At its starkest, many people don’t understand home education, don’t understand why parents would not send the child to school, and some just do not know it is a legal and valid option. Increasingly, the narrative is that the home educated child is at increased educational or welfare risk. Increasingly, the societal message from […]
2020 and the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic have forced the world to focus on a core element of being human- the need for human contact. We are social creatures. At no other point in our recent history have scientists had such a global and dramatic ability to study the many complex issues surrounding the […]
S p r i n g t i m e a r t & n a t u r e C o l l a b o r a t i o n This month it is all about collaboration. I have started adding to my children’s art work (with their permission) and it is […]
For some, it can be hard breaking free of the thought learning = school. We often get asked about doing ‘The Curriculum’ or which subjects people need to study. In truth, education does not need to be structured in these ways, learning opportunities surround us so take advantage of the flexibility of home education because […]
Let’s start with the most crucial question; ‘When should social workers assess and become involved with home educated children?’ An easy question to answer in practise, as they should become involved only if the circumstances are such that they would become involved with any child. Despite this, we lose track of […]
Art and relaxation Tips and ideas to relax, using art This week is about art and relaxation. I don’t know about you but I think that some relaxation is needed right now! So, here are some ideas for you to give a go, depending on your preference. To be honest all forms of art are […]
Family history (or genealogy) can provide a useful cross curricular focus for home educators. Researching your family history encompasses a wide range of ‘subject’ areas, learning opportunities (or aims) and opportunities to develop a range of skills, within the context that becomes real as it relates to your child’s family. Language skills: comprehension, reading, […]
Home education attracts strong opinions, and to use the Marmite analogy ‘it is either loved or hated’. In the last two decades, there has been a rise in professional, ‘governmental’, and societal concern which displays a lack of understanding and/or supposition about the practice of home education and home educators. Additionally, pronouncements of concern […]
Lockdown is upon us again. Schools are closed to all but keyworkers and the ‘vulnerable’. Ordinarily, home educators don’t limit themselves to thinking ‘education happens in the home’. Lockdown, however, puts all parents in a similar position of having their movement outside the home and their social contacts limited. Add to this a need […]
One of the many characteristics that mark homo sapiens out as different from other animal species is that we think, make, and behave in creative ways. One of those creative memory aids is record keeping. One thing record keeping appears to do is to assist the human memory and to allow the trust necessary […]