I've heard people talking about being ahead of their schooled peers or even starting school and being way ahead. How do you know how well they are doing? Whether you are teaching them enough? etc
I've EHEd my two all the way through (now 19 and 16). I did not worry about how they were doing until we needed it (when DD decided to try school for a term at Y5). Then we bought workbooks and KS2 SATs papers and she tried them. As I expected, her maths was way ahead but her writing was behind. At home, neither of these mattered.
You don't say anything about ages. If, for example, you are thinking about putting DS1 back into school at Y7 and he is currently in Y5, you could do whatever you want until early 2012. Then, as preparation for school in September, you could work through books etc. and try some SATs papers to know where his weak areas are.
^I would plan to do a mix of set lessons and learning through life skills.
People who teach just by getting on with life who then put their children forward for exams how do you make sure they know what they need to know to pass them. They may be wonderfully intelligent, know masses, but exams?^
People who want to do exams start by downloading the syllabus and past papers from the exam board website. They work their way through the syllabus using websites, books and other resources and using the past papers to check that the DC is at the correct level. You'll find more info at www.home-education-exams.org.uk and its associated email list.
^How do you cope with age ranges?
Also what about having preschool age children too?^
This is not really an issue if you do "life" because you are not trying to maintain "lessons" at different levels - each child does whatever they are doing at the level they can manage. If a DC wants/needs a quiet place to do writing etc. then you achieve that however works for your family.
Do you struggle with behaviour in the way that children can play up more for mum than other people?
IME, this is not an issue once everyone is used to being together all the time. It is a more likely issue when there are alternative authorities (teachers) that can be played off against the parents.
I've heard of deschooling? What does this consist of?
Giving a child time to lose the need to be told what to do and regain the joy in learning that he or she had naturally as a small child. What it looks like will vary from child to child. An older child who has had a traumatic time in school may take months to regain confidence and trust in themselves. During that time, they may need to play Pokemon obsessively for six weeks, watch the same DVD over and over, run around outside, etc. It is not a problem if they do nothing that looks like school. Some children, however, get very anxious without the structure of the school day and may need to keep something that looks like it until they regain confidence.