Starting to Home Educate

To a family who is used to the rhythm of a school-going day the prospect of home education can be a daunting one at first.  So much time to fill, and so few ideas of how to fill it.  It is certainly true that when the time-consuming school is taken out of the day's itinerary there are many empty hours left, and this isn't the only thing that parents worry about!  How should they be a teacher? Are their children learning enough?, when should they be taught a particular subject? etc.

Because of these concerns, which experience, I am sure, will soon dispel, I am writing this section of the Jamboree to help and reassure in any way I can those families starting out on the exciting and often challenging venture of Home Education. 

Here are some ideas of how to fill the day:
Follow the Child's Interests
It is really amazing how everyone is naturally inclined to do something.  Maybe it is gardening, or cooking, or paper-folding, or reading books, or watching birds, or drawing houses, or playing a particular game of cards, the list could go on for ever.  Somehow there always seem to be at least one subject, which makes a person's face light up.  If you have noticed such an interest in your child it makes sense to pursue it for as long as that enthusiasm lasts.  One interest always leads to another and that one to many others, thus an interest in computer games can well lead to an interest in reading, when the manual needs to be understood, and an interest in geography can lead to map-drawing, then reading geography books, then writing about the subject, then travelling and suddenly you will find plenty of ways to fill the time!
Doing something that neither you nor your child enjoy is pointless, even if it is something as important as maths or science.  Enjoyment is the vital learning ingredient and without it the child might as well be at school - where they can at least whisper to their friends during these uninteresting subjects.  When a child takes an interest in a subject of their own accord, it is astonishing how quickly they will learn it. 

A Loose Day Plan
One of the glories of home education is that there are no rules, or bells, or people telling you what to do; but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a flexible plan for the day which you can work out together.  A suggestion for one (which we have always used) is to begin the morning working round the table on a chosen subject.  The child  will read about what they are doing, draw pictures for it, and write about it too, if they are old enough. A parent can be working on the subject as well, in the same way, so that they are constantly there for

 their child.  At about eleven o' clock, someone can read a story aloud, and a favourite game can be played.  In the afternoon, the children can play and go outside, and basically do what they want, or the parent can do some crafts or music with them.  This plan is just a suggestion, different things work for different people and I am sure every home-educating family organises their day in a different manner. 

Be Guided by the Child
Seeing as the lessons are all for the child's benefit, it makes sense to be guided by what the child wants to do.  This way you can't go wrong, - your child is sure to enjoy themselves! 

Just be You
One piece of good advice for parents is to just be you during lessons.  This may sound rather strange, but it is a fact that many people have a hidden 'teacher' inside of them, which will come out at the least opportunity.  Just because you are teaching somebody something doesn't mean that you have to quiz them on the subject, make them guess the answers, or tell them what to do and expect them to do it.  These are all traits of schoolteachers, because they are trying to manage large amounts of children who would rather not be there.  The most successful way of teaching is to just be the way you are the rest of the time.

Have Fun
It is always good to remember that having fun is the most important thing.  If a subject reduces your child to tears, or makes them bored or cross, it is really best to leave it for a while and do something that they do enjoy.  Otherwise your child may come to loath the subject in future years and you will have done the exact opposite of what you intended.
Maybe learning is associated with hard work and frowns, but if so it only goes to show what harm schools have done.  Knowledge and learning are the most interesting, wonderful things that should fill one up with nothing but excitement, enthusiasm and fascination.  When a family starts to home educate, their aim really should be to have fun, and then the learning will follow naturally. 

The importance of Play
It is no accident that children love playing.  It is one thing that they are very good at and one thing that teaches them so much.  If a young child would rather play than do lessons, then let them play.  It is a great shame when lessons become associated with doing something one would rather not do.  Parents worry that their children aren't learning enough, but this is probably because they don't know how much they are learning.  What may look like running round the house, or scribbles on paper, may be teaching them basic skills which will come in great use later in life.  I used to spend a lot of my time making puzzles and games for the rest of the family, which may have looked like a useless activity and not real 'lessons', but I now use the same skills for our magazine, which I wouldn't have had otherwise!  
This applies in many areas of my life, and probably in other people's too.  One thing I enjoy doing is acting out scenes from Shakespeare with my brother and sister.  This sounds quite impressive, but I know that all it is really, is just a more advanced and grown-up version of playing and the one would not have come without the other.  Things like reading, writing, maths, etc. are important, but not as important as the fundamentals learnt through play.  Other things are often much easier and more enjoyable to learn at a later age.

Don't be Bullied
Don't become put off or bullied by friends, family or 'education' authorities.  For some strange reason, some people hate it when other

 people are doing the right thing, maybe because it puts into question what they have done in their own lives.  Such people don't have your best intentions at heart when they tell you what to do, in fact they probably want you to be just as miserable as they are, because they always did what other people told them.
It is a frightening thing for people when somebody steps out of line and demands something better; it suddenly means that one doesn't have to do everything one is told, and those who have done, don't like to admit this.  For this reason they can become quite aggressive and many home educators have discovered this to be true - I have witnessed it many times myself.  
I only have to tell someone I don't go to school and they will turn on me with such a string of unpleasant questions that it quite takes my breath away.  Surely the way I spend my time can't make such a big difference to them?  When I was on the radio a few months ago, talking about home education, I said 'I am happy being at home.'  The response that came back from the listeners was shocking, the simple statement 'I am happy' seemed to make them genuinely angry and their replies back were barely civil.  This proved to me that all the unasked-for advice that people give one, really should not be listened to, because they would rather you were doing just what everyone else is doing than that you were happy.

It is good to bear this in mind when talking to people who don't approve of what you are doing.  The stronger you are in yourself the less likely they are to attack, and the less you will mind if they do.  Home-educating families really do have the advantage, because everyone knows deep down that parents should be looking after their own children.

Conclusion
Above all, try not to worry.  Whether learning at home is or isn't the best thing for your child, it is never good to worry.  If your child is not happy at home then send them to school and if your child is happy at home then you really have no cause to worry.  Despite parents thinking they need to teach their children, it is probably more true that children have many things to teach us.  One such thing is the ability not to worry.  When I was taken out of nursery school at the age of six I was still in possession of this capability.  I forgot about school the day I left it and continued to forget about it for the next few years.  All the concerns that trouble an older person were never considered or even thought of by me, and instead I got down to the business of enjoying every day.  I am sure adults would do well to adopt this approach and they would certainly enjoy it more than the other.

I am aware that there is nothing I can say to stop someone worrying about the future; there is no definite proof that home education works, because everyone does it differently, and everyone's definition of 'works' is different; all I can say is that in my life it has given me the freedom to be myself and I know that school would have robbed that freedom from me.
I could also say that home education makes a child more successful, more able to make friends, more likely to do well in what they pursue, and more likely to be talented in many areas.  This would all be true in most cases, but these are not the most important things, or the things that should make someone home educate.  Perhaps such statistics impress the school-goers, and reassure everyone else, but the true advantage of learning at home is that you are no longer trapped, bullied, lied to, talked down to, pressurized, disrespected, humiliated, insulted and treated like one of a pack of animals, five days a week for a huge number of years.  Such things should not be put up with, or meekly accepted, and for these reasons home education should be considered.
Everyone should be given the chance to grow up normally and enjoy that special time when they are a child.  For me, this is what learning at home is all about, simply being given the space to live in, and grow up in, and learn things in, and be oneself in, and, above all, be happy in.

Books About Learning at Home If you are interested in learning at home you might also be interested in the books we have written about the subject.  They are practical guides, based on what worked for us.  Click on the pictures to read about them and click here to read about our monthly magazine: Freedom in Education.

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