The end of this school year marks a special milestone – Andrew’s completion of primary school.
Way back at the beginning of 2008 I trundled off to the Prep Induction day with an excited little boy, a 22 month old and a 9 week old baby. Teaching via Distance Education will be easy, I had thought. I’d done it before!
Needless to say, I walked back to my car from the Prep Induction day with boxes full of materials and unit work, put the kids in their carseats and promptly burst into tears. How would I do this? I’d even, somehow, forgotten to teach this child to write his name prior to starting school. Teaching him to read and write seemed an insurmountable task.
I arrived home that evening and suggested to Rob that we needed some schoolroom furniture. The kitchen table and a little old, musty room which Tess had used years earlier, wasn’t going to suffice.
Rob spent the next morning in the shed with an old door and a bed frame and cleverly knocked up a child friendly desk and a cupboard. (Mind you, we’re still using that desk for the little kids today).
We set to task with wonderful support from some dedicated teachers in Rocky and quickly made up for lost time. We immersed ourselves in Thrass, supplementary readers and paint. A great sense of comradeship quickly developed between fellow home tutors. Andrew’s formal education was well under way.
While craft wasn’t/isn’t my strong suite, we did our best. As you can see, Dad was thrilled with his father’s day tie!
Four times a year we gathered with classmates at a mini school.
We attended clusters and sports carnivals, swimming carnivals and Awards Days.
All the time, Andrew grew in confidence.
He’s seen a lot of changes in the delivery of Distance Ed. He’s moved from paper based telephone lesson booklets to interactive web based classrooms for On Air. The curriculum has jumped forward in leaps and bounds. All the time, Andrew has grown and thrived.
Over the years, Andrew has become very apt at entertaining a baby or toddler in the classroom. Adelaide arrived during Year 1 and Eliza when he was in Year 3. Being the eldest, he’s become very competent and solving technology issues for everyone.
I always have a reflective moment at the end of the school year. Teaching your own children is certainly not without challenges, anxiety and tears but it is definitely one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. It is truly amazing to look back at the end of the year and look at the progress. To know that you have been an integral part of a child’s formal learning.
With four cherubs in the classroom this year, Andrew has had to be a very self motivated and an independent learner. The support from his ‘real’ teacher in Rockhampton has been incredible.
While he’s loved his time in the home schoolroom, I just know this little man is ready to spread his wings and fly.
We’ve purchased school uniforms and hundreds of dollars worth of textbooks. He can’t wait to start the new learning adventure that will be high school.
Gosh, I’m just so proud!
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