{"id":220082,"date":"2021-02-23T20:44:34","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T18:44:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents-blog\/?p=220082"},"modified":"2022-06-04T20:22:04","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T18:22:04","slug":"teachers-experience-using-impaq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/education\/homeschooling\/teachers-experience-using-impaq\/","title":{"rendered":"You don\u2019t need to be a teacher to homeschool"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">While most public schools opened last month, many parents are still rightfully concerned about sending their children back to school. Two of these parents, Sophia Saib and Lisa van Rensburg (both former teachers), decided to teach their children at home. They share why you don\u2019t need to be a teacher to homeschool.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Why homeschooling?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u201cIn this time of COVID-19, the outside world isn\u2019t safe, but that doesn\u2019t mean our children\u2019s education must suffer,\u201d Saib explains. Saib worked in a corporate environment, but her passion for teaching steered her in the direction of a postgraduate degree in education when her second daughter was born ten years ago. \u201cWe all want what\u2019s best for our own children. With COVID-19 currently, we decided as a family [that] homeschooling would be the best option. Now I can\u2019t see us ever wanting to go back to mainstream [schooling],\u201d Saib says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Van Rensburg, who has been teaching for the past ten years, adds: \u201cWe decided to do homeschooling because I just felt it would be safer and I would be able to give my children the education they needed\u201d. Van Rensburg had grown up in the teaching industry as her mom had been a teacher for over 30 years. \u201cI have always had a passion for teaching,\u201d Van Rensburg explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Homeschooling vs traditional schooling<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-01.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-222258\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-01.jpg\" alt=\"homeschooling with impaq\" width=\"1199\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-01.jpg 2500w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-01-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-01-1024x535.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-01-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-01-1536x803.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-01-2048x1071.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1199px) 100vw, 1199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Individual attention<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u201cAn obvious difference between homeschooling and traditional schooling is the available undivided attention,\u201d Van Rensburg says. She explains that she can now give her two boys, aged 7 and 5, the one-on-one attention they need. Saib agrees and says that she can now spend more time with her four daughters, aged 12, 10, 7 and 3.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Structure<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Impaq\u2019s lesson material and lesson plans also help Saib save time. \u201cAs a perfectionist, I love the structure and ease of lesson delivery and content \u2013 it leaves more time to play and do other fun things,\u201d Saib says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Easy transition to and from mainstream<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"> Saib first came across Impaq\u2019s lesson material when working part-time at a tutor centre. \u201cThat\u2019s where I was absolutely impressed with the Impaq material, its content and structure, as well as the fact that it is CAPS aligned \u2013 it\u2019s exactly what we use in mainstream schools except better,\u201d Saib explains. She adds: \u201cImpaq is a viable option because if you ever need to place your children in a traditional school again, it will be with ease as it\u2019s the same content and topics.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Why Impaq?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">You would think that homeschooling would be an easy choice for Saib, seeing as she is a qualified teacher, but that wasn\u2019t the case initially. \u201cHomeschooling can be overwhelming. I was filled with fears even though I am a SACE-registered and experienced teacher,\u201d Saib explains. Luckily, Saib\u2019s fears were short-lived. She received confirmation from the Department of Education that her children were successfully registered two weeks after submitting the application. \u201cImpaq offers the lesson plans and schedules for each subject, so the administration for [the] application was super easy,\u201d Saib says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Van Rensburg had no trouble registering either. \u201cI contacted Impaq, and they got back to me the next day, everyone we spoke to was extremely helpful, and we just felt it was the right place for us,\u201d Van Rensburg explains. Saib adds: \u201cImpaq has taken away any concerns about homeschooling, and now we can enjoy our journey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Lesson material<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Van Rensburg says that the Impaq lesson material is user-friendly, fun, and interactive, making it easy to teach at home. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be a teacher to understand the lesson plans,\u201d Van Rensburg explains. Saib agrees and adds: \u201cImpaq\u2019s workbooks, online platform, lesson plans, content, online classes, tasks, assessments, and report creation is so easy \u2013 you don\u2019t need to be a teacher to facilitate [teaching].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saib says that she found the notes and activities to be informative and of an excellent standard. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t include unnecessary or invalid information to complicate learning. In fact, it includes opportunities for independent research and challenges curiosity with the fun facts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Benefits of homeschooling<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-11-2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-222257 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-11-2.jpg\" alt=\"impaq homeschooling\" width=\"1200\" height=\"627\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-11-2.jpg 2501w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-11-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-11-2-1024x535.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-11-2-768x401.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-11-2-1536x803.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Teacher-to-homeschoolers-resize-11-2-2048x1070.jpg 2048w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1200px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1200\/627;\" data-original-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saib and Van Rensburg are enjoying the many benefits of homeschooling and listed some of their favourites below:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Working at their own pace<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u201cI love that we can work at our own pace and in our own time,\u201d Van Rensburg says. Saib says that they follow a time structure for lessons but still work at their own pace. \u201cEach child is unique, so we play around with a schedule that works for us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Learning from the comfort of home<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u201cI love the fact that we can learn in the comfort of our own home,\u201d Van Rensburg says. Saib agrees and adds: \u201cWe have watched our daughters grow more relaxed, owning their environment and learning with a smile.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">More time<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Both Saib and Van Rensburg said that they don\u2019t miss the mad morning school rush or sitting in traffic. \u201cWe now enjoy a relaxed, calm approach,\u201d says Van Rensburg. \u201cNow we don\u2019t send our children away, they are not overwhelmed with homework, and [they] are released from the pressures of having \u2018no time\u2019 to be children,\u201d Saib adds.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\">Homeschooling tips from former teachers<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">While they might be new to homeschooling, as former teachers, Saib and Van Rensburg are experts in learning. They share their tips below:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Stay organised<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u201cHave a schedule and stick to it,\u201d Van Rensburg says. \u201cBeing organised is key.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Make it fun<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u201cWhen doing the art activities, have all the art supplies available,\u201d Van Rensburg advises. \u201cMake the outdoor physical activities exciting,\u201d she adds.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Reward your kids<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Saib was worried that her daughters might miss school competitions as her daughters enjoyed winning academic awards, but now they take a different approach. \u201cWe teach them to value that you compete with yourself and to try and be your own best \u2013 not [to compete with] anyone else\u2019s standards.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Van Rensburg helps her boys work towards their goals by relying on a tried-and-tested form of reward. \u201cReward charts work so well with our two boys,\u201d Van Rensburg explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Take part in extracurricular activities<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Van Rensburg enrolled her children at a soccer academy to keep them involved in social activities. \u201cWe also try to get them involved in other activities and playdates (lockdown regulations permitting),\u201d she concludes.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b><i>Note: If you enjoyed this article, and would like to stay updated with more, you can:<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li2\"><i><\/i><span class=\"s1\"><i>Subscribe to our free weekly Jozikids\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/member-registration\/\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>newsletter<\/i><\/span><\/a><i>\u00a0 for parents in Gauteng<\/i><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li2\"><i><\/i><span class=\"s1\"><i>Like us on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jozikids.co.za\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>facebook<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li2\"><i><\/i><span class=\"s1\"><i>Follow us on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/jozikids?igshid=1n8cwedrewul\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s2\"><i>instagram<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two former teachers share their experience on using Impaq as a curriculum provider for  homeschooling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":222256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[837],"class_list":["post-220082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homeschooling","tag-homeschooling-with-impaq"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}