homeschooling

OKay, I know it's a little early but it looks lke we might be staying in Japan until jake is six. Lewis wants to staty long enough to see the rugby world cup....so I'm crossing my fingers that NZ gets it!!! Anyway, at that time Jake will be six. Japanese kids don't go to school until they are six so he won't have had any schooling until we go back to NZ, however I'd prefered him start school at five. So anyway, to make this long story longer, we are thinking of homeschooling Jake for maybe a year or two, if our plan of backpacking around europe for a fe months works out too. Does anyone know about it?

when i was in the dental clinic i had a bit to do with the home schoolers. You can make up your own cirriculum you just have to send in a copy of your plan to the education board.

You can also do correspondence which is already made up and you just follow their cirriculum. You get everything. Its free if you live so far from a school or i think $150 a term if its your choice not to go to school. So dont know what the price would be you being in Japan. Here is the link correspondence school

i would think that so long as jake isnt behind when he does start school it should be okay - and i know some kids who start school at 5 cant write their name or know the alphabet.

ah i found it. You may just have to tell a white lie or apply now for early childhood education. As it has to be done within 12 months of leaving NZ.

Enrolment category (k):

Students overseas
This category is for school age children who are New Zealand citizens or the children of New Zealand permanent residents, needing to continue their education while overseas. These children are eligible for enrolment if their parents may be described as New Zealand citizens/permanent residents who are:

Military and diplomatic personnel, and others employed by the New Zealand Government whose duties take them overseas; or
New Zealand missionaries serving in overseas mission fields; or
University staff and others on sabbatical leave; or
Teachers recruited on inter-governmental, or non-governmental organisation arrangements for service overseas; or
New Zealand citizens or New Zealand permanent residents (who have lived here for two years or more) traveling and living overseas who intend returning to New Zealand and whose children will be either continuing their education within the New Zealand system or be taking up employment in New Zealand.
Application

Parents / caregivers need to show that they:

Are away from New Zealand for at least six months, and,
Require full-time enrolment as they are unable to obtain admission to a suitable school locally, or that there is no such suitable school or that they are candidates for New Zealand national qualifications for which local schools do not cater.
OR that they:

Require enrolment in specific subjects with The Correspondence School as they have transferred to an overseas school where New Zealand national qualification subjects taken previously are not available, or,
Cannot obtain tuition in subjects they wish to advance to New Zealand national qualification level and no suitable subject is available at the school.
The following five criteria must all be met for such children to be enrolled:

No employer subsidy towards the education of the child is provided;
The parent / caregiver is a New Zealand citizen or New Zealand resident;
They intend to return to New Zealand on completion of the service overseas;
The family is to be absent from New Zealand for at least six months;
There is no suitable local education service available.
For category i. to iv. above, a letter from the parent / caregiver's employer must verify all five statements. There is no maximum period of enrolment for these categories.

Parents / caregivers in category v. must make a written declaration to the same effect and in addition declare that they intend returning to New Zealand.

Duration of enrolment

Enrolments for category v. above are limited to the year of application only The initial application must be made within twelve months of the departure of the family from N.Z. If support is required beyond the end of a school year, a further application will be required. Three years is the maximum total period of enrolment for any one student.

Review process

Parents/caregivers confirm that their circumstances have not changed

hmm yep i just cut and pasted it! If i had typed it out it would have had heaps of spelling mistakes. Wow your little girl is a week old already, how are things going? Not long until Xanders birthday.

Yeah She is slowly sleeping longer overnight for me.She was weighed on wednesday and usually babies lose some weight BUT she gained 50gms in 5 days!! she now weighs 3840gms or 8pound 8 oz.

Yep my big boy turns 2 on 10th June,he starts daycare the following week.It has gone by soooooo fast.

Sounds like things are going well Becs.