Has anyone ever considered home educating?

[spidermama]

Apparently one in a hundred kids is home educated these days and the number's growing all the time.

I've just come back from a lovely little family festival in Somerset where most of the kids were home edders. There's something charming and different about them. It's similar to the difference between city and country kids if anyone knows what I mean. They seemed to be really comfortable with who they are. There's no sign of pressure to conform and they all seemed to be individual, unguarded, talented, non-judgemental in a way that city schoolkids aren't.

They were friendly with each other, welcomed my daughter immediately, hung out together in a pack. They seemed to be having a great time and there was hardly any trouble or tension from them.

My children go to a really good primary in a 'good' area but I'm so loving the summer holidays, and I find my kids are much nicer to me and to each other during holiday time. They also learn and grow more in the home environment.

I'm really begin to resent the looming school term time. I think they're too young to be herded around in uniform five days a week. The biggest thing they seem to learn is to wait their turn and bear the frustration. I don't think that's such a great life lesson at this age.

For over a year now I've been tinkering with the idea of home educating.

Does anyone feel the same?

[jayzmummy]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!

Ive home educated DS2 for the past year and although it was tough I enjoyed every minute.

He is going to Special School part time in Sept and I am going to miss him so much

Check out the Education Otherwise website for info on home edding.

[spidermama]

Thanks jayzmummy. Well done you. Was it a tough choice?

I did register with the EO website but found I was getting around 50 emails a day all from people chatting to each other and they all seemed to know each other so I was frightened away. Will have another look.

My biggest worry is that I have four kids age 7, 5, 3 and 6 months. Am I being unrealistic?

[spidermama]

Feffi I know what you mean but the HE community is growing fast so there's plenty of company out there.
Some of the people I talked to at the festival said many home ed kids go to school to do GCSE's without problems.

[moondog]

spidermama,you're back!How was the festival? What did you mean by strawberry moon? I did see it,it was amazing,but wondered if this was a formal term?

Re home educating...I was for a few years as we lived in a remote part of the Tropics and I do a little now with my 4 year old as we are abroad.
The Observer had a good article about this about 4 months ago. Only thing that worries me is lack of opportunity to be with other kids. Also,isn't life about dealing with less than ideal situations as well as ideal ones!?

[spidermama]

Hello MD. Festival was sheer magic. I wish life were a festival. (sigh) Nice people. Organic food. No kids pointing and saying 'yuk'. No 'wholemeal bread' isolation. Ahhhh! Women feeding toddlers openly. Breasts everywhere. Mooncups hanging out to dry, (No, I'm exacgerating now).

I don't think home edders lack the opportunity to be with others, simply because there are so many of them these days. Yes they're still the minority, but that's fine with me.

I think there'll always be plenty of opportunity to deal with situations which aren't ideal, but being forced into the mainstream, when you're not the type, five days a week, is a little extreme.

My main worry is that I have four kids so it would be pretty full on.

[spidermama]

Feffi the home edders I talked to seemed to think there were very few transitional worries for those who opted back into education, and they were balanced out by the child's excellent sense of worth and sense of self. I suppose it depends where you are. There seem to be lots of home edders in Brighton so there'd be strength in numbers.

[ZoeC]

I used to love school and wouldn't have missed it, despite being bullied for most of the time, so I'll give the dd's a go at school first, but I would Home Ed if they were unhappy, and I would want to be as involved as I can in what they're doing. I do think activities outside the home are invaluable, but then I imagine there are ways of linking up with other home edders for activities.

There are certainly lots of things available to help home-edding - Popsycal has just started up a business selling educational aids for home edders, teachers and parents - I just got some pre-writing stuff for my dd which is great and I'd like to carry on doing those kind of activities with dd1.

However, staying at home full time beyond the 7 years I'll be doing as it is, don't know. I actually want to retrain and become a maths teacher so it would need a lot of thinking about.

[moondog]

I liked the mooncup thing too! Yes,you always feel like that after afestival don't you? Sort of..why can't the world always be this nice.

(Still interested in the strawberry moon!)

[jayzmummy]

There are so many families that HO that you soon build up a network of families with which you can organise field trips, social gatherings etc.

Personally I would have preferred to continue HO DS2 as he has acheievd more in the last year at home with me than he had in the previous 4 years he had been in school.

Due to a change in circumstances I can no longer HO on a full time basis and Ds2 is attending Special School part time with the hope that he will be full time by Christmas. if it all goes pear shaped then DS2 will stay at home and be HO by both my DH and I on a rota system.

All of the children I have met who are HO have been very grounded, well balanced children who are all acheiving well...if not better than they would be in mainstream schooling.

[spidermama]

MD ....I seem remember from my pre-children, even more hippyish days, the August moon is called the strawberry moon as it's so red and apparently low. I'll try to check this though. It was rather beautiful wasn't it?

[moondog]

Fantastic,and dare I say it,better still here in the remote mountains of eastern Turkey. Sky is amazingly clear!

[spidermama]

I can only imagine MD. It was pretty gorgeous in Somerset with Glastonbury Tor on the horizon.

I'm hugely embarrassed to say I got the 'strawberry moon' thing wrong. Strawberry is in fact the June full moon. Hippy credentials down the pan.

Going to chant for forgiveness.

Ohm. Ohm.

[moondog]

And there was me,earnestly telling countless Turks about the strawberry moon! (We were at a wedding that night and everyone was commenting on it!)

God,for years to come,English speakers from Eastern Anatolia will be talking about strawberry moons while native speakers smile and nod and secretly think 'Eh???'

[Norash]

I have thought about home educating my son since he was born, mainly for the reasons stated by spidermama.

He is going to nursery soon, so my mind might change but as things stand he will be home schooled.

[dejags]

Not quite the same but I will need to think about carrying on with my sons education while we are travelling (currently deciding whether or not to undertake a 3/4 month trip).

He will only be 5 so I wonder if it will be necessary or if he will be ok to catch up when we get back?

[dejags]

Feffi, round the world. South Africa, England, New York, San Fran, Hawaii, China, Japan, Singapore & Malaysia.

Probably more than enough education if I think about it. I just worry about reading/writing etc. I wouldn't want him to be behind the others when we get back.

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[ZoeC]

feffi - you can CAT her for details or email [email protected]

[firestorm]

i would love to home ed our two dds & im dreading september but like Pruni, i dont think that i would be up to it & couldnt give the children what they deserve. dh on the other hand would be great at it, but unfortunately hes the one that earns the money.