It’s the season when a good number of homeschoolers finds relief for having accomplished the milestone of the Primary School Leaving Examinations. A question that may linger in the minds of many is, what’s next?
In the information guides on homeschooling pathways, we have summarised the various academic and non-academic routes at the post-primary education level. We hope that these information will help you in charting the next lap of your homeschooling journey!
There is a myriad of academic and enrichment activities for homeschooling upon entering the secondary level of education – one is spoilt for choices. Hence, you may take some time to settle down with the optimum combination and routine for your home-based and external classes and activities. A constant checking-in with the high schooler, as well as reviewing the timetable and suitability of the activities, will help all parties determine if further calibration is required. If something is not working, change it! Remember, needing to redirect your plans does not mean that you had made a mistake. It only offers a constant opportunity to learn.
Getting Help for Your Homeschool
While students tend to demonstrate a heightened desire and capability to learn independently, it is common for parents to get help in the academic aspects of homeschooling at the high school level.
Co-operative arrangements between parents may no longer be viable at this stage due to several factors. The most common reason is that parents may find secondary-level subjects technically challenging for them to teach on their own. Furthermore, building a critical mass to kick-start classes gets more challenging at this stage as homeschoolers pursue diverse pathways and subject combinations, and common times are difficult to find among these socially-active homeschoolers!
As an alternative, parents and students may seek to supplement their homeschooling in two major ways: (A) enrolling in private tuition centres conventionally offered to mainstream school-going students, and (B) engaging fellow or former homeschoolers to teach.
A. Conventional Tuition Services
Tuition services are abundant in Singapore. Homeschooling teens who enroll in private tuition centers would benefit from the convenience of engaging tutors for an extensive list of subjects. Also, tuition classes offer a great opportunity for the homeschool highschoolers to interact with teenagers offering the same subject(s). Making new acquaintances, especially those with different schooling experiences, allow homeschoolers to expand their social circles even while they are deepening present friendships. Holistically, this would enrich their experience during a time when a big part of a teenager’s identity comes from their social relationships.
B. Services by Fellow Homeschoolers and Homeschool Graduates
As an alternative to these centers, parents may also engage fellow or former homeschoolers offering similar services to teach their youth. There are significant advantages to this arrangement compared to conventional tuition centers, which this article shall attempt at listing across different aspects:
(i) Curriculum Coverage: Homeschooling parents and homeschool graduates understand that parents engage them to teach the students as the primary method of instruction. Lessons need to be taught with the assumption that the student has no prior knowledge in the subject. In contrast, school-going students have covered much content in school and tend to enroll in tuition centers only for supplementary learning.
(ii) Class Timing: Class schedule at conventional tuition centers may be restricted to after-school hours. This may not be ideal for homeschoolers who may prefer to schedule academic learning earlier in the day.
(iii) Outcome-based Goals: Conventional tuition centers are catered to prepare students not only for the high-stakes exams such as the O and A Levels, but also for the periodic school examinations. Homeschoolers may not find this orientation ideal and may seek more customised approaches to learning that they are accustomed to. For this reason, parents, senior student homeschoolers and homeschool graduates may be more cognizant of this need and accommodate the students more effectively.
*Note: that the actual arrangments vary due to the specific circ*mstances of each case and parties involved.
Academic Preparation Services by Homeschoolers
In this article, we compiled a list of services offered by fellow homeschoolers and homeschool graduates who have chosen to promote their offerings with us.
- Regina Chung is popular among homeschoolers who are looking for qualified instructors. Regina caters to diverse groups of learners from the age of 13 years, and organises study groups, small-group teaching, peer-learning activities and science laboratory lessons. Busy parents have found invaluable support through the structure that she puts in place. Reach out to Regina to discuss the best arrangement for your child’s unique needs and timeline, or to request for regular updates on activities.
Verified Reviewer: I heard about Regina’s classes by word-of-mouth, and spoke to her at one of the homeschool curriculum fairs. I filed the information away mentally as my children were not in need of them at that time. When my daughter decided to homeschool through the A levels and I started researching tutoring options, I realised that tuition centers or private tutors are very costly to engage. I remembered Regina, and upon contacting, I found that her charges were much more affordable. My daughter found the tutors thorough in going through the syllabus, as they did not assume the students had prior knowledge. She also found them clear and engaging. She also enjoyed getting to know other homeschoolers around the same age. When the exams drew nearer, some of the tutors provided additional lessons to give extra help to the students. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I greatly appreciate what Regina does for the homeschooling community!
- Homeschool-based Classical Education Classical Conversations in Singapore serves secondary-aged (7th-12th grade) homeschool students through community-based academic programmes facilitated by tutors who are homeschool parents or graduates. Students in the community come together each academic year (typically August-May) once a week for 30 community days over two semesters. Students practice classical learning skills on curricula that are usable in high school diplomas. Learning experiences include dissections, laboratory experiments and reports for subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, as well as participating in debates, speeches, and milestone events such as Science Fairs, Mock Trials, and writing a Senior Thesis. In Singapore, two cohorts of students have graduated through the 12th grade. Students are welcomed to consider joining cohorts throughout the academic year. (The 2022 PSLE cohort has commenced their “Challenge A” programme in October 2022). The support representative for Classical Conversations in Singapore is David Tay, a homeschool dad whose two oldest children have graduated high school through Classical Conversations. If you are interested to know more, drop this friendly dad an e-mail at dtay@classicalconversations.com!
Testimonial: My son was in the “Challenge” community for five years. The community and curriculum have been a great support through those challenging years. Despite having different strengths, interests, and paces in learning, every student in the class had equal opportunities to explore the subject and present their findings. The “Challenge” programme in CC equipped them with the tools of learning that can be used for different strands, be it logic, grammar, research, rhetoric, exposition, or debate. When students came together once a week in a seminar setting, they took turns to be the presenters and attendees. My son was initially not very keen in presenting or speaking in front of an audience. But having friends around, and with classmates taking turns presenting in different styles, as well as the tutor guiding by prompting questions and seeking examples – sometimes with stories and humour – he grew to enjoy the preparations and conversations generated by those sessions. I am so grateful for having this community to grow and journey together.
Language, Arts & Humanities
- Wei Ci is a homeschool graduate who is an avid promoter of creative writing. Driven by her passion to create opportunities for homeschoolers to hone their literary skills, she had independently initiated several writing competitions in the past. Today, she is heavily engaged as a full-time educator. In honour of her activism, Homeschool Singapore reached out to her about promoting her tutoring services in English Literature.
Verified Reviewer: My daughter first took lessons in Literature with Ci when she was preparing for her O level exams. She was given a good foundation and she very much enjoyed the time she spent learning with her. When she decided to study Literature again for the A levels, she tried lessons with another tutor who had many years of experience in teaching the local syllabus. After a year, however, I made the decision to approach Ci to teach my daughter again. At that time, Ci did not have prior experience in teaching the A level syllabus, but she did her research and agreed to do so. My daughter’s interest in the subject picked up again and she found a lot more motivation and joy in learning. That, to me, is an important accomplishment and I am very thankful to Ci for all the years she’s spent with my daughter!
- Azlin S. is a homeschool mother of three and an oral history specialist. She offers humanities classes for History, Social Studies and Literature in preparation for the GCE O-Level, IGCSE and US high school syllabus. Azlin also offers flexible teaching arrangements to allow students to focus on specific areas.
Verified Reviewer: When I was teaching my son History and Social Studies in preparation for his O level exams, I was looking out for someone who could help him with the exam preparation process; preferably someone who was familiar with the marking scheme and could provide feedback on his work accordingly. After asking around in the homeschool community, I found Azlin who seemed to fit the bill perfectly! My son had about six months of lessons with her over Zoom, during which she provided ample advice, feedback and support. She gave many opportunities for him to practice his skills, was clear in her marking and comments, and provided sample model answers afterward for his reference. Even though we’ve never met in person, I could sense that she is a responsible and enthusiastic teacher, and I am so grateful that she could teach my son amidst her own busy homeschooling and mothering commitments!
- Little U offers a unique course for homeschoolers through its Teen Groups. Modeled after the International Baccalaureate (IB) philosophy, teenagers are groomed to work cooperatively towards cultivating social awareness, civil agency and workplace readiness while developing their confidence for the marketplace and creating their portfolio. The program also caters to students with special education needs.
Verified Reviewer: I enrolled my son in Little U’s Teen group after his PSLE year. He has always been interested in doing research and humanities-based studies but I felt that it was too early to start him formally in any curriculum. When I heard that the Teen Group module is formulated based on the IB approach, I thought that it was a great way to ease my son into doing independent studies and research. The Teen group does not employ an academic approach but my son’s confidence and competency grew in the four semesters that he has enrolled in the programme. He is better primed to take on the rigour of curriculum-based studies because of these experiences. Furthermore, Dawn, who facilitated his module, also takes a personal interest in the teens’ development and spends time beyond the sessions to bond with the teens in fun social activities. With this great experience, I have also enrolled my other child in the Tween Group at LU to start her out earlier.
Check out the latest Little U prospectus to explore new homeschooling possibilities for the upcoming year!
Mathematics and Sciences
- Vivian Kwek is an author to a parenting book, Decoding Your Child, and a Math enthusiast. She has been teaching Mathematics to homechoolers from the primary to secondary levels.
Verified Reviewer: Vivian not only imparts Mathematical concepts but also introduces thinking skills to the children and explains to them the science before mathematical thinking. She goes at the children’s pace whilst giving enough challenge to stretch them.
- Sukesy Mattar is another homeschool veteran who has been offering Mathematics and Science classes. Some of her classes run online, while her science laboratory sessions are conducted at several locations for homeschoolers at different academic levels. You can request to follow her Facebook group, HomeStretch, to get updates on her classes.
Verified Reviewer: My son took Physics and Chemistry classes with Sukesy for four years. He enjoyed learning in a small group with fellow homeschoolers as this allowed them to grow friendships while they learned at a suitable pace. Sukesy has a genuine interest for what she teaches, and uses a variety of ways to interest her students, including videos and Kahoot quizzes. However, she prepares them thoroughly and vigorously for the exams, going by the number of practice papers my son did in the final months leading up to the O levels. The monthly laboratory sessions she takes pains to organise are also very enriching for homeschoolers, and they will remain memorable experiences in my son’s homeschool life!
- Annabel Claire Bailey has a passion for Mathematics that goes beyond academic preparations. She pens her thoughts on learning in her blog, InspireMath.org, where homeschoolers can also get information on her play-based workshops and classes.
Published Testimonial: Annabel worked with both my boys and was incredible in getting them excited and motivated to dig into math problem-solving. She helped them to build confidence when tackling math problems that they deemed hard and worked on specific skills to support them in confidence-building. Annabel has extraordinary talents in working with kids who struggle to focus and maintain concentration and has so many strategies to help nudge them to be independently successful!
More Homeschool Services…
If you are a homeschooler offering similar academic preparation services, and would like to be added to this list, send us your details to editor@homeschoolsingapore.sg. This will help us grow our resources for the community!
In need of a sounding board for the decisions you are about to make for your homeschool? Shout out to the veteran members of your homeschool communities, or engage Homeschool Consultation for a comprehensive service.
Happy homeschooling!
