Deciding how and where to educate your children can be one of the most challenging decisions you are likely to make about your childrens life, their education and their ultimate life experiences.

As a parent I am sure that we all want what is best for our children, I know we do for our own. We try to ensure they eat healthy all the  time and get as many vegetables into them as we can, we limit the amount of rare or occasional food and drinks they receive and we also strive to provide them with the best educational experiences we can afford.

Over the years, we have tried a variety of educational experiences with our older two children, ranging from state schools, in two different states of Australia, catholic education, private education at independent schools and home schooling. Each educational experience has brought with it a multitude of wonderful experiences and often a number of horrible ones too. The one thing we have learn is that it does not matter how much you do or don’t pay for education, each educational experience has both good and bad aspects and each experience is different, just like each child is different. So for us choosing how to educate our children has become a series of choices based on up to date information and learning patterns of our uniquely wonderful Kids.

Regardless of how you choose to educate your children, may they have the most wonderful and fulfilling educational experience possible.

Currently our oldest child is home schooled – After a number of horrific and disastrous incidents within the catholic and public school systems, we withdrew him from the school he was attending and registered him for Homeschooling. He has been home schooled since May 2006. This seems to be the ultimate educational experience for him and the making of a wonderful and confident young man, a far cry from what he was becoming when being educated in the state and catholic systems.

Our middle child is in the process of being temporarily home schooled for the month as she is ‘on holiday’ from the school she is registered at. This has occurred due to a variety of reasons, and her school has been notified appropriately. Soon though we are to make a decision about her education and what she will be doing next year in 2009. Will we remove her from the public system and register her for homeschooling? or will we enroll her in our Catholic school of choice here in our home town? Only the next few weeks to a month will tell. This is where a real decision needs to be made by us her parents in consultation with JAHG herself.

Our third child is not of school age yet, she is however very interested in reading, writing, drawing etc. So we have decided that we will work with her at home, doing age appropriate work. This should feed her natural curiosity and assist her to continue to build upon her natural curiosity. In 2009, if we were still living in Victoria, she would go to 3 year old Kinder, but there is nothing here for that. So we will home school her for three year old Kinder and then reassess her progress and individual needs this time next year to see if we will continue to home school her in 2010 or put her to school for four year old kinder.

So our journey continues….. the choices we make today will forever affect the people our children will be tomorrow. May we please be blessed with the ability to adjust our choices when needed and to know when a change must occur.