I am feeling a bit low about our home ed journey at the moment
For a multitude of reasons
These first 8 months have not been
What I hoped they would be
I have been using the excuse the we are all
Including me
Deschooling
But really we have just struggled to find a rhythm
A routine
But I refuse to give up
Because I really want to make this work
And I don’t feel we have really had the chance
To prove ourselves
Not living in our own home
For 7 months
Has been challenging and disruptive for us all
We need to go home
And make a concerted effort with education in the new year
We have not done nothing over the last few months
But it has not been as well thought out
Planned and structured as I would have liked
I want to put a routine in place
Ready for 2017
That will become so much easier
Once we move home
What Do We Do?
So what do we do?
At this moment
What does home education look like for us?
We have no structure at the moment
Every day I try to do at least one learning activity
That could be reading
Writing practice
Mental maths
Comprehension
A computer based activity
Such as Reading Eggs
Or IXL Maths
We do not manage this every day at the moment
But most days
Monday is our dancing day
Esther and Bea do ballet
Esther and William do Acro
This is later afternoon
We spend Monday mornings at home
This will become a structured morning in the new year
On Tuesdays
Bea does gymnastics and Acro Tots
Her classes start and end our day
In between we go to soft play
Or to an outdoor playground
Or to the woods
On Wednesday we have a free day
We always used to see my Aunty and Uncle
Who all the children adore
I am hoping our Wednesdays can start again in the new year
And this will allow me to spend some one to one time with each child
Esther and William go to Beavers on a Wednesday night
Which they seem to really enjoy
On Thursdays Esther and William have ukelele lessons
With other home schooled children
Then in the afternoon
Bea goes to a church toddler group with Granny
Giving me two hours to focus on learning with Esther and William
We usually do reading, maths and a writing activity
During this time
On Fridays we tend to get out
To a farm or local place of interest
Saturday sees Esther at RAZZ Theatre School all morning
William goes to a local music school
Which he loves
Sunday is a family day
Obviously the children are learning all the time
But I want to make it more themed
Structured
And I want to be more organised in how I record what we do
Over the last few months
We have done swimming lessons
Though Esther and William enjoyed these
They did not really learn anything
We are going to build in swimming to our family time
As David and I are both strong swimmers
We feel this would be a good use of our time
And allow use to spend money on other things
Esther would like to learn the piano and the violin
And I think William would benefit from individual ukelele lessons
Either on top of or instead of the group sessions we attend
Esther is also desperate to ride and attend Pony Club
There is a Home Ed Pony Club that I think Esther will continue to attend
Once a fortnight
But I think she would like individual lessons too
One of the reasons I want to home educate is because it means
There is more time for the children to explore their passions
And follow their dreams
Though Esther has asked me to look at non Home Ed Pony Clubs
That run every week
At weekends
We have tried lots of different activities
Over the last few months
Our first months learning at home
Some things have been a success
Others we need to evaluate
Ready for our new start in the new year
At home
We have done lots of fun science and STEM activities
We also do lots of art
We spend a lot of time out and about
Going to the theatre is our favourite treat
On good days we are having the time of our lives
But there have been bad days too
Days when I have wondered if I am crazy
Whether they would be better at school
But I am not ready to give up yet
Because I think when we find our feet
Pick our pace and projects
We will fly
Esther and William have learned so much
In recent months and weeks
Without us even trying
So imagine what they will do
When we put our master plan into action!
What Will We Do?
My master plan
Every morning will start with an individual task
Colour sorting for Bea
Practical phonics task for Esther
Spelling practice for William
Every day we will complete a weather diary
We will look at the calendar
Noting special days as they happen
Monday will be science and topic based learning
Tasks that Bea can be involved with
Tuesday will be nature study day
Between Bea’s classes
Wednesday will (hopefully) be spent with Uncle Steve and Aunty Carolyn
During this day I will do individual
Reading, writing and maths tasks
With Esther and William
Thursday will be topic work in the morning including music lessons
In the afternoon
I will again do focused individual learning
With Esther and William
Friday’s will continue to be about
Getting out to places of interest
Linked perhaps to our topics
I have it all worked out in my head
We just need our house back
And access to all our belongings
To really make it work
I have also decided not to add any new group activities to our week
Beavers, Ballet, Acro, RAZZ
Music lessons
Pony Club
I think that is enough
In February Bea will start two mornings a week at preschool
Which will be wonderful for her
And give me more time to meet Esther and William’s needs
What Does The Future Hold?
My current plan
Is to use the next 18 months
To get Esther and William
Up to speed
To where they need to be
To enter Year 3 in September 2018
William is actually already working above expectations
For Year 3
In reading, maths and science
For him I need to focus on his writing
Esther is on track to meet expectations for Year 1 this year
I am confident she will easily be ready for Year 3 when the time comes
In the Spring of 2018 we will start to talk about going to school
For Key Stage Two
And if they want to
We will start to look at schools
If they do not want to
Then we will carry on at home
And I will prepare them for entry to Year 5
When I will ask them the question again
Choosing a school will be tricky
Because of their prematurity
We need a school that will take them ‘out of year’
We need a school where we feel Esther and William
Will both have a chance of making friends
I want to find a school
Where I might find some parent friends
There is much to consider
And it will be considered with Esther and William
When the time is right
But before 2018 arrives
I am very excited about what 2017 will hold for us
As we find our feet with family learning
With educating at home
Hi Jennie,
Unsolicited advice so please feel free to ignore but – I strongly suggest finding a school which has more than one year class so the twins can be separated. With my twins (now grown up!) they started in the same class and it didn’t work well – they had (still do!) a beautiful bond which we adore, but they were really insular together. They didn’t make friends well because they relied on each other and their teacher said they were more disruptive in class due to their closeness (whispering, distracting each other, always wanting to do the same thing). When we moved house and schools at year 4 we took the opportunity to separate them – they hated it at first and protested, which was hard, but we told them it was school rules and had to be done. And within a few weeks, the difference was remarkable and we are now all so glad we did this. Without the cover of each other, they concentrated more and made friends. Just a thought! 🙂
Hi Lucy
Thank you for your comment. It is so interesting that you have said this but one of our thoughts for going back to school for KS2 is that they would go into separate classes. I think that would be Esther’s choice as she struggles to make friends as William is very reliant on her. I think it would do them both good not to be constantly compared or worse assumed that they are able to be in the same groups because they are twins. They could not be more different in abilities! We will definitely be considering bigger schools. I also think if all four children go to school it would be nice for them to not be in each other’s pockets all the time x
You probably do much more with them than you realise so please don’t be too harsh on yourself. You have a lot going on with the house and growing another mini human!!
Your plans for next year are really inspiring and having a child just in reception I will be following what you do with further interest as I will look at ways to help her through your learning with play ideas so she feels like she is getting down time but also still learning.
Remember with next year you need to factor in the arrival of your new little person and also that you will be home with all 3 heavily pregnant so your energy levels might be a bit depleted to get as much done as you would like so don’t beat yourself up over it. Maybe school next September would be an option if your feeling low as being at home with a new baby and a 3 year old will be tough enough, without trying to be a teacher as well!
Xx
Hi Jemma, thank you for your comment. There is lots to think about but one thing I am sure of is that I do not want them in school for Year 2. Hence not sending them back til 2018, assuming they decide that is what they want. Bea will do 15 hours preschool come Sep 18 which is more than enough time to work with Esther and William on the formal learning I want to cover with them. Having baby will be a new challenge and yet not as she will be our fifth. I am quite confident that I can make it work especially with Bea having her preschool time which I think she will LOVE as she loves playgroup with Granny at the moment x
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I’m a home-edding Mum of 5, soon to be 6, so love reading about what you are doing with your little ones. I think lots of learning happens without it being intentional and structured at their age. I would say though it’s probably best not to expect too much from yourself or the children when you’re expecting another little one. It takes several months to settle into a routine after having a new baby, and trying to do lots of formal work, plus lots of outside groups puts too much pressure on you as the Mum. I think having realistic expectations of the time leading up to and just after baby is born is really important, as it’s very stressful if you feel like you are falling behind or failing them.