I never knew what I wanted to do, for work, as a grown-up, or with life in general. My mum stopped work when she had me, and never returned. She’s given my dad some typing support for his work, volunteered, and helped out in the classroom when we were younger. As befell a lot of women of her generation, career options were limited. She left school and went to Secretarial College, then worked as a secretary in London, and other…
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Our Home Education Story
Read moreFull article published on The Other Path website. “…You need to hold the reins very loosely, and be happy to leap off into rabbit trails with no notice. Being flexible to interests, energy, different personalities and balancing your own needs is key. There is no such thing as a perfect home ed day! But each little moment adds up to a bigger picture of habits, knowledge, and layering of attitudes which I hope will colour their approach to themselves, others…
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At-Home-Schooling Starter Kit
Read moreMy suddenly-homeschooling first aid kit. As the UK enters another lockdown, with schools and colleges back to remote learning, and parents and teachers scrabbling to deliver the National Curriculum to kids from their homes, I’m sharing my starter-kit for more peaceful home learning. The majority of the effort and energy needed in a home school /home education, isn’t in fact from the kids, or even from the resources you need/choose to use. It’s from you. The learning coach, the supportive…
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Learning to be a Home Educator
Read moreWe’ve been home educating from the start, I guess five years officially, with my youngest (now 5yrs) joining in since she was mobile. I would describe our playroom as a thorough home library now. I took the ‘spread the feast’ metaphor seriously and have books on a huge range of topics! For the first few years I felt HUGE pressure (not sure if that’s the right word) to not neglect these fabulous living books, and we would flit each day…
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Tip of the Iceberg
Read moreThe tip of the iceberg. What we choose to put in the educational feast we spread, or the rabbit holes we fall down pursuing interests, are but the tip of the iceberg of our children’s (and our) educations. The deep, hidden work of personal development, relationships, life skills, health, and love of learning as an approach to life, all sits on top of this pretty arbitrary feast. The what is there to teach the how. And the whole shebang works…
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That September Feeling
Read moreOur kids don’t think in ‘terms’. They don’t think of curriculum or standards or ‘catching up’. They don’t think about pressure to perform, how they look to peers or which grades things they produce will achieve. But every summer, as we naturally ease up table time, and increase time outdoors or lounging with stories, I increase my time reflecting on who our kids currently are. What makes them tick? How do they like to pick up skills and knowledge? Where…
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Perspective
Read morePerspective, 9/10th of home education. To see the real and lasting connections made in our children’s brains, no matter the hour, day, company or intention. To see the vast importance of personal character and emotional growth, as well as physical movement, needed to open hearts and minds to intellectual growth. To see anyone, anything and any place capable of providing learning opportunities. To see multidimensional and multidisciplinary education as the real deal. To see the timescale of an education as…
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For the Love of Learning
Read moreArticle published in Learning Through Living magazine. Through my getting reacquainted with learning I have rediscovered love. A love I can show myself by following my interests with no regard to a quantifiable product at the end
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Learning to Learn
Read more“What did you learn today?”, “That’s a beautiful picture!”, “Do you know your alphabet?”, “Have you visited….?”, “How did you get on?”, “Tell me what you know about….” Some of these may sound familiar. You may have been asked them, asked them yourself or heard family members asking your children. Whilst they may be indicative of interest, what do they all have in common? A focus on end results, final product, completion, achievement. What if education wasn’t seen as moving…
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Wild + Free
Read moreAfter lots of questions about what the Wild + Free conference I attended last weekend was all about, and finding myself struggling to put it into a snappy summary, I decided to capture my reflections on the beautifully interconnected web of ideals, practices and intentions the hearts of the speakers had shared. (Turns out even the Wild + Free website needs a few paragraphs to describe themselves!) Although the majority of Wild + Free members are home schooling/educating, no specific…
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Cracking Open Doors
Read moreIt’s not how much our children know, this year or even at the end of their years at home. Rather, that you have cracked open many doors to different realms with them, that they are armed with a bag of tools and skills for learning anything that may lie beyond those varied doors, that their hearts are filled with a sense of adventure and that their minds are awake and excited to face the challenge of learning throughout their lives.…
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A Fruitful Life
Read moreA nut to crack or a delicious fruit to ripen? I’ve come to realise that we can’t be nutcrackers, weilding what we think are the right tools, ready to crack the ‘nuts’ of our children’s education or our own personal development: these things are ripening fruit, on their own unique timeline, which shouldn’t be rushed if we are to get the full juicy delicious flavour. So water, feed and wait. A fruitful life is worth waiting for and comes in…
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The Birdwatcher
Read more“Hush” she whispers, tiny fingers to her lips, “Come Mummy; bird!” her eyes sparkle to meet mine. So down we huddle, noses to the glass, Her small person held in my lap. How still she can sit, when wonder enthralled. How fascinated by a young, scruffy blackbird, As it hops, cocks and pulls worms, Oblivious to the snoozing cat at the back of her play den. Together, two hearts, at the window tuned to a third, As the blackbird finds…
