what is being taught. ...so they're children who begin reading at 4 and some at 7 and some even at 9....

My elder children went to school. ..and we later took them out and they continued to learn as homeschoolers. ....my younger ones have never been to school....so for us homeschooling and learning are not age related.

SAA:

Islam teaches us responsibility for upbringing our children at a very early age when we are 7 and start praying and we pray
That Allah will make us and our offspring the establishers of Salah

The objective of homeschooling is the enhanced effort of tarbyah
You start at the first time you see them the way you keep eye contact with them hug cuddle and hold them
It can be divided into
The child
The objective
The environment 

Child's Age observation and cognitive capacity curiosity reasoning and asking questions all influence his growth
If you provide rich experiences and engage the child on multiple levels to that experience he will always score high on cognitive and affective domains
If the child is provided with books and stories of lovely engaging illustrations he would automatically be curious about the squiggly lines and words that means so much
More
There are studies how children as young as 1.6 yrs who are linguistic and spatial smart can learn to read
But it doesn't mean every child should
Engaging children to what the words might mean gives them the positive incentives for reading
As far as you can give them rich artistic or scientific or philosophical experience
Show them masterpiece art or rich vibrant creations or amazing structure

Show them the inner workings of appliance car objects even organism
Give them reference books to build multiple association
Describe process of everything carefully
The children love it
Look at the sky
Do you know how many tons of water is in that little cloud
As much as three trucks or our own tank
How does it stay up
Teach them to ask the right questions
Cause that is knowing half the solution
You succeed if you help the child to be curious ponderous contemplating reflecting and considerate

And age is no limit for this to happen
While I was typing this answer my 12 year old bought me tea and a question
He asked
How is something mind blowing
I knew he know the meaning
So had to give him the answer with the question and search of understanding
I said
Anything that we observe which defies conventional understanding
Or it behaves in completely different way then we expect it to
Then I ask him when do these happen
I gave him different example
He considered and then said if we add something new to the environment
Changing it thus
The principal is
Nothing is impossible
Then he smiled and said it also means
That mind blowing is directly proportional to a person ignorance
I asked if he thinks this state of amazement is good or bad
And he considered
And said
Being ignorant is wrong when you do not wish to change that state
And being inspired is incredible
Learning for children and us can happen all the time and in the best possible way too .......

Sorry one more thing to add
These discussions are never smooth
The child may give up halfway
But you need to persist give more examples
Explain these examples and ask the child to repeat the phrase which he understood using the right terms

 (Note: The above is a copy of a Whatsapp conversation,   partly edited for clarity)

About Us

As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

School at home? An education without a schooling institution? Teaching without a classroom and teacher? The very idea seems far fetched, mind boggling and over whelming. As many concerned parents to try understand the concept of homeschooling, they begin to wonder how it can be practically implemented....and so a group of curious mothers posed a number of questions to a forum of homeschooling mothers. The resulting Q and A Whatsapp conversations are what have been documented in this blog, to give access to the answers of these "Frequently Asked Questions" to a wider audience.

Do bear in mind that the mothers here reside chiefly in Karachi, Pakistan, and so the tips and experiences their share are most relevant to our city life.

The names of the contributors  have been concealed to protect their privacy.