Homeschooling

As a veteran home educator, having homeschooled my 5 kids for over 20 years, my time is now dedicated to serving the home education community - both those who are just getting started, and those are already home educating. This page links to the main services I offer.

To read some of the feedback on my services, see HERE.

Home Education Exemption Application Guide Pack - 2021 update

In order to legally home educate your child in New Zealand, the first step is obtaining an exemption from the law that requires all children between the ages of 6-16 to be enrolled in and attending a registered school. The process of obtaining that exemption is not difficult, but it can seem daunting. My guide will lead you step-by-step through the process of successfully obtaining your Certificate of Exemption.

This guide pack has been completely updated to align with the Ministry of Education's new application forms. The pack includes:
77 page step-by-step detailed guide
A Word file version of the application forms for you to use when completing your own application
An example completed application
A discount voucher for $10 off my exemption application review service (see below) - applies once

100's of home educators have successfully used my original application guide to obtain their exemption certificates. This version is even more detailed. Using this guide will make completing your application considerably easier!

This edition has been updated August 2021 to align with new laws and other changes, and has extra info. I've also just released a new optional companion manual - Planning Your Home Education Programme - see below.

Exemption Guide Pack Only $25.00
Ebook set - electronic delivery

Or Contact Me to pay via Bank Deposit

NOTE: when you complete the check out for the guide pack, you will be automatically sent an email containing a download link, which expires after 9 attempts or 240 hours, whichever comes first (this was increased as of 2/11). If you don't see the email, please check your spam folder. Remember to download and save the files right away. If you have any difficulties, email me. The files are in a compressed (zip) format - on some devices they will need to be extracted before opening. Usually, right click the downloaded file, and select "extract all" or "unzip".

Planning Your Home Education Programme - New Manual!

Want to start homeschooling? No idea where to start, what resources to use or how to plan your programme? This brand new (Aug 2021) guide is for you! Packed full of ideas and curriculum options, it explains everything you need to know to plan a great programme for your child.

Also an excellent resource for existing home educators who want new ideas or to refresh their programme.

The perfect companion to the Exemption Guide!

This 93 page guide includes:

Information on: how to save money, delaying academics, common home education philosophies, the advantages of curriculum resources, high school qualification options and much more.
Curriculum resource options and lots of other ideas for every subject area (plus where to get them)
Printable planning sheets you can use to plan your personalised programme
Bonus! I share the story of my own homeschooling journey (and what we did/used)
Want to know more? See all the details HERE

Use this manual to plan your home education programme - and then it will be much easier to write your application using my Exemption Application Guide!

Limited time special offer
Planning Manual only $39
Ebook - electronic delivery

Or Contact Me to pay via Bank Deposit

NOTE: when you complete the check out for the manual, you will be automatically sent an email containing a download link, which expires after 9 attempts or 240 hours, whichever comes first (this was increased as of 2/11). If you don't see the email, please check your spam folder. Remember to download and save the files right away. If you have any difficulties, email me. The files are in a compressed (zip) format - on some devices they will need to be extracted before opening. Usually, right click the downloaded file, and select "extract all" or "unzip".

Services I Provide

Use these buttons to go to pages explaining the other services I provide and how to access or support them.

Would you like to donate?

I spend many hours each week working on things to benefit all home educators. This is nearly all unpaid work; some is within my voluntary role as Government Liaison for the National Council of Home Educators of NZ (NCHENZ) but much of it goes well beyond that. More information on all that I do, and would like to do in the future, can be found HERE

If you would like to make a donation, you can use the button above to donate by debit or credit card (or Paypal) and select an amount for a one-off donation, or set up a monthly amount if you choose. (Note, the donate button goes through a separate checkout process than purchasing the guide above).
Donations can also be made directly to my bank account: 020704-0003699-007 (or -07) (please put Donation in the reference field).

Thank you for your support!

Purchasing my guide or services helps continue this work - thank you!

Since finishing homeschooling my children in 2016, I have committed myself basically full-time to helping other families. The most significant part of the work I do is on a voluntary basis and has not been paid. I continue to work unpaid on behalf of home educators especially around things like improving relationships with government departments, advocating around policy and process affecting home educators, working to open doors to more opportunities for home educators, providing information about the law and other matters affecting home educators and so on. Many of the services listed above I have also done unpaid for a long time; I have slowly started charging for some of my services because life has got to the stage where either I stop doing this and get a salaried job, or I use my passion and expertise to help families like yours. So if you can afford to pay for my services, you are helping not only yourself but also families across NZ by enabling me to continue what I do. If you need help and genuinely can't afford to pay, do Contact Me to discuss. If you would like to support this work via a donation, please see the donation button information above.

"As Principal of the country’s largest and oldest home school support agency, I would heartily commend Cynthia’s services to anybody who is looking for assistance at any stage of their homeschooling journey.
For many years Cynthia has faithfully and self-sacrificially served the New Zealand homeschooling community in a voluntary capacity. Years of experience in dealing with the MoE at all levels, not only in regard to her own children but also on behalf of many, many families around the country, have uniquely equipped her to provide support and wise guidance to those who would choose to take control of the education of their own children.
As an organisation, Cynthia is also our “go to” person in regard to many technical and legislative aspects of homeschooling.
The professional services she offers come with our full and unreserved support and endorsement.

Todd Roughton
Principal
Home Schooling NZ"