Back to {Home} School

We had a nice four week break, although I didn't get much done on my to do list.  I had all these Pinterest plans, but life got busy and not much got done!  Most of our time consisted of participating in the school holiday program at the library and the {free!} waterparks.

Our school holiday went fast and now we are back in school.  I thought I'd write a post about how homeschooling works in Australia. 

It is required that you register as a homeschooler.  You must do this every year.  Although some do not see the importance of registering, we decided to abide by the laws and register Autumn.  We will register both next year as Cody will be in Kindergarten.

We follow the Northern Territory school calendar.  This consists schooling  year round, and has four 10-week terms.  There is a one week break between terms one and two, and three and four.  Between terms two and three we have a four week break.  Then at the end of the year we have a six week break.

Did I lose you?  Basically it goes like this, we start school towards the end of January and finish mid December.  Here's how it works.

• Term 1 - 10 weeks of school
• 1 week off
• Term 2 - 10 weeks of school
• 4 weeks off
• Term 3 - 10 weeks of school
• 1 week off
• Term 4 - 10 weeks of school
• 6 weeks off

We also have many holidays off through the year...Queen's Birthday, Picnic Day, Anzac Day, Easter, etc.).  Although we school year round, we have many days off in between.

Since we're half way through our school year, I did some re-evaluating of our homeschool.  We were getting into a "rut" and both Autumn and I were dreading our homeschool days.  I wanted to find a way to make our days go smoother, and for Autumn to be a bit more independent in her work.  I made a schedule for Autumn, as well as a chore chart.  We are also starting "room time", after lunch from 1pm-2pm we all (Autumn, Cody, and myself) spend one hour in our rooms.  This has been so beneficial to me.  One day I did some extra Bible study and another day I was able to take a nap.  My goal is to use this time for me, and not for cleaning or organizing!

Lord willing, the last half of our school year will end well!