Thinking about home education for my 4 year old

[Ella01]

I'm after advice from other mums, as I'm thinking about home education for my 4 year old, she has not been to any nursery or preschool, just toddler groups and is very bright and enjoys learning at her own pace with me. Is home education a good choice for her?

@Ella01 we do forest school, swimming, gymnastics and a playgroup. I really think the best start to meet with other local Home educating families. Our area has a group specifically for preschool aged kids who plan to home educate. Good luck with it all.

Whatever you decide. is not an irreversible decision.
If you think shes not ready for school, theres nothing to stop you keeping her home, and if you ever felt like she needed more structure etc, you could apply for school then.

Likewise, if you felt it was worth giving school a chance first, you could always try and then deregister if you didnt feel it was good for her

@Saracen thank you for all the info, lovely to know how it worked for your daughter and that starting school later wasn't too big a transition for her. @Tiredbadger thanks for the info, I have joined a Facebook group, hope to meet with some other HE mums and find places close to us to go to soon @Branleuse thanks, I feel more confident to go with how she feels at the time and see how it goes, when she's ready for school, she can try it, if not, stay at home .

Look at the schools near you. Reception is supposed to be learning through play and making friends, and my two loved it - stepchild at different school that was more rigid, not so much. Some years later they like school well enough though stepchild we considered pulling out and possibly homeschooling.

Many children age 2 or so don't want to leave their parent - at 4 or 5 they may well thrive in a school.

My mum teaches A level and says the home schooled are always odd and everyone she has taught dropped out of uni.
I was home schooled until I was 7 and like to think I'm fairly normal My mum made that decision a) because it allowed us to travel for longer than a week or two at a time, which was in itself educational, and b) because she felt that very young children need to be outside, learning by playing and exploring, rather than sitting in a classroom and being tested. When we did start proper school all of my siblings and I were advanced beyond our age group in terms of reading ability, numeracy etc even though we'd only done 'school' for a couple hours each day with our mum. But our early experiences of learning were very positive and low-pressure, and instilled a love of learning and reading in us (not suggesting that this is exclusive to home education, but it definitely contributed in my case). We did go to other group activities and my mum childninded other children in the afternoons so we were able to learn social skills that way and none of us have turned out awkward or friendless. We all also went on to university - except one sibling who opted for vocational training - and are reasonably successful in our chosen fields.
I did have one friend who was home educated through to the end of secondary level as her parents were very conservative Christians and didn't want her exposed to 'worldy influences'. I suppose some people would consider her a little odd / unconventional but I think that's more due to her family life and socialisation as a whole than to home education in particular.
All that to say that I can't speak to the experience of home education from the parent's perspective, but from the child's it can be a very positive, enriching experience that sets them up well for the rest of life.

i know plenty of odd people that went to school too.

Shout out to the oddballs

I home educate my children (they have never been to school/nursery). If you are able to give it a try, why not? School is always an option later on.

I recommend getting in touch with your local home ed group, seeing what is going on locally and getting involved. Also grow a thick skin!

@AnotherDunroamin thanks for sharing your experience, interesting to know how it actually works for a child @EB123, I am looking for local HE groups, why do you say 'grow a thick skin?'

It is definitely worth repeating that education has changed over the years, and 4 year olds wouldn't be sat at desks copying down from a blackboard!

Many state schools will accept part time students and the early years is much more focussed on learning through play.

It does read that you have your heart set on home ed, but there's a lot to be said for checking out the options, including visiting local schools. (Particularly if you don't see yourself home Ed through secondary - see what options there are).

Another thought, is private education an option? there's a huge difference between different styles of education available - in what are generally smaller groups. Again, worth calling round and visiting some, even if you don't plan on using them until she's older. (Many do an intake at 7, but wait lists can be long)

Good luck !