Greetings! I wished to give homeschoolers a page of their own, not least since I am a former homeschooling parent myself, and understand from experience both the benefits and the challenges.

For many, the decision to homeschool is precisely to enable a more human and individual education for our children.

In particular, the continuing reduction of quality Arts and Humanities education in most schools makes homeschooling children who are gifted in these areas a very sensible option.

In addition to our music units, I have a passion for history, philosophy, and rhetoric, and I’m saddened that so much contemporary education downplays these subjects. It has become fashionable to criticise our Western culture, to present our history simply as a series of imperial power grabs across the globe. While there is much to critique in any world culture, we can be proud of the achievements of the West, while recognising the richness of other world cultures. We should wish for our children to share a passion for their rich cultural inheritance. And is often noted, those who are ignorant of the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them!

It’s vital, also, not to forget ourselves as parents. Many educational research studies (and my own experience) have shown that the home environment is usually the greatest influence on children’s attitudes to learning. If they rarely see us with our head in a book, hear us discussing history or philosophy or economics, or find us and listening to Beethoven symphonies and watching Shakespearian drama, they will not believe us when we speak of the importance of education, and of an active life of the mind and spirit.  As parents, we need to model the life we seek our children to live. It’s never too late to begin!

In Australia I was privileged to teach a diverse range of units for homeschoolers, and several of my music units were originally developed specifically for homeschool programmes. I aim to be as flexible as possible in terms of delivery, and if you can gather a small group of homeschool students (3 - 8, depending on the unit), I will happily negotiate a suitable day/time. Most of the units are as relevant to parents as to children, so none of us need miss out!

Although face to face sessions are the best way to engage and encourage students, in these strange times there is much that can be done online through video - I have even been teaching a number of my piano students via Zoom.

I am keen to assist in any way I can - do email me with any questions you may have on education in general and on the Arts and Humanities in particular.

Best wishes to you and your children.