Shirley Erwee is an author and home education activist who provides learning materials for South African homeschoolers and parent guides to equip home educating parents.

She is the author of two books on homeschooling in South Africa, namely Homeschooling the Primary Years and Homeschooling High School.

In partnership with Wendy Young, Shirley created the Footprints On Our Land South African homeschool curriculum series. She is also the author of a preschool programme for homeschoolers, ABC Fun & 1-2-3, was the editor of the Learning@Home quarterly magazine published by Cape Home Educators and publisher of a monthly digital newsletter for South African homeschoolers.

She also runs a preschool website focusing on homeschooling little children.

In 2016, she launched Online GED Prep offering online GED® classes for students to prepare for the GED® tests, a matric solution for many homeschoolers. She also runs Learning Set Free

Shirley speaks as a homeschooling expert at home education events and has been interviewed on television and on various radio programmes, such as SAFm, Ofm, Whalecoast FM as well as 567 CapeTalk.

Interview on Afternoon Express on 26 April 2016

 She has also written articles and been interviewed about homeschooling in various South African magazines.

Shirley offers seminars, webinars, personal homeschool consultations and advice via email and on social media platforms to encourage homeschooling parents through the challenges they face.

Shirley and Riaan Erwee in Russia 2018

In July 2015, she attended consultative meetings with the Department of Basic Education in Pretoria, regarding the formulation of a new policy for home education in South Africa.

In May 2018, Shirley and her husband, Riaan attended the  2018 Global Home Education Conference in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia.
 

 
Homeschool Community Network

Shirley Erwee is the founder and an active event organiser in her local homeschool support group, Overberg Homeschoolers and member of Cape Home Educators in the Western Cape.

She is a member of the following national homeschool organisations:

• The Association for Homeschooling
• The Pestalozzi Trust. She represented the Pestalozzi Trust at meetings with the Department of Education in July 2015.

Representatives of the homeschooling community met before meeting with the DBE in Pretoria in July 2015
Back row: Victor Sabbe (Cape Home Educators), Johan Heckroodt (Cape Home Educators), Leendert van Oostrum (Pestalozzi Trust), Joy Leavesley (Independent homeschooling mother), Niell Bester (Gauteng Association for Home Schooling), Jacs Lemmer (Gauteng Association for Home Schooling).
Front row: Karin van Oostrum (Pestalozzi Trust), Shirley Erwee (Pestalozzi Trust), Elize van der Merwe (KZN Homeschooling Association), Marie Kuhlmann (Eastern Cape Home Schooling Association), Adriel Kohn (homeschooling alumna)

Shirley is also a well-known member of tuisonderwys@yahoogroups.com as well as a number of homeschooling support groups on Facebook, such as

• Starting Homeschooling
• Online GED Prep
• Homeschooling in South Africa
• Homeschooling in the Western Cape
• Doen jy tuisonderrig of tuisonderwys?
• Preschool at Home
• Tuisonderwys Juniors
• Homeschooling Through High School
• SAHomeschoolers doing the GED and SAT
• Footprints On Our Land
• Christian Homeschoolers in SA
• Sonlight Curriculum South Africa…and more.