Introduction
Hi, I’m Amanda (36) I have a passion for photography, nature, nutrition and history. I’m currently doing an online course in Nutrition and Health. I’m married to David (37) who is a self-employed painter and decorator, fantastic at DIY and woodwork and an avid gamer ! We have 4 boys aged 12, 11, 10 and 6.
How long have you home educated for and why did you decide to do it?
Our boys have never been to school. I started looking into Home education when our eldest son was about 2 years old. I loved everything I read about home educating and thought it would really suit our family and way of life. Initially I was only planning to home educate our children until the age of 7 but we all loved it so much that we have just continued.
Briefly describe your home ed style. Do you have a ‘typical’ week and what does it include if so?
I like to be quite organised and plan things so we have always had a semi-structured but flexible timetable. We mostly learn by doing projects together, I say ‘we’ as I have learnt so much myself alongside my boys.
What was your highlight of home ed last week?
Last week went away to Cornwall. We did a lot of exploring and visiting hidden gems ! We went to the beautiful Golitha falls, walked through the most enchanting woodland to Lansallos beach and visted Bodmin jail.
What is your favourite thing about home edding your children?
I have so many favourite things about home educating ! I get to spend so much time with my children. We can spend as much time as we like learning about a particular topic, sometimes we spend hours just discussing things, which I feel is the most important part of truly learning and taking in information. I myself have learnt so much and discovered what I am really interested in. We are free to do what we want when we want in our own time and as a bonus places are always so much quieter in term time!
What do you find most difficult and why?
The thing I find most difficult about home educating is making sure that I give each of my boys enough time and attention. I worry sometimes if I am doing the right thing by them but I guess this is something that just comes with parenting!
What advice would you give to other home educators?
My advice to new Home educators would be this: Enjoy the freedom you have and time you get to spend with your children. Don’t rush to book up every activity or workshop going, and don’t worry about your child learning to read and write by a certain age; it will happen when they are ready!