As we've mentioned before, we're going to start sharing general Home Ed information on the page and on our Blog; some of this will be aimed at those curious about Home Ed, those who are considering it or those who have just started, while other posts will be helpful to those Home Educators who may be reaching new stages or need a little support.
Feel free to message us with any questions you have!
Anyway, here goes!
There are many reasons why families choose to Home Educate.
It massively depends on the individuals in question.
Sometimes it can be because the child has had a tough time in school, others it's simply because the family wants to have the freedom to learn together!
One huge bonus of Home Education is that it can be tailored to the individual child and the needs of the family.
I'm sure we can all agree that a person who CHOOSES to learn something is far more likely to do so than a person who is made to learn it. Home Educated children do not have to follow a set curriculum (although some families choose to and that's great for them!), they are free to explore their interests and do what brings them joy.
... We've found that those who have never experienced a forced education tend to be far more keen to learn and often have a natural curiosity that really gets them fired up in our classes.
Home Educating families also tend to do their learning in much smaller doses; some choose to do only one or two 'classes' a day, others chose topic based education where they explore a certain topic in depth before moving onto another. Some choose short learning sessions, where they do 20-30mins of focused learning and some unschool and allow the child to take control.
... I think most families use a mixture of techniques.
We're a rather varied bunch, and the freedom is wonderful!
Home Educators often take the child's own learning style into account; some learn best from hands-on activities and those children can focus on that, some children learn best through watching and so may learn best from watching others or using videos, some kids are auditory learners and learn best through discussion... their learning may look like they're 'just' having lots of conversations, but those conversations are actually the basis of their learning.
It's great that we're able to meet each child's needs and support them in a way that is truly helpful.
There are no set hours that we have to follow, so everyone is learning and doing things at times that suit them... For my family (Nic, here!) this means that most of our mornings are spent chilling out and in the afternoon we do a class with WBHE or something topic based, or we may head out with friends.
In the evenings we often do family activities and enjoy each others company.
It's a really nice rhythm.
What does a day look like for you?