Talk me through your day

[medoitmama]

So, I'm new to the HE bit on here and am very curious as to how the whole thing works! I must admit I have always been a bit scepticle about HE as I feel that the most important bit of school is the social skills that children learn. However, I have been won over by many an account of great social opportunities in what appears to be a great HE community in many areas.

So, what does HE really entail? I'm guessing everyone does it differently, but if one or two of you could spare a few minutes to give me a break down of your day I'd be greatful.

Do you do much planning? Are you all up and dressed at aceertain time or do you hang out in your pjs lots? (a bit like me at the weekends ) How much time do you spend on "learning" each day? Do you have a timetable to give structure to your day and "finish" at a certain time? Are you careful to devide your time between different subjects?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, it is different for every family and it changes over time. My answers to those questions would have been different when my DC were under 5, 8-11 and over 14. (They are now 16 (still at home) and 18 (at university).)

I did almost no planning. Every term (when the invoice arrived) I checked that the DC still wanted to continue with paid-for activities. I suggested things we might do, usually sparked off by things other EHEers were doing, a TV programme or a book - basically taking opportunites offered by our community.

We mostly got dressed first thing but not necessarily and not by a specific time, unless we were going out. Someone might choose to have breakfast in their PJs, but that's OK. They might get engrossed in something after breakfast and not put clothes on at all. That's OK - I can work in my PJs and you'd not be able to tell on the phone or by email.

We did not spend any specific time learning - basically it was all the time we were awake, just like toddlers do. Once they started formal courses as teens, they might spend a couple of hours on the course but then spend an hour on music practice, 30 mins practicing a language and a couple of hours writing a story (none of which was seen as "work" because it was the child's choice).

We had no daily timetable (apart from a rough idea of mealtimes) and did not "finish" - for my DC, that question makes as much sense as suggesting they should have stopped breathing. In fact, on being asked at about 12yo when they expected to leave education, both answered "on death".

We do not view the world as being composed of "subjects". We did a bunch of different stuff but that was because we wanted to not because we were trying to "balance" a curriculum.

My answer is very similar to that of SDeuchars. My girls are eleven and four. The only planning I do is around essential household tasks such as supermarket shopping and filing tax returns, and activities where some commitment is required. Since my older daughter is mad keen on the latter, that does provide quite a lot of structure really!

The 4yo and I get dressed straightaway because we like to. She's usually woken by her dad, who is an early riser regardless of whether he has any work on. My older dd sleeps as late as she likes and is very fond of her pajamas. She gets dressed shortly before going out, or if she is expecting a guest, or in any event usually by 11ish because she's conscious that it can be a bit embarrassing to open the door to someone late in the day in pajamas.

Today was a fairly quiet day. All morning little one played, I did housework, and the big one chatted online with friends, wrote a chapter of a story, and experimented with her camera. From 2-3:30 I took her and a new friend to (adult) line dancing. I waited there with my younger daughter, reading to her and playing with playdough. (Now the older girls have been to a few sessions they can start taking the bus on their own.) When dropping the friend home, we were invited in for an hour and dd disappeared upstairs with her friend while the 4yo played with the younger children of the family and I got acquainted with the mum. After a few hours at our home having dinner and watching documentaries, I left my younger daughter with my husband while I took the older one to a mixed-age (adult/child) chess club.

Tomorrow is busier. Toddler music with the little one while her sister has a lie-in (recovering from a late night at chess club!). Three hours for all of us at a drop-in home-ed group, then take dd and a friend home for a while before dropping both at sports at 5pm. The friend's dad will bring them home later.

That's the "structure" bit. There is a lot of learning which just oozes in and fills all the cracks as well. Conversations in the car, calculating probabilities in poker games, trying to design the perfect paper airplane, posting on an international gaming forum which leads to questions about spelling and grammar, the desirability or otherwise of textspeak and the reasons for the existence of timezones.

Thanks so much for all the time you put into talking me through your days. I have a clearer idea of what HE is all about now, and it seems that it really is tailor made to suit your family. I think I would want more structure in my day, a bit like you Samay.

Dd1 is in reception and enjoys the school environment, is getting on well there and is in class with lots of children who she has known most of her life as we live in a small village. I miss her lots now she's going full time but I think school is the right thing for her. I would consider HEing dd2 through the preschool years, (obviously a lot less structure at that age).

I'll keep an eye on the HE threads!