Ponderings

This is the next mission statement for SB, to last jan 2010 to 2012 [oh my goodness!!] when she will be just short of 11th birthday. But an initial immediate disclaimer!

THIS IS NOT A YEARLY [OR 2 YEARLY PLAN] THAT WE WILL LOOK TO ACHIEVE, TO TICK OFF ACHIEVEMENTS AGAINST OR SUBMIT TO ANY LICENSING AUTHORITY! IT IS AN AIDE MEMOIRE TO ME ON WHAT WE MAY CHOOSE TO USE FOR THE THINGS SB WISHES TO COVER AT THE MOMENT, THINGS SHE CURRENTLY ENJOYS. I ANTICIPATE SHE WILL CHANGE HER MIND, AND WE WILL CHANGE OUR PLAN! I DO NOT *VALUE* ANY SPECIFIC NUGGET OF INFORMATION INPARTED OR ABSORBED MORE THAN ANY OTHER. I PLAN OUR EDUCATION TO BE SITUATIONAL AND RESPONSIBLE IN THE MOST.

I guess, this is going to be a slight change in pace for our mission statement. We are moving out of our first period of home ed, and into the second, consolidating and expanding phase. This is where we hopefully make sure she has a solid ground start, and then gradually work on accelerating the learning/doing pace vs the fiddle faddle space for when secondary school age. We absolutely reserve the right though to change this mission statement dependent on SB’s preferences as this 2 year period passes.

we have, I think, delivered more or less on our basic mission statement for SB. She has, i believe, gained a basic warp and weft tapestry of knowledge that now we should start to embroider with extension of the things that she loves. Not that we have tested her knowledge in anyway, and it is possible that she retains no knowledge of anything. She reads fluently, enjoys and progresses with maths, has a wide enjoyment of learning, including history, science and biographies. We have started out the path to music, with some hitches along the way, and SB is developing a clear idea of music styles she enjoys, including jazz. We have also started out with languages. We have had a lot of fun, done a lot of playing, visiting, messing about and forming bonds with other home educators who have become her friends and peers.

We need to encourage her to see the need to strengthen the areas of weakness, so that learning is not prone to unravel unexpectedly in the future. Since this is is something she doesn’t enjoy so much, we need to find and agree levels that will incrementally lead to improvement, but don’t make it an unbearable chore, scaffolding and encouraging. this is most noticeable in the area of english language, grammar and spelling. At present we don’t write or record many of the things we do, because of the dislike and difficulty writing. I think that we gradually should start to encourage a record, be it lap book, mostly drawings or photos and a few words of some of the experiments/trips out and about, and ‘topics’ should we do them. This isn’t something that will come naturally, so we will consider how this might work for us - perhaps a learning journal?

In progressing forward, we hope that SB will more and more choose what to concentrate on, and what are the resources she likes to use and how. We hope that she will now begin determine the shape that the fabric of her education will take. Certainly, when we find the right resource for her - like currently the dk project books - she is capable of prolonged focused study and discussion. This is a period of emotional growth and change as well, and our home ed will aim to support personal development too.

One of the problems of home educating and blogging is seeing the best of other peoples home ed, and contrasting it with your areas of weakness or vacillation. we have more structured friends, whose children appear to be romping ahead in all areas very happily, we have more autonomous friends whose children appear to be having more fun, creating a very individual identity, we have friends who extrovertly educate, going to lots of workshops, events and just knocking my socks off with the wow factor, and those that lapbook and project and those whose children are driven by special interests… We can’t be all these different people, but will try and use their expertise and influence to perhaps balance our home ed, being a check to whether we can do anything better than we are.

So we will remain child led rather than completely autonomous. I see it continuing that there are activities we try and accomplish on a regular basis, be this daily, weekly, fortnightly or what seems reasonable . The actual minutiae will not be programmed, and will be child interest led. Although I have rough idea of what we may get through as such in the next 2 years, it isn’t ‘must do or else’, and often I will stillskip bits : more a guide to where i see us being. SB has a wide ranging thirst at the moment, and so it seems unreasonable to fix her attention on something she truly deems boring when there are many other things to catch her spark. but i think we will gradually be encouraging some structure - for her to find her own best patterns within it, but that she develops a balance that suits between pure play, enjoyed, enriching learning and the targeted ‘hard slog’ learning.

I think the other key issue, which runs as a theme throughout, is that as parents we need to be tidier, keeping resources tidy and accessible - we can be helped and enabled by SB.

As before, i will do a nitty gritty consideration of curriculum , and am putting in links to some of the resources. Again, i reiterate that this is a rough draft planning of possible goals, but i do not tie myself or SB down to achieving them, and we may change our minds completely over course. it is a rough working for us to see what might be. It is unlikely to submitted to the LA

the Nitty Gritty

literacy:

to read herself a wide a varied amount of literature, encouraging her to try new genres and authors, and to stretch her imagination. to still read aloud to her a variety of stories, again across different genres and writing styles.

to start to discuss the mechanics of style and writing in the books, stories, poetry etc we come across. not much to start with -don’t want to impede the reading explosion! but to start thinking about why she liked bits, what the story is about, what interests are sparked from it, and perhaps the use of language. This might be aided by a book club or group?

SB is also doing a small amount regularly of the galore park english, being on book 1 at the moment, and we would perhaps like to have finished this and be nearing the end of book 2 perhaps if all goes well. this is one of her areas of struggle though, so just doing a tiny bit regularly is the aim. If we find something she prefers to do to this, we will swap!

writing:

SB has stated an interest in writing more legibly, and was gradually working through getty and dubay. this has stopped for a while, but we have discussed it and plan to carry on with this. i hope to add some story writing or copywork activitities if she fancies it.to start her on the path to writing her own stories - encouraging the use of grammer and spelling! Writing could perhaps also be encouraged in a learning journal for experiments and trips out and about.

drama:

we don’t do any drama at the moment, which i think is a bit of a shame. I am hopeful that we can look at some opportunities in the next 2 years. i would also like to start visiting the theatre more again, now BB is older.

maths:

singapore maths we are halfway through 3b at the moment, and hoping to move through a year of singapore with each calendar year, so perhaps starting 6a. it just depends really! SB loves this series, has no interest, she says, in trying anything else.

To add a bit of sparkle and interest, we will try and do some maths experimentation from our DK book.

we have quite a few maths story books that we all enjoy.

A friend is contemplating primary maths challenge, and maybe we will consider that next year.

History:

we haven’t completed the second story of the world as a reader, although we had planned too. We are still enjoying it, however, and will finish that and commence the third. We will hope to do more of the activities as well - perhaps a bit of parental pre-planning! alongside this we have lots of great usborne books, other good books and good piccies in DK eyewitness

I would like us to consider pulling out a few things to do larger topic work on, as we did the vikings, mixing crafts, history, visiting, dvd’s etc. SB is currently really enjoying a DK mediaeval project book, which suggests this might be a place to start. certainly we are near enough a few castles!

Also readers set in different time periods, and myths and legends seem to go down well. we can use this to spark interest and discuss as and when she fancies
we may start to introduce timelines, and see where this gets us .

Historical re-enactments and visits should add some external WOW to learning, and we will try and make the most of opportunities.

critical thinking:

We are working our way through the bond verbal and non verbal reasoning books, which SB enjoys - particularly the non verbal, where she is working on the 9-10 book, as opposed to the 8-9 for verbal. the problems with spelling and grammar hinder the verbal reasoning. ALthough this may sound dull and dry, she really enjoys them, like her mum there!

We play lots of board games as well.

science:

this is a multipronged pronged event. We read a fair number of easy access science books - such as those by jaquie bailey and meredith hooper. the magic school bus chapter books and programmes are a hit, and contain solid wodges of info in easily accessible formats. i think as she loves them, this is definitely something to encourage. Science is a no brainer subject for us, she loves it, we love it and great enjoyment had fiddling and learning! may have to kit out a lab one day!

SB is also doing a small amount regularly of the galore park science book, being on book 1 at the moment, and we would perhaps like to have finished this and be nearing the end of book 2 if not on book 3, depending on whether she continues to like this series. At the moment she is also racing through schofield and simms science workbooks for key stage 2 after picking one up casually!

We are aiming to do regular experiments at home, and have a number of kits and resources. i am hoping to encourage at least a small write up in a learning journal. We are also part of a fortnightly meeting where we do more science experiments with a bit of a theme.

We try to go to a number of RI events in the year, as well as the local science festival to add some external WOW to this area.

We have joined the astronomy group, but need to go more regularly and hopefully hiring one of their telescopes again, as we all learned a lot last time and really enjoyed it.

Geography:

will still be predominantly history and holiday based, but perhaps something such as geocaching may take SB’s interest if we do it more regularly, and also working out cycling routes? it also gets covered alot as part of other things.

Actually, since writing that, we have started postcrossing, and all the excitement of writing and sending, then receiving postcards and plotting them on our map is proving quite thrilling at the mo.

languages:

we have good resources for french, and we are trying to regularly use french for a small conversation, and also to read some toddler french books and base words around this. we have enjoyed doing this, and some words are retained. I am not sure this is the most efficient or best way of learning french, but we are are least learning some and enjoying it.

I am trying to supplement this with dvd/video/cd’s and may, hopefully, have some french sessions with a friend on perhaps a fortnightly basis,

we have for the last 2 years had a short camping holiday in france, and plan to continue this. i am not sure about sending SB on an en famille camp, but may host.

We perhaps need to work a bit more regularly at latin. this is done on a fortnightly basis, but possibly a look in between times would be useful!

music :-

piano is probably SB’s favourite, and we will encourage regular practice
recorder is also practiced, and am hoping SB can attend a local venue regularly enough for Gina to continue teaching

i have some first duet books to add a bit of a difference with our playing, and hope to regularly write group music for SB and friends to a level they are comfortable with.

we will also do lots of singing, and listen to a wide range of music - i don’t think we have enough background music on in the house, and since we have so much…

At some point, we may possibly add a bit of composer study, should SB show inclination or interest.

for the out and about WOW factor, SB has really enjoyed holiday orchestra, doing singing, musical games and recorder, and is v keen to do again. there are a number of events nearly locally that she can participate in.

i also want us to start going out to more concerts. BB is def not interested, and i think for sb too they would still have to be short, but she did enjoy the LSO

PE:

is covered well at the moment, and we will continue to encourage a core sports practice and trying out all sorts of new ideas.

current activities are ballet, gym, swimming and judo on a weekly basis
She also goes to a variety of HE group sports as and when they happen.

she still like to at least try horse riding, and see if she enjoys it.

more ad hoc are yoga and dance videos [which i should do too!!], and perhaps finding someone to get her started with in line skating. half term and holiday leisure centre taster events also popular

IT:

surprisingly, this is an area which we are not using much at the moment. SB prefers reading and playing to IT. our computers did break, which was prob v unhelpful, and we have not got back into using them. perhaps a few new and interesting cdroms will kickstart.

Arts and crafts:

we do a fair amount of art and crafting, using fimo and hama beads, kits and paints in a freestyle way

I would like to add in some art appreciation, look at different artists and styles, and ‘have a go’ now SB is getting more confident in painting

SB periodically is interested in tuesday sketch, so I might encourage this as well

Domestic Science!!:

slight rofl at title, but a fair bit of baking and cooking, gardening, some tidying and laying the table. SHe is interested in sewing and knitting too, so it is just about making sure the basics are available and accessible for her to do when the mood strikes, or re-introducing if there has been a gap.

personal development

Socialising:

regular attendance at not quite local groups, local clubs [ie rainbows], national camps and making sure we have a steady stream of houseguests.

family is also very important, and maintaining close family ties and bonds.

trips and outings:

i think we should be a bit more proactive now BB more amenable to going out and about to places for experiential learning opportunities. this would add a bit of sparkle and pizazz to the whole thing, add external excitement for looking at some things, and generally be fun for all.

practicalities:

we have lots of resources and opportunities, i think in the next 2 years we parents have to hone our presentation skills, storage solutions etc, so that they are all readily accessible for SB to find . i think we need a ruthless look at groups that work or not for SB, and keep an eye on the opportunities to play and socialise.

If we actually did achieve what i have listed above, i would be a very happy bunny! The devil is in the implementation! life gets in the way etc etc, but i think we really must try.

obviously we do a lot of ed by conversation and seeing where that goes - sometimes quite tricky, so the other thing is to make sure that we are available , enthusiastic partners in the educational process.

this is a boring bare bones thought. chris needs to look, add and ponder. it is harder to really look at this in any more detail, as SB really will become more and more the driving force for her education, depending on her interest. I think for me, it is enough to know that i think we have resources and information and enthusiasm to back her up, but also to at this stage continue to encourage and lead and offer where necessary. by 9, i would hope that for the most part she will be autonomous and enthused about continuing to learn and find out. That we will have facilitated her spending ages on minutiae, and whipping through huge subjects in nano seconds where less interesting to her.

Dear Ms [!! and my surname]

Thank you for your email of 26 January regarding the review of Home
Education. I have been asked to reply.

With regards to the review of home education, it may be helpful if I
explain that we are committed to ensuring that systems for keeping
children safe, and ensuring that they receive a suitable education, are
as robust as possible. We have been progressively strengthening the
systems and it is good practice to ensure that they are operating as
intended. An independent review of home education is part of this
continuing commitment to strengthening the system and to ensure all
children achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes.

The guidelines on home education that we issued last year have not
resolved the concerns of some LAs about their ability to fulfil their
responsibilities in relation to home educated children. The recent
public consultation suggested that many people - home educating parents
and local authorities included - feel the guidelines and legislation are
confusing and sometimes perhaps at odds with each other. We know there
is an issue now and it is right that we identify any barriers -
perceived or real - to children’s entitlement to achieve the five
outcomes. We will take whatever action is necessary to strengthen the
arrangements.

I note the concerns you have surrounding the shorter consultation, the
Review of Home Education is being led by Graham Badman, former Director
of Children’s Services at Kent County Council. Mr Badman has decided
that he wants his review to be informed by material from a wide range of
stakeholders, so he decided to offer the opportunity for organisations
and individuals to contribute to the review by filling in a
questionnaire.

The new Code of Practice on Consultation issued by BERR says that:

‘…a formal, written, public consultation will not be the most
effective or proportionate way of seeking input from interested parties
eg when engaging stakeholders very early in policy development
(preceding formal consultation) ……In such cases an exercise under
this Code would not be appropriate. There is, moreover, a variety of
other ways available to seek input from interested parties other than a
formal consultation’

Once the Review is complete it will be presented to Ministers who will
then decide whether or not to take forward any of the recommendations.
We anticipate that any Review recommendations that trigger proposals to
change the law or guidance would be subject to a full public
consultation.

With regards to the consultation only being available on the internet,
experience of other reviews suggests that this approach is an effective
way of collecting information from the public in a relatively short
period of time. We know that the home education community uses this
method extensively in their contact with the Government.

You mention that in the questionnaire, it is suggested that home
educated children are abused, we know this is not necessarily the case
and that most home educated children are neither abused nor neglected.
However, parents who abuse or neglect their children will find it easier
to conceal this if they say they are educating their child at home as
they will not be seen regularly by a teacher or other professional. This
means that LAs do not have the same level of assurance about the welfare
of children being educated at home, and there is a greater risk that the
warning signs of abuse of a child not in school will not be picked up at
an early stage.

We are aware of allegations and concerns in this area but we want to
establish what evidence is available. This is not just about that
whether or not home education is currently used to cover child abuse,
but also about ensuring that proportionate measures are in place to
prevent it being used in future as a cover for neglect, forced marriage,
or other forms of child abuse.

I would like to assure you we are not singling out home educating
families. Every child - whether home or school educated, is entitled to
the five Every Child Matters outcomes. We need to ensure that home
educated children are able to achieve the five outcomes, just as
children in maintained schools do. The Department has recently announced
a review of safeguarding in independent schools, non maintained special
schools and boarding schools. The circumstances of a child educated at
home are different from those educated at school and we need to be sure
that the systems and procedures that are in place to protect these
children are fit for purpose.

Government has also commissioned reviews of Local Safeguarding Children
Boards and Serious Case Reviews. These reviews are part of our ongoing
commitment to ensure that all children are safe and well.

i hope you find this informative.

Yours sincerely

[deleted by me]
Public Communications Unit

www.dcsf.gov.uk

so very happy to have a response. interesting to see how many identical ones, as it didn’t cover the points as i raised them. but, TBH, i woudl do a mass email response too if I were them

yes, that one. actually this is the second as i have added 3 and 4! but changing the title would prob change various links oops now the third! as have sort of finished, but would really like feedback before i submit, much nearer to the deadline!

i admit that my response isn’t finished or filed yet, that other peoples blogs have v much influenced me, but here goes!!

1 Do you think the current system for safeguarding children who are educated at home is adequate? Please let us know why you think that.

YES

Comments:

There is no evidence to show that children educated at home are at increased risk of abuse of any kind. in fact, due to the lack of evidence of child abuse publicised in the population subset it may be that they are less at risk. i am presuming that the question is indeed referring to those educated at home rather than those ‘missing in education’.

Like other children they access healthcare providers, community facilities and have families, neighbours and friends, all of whom would be able to access the standard child protection facilities. i cannot see how this would work more or less successfully in the home educated population than it does in the schooled population [where there seems to be woeful under-reporting]

Is this new ‘rushed’ consultation the government response to the consultation that suggested no further inspection powers to be granted for LA’s? from reading the guidance, this does seem to be the premise. Again it seems that there is some muddling of thought between educational provision and child protection. the LEA has provision to investigate if it is felt that there is no evidence of home education provision. even should they investigate, this does not act to safeguard children at home. Are you instead suggesting that all home educators should be regularly visited by social workers? when social workers are already overloaded with cases that potentially have some basis, adding a huge layer of extra work in a population group that has not been evidenced to be of high risk does not sound reasonable. if you are suggesting all home educators are visited for a ’safe and well’ assessment, is this not targeting the population group unreasonably?

I agree with the Government definition of bullying as:

‘Behaviour by an individual or group, usually repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally’.

I also find helpful the following clarification by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, which states that bullying mostly falls into two categories:

* emotionally harmful behaviour, such as taunting, spreading hurtful rumours and excluding people from groups; and
* physically harmful behaviour, such as kicking, hitting, pushing, or other forms of physical abuse.

The following three conditions are used to define incidences of harmful interpersonal behaviour as bullying behaviour. Behaviour is bullying behaviour if:

* it is repetitive, wilful or persistent;
* it is intentionally harmful, carried out by an individual or group; and,
* there is an imbalance of power leaving the person who is bullied feeling defenceless.

It crosses my mind that these repeated consultations are a form of government intimidation and bullying. with wilful and persistent spreading of rumours against the home education population, suggesting that the parents within that group abuse their children, are not educating their children, with a clear imbalance of power, leaving home educators feeling defenceless.

2 a) Do you think that home educated children are able to achieve the following five Every Child Matters outcomes? Please let us know why you think that.

Be healthy

YES

Comments:

i am not sure why the 5 have been separated. I see no difficulty for any home educator in aiming to achieve these

The aim is for all children and young people to achieve the five outcomes of Every Child Matters, that is to:

* be healthy;
* stay safe;
* enjoy life and achieve their full potential;
* be interested and fully involved in the community they live in;
* achieve economic independence.

In particular, children and young people should expect to:

* be able to grow and develop in safety and free from prejudice and discrimination;
* be listened to and have their views taken into account;
* be treated with respect;
* belong to and be valued in their community;
* see their needs and interests at the heart of everything we all do.

in fact for many of them i would imagine it would be easier to turn the aiming into a reality.

However, in the be healthy, like in any population subgroup this is an aspiration rather than a 100% achievable goal, children may have illness, disease, accidents in this group as in any other. however, in a home educated environment, many children may find it easier to achieve their full potential despite illness that would cause difficulty in a larger group setting
2 b)

Stay safe

YES

Comments: I think this is palpably easier to achieve in the home educated setting, where the child’s abilities and freedoms are scaffolded by the parent, where there are less opportunities for being bullied, for having undesirable interactions with peers that may involve physical, sexual or mental aggression [as evidenced by a number of surveys]

2 c)

Enjoy and achieve

YES
Comments:

home education is a more direct, interactive and child focused method of education, whether it be of a ‘home school’ type, following a curriculum [even if not the rather dire national curriculum] , a child led or autonomous approach, or the many shades in between including Montessori, Charlotte Mason etc styles. This leads to a clear feedback between child and parent on interest, on the speed and depth which might suit each child individually. This means that the child is far more likely to enjoy their education, as it is tailored to them personally, with varying levels of child/parent involvement as suits the individual and the family. It is clear that not only do children learn at different speeds, but they learn in different ways at different times, and home education, is ideally placed to follow these patterns.
research has suggested that autonomous education is indeed a very efficient learning method.
I would suggest that home education has the ability here to outperform other educational establishments.
I also think that in looking at this question, perhaps the government is ignoring the ability of home education families to be flexible in their resourcing, using open university, online course, colleges, tutors etc to provide as high an educational rigour as many schools do for examination subjects as required.

ultimately, i think that home educated children have a higher likelihood of being able to ‘enjoy life and achieve their full potential’ due to the freedom and ability they have to influence daily the education and knowledge they learn.

2 d)

Make a positive contribution.

YES

Comments:

i think this is a very poorly thought out aim. A positive contribution to what? Society, community, family, scientific theory? or just…
it seems that really the 4th aim is
‘be interested and fully involved in the community they live in’
and I believe that home education is ideally tailored to this, as the child to adult is fully participating in the community from early on.

2 e)

Achieve economic well-being

YES

Comments:

I think that any home educated child is as likely if not more so to ‘achieve economic independence’ as a school educated child. this is because as the child progresses into their teens, then part of the process is considering interests, and moving forwards. Skills suitable to ability and aptitude are developed.

I notice no great mention is made of the subsidiary aims
* be able to grow and develop in safety and free from prejudice and discrimination;
* be listened to and have their views taken into account;
* be treated with respect;
* belong to and be valued in their community;
* see their needs and interests at the heart of everything we all do.
which again I would say are probably at the heart of every families educational philosophy on how to proceed. I sincerely wonder how these aims can even be begun to be achieved in large schools with huge class sizes of disparate educational goals, abilities and aptitudes.

3. Do you think that Government and local authorities have an obligation to ensure that all children in this country are able to achieve the five outcomes? If you answered yes, how do you think Government should ensure this?. If you answered no, why do you think that?

No

Comments.

from reading around the admirable every child matters documentation, it is clear that these targets are an aspirational goal, for LA’s to put systems in place that can work towards helping children achieve these goals. there is no outcome framework attached with 100% targets. They are in fact ambitions, not backed by legislative force, and certainly couldn’t be achieved to 100% within the schooled population who you seem to believe are more adequately monitored.

4. Do you think there should be any changes made to the current system for supporting home educating families? If you answered yes, what should they be? If you answered no, why do you think that?

yes

Comments:

I don’t actually see that the home educated community is supported in any way at the present. If you actuallyy wish to support home education, rather than vilifying and deriding, there are some simple and low cost options:
the provision of free meeting rooms for group home education meetings
the provision of places to sit free of charge examinations as external candidates - such as GCSE etc, and possibly the availability of free Open university courses.
suitable training and resourcing of any liaison personnel with home educators, such that they are not extrapolating school to school at home, but have a broad ranging understanding of the different methods of home education and can encourage the diversity without bias.
free access to school resources through local libraries would also be much appreciated.

5. Do you think there should be any changes made to the current system for monitoring home educating families? If you answered yes, what should they be? If you answered no, why do you think that?

no

Comments:

I believe that the law as represented in the Elective Home Education Guidelines 2007 is appropriate for monitoring educational provision. This appeared to be the outcome from previous exhaustive consultations. please see guidelines at http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/localauthorities/index.cfm?action=content&contentID=11357&categoryID=75&subcategoryID=106 and the follow up consultation on implementation, both of which I responded to. Suggesting that a single question in a further consultation might negate the previous consultation does not appear valid.

I also feel that having a separate much larger consultation for LA’s/professionals only rather than all stakeholders running concurrently seems designed to purposefully introduce bias towards the governments agenda and hoped for outcomes.

The law needs to respect the balance between citizen and the state. Local authorities must respect the law, understand where they genuinely have duties and where they don’t and not overstep these duties

6. Some people have expressed concern that home education could be used as a cover for child abuse, forced marriage, domestic servitude or other forms of child neglect. What do you think Government should do to ensure this does not happen?

Answer:

I would like to see the evidence behind this. it appears that the NSPCC itself holds no evidence for this. i find, in the absence of any references given, this to be a defamatory statement [In law, defamation (also called calumny, libel, slander, and vilification) is the communication of a statement that makes a false claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government or nation a negative image] and feel that this should be immediately retracted.

Introducing compulsory checks for all home educating families will be a waste of valuable and limited resources, is highly unlikely to turn up the needle in the haystack and would be an abuse of civil rights and human rights, in contravention of Article 8 of the ECHR. Should this be introduced, the logical extension is for all children not receiving external childcare, and this would include those of pre-school age who do not attend nursery or alternative external to home placements.

I would like to reiterate that like other children, those home educated access healthcare providers, community facilities and have families, neighbours and friends, all of whom would be able to access the standard child protection facilities. In all the high profile child protection stories in the newspapers, there have been multiple flags from a variety of professionals including doctors and social services already involved. It does not appear that the presence [or absence in the case of some withdrawn] of schooling has been a deciding or flagging factor in raising the alarm of abuse.

I would again like to state that these repeated consultations are a form of government intimidation and bullying. There appears to be wilful and persistent spreading of rumours and slander against the home education population without corroborative evidence, suggesting that the parents within that group abuse their children or are not educating their children or looking towards their wider welfare. there is a clear imbalance of power towards the government, leaving home educators feeling defenceless and bullied.

I will be including this in a complaint to the Select Committee for Children Schools and Families [csfcom@parliament.uk] and also to my MP
————————————————————————-

hmmm comments please so i can improve on this. i really am quite crap at consultation writing! i got a bit bored towards the end, so have stopped there for now!

I looked at my mission statement, and with relief saw that it was valid till 2010
obviously some things change! Not the basic philosophy, but how we are approaching the nitty gritty section!
literacy: SB has declared the galore park junior english OK, so that will start us with looking at the breakdown of how ‘english works’ as we have seen she now has a requirement for learning sentence structure and names. She also is enjoying the wizard whimstaff spelling workbooks, so we will continue with these. we do less getty and dubay at the moment because of the above.
maths we are on 3a and also reading books involving maths storylines. she is finding it all easy at the moment, so i hope to do some with her and perhaps push on a bit.
history is unchanged really, with SOTW as the core [and we are half way through as predicted, as we take 2 rather than 1 year per book], and reading story books and interesting fact books. we all enjoy the reading, but i should make an effort to do more associated activities. when we did this with the vikings, we all really enjoyed it. just remembered that when she is 8 she can join the young archaeologists, so will look into this.
critical thinking and logic is by games playing, both board games and ds, with sudoku and easy kakuro too.
science is having some more formal time with the latinetc group on alternate wednesdays, which is all good fun. i don’t really think anything much there has changed. our new microscope is exciting!! oh, MUST try and sort out astronomy group, and Sarah [bless her] as given me her old science club kits now she isn’t HE-ing, that i use in the latinetc group [thnx]
geography we haven’t really got to grips with except as an adjunct to history or following NORAD tracks santa! will ponder how to usefully put in!
I am encouraged by our success really with languages, it seems that our story book plus some add on actiivities are really working for us. I’m not saying that either of the girls are having a conversation in french, just that i can see we are slowly acquiring the language in a fun way - if possibly not the most efficient! latinetc and a bit of practice inbetween is fun too.
I am a bit discouraged in our music. SB stopping the violin was a bit of a blow, but i have said we are child led, so… piano continues as does music theory. we should do more practice though for piano and recorder. a friend around the blogline reminded me about ambleside online, and perhaps we should look at its composer study
we lost drama, though did do a drama activity week. if it ever fits in again, it will be added. PE activities fine - gym has commenced and is loved, though horseriding still outstanding! SInce BB also has a bike. we should add some family biking.
arts and crafts have been done, and SB won a village painting competition with much pride. but now thinking of perhaps working in some technique! i have books about paintings, about painters and about how too, so hopefully this will be good for us!
domestic science [rofl] is fine. we sew more, and are considering a sewing project to make a needle case at the moment. perhaps starting to cook savour food - ie dinners - is a starting point now.
socialising took a bit of a hit with her broken foot and then emotional wobbles, but i think it has been enough that she is a happy girl. i aim to get my weekends out to see who wants to visit as soon as i have my work rota. i think this is something we will always need to be proactive with. we have a group holiday in both jan and feb to look forward too, however. from the HE groups, it appears that there may be a possible monday group after the sports to go too - and other weeks if wanted, and alt week thurs group attendance works out OK - it is available weekly. with the alt wed latinetc and monthlyish city 2 group, that is a fair group commitment!
with my sisters breast cancer diagnosis last year, chris’s uncles bowel cancer that has been resistant to chemo and inoperable, and the news before christmas that little nanny’s breast cancer has spread and that we should take what time we have, we have also been working hard to see and visit relatives we love, not taking the time for granted.
we have started off on some trips out and about, and as BB gets more and more out of them, we will increase them. certainly SB has loved them, as have we.

So there you go, our mid term gap analysis if you will!! we need to something about geography - [i still think geocaching mapreading and some good games would do the trick - we just need to do them], jiggle things a bit with music [ie practice more and see if we can do basic group stuff more and perhaps the ambleside online] and art [which we have the wherewithal to do - doing some technique stuff gently] and increase the socialisation and out and abouting which we all enjoy. we have been surprised and happy with our languages, and continue to be happy with maths, literacy and science - we enjoy this and find it easy and fun. don’t plan to change much there, except perhaps gently encourage more regular ‘work’ - a bit like merry’s normals perhaps - to speed through the maths a bit. history chugs along, we all like it, but don’t have the passion of other HE we know, but i think adding more practical things in and related trips would really lift it.

so not bad, i guess.

oh, and no, there is no mission statement yet for BB - she’s not the age of compulsary education!

outstanding parental tasks
1. arrange some horseriding!
2. RSPB badge scheme thingies as a fun thing to do or perhaps nature detectives club [thnx jax]
3. geocaching
4. organise diary for visiting family and friends
5. arrange trips out and about!
6. tidy the craft stuff so accessible [at least the science stuff done]
7. check resources on ambleside online wrt composer study +/- artists [thnx kirsty]
8. Astronomy group
9. young archaeologists
10. hmm, consider science equipment needs, and kirsty - unhelpfully - linked to what look to me fab books

thinks: OMG that’s rather a lot on the to do list!

but while i was out, chris has done a fab job with tidying up the house. the girls have played alot with their castle, and i managed to pick up a quick bargain at tescos - a coffee table to play games on! our front room being the warmest at night due to fire] and dining room coldest [due to radiators on minimal] playing games in these christmas nights has been a chilly affair. £7 later and we are all set!!

on coming home from work we read a french book altogether, and SB and i did a bit of story of the world together - crusaders. we also read our come look with me book on modern art , Exploring Modern Art (Come Look with Me) , together [sb partic fond of modern art] And this fitted in well with the Matisse: The King of Color (Anholt’s Artists Books for Children Series) book bb got for xmas, and both have enjoyed reading. this year i am fired up with enthusiasm for art! i am also tempted by the following books, Artrageous (Klutz) , Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered (Klutz) , and Mark Kistler’s Draw Squad . I think i am def going to get this one, Watercolour (Klutz) , and was wondering if any of the latinetc bunch also liked it?? cos it could be done in the french immersion session, but it would need one book each…

anyway! after that i played some build a beetle with BB - her rules, and fell asleep! [only a short while, but when i woke up chris had the girls in the bath!! and then some puerto rico with SB. it isn’t really playable as 2 player properly, but it gives us both a brush up on the rules etc.

but i hate doing the buggers, can’t use their website - i used it when first set up, forgot password, and somehow can’t be re-entered… and i have never filled out the self emplyed bit before, and it has all sorts of questions i can’t answer! i earnt about £1500 self employed over a year, and spent about £800. but the form has all sorts of weird bits in it!!

so i’ll blog instead. got up late, girls watching monsters inc, had shower [took ages to brush hair], did violin practice with SB - haven’t practiced for ages so lots of wails and gnashing of teeth there. read some books with BB, then lunch, and both girls did some maths and SB handwriting whilst BB did some french story with me. SB then did french conversation. i realsied what she actually got upset with on wed [or so she says] is that she couldn’t spell to write car experiment on the paper and thought j and chloe would laugh at her. no idea why, and chloe had j spell experiment for her. i will print it next time though. She does have entirely dire spelling though, and absolutely no way of working it out. since her reading is so fab, i am a bit of a loss as to why she can’t spell car… but we will make an effort to do diolch words spellings, as we let them slide a bit. i’m not overwhelmed by the fact her spelling is so bad if it doesn’t bother her, but if its going to make her wail and be miserable, then she has to learn!!

lots of running abour wildy, playing with kids k’nex and bb doing counting buddy blocks with the maths manipulatives and they wanted to go out roller skating. we got about 20 m and had to return for a wee stop but the next attempt far more successful. beautiful day for it too, and the churchyard has lots of slopy pavements to practice on. also a bit of gravestone investigation as well. should have taken the camera, as the light on the church was gorgeous, oh well! its not as if we don’t have a few photos tucked away!

returned when girls worn out, snuggled and read books - including a bit of SOTW as we have slipped a bit in it - it only takes a few seconds, but somehow… and a quickie recorder practice as well. watched a quite dire spanish lyrical video - bought ages and ages ago. but girls liked it, so i face booked!! yummy tea, and then bedtime. i am enjoying the pirates of pompeii reading to sb at the mo, and she read me some arthur in return.

PS, i am bolding again. i really miss it when i don’t do it!

oh, and BB bought me flowers

I always swore I would go old gracefully, and not bother with all the hair colouring etc etc, as at some point, you have to then grow old suddenly, or look slightly odd.

it is, of course, crunch time.

well, actually crunch time prob really was a few years ago! But my hair is now most definitely grey looking. The white streaks are now prominent enough for the over all impression from the front def to be grey, but its not uniform, and prob about 5% white?

It has become more noticeable on photos, and also today i plaited my hair in about 8 plaits after laboriously combing out the camping tangles. I haven’t plaited it since sitting the last lot of exams in 2000 - where there were hardly any white hairs! [plaiting hair a good finger distraction activity whilst revising i think!]. So, aarrgh!

I don’t feel at all older though, i’m not sure where all the time has whizzed by, but here, alongside the 40 next year milestone, is the evidence that time is marching on. All sorts of other options change. I’m not averse to change, and don’t fear the aging, just wish for another 10 years before it became noticeable! There’s the child thing. The longer i don’t consider further treatment, the less likely it is, so i guess indecision here is probably a decision. I am not, after all, racing to alter it. There is the pension thing - and in this credit crunch world, is that as sorted as i thought? after all, the equity in this house was supposed to keep us going for a bit [yep, i do have a works pension, obviously - i am anally retentive after all - but chris hasn't that much work to pension]. And i really must make the most of the next 10 years, as they will fly by too.

so, rather odd time of year for resolutions but

1. I MUST LOOSE WEIGHT/ BODY MASS

2. I REALLY SHOULD FIND SOME TIME TO EXERCISE

3. I might henna my hair, but apart from that, i think i will take greyness!

4. In planning for the future, credit crunch or not, life is lived in the here and now, so i MUST NOT STRESS!

this is obviously referenced to the previous mission statement!

Taking us to feb 2010 - ie SB 9 [2 years]

I think full formal education starts too soon. the first period is about learning learning skills, and getting the information.

i think we have set a reasonably good ground for where we wanted to be. we have had a lot of fun. we have read widely, played madly, stuck, glittered, experimented and loved each others company. Along the way SB has learnt to read, and reads very well. this skill is a huge advantage as now she reads anything and everything. She has consolidated early maths skills, started the path to music and languages.

We still plan with our education to show the world as an exciting and interesting place to live in and imparting the knowledge without being overly concerned to the most part on how long it is retained! Some skills are built on - namely literacy, language, numeracy and practical things such as art, music and sports. Others will come and go.The key thing is to view the tapestry, not count the stitches. The basic warp and weft will be forming.

Although for ease of showing consideration to areas of curriculum, i have broken this down into curriculum links, a lot of them are fairly arbitrary. the order they appear is not particularly that of precedence. ALthough we will encourage regular maths and writing within the week and music and language practice, the details and timings of what to do will remain with SB . the ‘box book’ idea seems to work ok - though we must change them more regularly! new books or books round somehing she says she wants to read are popped into a box for a week and then supposedly rotated. when she claims to be at a lose end, i suggest she reads a box book, or choses something else. she invariably reads a box book - a its either new, or something that week she has wanted to read.

So we will remain child led rather than completely autonomous. I see it continuing that there are activities we try and accomplish on a regular basis, be this daily, weekly, fortnightly or what seems reasonable . The actual minutiae will not be programmed, and will be child interest led. Although I have rough idea of what we may get through as such in the next 2 years, it isn’t ‘must do or else’, and often I skip bits : more a guide to where i see us being. SB has a wide ranging thirst at the moment, and so it seems unreasonable to fix her attention on something she truly deems boring when there are many other things to catch her spark.

Play activities are still vital at this stage - as when else in the future are you given the chance to have free play without some pangs of guilt? Lets get rid of the guilt, so that is something that is part of the balance. many of the toys can be seen to have all sorts of possible educational benefits, as I think there is very little ‘play’ that doesn’t have some learning potential - from rehearsing life scenarios, honing imagination, fine motor control, etc etc.

the Nitty Gritty

literacy:

to read herself a wide a varied amount of literature, encouraging her to try new genres and authors, and to stretch her imagination. to still read aloud to her a variety of stories, again across different genres and writing styles.

to start to discuss the mechanics of style and writing in the books, stories, poetry etc we come across. not much to start with -don’t want to impede the reading explosion! but to start thinking about why she liked bits, what the story is about, what interests are sparked from it, and perhaps the use of language.

to start her on the path to writing her own stories - encouraging the use of grammer and spelling!

writing: SB has stated an interest in writing more legibly, and we are gradually working through getty and dubay. We are half way through c. i hope we carry on with this. i hope to add some story writing or copywork activitities if she fancies it.

maths: singapore maths 2b at the moment, and hoping to move through a year of singapore with each calendar year, so perhaps starting 4a. it just depends really! . we also plan to use some CIMT maths for different perspectives. Also incorporating lots of time just fiddling with manipulatives, and bring maths into the every day.

History: we have commenced the second story of the world as a reader, and perhaps aim to complete this, just seeing how it goes. alongside this we have lots of great usborne books and good piccies in DK eyewitness [the text is too rich at the moment]

Also readers set in different time periods, and myths and legends seem to go down well. we can use this to spark interest and discuss as and when she fancies
we may start to introduce timelines, and see where this gets us .

critical thinking: I would like to do some critical thinking. May buy a sonlight book! However, i think lots of games playing will be helpful here, learning to plan moves ahead etc. SHe has taken up chess recently, and we play lots of games together

science: I would STILL like to join the young scientists club, and use those and our usborne pocket series. crystal kits, dig it out kits, and general messing about kits - lovely! SB has a real interest in doing experiments and seeing how things work, and i plan to facilitate this regularly.

at present the magic school bus chapter books and programmes are a hit, and contain solid wodges of info in easily accessible formats. i think as she loves them, this is definitely something to encourage.

i would like us to get round to joining the astronomy group, and hopefully hiring one of their telescopes, as she is keen to do this, and we would all enjoy it.

Geography: will still be predominantly history and holiday based, but perhaps something such as geocaching may take SB’s interest? it also gets covered alot as part of other things.

languages: SB would very much like to give more attention to languages. we have good resources for french, german and spanish to start, and also i need to practice the latin in between sessions. it is something she needs our help and encouragement with.

we will try and back this up with local groups to encourage the skills, and consider camping holidays in france to make them practical.

music :- piano is probably SB’s favourite, and we will encourage regular practice

we will do violin and at some point in the next 2 years, i might pass the tuition on to the county music service

certainly we wish to utilise the county music service for their early ensemble string groups. I think SB would get a lot out of this.

we will also do lots of singing, and listen to a wide range of music methinks.

drama: at present she does this with the home-ed group, and does enjoy it. the timing of the session is poor for me, and i think it might go after this term. we should look potentially for something else.

PE: is covered well at the moment, and we will continue to encourage a core sports practice and trying out all sorts of new ideas.

current activities are ballet, swimming and judo. She goes for gym taster sessions, so we hope to add that.

she would also like to at least try horse riding, and see if she enjoys it.

the local group has a monthly mixed sports group, which she loves and will continue to attend

more ad hoc are yoga and dance videos [which i should do too!!], and perhaps finding someone to get her started with in line skating. half term and holiday leisure centre taster events also popular

IT: well!! whatever really. we have the internet, a variety of cd’s and webland to be getting on with. i won’t renew education city unless she has a sudden mad rush at it!

Arts and crafts: obviously a huge component of our days! we are a bit low on feathers and glittery bits…

I would like to add in some art appreciation, look at different artists and styles, and ‘have a go’

Domestic Science!!: slight rofl at title, but a fair bit of baking and cooking, gardening, some tidying and laying the table. SHe is interested in sewing and knitting too, so it is just about making sure the basics are available and accessible for her to do when the mood strikes, or re-introducing if there has been a gap.

Socialising: regular attendance at not quite local groups, local clubs [ie rainbows], national camps and making sure we have a steady stream of houseguests.

we probably should have a look at what we go to and when, as with the increase in after school activity groups, we probably should do a bit more staying at home to accomplish some of the above.

family is also important, and maintaining close family ties and bonds.

trips and outings: i think we should be a bit more proactive now BB more amenable to going out and about to places for experiential learning opportunities. this would add a bit of sparkle and pizazz to the whole thing, add external excitement for looking at some things, and generally be fun for all.

practicalities: we have lots of resources and opportunities, i think in the next 2 years we parents have to hone our presentation skills, storage solutions etc, so that they are all readily accessible for SB to find . i think we need a ruthless look at groups that work or not for SB, and keep an eye on the opportunities to play and socialise.

obviously we do a lot of ed by conversation and seeing where that goes - sometimes quite tricky, so the other thing is to make sure that we are available , enthusiastic partners in the educational process.

this is a boring bare bones thought. chris needs to look, add and ponder. it is harder to really look at this in any more detail, as SB really will become more and more the driving force for her education, depending on her interest. I think for me, it is enough to know that i think we have resources and information and enthusiasm to back her up, but also to at this stage continue to encourage and lead and offer where necessary. by 9, i would hope that for the most part she will be autonomous and enthused about continuing to learn and find out. That we will have facilitated her spending ages on minutiae, and whipping through huge subjects in nano seconds where less interesting to her.

i had a chat with a local HE-er today, also wrote a reply to a list and realised we were overdue a overhaul!

this was our last look at what we were doing, and i think we should sit and think about what we need to do to improve things

SB at drama - she really has enjoyed the 2 taster sessions she has had so far, so fingers crossed there will be more opportunities for the younger group. ALso hoping they don’t continue to be on Wed - a bad day for us!

BB and i did some more musical instrument making, looked at vibrating rubber bands and saw how the sounds differed as stretched it out, and how ‘fat’ the vibration was. wish we had a copy of fantasia!

We went outside to sow broad beans - v windy. She had been desperate to go outside and do it, and it looked sunny, so no persuading her it was cold coat weather until she got buffetted by a particularly huge blast, and then she put a coat on! We are sowing the broad beans through cardboard again, as they did OK that way, and it significantly reduced the weed growth - weeding is not a forte of mine! Came back in and watched magic school bus arctic.

She then went back to the music experiment box, and we did the filling loads of glasses with water. she was v careful as they are ‘breakaful’ but onfortunately with one of her dongs did put a crack in a glass, so experiment over! Did demonstrate that immediately loses power to make a note. We then did some general messing about!

SB and Chris came home in time for lunch and then watched some dora the explora both singing and actioning along. The goggles have arrived, and SB is trying out some similar to ernests, and a back up plan to whip ‘bb’s’ if the above don’t work. We all played Hisss, though BB got grumpy towards the end when SB got ‘her’ snake. SB chose to do some maths and then was off to rainbows. Seemed like i hardly got to see her.

BB knows its baking when SB off at rainbows, so this time we have baked pink and chocolate cupcakes. yummy. SHe particularly enjoyed the lickings… We played peebo, read a book and then it disintegrated a bit… So we painted her large coil pot and got things temporarily back into balance.
SB returned and there was general raucousness, a bit of horseplay and tea. BB nearly got put in the cellar [ok she didn't but it feels tempting! goggles on a high shelf for whacking SB with, numerous toys in a similar position for being thrown etc] So after tea I took BB to bed for snuggle and story and she fell asleep v quickly.

Sb has been reading and teaching chris landlock in the meantime. time for her bed. We have had a lot of lovely music on during the day, which the girls have danced to etc. They enjoyed looking at some of the utube clips. [no music practice again!]
Back to work for me tomorrow. These last few days off have been a bonus for me. BB is v challenging to parent at the moment. She is utterly adorable but 20% destructiveness and temper, often taken out on SB. It is totally knocking my confidence as a parent and I am concerned about balancing the needs of each. It is clear that only 100% attention really improves BB, but this wouldn’t be achievable if she was an only, as it means 100% full on. However, stretching her with activities and having something at the ready does seem to make a difference, both to BB’s behaviour and the amount of positive attention both girls get. So having this time has helped me see I can still get a rhythm, and although its not perfect, it feels positive. It might be exhausting, but I only do it 3 times a week.

We seem to have been incredibly science-y, bit that is what was requested!! Must make more of an effort to suggest the lovely french reading books again, and a few language vids…

external validation of home ed is always a difficult idea for me. i am uncertain under which conditions it would actually have any validity, which is why we don’t seek it! i think that the only current people who have a valid opinion on how well we are doing to provide an education suitable for age, ability and aptitude are me and chris. what about SB? well, she obviously has a v great say in the educational process, what she wants to do, as we are child led [a bit autonomous with some formal maths!] I think - defining our hE practice with regards to other peoples is a slippery fish! its easy to say you school at home, sonlight etc, and its easy to be completely autonomous, but we aren’t either. much more on the autonomous side, with lots of educational strewing going on! Anyway, if she likes something,w e do it [even timetabling, which has now stopped!] if she doesn’t like something, we don’t. So, if we assume that we educate in a way that suits SB and she enjoys, it will usually meet the 3 a’s for her. But is it any good?

well, for that we need some goals perhaps to see if we are on a path to achieve? hmm, goal setting then seems much more cagey.

1. i would like her to be in a place to choose what and how and when for exams and further ed, and that I shouldn’t have limited her options. but of course i will have done. school limited mine - what did or didn’t clash etc. so i hope that i can keep a broad base of options until it is clear where she wishes to direct her path. I think that is my present goal. [can't answer for chris]. both of us went to uni, and although i ‘m not saying now she has to go, i want that option to be most definitely there. and its this that muddies my autonomous approach! [maths - and handwriting, though SB has specifically requested that = autonomous perhaps!] . so they are my deepest darkest goals!
2. my more apparent ones are that i want her to see learning and acquiring knowledge fun and interesting, to not lose the thirst and spark about it. At the moment she wants to rampage through the magic school bus books [so i had better buy some then!] and this is what i love, seeing her head in a book, and then proudly telling me facts, and making me guess -testing me! and this goal at present complements the other. what i’ll do if they ever don’t run in tandem waits to be seen!
3. and i want her to enjoy her childhood, that this education and learning stuff isn’t pressurised. that she plays and grows up at her own pace rather than in response to peer pressure

so, i guess by my goal setting we are OK too. but i always think we could do it ‘a bit better’ , that a bit more organisation on our part, of the day, of the resources, of tidyness would waste less precious time and present more options.

Of course, if i did have to submit to external validation, i could talk and present stuff and gloss and spin, and i imagine they would walk away perfectly satisfied even if i’m not. [they might surprise me! we have no written proof of anything except maths] it would be totally irrelevant to me/us though as a validation [or not] of our methods. It could never be more than a tick box exercise. i would ignore criticisms as well as commendations.

BTW, this is not a criticism of those that do have meetings, provide evidence etc. but in a round about way, a criticism of those bodies that think they can measure home ed at all. the only people that can with a true heart say whether the education provided is suitable are those intimately involved. and it is us, the parents responsibility that no complacency or external tick box allows us to not follow up on our niggles and try and iron them out, to be true facilitators of the learning process, however it suits our own family.

The Nuffield Review paper concludes that we should recognise, and value, many different aims for education.

These include: critical thinking and an introduction to knowledge in the physical and social sciences, the humanities and the arts; development of practical capabilities; preparation for citizenship; and development of the ideals and values needed to face the big issues affecting our communities.

Taking us back to consider the big question - “what is education for?” - may seem like an academic frippery compared to the day-to-day hard questions about the curriculum and testing.

But at a time when 14-19 education in England is going through its biggest upheaval for over 50 years, it is an essential reminder of the need to keep an eye on the bigger picture.

i think that sounds like a decent stab at educational though. link to nuffield website

I think one of the most fantastic gifts my parents ever gave me was the gift of music. I asked and receive a violin from father christmas aged 5. my mother made sure I practiced all the time, and being a musician, and teacher at the local music centre, we frequently listed in to the lessons there and also to show rehearsals in the evening whilst dad worked shifts. It was a wonderful opportunity. I got to join an orchestra by the time I was SB’s age, and just went on from there, every saturday morning.

I got to have a fantastic musical childhood, residential courses, international travel, solo’s at the royal albert hall, playing concertos with various orchestras as well as being in the orchestras for all sorts of stunning occasions.

The perhaps most magical thing was being involved with initially the setting up of a baroque string group and then a full concert orchestra with my mother and her friends. At the time I was the only student allowed [I was rather good] and it was an experience of ‘high performance’ orchestral playing. Being in an orchestra consisting entirely of music teacher peers and some semiprofessional orchestral players was something else.

My mother says I was lucky enough to catch the dizzy heights of musical ambition by LEA’s and then a wave of local optimism.

What reminded me of this? A programme chris found of the orchestra’s 10th anniversary in 1996. Mum, me and my sister in the same orchestral concert, with loads of old friends and teachers. how fab was that. My Mum has ‘retired’ this season from the orchestra, my sister and I don’t practice enough, nor live geographically near each other. The experience wont happen again. [well, we did all play in the 20th reunion concert! ] One day I would like to be able to perhaps sit with pride in an orchestra with my girls.

I haven’t followed my own musical dream, and I can’t believe it is right to impress it on my children, but it would be lovely.

OK, doing this slightly early, but november hits me like that! It was written Jan 2006 when SB approaching 5th birthday

Taking us to feb 2008 - ie SB 7 [2 years]

I think full formal education starts too soon. this first period is about learning learning skills, and getting the information - so reading is something we will build on! making the world an exciting and interesting place to live in and imparting the knowledge without being overly concerned to the most part on how long it is retained! Some skills are built on - namely literacy, language, numeracy and practical things such as art, music and sports. Others will come and go.The key thing is to view the tapestry, not count the stitches. The basic warp and weft will be forming.In this, we are likely to be child led rather than completely autonomous. I see it panning out that there are activities we try and accomplish on a regular basis, be this daily, weekly, fortnightly or what seems reasonable . The actual minutiae will not be programmed, and will be child interest led. Although I have rough idea of what we may get through as such in the next 2 years, it isn’t ‘must do or else’, and often I skip bits : more a guide to where i see us being. SB has a wide ranging thirst at the moment, and so it seems unreasonable to fix her attention on something she truly deems boring when there are many other things to catch her spark.
Play activities are equally vital if not more so at this stage - as when else in the future are you given the chance to have free play without some pangs of guilt? Lets get rid of the guilt, so that is something that is part of the balance. many of the toys can be seen to have all sorts of possible educational benefits, as I think there is very little ‘play’ that doesn’t have some learning potential - from rehearsing life scenarios, honing imagination, fine motor control, etc etc.

OK,OK, I still agree with that as a mission statement, and think that we followed it!

the Nitty Gritty

literacy: and that is that we will be leading up to increased stuff in the next 2 years, hopefully running through the explode the codes - possibly 2 rather than 3 a year! Find as many early readers that fire the imagination without being too awful, and ebay the rest! Encouraging a love of reading from the books - sepearte perhaps the architecture of reading into the explode the code, so the books aren’t so tedious from the language lessons! Continue to read aloud a wide and varied story matter that pleases SB and is chosen by her. On the language arts front perhaps try the first language lessons from susan wise bauer

well, we got to explode the code 4, at which point it achieved what we wanted, and she read and read and read. we have no schemes particularly now [well, magic tree house I guess, because she likes it!] . hmm to first language lessons. we have tried it and it is tedious. might just do grammar when she is interested enough to start writing things. We still read aloud lots of books and stories, and she loves reading. so yes, def happy there.

maths: singapore maths 1a, 1b and starting 2a . Using our miquon if we start to get on with it better [or ebay it] and the ‘exeter’ maths for different perspectives. Also incorporating lots of time just fiddling with manipulatives, and bring maths into the every day. may purchase some cuisinaire books and the pattern blocks to play with.

yep, ticking over here, just starting singapore 2B, miquon has never made it in our family, and waiting for some CIMT books [which exeter maths has become] we do lots of fiddling with maths on an every day basis anyway that isn’t book related. Cuisinaire books at pattern blocks both purchased and used.

History: we have commenced the first story of the world as a reader, and perhaps aim for midway into the second 2 story of the worlds, just seeing how it goes. alongside this we have lots of great usborne books and good piccies in DK eyewitness [the text is too rich at the moment] Also readers set in different time periods, and myths and legends seem to go down well. As I’ve said, we will not be testing recall. In fact, I have decided we probably won’t do timelines etc as yet unless SB develops the idea from elsewhere, and leave them till later on. The story of the world does basic chronology, but we won’t be bound by this on a daily basis, rather following the spark of interest. The Muddlepuddle curriculum will sit nicely in both this and the literacy categories, and we aim to be semi following it.

we have finished the first SOTW. I think halfway through the second was a bit optimistic for us - though highly acheivable for the more focussed! I am glad I decided not to worry about recall, as I imagine there is very little! But you know, there are the threads there, that with interest and future interest and readings will flare into patterns. we have read lots of other books, looked at pictures, enjoyed stories and not worried about timelines.

writing: SB is not so keen on writing any large amounts at the moment, but does like to write small notes and cards to people. At the moment we are not planning any additional writing, but as she gets more confident and keen, we have the getty and dubay series to hone things.

we have started with writing now as SB has requested to learn. in this we are following her pace. She is not a natural pen holder! But, now she has started, I am hoping that one day her writing might be nicer than both parents - you never know! very much work in progress. we are using getty and dubay B at the moment.

critical thinking: I would like to do some critical thinking. May buy a sonlight book!

have bought a book - might even use it one day!

science: I would like to join the young scientists club, and use those and our usborne pocket series. crystal kits, dig it out kits, and general messing about - lovely! our gears and hopefully a brainbox kit will sit nicely here too.

hmm, we go through in and out phases of science. I don’t think we experiment enough really, but she loves reading the books and fiddling about with experiments when we do them. this is a parents could do better category really. Her interest is certainly there.

Geography: will be predominantly history and holiday based, but perhaps something such as geocaching may take SB’s interest?

Actually, we have done more of this than I had thought. a fair bit of map reading and looking, interested in where things are.We have looked at habitats, and since she is very keen on reading about animals and habitats, a lot just comes in with this. still think geocaching would be a good idea.

We should give languages a good crack - german as we have resources and ? Spanish as some of those too. We have the latin is easy [or whatever!] but have not done this in any organised way, and wont unless SB very keen until a bit older.

ermm - ducks and runs. possibly the bit of our educational provision I am most negative about. We will do better!

music :- piano has been requested, and we will do violin as some fun. lots of singing, and listen to a wide range of music methinks.

yep, learning violin and piano, and she is certainly enthusiastic [and has enthused others] . we do far less practice than I would like, but I think we will gradually build up a better and better routine there.

PE: well, she has requested swimming and ballet, we have Katy’s yoga DVD, and I’m sure cycling and walking will occur. She loved gym in Leeds, so if our busy timetable allows it…

gym still awaited, but swimming, ballet, cycling and walking all frequent!

IT: well!! whatever really, would like to get hold of a zoombinis cd, but think it might yet be a bit difficult. we have the internet, a variety of cd’s and webland to be getting on with.

thanks to kirsty for zoombinis - much enjoyed. education city still debatable. on balance probably not, but luckilly we got 2 years in the end for price of one, so doesn’t feel so bad! She still enjoys webland - now the older edition. Also a lot of mileage from jump ahead

Arts and crafts: obviously a huge component of our days! we are a bit low on feathers and glittery bits…

no probs here!!!

Domestic Science!!: slight rofl at title, but a fair bit of baking and cooking, gardening, some tidying and laying the table. May start some sewing and later on she would like to learn to knit [from Nana!]

knitting might have to wait a bit, but we still bake and make!

Socialising: regular attendance at not quite local groups, local clubs [ie rainbows], national camps and making sure we have a steady stream of houseguests. Thanks Heather for the tip of selected holiday clubs. Pestering anyone vaguely local!

success on a plate with rainbows and a village friend that she plays with most weeks. with local HE families and groups, as well as meeting with the muddlepuddle groups we are fine - not excessive numbers, but enough! Rainbows friend has settled my mind though, as a walkable distance friend is very valuable!

What after 7 - well, i have to say I might consider sonlight core 2! I like the look of so many books that it becomes as near as dammit to buy the core and ebay the biblical stuff. Not entirely sure whether we would follow the timetable though, but if we had it, could always give it a whirl. Not commiting myself to that far in the future though.

hmm, much future pondering here! think sonlight less likely. 7 suddenly seems like an important age, where we should be starting to feel in control of our destiny type thing. am aware of a disatisfaction with the process of HE at the moment - needs a bit of sparkle. not sure we are doing the best we can for SB. At her request, we are experimenting with a timetable - which feels weird, and seeing if that encourages the filling in of gaps! No doubt thought will eventually turn into our next mission statement. Not sure what Chris is thinking about this…

I’ve been  member of the John Muir Trust for years now.
They run something called the John Muir Award which is an environmental award scheme aimed at encouraging the discovery and conservation of wild places. Though primarily aimed at organised groups, it is open to individuals, families and small informal groups as well.
I’m pondering trying to organise a group of home edders to do it, it sounds like it could be interesting and fun.

A job I’ve been putting off for many months at the very least, is sorting through the extremely large pile of kiddies clothes we have collected over the last 6 years. They were mostly sorted out before we moved, but BB of course has been through a lot of them since then, and there were a lot that had got mixed up during that time, or SB has been through since we moved.

But one, it was raining today so couldn’t work outside, two, I want to take some down for my cousins baby. So I bit the bullet. It has taken me literally hours, though bar some putting into bags, and a heap of socks and odd gloves etc. it is all sorted now.

I’m not especially attached to kiddies clothes etc. , but a few items I just couldn’t put in the passing on pile. One of them was a cardigan knitted by my Aunty Barbara when SB was baby She has suffered with dreadful polymyalgia for some years now - she had it then when SB was little, though nowhere so bad as now, and there was still hope they would be able to treat it successfully. It must have been an effort for to have knitted this cardigan.

But most of all for me is a little fleecy oversuit, hat and blanket set that we bought for SB before she was born. Seen here being worn by BB at our first Melrose in Feb 2005:

I can remember buying it, we’d gone out a couple of months before she was due to Mothercare for a big shop for stuff (odd in instself now, surely we’d do it online now?). They had this little set, it looked so cute, we succumbed to buying it (we didn’t buy many clothes for her, got given loads). The blanket at least, was used to when SB came home  from hospital - it was cold, it’s been snowing, she was so wrapped up you could hardly see a baby :-). I can remember taking her out dressed up in it to our favourite park in Leeds. I can’t part with it yet - soppy and daft I know.
I think it in some way sums up all that excitement and anticipation of planning for the approaching birth of your first child, and those first few month with the new baby. And  the memories of those happy times.

One of the nice things about living here, is all the people round us growing things, esp. the orchards. A common situation is a house built in an orchard, which is always rather appealing. There is one place outside the village whch the woman runs as a buisness, she seels various plants for gardens, as well as apples and pears from the orchard, and some veg and top fruit she grows there as well, eggs from the chickens etc.. She has couple of fenced off areas as fruit/veg beds, and a nice big polytunnel. It’s Helen’s perfect place really, and it always looks nice, well maintained, nicely mowed bewtween the trees etc.

Yesterday popped in there for a few bits, got some nice plums - always much nicer as they can be picked much riper I think as they don’t have to travel. - BB eaten most of them this morning, Raspberries, which the kids devoured, also got some of the first English apples of the season - some Discovery and Beauty of Bath, which were lovely and crisp and fresh (the BoB were pretty sharp actually, I quite like that though). I only really buy imported apples in the English off season for the kids, I try not to otherwise. This makes those first apples taste so much nicer.

I do think we miss something when we can just go and buy anything at anytime, imported from somewhere or other in the world.

Down side of those first apples, is that it reminds me that Autumn is lurking a little way over the horizon

Hi, I’m aged 43, married to Helen, with 2 daughters - SB 5 3/4 and BB almost 2.

We are home educating, and I am the parent who is at home mostly with our daughters.

Helen’s car wouldn’t start this morning - battery was very flat, so I had to get up to push it out of the drive so she could take the other car. So I was up (about 7.30 - normally I am up first and before then anyhow), so enjoyed my cup of tea (or 2) in peace and quiet. Catching up on friends blogs, reading news on the BBC and Guardian websites. But it wasn’t long before youngest was up. Breakfast of cereal for her (Rice Crispies), milk, toast, and fruit. Eldest had a lie in - catching up on sleep missed with friends staying for the weekend. So me and BB had a nice time to play together, drawing and colouring, reading, playing silly giggling games, she ‘helped’ wash up. Then we all went to the library

On the way back, did notice exactly how old the old school building is (now an electronic subcontractors). It has a plaque over the door saying it was founded in 1749. Though the building was built in I think it said 1784. The were also 3 bricks high up in the wall with the date and the initials of (presumably) some of the builders. All around the doorway are scratched intials in the brick - presumably of children attending the school. I wonder just how old they are? Must be one of the oldest building in the village. Most around this bit seem to be Victorian, and are built of different brick. Also wandered back through the parish church yard, where SB likes me to read the graves stones, while I try to put the dates into some sort of context. So plenty of reflection on history, change and permanence there. Much has changed in the intervening decades and centuries, but also much is depressingly the same.

Home to coffee, reading of library books, lunch (listening to the Little Toe Radio Show via the computer). It was going to be baked beans, but no beans, so had a treat of fried eggs on toast followed by yoghurt and fruit - youngest is on real Clementine hit at the moment. We do like to eat seasonal and local produce - and we do have great local apples, plums and pears - Cambridgeshire was real plum country and there are still quite a few orchards around. Ok clementines are local, but I do try to at least wait for the European ones to come in. The first Satsumas and Clementines being an early herald of Christmas. We’ll gloss over the Bananas though.

Afternoon passed with BB having a nap, while me and SB did some maths, some of her reading to me, watched a bit of a DVD of the old David Attenborough Living Planet programme, did a few domestic tasks like sorting out some washing. Our house is failry old 150 -200 years - in parts. So often reminded of history as I move around it. Youngest wanted some grapes (we have a 100+ year old grapevine in the conservatory). We went and cut a bunch and I am reminded of the woman (who was in her 90s then) who the previous owners met in the 1980’s. Who remembered the vine being here when she lived here as child. Did she enjoy the grapes like our two?

We finished off with a drive (6 miles) to the swimming pool, for SB’s swimming lesson. Home to pasta and tomato sauce for dinner. Once children were in bed we relaxed by writing our 1 Day in History blogs. One of our friends has had a baby today. I wonder what sort of history they will be looking back on in 40 years time?