While I was growing up, my father spent most of his time either working or unwinding at the void deck with his friends. 

Of all my childhood memories, the ones I hold closest to my heart are the times spent with my dad and elder brother after our Sunday swimming lessons where we would share snacks and laugh together. 

These moments were good, but they never lasted long. I always yearned to be able to spend more time with him. 

When my wife Diane and I had our first child, we decided that we never wanted our children to feel that sort of yearning. And so, even though we knew it would be a lot of work, we chose the path of homeschooling. 

Don’t get us wrong: Normal schools and textbooks are great. There’s nothing wrong with a conventional academic path; we just wanted something different for our kids. 

There are important real-life skills that kids can learn and develop outside of the traditional classrooms.

The way we see it, education is not just about knowledge. It's about enabling our son, aged eight, and our daughter, aged four, to develop practical skills and sensibilities that they can carry with them throughout their lives. 

HOW IT WORKS

In our family, I work full-time while my wife focuses on our kids' education. We follow a tailored curriculum that’s approved by the Ministry Of Education suited to each child's learning needs and pace. 

Outside of work, I join my kids for playtime and as many of their non-academic learning activities as I can, such as nature exploration, communications and speaking skills, as well as sports.

We allocate budget, time and energy to ensure that each aspect of family life receives attention and resources. We plan and decide together which parent will take care of specific needs and oversee learning outcomes across different areas.

Keeping our kids engaged in a wide range of activities outside the home allows them to develop their social skills through continuous interaction with other children and adults, regardless of age, location and background. 

With other homeschooling families, we share experiences and participate in activities such as swimming classes, art classes, sports development, science experiences and events, and communication and speaking skills.

The children also have academic sessions with other homeschooled kids close to them in age. 

We often go camping and explore outdoor places like the Botanic Gardens, Zoo, Night Safari, and Gardens by the Bay. These outings allow us to learn about flora and fauna, as well as animal life such as insects and otters.

We also participate in various cultural activities throughout the year, such as Hari Raya celebrations, Deepavali festivities where we learn to make prata, Lantern Festivals with dragon boat races, and Eurasian cultural gatherings.

These don’t just provide opportunities for cultural appreciation; they also help us make diverse connections with others in our community.

We also incorporate something called “world-schooling”: We take our kids with us when we travel for work, so they can learn from different places, peoples, and cultures.

Taking them out of their comfort zones presents them with opportunities to grow and learn in their own way. 

CONSTANT CHALLENGES

Planning and organisation are tightropes we must always balance upon as we strive to maintain routines for our kids and family.

We've found that our kids thrive on routines while also benefiting from creativity and real-life experiences. 

We have an inside joke that on any given week, my wife and kids are busier than me because of their studies, learning excursions, and other activities.

My son, for example, has been enjoying soccer in our local community with Active SG (Sports) Soccer for the past three to four years and is now part of the local youth league. He is also involved in canoe polo at Passion Waves programmes.  

Outside of academics and extracurriculars, children face a lot of challenges today that we as parents and caregivers may not be aware of, such as bullying and peer pressure.

As a coach and speaker, I strive to empower and support my kids by utilising some of my coaching and training techniques to boost their confidence and foster self-esteem building. 

More than knowing the right answers to science and maths questions, it’s important to me that my kids learn how to make the right choices when they encounter difficult personal and social situations as well. 

As the children progress to more advanced levels of schooling, the workload also becomes greater and more complex for the educator parent.

Being part of a support group with past references to proper teaching content and guidance (both at the parents' and kids' level) will be beneficial for us to tackle any challenges or needs on the ground. 

It truly takes a village to raise a child, and this community, where we can give and share with other like-minded parents and caregivers, is an invaluable resource for us as we strive towards our learning goals.

Our aim now is to complete Primary School Leaving Examination learning for both our kids under homeschooling.

Planning for secondary school and beyond will require us to reassess when our eldest completes the equivalent of Primary 4. 

IS HOMESCHOOLING FOR ME AND MY KIDS?

Of course, homeschooling isn’t for every family. 

For starters, it requires plenty of time and dedication from one parent as an educator. This parent, who must be a degree holder, must be willing and able to put their career on extended hold. 

As such, another major point of deliberation and discussion is whether the family can support themselves financially, whether on a single full-time income stream or with one or both parents on a much more flexible work schedule. 

For parents who are considering homeschooling, it’s also important to keep in mind that taking on the role of educator for one’s kids is not simply about following a curriculum. 

It’s a full-time investment in your child’s academic and personal development — you become parent, teacher, principal, administrator, disciplinarian, co-curricular activities supervisor, counsellor and more, all at the same time. 

This can be overwhelming at times, and you may not always be able to take a break when you need it.

For us, we’ve found that it’s a trade-off worth making for the chance to spend more time with our children, which was our original intention.

I’m proud of the relationship I have with my son, where we can talk openly about anything and everything — so different from the one I had with my own father. 

At the end of the day, homeschooling is an unconventional journey with unique challenges, but if my wife and I had a choice, we’d definitely choose it all over again. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Raymond Lim is a coach, speaker and trainer and the founder of RL Consultancy.