30 Jun 2010

Yes, home education can be tiring

And it some days it feels like you don't get anywhere.


But exploring the places we find uncomfortable can mean we learn more, grow wiser, have more perspective, become better at managing change and difficulty, than if we just sat and did nothing.

29 Jun 2010

School can be a big source of tension

If it is, remove it. You'll find many different ways become possible.

28 Jun 2010

Everyday we can try something new


I want to make a wooden horse.
OK.

27 Jun 2010

26 Jun 2010

We have a passion for learning


Because learning and life are inseparable. What joy to live both flamboyantly.

25 Jun 2010

Does an education happen to a child?


Or do they go out and get it?

24 Jun 2010

Our children have time to think


And what a precious time that is.

23 Jun 2010

Imagine a world, where we do not question what we're told


How many school rules translate to an adult life? Walk on the left? Enter by this door only? Sit here? Maybe one rule: Do not question authority. Maybe we should question it more often.

22 Jun 2010

Waiting for class to begin


Normal behaviour, wouldn't you say? (And our class size here is twelve, thanks.)

21 Jun 2010

We spend a lot of time not judging ourselves


Oh go on then. I give myself 10 out of 10. And all my kids too. They get 10 out of 10 as well.

20 Jun 2010

There's not one 'right' way to do something

Find your own way. And if it goes wrong?


If you never make mistakes, you never make anything.

18 Jun 2010

We keep our minds open


Better to catch those new ideas.

17 Jun 2010

When we're engaged and involved, we learn best


We do stuff. We get involved. We become actors in the event. However you want to say it, we participate. We engage our bodies and minds. How interactive can a whiteboard get?

16 Jun 2010

So much time is wasted in school


There's the administration, the waiting, the collation of materials, the waiting, the distribution of materials, the waiting, the announcements, the waiting, the preparation of 30 people, the waiting, the clearing up from 30 people, the waiting. And then there's the disciplining of the one child in the class who takes all the teacher time. Quite frankly, why bother?

15 Jun 2010

Positive lessons do not always come in positive ways


Sometimes we have to think through what it is we'd like to learn.

14 Jun 2010

A child can learn more in five minutes than five hours

Wouldn't you say that's the same as an adult? If you want to learn it, need to know it, take the trouble and go find it out for yourself, then it stays with you.


More than can be said for my memory of Mrs Davies' Maths class.

13 Jun 2010

Life lessons come in all shapes and sizes


We can't predict what those lessons will be, nor when they will come at us. We stay open minded, alive to all possibility. That's an exciting way to live a life.

12 Jun 2010

At the end of the workshop, no assessment


Instead, let's have that thoughtful discussion, over ice cream.

11 Jun 2010

We expect our education...

...never to be over.


I'd say that's a healthy attitude to learning.

10 Jun 2010

The education we wanted wasn't there...


So we made it.

9 Jun 2010

Dirt was made for kids to play in


I'm not saying I want to get rid of the washing machine, mind.

8 Jun 2010

You don't have to be rich or privileged to home educate


But imaginative, yes, to think differently.

7 Jun 2010

Cost?


Second-hand, third-hand, home-made, resourceful, recycled, imaginative, borrowed, loaned from the library, eligible for group rate, student rate, educational discount. And we can always find an outdoor science lesson for free.

6 Jun 2010

No ban on conkers, cycling, climbing trees, or running in the playground


We believe it's healthier to assess the risks, think through the scenarios, plan ahead, then take the jump.

5 Jun 2010

Outdoor the sun shines, the birds sing


No stuffy, crowded classrooms for us, thanks.

4 Jun 2010

3 Jun 2010

2 Jun 2010

We don't ask permission to do what we do, or go where we go


No school hours, no school timetable, no school days, no school terms. Just living, and learning.

1 Jun 2010

Thank goodness we don't follow the National Curriculum


Because I bet nowhere in that tombstone does it say, Play with repeating parrot for six hours.