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Photo: Home Education
Photo: Home Education

VideoOctober 8, 2024

Home Education: Jen and the dahlia kids

Photo: Home Education
Photo: Home Education

Home Education follows the everyday lives of six families in Aotearoa educating their children at home. Meet Jen and the dahlia kids, learning through a flower business.

The new docuseries Home Education is filmed across Aotearoa, in and around the homes of six families who have taken schooling outside the bounds of a traditional classroom. Each family moulds their days to suit them, fostering a love of learning through incorporating elements of Montessori, Waldorf, Unschooling, Te Kura, Waldorf, and mātauranga Māori. The students we meet are just a few of over 10,000 who are educated at home in Aotearoa.

The first episode features Jen and her kids who run a pick-your-own dahlia farm. Three years ago, Jen gave her three children $100 to start a business as a learning project. One of her daughters decided to spend it on dahlia plants. Today, the dahlia farm has almost 4,000 plants. Now all of their education is in the context of running the farm. “It’s a beautiful way to live,” says Jen. Gracie, Milly and Lexie learn maths at the till counting out change for customers, science while testing different options for flower food and art as they market their flowers.

When Jen decided to educate her kids at home, not everyone liked that idea – and the courage of her convictions wavered when one of them took longer than usual to learn how to read. However, though trusting her children to learn as and when they need to, the kids, and their business, are thriving.

Made with the support of NZ On Air.

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Irma Fairul Izad and her son.
Irma Fairul Izad and her son.

VideoOctober 1, 2024

Trailer: Home Education

Irma Fairul Izad and her son.
Irma Fairul Izad and her son.

From a dahlia farm to a house bus, six families have found their own ways to teach their kids at home.

The docu-series Home Education looks into the lives of six families that have taken schooling outside the bounds of a traditional classroom. There are as many ways to learn as there are people, and each family is able to mould their days to suit them. They incorporate elements of Montessori, Waldorf, Unschooling, Te Kura, mātauranga Māori and more, aiming to foster their children’s innate love of learning. These students are just a few of more than 10,000 who are educated at home in Aotearoa.

The first episode features Jen and her three kids who run a pick-your-own dahlia farm. The thriving business started when Jen gave them each $100 to start a business, as a home school project – now all of their education is in the context of running the farm. Then we meet Rachel and Felix, who are researching a little-known bunker in Mount Eden. Struggling at times to keep Felix motivated in his learning, Rachel taps into his passion for history as the means to inspire deeper engagement. Felix, who is neurodivergent, found it difficult to fit in at school, but has found friends at Forest School. Next, Irma is home educating her two boys and “de-schooling” herself by letting go of curriculums and schedules and enabling the boys to direct their learning, allowing space for them to be their whole selves. 

In episode four, learning at home has allowed Kensey to not fall behind after repeated illness. Her mum Alesha helps her through an online curriculum. Then, the seven “road-schooling” Rasmussen children, aged six weeks to 17 years old, are designing an ancient civilisation in their house bus, led by resourceful mum Bridie. Our final episode features the Baker whānau. Their home education through Te Kura started when a whale washed up on Tokomaru Bay, and Israel and Petrina decided it was as important to teach their tamariki how to correctly harvest the taonga as it was to attend traditional school.

Episode launch dates:

EP01: Tuesday October 8
EP02: Tuesday October 15
EP03: Tuesday October 22
EP04: Tuesday October 29
EP05: Tuesday November 5
EP06: Tuesday November 12

Home Education is made with the support of NZ On Air.