Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if anyone is now considering home education full time?

265 replies

PogTheDog · 05/03/2021 19:18

I know most people can't wait for their children to return to school on Monday. However, is anyone now considering (all already decided) full time home education?

I have loved teaching my primary school aged children and they have enjoyed it too. I will send them back to school on Monday as I'm not brave enough to make a commitment to it yet, but may consider starting in September. Anyone else?

OP posts:
imsoinmyhead · 05/03/2021 20:39

Absolutely not. I have an only child, he needs that interaction with other kids and thrives at school. I couldn't possibly replicate that.

crazyontheweekend · 05/03/2021 20:39

@SmokedDuck
So true. My dc love to learn because they get to follow their interests and learn around topics they love. The National Curriculum has its place in schools but no place in home education. It’s very narrow and prescriptive.

BoyTree · 05/03/2021 20:42

Home schooling is a luxury for many though, as most people need to work.

Almost all the home educators I know work too.

itispersonal · 05/03/2021 20:42

Agree with the posts saying lockdown learning isn't home education. It's school education at home!

I have toyed with the idea before lockdown and I'm on a few home Ed sites. There is a community and lots of extra curricular classes during the day normally for home Ed children.

Though probably is easier to have be part of a home Ed community in a city than in a rural area.

HelenaJustina · 05/03/2021 20:47

At our school we have parents saying that they are seriously considering homeschooling, with the next breath they have then said, ‘because you’ll keep posting the weekly learning plan, timetables, links, resources and live lessons to enable us to do that’... ummmm, no!

YellowPuffinMug · 05/03/2021 20:48

My DDs not going back on Monday (schools decision) and I'm considering fulltime home school.

Only thing holding me back is I love my job and my DD is a very social (but very deaf - she has an actual hearing problem I'm not saying this to be funny) child. I feel the education side of things I could do fairly well, it's the social aspect I'm not so certain I could do.

Plus I'm a single parent so if I did it would have to be around my job and then I'd need childcare etc. so she might as well be in school anyway.

It is something I've looked into though if school don't have her back after Easter.

YellowPuffinMug · 05/03/2021 20:48

I will add I've not always followed the school tasks and school have been fine with that.

HelenaJustina · 05/03/2021 20:49

I also disagree with the posters saying that the homeschool community is as diverse or more diverse than that in school. That can’t be true, there is a socio-economic barrier to homeschooling for a start. You will meet families like your family, those who opt for homeschooling, you have something fairly major in common for starters.

BoyTree · 05/03/2021 20:49

Yes, home educated kids can go to groups and activities etc, they can socialise with other kids etc, but unless the home education community effectively sets up an alternative school, the kids will miss out on the sense of community and wide exposure that school provides.

People socialised for thousands of years before schools even existed. School may seem like the only way to do things because it's the most mainstream option, but there really are plenty of ways to socialise that don't involve school, even (and often especially) for extrovert kids.

IsoIsobaby20 · 05/03/2021 20:51

Not for me at all. Homeschooling would be my idea of never ending hell. I've been working full time though so maybe my experience is different.

My view is that school is so much more than subjects it's the interaction the friends the playtime and the plays...I could never offer that.

I am so glad school is resuming we will all be happier in our house.

chipsandgin · 05/03/2021 20:53

Much the same answer for me as if you’d asked if I’d like to run naked through a fiery pit in hell whilst juggling kittens. It’s a flat no from me.

Dustyhedge · 05/03/2021 20:54

Hell no. One because of work, two because it was impossible to teach properly with my toddler rampaging and three to do home schooling properly seems to require a lot of time and resource.

The thing that would be nice though would be more options around flexi schooling for primary. The idea of a day a week just having fun or providing some 1:1 input would be nice.

toocold54 · 05/03/2021 20:56

Almost all the home educators I know work too.

How do parents manage to work and homeschool?
I have struggled to juggle both and I have always wondered how people manage it and assumed that one parent earned enough for the other parent to be a SAHP.

DaisyDreaming · 05/03/2021 21:00

Everyone I know who home educated says lockdown is nothing like normal home schooling as normally they are out and about learning hands on. The HE kids I know have such a rich wide education

drspouse · 05/03/2021 21:02

@AlexaShutUp that's how I feel about school for my DS - it's a community. He doesn't currently have a permanent school as he's in a short stay school and we're struggling to find a school that will meet his needs. So many people have suggested home ed but he needs hourly low key interactions with other children and a feeling of belonging.

BoyTree · 05/03/2021 21:07

You will meet families like your family, those who opt for homeschooling

Many of the families that home educate haven't chosen it- they have found that the education system can't accommodate their family's needs. In that sense, the home education community is often more diverse than mainstream school.

This is reflected socio economically as well - there are well-off families that can afford to have a parent dedicated to home ed, those where parents work shifts around home ed, single income families when one parent is a carer etc, families with older children that don't need a parent there all the time etc. I certainly don't notice less diversity among the home ed community.

The home Ed groups we attend tend to be more ethnically diverse than our local school as well, but we live in a relatively rural area and tend to go to groups in the nearest towns, so this may not be typical.

Escapetab · 05/03/2021 21:14

Ugh don't why I clicked on this, I knew it would annoy me, all the endless cliches about home education, how there's no socialization, no community, how only one parent can work if you do it - none of it true for my home ed family or many others I know.

but unless the home education community effectively sets up an alternative school, the kids will miss out on the sense of community and wide exposure that school provides

I mean this is just so ignorant. Since when is a community only accessed through an institution or only relevant if you're interacting with people of your own age? And why do you think kids can't socialize with their peers outside a school environment? Just because you can't imagine it doesn't mean it's not possible.

It amazes me honestly that anyone who's had to start home educating (or homeschooling, a term I hate but which is accurate in this case) during the pandemic wants to carry on, it's so tough and so different from normal, but I hope and trust it will work out for those who want to. But how anyone who's homeschooled while housebound, largely unable to learn in the world, unable to socialize with peers, forced to stick to set times and a set curriculum, without having been able to plan it or have their lives set up to make it work, thinks they know anywhere near enough about the lives of electively home educating families to make sweeping judgements like these I really don't know.

BoyTree · 05/03/2021 21:17

How do parents manage to work and homeschool?

We are both self employed and work in the evenings /tag team when we have deadlines etc. Many families arrange shifts around home ed - flexible or part time working. Some families share care with another family or members of their own family, and families with older children who don't need constant supervision don't even need that.

headlock · 05/03/2021 21:18

Christ no.

tilder · 05/03/2021 21:24

No. My eldest, because I don't understand his work do how am I supposed to teach it?

The others, because I can't support them and work. I have 5+ hours of teams calls a day. I can't do that and White Rose.

They've been amazing. But I am concerned the academic side has slipped. They definitely need time with their mates. As a family we are not set up to home ed.

toocold54 · 05/03/2021 21:31

We are both self employed and work in the evenings /tag team when we have deadlines etc. Many families arrange shifts around home ed - flexible or part time working. Some families share care with another family or members of their own family, and families with older children who don't need constant supervision don't even need that.

This makes sense. It does exhausting though! But it must be lovely spending so much time with your children! And actually teaching them how you want. I always find that after school/work we’re knackered and on the weekends we’re busy shopping etc. so I don’t have time to teach them new things.

Daisychainsandglitter · 05/03/2021 21:31

Hell no!

crazyontheweekend · 05/03/2021 21:35

@Escapetab

Couldn’t agree more. I’ve said several times up thread that homeschooling during this pandemic is NOT representative of home education but still posters keep coming on trotting out the old ‘socialisation’ misconceptions. Such ignorance. I also wish I’d not clicked on it.

ruledbynine · 05/03/2021 21:36

I saw the title of this thread and spat my tea out hahahaha NO!!

hansgrueber · 05/03/2021 21:40

@SittingAround1

No way! Mine refused to learn anything from me because 'you're not a teacher mummy'. It had to be self explanatory worksheets.
Did you put any sanctions in place to deal with their attitude or are you just hoping the school will be able to get them back up to speed?