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Education

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Homeschooling…

38 replies

DocFree · 24/10/2021 00:30

Hi there, we want to homeschool/educate our DD. She is still a toddler but we want to hear other people’s experiences and maybe get some advice in advance to get prepared. We don’t know anyone else who homes schools or wanted to so it would be great to hear your views. Thank you

OP posts:
LolaSmiles · 24/10/2021 15:09

XelaM
Home education looks different family to family, but you crack on with your silly generalisations about children being robbed of normal childhoods.

You seem to have a very sure idea of what proper education and normal childhoods look like. Is it really difficult to realise that there's a whole range of experiences outside your bubble of nice families who send their children to school and then fill the rest of their time with galleries, museums, educational visits, sports and the arts?

dashoflime · 24/10/2021 15:13

Going to museums, reading and watching documentaries is great. I also do that - after school/on weekends/holidays!

Glad to hear it! I sometimes think about the things I do with DS and think "Well I could have done that when he was at school".
But actually I couldn't have. Because he always came home from school tired and frazzled and unable to concentrate.
He seems to need a very quiet environment and a lot of time alone to process things.

InTheLabyrinth · 24/10/2021 15:18

DocFree
Try and find a local home ed group in Facebook. You may have to hunt quite hard, as many got hidden when home schooling started during lockdown.
Do your research. It is time consuming to do properly, but can be great.
Home schooling, which has only happened during the pandemic, is the worst of everything.

Tillysfad · 24/10/2021 20:28

14:43Soontobe60

How little you know...

You're assuming.

Tillysfad · 24/10/2021 20:31

and still robs the kids of a big chunk of normal childhood experiences

That is utter bollocks, as any home ed child who has been part of the thriving local home ed communities will tell you.

You're really very ignorant.

Amberflames · 24/10/2021 20:50

Many home ed kids are way ahead of their school peers.

I’ve seen this mentioned on similar threads before. Prior to covid remote learning I thought it was probably wishful thinking on the part of the home educating parents. But I definitely saw the benefit for DC1 of having a parent sat next to them for all their online lessons through the school closures. Someone to make sure they followed instructions and actually had a proper go at what was asked of them. A teacher in a class of 30 can only do so much.

That said, I wouldn’t have wanted to be without the teacher and I think me and DH were better able to help because we got the see how the teacher taught. But that’s me personally and I can totally see how for young kids having a fully engaged and knowledgable parent to teach them at home could be really great for them.

I’d be interested to hear if home ed parents think see the benefits extending through to secondary. Presumably it then becomes more about self study rather than learning at the school of mum or dad? I just can’t imagine trying to each A level maths!

Tillysfad · 24/10/2021 22:36

Secondary is harder but there are many many online teaching programmes and children tend to start taking them earlier and space them out. Home ed children often belong to groups that bulk buy learning programmes very cheaply allowing them to access a lot of curriculums, educational magazines etc for a fraction of the cost. There are also cheaper rates for home ed children on online classes because they can come in small groups at off peak times.

Saracen · 25/10/2021 01:09

I just can’t imagine trying to each A level maths!

Home ed at A level isn't totally unheard of, but is not very common. GCSEs apparently are not so bad and kids prepare for them in a variety of ways: self-study, tutor-led study groups in-person or online, online schools, with parents. A level is much harder and nearly all (previously) HE kids do those at college or sixth form. I know hundreds of HE teens and young adults, but I can count on the fingers of one hand the kids who have opted to do A levels independently.

However, there are quite a few over-16s who continue with home ed if they are less academically inclined. A levels don't suit everybody. My eldest did art, music and sports coaching informally via home ed at a relaxed pace, being too ill for full-time study and not particularly interested in academics, and then went to uni at 21 via a roundabout route to do an arts subject. The younger one has a learning disability and will likely continue in HE till her late teens, then maybe go on to college at some stage.

So, there are many young people for whom home ed post-16 is a fairly natural continuation of what they were doing before, and isn't particularly difficult to facilitate. In retrospect I think college would have been quite harmful for my eldest, who had undiagnosed CFS/ME. Though we didn't properly realise it at the time, the flexibility of home ed was key to preserving their health through those years.

DocFree · 28/10/2021 14:26

Hi all, I just wanted to say a big thank you for sharing your views, experiences and giving me a good insight into what you have done. We will go ahead with homeschooling. We are not “mental” or anything like that but just think we can give a more rounded and creative experience to our DD. We don’t know everything but we are happy to learn. Although our DD is only two, we have experienced great joy in teaching her at home and she is thriving. She has varied activities outside the home as well which allow her to socialise and to learn new skills. I will look on Facebook for those groups and keep researching. Thank you all again and really appreciate your advice xx

OP posts:
Flutteringby · 28/10/2021 14:52

Good for you OP. We have home educated ours from the beginning. There was no negative experience at school we needed to escape from, we just felt it was right for our children. The 13 and 14 year olds already have GCSEs under their belts (A* grade) and have a wide circle of friends that are both home educated and schooled. I can't think of anything they have missed out on frankly and they haven't been subjected to some of things our friend's children have had to suffer at school.

Children are not all the same. School does not suit all children. You cannot force a square eg into a round hole. It is geared to educate a large group of children of the same age in the same way. This will suit some but not all. Socialisation does not equal spending every day with 30 people the same age as you. Do we need to spend all our time as adults withdraw people of the same age?

"It's totally mental unless your child has special needs. Why on Earth would you want to deny your child a proper education? Going to museums, reading and watching documentaries is great. I also do that - after school/on weekends/holidays!" Says someone who has clearly never looked outside of their dark little box.

Saracen · 29/10/2021 13:57

Congratulations on making your decision! I found that being ready to home ed early on was a bonus: no anguish over whether my children would be ready "in time" at the standard age for nursery or school, no rush to prepare them e.g. dropping naps or trying to get them to master coat buttons, remember to ask for the toilet without prompting and all that.

Your child can do nursery or not, depending whether you think they'd benefit from it, and if they try it and don't like it you can take them out again. So you don't have to stress over pushing independence from you and mixing in large groups if that doesn't suit them yet.

I suggest getting in with your local home ed community now. Even if you don't feel the need for group activities and play just yet, it's good to know they are there and feel part of a community. My eldest went through a lonely phase when all their toddler group friends moved on to nursery and no longer had time to play, plus I think the parents felt their child had had enough opportunities to socialise during their nursery hours and the parents no longer prioritised playdates. That took us by surprise as we had somehow envisioned those friendships continuing for longer.

It's also nice for the child, when they are old enough to be asked, "Aren't you going to nursery/school?" to feel that there's something positive that they ARE doing. So my eldest used to respond, "No, I go to my music group and home ed swimming and park days instead."

Facebook is currently the main way to find local home ed families. Go to the FB search bar and type "home education" followed by the name of your town or nearest big town or county and you will find a group. Most allow and encourage parents to join long before their children reach "school age" and sometimes people organise things like soft play or park play specially for the little ones, so they and their parents can make friends.

Have fun!

Zamaila · 18/05/2022 13:16

Hi, I am looking into home schooling for my daughter. She is currently in year 9, She suffers from anxieties and refuses to go back to mainstream school. I have searched for many online schools and feel overwhelmed. I want to make the right decision.

I am looking for online home school that has smaller class size the ability of teachers to engage the students and the teachers regularly keeping the parents up to date with the child progress. So far I have seen Sophia High School that meets these requirements but couldn’t find any reviews. So if any of you have tried it or know anyone I would be grateful if you can give some feedback.
Thanks.

holdingonfordearlife · 18/05/2022 18:37

@Zamaila
This is an old "Zombie " thread you are posting on. You would be better creating a new post instead to get more relevant advice

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