Australian Curriculums for Homeschooling: What do I teach?
It’s my once-a-year hair trim. I’m sitting at the hairdressers and the topic of homeschooling comes up.
I’m at the checkout with my ‘quick shop’ (which always manages to be more than what I went in for) and the topic of homeschooling comes up.
I’m at my daughters dance class chatting with the other mums and the topic of homeschooling comes up.
You get the picture.
But how do you know what to teach?
In these situations, one of the first questions I receive is always, “But how do you know what to teach? Are you given a curriculum?”
I case you are wondering the same question, the answer is “No”.
The School Education Act 1999 allows you to be in charge of educating your child during their compulsory years of schooling. This period starts the year your child turns five years and six months and ends the year they turn 17 years and six months, or they satisfy the minimum requirement for secondary school graduation.
https://www.education.wa.edu.au/home-schooling
If you choose to homeschool your children then you are responsible for;
planning what they will learn
teaching them
assessing/showing evidence of what they have learnt
We have eight learning areas which we need to teach.
Not all learning areas need to be taught in every grade. Check the requirements in your state for more information. For most states generally this is what needs to be taught for each grade level.
The Australian Curriculum can be helpful to see suggested ideas for each grade level and learning area.
But Isn’t Each State Different?
Yes, they do vary slightly between each state. If you are registering to homeschool then it’s a good idea to check your own education department, but here is a quick, basic overview:
Western Australia: You are required to show that you are covering areas of the curriculum. This may be done whichever way suits your child’s needs.
New South Wales: Once registered, your child’s program needs to be based on and taught in accordance with the NSW syllabuses.
Victoria: You are not obliged to follow the Victorian Curriculum but may find its planning tools useful.
South Australia, Northern Territory & Queensland:It is suggested that you follow the guidelines from the Australian Curriculum.
Tasmania: You need to provide a Home Education Summary and Program. There is no requirement to follow the Australian Curriculum.
Before You Begin Homeschooling
For most states before you begin you will need to have a general idea of these areas:
Your educational goals for your child – both short term and long term.
A knowledge of their particular strengths and areas you want to work on with them.
Ideas for what you want to do in each learning area.
Once you Begin Homeschooling
Keep a portfolio of dated work samples that show progress over the year.
Write what topic they covered in each learning area.
Explain what achievements they had and where they showed progress, and what areas they are working on to improve.
Write a list of what curriculum you used for each learning area. It is not expected that you have to use a boxed curriculum but if you don’t it’s helpful to show that you are aware of the different aspects of the Australian Curriculum.
But What About Curriculums?
I will get into the specifics about curriculums I love in another post. Basically, we can choose whatever we want as long as it covers those learning areas. Some of my curriculums I have written myself. Some I have used for many years and others I change depending on the needs and strengths of my child I am teaching. Some subjects don’t even need curriculums and can be covered with day-to-day living.
My Humble Opinion…
Of course each state will differ slightly but this is a quick, general overview. I believe that if we choose to homeschool our children, it’s not difficult to glance over the Australian Curriculum for our child’s see how we could easily cover those areas. It’s not something to stress about, you can pick just a few different areas to work on with your child. Sometimes you will find that with their natural interests they are already covering some areas of subjects! It doesn’t need to be too overly complicated. Learning should be interesting and engaging.
Extra Resources
Teaching Support Materials are here.
How you can link lessons with the curriculum https://www.australiancurriculumlessons.com.au.
The Extranet, an area for teachers to access materials and resources to support them in their work, is available to home educators if you want to register.
