to ask for your Home Ed ideas, experiences and anecdotes?

[Fideliney]

Can we please try to keep it friendly?

Nicki. Something like that would be fab. I would feel a whole lot more confident about HE myself

I haven't really properly looked into it yet. DD is only year 4 right now, and all sorts could happen between now and secondary so it's on the back burner at the moment.

That's quite expensive but I think I going to go for it myself just to give myself confidence, think once I am used to it I won't need something so structured.

I'm getting service not availble Nicki

Stinkle, I don't know if it is of any interest to you, but there is an online state school opening in Septmeber, weybridge ? Something like that.

I think they are renting the "internet school" enviroment of my son's school, cos I saw their name mentioned in the bumf.

I know there are many children with ASD at my son's online school. Chatting to the other parents it would appear that a significant number of brick schools are not providing the sort of provision and protections that children with additional or special needs require in order to thrive and learn.

It might not float your, or your daughter's boat, not everybody gets on with the mode of delivery when classrooms go online. But I thought it might be worth a heads up.

mamuzza. Thanks!

Will look into it. I haven't really researched it properly yet, we've got a couple of years so just floating the idea with DH really at the moment.

I know she'd be eaten alive in our secondary, secondary provision here isn't great, DD1 loves it and is thriving, but DD2 - I'm really worried for her.

I am a bit scared about doing it though, what if I don't do it properly and fuck up her future? But then I don't think the secondary would meet her needs either so we've got to do something.

I need something to give me a bit of confidence.

We used to have middle schools which were great, sort of secondary-lite. Good for those first steps into secondary-type surroundings but with the support and assistance of primary. They were a couple of years older by the time they went into the big wide world of secondary school, so more mature and better able to cope with the transition

Our council, in their wisdom, decided that the 3 tier system wasn't working properly so switched to 2 tier, royally fucking up the secondary school provision in the process and there is virtually no SN provision other than for severe SN

What happens with GCSEs? Would she be expected to return to school for those?

I'm clueless, sorry. HE is not something I've ever really thought about before

Some people do return to schools/colleges for y10/11 and y12/13.

But you have options. However they can be quite expensive options, becuase you pay for any teaching/course AND an exam fee to sit the exams as an eternal candidate. And you might not find every course your child wants to do.

Options include ...

You've got internet schools, they are private so you pay fees and exam fees. (I supoose the new state internet school won't have fees if it takes off. and I'd guess you wouldn't have to pay exam fees, just travel to your nearest exam centre. The LA would pay the exam fees in that context wouldn't they ?)

Some HEers/former HEers who are wualified teachers run HE friendly distance courses

Catherine Mooney runs some great courses for KS3 and IGCSE English. And I really like the look of the essay writing course too. Which I might plonk my boy on next summer.

I've hear good things about Sam Martell for science (which I may not have spelled right), and I'm sure she runs IGCSE specific ones as well as those for younger kids.

There is somebody doing maths, but can't remember their name.

And other new ex-HEer tutors are popping up. I think I saw a geography one a little while back

There is a computer science IGCSE MOOC from Cambridge (as in the exam people) It's free to study, but .. exam fees will apply.

Companies like Little Authur have HE friendly, exam focused distance learning courses.

And there are all the usual distance learning companies too. But .... I wasn't all that impressed with their range.

Plus some people buy the exam textbooks HE it without outside help and then just pay for the exam entrance fee.

I really recommend joining one of the exam groups. Even if exams are way in the future, so you can spread the learning curve over time and not have to feel all overwelmed by it all. It starts to make sense after a while, even if at first it all looks like gobberly gook. It's way more complicated that I assummed it would be to do exams outside of a mainstream school, but the information is out there and givennthe age of your girl, you can take your time to absorb it all before it gets time critical.

To give you an idea of what you can do outside of a mainstream brick school, my son will be taking (well this is the plan, he could go Kevin on me yet) IGCSE maths, Eng.Lang, Geography, Spanish, DA Science. All execdel. Plus computer science IGCSE with Cambridge/OCR. He may also take Eng Lit and History IGCSE execdel..... But I am not holding my breath on that score.

A levels may give me a considerably larger headache. Cos nobody seems to offer Computer Science at A level, distance. And at the moment he thinks that is the best subject ever invented.

Some people choose alternatives to standard quals at KS4/5.

But I'd check out the HE exams group ...

[email protected]

....before you assume that would automatically be just as good a route for your kid. Some people go far with a portfolio and non stardard quallies. Some people come acropper just cos they took the "wrong" spec of a standard quallie and nobody knew it was "wrong" until after the event.

I think becuase we don't have carreeas ... careers... carerrs ... fuckit ! stupid word !! .... advisers on tap we can be at a higher risk than school parents of leaving our kids a bit open to overly optimisic interpretations, unchallenged myths or falling into the "I don't know what I don't know" trap. And the HE exams groups are a pretty good sheild against that.

There is a facebook HE exams group too. Somebody posted it. That might also be worth checking out (if I can find it again)

Hello OP, well what can I say.
Lots of positive experiences here, H.ed is not perfect but is suiting dd far better than any school could atm.
She is happy and achieving the goals she has set herself.
As a gifted child we still struggle to find enough for her and there still at times seems nowhere to go, short of investing many thousands.
However, there are plenty of opportunities open to her that she couldn't have been involved with had she stayed at school, so she is content for the time being.
One day she hopes to re enter school but not for about 4 school years yet.

SpiritedWolf That's the approach we'll take, although I'm pretty sure DD will go to school for secondary.

Great thread with some great posts. :)

I've HE my dd for the last couple of years. She's nearly seven. She was a capable reader before she was due to enter reception and we wern't convinced she'd be stretched while the rest of the class was doing basic phonics etc. I also didn't like the way children were socialised in schools with rife cliquiness and bullying. We wanted a good, individualized education and a nice social life for her.

Upsides: she's doing fine academically, we have freedom to do museums etc when they are quiet, and importantly dd has got to be a child for a precious few more years. She's not sheltered but she doesn't have the peer pressure to abandon interests because they are young for her age or uncool. She's also been able to learn stuff she wouldn't at school, like a foreign language.
Downsides: learning to teach has been a rough learning curve. It's not as as it looks. Socially it's been hard as we've found many HE families reclusive or cliquey. Financially it's very tough. It can be boring for the teaching adult too, I love my daughters company but after 7 years of SAHMing I've started to crave other stuff to do. Filling the days can be hard as the work can be done in couple of hours.

I'm seriously considering giving school a go next year as dd is asking to go, and I'd like us all to compare the pros and cons as a family from a position of having tried both.

I love my daughters company but

I went through that when I cut back on work drastically to HE in the beginning, so I know what you mean.

DH and I both work now, so between our work, policing internet school and the social butterfly's "ferrying about" needs ...it can feel sometimes like we play an endless game of "tag".

My romantic life has become rigidly organised out of sheer necessity. All the hours of leg shaving and gazing at 3 diaries to find a decent sized time slot that has us 2 work-free and at home at the same time when DS is out of it.

And after all that kefuffle it fecking decides to tip down, so my house is unexpectedly invaded by hoardes of teenage boys and their amazing, insatiable appeties.

Thank you Mammuzza.

Going to have a good dig around

Blimey, a home ed thread that hasn't descended into a bun fight?
Gold star stickers all round I think :)

What I love about home ed is that we can tailor the study to dd's interests. For instance, this week she has been working on a Game of Thrones Topic - she has done literacy (reading and book review), history (castle design), geography (map reading and understanding land use/type), art and design (sigil creation), genealogy (family trees) and language skills (studying High Valyrian hehe)

WeirdCatLady

Give it time, people are at work, they'll soon be home

I like the freedom from government policy and procedures.
No threat of bullying or peer pressure.
Taking holidays when we like.
Not having to follow the curriculum
No SATS
Lots of free time to follow her own goals, dreams and ambitions.
Not being too tired all the time.
Taking a day/week out just because we want to.
Duvet days in the winter and all of December off.
Not having to do something we don't want to because school have arranged it.

I like...

...that where we live (and the local schools it has) no longer dictates my son's degree of access to a quality education with well qualified, enthusiastic and effective teachers. Ditto pastoral care.

.. that we can remove ourselves from "normal" education and still get the (much needed by my family) benefit of an eternally imposed routine. Thus warding off my "inner hedgehog". Who would otherwise dominate me, and by extension my family, (in a balled up style) all winter.

..that my son doesn't feel different from all his mates. When they are together he can whinge about homework with them, wibble about revision and exams with them, congratulate or commiserate about grades with them .. he doesn't feels at a loose end or uncomfortable anymore if the conversation turns to school.

..no school run. In the dark. With extra added cold. Although he does grumble about no days off for snow as a result.

... he has online schoolfriends scattered all over the globe, on top of his RL friends. Which gives him a "well bonded into the local peer community" thing and a "big world out there" range of cultures/perspectives thing as a cherry on the cake.

What I don't like...

The ponytiled girlies stopped walking past him sniping "so why don't you go to school then ?" at youth club 2 years ago when we changed to online and the word spread via the mum network. Which was good.

Except now it has been replaced with much taller, sleek haired and fluttery eyelashed girlies following behind him at youth club, the pool, all over town .... and giggling coquettishly.

Where is the "wierd unsocalised homeschooler" sterotype when you need it ?

But it's OK. I've checked. The DIY shop has very reasonably priced pitchforks.

morethan me dear, there have already been three home times (count 'em) since I started this thread. No bunfight yet

This thread has only been up since Monday?! My week is going so slowly. :(

Morethan and Mammuzza I love those lists, very helpful.

Mammuzza, I have a similar problem. When out and about with dd, she is very tall for her age and, frankly, gorgeous. You can imagine the admiring leers glances she attracts from men far too old for her.
I'm thinking of only venturing out with our large rottweiller in tow.

More things that I love about HE is being able to take holidays during term time, thus saving a bundle, and also the fact that dd doesn't have to adhere to ridiculous hair rules and can have dyed and shaved hair as she likes.

I'll admit I was hopeing slightly optimistically that him being out of the normal school thing it might put this bit off for a while. Until I was ready. Which will probably be when he is ..say ... 42 ?

It's the first heartbreak thing.

I remember as a young teenager listening to Phil Collins on a loop, agaisnt all odds or something like that, crying my eyes out, holding my smithereened heart, honestly believeing I would feel this way forever.

It's very intense all that first flush of puppy love stuff. I know our kids have to go through it just like we did, but..

If you rub petrol on a normal pitchfork's prongs can you turn into into the delux flaming variety ?

You'll need to wrap the tines in some kind of parrafin soaked wicking fabric Mamm HTH

I am beginning to think there is nothing you can't learn from MN.

Not that I, you know, construct flaming pitchforks much

Fred is available to bark at seducers, happy to lend him out (He's actually as soft as your pocket but looks and sounds the part)

I wouldn't mind if it was 12 yr old boys eyeing her up glancing over, but dd looks way older and gets 20-30 something pervs men looking her way

Most children being HE seem to have had problems at school. My concern is that there are no safeguards against parents with batty ideas denying their children a normal life. The only example I've met is the only child of a hugely overprotective single parent, who has never left her parent or known another child. She was left to educate herself patchily but has no independence or social skills, has grown up very eccentric and will surely struggle to ever find a boyfriend or a job.
HE with others would be acceptable.

He does look very mean in that pic, this one is much more his norm....yes, he IS wearing fluffy earmuffs

Another fab thing about home ed is this...
gyop.potato.org.uk
Register as a home edder and next feb they will send you a "just add compost" kit to grow your own potatoes. You get two different varieties, it is great fun

We've just harvested ours - nearly 2kg this year :)

Ah, I used to grow lots of fruit and veg when we lived in the stix, but our older 2 went to school.
Now we live in a town with a pretty small garden and dd is H.ed. Wheres the justice in that.
We have a tiny conservatory that was here when we bought the house, so not our choice. A few years ago we bought dd a tomato plant that she cultivated very well, the problem was we got the wrong type and ended up with a scene similar to the one on "Little shop of horror"