School is home
Heather Gallagher
05May08
Jenny Rebbechi with her seven children (rear from left) Samuel, Joseph, Peter, Elizabeth, Benjamin (centre) Grace and baby Jessica.
WHEN Jenny Rebbechi's husband suggested she home-school their children, she thought he was mad.
"My husband saw an article in a magazine and said 'you should do this'. And I thought 'I'm not doing that, I'm sending them to school like everyone else'," the Reservoir mum said.
But now that's exactly what she does; mothering their seven children ranging from eight months through to 13, and home educating the school-aged children in prep, grades 2, 5, and year 8.
"People say 'I don't know how you do it' but I don't know how they do it lunches and clean school uniforms everyday, I find that quite daunting," she said.
After her husband Tim's suggestion, Jenny attended an information night and met other families who home-schooled.
She examined the prep curriculum for her twin boys now aged 13 and decided to give it a go.
"When we started we said we'd take each year as it comes and we still do. We wanted to teach them at home in the Catholic faith," Jenny said. "It's good because we're the first ones to know if something's wrong if there's a problem. And they have a special relationship with each other."
Jenny never set out to have seven children, but after starting with twins, things only got easier. Now they help look after each other.
Mother's Day coincides with the family's usual lazy Sunday.
The only difference is Mum exits the kitchen stage and the children cook up a storm.
* Do you know someone who would make an interesting subject for a profile? Please email the editor, northcote@leadernewspapers.com.au
