You have questions, we have answers! Keep them coming so that we all learn together!
Sometimes online courses can get a little confusing, or you may be worried about the qualifications of those creating the worksheets and lessons for your children. Well, this is the section where you can find all of those answers and more!
How qualified and what experience do you have to develop these courses?
The Academy of Home Based Learning curricula are written and directed by Dr. Edwina Grossi, PhD (Psychology of Education). The Academy of Home Based Learning has been one of her dreams for more than 15 years, and is based on her most recent educational textbook, Lanterns and Lunch Tins: Fundamentals for Learning in the Formative Years.Dr Edwina Grossi is not only an educationalist. She is a parent, impassioned by her desire to help young people realize their full, unique potential. These programs were written by Dr Grossi to give parents invaluable tools, helping to ensure that children become the best possible version of themselves.
In a teaching career spanning nearly 50 years in South Africa, Dr. Grossi founded Wonderland Pre-Primary School, Wonderland Baby Care, Embury College Primary School, Embury College High School, Embury Institute for Teacher Education and most recently, The Academy of Home Based Learning.
What is different or special about this program?
Written by a true devotee of children and education, the AOHBL programs offer home schooling parents insight into the methods, ideas and tips of Dr. Edwina Grossi who has spent nearly 50 years teaching children of all ages and abilities. At the same time it is teaching parents how to teach their pre-schooler. Our thematic sessions include original content, insight for parents, songs, poems and worksheets. What this means is that here you will find content that no other program can offer you. Indeed, you will find some of the most well-loved classical children’s poems and songs in our programs, but, more often than not every word of each session has been written entirely for the purposes of the age group and lesson in question.
Additionally, our programs are structured to be completed at a child’s own pace. What this means is that parents and children can move through our sessions as quickly or as slowly as the child’s specific talents, interests and/or challenges allow. Given this, we encourage parents to purchase new sessions at a pace that suits them, and as they are downloadable and immediately available anytime, this convenience will never slow progress in learning.
Why are colors repeated so often?
Recognition and differentiation of colors and shapes is one of the building blocks of cognitive development. A child has to notice similarities and differences in order to read, write and do number work. Children learn at their own pace and may be building their knowledge in another area besides the naming of colors. For this reason, you will see that colors are repeated often in sessions, giving the child multiple opportunities to focus on that color and build knowledge.
Some children can recognise a color by the age of 2 and others can name at least one color by 3. By the age of 5 children are usually able to recognise the basic colors.
Where did you get the information presented in a session?
Wherever possible, we have included a source link to all of our cited information. Please follow that link to get back to the original source. Most of our animal facts are gleaned from Wikipedia or a base of common knowledge. If you dispute any of the facts presented in any of our lessons, please feel free to write us a note and tell us what you think should be changed and why.
In addition, Dr Grossi draws on her extensive work with children – over 48 years in the Foundation Phase of Education – as she presents advice for parents on all topics. As always, if medical advice is needed for your child, please consult a physician.
Why are all the sessions focused around a theme?
Learning needs to be connected. Thematic learning helps promote understanding of concepts and discourages rote memorization.
How can I re-download a session I have already paid for?
Any session you have previously purchased on your own account will be available for re-download in your personal profile>files for a year from the date of purchase. The reason that sessions are available for a year and not indefinitely is due to the fact that we update sessions yearly. Please note: Please make sure to backup session PDFs onto your desktop. This makes it easier if your internet ever goes down and you need to reference a session.
How do I start home schooling my child?
This question is posed to us again and again, and since it has more than a few answers, depending on more than a few variables, we’ve decided to try to address it here. First of all, keep in mind that at present, The Academy of Home Based Learning caters only to children who are aged 3-6. In most countries around the world, there are not nationalized educational standards in place for this age of children as they are considered to be “pre-school age”. For this reason, when using our program, more often than not you will not need to register with your country’s Department of Education. That being said, please always check your local government website for your country’s specific requirements. If you are looking to home school a child older than 5 1/2, chances are that you will have to register with your local Department of Education, and keep certain records of your home schooling curriculum, schedule and course work.
