Pls tell me about your home ed experiences!

[Blossom4538]

Those who have home educated...please tell me about your experiences. What made u take that decision,what age, how did it affect your lives, how were your days structured? I am seriously tempted, but DD is quite stubborn when it comes to me trying to teach her!! Dd is almost 6 and being assessed for Autism Spectrum Disorder

I am a homeschooling mum to a 6 year old ds. I've homeschooled him right from the start. Not going to lie it's hard work. Sometimes I could cry because it feels like forever until I can live my life for me again . However it is extremely rewarding and does get easier as time passes by!
I made the decision to homeschool because I didn't like the way schools were run. I like to see children as individuals and not targets. I also don't think school socialises children. Forced association is not socialisation and children only get to know one age group.
At the moment we tend to work on a morning and do a trip on an afternoon. Park, farms, museums, soft play, zoo etc. He also goes to a group without me so that he can play with about 20-30 kids and be taught by someone else once a week. Anything else you'd like to know just feel free to ask :)

watching with interest as i am currently debating whether to withdraw my 12 year old daughter from school to home educate.

I've been HE about 12 years. We took the oldest 2 out at the end of years 1 and 3 because they were exhausted and were just being trained to pass SATs. We then had 2 more children who have never been to school.
We are semi structured which means we do a bit of reading, maths, project work, most days. The rest of the time we do classes (bushcraft today, French tomorrow), meet friends, play Minecraft...
The older 2 were HE up to GCSE's and are at college now. The eldest will go to uni this year (if he stops playing D and D and does some work).

I home school both my daughters (11 & 6)and have done for just over a year. I LOVE it ... I wish I'd done it earlier.

What do u like about it? What made u change to home ed if u don't mind me asking?

Dd has a few mild (but challenging!) special needs and struggles.

I love seeing my children grow in their subjects and I love helping them. I love waking and knowing I will be with my children for the rest of the day.
If there is anything I can help you with then please let me know specifically...

The start of the day is relaxed and I rotate subjects for my six year old - she will read up to a page of (famous five by Enid Blyton at the moment ) her book and underlines the words she finds difficult to read. She then writes these words in her spelling book. She will practise her handwriting (about 2 sentences and we may talk about the grammar). She now knows all her times tables but I have created paper medals to achieve by September e.g. Telling the time problems, shapes, measuring and weighing, graphs, long multiplication, adding and subtracting large numbers, understanding months,days and year etc, division, comprehension, fractions, decimals, French etc There is a reward on the back of each award such as playing Barbies or some other activity or small gift. The medal is presented at dinner time. We have lots of breaks and I currently teach two. The youngest attends a drama group and plays hockey in the week. I also take the girls swimming and the youngest does gymnastics, tennis and hockey on the weekend. I also keep in touch with some of the mothers from her previous school as well as have friends and neighbours with children of both ages. Both my children love being home schooled and my older child has blossomed from being negative and unconfident in her subjects, where she could have succeeded at school. The schools were disorganised and unhelpful. By Year 5, three quarters of mothers had tutors for their children; some started from year 3. I rescued my eldest, whose behaviour and attitude needed addressing and she was able to secure a place in a top senior school. I could see my younger daughter going the same way. We couldn't afford private school when I started my own business and home education is the most efficient, effective and rewarding way to educate children when they're young. They can break, eat when they need to and have a more gentle start to the day. I have a very good letts book (for ages 5-7 English and Maths) which can be bought at WHSmiths and you can print free 7+ papers from the internet to see what the top schools are working with at 6. Of course it's not nice to discipline the girls but it's required at time and they thank and respect me for it. I use the Thinking /Naughty step or tv ban and this works. On the whole it's a very happy environment Fair but firm and relaxed with lots of laughter. . Don't plan too much with others during school one. I recognise if we need a break ..I keep everything tidy and organised and will ask the girls to help at times which means they learn how a home is run. Best wishes. I don't know too much about autism but if you have a good kinesiologist in your area, it might worth trying. I practise from Kingston if you're close. A a mother, you can surrogate for your child's emotions and behaviour issues. A kinesiologist looks at he whole picture and can identify issues through muscle testing. It could also help you prioritise during this time. Good luck again. You obviously care and I admire your strength and love for going this far already x

There won't be anything you couldn't handle for your child.