There is so much joy in following your own path and seeking wonder to fill your child’s precious early years. My wants for my daughter and her brother (who at the time of writing I am in my second trimester of pregnancy with) is that they are surrounded by the freedom to explore their world, to express their love for what matters to them, to be guided by their own self belief and to experience a childhood full of wonder and beauty.
Time moves fast and my dream to give them a long and slow childhood, with no rush to grow up, no early interludes into academics and a childhood filled with their passions, loves and interests. The biggest and most radical contribution I can make to this world is not in who I am or what I do, it’s in the little people I have the honour of raising.
Home educating by choice
Let me be honest here, it’s early 2021 and on and off for the past year families have been crisis schooling (or emergency schooling) their children from home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s not the easiest of times to be standing up and saying “Hey, I am going to home educate my child by choice”, because the current pushed agenda is that what is currently happening is home schooling, when in fact the current situation is so far from what true home education really looks like. Right now we’re all trying to just get through these times of crisis in the best ways we can and I do hope that soon our world can return to some normality again.
In fact, standing up at anytime and talking about taking the home education route is kind of scary and a little bit nerve-wracking. It’s something that can really be open to a lot of judgment when it’s something that maybe people don’t know too much about.
It’s always been in the plans
Funnily enough the current Covid situation has played no part in our decisions to home educate our children, it is something that has been in the works since before we had children, became a serious conversation throughout my first pregnancy and has become something we’re both even more passionate about in the years since.
Our daughter is just 2 so it might seem a little odd to you (if you aren’t from the home education world) that I am already talking about educating, but the way home educating looks is so different from school that we’ve been putting our rhythms and ideas for homeschooling really since birth. It’s a conscious thought in our brains and it’s not even a blip on the radar to our daughter, and it’s something I feel passionate about continuing throughout our home education journey.
Sharing as we go
Both my husband and I have some very strong ideas, plans and feelings about education in general and also what we would like our own home education journey to look like. However I am certain this will grow and evolve as we move through life with our children. We’re passionate about the unschooling philosophy as well as being inspired by Montessori and even a little Waldorf, all of which I plan to go into along the way, as we grow and evolve together. As well as covering so many subjects throughout their home education, being a historian means I am passionate about sharing so many aspects of history with them. Looking back at family history is a great reference point when it comes to delving into history, along with the personal connections we make as we connect to our own past.
One thing is for certain, I know in my heart of hearts that this is a wonderful decision for our family, I know that we’re so excited to embark on this adventure and also I can’t wait to share this journey here and on my Instagram page too.
Do you home educate, or plan to, with your children? I would love to connect with you as we move through this journey together.
Lovely post Amy thanks for sharing. Saying you home educate is met with so many judgments and assumptions for various people that standing up for it any time takes energy let alone in this crisis when people are very much confusing home ed and home learning they couldn’t be more different.
We have flipped between an unschooling method and a little structure for maths and english with our 11yo. He has chosen to start secondary as long as he can have an ehcp .his life skills are amazing but I do worry about him going, lots to face this year eek! X
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I could not agree with this comment more – it’s a really big deal opening up to it isn’t it? We’re so excited for the future and what our children’s educating gets to look like, but like you say the time and energy required to fight for it with people I am already finding a little consuming – but trying not to let it bother me too much (easier said than done).
I think my biggest worry is that after this period of crisis schooling through a pandemic is that it will permanently be met with disdain from people who had to help replicate school at home in an emergency situation. I feel like it’s a battle we’ll permanently face but I hope that it’s easier than I imagine it will be.
I love the unschooling approach so far, with a little Montessori too, but I guess this will chop and change depending on their needs as we go alone.
Everything crossed for a smooth transition for your 11 year old! xx