Many an article has been written on the socialisation of home educated children. Still, the question arises more often than most others. To many home educators it’s the most ironic question of all. Socialisation is the main reason some families choose home based learning. They don’t see school as an opportunity to learn positive social skills, but more as a place to experience negative socialisation. It seems surprising that those in the school community bother to ask about homeschoolers’ socialisation – can’t they see what is going on in their classrooms and playgrounds?

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When we began home based learning I wasn’t prepared for the barrage of questions. On the whole people have responded positively and are very interested in home education. I thought I’d share some of the more common questions and my answers to them.
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Gardening with Children

SAFETY
- Choose appropriate size and type of tools for each age group and supply small garden gloves.
- Know which are noxious plants and remove them from your garden or explain to your children that they’re poisonous. You can obtain booklets about poisonous plants from the library or Poisons Information Centre. Also avoid spiky, prickly and itchy plants in a young child’s garden.
- Chemicals are best avoided in your garden. Even concentrated ‘natural’ garden treatments should be locked away.
- Spiders and snakes can by dangerous. Be aware of the species you may encounter in your locale.
- Explain to your children about things that sting. Have your preferred remedy on hand should a sting be likely.
- Water brings life to your garden but it can be hazardous too. Never leave your little ones alone with water.
- Avoid harsh sun on delicate skin. Cover up and avoid gardening in the middle of the day.

SEEDS –
Cheap, magical, fun. Collect your own from kitchen scraps or dried beans in the pantry. Buy old-traditional varieties from seed suppliers. Catalogues offer an exciting array of varieties so the children can plan their next gardens.
VS SEEDLINGS -
Quicker, already established for more success, available from hardware stores, markets or nurseries.

Easy snack plants: snow peas, beans, cherry tomatoes, mild radish, French beans
Simple flowers: sunflowers, marigolds, bulbs, nasturtiums, sweet peas
Exciting plants: pumpkins, gourds (for craft), luffa sponge, passionfruit, everlasting daisies, purple beans and corn
Perfect in pots: strawberries, a capsicum plant, a tomato bush, baby carrots, all herbs and flowers such as cosmos, pansies and petunias
Other gardens: mushroom kits, sprouting jars, terrarium, tray of cacti in pebbles, native plants.
Related activities: worm farms, compost making, hens, pets, nature crafts, ant colonies, observing bugs, scarecrows and other garden art.
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Spring is time to sow the seeds of new beginnings. Begin any family traditions you have had in mind. (more…)

It’s rare that I regret living in paradise, but sometimes there are wonderful things happening in the cities which I’m sad to miss. One of the most recent are the H2 series of speaking tours. These tours feature David Holmgren (co-originator of Permaculture) and Richard Heinberg. Thankfully, the Internet provides a sample of this event.
If you’re also interested in sustainability, relocalisation, oil depletion, and permaculture - go to: Holmgren Design Services If you’re in the southern part of the country, you still have time to attend one of the events. See the link above for a detailed schedule.

Well, July disappeared just as quickly as the months before it! I was unwell for a lot of the month, though better than the previous month. By taking an iron supplement and taking it easy, I am slowly getting over the virus… (more…)