I am seriously considering HE my two children who are 13 and 10. I have thought about doing this on and off for a couple of years, but am very nervous and don't want to let my kids down.
The youngest daughter (10) year 5 primary school, has just been coasting the last year, although pretty bright, she seems bored at school, doesn't want to do homework and generally seems to have lost interest.
The older daughter (13) year 8, is very good at english and art, but struggles with maths. She goes to a very good school, but hates going. I don't know if its a good enough reason to HE, just because she doesn't like school, what child does?
I don't particulary like the state education system, the one size fits all approach etc, and I don't like the peer pressure. I can also remember that gut wrenching feeling of going back to school after holidays.
I work for myself apprx 25 hours a week, husband works 4 days a week, and grandparents are willing to help. Of course there is always the weekends as well. I worry that I won't have enough time though to do this successfully.
Our children have overheard myself and hubby talking about it, and are both pleading for us to do. I am so worried about letting them down though.
Would appreciate any thoughts or advice.
Thanks for listening.
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Seriously considering HE
Lozzywozzy · 25/05/2011 10:12
If they hate school, you could just as easily argue that you'd be "letting them down" by not paying attention to the problems they have with school. 
I don't think you need to worry about the time aspect - by 10 and 13 I'd assume they'll be spending time working on stuff without needing your involvement every minute.
What can you lose by giving it a go? You could do it for a year and see how it goes, and still have the option of the older one going back into school for Year 10 onwards if you feel its really not the best option for her.
If your children are 10 and 13, it sounds like quite a good time to try it.
I took my eldest son (11 and in Year 6) out of school four months ago because he was so unhappy. He was begging me to home educate him. He has actually been allowed to stay off school sick (officially this is down as 'anxiety'), which means that he still has access to school activities if he wishes. We have had a lovely time at home together and feel a lot closer because of it. He is much more relaxed that he used to be because he is no longer under the constant pressure he felt under at school. Also, I feel far more in touch with his learning than I used to. I have been able to spot what he needs to work on and help him with those things.
It seems to me that a lot of Year 6 is spent revising for SATs, which can be incredibly boring for all the children and probably particularly for the bright ones who already know it all. That's why it might be a good time to take your youngest out for a year. And your oldest still has three years before GCSEs, presumably.
However, I have found it hard to combine working with home educating. In theory, I should be able to work from home whilst DS gets on with his work, but I tend to find that he drifts off to do other things and I feel guilty that I'm not helping him more. On days when I have a deadline, I really can't do much with him and have to trust that he is not just spending all his time playing his favourite computer games (more than likely 
).
My son is going to secondary in September - he wants to go - but I will always treasure this time we've had together.
As Too Jung says, sparkle is the key thing. My DC are definitely happier being home educated (and so am I!) and I think many of their school going friends would be too.
It is so natural to worry about letting your children down especially when people (often the ones who know least about HE!) are terribly negative.
However, HE has been a breath of fresh air in our lives and honestly my children are happier and strangely, even physically healthier, than they were before. We seem to see the doctor much less than before.
Finally, on the academic side, I had a lovely chat a few weeks ago with a home edding headmaster that I met. He was telling me how he's currently having some building work done and his house is a bit upside down. His wife was getting worried about the disruption to their DC's HE and he said to a group of us: "If you knew how much time is wasted in the average school day, you really, really wouldn't worry so much." He says that HE is so time efficient that children can make great strides because of the one to one aspect (or four to one, or whatever, depending on how many DC in the family) and the lack of other stuff that schools have to find time for, eg assemblies, etc.
I stewed over our decision for so long - years! Eventually a few factors came together at once to give me the push I needed when my DD was 8 and my DS 5, but I think the key issues were the sparkle factor and the fact that schools aren't going anywhere. If it's not for you, you can always go back. Think of it as trying out a new school!
Having home edded for just over 2 years now, I hate the idea that we should all just accept that children won't like going to school (where they spend most of their waking time) and that they should just have to put up with it. Life is short and childhood is even shorter. If children are thriving at school and truly happy, then great, but if not there is a viable alternative to the system. Whew - this has turned into a bit of a marathon post! 
Picnicinthewoods - Thanks for the message. I too am trying the drip, drip effect! DH is aware of my interest and the fact that I've been reading loads of books. He even picked up a HE book himself the other day - it's not happened again since! 
. He is naturally a rather cautious and conventional person so it's a bit of an uphill struggle (sigh). Writing it all down is a good idea, think I'm heading that way!
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