Do any of your dc homeschool themselves?

[Mycatatetherat]

My dc are in primary school at the moment but I don't want them to attend high school. They are both very self motivated when learning things that interest them and can be focused and sensible when given a task. I'm wondering would it be too much to expect them to be able to basically school themselves? I'm a self employed single parent and couldn't possibly stop working (although I often work from home) so kind of had it in my head that I could set them tasks and pop in on them every so often. Am I being unrealistic? How much input do other homeschooling parents have?

Very unrealistic. How will they actually be taught ??

Do parents actually teach their children? What if you don't know the answers? I assumed the internet, books and groups might suffice...

Research home education.
See if what you are proposing falls within the expected parameters.

They are both very self motivated when learning things that interest them

What about all the things that don't interest them that they should also be taught?

This is an interesting, albeit narrow view of education. It seems like you are expecting your children to research and find facts. Education is so much more than gathering information.

Are you all home schooling? How do you teach your dc the things they're not interested in?

What do they want to do?
What about stuff that doesn’t interest them?
How are you going to manage social stuff if you’re not free to facilitate it?

Why don’t you want your children to go to secondary school? Not judging - genuinely interested (and think it may give some helpful context to your question).

I know that education is more than gathering facts but that's pretty much exactly what school is, isn't it?
All the other stuff I tend to think we do at home anyway...

I don't home school but my close friend does and she drafts in professionals for subjects she can't teach (me - for maths).
She pays a local artist to come by and do art lessons, etc. The only thing she will teach them is business acumen. Her two DC both run small, profit making businesses and are highly motivated but this is because she puts A LOT of planning and effort into homeschooling.
Not just sitting the kids down with books and the internet and hoping they discover Pythagoras theorem all by themselves.
Homeschooling is doable and can be very successful if you put in the effort. Not sure it can be a success with a full time, self employed WFH parent.

I know that education is more than gathering facts but that's pretty much exactly what school is, isn't it?

No.

One of the reasons I didn’t he despite being he myself and coming from a he family is my ongoing difficulty with getting on with stuff I’m not particularly interested in.

I didn't home school my kids but I used to be interested in the idea and I remember reading about this, I think it was called self directed learning or something. There was a column I used to read by a mum who followed this. Have you thought maybe using a internet school for a basic core curriculum e.g five or six subjects including maths and English then leaving the rest of the time for task based learning?

So there is some structure but also a lot of freedom to follow interests.

What do your kids want.

Do they want to be HE?

I think with a parent who can be engaged and engaging, taking them on educational excursions, proactively working through the topics, doing science experiments, joining sports team etc that it can work.

But what you're describing is 2 young kids stuck at home teaching themselves from books and the internet which sounds very boring and isolating.

Social aspect we have nailed! Friends constantly in and out of house and very involved with local community.
I suppose I hadn't considered that there would be subjects they'd never come across if they weren't interested and I didn't "teach" it to them. I could pay a tutor for certain things...
I don't want them to go to high school because I've worked in them. Toxic environment, stressed out teachers, pressure, mental health problems, bullying etc. This was in several different schools across the county.

There’s a whole network of home schoolers. You don’t have teach them yourself - they may go to one house for math or whatever, to another for something else, or get a tutor. Say you are good/interested in a subject, you may have six kids you teach that subject to. And they can do remote learning via Skype. Home schooling is a HUGE commitment from the parent. It is not appropriate to expect the kids to do it themselves. Also consider the social aspect if not bring in school, sports opportunities etc. It one sense it’s more work than sending them to school as you have to organise it all. You don’t have to follow the national curriculum but if they are wanting to go to higher education they will have to sit GCSEs and A levels which they could do at a local school, but you must feel that they can get the level of education needed for them to be able to do this.

They want to be HE now. I think their current (tiny, rural) school is lovely and am not taking them out. They will hate high school.

“Social aspect we have nailed! Friends constantly in and out of house and very involved with local community.“
This will change if those friends go to school together and yours don’t. This is depressing but true.

I may be being really naive but how exactly do you envisage being able to educate them in the breadth and depth of knowledge in order for them to pass their gcse’s? No child is going to be able to maintain self discipline and motivation for 5 years to educate themselves. They may end up experts on fortnite and minecraft but I doubt the theory of probability or human biology will be so entrenched. They would need significant input. Most home educated children have a parent who facilitates learning and also spend a lot of time in he groups and with tutors.

Self directed learning, I think that is what I'm thinking of. I think it would suit my children although I accept I may be being naive and unrealistic!
As for fortnite and minecraft I can't see that happening, we don't even have a working tv!

I don't home school but my close friend does and she drafts in professionals for subjects she can't teach (me - for maths)

I also (for years) have tutored teenagers in subjects their parents are not able to teach. There are very good reasons these DC are not in school. I also assist with admin around accessing FE, exams, work experience etc.

I don't think you sound like you have any kind of detailed educational philosophy, or individualised plans. How will they access Higher Education if they don't have the requisite GASEs and A Levels or their equivalents?

Excuse the odd autocorrect above.

As a teacher, I’m a bit insulted that you think we just kick back, hand them a laptop and tell them to get on with it!

There’s a massive difference between “self directed learning” and “just leaving them to get on with it”. Home schooling doesn’t happen by magic, it takes a lot of effort and planning; and a parent to facilitate it. There is so much more to learning than looking through books, researching on the internet, and doing a few worksheets.

As for fortnite and minecraft I can't see that happening, we don't even have a working tv!

You have some form of computer though, do you not? The internet? Screens of some kind?

Without a working TV, how will they watch wonderfully rich and current documentaries like The Planets?