My DC are home educated and have never been to school- AMA

[1A3S]

I have 3 DC ages 12, 10 and 7, non of them have attended school though my oldest did go to nursery, Instead they're home educated

Sounds great @jaynere

Yes but at work I get paid lol

I have been home-ending one of my children for a year and the home Ed community has amazed me. Where we are there are groups all the time for all sorts of activities as well as just play meet-ups. We ask the community nurse to run PSHE sessions, there are all sorts of GCSE groups run by various tutors and we have an exam centre nearby where they all go to take their exams. We even have multisports (pe) twice a week if you want.

Home Ed really doesn’t have to be sitting at home learning photosynthesis from your mum who hasn’t a clue.

janeyre thanks

Roussette you’re welcome 🙂

Also not the OP but Home Ed my daughter from age of 7 till through GCSEs.
She then went to college. Managed to get up each day and get to college - I think she was late once in two years even though dragging her out of bed while home ed was tricky!

Very successful two years in college with lovely comments from her tutors - the only thing that was picked upon negatively was that she didn't write her name on her work - she had had no need to while at home! I'll take that for the lovely years we have had together.

To answer someone's question it is not like the summer holidays where it can be stressful spending all that time together, you just kind of all get along.

She made friends easily, had a lovely in time college and is a well rounded individual.

We were never negative about school as school suits many. She did actually do three months in a school around aged 8 but came back out.

Home Ed can seem weird, scary, mad, unsuitable until you do it. Then it is just normal ;-)

1A3S you're making the best decision of your life. I'm homeschooling and my son is well advanced in all his subjects. He's not loosing out socially as he goes to classes for gymnastics, breakdancing and drama, he learns at his own pace and all his reading and writing as a small child came from reading and writing about stuff he is interested in.
I'm rubbish at maths and when he was small it was easy, now I get external help 3x week and he's doing great.
He's well socialised, very polite, obedient and a hard worker. Home schooling all the way! It works for us and if it works for you, go 100% for it!

What do you think the home education communities near you or in the UK in general could improve?
I know what you mean, I've met many people like that but then with groups like that there will always be a wide range of people HE for different reasons. The one near me has been very useful over the years but I wish there were more regular activities and classes my DC could attend as they're really good when they are available
Do you structure the day like a school day
Somewhat, they do have more freedom and choice, they can stop for a break when they feel like they need one and do subjects in what order they want to
How do you protect your kids from other peoples negative views of homeschooling and have you ever had adults speak to your children telling them they should be in school? (I hope not)
I don't get too many negative comments so the kids don't tend to hear many, though they do say some of their friends that go to school don't always understand HE and think they just don't have to anything all day but they're pretty good at explaining it. We've had a few moments where we've been out during the week and have been asked why they aren't in school but I just say they're home educated and leave it at that
Do your children have many friends that aren't home schooled? I don't mean people they see once a week at tennis club but genuine friends that they have built relationships with that go to mainstream schools?
They do, some of their closest friends are in mainstream school
Do you think you can offer as much knowledge to teach as a qualified teacher?
I get input from others where I don't feel as confident, I think I can still make sure they're educated as well even if it's not in the same way
Do you think they will be able to cope with the transition from home schooling to either college or work?
I know it won't be an easy transition but I think they'll cope and settle in the end, when I went to college I found it to be a lot more relaxed than school, you did most the work independently in your own time with occasional input from teachers which is slightly similar to how they're taught now but that may have just been the college I went to.
Have your children ever asked to go to school?Do you worry that they'll blame you for making this choice for them when it's against the norm?
I've always made sure they know that they have the opportunity to go if they want to
Are they lonely?
No, not at all
I'm just wondering... you say sometimes they're not up, or they're seeing friends, or they miss days. I just wonder how you instil the say... 9 to 5 work ethic if they haven't had that all their life
I suppose it may be difficult to adjust to but they still have a fair bit of structure in their daily lives. If it's getting late and they still aren't up I'll go and wake them up but that's usually because they go to bed a bit later than a lot of children. Missing days of school work entirely is usually because we've been out all day, often doing something that can be educational and they have to make up for missed time. I find this way they're actually taking for responsibility for themselves and they don't feel forced to work hard but rather they do it because they want to. It's rare that they don't get school work and that they aren't productive through out the day.
OP do you know HE families where you worry a bit about the experience the kids are having. I think the beauty of HE is that each family does it in their own way and hesitate to judge but I did know one or two families where I had some doubts about their approach.
I have met some where there seems to be very little work going on and it's clear their children are falling behind. Whilst I believe children can learn from the world around them and in other ways than just sitting down with a book I think it's still important that they do get time to sit down and learn

Do you think that there should be any checks on HE such as making sure that the children are receiving an adequate standard of education?
I think it would help some children, I don't think HE is always the better option, for some children it is but it really depends on how it's done

I was home schooled, by my mother's sister. It was a matter of convenience really. My aunt was a victim of polio that left her paralysed but she was perfectly able to teach me most things. I went to college in the USA (St Johns College) in Annapolis. They accepted me following an interview and a sUbmitted essay. Once you have a degree no one really asks about school. I don't think I missed out on anything, but I suppose I wouldn't know. I'm not very good at practical things, but don't see it as a drawback.