I want to home ed DD, where do I start?

[beakerandburette]

My DD is only 7mo but I have decided I would like to home educate her. Just wondering if any home ed parents can help me out with some useful links etc. Thanks in advance :D

I love that moment when you know that's what you're going to do. It helps when you get the round of questions from people asking to which schools you're applying.

There's plenty of info out there, but for now I've bumped 3 threads you may find particularly useful for now. Books about home education, websites about HE and how to find other home educators locally.

Thank you very much Emerald I shall have a look I want to be as prepared as possible - mainly to defend myself against my mum. She absolutely hates my parenting style and I think she will be horrified when I announce my plans to home ed so I may need some good arguments!

Since you mention it, my main advice was going to be to hold off telling anyone (other than home ed people) for as long as possible! Hang out with us, online and/or in real life, to feel comfortable and normal about what you are planning. Eventually all the most common concerns and questions will appear; you'll get an idea how various HE people see those, and you can think whether you agree.

Then you won't feel on the back foot when friends and family start peppering you with questions and worries, because you'll have thought it through and you might have some ideas how to explain it to them. I don't mean you have to have all the answers, or that you have to defend your decision to anyone. But if most of the early discussions which you have about HE are with people who are unfamiliar with it and worried about it, that's likely to have a demoralising effect on you and may even make you question yourself. Better to have your early discussions with people who really know what HE is like and are enthusiastic about it.

Here's another reason why I think it's easier not to tell anyone too early. People are more likely to criticise your plans at an early stage than after you have started. They may think you haven't yet made a definite decision and therefore you need their input. If you tell your mum now, you may hear about little else for the next four years!

I found one of the best responses to many ill-founded concerns about HE was "I've met a number of HE families and that doesn't seem to be a problem for them." Hard to argue against experience!

There's nothing you need to do at this stage, but a lot of areas are starting to run groups especially for parents that are considering home ed for their pre-school aged children. If you're on facebook then you should be able to find a local group to see if they have an under 5s meet-up. That way you'll be able to learn more and form a support network long before your DD reaches school age.

You say on the other thread there doesn't seem to be much local to you. This often appears the case because it can be hard to spot groups. If you say roughly where you are then maybe one of us will know of groups you might want to contact. Or there is I think a mumsnet HE Facebook group, where people can help. And HE-UK yahoo group has thousands of members, so usually someone can point you in the right direction . Of course, setting up a new group/network is always good .

BUMP!

Beaker - how's it going?! I have just found this and I have a 14 month old DS who will be home educated so I'm sort of the in same boat I'm lucky that I was home educated from the age of 13 and my mum is fab and very supportive of the whole thing. Mil is an ex childminder who thinks nursery and school are great... But is also v supportive so far. Most other people don't know our plans. Best way I think is to not say anything, then when they're getting to school age and you get asked say you're home educating for a year, or waiting until they're seven "like in Finland" and then just... Do what you fancy

Home education uk is a good, private Facebook group with lots of members

Hello
I am thinking of home educating my two children they are 6 and 4 yrs old, they are currently in a school but my daughter is not settling in too well she seems unhappy everyday, I live in West Midlands, Birmingham- any advice where would I start?

Two pieces of advice:

1. Do not spend lots of money on resources. Almost every home educator's house is full of "educational" stuff. You will get lent and given lots of what you need. You need pens, paper, internet connection, the toys you already own, and access to the world outside. That's all.

1. Get hooked up with your local home educators. Mostly this all happens through facebook nowadays, so dp a search for Birmingham home ed or home education on there, ask to join the group. Get a sense of what's going on. Around us, there are big city wide or county wide meets, and also things going on more locally - classes, shared activities, park meets etc etc. You may need to try several different things before you find the subculture you click with, but people who"get" you are out there waiting to connect. That will also give you the best sense of the different ways that people approach home ed, because you can see them do it, all the way from apparently totally untaught through to boxed curriculum, and everything in between. Have a wonderful time!!

Hi
Who would I have to notify before taking them out of the school?

Hi Sinny1,

As you live in England, assuming your children are not at a special school then you just need to send a letter to the headteacher. (Having a statement or EHCP or being in a unit attached to a mainstream school doesn't affect this process; it's only children attending special school to whom a different process applies.)

You can find sample deregistration letters here: www.educationotherwise.net/ by clicking on the "HE and the law" tab.

Sometimes school staff think they have some discretion in this, and that you need permission to remove your children from school. This is not correct.

Having received the letter, the school must remove the children's names from the register and inform the Local Authority. LAs vary as to what they do next, but you will probably hear from your LA at some point in the next few months. At this stage, they may ask you for information about your children's education, or ask to come visit your home.

I suggest that you then post back here to discuss your options. It is worth knowing at the outset that you don't have to agree to a home visit, but most HE parents agree that it is unwise to ignore communications from the LA completely.

To me, it seems that the most important things to bear in mind in the early days are these. First, there is no hurry, as you don't have to worry about your children "falling behind" the rest of the class and can go at their own pace. Second, you don't need to approach their education with a view to creating a paper trail or documentable learning. You are no one's employee and you don't have to prove anything. It is all about giving your children the education which suits them best. So just look at them and whether they are getting what they need, rather than looking over your shoulder and thinking "if she were at school she'd be doing such-and-such".