We started our home education

After two failed attempts at school for Esther and William

And an eye opening return to teaching for me

In April 2016

This is our fourth year of education at home

I just had to count that up three times

As I cannot actually believe that it has been so long

Originally we thought we would send the children to school again

For Year 3

And then for Year 5

But as time has gone on and schools do not seem to be improving

We have decided to continue educating our children at home

Esther and William were born three months premature

They were due to be born in October and were instead born in July

This caused a lot of confusion about when they should start school

They are not only summer born

But also extremely premature babies

As the years have gone on

We have realised that both twins also have very different educational and emotional needs

Most likely linked to their prematurity

Esther has now been diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADD

William, yet to be officially diagnosed, has high functioning ASD and sensory processing issues

It is crazy to think that in school they were in the same ability groups

And yet their abilities could not be further apart

It is crazy to think that now they would be in the same class

When their needs and abilities are so so different

If they were in school now Esther and William

According to a CSA start (compulsory school age)

Would be in Year 4

By birth they would be in Year 5

Bea is also now school age

As an August baby we would have fought for a CSA start for her too

So this would have been her first year in school

In Reception

And so it is all go here

This year we have decided to follow quite a structured timetable

But we have also decided to not be too hard on ourselves if we do not stick to it

For example, though I plan home activities for everyday

We will not worry if instead on certain days we head out to the woods

Or the farm

Or the theatre

Tomorrow we are going sailing in the afternoon!

We do like routine in our house though

William especially thrives on it

He likes to know what we are doing and when

Because of this and because it helps me too

We have our timetable displayed on a board

By our table

Where we can all see it

As well as the timetable I have also created termly plans

For science and writing

For geography, history and RE

We use Power Maths books and Twinkl for maths

Classroom Secrets for reading comprehension

The children also love to do Reading Eggs and Maths Seeds

We do a lot of our learning through books and play

I try to link our learning together

So this week, Thursday is Roald Dahl Day

Therefore lots of our maths, art, reading and writing is linked to his work

I know that many home educators will think we are too much like school

(Once a teacher!)

But it really does work for us

Our days start with breakfast all together as family

David is there as often as he can be

The children then clean their teeth

And then work begins

We begin with either handwriting and mental maths

Or phonics and spelling

When we start with handwriting we do it to classical music

Which is a lovely way to start the day

The children all work at different paces

And they all require different levels of support

Different levels of instruction

Different levels of encouragement and praise

As they finish their given work

They are allowed to go and play

Read a book

Make an animation

Until it is time for them to work again

After our first activity we do either

Reading Comprehension or Creative Writing

Before a snack break

And then maths

This is all more fluid than it sounds

Much of the time I will be working with one or two children

And the others would be playing with Edie

Sometimes the older children work independently while I

Read to or play with Edie

I plan our work in manageable chunks

Because I can work very closely with the children every day

We can work through topics much more quickly than at school

And in much more depth

Today we were doing geography

We are learning about continents and oceans

Linked to our science on animals and their habitats

Bea had an oceans booklet to read and colour

Teaching her the names of the five oceans

Esther had to read information about oceans

Answer some questions

And then label the oceans correctly on a world map

William had a set of questions about the features of our oceans

He had to use the Internet to answer the questions and then tell me what he had found

He loved his task today and was really good at finding information

Taking out the key points and writing his own answers to the questions

In reading today Esther and William read a piece about Roald Dahl

They then orally answered questions that I asked them

Before completing some dictionary and word level work

Esther did much less of this than William

While he finished his English

Esther practised her singing and piano

It is always busy in our house

There is always a lot going on

We have amazing days

Ordinary days

And terrible days

But when we follow our routine

Stick to our timetable

That is when it works

Our daily structure is punctuated during school term time with classes

Esther does the most classes as because of her learning needs

We feel that at the moment she needs more opportunities outside of academia

On a Monday Esther has a music lesson which includes theory, singing and piano

William and I use this hour to go to the library, browse and read

On Wednesday Esther, William and Bea all do Spanish

Then Bea dances in the evening

Musical theatre, tap and modern

On Thursday everyone dances!

Edie does ballet

Bea does ballet and acro

William does acro, jazz and musical theatre

Esther does them all!

Including helping in Bea and Edie’s classes

Esther dances for three and a half hours a week

We have stopped the children’s swimming lessons this term

And instead plan to swim every week as a family

On a Sunday Esther goes horseriding

I would like to get William doing a sport

And he is keen to learn the drums but we are struggling to fit a lesson in

William also loves reading and adventuring outside

He loves making animations

He enjoys chess and other strategy games

He loves his own space and time

More than any of the girls currently do

Alongside our own learning, groups and classes

We also try to see friends

We have lots of Home Education Trips, workshops and visits planned this term

We also arrange play dates and meet ups purely for fun

The life of a home educated child is not a quiet one

There is always something going on

Often too much to fit in

Autumn is a busy time for us

Filled with birthdays and anniversaries

We also have our annual Harry Potter Firework Party coming up

And then the countdown begins to

The most wonderful time of the year

I adore advent and am already filling our calendar with adventures

That is my ethos I think this year

Structured learning when we are at home

But finding adventures whenever and wherever we can

Esther and William will be 10 on their next birthday

We have so much to do before they reach that particular milestone

Bea has turned 5 in the blink of an eye

And Edie is the brightest most eloquent two year old I have ever known

Which anyone who knew Bea as a two year old will know

Is just bonkers!

Adventures, books and play

And a whole lot of learning on the way!