Can I ask a few nosey questions please?

[siblingrivalry]

Hi

I have been HEdding dd1 since January and it is going really well -we are both really enjoying it.
There are just a couple of things I am a bit curious about and I don't really like to ask RL HE friends - so can I ask here please?

1. DD seems to have quite a few periods in the day when we have done the 'work' stuff and she is just amusing herself -reading/drawing etc. Does this mean I should have more activities etc planned, or is it something all HE dc do?

1. Sometimes I have days (today being one of them) when I am worn out and could do with a bit of p and q. It doesn't mean that I don't want to be doing HE- I love it - but I sometimes miss the feeling of an empty house IYKWIM. Am I alone in this?

Many thanks for any advice or opinions.x

1. totally normal and beneficial for a child to have lots of time to daydream/play/'work' according to their own agenda

1. Not alone. Build yourself up some nice HE friends with whom you can exchange children for an afternoon on a regular basis (I mean, so all the children are together and one mum has some alone time, not just swopping children because that would be silly!)

or, use the 1. time to get your dose of 2. ?

1. deffo normal to have quiet periods where they can please themselves. They need that time (as well as you of course )

1. We all have those days, luckily my parents help out. But I am not sure what age your DD is but i take DS swimming and he enjoys that while i sit at the side wsith large latte and complimentary newspaper!

DS is 12 - we only do more formal work in the mornings. Afternoons are spent doing whatever the dayt brings. Walks, sports, visiting, shopping, baking or even slumped infront of the tv.

Thanks for replying. DD is 8. She has some SN, which can impact on socialising etc -it's getting better, though, and she is starting to want to get out and about a bit.

We also do the majority of formal stuff in the mornings, when dd2 is at pre-school. The general volume tends to go up when she's at home!

It's reassuring to know that it's okay to have lots of down time. I think I need to relax a bit and make the most of the quiet periods.

I think I have just hit a brick wall today, I'm tired and could have done witha day lazing on the sofa with a cuppa and some chocolate

I'll put the kettle on

1. We don't do any formal stuff and my children seem to be learning loads no problem - maybe read some stuff about informal/autonomous learning to reassure yourself about the stuff that doesn't look like learning but probably is!

1. Yes, very normal! That's what the electronic babysitter tv is for!

We have never done formal stuff either-just followed the childrens interests and there was lots of down time-whenever they wanted it!

Children got up to the level of A levels OU course by doing just that!

Might be worth having a read of Alan Thomas' 'How Children Learn at Home'

Product Description
In his "Educating Children at Home", Alan Thomas found that many home educating families chose or gravitated towards an informal style of education, radically different from that found in schools. Such learning, also described as unschooling, natural or autonomous, takes place without most of the features considered essential for learning in school. At home there is no curriculum or sequential teaching, nor are there any lessons, textbooks, requirements for written work, practice exercises, marking or testing. But how can children who learn in this way actually achieve an education on a par with what schools offer? In this new research, Alan Thomas and Harriet Pattison seek to explain the efficacy of this alternative pedagogy through the experiences of families who have chosen to educate their children informally.Based on interviews and extended examples of learning at home the authors explore: the scope for informal learning within children's everyday lives; the informal acquisition of literacy and numeracy; the role of parents and others in informal learning; and, how children proactively develop their own learning agendas. Their investigation provides not only an insight into the powerful and effective nature of informal learning but also presents some fundamental challenges to many of the assumptions underpinning educational theory. This book will be of interest to education practitioners, researchers and all parents, whether their children are in or out of school, offering as it does fascinating insights into the nature of children's learning.

Thnanks for the advice, everyone. I've been reading the John Holt book and my thinking is revolutionised (sp?)
Glad I am also not the only one to resort to the tv!