home education with young children

[gairdeachas]

Hi,

I have 3 children aged 6, 4 and 2. The oldest is at school, next due to start in August (I live in Scotland). I have always had an interest in home education, as I am not keen on "school" and have found out all the regs relating to Scotland.

I would really like to give it a go, but am not sure how to manage with the children being so young and all needing quite a lot of attention during the day, for different things!

I can see how child centered learning can work with older children who are able to do some reading / activities on their own, but I am not sure I can manage looking after my 3 24/7, providing some educational stimulation and do the housework!

Are there any home-educators out there with 3 (or more) children who have home-eded from a young age? Any thoughts / advice / how you manage your day would be great!

Thanks

Katherine

Hi Katherine, mine are 3 1/2, 1 and due in Sep 09, so I'm not quite where you are yet, but we're definately planning on it.

A close friend of mine is home edding her 5, 4 and 2 year olds - she found that while they were so young, an hour or two in the morning was all she wanted to do 'formally' with her oldest, while the youngest napped and the middle one either played near them or listened in. The rest of the time they did things together - I think she would say it's not easy, but definitely worth it.

Paula's Archives is a great place to go for ideas of how to occupy littlies while you're doing things with older kids.

Good luck!

I have 3 boys, 5.5, 2.5 and just 1 and have been HEding since September. I did really struggle with this problem to start with, mostly because, despite lots of reading, I tried to do something 'workbooky' every day. Now we rarely look at workbooks and it's easier.
We go out a lot to HE groups and the younger ones love being able to run round with older children and the older one gets some more mature company. We've found some local families that we can do things like nature walks or occasionally craft sessions with and share toddler care in one corner, while older ones work at table. We go on arranged museum trips with home ed sessions and I tend to make sure there is someone else we know going, so I can leave DS1 with them and nip out when littlies get bored.
We do quite a lot of talking about numbers, because he likes to talk about them and will sometimes ask for mental arithmetic problems. He's happy doing these, but would rebel if I tried to sit him down with a sheet of sums. In fact most of the learning is talking about stuff when we're out and about.
I do let him stay up later than I would if we weren't HE'ding, partly because it is the only time we get to do stuff uninterrupted, we use the time to play cards, games, read books etc., but this does mean I don't get so much evening to myself.
We do craft things that 2.5yo can sort of join in (with varying degrees of success and often horrendous amount of mess). We sometimes do 'science' experiments, like stuff with vinegar and bicarb etc. which tend to be a bit chaotic and stressful, because of the littlies. A friend also sometimes does a 'science club' for DS1 and 2 other children.
He does quite a lot on the computer that he can do by himself, Education City and he's learning to read using Easyread lessons. We have various educational dvd's.
He will do drawing and maybe a very little bit of writing at the table while the little ones play on the floor for 10 minutes. I do plonk them in front of CBeebies if there's something I really want to do with DS1. He's also starting to go off and do stuff himself and this is often the most productive stuff, he'll occasionally try and write me a note and he'll often follow instructions and do a lego model or make a model out of paper.
There are quite a lot of books that all the children will listen to together while I read. DS1 also have audio books which have been great. They all enjoy going to the library. DS1 also does some afterschool type clubs by himself, French, drama, swimming.
The housework is a difficult one. I don't really have any answers for that, but the HE thing is definitely do-able with 3. I also love not having to get all 3 dressed and out the house to be at school (it was nursery for us until July) for 8.50pm. It's worth reading some HE blogs, by people doing it with 5 or 6 children for inspiration.

hi we have 6,3 and 1, we do lots of reading, playing and groups, the 16 month old loves to draw, the 3 year old just plays, listens in on reading and joins in activities. it has its moments when it is a stressful, but its finding a balance that works for your own family

Hello

I have four DDs aged nearly 6, 4, 2 and 6m. We always aimed to be very autonomous in our approach, so have never done any planning or any lessons or anything formal at all. I'm pleased to say that I quite clearly don't need to either - DD1 and DD2 know loads about all sorts of things. DD1 can read and is very good at maths. Just like they learnt to talk and walk without me making time for formal lessons, they're also learning all the other things needed for living in our culture (and more) without me doing any formal lessons.

Housework? I do Flylady and find it really, really helps when I manage to get over the patronising, gushy tone of it

Hi
I only have 2 kids but I must admit I found it quite daunting when I pulled DS1 out of preschool. He can be very demanding and is extremely lively. But I've found I've really settled into things as the months have gone on ... what seemed hard to start with has now become a lot more relaxed ... of course I still have bad days!

I find "rest time" after lunch is essential for me and DS1 .. it gives us both a chance to unwind and me a chance to catch up on jobs and have a cup of tea! I had to insist on it to start with but now DS1 loves it and he stays in his room for an hour after lunch usually looking at books or playing with his train set. There's quite a bit in some of the home ed books on how kids actually thrive with a bit of time by themselves to think etc.

See this post here

Alice
www.ifnotschool.blogspot.com/

Hello Katherine.
I'm home edding my 12 year old daughter (with SEN) but have a 1 year old toddler as well. Both can be extremely demanding but somehow we are managing to cope.
Have you been in touch with Schoolhouse?

They may be able to put you in touch with other home educators in your area and it might be worthwhile asking if you can spend half a day with another home educator with young children to see how they organise their day.

Hiya Katherine,
I have 4 children, 6.5, 5, 2 & 6 weeks old.
We've been HE'ing for just over 2 years now.
The 24/7 thing was my main concern when we first started but it hasn't really been an issue if I'm honest.
I worried about taking 3 of them to the shops, little things like that.
When we dereg'd our Dd1 (4.5 at the time) I was 7mo pg with ds2 and we just took things easy for the first 6 months. She was deschooling and we were adjusting as a family to having another baby.
We did lots of craft and art, we still do, and although we started off quite formal, we have migrated towards a more autonomous approach.
We read together a lot in the early days, painted, sorted laundry together, shopped from lists, played on websites, visited family and friends.
WRT housework, it just gets done, maybe not the way you're used to, but it gets done It's a slower all-day process rather than house spotless by 10am approach. Tidy as we go, floors washed when they're in bed. Dishes put in d/w on a night. Washer loaded overnight and set away in the morning, beds made after breakfast. Bigger jobs wait until the weekend when Dh is at home.
Everyone helps out in our house. The children have jobs to do, like putting their laundry away, tidying their rooms, plates away, setting the table that kind of thing.

Now they are getting a little older we do a bit more of the same. Things will just find a routine of their own.

I home ed ds3 who is 8 hes never been to school.

We also home schooled ds1 and 2 for 3 years each at different times -what tends to work for us is a fairly structured morning of written/maths/topic work etc....as the dc get older and can work unaided I leave them to their own devices for 20 mins whilst I whip round a bedroom so for example I may set ds3 a page of maths problems and I say 'work on these until I come down' -that way I get a chance to do my jobs and ds3 gets the opportunity to work alone ....same for reading I may see read these 2 paragraphs then answer the questions and I will check.

At about 11.30 its been quite an intense morning and then we unwind a little by walking the dog getting a snack then we set about the afternoon this may involve craft/science/computer or that good old fashioned thing play.....during which I hoover and dust etc ......

WRT housework im either a short sharp blitzer or an all day grazer...a schedule just doesnt work here.

I home ed 5 children, aged 11,9,4,3 and 2 and it's fun. Busy, tiring but extremely fulfilling and fun. Some have been to school or nursery for a short while but due to bullying and other stuff we have them all at home.They have free access to books, papers, anything they want or need to study. If they need to discuss something then we are there to do so but they are pretty much autonomous.
Don't worry. Oh and we don't manage the day as such. We go with the flow and it works for us. I'd love to say it's easy but it isnt. It's just fun. And they're all happy, which is what counts.

nappyelite Id like to chat with you about h.e .....do u wanna exchange emails???

Hi yes sure. i'm on littlekiwi156 at hotmail dot co dot uk.

Nappyelite would you mind if I send you an email as well? Thinking of Home Ed and want to talk to someone who is doing it with the age gaps.

That's fine. No problem.

you can then lend me Gok to sort my wardrobe

wouldn't we all love our own personal Gok's

Thank you very much, will email you tomorrow.

Thanks for all your replies, sorry has taken me a while to read all these but I have been unwell - better now! You have filled me with optimism that it is possible. And yes, when I think about all the stuff my children know about that has just been through asking questions and "picking things up", it is amazing...certainly they know a load of stuff they wouldn't be doing about at school!