Home ed how do you do it?

[Eastersnake]

Just curious to know how families go about this...I can see a way forward for us home educating primary ( what's left of it) but not secondary..my maths skills arnt great ,I'm not a teacher ,I've a degree in a silly subject....,secondary for me was a disaster,....I hardly learnt anything.so I feel inadequate to teach my child secondary age..I've looked at on line schooling ,it's out of our budget...if we start now,I won't get him back in for secondary so I need a plan...any ideas?

There are lots of ways to tackle it. Particularly at secondary level, many HE parents don't follow the model of "teaching" their children. Instead their children learn and the parents help them find the resources they need to do that. This might include books, online programmes (paid or free), other people, documentaries etc. In some cases parents learn alongside their kids but in other cases the kids just get on with it. It is not expected that the parent knows everything and imparts it to the child. This is a bit difficult to get your head round if you are used to the school model. However, I am sure that if you home educate for a while now, or maybe chat with other parents who are already HEing their preteens and teens, you will start to see how it can work.

Home educated kids need not be held back by the limitations of their parents' knowledge. Sure, if a child happens to be interested in a particular subject which their parent is good at, it's handy to have someone knowledgeable in the house. But if that isn't the case, the child can still learn. My 18 year old was home educated, and the subjects in which she has done most learning are ones about which I know absolutely nothing!

Is there a reason not to just try it for the time being and see how you get on? What did you mean when you said, "if we start now,I won't get him back in for secondary"?

You have answered a few of my posts before.( many thanks your always so helpful)i name change each time..he's still in school ..technically..but barely going ..I just need to jump.but something is holding me back...I feel I've nothing to give ,expect my time.im not a clever person,and he has difficult moments due to hfa..I'm scared ...of facing the head ,having to explain myself.i know I will feel immense relief when he's out

He's falling behinned already ,won't do homework with me..so I'm scared that means he won't do any work with me if I take him out..he's way over invested in pc games,I pad ,u tube,watching people who film themselves playing the game he's playing...he's obsessed by the game,how do I get round that at home? It's a game about managing your own farm..

1. You do not have to face the head or explain yourself. You can simply send a letter in on Monday, instead of your son, by signed-for delivery, which says

"Head teacher's Name
School name
Schools address
The Date

Re: Full name of child d.o.b. Date of birth

Dear Head's name

I am writing to inform you that my son/daughter Child(rens) Name(s) is receiving an education at home, otherwise than at school in accordance with Section 7 of the Education Act 1996.

Therefore, I would be grateful if you would remove his/her/their name(s) from the school register as from the date you wish to leave in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) Regulation 2016 section 8(1)(d) for mainstream schools.

Please confirm in writing that my child(ren) has/have been removed from the school register.

Yours sincerely

sign here

Your name

No need to explain. You could say "Thank you for all your efforts to make School a safe and productive environment for him" if you want to be nice.

They may phone write or email to try to have a meeting. You can just say "no thank you".

1. No, he is not going to do any work with you at home. Not anything that looks like school work, not for at least six months, not willingly. You need to treat it like the summer holidays. Lots of trips out - park, walks in the woods, local museums, go to the beach, go to the supermarket and take all morning over it (he can be in charge of the list and the paying, maybe). When he's ready, begin to investigate home ed groups in your area (did you say where you are? we can help you track down other home edders on facebook!) You'll find lots of trips/ classes/ groups/ activities/ forest school etc etc, almost certainly. Get yourselves out every day - that helps to cut down screen time, just by being outside doing other stuff, even if it's just a walk round the park.

1. Gradually get a sense for yourself and for him of how you'd like things to be come September (say). for lower secondary, I'd say an hour of formal sit down concentrated work a day is PLENTY. There's loads of free stuff out there that you can use together. We like Mystery Science (not free, but not expensive); people swear by the Khan academy for maths though I've not used it... there are a million resources you can tap into if you want to. And remember LIFE SKILLS is a massively important part of this, for a child who has not thrived in school. teach him to cook, to sew a patch, to grow plants, to care for animals, whatever the life skills are that you think are important - take pride in those skills together, because they will stand him in much better stead than some obscure grammar rule ;)

... oh, and there's nothing to stop him learning to be a Youtuber, if you can keep him safe online (one of my lot is a prolific Youtuber...)

... that's a great way of learning to follow through a project, learn how to improve your technical and creative skills... make sure he drives it in terms of content so he'll be motivated (and keep his face and real name off Youtube for safety!)

Great ideas from ommmward! It's true, you don't have to get permission or explain your decision to home educate, except to your child's other parent if relevant. You can just do it.

The issue of excessive use of screens is a common one, especially among parents of kids with HFA. It hasn't been a problem in my family, but I overhear it discussed often! There are various views on it. I think that by and large, home ed parents discover that it is not such a big problem as they thought it would be. For one thing, your child will actually learn a lot from what he is doing on the computer. For another, once out of school he has more time at his disposal, because home ed is so efficient (as ommmward said, you'll probably find that when your child is ready to engage with it, an hour a day of formal learning is plenty, and some parents like me do none at all). So, even if your son manages to find something to do on the computer which has NO educational value whatsoever - which is difficult to achieve! - he can spend many hours a day on the computer and still get a good education.

Having said all that, some parents nevertheless say that doing literally nothing except using the computer every waking hour for months on end seems like an unhealthy habit, which interferes with their child's opportunities to get exercise and engage with daily life through shopping, talking to parents, helping out around the house, etc. A variety of methods are tried, with most people finding that what is appropriate one year needs to be adapted the next year.

If you can get along to a local HE group I am sure you will find other parents to discuss this. If that isn't practical, why not start a thread here for ideas? That will help you think through what might work for your own son, which isn't going to be the same as what works for the next kid.

Thanks both of you...it seems doable...when he's calm ,he's lovely company,I can see a nice routine ,of walking the dog ,a bit of maths and spellings.some craft after lunch.im thinking of all the pointless writing he's made to do,and all the lovely books we own that we would have time to read..no morning stress ..I've just got to summon the strength to do this

It only takes a few minutes to write the letter and send it in, and then the hardest part is done and you can watch your son's fear and stress evaporate. You can do this. Give him time off school until the end of primary, and then if you don't like the way home ed is going, you can send him to secondary. (The truth is, I am just saying that to reassure you and persuade you to gve home education a try. It's rare for someone who pulls a miserable child out of school to find that home ed is worse than school overall. Once you have your happy boy back, you'll know you have made the right decision!)

I named changed...I know yr right Saracen I'm just not there yet,I can't find any local people who are home educating.i even joined face book to find some ..but nothing at all

If you message me with your county and nearest big town or city, I'll find the relevant Facebook group(s) for you.

He's out😃

Well done you!!! How's he feeling? Now enjoy a good long Easter holiday!!!!

Well done Snowsnake

and the best of luck to you both. I'm sure you will manage fine and with Saracen and ommmward to advise you've cracked it.
Easter egg hunt by any chance?

He can't quite belive it..he keeps well out of my way each morning just in case (I think) he thinks he's going to be sent..so he only creeps down after the others have gone to school...checks the cost is clear and they have gone before he relaxes...thankyou for the all the advice everyone who helped x

Aw... poor kid thinking he has to creep around! He'll get used to it soon enough. Congratulations!! I hope all goes well for both of you.

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I have decided to home ed my 13 yr old, she is currently off she due to surgery and has been off a long time, I just do not know where to start, I quite like the idea of online ed. How is your experience with home ed going snowsnake?