new to this-thinking about home ed!

[CheesedOfsted]

We're thinking of home ed for our dc just about to go into Year 1- mostly because am already worried about the emphasis on rote learning, exam passing, league tables, Ofsted box ticking etc etc in current school...dc had a great time in Reception because of the (relative) freedom and "learning thro play" emphasis in the Foundation Stage but think dc will find KS1 a lot less engaging and fun...I'm dreading it!

Thing is there are more inclusive schools in our area which have a different ethos and seem to be much more keen on treating children as individuals, allowing more freedom, nurture etc, than ours. however we hope to move in next year so would be dreadful to put dc in new school only to uproot again months later!- so home ed looks like a good possible option for at least the next year.

We are completely new to it tho and don't know anyone else home edding, so would love it if people could give any info about starting out. thing that concerns me most is- how do you try and let your kids meet all sorts of other kids?at the mo school is a very diverse setting which we love- but I know there's a perception that HE is very middle class and white...is this true??I don't really want dc brought up in a single culture...on the other hand I'm pretty sure altho I'm not a teacher I could provide dc with interesting, enjoyable education and willingness/enthusiasm to learn!

...sorry if I sound ignorant- is because I am!Sorry also about being a bit thin on detail (have also namechanged)- this is because have been caught out by school before posting anonymously on another forum about another matter-they take a dim view of HE and think I'm a nutter anyway so don't want to get pinched again iykwim

Hi CheesedOfsted
There are a few threads that I'll bump up again now, that contain info for people new to home ed.

Have a look and then come back with any more questions.
Folks here will be happy to help.

thanks Julie have already scanned through them before posting but will have a proper look!

am trying to find a local-ish contact without much luck- difficult as can't specify my area due to school paranioa!!

Hi again CheesedOfsted

If you want to you can ontact me through the contact link on our local Home Ed website

emails sent will come straight to my inbox and I'll do my best to help you find HE folks in your area.

preferably today though as I'm probably going to a friends place to house sit tomorrow evening for a few days.

thanks again Julienoshoes- have just emailed you...

don't worry if you can't reply tonight tho- it can wait till you get back

shameless bump for any other home edders to talk about starting out...ah go on!

I think for one thing, I'd say not to fret too much about whether your DC will have a problem with school till it happens - it's a good idea to know about HE as a backup plan if there are problems, but you don't have to go looking for them in advance. He/she may not be bothered by Yr1 anyway, and if you're already looking at schools in another area then you may well have moved before they get too far into the "teaching to the test" mentality.

When you get info about the HE groups in your area, you can go along and see if they are diverse or not - these things always vary.

But if those groups don't give a mix of families, then remember you can still go to all the other things outside of school where your DC can mix - sports clubs, beavers, etc.

Thanks muminscotland I know you're right- it's more me with the prob with school than dc at the mo (eg sobbing quietly in bed with dp at thought of school routine etc starting up again)- have seen dc blossom over the hol, being free but learning, learning, learning for fun- asking questions that i have time to answer (rather than my stock "in a minute" response I give in term time when I'm frantically trying to do tea/do bedtime/bathtime/getting up time etc etc)...

am waiting for response from local groups and will check them out when I get them.

Where are you Cheesed?

we're in london and have just done our first year of HE, with our eldest son who would also be about to go into year 1 if he was in school.
There are lots of HE groups around in London and DS has been mixing with children from lots of different backgrounds, nationalities and religions. I think there's more diversity than at our local primary school. Families with at least one parent born outside UK seem more willing to question our education system (and also value being able to go and visit family abroad when they want to).
We've both really enjoyed our year of HE. DS says he always wants to be HE, although I try to encourage him to have a positive view of school as who knows what the future holds. We've definitely been more relaxed than when he was at nursery every day. I can see that he's learnt loads and had a lot of fun and made lots of new friends. I was very scared when we decided to HE and it wasn't an easy decision, but it has worked well so far for us.

Thanks lilyfire have gone from seeing home ed as a desperate Last Resort a few months ago to a "We can do this" sort of thing, and dp who was quite against it at first is now actually bringing it up in conversation as a positive option!!

Tell you what tho we wouldn't have made this progress if it wasn't for mn, and seeing that so many people do it happily and successfully. A while ago, before I got disillusioned with primary ed, I was very very pro school and v anti home ed- thought it was all cranks and nutters, or people who couldn't let their kids go into the Big Wide World. I have revised my thinking pretty drastically

Yes, I remember having a conversation about HE a few years ago which ended with me saying 'but of course I could never do it'.
I then went from thinking we'd do it for a few months until a school place came up, as a 'stop gap' to being convinced that it could work for the whole of the children's education, if other circumstances permit.
It helped loads going to HE groups to start with and seeing people who'd been doing it for a while - especially meeting people with older children who were on their way to uni.
We do various after school type clubs and DS socialises there as well. I think he has more energy to do these than he would if he was at school.

Hi CheesedOfsted
We HE our ds1 who is 5 and would be about to go into yr 1 too. I remember well how enormous the decision felt to make last year, even though all my instincts were telling me HE was the right thing for him. Just a year later, I have no regrets about trusting those instincts and don't feel any wobbles about him not going 'back to school' as I did about him NOT starting last year. I find that when I have any moments of doubt, I just have to picture the opposite scenario and I know immediately that it wouldn't be right for him.
For educational ideas, I find the yahoo group groups.yahoo.com/group/EarlyYearsHE/
really supportive and helpful.
There is also uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/homeeducatingmumsnetters/
which is not very active but if you post on there I'm sure plenty of supportive people will answer and you can be more open than on a public forum like this one.
In answer to your concern about your dc meeting a variety of people, I agree with other posters that it is entirely possible with HE. I think my ds has met at least as wide a range of people, including different nationalities and backgrounds, as he would at our rural village primary school (and his best friend lives next door and goes to that school). I'm sure as he gets older he will meet even more people at clubs and through sports etc.
How does your dc feel about going back/not going back?

sorry, my links never work

Thanks Lilyfire and bananabrain. You can't imagine what a boost it is for me to read these posts. Specially when it's the last day of the holiday and three days till I have to hand my lively enthusiastic free thinking dc back to the Sats Factory