Bendigo’s Discovery Science and Technology Centre hosted more than 40 home educated children yesterday as part of an educational biology program.
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Discovery general manager Jonathan Ridnell said the centre had made more formal programs for families who home educate their children.
“It’s a chance to cover a heap of curriculum that may not be as easily done at the kitchen table,” he said.
“We've always worked with home-school families. That means whether you are homeschooling one child or three children of different ages, there's something here for everyone aged between three and 14 by providing hands-on, play-based learning opportunities for these children.”
Mr Ridnell said he believed more families were opting for a form of home schooling.
“A lot of families are making the decision to take part of their child’s primary school education into the family's own hands,” he said.
“We’re finding they are really a capable but when it comes to the more hands-on things, our science communicators can help.”
Sunbury mother Angela Hourigan has home schooled all eight of her children at some point. Her oldest child is now 29 and she currently home schools her 10-year-old and four-year-old children.
“There are huge groups of home schoolers now. There is groups in Sunbury, Echuca and Bendigo,” she said. “We (chose home school) because we didn’t think an institutionalised education system was a good fit for our kids.
“We're able to do a lot more at home with our kids. We also travel a lot during the school term.”
Ms Hourigan said there were no lessons at home, she and her children studied the subjects they were intrested in.
Her 10-year-old daughter Kyra Hourigan has so far taken an interest in marine biology and anthropology. Currently she works on Lego robotics and coding.
“We just follow what our kids are interested in. We go until (Kyra) loses interest and then stop. A year or two later they can pick it up again,” Ms Hourigan said.
“Kyra is interested in diverse things and stuff you wouldn’t normally get in grades three or four.”
Ms Hourigan said an average week sees Tuesday to Thursday full of different activities like going to library or park.
“If we’re shopping and she wants to make a cake, she works out percentages and fractions. She adds up shopping lists and works out the money needed,” she said.
“Every day is like a lesson and there's no stopping here for school holidays.
“That's what I love, teaching children how to learn and letting them find the information for themselves.”