Home Based Education Handbook

1. Introduction

2 . Beginning Procedures

· Ascertainment of learning levels and needs

· Curriculum Placement

· Ordering Curriculum Material

· Setting up a Learning Centre

3. Planning

· Long Term or Yearly Plan

· Term Plan

· Weekly Plan (Goal Charts & Time Tables)

4. Quality of Learning

· A Positive Leaning Environment

· Motivation & Behaviour Management

· Marking & Book Work

5. Record Keeping

· Attendance Register

· Portfolio Samples & Reporting

· Activity Log

6. Summary

7. Training Pack Quiz/Test

1. Introduction

The ALAN Program is about: Home Based Education

§ Recognising the value of the home and family as a center for learning

§ With the strengths of Distance Education and the advantages of Home Schooling

This phrase was coined five years in the desire to promote a team work relationship between the home and supporting teachers. Parents who make the choices you have usually have good reasons for wanting to be more involved in your children’s education and the last thing you will want is to step out of one controlling system and into another.

Within the ALAN Program our teacher’s role is to support you to experience success in your Home Based Education. Equally , your role is to work with your teacher to provide a quality Christian education for your children. As professional educators and practicing Christians we are here to work with you to obtain the best possible outcomes for your students so that they may develop Christ-like character and fulfill the exciting plans God has for their lives.

Psalm 127 underpins all our endeavors. Unless we put the Lord first in all our plans, all our efforts will be fruitless. Note, also that children are a blessing from the Lord.

Psalm 127

1. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

2. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—

for He grants sleep to those He loves.

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from Him.

2. Beginning Procedures

Ascertainment

What level should my student be working at?
Students need to experience success in their learning and to be progressing in difficulty gradually. This is why it is important that they are working at the correct level.

What concepts if any are they missing?
Students who have not been successful in a curriculum area usually have missing links or lack underpinning concepts.

There are three ways in which your teacher can work out the level of work a student needs, or any holes in their past learning:

1. By Review of past work samples

2. Through Interview and working with a student
If the student is confident the teacher may hear the student read or talk through some maths sums over the phone or if distance is not a factor the teacher may visit and work with a student to see first hand where they are having difficulty or are at.

3. And by having the student complete diagnostic tests
If diagnostic tests are required your teacher will make these available to you –usually online. Testing is one way of finding any holes in their learning so that they can move forward.

Guidelines for Testing

*    Ensure students are not tired or hungry when testing

*    Testing should take place in quiet, comfortable surroundings with no distractions (e.g. TV )

*    Secondary students should be allowed to have a ten to fifteen minute break after each test which should not take longer than 45 minutes. Primary students will need a break every 20 to 30 minutes and if they need to do more than one test it is good to space the tests out if they are getting tied.

*    Pray with each student before beginning the tests and assure the student that, “there is no pass or fail mark,” “if they do their best, they have done well.”

*    Make sure students’ name, age and date are written on the top of each test

*    Do not help your students with any work in the tests, except in directions. It is very important that the tests show the abilities of the student and any gaps in understanding. If the test is a Mathematics test and you need to read the written questions to your student, note this at the top of the test.

*    Students should try to answer all questions. If a student cannot answer a question it should be skipped and the next one tried. If most of the questions are being skipped, stop the test and congratulate the student on their efforts.

Setting Students Program and Curriculum

Our Teacher will work with parents to put together a curriculum program that best meets the needs of your students and their situation. As a registered Distance Education Provider we will endeavour to ensure programs cover the Key Learning Areas:

*    Christian Foundations, Values & Word of God -Bible

*    English

*    Mathematics

*    Science

*    Social Studies and the Environment (SOSE)

*    The Arts

*    Technology

*    Health and Physical Education

*    LOTE (languages other than English) where required.

Our Teachers work with and utilise a range of texts and programs. We recognise the importance of individualising programs to suit your learning needs and situation, this process is done in consultation with the home educator. As part of your families placement our teacher will provide details of curriculum suppliers and costs. This saves busy parents hours of time and of money.

Setting up a Learning Centre

It is important to set aside a room, or section of a room, away from distractions to use for Home Schooling. Try to avoid such things as phones, TV, people traffic and discussions and even household tasks that need to be done can be a distraction for some students. In recent years computers have become wonderful learning tools, however, they can also be incredible time wasters with some students flicking between games and the work they are suppose to be doing depending on mum’s location.

Students need:

*    Adequate lighting and ventilation

*    Desks which fit the students comfortably

*    Bookshelves for storing curriculum materials, Bible & Dictionary

*    Whiteboard and water-based marker pen

*    Globe and maps

*    Tape recorder – for English, Music and Languages

*    Access to a DVD player

*    Monitored access to a computer with Internet and a printer – is very desirable. If you do not have a computer staff may be able to provide assistance.

*    Digital Cameras are very useful for photographing students’ labeled projects and collections and for students to learn photography skills and how to record information and events

*    Pens and Pencils - black lead HB, coloured pencils & eraser

*    Felt pens, pastels & paints – for Art

*    Paper – lined and unlined, loose leaf or exercise books with appropriate line spacing

3. Planning

Yearly Plans

Your yearly planning will have been done in consultation with your teacher and be sent to you in the form of a Student Individualised Program. These documents set out a plan of study incorporating the major academic subjects over at least one year. Some families who have three or more students are given an annual program that shows all the students work for the year on one page. This is to make it easier for busy parents to see what each student should be working on without having to refer to three or more pages.

Term Plans

The purpose of a term plan is to break down a year of work into four manageable blocks. This gives you the ability to set targets and maintain the pace of your students program so that things do not start to drag. This can also help you to plan trips or other educational experiences which will complement topics you are covering.

For ACE curriculum, students should complete three PACEs in each subject per term. This means that students need to set goals with the aim of completing one PACE in each subject every three weeks. Generally, ACE students are to do 3 pages per day but try not to be religious about this as the difficulty of the work often varies. You will need an extra day for tests and perhaps another extra day (especially for High School students) for revision.

For other curriculums, you will need to take the prescribed text and divide it into four sections of roughly equal length. Then look at where Chapters begin and end, and adjust your sections to include whole chapters wherever possible. Write down any books required to be read for English and list the topics for Social Studies & Science. For some curricula, your teacher will set a program of coverage.

Write down your plan in a notebook or work within a computer table/ template to save time. Setting this out in a table is helpful especially for larger families.

Example:

Jones Family, Term 2, 2009

Weekly Plan (Timetables & Goal Charts)

It is important that students know what is expected of them in any given day, and the use of a timetable sets routines in place. This helps students to be focused. Remember the timetable does not have to be set in concrete. However, without a timetable to set out clear expectations and plans for the day, teachers and parents find themselves having to convince and or negotiate with students after each lesson that there is more work to do or what they need to do.
This is very important as something I have learnt from my years of working with home schooled families is that one of the most important things we are teaching students is, “how to work hard”, diligence and how to follow a schedule. These are the skills that will make our children employable or help them secure an apprenticeship. I have worked as an employer with staff that are wonderfully talented people but when they can not follow instructions, remain on task and/or get the job done, they often find themselves unable to earn an income.

A Timetable shows what activities the student is scheduled to be engaged in at any given time over the course of a day and also a week.

Timetable (Sample)

Merit Certificates
Can be given out at the end of each day by Dad or mum

The Importance of Reward Times

Never underestimate the power of “reward slots for hard workers.” And it is good to build these games and reward slots into your program.

If school is a fun place to be, then learning is fun. I have listed some activities and games for your reward slots. You will notice that many of these games are educational also.

“Heads down, tails up”,

“Zoom, bang, bounce”,

“Hide’n’seek,

“I-spy”;

Memory games (e.g. “I went to market and I bought  “);

Opportunity to work on a chore – try not to make chores a punishment as we are trying to teach our children that is a privilege to serve and help our family;

Earning points for an educational video or educational computer   game;

Dancing to music;

Sharing a special book;

Opportunity to share completed work with Dad or a grand p[aren’t (maybe by phone);

Maths counting games (1,2,3, bong, 5,6,7,bong);

Paper drawing game eg. jack boxes, noughts & crosses, battleships; Mr Squiggle; cartoon model & copying; drawing on grid paper to make patterns;
Jigsaws;

Alphabet, number, and common vocab flash card games;
Bug search;

Scavenger hunt.

The success of any these depends on your enthusiasm and ability to “sell” these as fun, worthwhile activities.

Daily Routine

For younger children a daily routine pinned up in the form of a bold wall chart is more functional than a timetable and is much easier to understand.

Sample Daily Routine

8:10 Helping with floors

8:30 Beginning activities - Scripture Reading / Devotion / Prayer

8:45 Optional Drill (Time Tables, Spelling or Quiz)

8:50 English Reading then Creative Writing

9.50 Drink and helping with washing

10:10 Maths Drills or warm up Maths game

11:00 Break and reward game

11:15 Hand Writing and Spelling

12:00 Break and reward game

12:05 Science

12:30 Lunch and Play

1:30 Helping with Dishes

1:45 Art, Craft, Bible, Computer Ed Game, Science Experiments, Sport, Music, Word Processing, Projects, Collections …

2:30 Academic Work Catch up, Chore or Hobby

3:00 Clubs of play time

4:00 Helping with Dinner Prep

Note: on Friday evening have a presentation of weekly achievement awards for special effort etc. (eg, food treat, certificate, stickers or special privilege)

Goal Chart

In addition to using a Timetable, a Goal Chart can be very helpful for training students to set goals and to stay focused. In ACE culture a goal was a number of pages per day, however, a more productive goal may be to:

· “keep a positive attitude for the whole session,”

· “to beat my time in a basic facts challenge,”

· “or to stay on task the whole session.”

Goal Charts are working documents and as each subject is completed, that goal is ticked off. At the end of each day, when a student has worked well, a sticker could be placed at the bottom of the goal chart and an acknowledgement given by Dad or another adult.

At the end of the week a new Goal Chart is begun.

4. Quality of Learning

A Positive Leaning Environment

The physical appearance of your learning centre is of prime importance. Have plenty of posters, pictures and students’ work on display to make it really look like a place of learning. Think about making space to display projects and work so that students are surrounded by their achievements. This sets the tone for learning.

Good management techniques, reasonable expectations and interactive learning methods are also essential. Good management means being well prepared with a good schedule and targeted outcomes.

This requires you to have a clear idea of what you want the student to be able to do by the end of the lesson or activity. Make time to discuss the desired outcomes of a lesson with the student and even the reason and importance of the learning. If students understand the point of a lesson and how the knowledge or skills they gain will help them later in life the activity takes on relevance and meaning.

A well controlled and presented learning situation will encourage your child to be comfortable and free to try anything put before him. Keeping things positive and fun increases motivation, assists the brain to function and also improves memory.

Interactive teaching encourages active participation from both the teacher and the student and is essential for building strong understandings. This also helps you as a parent / teacher to evaluate as you go because you are asking questions, gaining answers and observing whether your child is understanding the lessons.

Set clearly defined and achievable goals. Calmness and a positive attitude even in the face of challenge will encourage the learner and provide motivation.

When something is not working, stay calm and don’t be afraid to put the books aside when a concept is just not being grasped. There are many strategies good teachers and learners use when they need a breakthrough.

For example:

*    Pray for help and patience.

*    Drawing things on paper so you can see,

*    Examining or modeling problems with the real thing or representational objects.

*    Look together on the Internet for other explanations or additional information.

*    Try hands on activities.

*    Skype or phone your teacher for support.

Having these strategies prevents panic and helps you as Teacher to model a positive attitude towards learning and overcoming challenges. Teachers who lose the plot and get upset often produce learners who lose the plot and get upset. Remember a student’s attitude and tone towards learning will be learnt from you not the books.

Great discussion also leads to a good learning environment. It demonstrates thinking skills, expands knowledge and the ability to form conclusions and draw inferences. Linked with a happy, fun attitude, you have a great atmosphere and tone in your learning centre.

Behavior Management

Motivation is more than a willingness to learn. It is where a child has a passion and eagerness for learning. Learning must take place or they are not satisfied. Encourage students to enjoy the process of learning as much as the outcome of achievement.

Remember, if you are passionate and positive about learning your students will be also. Young children appear to have higher motivation and passion for learning than older students. However, both younger and older student can be equally motivated and the assumed difference is more the result of teaching styles used and the learning situations created. For example, with younger students, teachers and parents are more inclined to show excitement, animate their voice and use interactive teaching situations than with older student.

This suggests that the correlation is between a Teachers practice and student motivation, not student age and motivation. We have observed this many times within day school situations.

When students are difficult to motivate it is often because they have not experienced success and have lost their love for learning. Boys in this situation often tend to say they do not like school work and rundown the activity, where girls may tend to say they can’t do it and blame themselves. Either way we can see the importance of students experiencing success.

The primary stimulation for a child to develop and maintain enthusiasm for learning should come from the home. A family that has a high degree of success with motivation is usually one with an active lifestyle where motivation is modeled from a young age. This is best achieved by participating in church, community and recreational activities together as a family.

Encourage the idea that within all of life’s activities:

• learning is taking place constantly

• learning is fun

• learning will give greater opportunities for God to use you in the future.”

Motivation is also dependant upon communication and each family member feeling valued. Home needs to be a place where parents and children listen to each other so all family members are involved in solving problems. Family meetings are a great forum for this to be facilitated and help the family function as a cooperative and sharing unit.

Please also remember that it is okay to get help and support your teacher or our Coordinator Jason Caldwell who has extensive experience working with teachers and parents to turn negative situations around through counseling, support and simple strategies.

Expectations

Have high expectations for your students but avoid unreasonable demands so as not to discourage them. Encourage your students with a “You can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you” attitude. Remind them that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love power and a sound mind”. 2 Timothy 1:7

Progress and Attainment

Remember to acknowledge progress equally to attainment. This is a common short coming within crowded “survival of the fittest” day school classrooms. Surely we can all think of examples in life where “the tortoise beats the hare” - the gifted student who never extended themselves and only went so far while the unassuming average or ever struggling counterpart carried on making steady progress over the years to attain more.

Recognising progress equally to attainment will help you set functional and rewarding goals for all students. A common and practical goal for a student may be, “to keep focused” for a given time period, “keep a positive attitude and give it your best shot.”

Compare with the goal, “to complete three pages in the text …” which may be deflating, unrealistic and lack meaning.

Avoid sarcasm and criticism which will make your child afraid to take risks and make mistakes.

Make school a fun place to be and learning will be a natural progression. Show joy and satisfaction at a job well done or hard task completed. Commend and reward such efforts. Try focusing on what your students are doing well, not what they are struggling with.

Remember, your students love you very much and want nothing more than to please you. Thus if they are struggling or just not grasping a concept, it is rarely an act or deliberate plot to make your life difficult or frustrate you.

Remember one positive encouragement has more motivational power than three negative warnings or rebukes.

The idea of building reward slots into your day, those five minute game sections can be very powerful and motivational. If your students are getting distracted you could try, “Come on guys, I’m looking forward to a 5 minute game of French Cricket when you have finished this task, but if we don’t get stuck into the work we will not have time.”

We may all have a different teaching style but please realise:

You are a sales person selling a product that is extremely valuable, you are selling Education and Futures!

Pass Marks and Book Work

A.C.E. Curriculum (mastery based curriculum)

Pass mark is 90% for all PACEs up to 1036 in all subjects and 80% from 1037 upwards except for Word Building which remains at 90%. It is very important to check your students’ Self Test results (at least 90% result, or more revision is required) before allowing them to proceed to the Test. Should they not pass the actual Test, then a repeat test will need to be done after further revision, or a repeat PACE may be needed. If your students struggle repeatedly to pass tests, please consult your teacher. Do not send the students back to the beginning over and over again. If they are not “getting it” and are putting in a top effort, then we need to try a different approach or angle.

Math-U-See (mastery based curriculum)

Pass mark for tests should be 80%. If a student scores less than 80%, watch the video again, try some more examples similar to those in the workbooks and then administer the Test again.

Other curriculum products use different methods of assessment and these cannot be directly compared with ACE or Math-U-See results. A result of 60% for writing a formal essay is a sound achievement and can not be compared to ACE marks. If you are concerned about the standard of your students’ work, please discuss it with your Teacher. If we receive work which we believe would be improved with some extra help, we will provide feedback and may ask the student to have another go at the assignment. The feedback may include additional instructions and/or better clarification of the task.

Please get into the habit of awarding an additional mark (“A+” through to “B”), or a sticker, for effort. Recognising effort is an acknowledgement of progress, whereas a percentage mark (right or wrong) is a measure of attainment. Students scoring a “C” for effort probably need to have another go…

Watch out for students getting into the mind set of simply trying to get finished. This means that the outcome has become “finishing” rather than “learning”. If a student starts asking, “Have I written enough?” or worse, “How much more do I have to do?” they are trying to opt out. Writing should be about communicating a point of view or a message clearly. Reluctant writers generally feel that no one is going to read what they have written anyway. Parents and teachers need to be involved in the writing process. Refer to our Writing Notes…

It is important for students to be able to conference their work with an adult. Conferencing is where students share their self corrected draft with you for acknowledgement, encouragement and suggestions.

Having students share their completed written work with other members of the family also helps to provide an audience and thus give motivation and purpose to their writing. Please encourage your students to write carefully, rule margins and keep bookwork neat. Pride in the presentation of work helps to motivate the students also.

When they are writing draft copies have your students work in a draft book so that they can freely get their ideas down on paper without being overly concerned with neatness or spelling. Encourage them to self correct their work before you conference with them, and then have them publish a neat copy of the finished work in a special book or folder.

A student’s sense of authorship is also validated through publishing written work using the computer. The computer is the great equalizer and even a student who really struggles with handwriting still ends up with a very presentable product.

5. Record Keeping

Attendance Register
On your Attendance Register you are required to mark each student’s daily attendance as set out on the form. It is a requirement that this is filled in daily if possible.

ALAN program families generally do not have to submit work returns, as our teachers report on location reviewing and assessing a wide range of work items. They also take photos while there of samples they require for student portfolios. It is helpful for families to make a list of curriculum completed in any given term e.g. MUSee, Alpha Chap. 4 to 7. Ave Mark 87%

This will make it easier for the teacher when they visit.

These times are very informative and we have received very positive feedback from our families who enjoy receiving instant feedback from the teacher and the opportunity to discuss issues.

Please mark your students’ work. All A.C.E. PACE tests should be scored (marked) using the Score Keys, and all other curriculum assignments should be marked using answers provided in your curriculum materials or your teacher.

If you find you do not know how to mark a piece of work, award an effort mark and collaborate with your teacher regarding attainment. It is important for students to have immediate feedback for their work and for you to be able to assess how they are getting on. This is why we want our Home Educators to be actively involved wherever possible in assessing their students’ work. Your teacher will give you training and help where needed and we will give you feedback on your assessments.

Activity Log

An Activity Log is a brief summary of extra work and educational activities in which your children have been involved in over a whole semester. It is not meant to be a time consuming chore. Simple listings or a brief sentence in the sheet provided is sufficient. All students in your family can be placed on the one sheet.

6. Summary

What a great privilege we have to educate our children at home. The benefits are many as out lined in our “Advantages of Home Based Education”.

However, there’s a lot of work involved in home education and you will at times feel tired and sometimes frustrated. Remember we are only a phone call away and love to help in anyway we can.

What greater satisfaction can there be? Fame, the approval of work acquaintances, wealth and all the modern ‘creature comforts’ fade into insignificance compared with parenting maturing children.

Remember:

Psalm 127 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

And the importance of raising a child in the ways of the Lord

Proverbs 22:6. Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Deuteronomy 6:4-8 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children