Rural Women's Day events for mums who homeschool

Rural Women's Day events for mums who homeschool

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As Rural Women’s Day approaches, Jillina Whittaker is ensuring rural mothers in remote areas have the support and connection they need through two special virtual events.

Jillina is the founder of Home Education Rural and Remote Discussion (HERRD). The rural mother of four is passionate about homeschooling and creating connections for families in some of Australia’s most remote areas.

To mark Rural Women’s Day, Jillina is launching two virtual events aimed at celebrating and supporting rural mothers who often overlook their own self-care while focusing on their children’s education.

“We invite our homeschool mums and their friends to come along to our Book Lovers’ Club launch. There's no prescribed book list—we’re just going to have a casual conversation about the books we love, the books we’re reading, our favourite authors.

"The following night, we’re going to have our Celebrating You workshop with Rebecca Bradshaw, the Rural Child Health Nurse, who will take us through just a fun and engaging workshop where we are prioritising ourselves."

Jillina started HERRD to offer rural homeschooling families a sense of community, while also providing educational opportunities for their children.

HERRD has grown from a simple Facebook Group into a nationwide community of over 600 families, offering resources like virtual events, workshops and learning programs such as Code Club and Story Factory.

"What I wanted to do was to help other Australian homeschoolers who live outside of those metro areas to find connection, to find community and also to provide some actual learning opportunities for the students."

Despite the challenges of homeschooling in regional and rural areas such as big distances, unreliable internet and lack of services, Jillina saw the potential for homeschooling to be a powerful choice for families looking for an alternative to traditional schooling options.

"I don't promote homeschool as a better choice, I promote it as another choice. The idea is to support parents who want to homeschool and not feel the need to that they have to send their kids away to boarding school or that they have to do the prescribed Australian curriculum through distance education, and that homeschooling can be another option, just like you would send your kids to co-ed or to a private school."

She also highlights the difference between distance education and home education, explaining how homeschooling gives parents the flexibility to design their children’s curriculum while staying in their rural communities.

"With distance education, you still belong to a registered school, you are a mainstream student and you will be following the Australian curriculum, you'll be following those grades and those levels.

"The idea with homeschooling is that the parents are the main provider of the education and they build a curriculum or a program around their child and that is approved through their state. They have the flexibility to be able to just tailor it that way."

Jillina’s vision for HERRD is one of continued organic growth, providing both educational opportunities for students and social support for parents, while advocating for home education to be recognised in broader discussions about rural education in Australia.

For more details about the rural women's day events, reach out to Jillina via Facebook or Instagram.

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