Homeschooling has become an essential practice for many Australian families, evident by the rapid growth in students transitioning over from mainstream schooling. Since 2019, the number of homeschooling families in Australia has doubled, with 40,000 families now taking learning into their own hands to meet their children’s needs better.
For new homeschooling parents, the move although necessary may feel daunting to start with. Even seasoned homeschoolers can feel the pressure at times and that’s why it’s important to have helpful and practical strategies to implement into your teaching.
We’ve created three easy tips to incorporate into your homeschool to help you get some important time back and manage the day-to-day pressures.
Create an environment that nurtures a growth mindset
Limiting self-doubt often holds us back from reaching our full potential and the same can be said for students. It’s easy to get caught up in negative thoughts like “I’m not good at maths” or “I’ll never be as smart as my friends” but there is one proven strategy to overcome this, developing a growth mindset.
“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” (Dweck, 2015)
A growth mindset empowers learners to overcome challenges while staying motivated and engaged in learning. This naturally creates curious, independent and confident students who are less reliant on teachers and parents to guide them through every step of the learning process and are more willing to take on challenges themselves. This can give educators a little more time for planning, preparing a new lesson or even having a cup of tea.
Growth mindset resources and activities:
- The big thinking switch
2. Moulding Mindsets – Teacher Extension
3. The power of yet
4. Mistakes help you grow
You don’t need to create all the learning content and activities yourself!
There are so many resources available that provide a range of support whether you need one-off lessons and worksheets or a curriculum-aligned program that meets state homeschooling requirements.
Free maths resources:
1. The HEA free resources
2. Homeschool Curriculum Information Group
3. The Week of Inspirational Maths
4. In the Maths Pathway Resource Centre find Classroom Energisers, Classroom Activities and Rich Tasks
5. EngageME Mathematics
A curriculum-aligned maths program:
If you’re looking for hands-on support in maths then a program like Maths Pathway at Home could be the right fit for you. We see every student as an individual and that’s why every learning journey is personalised to meet the needs of each student. Our intuitive diagnostic test clearly maps everything a student knows or doesn’t know yet and provides them with the maths content they are ready to learn next. Our high-quality curriculum-aligned learning content is created by maths teachers and numeracy specialists and powers our personalised learning model. We’re currently offering a two-week free trial so families can explore Maths Pathway at Home.
Reduce your workload by automating admin and reporting
Every state has its own reporting and admin requirements so the first step is to understand what’s happening in your state. Explore your state below!
| Victoria | New South Wales | Queensland | Western Australia |
| Tasmania | South Australia | Northern Territory | Australian Capital Territory |
Maths Pathway at Home makes meeting your state’s homeschooling requirements easy with clear and downloadable progress reports that illustrate growth across every topic and level. Thousands of students have helped us make Maths Pathway intuitive and easy for families to use. In our parent portal, you’ll have access to reports, feedback and clear progression insights.
“Maths Pathway is a fundamental part of my homeschooling program. I feel relieved to know my son is working at his own level, at the same time it is great to be able to monitor his progress. The support of the Maths Pathways team is consistently good and at any time you can request a report of your child’s progress which is handy for the yearly homeschool reports we need to complete.” – Jane, Maths Pathway Parent
