Deciding whether or not to home educate
Our twin children start at school tomorrow. For a couple of years we have wondered whether educating them at home instead of sending them to school would be best for our family. The question first arose when we lived and worked in London and weren’t particularly happy with the idea of them attending the local school there.
In investigating the logistics and reality of home education we came across several wonderful blogs and websites written by families who were successfully keeping their children at home and enjoying watching them learn at their own pace things that interested them rather than being force to sit in the same classroom day in and day out following a National Curriculum. There seemed to be a common theme with all of them that being family orientated instead of work orientated led to a more satisfying way of life.
As a parent the way of life described in the websites we found seemed appealing to the extreme. A couple of them in particular had the effect of our re-evaluating our existence in London and within a few weeks we had quit our jobs, took the children out of private day nursery and downshifted to a life in the Worcestershire countryside where I became full time stay at home mother and Bealers set up a new internet software company similar to the one he had sold in London. The children were still only 3 years old last year when we made this move and the option of home education instead of mainstream school still very much appealed.
By September last year the children were eligible for five sessions per week at the local nursery which had just relocated its premises to a classroom within the local village primary school, adjacent to the reception class. At around the same time the business Bealers had set up took off tremendously well and it made sense for me to do some of the basic admin/office management tasks while he was busy doing fee earning client projects. The kids had a few settling in sessions which they loved as there were toys we didn’t have at home, messy play, painting etc. as well as children their own age. Having attended nursery from a very young age they were sociable creatures who loved making new friends.
The academic year ended in July for six weeks summer holiday by which time our minds were pretty much made up that both kids would move up to the reception class with seventeen of their little classmates from the pre-school room.
We are extremely fortunate that the village/town we have moved to has a wonderful, small primary school which plays a large role in the community here. It is in a picturesque setting with loads of green space. For the reception class there are two teachers yet only nineteen children. If one is going to send ones children to school after years of planning to home educate then this is a good one.
A huge factor in our decision to not keep the children at home is the free 30 hours of childcare primary school offers while I am able to go to the office, bill clients, pay staff, order stationery and the like. Our offices are a one minute walk away from the school so I am able to take them there and pick them up each day which I would not have been able to do if we were still living our ‘previous life’ in London as I worked full time.
My plan is to constantly monitor how happy both children are attending full time school. My gut feeling is that five days a week at this age is far too much so have an idea that within a year from now I will approach the head teacher to talk about the idea of flexi-schooling or part-time schooling where they are attending school for three or four days a week but doing things with me the remaining days of the week. He seems to be a very interesting non-conformist character and so I hope he will be open to this as a suggestion.
I know my daughter will thrive in school as there is nothing she likes more than sitting quietly doing drawing, writing, reading, making things, counting or playing nicely with other children. My son however is very much like I was at his age - super keen on the social side of school (and cannot wait to be reunited with his chums tomorrow) but not at all keen on the sitting down and doing ‘boring’ things. He will most probably have a reputation for being charming, funny, good at reading, talking, acting, singing and computing but will distract his other classmates when it is time for repetitive academic pursuits which require him to sit still and focus his attention.
I know that for our family, right now we have made the right decision but as with all other decisions I reserve the right to keep it constantly under review and perhaps do a massive U-turn in my thinking in the future. They are both thrilled that tomorrow is the first day of school and are really happy to be big enough to sport a school uniform. It does feel like a bit of a rite of passage for them to be leaving me tomorrow after six weeks at home in their too-big jumpers, neatly brushed hair and scuff-free Clarks shoes. I shall miss them I know I will.
