I home educate my DC AMA

[PsycheEros]

They are 8 and 6. The 6 year old has never been to school, the 8 year old was pulled out in reception. Fire away!

On activities alone I reckon we spend about £80-90 a week. I get many books etc second hand but they still add up. I buy all my curricula and resources at the start of the year when I'm planning - cost me £350 for last year's.

You certainly can do it cheaply, but it's more enjoyable and easier if you have a reasonable amount of money set aside for it IMO. Obviously not possible for everyone, I know.

On travel we spend very little - I don't drive so we walk, cycle or bus everywhere and I have a family railcard so any train travel for day trips is also quite cheap if booked in advance.

You’re feeling brave OP 😂 Mumsnet can be brutal about home ed.
I also home ed, 3dc who have never been to school, eldest would be in secondary if in the school system. It’s been a positive choice for us.

Why?
Did you explore and resolve the reason for your DC being excluded or home school in response?
Are you a trained skilled, highly qualified teacher who understands how to progress their learning? If you are then how do you provide your DC with the necessary skills for group communication? How about the future, do you hope to provide your dc with the opportunity of studying 5 or 6 Highers or 3 A levels, University etc without trained professionals. There's so much more to education than imparting information. If your dc have SEN and schools available were not equipped to really meet their needs I'd understand but still trained professionals are needed. Interested to know more.

Aren’t you worried about the effect on your own career, if you’re planning to restrict yourself to very part-time hours indefinitely?

I've already answered your first question. The school my DS was at did not suit him, and once we pulled him out and found that home education was more than qualified to meet both his academic and social needs (more so than school), that problem was resolved, both for him and DS2. We prefer home education for our children. We do not view it as an inferior choice we are only making because our children cannot cope with school.

I am not a trained teacher but, judging by the fact both are academically ahead of their schooled peers (as confirmed by a trained teacher whom I assume you feel is suitably qualified to make the judgement), I am confident that yes, I do know how to progress their learning.

I've already answered your questions about group communication and higher learning. I certainly do not have the ability to teach A level physics should either of them want to do that. We will be paying for tutors in that case or they would go to college, as many of their home educated peers who go on to take A levels do.

Aren’t you worried about the effect on your own career, if you’re planning to restrict yourself to very part-time hours indefinitely?

Nope, I'm not career oriented and never have been. I've worked as part time as possible for many years now, including before kids.

And BTW working part time hours does not mean you aren't as qualified and able as someone who works full time. That attitude is extremely old fashioned and short sighted. I work with CEOs who are part-time.

No questions as I they've mostly been asked but thanks for the AMA @PsycheEros as I've always been fascinated how this works in practice!

It's different for all home educators I'm sure. We are more structured than many and do more sit down "work" which I have to say sometimes puts us at odds with some home educators. Unschooling wouldn't suit my kids (or me).

We do not view it as an inferior choice we are only making because our children cannot cope with school.

but you haven't given your second child a chance to be in school.

My question is, homeschooling make up just 0.5% of students in the U.K., how do you find it so easy to socialise and meet up with so many home schoolers when there are such a tiny amount of them around?

but you haven't given your second child a chance to be in school.

Have you given your DC a chance to be home educated? Note, lockdown homeschooling was not the same thing. I presume you made the choice to send your DC to school because that was best for them and your family. I made the choice to home educate mine for the same reason.

My question is, homeschooling make up just 0.5% of students in the U.K., how do you find it so easy to socialise and meet up with so many home schoolers when there are such a tiny amount of them around?

I live in Bristol. There are loads of us here. The Bristol Home Education Facebook group has nearly 2000 members.

And, as I have already pointed out, they also see schooled children.

In terms of the groups aimed purely at home educators that my kids either currently do or have previously done, you have: multi sports, netball, gymnastics, trampolining, swimming, football, science club, maths club, nature club, forest school, music group, drama club, book club, art club. That's on top of general ad hoc meet ups and clubs with schooled children like Beavers etc.

What's with the frostiness? You're doing an AMA and I asked questions?

I don't know why you've responded asking me if I've given my child a shot at homeschooling. It's not my AMA. And no I haven't, and won't.

I'm aware that you meet up with schooled pupils, that wasn't the question. I was wondering how / where you can meet up with homeschooled children when only 0.5% of them make you the education system in this country.

I won't bother asking again.

Do you enjoy it? This might make me sound like a terrible parent but I feel like trying to teach my 5yo myself every day would probably drive me to drink, I’m
not sure I’d have the patience!

@IchVersteheNicht I am always amazed by the sheer number of home ed children in our local area. There isn’t really any official figure on numbers as there is no requirement to register your child as home educated if you never send them to school. In our area there are several home ed activities on a day, some structured activities like gymnastics or science club, some more casual like park meets or bowling and then there are ad hoc events, I live in a town in the middle of 3 cities/large towns where there is a lot going on, I imagine there would be less choice in a more rural area.

I'm not being frosty, just pointing out that I'd already answered your questions :)

I love it! I definitely wouldn't do it if I did as if I hated it I can't see that it would be of any benefit to them.

It can get a bit intense at times but that's what groups and socialising are for, and they also have a big extended family they spend time with, so DH and I get a break.

Why is it important to provide a classroom type environment for children though?
Obviously this style of education has historically come about for practical purposes because it's an efficient way for society to educate children and free up adult workers, but it isn't like learning to be with 30 other people the same age as you in a small room all day is a vital skill.

3 hours at most, my 9 year old doesn't do that amount of formal/structured learning a day. Maybe 3 bursts of 20-30 minutes.
He does lots of other learning throughout the day of his choosing - art, cooking, reading, watching videos, playing an instrument, computer games. But we certainly don't spend 3 or 6 hours a day sitting at a desk.

What would you be doing with your day if you weren’t home educating?

Working, volunteering, doing my art and my writing, looking after my animals, cooking....

Which science curriculum do you use?

I home ed my three (none of them have been to school) and so far we've been winging the science side of things with Twinkl resources and tying it into topic work. My children have all decided they love science so I'd like to find a good curriculum that inspires them.

Do you feel concerned that your children are mixing with a less diverse group than they would in school? I totally get that there is a big home Ed network and opportunities for socialisation, but that's inevitably with a self selecting group.

Nothing against home ed'ing here (and I suspect one one my children might have preferred it over school) but it would have placed restrictions on how (and when) dh could pursue our own careers. I also feel it's not a bad thing to build resilience that children learn to 'fit in' and mix with a wide range of peers, unless of course the 'fitting in' is really damaging to them

We use Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (which is brilliant but is not a pick up and go curriculum, it requires a lot of planning on the parent's part) and Blossom & Root.