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New to home Education – Our Journey
Catherine J.
Our family is made up of me (Catherine, 37), dad (Darren, 40), Noah (son, seven), Joy (daughter, five) and Jemima (daughter, four).
We have been home educating since January 2022. It was prompted by the uncertainty of how schools would fare throughout the pandemic, and the difficulties associated with remote learning.
We decided it would be easier to set our own, less disrupted course that could fit more easily around my work needs. Being able to address several learning areas through one activity would also make it easier.
My understanding of home education has grown. I am leaning more towards a child-led, spontaneous learning plan, based heavily on their interests and incorporating activities to explore and develop a new understanding of their leanings and capabilities. It is also heavily focused on social capability and self-regulation skills.
The grandparents may have been tentative at first, but have since noticed articles about the benefits of home education and also observed a sense of calm in the children.
I believe that children are naturally curious. Having the extra time to investigate their world and their ideas has created opportunities for them to explore their curiosities. I am reminded to focus on their wonderings and to help them in their spontaneity and through the provision of the supports and resources that they need.
The greatest advantage of home education for us is that it has provided many opportunities to talk about mindfulness and self regulation (as we have undiagnosed ADHD – the children are always excellent at school but struggle upon re-entry to home).
We can achieve our learning aims with accommodation for their needs and have a calm house at the end of the day. I am also loving the many ‘aha’ moments and coping skills that our children have learned and been able to apply successfully, and can visibly see their development in this area from the start of the term to now.
The highlight is all the life stories and lessons that come up in discussions as we go on our adventures each week. I am also loving seeing the children have time to pursue and enjoy their interests.
The main difficulty in home education for us has been with finding a consistent social circle, especially for my oldest who had loved school and been quite popular and well received. They are just now starting to make friends in their new extracurricular activities, such as scouts, and their involvement in children’s church provides weekly opportunities to gather and work together with peers.
We are a very multicultural family, made up of Chinese, Indian, Malaysian, Sri-Lankan, Russian and Nigerian heritage, which is great for the commencement of our culture project!
We have been sharing our journey via this Facebook page if you’re interested .
Otherways 172 (May 2022)