Are you a home educator? Or maybe your considering Home Ed but have some uncertainties.
Do you follow a curriculum? Do you follow your child's lead? Do you Un school?
There is a simple link to these four questions it doesn't matter what way you choose to Home Educate you can't do it wrong, there is no right way.
We've chosen to be mostly child led because I'm a strong believer of children being more than capable of letting us know when they are developmentally ready to learn a certain thing if you just put your trust in them. My little boy for example has never attended a nursery and we've had a fairly laid-back learning approach yet everyday he amazes me with the wealth of knowledge he knows a lot of itself taught.
A good example of how this has really supported Oakley in his learning is his writing, when he was younger, he hated mark making so I left it well alone and instead we worked on things he enjoyed that would strengthen all the important finger muscles such as playdough play. So many people told me if I didn't force it, he would never be able to write. Well, if we fast forward to the last year, he's absolutely loved all kinds of mark making, his favourite being prewriting lines. Fast forward again to last month, and he wrote his first six letters independently.
So, my point here is don't panic if you feel you should be doing more because there is so much pressure and expectations on us as parents and care givers to make sure our child is where society expects them to be when really that's not important, all children will develop when they are ready.
This very much links to me being a big believer of no child is ever behind and this can totally stand for schooled children too. When they say the phrase "he's behind" take a moment and ask yourself "behind what" Every child is unique and therefore their learning journey should be too, no two children are developmentally the same that doesn't mean by any point they are behind. Remember you know your child best, you know their strengths, focus on those and celebrate those because they will help the child to thrive.
In terms of socialisation for Home Educated children which is one thing I'm often asked about is there are absolutely tonnes of Oppurtunites and extra curriculum activities for home Ed children to participate in, giving them many Oppurtunites to create friendships. Socialisation is all very different because Home Educated children get to talk to a wider age range of people, from children to adults. It also helps them to communicate in different situations such as talking to the shop keeper which I feel equips the child with valuable life skills.
As a home educator there are many ways to support your child with their learning and they can all be adapted as your child grows and develops more. You are also able to fully adapt to their learning style.
For us that means providing lots of hands on Oppurtunites for Oakley. I've found catering fully to their learning style means they engage better and therefore learn more from the activity. Learning can also happen anywhere whether it being in a super market, at the beach, at home, in the car,at the zoo or at a forest school session. Learning is all around and doesn't stop.
Some of the things we busy ourselves with can be seen below.
I hope if you're on the fence to Home Educate this blog will help you to see the positives amongst any worries or negatives you may have been given by your peers. One last little thing remember you know your child best, follow your heart.
My inbox is also always open should you have any more questions.
Thank you so much Sophie from @atiny_acorn_to_a_greatoak