Advice on where to get info for homeschooling

[Ephelwenx]

Hi there! I'm currently 7 months pregnant with our first child (new to this forum too, hello!) and am very interested in the idea of homeschooling our children as we just don't agree with so much of the current educational system. We have debated maybe sending our child to a private school or if there is an option to do part- time school?

Just brainstorming ideas at the moment, current UK state school/ nurseries are not really an option.

Anyone else homeschooling their children and can give any advice on where to find some good information. Maybe also at home tutors could be a good idea?

Thanks in advance and can't wait to become more involved in this community x

@Ephelwenx

Which particular aspects of the current educational system do you not agree with?

Hiya, home education (not home schooling) is the legal term. Home schooling is what people did in covid. For info search Facebook for home Ed groups, your local one (search town/city/county plus home ed). Flexi school is possible if you find the right school, and it’s at the discretion of the head teacher. We have done both and also have children full time at school, it really depends on the child as to what will suit them better. Local home ed groups might have meet ups for under school age children when it gets nearer the time and you can ask all the questions.

I'd do nothing about it yet.
Wait til your child's here - you may decide that they or you are not suitable for home education. I certainly had a couple of friends who decided that was the best route for them and did a U turn and one who did the opposite.

Just as I know people who were convinced they would be a SAHM and hated it and another who went back full-time for 4 weeks and then jacked it all in.

There's a home ed board here on Mumsnet. It isn't very busy though.

Facebook is the place to go at the moment; most home ed conversations take place there. There are all sorts of specialist groups you can join depending on your circumstances. Local Facebook home ed groups are also a good bet, because you might be able to get together with other local parents who have preschoolers they plan to home educate, or go to mixed-age park play etc where you can chat with parents who are already home educating. You won't be eligible to join all of these groups; some only accept people who are already home educating. But you'll find some you can join.

We've had a few people with bumps or babies come along to our local events. Usually they are in the early stages of thinking about it, and they only come once or twice before putting it on the back burner until their child is a toddler and is looking for other kids to play with or the parent is closer to deciding how to educate them.

That's quite true.

All the same, it doesn't hurt to gather a little information and some ideas now if you're interested.

In the same way, when I was pregnant with my first child, I was thinking about when I might return to work and whether I'd prefer a nursery or a childminder. So I read a bit about how those settings worked and chatted with friends who had children in both types of settings to see what the pros and cons were.

I liked having plenty of time to think it through. Even though I decided not to return to work at all, I don't feel that researching childcare settings was wasted effort. It helped me figure out what was important to me and what my child needed.