What I love about Home Educating

What I love about HE

There are a great many things about home education that are simply awesome. Some were expected, somewhere a surprise to me.

No school run!

I don't have to drag my screaming crying child to school in
the cold, wet or dark for five days a week! In fact lie in's and our timing of
the day are all set later than most people's. The earliest I even try and wake
folks up around here is about 8 am. Because the school run is “normal” I don’t think I ever thought of it in it’s self as stressful, yet it is. The grind in cold wet weather before it is properly light and then spending all day inside to come home in the dark seems totally alien to me now. It is so unnatural and odd when you think about it! If we treated animals that way we would be charged with animal cruelty! Our uniforms can be wellies or PJ's or fairy costumes too!

Time.
A school everything was rushed. Now, now, now. More, more,
more. There was always a pressure not only to do it, then do it better but
faster too. This literally kills creativity. This is happening form the tender
age of 4. Even though we get up later we have so much more time. If she
"doesn't get it" today, there is always tomorrow, or this evening or (shock horror) the weekend. 
If she does she can take that thread and run with it for as long as it inspires her. She can learn her way, at the depth and pace that suit her on a daily basis. Cold? Reading in bed. Period cramps? Drawing or music practice, or even a long hot bath. She doesn't have to wait for 30 other people to catch up, or feel stupid have that moment of realisation at everyone’s pace. Some days are intense and other just aren't.

I learn so much!
I had no idea when I started this I would learn as much if
not more than my daughter. As much of what she does now is independent of me when we sit down to lunch and she starts telling me things about bumble bees that I had no idea about, or mushrooms, or Japanese grammar! She also learns how she does maths, or how she learns a language. She asks great questions and we research and figure it out together. It makes me more curious and I see the world anew all the time. We just talk about things. Discuss things and ideas from slug-sex to time travel. (We started making videos but haven’t done one in a while).


Family Time
It is actually fun and enjoyable to hangout as much as we do and still love it. I enjoy my daughter's company. I have this smart funny young woman in my home I LIKE spending time with! From board games to cooking and eating together, to making artwork or music together it's great fun! We have our moments (she is still a teenager) but it is rare we fall out and if we do, not for long. Even if we are just jamming together we have this bond, a friendship based on respect and common interests. 

Duvet days and holiday's!
Everything is an education but everyday can be a holiday. If we have cold's or feel rough we can sit and marathon old Jackie Chan movies snuggled under blankets with the dog. We can do on day trips, or road trips, or to visit friends all over the country! From Scotland to Hastings we have been all over staying with friends and because we like museums and galleries we have seen all kinds of amazing things. 

Chores
My daughter is aware how much work is required to keep a house clean and tidy. How shopping works. How the washing machine and dryer work. She understands we are a team as a family. That you clean up your own mess. She can cook and clean up after herself better than some 35 year old men I have known. (This is not because she is a girl, if I had a son he would have an even stricter schooling in how to run a home/look after yourself). Mess doesn’t magically vanish when she sleeps. She still needs a prod for some things but from laundry to the dishes she doesn’t complain because she knows if she wants it doing, someone has to do it.

Goals

On a piece of paper in her room my daughter has three things.
Change the world.
Learn about money
Be healthy, happy and whole.

A woman we see weekly asked her what she wants to be when she “grows up” the other day.

“Happy.”

The woman was mystified, staring at her blankly.

“Why do I have to decide now? I’m only 14.” She countered. The woman had no answer and looked away. The fact that “happy” wasn’t enough of an answer is a saddening commentary on the world perhaps.

These are her current goals! My "job" is to help her achieve that, from suggesting who to write emails to (she believes mushrooms will change the world and quite a few people agree) to stepping in when she is looking peeky or under the weather, to the occasional prodding to get moving some days.

Intern ships and Jobs

From our butcher to a guy who builds computers to a
professional artist we are lucky they have been blessed by people who are
willing to help her learn real skills in the real world. When she makes
something and it sells on Etsy, she gets the money! I can't think of better
real world experience than that.

Friends
While social she is smarter than most kids her age and she
found it hard to build lasting friendships with people who just didn't
"get" her. I started a Home Ed roleplayer group and from gaming she
has teenage friends. Mostly older than her, of both genders. She also hopes to run a teen book club soon too. My daughter is an amazing smart and talented teenager, who is a kind and funny human being. I am so glad I didn't keep forcing her into a system that didn't give a crap about her. So privileged to spent this time with her, so should she be off saving the world I know she can and that she won't dread me calling her.

Home education is too important to take seriously.

A woman we see weekly asked her what she wants to be when she “grows up” the other day.

“Happy.”

The woman was mystified, staring at her blankly.

“Why do I have to decide now? I’m only 14.” She countered. The woman had no answer and looked away. The fact that “happy” wasn’t enough of an answer is a saddening commentary on the world perhaps.

These are her current goals! My "job" is to help her achieve that, from suggesting who to write emails to (she believes mushrooms will change the world and quite a few people agree) to stepping in when she is looking peeky or under the weather, to the occasional prodding to get moving some days.

Home education is too important to take seriously.