It is that time of the year. Children relish at the end of the school semester, and families look forward to the holidays and festive celebrations. We honour these often-delightful year-end months with the theme School’s Out! in three ways.
We kick off on a celebratory note, sharing in the joy and jubilation of some of our homeschoolers who had recently completed their ultimate rite of passage for every Singaporean child: the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE).
With school’s out, typically, this is also the time when people travel overseas in droves. Many would likely seize this opportunity with the recent opening of the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTL). However, as the last two years have shown us, overseas holidays are not the only way to expand our horizons. There is a multitude of opportunities for us to engage our minds and bodies beyond typical learning set-ups.
This theme shall thus showcase several homeschooling parents known within our community for their out of the ordinary approaches towards learning. For them, the school’s out there: at the beach, in the forests, via games and through unique family experiences, like fostering.
Image credit: Annie Spratt
on Unsplash
Photo by Michał Parzuchowski
on Word ImageUnsplash
Photo by Isaac Quesada
on Unsplash
Thirdly, we could not help but indulge in a tongue in cheek application of the terms. Taking “school” in the literal sense, we shall traverse the paths and take on the vantage view of our youth who have spent most of their lives outside traditional school systems. We turn our gaze towards the homeschooling teenagers and its alumni to hear their thoughts and opinions
Finally, in case you were wondering why the Editorial has taken on the pronoun we, it is because we have grown! Maryam Kiyani, a homeschool alumnus, joins the desk as an intern as she undertakes a gap year before pursuing her degree. Homeschool Singapore is delighted to have her youthful energy manage our social media platforms. She will also be sharing her journey in one of the articles for this theme.
We hope that you enjoy our version of a holiday series. Happy reading!