Home School: So Far So Good

By Mum

Well, we are coming to the end of our stay in Bali and our first taste of homeschooling. This has been a learning curve for us all and I can say it has been a wonderful experience.

The boys have worked really well and I think they are making steady progress. Getting the balance right between needing to work but also taking the time to enjoy our surroundings has been the only challenge. This is not a complaint, just an observation.

Before we came here I was concerned Tom would learn a lot of what Ben was doing and therefore make next year boring for him. This has not been the case so far. I have managed to give them separate work to do at their own pace. Some days we cover the same topic, such as fractions but it is differentiated for each of them. On other days they do completely different topics.

Here is a sample of some of their joint work -

I have continued to encourage the boys to read, this is not a chore for them as they both love it. They can read their own choice; Tom Gates and David Walliams always go down a treat. They have also read Journey to Jo’burg and Kensuke’s Kingdom. These books are recommended by the school, but again the boys have loved them. I have been able to source comprehension questions online which the kids have to answer. I can’t miss an opportunity for a bit more schoolwork!

Thanks again to Sam for the Amazon voucher, Ben loved the books he got for his HUDL.

The boys have also enjoyed doing joint projects. They had to come up with five things to do in Kuala Lumpur. They had to research the place, the cost and reasons why we should go there. They did the research and then designed a poster with all the information. They even added an extra piece I didn’t ask for, fun facts.

When it was completed they had to present it to me and Michael and answer any questions we had about the project. We were delighted with the results and the kids were very pleased with their efforts.

Now this might seem like an easy task with not much substance, but when I thought about it they covered so much work. Internet research, spelling, writing, note taking, currency conversion, yes they used XE to covert from Malaysian ringgit to sterling! Design, speaking and listening, presentation, questions and answers, art and finally team work. There are, I’m sure more skills they used but I can’t think of them right now.

Overall, it has been a very special time for me to spend with the kids. Not sure I will be saying that at the end of a year though.

I will let the kids have their say now about homeschooling and what they think of it so far.

By Ben

It is very different in good way. The work is probably along the same line as the work at Strandtown because some parents have been sending us work.

First in the morning we go for a swim for 30-40 minutes before doing some work. Then we probably do maths and then take a break. After our 10 minute break we do some literacy. After that we sometimes do a bit of education city or maths games. Then we stop and all that is done in about 2-3 hours.

The scenery is brilliant from where we do our work. With our big garden, big pool and seeing the sea it is just spectacular. And not to mention all the palm trees.

Some of the work I have enjoyed has been some KMtuition literacy and maths.

Maths

Maths has been very fun for me so far. I have been doing adding fractions, moving decimals places and converting fractions, decimals and percentages. All around it has been very fun.

Literacy

Literacy has also been fun but as always I like the maths more. In literacy I have been doing lots of comprehension, research on our next places which are Kuala Lumpur and Koh Samui in Thailand. Other things that I have been doing are grammar, punctuation and lots and lots and lots of writing. All around literacy is very good so far.

Reading

I have been reading lots. I have been reading Journey to Jo’burg by Beverley Niadoo and Grandpa’s Great Escape by David Walliams. Those books are very good and I would recommend them both.

World around us

We haven’t done much world around us yet. We have done about volcanoes and tsunamis. It was more like comprehension but they are things to do with the world around us.

We have seen lots of Balinese culture along the way including a cremation on the beach beside us. I have liked homeschooling so far and I’m looking forward to more in the future.

By Tom

I don't like school no one does... But homeschooling is different because you're at home while it’s happening its WAYYYY more fun and the teacher is always someone you know!

I've enjoyed doing maths with my mum especially percentages because they were easy, fun and quick.

I've enjoyed doing research on Kuala Lumpur and I've liked learning Balinese with  Yogi (hhhhay there Bobo)

We have also been using education city but I already know most of the things on it so I just find it fun yayyyyy fun woo you can't tell but that was sarcasm just joking it is fun yayyy woo fun!

Some of my work - Maths and Literacy!

An interesting story will be told in this paragraph. One day while we were just doing school work and all of a sudden a mini EARTHQUAKE hit all the glass doors shook like crazy and my mum was scared the most she was like “AHHH BOYS COME INSIDE GET AWAY FROM ALL GLASS AHHHHH”

Now this was not the smartest thing to do as there is so much glass inside the villa. We will know better next time..if there is a next time.

We are moving on to Kuala Lumpur soon and I am looking forward to a new school environment but mostly looking forward to Cosmos Theme Park. I wonder will my Mum let me write a report on it. Probably!