100 Days of Home Ed #LoveHomeEd – Day 54 (Lynne)

I’m Lynne and I home educate B, my only child, who is 7. We love to get out and about and cram as much as we can into our lives. We’re big nature fans, and spend a lot of time outside walking our crazy beagle Stripe. When we’re not roaming the fields, you’ll probably find us in London in the museums.

We’ve been home educating for a little over a year. It was on my radar before B started school as a potential option should we not get the school we wanted. Bullying, and some issues with supporting B with potential dyspraxia, led to us removing him from our chosen school in the end anyway.

I’ve dipped in and out of styles. We tried unschooling and its not for us. We both end up a little stressed and B asked me to provide more structure for him. He find out it really tricky to direct himself, although he has always been very confident in making his own decisions. I think because he knows he’d like to go to secondary school, he worries he may not be doing enough. We’ve looked a little at Charlotte Mason, but have settled into our own semi structured routine. We have goals of work we’d like to achieve over a few week period, and we factor in plenty of days out and hands on learning. Should a fabulous opportunity pop up we wouldn’t turn it down in favour of our routine, but without the structure we both end up feeling a little lost.

B has a lot of hobbies so our week is roughly scheduled around swimming, ballet, modern dance, drama, ice skating, performing group and tap. We normally meet up with other families once or twice a week, either for something planned like an educational trip, or for some informal fun. I usually look at where we can fit in some formal maths, English, and science during the week to make sure we stay abreast of where we want to be. B absolutely loves sitting down with his books, learning from an educational app or working with me so its never a chore.

A recent highlight of our home ed life would be a trip to the Celtic Harmony Camp in Hertford. It was arranged with a group of home edders we’d not met before, and we had the best time. New friends for both of us, and an opportunity to do something we wouldn’t have previously considered.

Personally I love the freedom that home education gives us. We can follow so many of B’s interests, and he can learn at a pace that suits him. He works a few years ahead in maths, and I love that he can explore as much and as far as he likes at home. Being solely in charge of your child’s education can be daunting, as the onus is on you to get it right, but its worth the challenge.