Tell me what a typical (non Covid) homeschool day looks like for a primary child?

[Tisfor]

We’ve been doing homeschooling (which is nothing like homeschooling as it’s set by teachers at school and is mainly worksheet based) but I can see that my DC would actually quite like being homeschooled.

I don’t know if it’s right for us. And I don’t know what “real” homeschooling looks like.

Can someone who does it tell me, in non Covid times, what a typical day is like? Lessons - outside or inside? Extra curricular stuff? Other group meet ups, etc.?

How is it for social development? Experiences whether your child transitioned ok to secondary? (I would not be able to do secondary)

Bumping this!

Have homeschooled my 5 year old since the start. An example day for us would go:

• Generally up, breakfasted and dressed by 9.30 but may occasionally be later (we are always awake earlier but sometimes we lie in bed together and read, chat, listen to music etc - or have a lazy breakfast in pjs)
• first thing we usually do some literacy (phonics, poems, reading together and so on, a bit of writing practice)
• then we generally go out for a morning walk/time outside
• bit of free play before lunch or he helps me prep lunch, whatever he chooses, and I let him watch some TV over lunch - about 45 mins
• after lunch we usually spend some time doing something creative - painting, drawing, junk modelling, messy play/playdough or some type of science experience/sciencey thing
• then we do numbers - we always practice times tables but other number stuff varies - doing basic fractions at the moment (halves/quarters and so on)
• then an afternoon walk/time outside - in non covid times we might have had a playdate or met up with another family or we might also have gone swimming
• back home and he has some quiet time (either TV or listening to an audiobook or music)
• then he helps me prep dinner (he does this every day) and we then eat together at the table

We would also do lots of day trips - museums and so on. And short mid week breaks via train to places in the UK. Plenty of clubs and socialising with other children.

I somewhat follow the classical approach to education so we also spend time on languages (french and spanish) and ancient history/mythology etc, and when he's older we'll do greek and latin. And we do geography - at this age we learn some basic facts about other countries and he finds out where they are on our world map, and we'll then do a craft activity based on that country and choose a recipe to cook together.

We live in a flat with no outdoor space but we also grow plants and flowers together on windowsills and he has a few indoor plants he looks after himself.

Hope that helps. Please feel free to PM me if any questions.

Can't speak on transition to secondary personally as obviously my son is only small, but various experiences from my homeschooling groups that I know of are:

• child tried secondary, wasn't for them, continued being homeschooled (did v well academically!)
• child tried secondary, loved it, no bother transitioning (also did well)
• child never wanted to try secondary (again did well academically)

I've heard nothing but positive outcomes in that respect from families who have actively chosen homeschooling because it's right for them and their DC, and not just because they've been forced from state ed due to bullying or similar issues. I put a hell of a lot of thought and research into it before I did it, we both genuinely love it and I make a massive effort to cultivate DS's relationships with other children. And we aren't closed to school one day, but equally I'm prepared to home ed him right through to the end if that is what he would like.

It's hard to answer your question about a typical day, as there's so much freedom, you could have each day being different. You just find what works best for your family. If that's being spontaneous, you can do that. If your child likes routine, you establish a routine, and do that.

With regard to social development. I think home education is much better than school. Children learn social behaviours by copying what they see and hear. So, the ideal way for children to learn to be sociable is to have adults positively interacting with them, and interacting positively with each other in front of children. This ideal scenario rarely happens at school from what I have observed (I used to be a school governor and my last job also involved making school observations).

In home education meet-ups, in contrast, the ratio of adults to children is high. There is plenty of opportunity for home educated children to see adults showing pro-social behaviours.
Obviously, there will be times when children annoy each other in any setting, but you are more likely to be around to see what happened before, during and after, so you'll be able to talk to your child about what happened. This isn't possible in school either, really, from what I have seen.

Regarding group meet-ups: yes, there are lots within a half hour drive of where I live. So many, in fact, that there is not enough time in the week and many of them clash. This means we can pick and choose what to go to. If you live in a more isolated, rural place, then you may not have as many home educators living near enough for there to be this wealth of choice. I'd recommend finding a local home educating group (lots of them on Facebook) to find what's going on near you.

You can, of course, still access lots of groups that schooled children go to - my son has been to a Saturday music school run by the peripatetic teachers that do lessons in school during the week; St. John Ambulance cadets; swimming lessons and other sports groups.

As for starting secondary after being home educated, I do know a few families that did this. Some found it easy; some found it initially difficult but persisted and are now happy at school; some hated secondary school and switched back to home education.

I have a 9 year old and a 5 year old, neither of whom have been to school.

A typical day with home education is quite hard to explain because there's so much variety, both between different families and from day to day and through the seasons within a family. But I'll have a go. We get up fairly late, then over breakfast I read something to them (maybe our current historical fiction, something in Spanish, or lately it's been a series of books on the continents). Over the rest of the morning we alternate learning that I direct with free time for them (they normally choose reading, puzzles, drawing, or they play together or individually). If the weather is nice we'll sit on the swing seat in the garden while I read to them, or take our maths to the park. Most of our learning is reading or game based, as that's what suits my children - we don't use worksheets. Each day we cover maths, English, science, history /geography /religion /politics, and Spanish /German /BSL, and my eldest does piano practice. But we only do roughly 15 minutes of each, as we find little and often works well and home ed is so efficient compared with school. Afternoons we usually go out somewhere. Typical week: park with friends a couple of days, archery club, home ed trampolining session, drama group. We do other home ed groups, such as local museum trips, science sessions, trip to the local fire station, as and when. And arrange trips further afield maybe once or twice a month, to zoos, museums, etc. There are lots of great local events too. We get to see more of extended family as well, as we don't have to work around school.

I'd say it's fantastic for social development. Confident children happy in large groups will find lots of meet ups like that, where lots of families meet at the park or something and the children all just play, but children who need smaller groups can arrange that too, and be actively taught how to handle social situations as they arise rather than sink-or-swim like at school. Home ed children are a varied bunch but IME get along very well across age groups, both sexes, NT or SEN, backgrounds, etc. Twice I've seen at a home ed meet a spontaneous football game develop between a group of 8-10 children aged 3 to 12 ish, boys and girls. The older ones made sure the toddlers had a turn, there was no sexism against the girls playing, the older or more skilled basked in the admiration of the younger and in return taught them. It's not always that wonderful, but it's pretty common ime, if you find the right local groups.

We like to be started by 8 so that our afternoon is free, and we do a full morning's work then eat lunch. We do a minimum of 4 subjects per day with breaks when needed, then go to the park or on a long walk. In normal times, we try to sign up for at least 3 sports classes per week for the social side.

Socially, it works best (IMO) for those who are prepared to network, find local groups or travel for groups, or have a strong social network already through church etc. but it can take a bit of trial and error to find your tribe.

With social skills and secondary, I think it is down to the child's resilience and confidence by that age and whether it is their choice to try school at that point. (Also if the school is able to meet any SEN). Most seem to stay in once they start secondary so that seems positive.