The past 2 years have brought about a growing interest in home education. The disruption caused by the pandemic along with health concerns and the periodic closure of schools have caused many parents to re-think the education of their children.
Crisis-schooling with its flood of worksheets, WhatsApp messages with homework assignments, Zoom lessons, unmotivated learners and parents having to juggle their work responsibilities and school-at-home was exhausting and frustrating. Many parents longed for schools to re-open, but others started looking at educational alternatives. Home education offers up-to-date methods of education that support learning from home, is cost-effective, child-centred, and flexible.
Due to the increased demand for alternatives to the standard school-going norm, the home education expo organizers SAHomeschoolers and KragDag created an online home education expo platform www.homeschoolexpo.africa in 2020 as an alternative to the physical expos. It showcases multiple educational options, with workshops and talks.
Fortunately, it is possible to again host an in-person expo this year on 6 November in Durbanville, Cape Town. The expo will be held in conjunction with Cape Home Educators (CHE), a volunteer association that promotes home education and supports home educators in the Western Cape.
The upcoming Cape Home Education Expo will give parents the opportunity to explore educational solutions and network with other families who are doing the same. Visitors can listen to well-known speakers such as Adv Andre Williams from the Pestalozzi Trust, veteran homeschool moms Linnie Luus and Wendy Young from Footprints on our land, and online providers of the CAPS and Cambridge curriculums like Brainline, Evolve and Wingu academy. Topics ranging from teaching toddlers to matric alternatives will be discussed.
More and more families are exploring alternatives and they find support structures that best fit their children’s education irrespective of whether families choose online schooling, a mix-and-match approach, a textbook approach, or natural learning.
Home education is about providing one’s child with an education that is flexible and easily adapts to new methods, tools, and approaches as necessary, rather than getting stuck in a one-size-that-doesn’t-fit-all approach.
For more info on the upcoming Cape Town Home Education Expo and to book a ticket visit the homeschoolexpo.co.za website.
We look forward to seeing you there and helping you find answers to your questions.
- The time is ripe for home education - November 4, 2021
