Home school Support

Individual learning, literacy and planning support for home schooling families

Homeschooling gives families enormous flexibility, but it can also be hard. I know this both professionally and personally: I’m a qualified teacher and Speech Pathologist, and I’m also a homeschooling parent.

It can be difficult to work out what your child should actually be learning, whether they are making enough progress, which resources are worth using and what to do when something simply isn't working. There is an extraordinary amount of advice and curriculum material available to homeschooling families, but more options don't necessarily make those decisions easier.

And then there is the reality of actually teaching your own child.

I offer individual online support for homeschooling families who would like another person alongside them — whether that's to provide some of the teaching, help plan a learning program, work out where a child is getting stuck, or simply help make homeschooling feel a little more manageable.

I particularly enjoy working with neurodivergent and dyslexic children, children with uneven learning profiles, and families whose health or other circumstances mean that education needs to work a little differently.

Individual learning support

I can work directly with your child through regular online sessions, particularly in literacy, language and related areas of learning.

Sessions can focus on reading, spelling and writing, or we can work around the learning your child is currently doing at home. For older children, this might include comprehension, written expression, vocabulary, planning and organising assignments, or breaking larger pieces of work into manageable steps.

My background in both teaching and speech pathology helps me look beyond whether a child can or can't complete a particular task. If something isn't working, I want to understand why, adapt the way it is being taught and work out what skills need to come next.

Planning your child's learning

Sometimes the child doesn't need another weekly tutor. The parent needs someone to sit down with them and help work out a plan.

I can help you look at what your child is currently doing, identify priorities and develop an individual learning plan that is realistic for your child and your family.

This might include looking at:

• your child's current skills, strengths and areas of difficulty

• what to focus on now and what can wait

• choosing programs, curricula and other resources

• developing a literacy program around your child's needs

• adapting learning for dyslexia, neurodivergence or an uneven learning profile

• setting realistic learning goals

• finding different ways to approach something that isn't working

• balancing structured teaching with the flexibility that homeschooling allows.

The aim isn't to recreate school at home. It's to develop an approach that gives your child the teaching and opportunities they need while making use of the flexibility that homeschooling can offer.

When you've tried all the things

One of the difficult parts of homeschooling is knowing what to do when you've followed the program, bought the resources, tried a different approach — and your child is still stuck.

Sometimes more practice isn't the answer.

A child who is struggling with writing, for example, might be finding spelling difficult. They might have great ideas but struggle to construct sentences, organise those ideas or get them onto the page. They might understand a topic perfectly when talking about it but find the language demands of written work overwhelming.

Working out what is getting in the way can help us make better decisions about what and how to teach next.

Where I think a child's difficulties may require clinical assessment or speech pathology rather than educational support alone, I will discuss this with you. Speech pathology is a separate clinical service and is provided at my usual speech pathology rates.

Considering homeschooling?

You don't have to be an established homeschooling family to work with me.

If you're considering homeschooling and wondering what learning at home might actually look like for your child, I can help you think through the educational side of that decision.

We can talk about your child's current learning needs, the areas that would need support, possible approaches and resources, and what a realistic learning program might look like.

I won't tell you whether you should or shouldn't homeschool. The aim is to help you understand what might be involved and give you a clearer picture of how learning at home could work for your child and family.

Support that can change as you need it

Homeschooling needs can change. You might want regular teaching for a period, occasional sessions to work through a particular difficulty, help setting up a program at the beginning of a term, or another set of eyes when something stops working.

Support can be developed around what would actually be useful to your family rather than requiring you to fit into a particular homeschooling model or curriculum.

About me

I'm Alice Greenwood, a qualified teacher and Speech Pathologist, specialist literacy tutor and homeschooling parent.

My professional background gives me a strong understanding of literacy, language, communication and learning. Homeschooling my own child has also given me an appreciation of the much messier practical side: finding resources that actually work, balancing different needs, changing plans, worrying about whether you're doing enough, and recognising that what looks good on paper doesn't necessarily work with the child sitting in front of you.

I don't think there is one right way to homeschool. I do think it helps to understand how your child learns, what they need to develop next, and which things are actually worth spending your limited time and energy on.