Other parents, regardless of their income, decide that debentures and monthly fees are simply too excessive and are not willing to pay. “We were not going to pay US$25-30,000 per year for the girls to go to school. The company [that employed my husband] did not pay school tuition, so this was falling on us,” says another homeschooling mum who prefers not to be named. She homeschooled her two children, then aged nine and ten, in Hong Kong for two years before moving back to the US, where they will soon be enrolled in public school.

Convenience also played a part in the decision to homeschool. “Another reason that we found homeschooling was a ft for us is because we wanted to travel. We knew that we were only in the region for two years

and wanted to make the best of it. Sometimes this meant travelling when school was still in session for the local kids. This was a huge advantage for us.”

One of the biggest decisions was choosing a curriculum. After deciding not to pursue a religion-based choice – contrary to many homeschooling families in the West – she then decided that, with limited time in Hong Kong, concentrating on cornerstone subjects would help her girls most when re-entering the US system. After referencing books like

What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know and The Well-Trained Mind , she made maths and language arts the focus and also included science, history and spelling. She supplemented their home education by enrolling them in classes in sports and arts, which

helped them meet new friends. She kept records of all the girls’ work and achievements.

Implementing the curriculum and keeping everyone on schedule didn’t prove an issue, as she says she is quite routine-focused usually. She also didn’t try to play a “teacher” role different from her normal role. “I would never put on the teacher hat and take off the mom hat. I think that they go hand in hand,” she says. The undivided attention on her girls meant that she could answer more and specifc questions that might have gone unanswered in a larger classroom. “I can say that even though there were tough times, I would not trade this time with my daughters for anything. I am quite lucky to have had two years to infuence my children,” she says.

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