'Learning journey': why one WA family says homeschooling changed their lives

It was a decision the Peel mother made after careful consideration, with her two young children David and Sophie showing a desire to thrive in a way she felt would not be possible in a traditional school environment.

Despite worrying about "not having all the answers", she decided to take a leap of faith and begin her journey, first taking the time to understand how her children learned.

Ms Collins said her son was a quiet achiever who often finished his work early at school and had to wait to be given extra work.

"[My son] likes to start and finish things in order and is very structured in his learning...," she said.

"He didn't enjoy writing narratives until we went to workshops at the Literature Centre where authors inspired him and now he loves to write, especially poetry."

Her daughter was artistic and expressive, but had struggled to concentrate with the classroom being a sensory overload and often came home from school upset.

"Our daughter has Binocular Visual Dysfunction and auditory processing issues, which we were not aware of until after we started to home educate.

"We took her out halfway through grade one and she had no work to show, as she could not follow instruction in the noisy environment or read off the board - this was never brought to our attention."

Ms Collins said she soon learned after speaking with other parents and caregivers that families home educated for many different reasons, perhaps because their child didn't 'fit' the system, they held different values, learned at a different pace or were travelling and enjoying the journey.

"Working in the school system I respect that teachers are also human - they have a massive responsibility and workload for larger groups of children, with behaviour management of other children taking up a large portion of the learning time," Ms Collins said.

"I realised that it was possible to take on the nurturing role as an educator of our children and haven't looked back."

In just a few months of homeschooling her children, Ms Collins said she saw an enormous difference.

She said her daughter had often been distressed before and after school and felt overwhelmed entering a classroom.

"After a couple of months home educating she was calmer and happier," Ms Collins said.

"She found her love for reading and started reading in her spare time after finishing dance in the evening and even in the car."

Ms Collins said her children developed a "thirst for knowledge", and that she observed both of her children's confidence and resilience grow.

Finding the right schedule was a process, and Ms Collins said that in the beginning of her family's homeschooling journey they had been extremely structured and were "basically running like a school at home".

However, over time, they fell into a routine which worked well for everyone and had flexibility for various activities and self-motivated learning.

"Mornings are very relaxed, we get up when our body clock is ready - normally around 8.30am - and have porridge, milo... coffee for me, and start our work.

"Some days they will start early, so they can finish early. They set their own goals for the amount of work they want to complete and achieve this."

Both Sophie and David have had the opportunity to take part in unique opportunities in the form of courses at universities, sustainability sessions, pottery lessons and being cast in community theatre productions.

"Homeschooling allows you support local businesses, while gaining a wide range of experiences. You have the time to do activities that you enjoy and experience new activities," Ms Collins said.

"Open Universities offers courses from 13 years+, and TAFE 15 years+; and as our children do not have 'homework' after school, they are available to work in the evenings, once they are old enough.

"Our 14-year-old son is planning to do a local barista course during the school holidays and study through Open Universities within the next six months."

While there is often discourse surrounding whether homeschooled children have opportunities for socialisation, Ms Collins said there was a large community of local families who regularly caught up, and that her children had a full social calendar.

"Our children meet up weekly with friends to play strategic board games at the Dome. Our son went to school until grade 4 and never had any close friends in the school environment, so having like-minded children to share interests is a positive aspect of home education," she said.

"There is a difference between having the choice of healthy social interaction and forced, unhealthy, confined, and toxic social interaction in a school environment, which I do not believe makes people more resilient, and instead may be a trigger of mental health issues."

Ms Collins said it was important to make choices that were best suited to each individual family, and that parents should ultimately trust their own judgement when it came to their children.

"As a parent you know your child more than anyone else and you want the best for them. You can dedicate time to find resources and activities that match their learning needs and go on the learning journey with them."