Does this seem mad

[bohomoon]

I've just started homeschooling my 11 year old DD. I'm finding the primary curriculum in Science/History/Geography to be wishy washy. I'm noticing a trend in schools where random topics like 'Chocolate' is being used in Year 6 or Julia Donaldson's life is being studied for History is Year 5?!
I was thinking to start to teach my DD from the GCSE syllabus... she has shown an interest in understanding who the Nazis were (!) to wanting to know more about photosynthesis! Don't get me wrong she's no Einstein and shes just meeting her required levels... am I jumping the gun???

I'd follow her lead and tailor the lessons to her level of understanding

schools have a problem that they need to keep lots of children interested - the huge advantage of home schooling is you can do the topics that interest your dd when she is interested in them

Yes I would go with her lead and teach her to her level. I was quite bright at school but went to a very rubbish comp that had to tailor the lessons to the least brightest in the class with what I thought was boring/stupid rubbish so I lost interest.

I would have loved the freedom that home schooling had in teaching what you are interested in. Plus there are so many web pages out there to help with teaching.

Teaching to a child's interests is one of the best things about HE :) loads of others -join a few facebook groups if you havnt already pm me if you want some links :)

If you're teaching her Science, do NOT use WiKid - it is awful - poorly explained, with experiments which usually do not work, and when they do they fail to teach the kids anything! Try Science Works, perhaps, and don't shy away from things which seem "too advanced" if she's interested. Carry on encouraging her interests as you no doubt are already!

Do you have a COMPLETE understanding of "who the Nazis were"?
How they came to power in Germany and European politics in a wider context in the 1930s? Referencing Spanish politics and Mussolini's rise to power in Italy? The Blackshirts, British Royal involvement?

Do you have a COMPLETE understanding of the importance of chocolate as a globally traded commodity during that period and it's political importance when the trade to Europe was cut off?
Chocolate is a big deal historically.
It was once more expensive than gold.
But you knew that right ?

Do you know the first name of the duke of Wellington?
Do you know who defeated who at the battle of Stamford Bridge?

Do you think the national curriculum was put together by five drunken gnomes under a hedge ?

Are you REALLY sure you can do for your child what the entire staff of a senior school could do for her ?

Can you teach her to draw?
Or play the piano?
Can you teach her to interact as a teenager with boys?
Teach her to be cool ?
(or at last feel that she is)?
Have you got a bunsen burner?
Can you buy chemicals from the internet to perform experiments (let me help you - no, you can't)

I'm sure you can teach her to feel different, isolated and alone - but I have to wonder WHY ON EARTH you would want to do that.

It's none of your business MiniMonty.

There are plenty of teachers who really have very little understanding of the subjects they are trying to teach.

Easy. The Nazis were the baddies. You just have to look at the uniforms.

penny your surveys into teachers' knowledge sounds extensive. Do you have some thorough and reputable research to back up your guff claim?

Um, I went to school!

I did A level biology and my teacher struggled to answer a lot of my questions. I read biology at university and I felt a lot of the curriculum we had been taught at school was horribly dumbed down and often things we had been taught were incorrect and actually biologically impossible.

While many teachers may have good knowledge of their subject, no teacher knows everything about their subject. They will probably know enough to get you through your exams though.

If there are things that bohomoon doesn't know then she and her daughter can learn together or find support.

I have friends who ended up home schooling because their child didnt fit into main stream schooling and they really thrived.

That is really very harsh Minimonty.

Whilst my children go to school, and I'm not about to change that, there are a lot of things about it i th

MiniMonty, do you have any idea of the reasons the OP has for home schooling her DD? No, thought not!

It is rarely done lightly!

No, it doesn't sound mad.

We homeschool one of ours, and there are very good resources out there.

You will be able to cover the syllabus very quickly, and in greater depth, but it isn't fair to make comparisons with school. Teachers there will have to deal with 30 children, some of whom are not interested/can't cope with the curriculum.

I would be utterly astonished if an eleven year old really hadn't studied photosynthesis or Nazi Gemany at school though. My eight year old has come across both at school, and through general reading (Primo Levi etc.).

Your best bet is to forget about 'school age' targets, and just equip your child to learn.

And MiniMonty we do indeed have a Bunsen burner (powered by bottled gas) and buy the same chemicals supplied to schools, from an educational supplier, and in much smaller quantities. We also employ tutors for music.

mini

Many many children feeling isolated and alone at school.

Topics like geography of Sport/ Fashion/ Chocolate are a great way of studying international trade and development in a way that connects with young people as they can be quite dry and abstract concepts. Planned out in a good scheme of work, it won't be wishy washy.

YANBU for wanting to follow your DDs interests. YABU for dismissing the curriculum as "wishy washy" which suggests you need to research it more to understand its value.

It doesn't sound mad at all. One of the advantages of what you're doing must be the degree of flexibility you have to tailor things to your child's interests so I'd go for it :)

mini that's an incredibly ignorant post.

How do you know what's best for everyone?

OP if you are home schooling why are you bothering with " the school curriculum" at all??

If she's not planning to ever go back and have to " fit in" don't you follow her lead and do what she wants rather than a proscribed " book learning" type excercise.

We home ed our DS, only the past few months. I found very quickly that the national curriculum is all over the show so it went out of the window. We follow his interests and whats avliable at the time eg drama groups or trips out.
Ds is 6 he a total scince kid at the min, we go as far as he want to take a subject. Yesterday we spent playing with rubber bands talking about energy, he ended up watching bbc bitesize videos on kentic engery and newtons laws. Last week we did a lapbook on dolphins. Home ed is fredom to me.

MINIMOTY your post really made me laugh as you seem to think that School is a magical place were all learning must happen, every child is treated the same and all children get scince equiment like in website says they will. Even the best offsed rated schools leave kids out and are not as prefect as there website leds you to belive.
Drawing is not a skill that has to be taught, nor is talking to boys (or girls) or being cool. Your right that we dont have a bunson burner (yet) but my son has one to one of a microscope use, realy exprence of start gazing not for books in a class room and a life. His food doesnt just appear in the cupboards while he is out. He understands a the working behind a house hold budget. His french teacher lives in france and skypes lessons. He has friends for all over the country and some that live next door too.
No i cant teach him piano but i can find someone who can. I can take him to places in term time so they are not so busy and give hime time to be himself. School was failing my Ds6 he was making him self ill so he couldnt go. I can give my Ds a education in a safe enviorment, talored around him more improtantly he can have a happy childhood. Please dont be rude about things you clearly dont understand or have any inerest in learning about.

Of course you can do science at home, get chemicals, lab stuff - home educators are doing it across the UK all the time MiniMonty!

OP, if you are looking for a scheme of work, the Cambridge Checkpoint is good for laying foundations leading to GCSE or IGCSE stuff, e.g. education.cambridge.org/uk/subject/science/cambridge-checkpoint-science

monty School does not teach you how to be cool or how to interact with boys! I am living proof of this.

Ah MiniMonty, your faith in teachers is touching... Your suggestions are absurd. Teachers aren't walking encyclopaedias - many of them, in my experience have very poor understandings of aspects of their own subject (and yes, I am in a position where I can say that with confidence). If you can explain complicated (or semi-complicated, given the current syllabus) issues well, you can always look up trivial facts (names, dates etc) before you work on them. This sort of information isn't locked away from the general public, you know!

I think it is more the current resources, particularly books, sold for primary education in the UK are a bit wishywashy. They are mostly designed for people to top up, stretch, or otherwise support school-based education. It's a bit better at secondary, though not much. Teachers fill in the gaps that are obvious is the resources (hopefully!).

The UK doesn't have much of a home education industry yet and very little interest or need from the British home education community to have a National Curriculum based home education supplies until GCSE level. I know some desire for some guidance and more directed education for children and families who want such things, and I know some people trying to design it, but it's a bit of a slow process and hard to compete with the school-based supplies already out there.

you have to get to gcse level in england to talk about nazis or photosynthesis? Unbelievable.