Regretting taking kids out of school.

[apocketfulofposy]

Posting here for traffic,sorry.

I have 5 children ranging from aged 6 to 10 weeks old.

We always planned to home educate after reading a book about it when ds1 and 2 were toddlers,then when ds1 was about 4 and a half,and i was pregnant with baby number 4,i decided to give our local primary a go,partly because it was just that time where he would of been going and partly because i was finding it hard with them all at home (no family on either side for 3 hours,husband who works away monday to friday,rural ish area,i cant even drive!).

Anyway reception was ok,he liked it,made plenty of friends,dc2 and 3 went to the pre school and liked it,except dc2 had lots of issues with hitting other children and just general destructive behaviour.

When ds1 started yr1 last year he hated it from the word go,he still liked seeing his friends but he really noticed the change between mostly play to mostly lessons,plus his teacher left after a term and the new one was very strict and spoke to the children like she was some kind of prison officer.

Ds2 started reception and seemed to enjoy it but after a few weeks i was called in a few times about his hitting and destroying things,they said he just physically wasnt ready to be at schoolt hat much so put him down to half days,which was a bit of a faff for me as i was in and out all day but it was fine.It didnt seem to help though and he was behaving worse and worse at school,especially at lunchtime,but strangely his behaviour at home was getting better.

Add to this the fact i was finding it hard carting them all around everywhere and i felt crap because i kept forgetting to reply to things and i kept hearing all this micheal gove stuff,i just decided to pull them out,id been thinking about it on and off for a while and just thought do it,and id id it almost on a bit of a whim.

The first few weeks were great and we all loved the novelty of not rushing around in mornings and the kids have been playing all day,and actually one good point is that they have been getting on so much better.

But apart from that i am starting to regret taking them out,i miss the routine,i miss being able to take the babies to their groups and talking to my "mummy friends"(cringe) i miss being able to go to the shop quickly with just the double buggy,i also just dont know what to do with them,and the house is just such a mess!

I know these are'nt huge things but its starting to feel chaotic and i can feel it going back to the way it used to be,before school,and it hink i underestimated how much it did for all of us.I just dont know what to do!

Help and advice please!xxxxx

Oh and he has no neighbours

As long as he just blows himself up!

I'll be sure to pass that on to the lea in nov.

The likelihood of him blowing up anything he did not want to is slim to none. I'm irresponsible so I'm not even allowed to play with the PH paper!

As to the op I'm at a loss as to how she fills out the LA forms given she can't even explain her education philosophy on here.

She hasn't had to fill any in as yet (I'm still not too sure that you have to)they asked her if she wanted support and she said she didn't-I think that is the current situation. (I'm not sure why, as she could do with some support).

It's funny how several pagers ago non home edders were saying " theres no way you can do science at home, you don't have the lab equipment"
To saying " you have too much lab equipment, it's dangerous"

Which is it?

Do you think the lab stuff is in a box with the barbies?

Totally agree with needs, If I was being a bit bitchy she sounds a bit lazy aout getting them to school and found it easier for her to keep them at home.

Minecraft for maybe 1/2 a day could have a bit of benefit but for 2 plus hours, that is lazy arsed parenting.

I hang out with some HE and they are brilliant, their kids are taken on trips out 4 or 5 times a week, they go on walks that are filled with maths and science, museum trips that include history and art. They are given space to develop their own interests but also are encouraged to do the bits like don't like (generally the bits that are tricky). They meet up all week with other families, socialize lots, learn brilliant skills like fire building, using tools, basic mechanics.

I seriously considered it but want to develop my own career whcih wouldnt have been possible.

The op on the other habd seems to struggle to leave the house.

I think any HEer running a laboratory equipped to the same standard as a secondary school will find they are breaking the law unless inspected by the Health and safety executive.

As I said its legal and has been inspected by more officials than I care to mention.

Why assume a HEer would not have the needed qualifications,knowledge,legalities covered,funding or that any thing is clandestine?

There is a huge difference bebanjo between providing for a 7 yr old and a 17 yr old. The boy with his own lab is very lucky- most people don't have that money for one subject. You do not need it for a 7 yr old- you are trying to run before you walk!
To be clear- I stand corrected if you can have the equivalent of a secondary school lab at home. ( but it is rare)
You don't need it for a 7 yr old and it is dangerous.

It's the way others are describing it, buying old kits and burners from charity shops.

Of course there is a world of difference.and yes my brothers situation is rare.

But bebanjo has been very quick to point out that the stuff she uses is safe and availible for sale as chemistry sets.many HEers do this,they also can link into company labs in the same way school trips do or attend sessions offered by other establishments.or buy courses.

The kits are not old, they are unused.
DD is well supervised and has all the correct safety gear.

Just read a very interesting report on practical experiments in school science lessons on gatsby.org.uk

bebanjo

Stop being silly petal,you can't possibly follow the instructions on a science kit intended for children to use its far to dangerous

I doubt the educational value of these kits.

Try reading the report on the gatsby sight, I think you'll find there may be some value in them yet.

That site is not for 7 yr olds. I can't see the educational value in just buying a kit in isolation.

You would be much better off with primary science

Or BBC here or here or here

Isn't HE fearfully expensive?

Some posters mention tutors. Well, a good one round here is £30/hr. If you have several children, well, that's a lot of dosh for even one subject. Skill swapping amongst parents is all very well, but there are bound to be gaps.

And going on lots of trips out is not only expensive but rather exhausting too unless you live very near interesting/cultural places. I can't imagine you'd want to embark on more than one day trip per week.

I have mentioned my educational philosophy lots of times and given you names to google.I am not gonig to spend lots of time explaining it to you,you must be old enough and clever enough to use google.

Google radical unschooling and Sandra Dodd and you will get the idea quite quickly.

I really am going to hide this thread now,i cant waste my time reading such ignorance,although in a way it reassures me i'm on the right path,as you’ve obviously learnt such small mindedness from school.

lainie I know some HEers will disagree but my personal opinion is that education (be that in or out of school) is highly correlated to resources.

The more high quality resources, the better the education.

Of course resources can be accessed in a number of ways, but numero uno is by handing over hard cash.

TamerB you are the one that does not understand autonomous education.I love the way you think you understand everything t do with home eduction but yet you have no experience of doing it.

And i think we all know that state schools do not provide the best education,if you want that from a school then you better be going private.