Are you considering homeschooling your child?
I am often asked the question ‘when did you decide to home school your children?’ In all honesty, I can’t remember the actual time. The first year of becoming a mother was a bit of a blur. I can imagine the thought started when Luca, my eldest son, was diagnosed with severe eczema and multiple food allergies. Being in and out of the hospital, I started to question pretty much everything. I read a lot. I asked a lot of questions. And I started to reflect on my own personal experiences in the classroom as a primary school teacher. Over time I decided that homeschooling was the right path for my family.
It does not mean, however, that my decision of homeschooling is the right one. This is the decision that is right for my family and it works best for us. Only you and your family can make such a big decision.
And it is a big decision to make! It took me a while to really feel confident in our choice. When you step out of ‘the norm’ it is easy to doubt yourself.
I wanted to share the questions I asked myself before I really felt I made the right choice.
1. Why are you considering homeschooling?
Finding your ‘why’ is the key to really understanding why you are even considering homeschooling. Over the years, I have added many reasons to my ‘why’, which means my list is pretty long. But it gives me more confidence in knowing I have made the right decision for my family.
2. Where to begin?
I don’t actually think I knew that homeschooling was an option before becoming a mother. It just wasn’t ever in my radar. Another big question was, is it even legal in the UK? In short the answer is yes!
“You can teach your child at home, either full or part-time. This is called home education (sometimes ‘elective home education’ or ‘home schooling’).
You must make sure your child receives a full-time education from the age of 5, but you do not have to follow the national curriculum.”
Fo more information click on the link GOV.UK
https://www.gov.uk/home-education
3. Do you have support?
My first challenge was convincing my husband that this was the best option for our family. Once I knew my ‘why’ it made it easier for me to communicate. Even with a background in education I still felt I had to fully know my ‘why’ and explain…in detail.
Homeschooling in the UK is growing and there are lots of community groups, many can be found on Facebook. From London to Dorset we have joined lots of homeschool groups and made some amazing, life long friends.
4. Does homeschooling need to look like school?
Not at all! You do need to consider what kind of education you would like your child to have though. But there are lots of options. As well as taking on most of the responsibility of homeschooling by choosing and executing the curriculum that is right for you and your child, you could also opt for a tutor or use a flexi-school or micro-school, if you live close to either.
My children are Reception and Year 2 age. We share life experiences together, we read, we play, they attend our Happy Healthy Juniors Micro-School twice a week (just 2 hours a day), we continue with the activities from our Online Creative Curriculum which is inspired by the children. A few days a week we spend 10 minutes on 100 Gentle Lessons and 10 minutes on their Mathematics book. This is what works for us and they are making excellent progress.
Remember you know your child best and you know your home circumstance, so go with your intuition and confidence in deciding the right choice for your family.
Good luck with whatever decision you make.
Sending lots of love and light,
Seran x