Consequences

I'm always trying to maximise every opportunity for Barnaby to write. He doesn't love writing much so usually it's either a means to an end or because I have been sly and found a way to get him to do it without realising! 

Today, though,  what started out as a surreptitious event to get him writing actually turned into the funniest afternoon we've probably had all year, and that's saying something.

I decided to try Consequences.  Do you remember it? You may have called it something else entirely, but I have vivid memories of spending many many hours as a child laughing hysterically with friends playing Consequences. 

For those of you that have never played it it's simply this: each person starts with paper and pen and writes the following list in order, folding after each one and passing to the next person (this works well in a large group as much as one to one)

Boys name
Girls name
Where they met
What he said to her
What she said to him
And the consequences were (or what happened next)

We used people we know or book/TV characters. 

Because you have no idea what the last person wrote it means that, when unfolded and read at the end of the game, the results can be truly hilarious. 

Today I've given myself stitch and lost my eye make up laughing so hard. And Barnaby nearly wee'd himself in hysterics. 

Apart from the laughter it's enabled me to to see what writing and spelling we need to work on for another day, and was infinitely more amusing than hangman we'd been playing beforehand :)

Give it a go with your kids and have some fun (although don't be surprised if you own an 8 year old boy and most responses relate to bodily functions.....  Who *actually* meets at a secret farters club?!  On second thoughts don't answer that!! 

Here are a few of my favourites (which you won't find at all funny because you won't know the people involved but I'm documenting for Barnaby.)

Mummy
met Daddy
At the fish shop
She said "my pants are purple "
He said "I will shoot you"
And they had a dance off in the bathroom

Dr Who
met Beverley
Playing golf.
He said "I am naked"
She said "Did you know your eyes are wonky "
They went bonkers

Alexa
Met Barnaby
In a bedroom
She said " would you like a bite of my banana?"
He said "I like chairs "
She was sick on his shoe

Gemma
Met Mr Bean
At the bus stop
She said "I will eat you"
He said "you are a bit crazy"
They both died laughing.

The importance of GCSEs

Every year I find myself saying to kids 'don't worry if they don't go your way. It's not the end of the world' - and now I know, it's really really not!

I watched this video and it really touched me, have a look:

I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate: https://youtu.be/soRE2XoLlIM

I feel for teenagers these days. Are GCSEs getting easier? Really? It's been reported as such every year since 1992 when I took mine (no need to do the maths, I'm ancient). I think that children are being trained to pass tests better, that's all.

I clearly remember the terror, age 13, taking my GCSE options, it being impressed upon me that THIS was the biggest decision of my life. That I needed to get them right. My whole life depended on them. If I ever wanted to make something of my life I needed to choose the ones most applicable to college and uni and a career. And I was expected to know, age 13,  sidetracked by whichever boy I fancied that week, what I was going to be doing successfully at age 24.

How? How can anyone that age know for sure what they want to do when they are 'grown up'? 

How can the little amount of independent life experience bestowed upon a teenager be enough to have an appreciation of the impact this choice is supposed to have?

My hormones were raging. I didn't know whether I was going to laugh hysterically or cry my eyes out on any given moment. I was hugely concerned at being in public with a face full of spots. I had the most acrimonious parental divorce to negotiate. I was suffering intense and despairing depression which nobody ever noticed.... But forget all that Tracey Ann, decide what exams you want to sit in two years and know that if you get THIS wrong, if you choose the wrong subjects, your life is effectively over. 

Forever. 

You will be nothing. 

You will have nothing. 

Decide. Now.

Quite ludicrous really.

Life didn't actually get any better. I did much worse than anticipated in my exams and certainly much much worse than my capabilities. But I just don't 'do' tests. Blimey, it took me 6 attempts to pass my driving test for crying out loud. I could drive perfectly well, as my final examiner (who'd since started calling me 'Trace' such was the familiarity) said I should have passed first time round. Nerves just made me a wreck.

And I have to say, my GCSE results have not made an ounce of difference to my life. Except that I was told on application to my  A levels at college that the one and only grade 'A' I got in my favourite subject didn't actually count. In fact it meant nothing, apart from that I needed an extra science GCSE to be able to do A levels.

Nobody thought to tell me that when I was 13. And nobody thought (despite my loud protestations) that sitting Spanish and Chemistry GCSE would not actually help me in a Sociology A level.
Pointless. Totally pointless. 

But that was the system. That's what happened. That's what was insisted upon. That's what I did.
I wasted a year of my life in order than I could waste another 2 years of my life doing further studying at A level.

And in the end, none of it has mattered. I got my first job based on a brief test in an employment agency and the rest is history. Learning on the job, using common sense, making the most of secondments and extra training, applying for promotions, working my way up.

Absolutely and precisely NOTHING has been based on my GCSE results, or my A level results, which I also failed badly.

How do I know? Because for 20+ years it has been my experience and willingness to learn that got me the job. Every time. 

I worked my way up and became a Marketing Manager working alongside with people who were apparently qualified up to the eyeballs.
And yes, I was the one mopping up their tears in the boardroom because they didn't have the first clue how to actually deal with people in a real life work situation because *that* wasn't taught on their uni course.

And yes, I hated it. Because that wasn't what I wanted to do. Not really. I was just good at it and was on the treadmill of life.

Nowadays.... well, I work in a summerhouse at the bottom of the garden sewing soft furnishings. For myself. And I LOVE IT. 

Do you know the irony? I sat a GCSE in textiles when I was 15.
I failed. 

My textiles teacher never let me complete a single item. She told me I was infuriating and I needn't bother with a sewing machine ever again. 

Age 36 I was so scarred by my time in her company I was shaking as I threaded a machine for the first time in 20 years. Within an hour I was head over heels in love with sewing and I went into business 6 months later.

So here I am.

I found my way.

And I'd have found it much sooner if  I hadn't wasted so much time at school being taught stuff which didn't excite me. I managed to pass my English exam and have still never read more than 41 pages of Romeo and Juliet on which my GCSE was based. And the only reason I will ever need to know that Jethro Tull invented the seed drill is to win a quiz night at the pub....

Hey ho, I'm here now. I got there in the end. 

We all get there, in the end.

I'd be really interested to see how you feel about your GCSE or O level results. Do you think they have any bearing on what is happening in your life today? Why not leave me a comment, I'd love to read them! 

Thanks as ever for reading my blog :)

Tracey xx

Learning update 7.7.15

Barnaby attended a sculpture session where he spent a couple of hours bashing,  carving, sawing and sanding some thermalite block into a garden sculpture.  He chose to look at a chess set for inspiration and we are now the proud owner of a horse statue for the front garden. It's on guard by the front door (although there was some panic about this in case someone tried to steal it!) 

Unfortunately our car broke down so he missed forest school this week, along with French and Badgers which was a real shame, but we made the most of a free day by going with Mum to visit my sister and family in Frome instead. My niece had an inset day after half term so it was nice to make the most of the opportunity. 
They had great time outside skateboarding (until my niece sustained a forehead injury and put a stop to it!)

Luckily, a lovely friend offered to take Barnaby for the Tuesday park play date then onto sports club while I tried to sort the car so he didn't miss out entirely. 

We have taken the opportunity to use Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot as learning opportunities.
We particularly enjoyed a programme presented by Richard Hammond looking at the damage that would have been caused if Guy Fawkes had managed to light the gunpowder!  Here's the link : The Gunpowder Plot Exploded. We have also used this topic for spellings and been making use of the whiteboard for practising.

A quick trip to the Doctors for me to have some blood tests provided a quick review of everything we had learnt about blood so far. The nurse was great, explaining what was happening and I got to use the word coagulation which always makes me happy!

Thursday afternoon we had the great pleasure of spending 2 hours with Steve Backshall on his Wild World tour. *Obviously* we went to help Barnaby in his education,  but there is no denying the front row seats were for Mummy :) :)
We had a great time learning the difference between venom and poison, looking at all the wonderful creatures on earth and looking at what we can do to conserve those that are under threat.
Brilliant session all round really.

Friday morning was volunteering at the Library and then he went off to his Dads for the weekend.

The expense of home education

This blog post is something that I need to address as it's probably the second most popular question I get asked after the 'socialisation' one. 

(You can read my response to that one here: But what about socialisation?)

So, how much does is cost to educate a child at home? 

The answer is as much or as little as you want. People live to their means so what's expensive to some might be a drop in the ocean to another. 

To educate a child at school it costs the government £4-5000 per child per year. It's difficult to get out of the government their exact budget for this but this is the general accepted amount.

Over an average school life that's approximately £60,000. (People forget that education is NOT free, we pay tax in order to provide it!)

To home educate a child the government pay precisely £0.
There are no perks, funds, bursaries, books or grants. There is no pupil premium.  It's just zero.

I guess as a parent, when you school a child,  on top of paying your taxes you then personally have to provide all the uniform, school bags, PE kit,  costumes, trips, after school clubs, donations and dinner money. This varies depending on the age of a child and (in my case!) how many weeks a pair of school shoes would last! 

For home ed the expenses can be minimal but to give you an idea here's what I've spent out on in the first 6 months: *please note this is for my budget bracket which may not relate to yours at all!

• Workbooks - mostly unnecessary as we've not looked at the majority.  Plus we wised up to photocopying sheets early on to use as practice. 
• Ink for the printer
• Wet weather gear: invested in decent wellies, waterproof trousers and jacket. Good walking shoes.  The world is our classroom, being prepared is the key! 
• Picnic items/tupperware/blanket - we spend so much time outside it was worth investing in decent stuff. It took 2 days with leaky drinks bottles and soggy sandwiches to realise this!
• Subscription to online maths course Conquer Maths (we paid £31 for the year Home Ed discount) 
• Home Ed groups £3-£5 per week
• badgers (St Johns Ambulance) £6 per month
• French lessons £28 per half Term
• Sport club £25 per half term
• Farm club £4 per session
• Forest school £5 per fortnight
• Adhoc visits: for example at Warwick Castle we joined forces with other families to secure a home ed discount so cheaper than usual but still an expense.  One day courses such as woodwork or technology club.
• Diesel: I'm lucky to have an economical car which means we can get out and about every day.
• Extra food - my child does not stop eating. I swear he has hollow legs.  Hence picnics are cheaper on days out! 

This list is not complete. Other people would have very different lists - as an example I've not had to pay out extra for things like craft supplies or books as we have so far had everything we need here. Others may want/need to.  Neither have my gas and electricity bills increased as I work from home usually anyway so was always here. 

I know as Barnaby gets older, if he chooses to study gcses that it will mean investment in text books.
I don't subscribe to a telly package - we have freeview and there is enough educational stuff on there for us at the moment. 
Some people make use of Edward Jenner school which is something I'd love to look into but is out of my price range at about £45 per day.

We are researching the Home Ed discount for the National Trust at the moment as the grandparents are buying that for our Christmas present. Every little helps, and despite his Christmas list Barnaby really doesn't need more toys!! :)

There are loads of free resources online, free educational day trips... The library is free. Parks and woodland are free. Our local home ed group have a 'bring and swap' session for clothes, books and toys. Reuse and recycle ♻ I say!

Overall, and I've not done the maths, (what?! And she's *teaching* her Son?! Tut!)  I'd say I've spent about what I'd send on a yearly basis if he was at school. Maybe more as an investment in things that will last.

If I had more money I'd definitely spend more on it, but probably on experiences such as trips to London without worrying about the expense.... Or I'd fulfil our dream, get a motorhome and head out on the road to see more of the world. 

In summary: how much does home education cost?  Well.... How long is a piece of string?! :)

Nb: my budget bracket is 'single-mum-running-her-own-growing-business'. Sometimes more commonly know as 'skint'
If you're in a different budget bracket your list might have a few differences.  :)

Brief update of learning 16.10.15

Well this week has flown by. 
Firstly things are really sinking in with French. I wasn't sure how well he was getting on with it but week 4 and I was amazed to sit and watch him answer the tutors questions, in French.  As always with my boy he knows more than he lets on and though 'shy' isn't a word you'd usually use to describe him, he is when he's worried about getting things wrong in front of the others in the group. He was like it at school. But his confidence is growing each week. Badgers was all about learning the recovery position which he had been practising in the week. He was pleased he got it all right.  He's taking his first aid training very seriously which I love to see,  but they seem to teach him in a fun way so he remembers it. We attended home ed group again this week, that's the third week we have made it. It's a new group so is not that busy, he is the oldest there but he loves having 3 hours charging around and playing with his new friends. He was a bit quieter this week playing with the lego but as long as he's chatting to his mates while he does it,  he's happy.  Sports club is a highlight of the week. He's  always pink faced and sweaty from hockey or dodgeball.  He went to a school friends for tea, and then to Beavers which was learning all about Dogs for The Disabled.  They have got a really packed schedule at Beavers these days, something different each week which is great. Wednesday we visited Smyths toy shop. I decided to do maths and English in there. He went through all the aisles looking at everything he fancied to make a list for Christmas. He wrote down everything he wanted.  This worked out really well as he hates writing so I knew that if he took the time to write the item down he really really wants it!! We also looked at offer prices, working out what was better value or what the saving of a sale price was. Other stuff: he learnt how to check tyre pressure and put air into the car tyres,  he's read loads (for him) , listened to Roald Dahl stories nightly,  started a list of spellings, completed a rugby trail at Roots coffee shop searching for clues and letters to make a sentence (for which he was rewarded 2 celebration chocolates! It kept him entertained for the best part of an hour!), looked at different types of rock formations,  looked at pie charts, tried really hard with telling the time,  has learnt all the words to 'Eleanor Rigby', beat his personal best at skipping and finally we have started looking at the War which is a blog post within itself. Overall his interest in learning is really increasing.  I guess we've been at this home ed stuff 6 months now.  We have both found our feet and gained confidence in what we are doing. It is great to have the freedom to run with his interests and apply what we've learnt in other areas to something he finds fascinating.

Crumpets and Coagulants

This morning started abruptly at 6am. 

I say abruptly,  I'm used to getting up at that time but Barnaby always takes a few days to settle back down after being at his Dads for the weekend.  So he didn't really want to be awake but couldn't get back to sleep so I agreed to him watching Percy Jackson while having something to eat.

The peace didn't last long. I heard a panicked squawk and a nasally call for help.  Turns out he'd had a somewhat explosive nosebleed after falling off the bed. Only the second in his life and the first one I've had to deal with. 

It took quite a while to ease up, and just provided extra evidence for my "you know you're a parent when...." list by asking "have you been ferociously picking your nose?! " and "have you shoved anything up there?!" 

Anyway, we ended up having a long discussion about blood, it's purpose, white blood cells, red blood cells and and how it manages to stop itself. I took great joy in over using the word coagulant, mainly because it's one of my favourites. I spent some time working in a Blood Component Technology business many moons ago and decided then that coagulant is a firm favourite, alongside my other favourite word: anticoagulant. 

I'm nothing if not predictable. :)

Barnaby,  pleased to be having such an insight so early on a Monday morning, was rather interested once he'd calmed down that the blood on the inside of his body that was quite persistent in being outside of his body would eventually stop. 

You're craving crumpets now, right?

Needless to say, when it did, the first question was " Can I have three crumpets for breakfast this morning?" It seems, as I have suspected for many years, crumpets make *everything* better. 

So, after a shower and chores we started some impromptu grammar/punctuation/spelling after he found a load of love letters girls had given him when he was 5.

He went through and corrected the capital letters, the commas, the lack of question marks and some of the spelling. It also gave me opportunity to talk about apostrophes in cannot/can't, do not/don't, are not/aren't. 

It should be said that at the girls writing to him at this stage were the ones in his class - at the same point he could barely spell his own name, thus the letters were pretty spectacular. Besides which, I thought that "will you mary me?" was really quite cute. 

But it just goes to show that there are lessons everywhere: through a nosebleed and a tidy up we've learnt all sorts of things before it's even 8am! 

Happy days! 

What a load of......

Over breakfast we begun a discussion about poo.

Specifically, food, digestive systems -and the problems with mine- and how poo is made.

Barnaby has always been fascinated with the book "I know where my food goes" which he's had for years. When he was three his favourite word was oesophagus.  

But now I'm able to explain in a bit more depth about digestion and just why sometimes I can look like I'm 9 months pregnant or am in agony after eating.  

We got out his science book about the human body and had a good look at the intestines, got the tape measure out to see where 5 metres of small intestine would stretch to (that will be to the back of the conservatory!) and ended up discussing how you can judge health by your poo, the importance of water in your system, hiccups,  burps and farts.

For a boy who thinks toilet humour is hilarious he managed most of it without fits of giggles too!

Not quite how I imagined our breakfast discussion would be pre-8am but interesting nonetheless...

Our new routine

So, a couple of weeks ago I needed to talk to Barnaby.  

Talking whilst in the car, or on a walk means I may have his undivided attention for about 4 minutes so I took the chance.  :)

I explained that my life isn't working for me at the moment.  I am a single Mum,  a home educator,  I run my sewing business AND I've recently taken on running sessions in a local pottery studio  My life is chocka. And it wasn't working because whatever I was doing at any one time I was panicking about all the other stuff I wasn't doing and so felt like I was constantly chasing my tail. Something needed to change.

And changed it has.

Now I get up at 6am.
This seems more than a little ironic as I've had more than my fair share of sobbing about Barnabys pre - dawn wake up calls in his little life. He was a 6am riser every day of his life until he finished school.  Now his natural time to wake is about 8am.  I can't deny I've totally made the most of this the last couple of months but it wasn't helping, as by the time we were ready to start the day half the morning had gone.  

So now, the new rule is that breakfast is 8.30 and if he wakes before then he can play and potter and watch a dvd in his room but 6am til 8.30 is my time. Alone.  In the dark.

I work, I do the food shop, I stick a wash on, I sew, I drink coffee in absolute silence.  And I'm loving it!

9.30 is chores: his are written on the new kitchen whiteboard (which,  by the way: best idea ever. He wipes off chores when they are done,  he practices his handwriting and spelling,  he writes me a shopping list, he does his sums.)

10.30 -1pm is lessons - whatever we choose, they may be outdoor or in, games or puzzles,  reading or French,  arts and crafts, or even some educational TV.

1pm is lunch then the rest of the day is free

Yes. Free.

He *only* does about two hours of lessons a day.

School peeps I mention this to have a look of horror.  But then I point out that because their child is in school 9-3 they are lining up for assembly,  getting changed for PE,  having 2 breaks and a lunch,  sitting through two registrations....  Really they are getting as much time learning as my boy.

In the afternoon our 'free' time ranges from going to the tip or a walk in the woods. We could visit friends, or the library or do drawings or bake a cake... Of course,  you and I know this is still learning but for goodness sake don't let Barnaby know ;)

Usually there is also a lesson or a club at some point during the day. Currently he is signed up for French, St Johns Ambulance,  sports club, Beavers, fortnightly Forest School and Youth club.  He's considering joining chess club. And we've started attending the weekly home ed meetings when we can, so even more chance to run around and play with his mates.

Our week is full and noisy and busy. 

But at least now we have a routine we both know where we are and what we are doing. And for the last week we've implemented it, I've had the luxury of concentrating on the actual thing I'm doing at the time.

Long may it continue! 

Our first 6 months....

So, I've been a home ed Mumma for 6 months now. A whole half a year. I have to be honest, it's flown by. So much has changed in that time I thought I'd give you a quick update on what's happened and where we are now.

BARNABY

After initially needing some rigid structure (running to school hours, using the same 'perfect purple and 'growing green' to 'mark' his work, having a set lunchtime) the pendulum swung back totally the other way to the point that if something looked like learning then it would immediately be met with complete refusal, ending in an argument.

I found this time really tough because I was panicking that somehow I had failed him. I wondered if he'd choose to do nothing for the rest of his life - literally, the rest of his life. He played Xbox, he went to the park, we went walking, we played with friends, we watched telly. It was hardly sitting with a work book or practising handwriting or writing stories or doing times tables.

But then something changed. I realised that he WAS learning. Our conversations changed. His questions changed. His viewing habits became educational. Programmes on CBBC provide great entertainment but a massive educational value was there too.... For example Dick & Doms Absolute Genius sent us on a hunt to find out more about Isambard Kingdom Brunel or Marconi. Operation Ouch with Dr Chris and Dr Xand is perfect for looking at biology and the workings of the human body. Scrapheap Challenge is where the the seed was sown about making a go kart with Daddy. The Great British Bake Off has inspired baking and cooking.

Slowly we've begun project work - currently we are looking at castles, something he did at school in year 1 but we are looking more in depth.
He has:
Made a castle from junk modelling (still under construction, new wings being added each week!)
Covered history & geography by watching a 3 part documentary called Castle Builders
Written stories about life in a castle.
Visited both Warwick and Dunster, learning about jousting, making longbows and a tour of the Victorian kitchens.
Looked at the french words for various words surrounding castles.

Just before summer holidays he asked if we were 'ever going to do any home education again' and I had to laugh because he was implying he hadn't been learning things all this time. What he meant was that he was ready for more.

So we've started a new routine, we're getting the work books back out. He's started reading again and bedtime listening is now his Roald Dahl collection and not McBusted (I'm gutted, naturally, but it had to happen some time!) Maths is really clicking in with him and is starting to make sense. It's taken a long old time to undo all the self esteem issues he developed in school and starting his work books a level or two lower than his capabilities has meant he can fly through the first lot and realise he's not thick after all. We're using a whiteboard to write a loose schedule and his chores, and also as a learning tool for spellings or maths.
He's started French lessons, signed himself up as a Badger at St Johns Ambulance, attends sports club, Beavers and Youth Club too.

His bedtime has completely changed. At school he was upstairs and in bed by 7.30 and awake no later than 6 every morning. Each night was an argument because he didn't want to go. Each morning he'd be grumpy as hell.
Nowadays, I shuffle him upstairs by about 8.30 and he's pottering or listening to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory before nodding off of his own accord about 9.15. We no longer have that '75 issues that need addressing before bedtime' - in fact after he's given me a kiss goodnight, he doesn't even bother me at all. Quite a contrast to the screaming and shouting nightly before hand and me in and out of his room half a million times.
In the morning he wakes when he wakes and it's usually about 8am ish. He's happy and smiley and there is no rush to get out the door.
All in all it's made for a happy life for the pair of us.

ME:

As for me, well, of course it's meant a big life change. The biggest is juggling being a Mummy, a Home Edder, a worker and a business owner. And somewhere in all that I have to be 'Tracey' too.
Work took a lesser focus for a few months and though I didn't like it much I needed to spend time with my boy. Now things have really calmed down and we know what to expect it's much easier to fit work into our daily life. I get up at 6am every day before Barnaby wakes. That's my time to work, do housework, pay the bills, order a food shop; whatever I need. It's working, I can concentrate on the job I'm doing at that moment instead of chasing my tail constantly.

I have lost some people I thought a lot of, some friends who walked away from me have started to drift back, some have gone for good. I veer between being heart broken and devastated to not giving a shit, dependent on where I am in my hormone cycle :)
They don't understand why I chose this route for my Son, and that's ok, I don't understand why they can't see doing best for your child is the right thing to choose.
Hey ho. Can't all think alike can we?

I've met some lovely people and made some great friends. Variety is the spice of life, as they say, and you meet all kinds of people home edding for all different reasons. Some medical, some religious, some alternative, and all like me - just doing the best they can for their kids. I have been really sad of late to lost my closest friend who was home edding her boys - they have all upped and moved to Spain, which hopefully will mean cheap holidays, but it isn't the same not having them round the corner to do things with!! Meeting so many new people has made me question myself, my life and my motivations. I thrive on hearing other peoples views and ideas, I love discussing the potential of being vegan with those who already are, I love observing other peoples parenting and admiring their skill of keeping calm and rational when i am prone to bat shit crazy. Every experience is a learning experience!

I have learnt loads. Probably more than I ever learnt at school. From French language to history, there is no doubt that now i have almost 40 years of life experience to hang things on now. It 'makes sense' in a way it never did when I actually had the liberty of youth. I hope that in turn it makes me a better teacher now that I can understand things and explain them in a way Barnaby can understand.

Overall - the last 6 months have been a rollercoaster. I've had wobbles, I've worried, I've questioned, I've panicked.
I've discovered I do no way near enough 'work' with Barnaby compared to some families. I've discovered I do waaaay more than others. I've realised none of this is right or wrong and comparing is the route to misery. It is what it is.
We've laughed, we've stayed up late, we've got lost in the woods, we spent hours in a sunshine.
We're free.

We're happy. And that's what it is all about! I've not once regretted my decision and Barnaby has never once asked to go back to school which I think says it all.

Here's looking forward to the next 6 months.
Thanks for reading!

Home Ed and Summer Holidays!

So we have been Home Edding for our first summer holidays.

That sentence seems a little strange considering we don't have summer holidays as we don't run our lives to a termly timetable anymore. Except that the majority of people in our life still do, so by it's nature, we do too. Suddenly people are free to meet up, have picnics, make visits and go on holiday.

The question I have been asked most is 'so, do you stop home schooling in the holidays then?'

I'm tempted to answer 'yes' because people tune out when the truth is much more longwinded.

The truth is this:

"Of course we don't. Home schooling, home education, independent learning,  whatever you want to call it - it's just learning. And children NEVER stop learning. My child is no different to yours.

If we take our children on a trip to a museum will my child learn more out of that trip than yours because mine is 'home educating'? When we are with 15 other people in the woods having a picnic, will yours just see that as playing, and will mine see it as a learning opportunity? No, of course not. They are just children playing. They don't even realise they are learning.

Every time they pick up a book, play dress up, water the garden, fall off their bike, play football, write a story, or practice putting make up on their younger sibling they are learning.

They are falling out, making up, negotiating, learning to be quiet, judging their emotions, letting off steam, understanding teamwork, fine tuning social skills.

They are listening to adults, understanding how to be bored, nailing the next level on the xbox, making new friends, conquering fears, asserting boundaries, questioning themselves.

NEWSFLASH! This IS LEARNING! This is EDUCATION.

Children heading back to school have learnt just as much as mine has this summer holiday. They have not had 'time off'. The haven't had a 'holiday' from learning, just from the school setting.

Unless you stuck your child in a white room with no stimulation for 6 weeks then they have absolutely, definitely, learnt *something*. Guaranteed!

So no, we have not stopped home education for the holidays.... and neither have you :)

Fantastic Mr Fox

So a happy thing happened today.

Having decided he was 'right off reading' when he came out of school,  Barnaby has pretty much stuck to books that are too basic for him like the Biff and Chip ones. 

This has caused me major heartache. Mainly because I love reading. I know how magical it is to be of an age where your imagination is fired up and a book is the most extraordinary escapism possible.  If you get this feeling early on in life, I think it rarely leaves.

It also didn't sit right because I know practice makes perfect and he was reading lots when he came out of school.  So to go to the bare minimum made me panic. However,  my ethos is pretty much "He will do it when he's ready" with the home ed thing,  I can't deny it is at odds with my passion for books and reading. 

I have kind of got used to the fact he wasn't reading. I've made more effort to read to him at night,  and he would read if he needed an instruction on something.  So imagine my joy this morning to come down the stairs in our holiday home and discover him curled up in the arm chair reading our loud chapter 8 of Fantastic Mr Fox.

What's more,  he did another chapter this afternoon and 2 at bedtime. 

I'm positively thrilled. He really has done it because he wanted to. And he was methodical and steady making sure be pronounced everything and had the comprehension of what he was reading.

Finally it means the brand new set of Roald Dahl that's been sitting on his bookcase since Christmas might hold more appeal to him now he knows he can read and understand it all by himself. 

I can't deny there is a relieved part of me thinking "phew,  I never thought he'd get there " but mostly I'm just excited for him that now he can find "his" style of books and that new worlds can open up to him whenever he likes! 

Fantastic,  Mr Fox! 

My reasons for choosing Home Education

Ohhhh this is a complex post.
Mainly because, as I've experienced, embarking on home ed is bloody terrifying when you have other peoples opinions thrust upon you. I have experienced both extremely positive and also very negative views on why I have chosen to remove Barnaby from school so I can preface this blog post by saying that you may not agree with what I am saying, you may not agree with the choice I have made but *I* have done what I believe is right for my little
family. And I'm not sorry.

I also ought to point out that a popular misconception is that because I chose to remove my Son from the education system I must now officially be Anti School.

Nonsense! Utter nonsense! School has it's place and it truly brilliant for some kids. They will thrive and excel within such structure. I don't think that because I home educate that you should do it too. I also have pink hair sometimes but don't look down on you because you don't, it's all much of a muchness and 'whatever suits you'. I came to the conclusion that Barnaby having some education other than in a school was right for us.

Here are some of my reasons why:

Lets start with Ken Robinson.
Really, the man is brilliant. I recommend you search You Tube and watch some of  his talks. He managed to verbalise all my jumbled thoughts perfectly and succinctly. Even if you would never ever contemplate home edding your children, these are worth your time because your kids are (probably) in the system he's talking about! He's not negative about schools, he just identifies some gaps and thinks about how we can plug them!
I recommend these two in particular:

Are schools killing creativity?

and Education Paradigms: 

They are thought provoking for me, and reiterated why I wanted to home ed.

Secondly, I don't particularly want to be negative about Barnabys school too much, but he had issues each year that were never dealt with despite lots of conversations. He was struggling because he couldn't do his work in a noisy classroom with 29 other kids; too much distraction left him losing his playtime and golden time so he could catch up. This made things worse because he felt more pressure that he couldn't cope with. You can read about his revelation about when he realised learning away from school worked better for him here: Connecting in the countryside

I felt the kids were being herded into the SATs and the pressure ramping up. It left him feeling 'thick', 'stupid' and 'useless'.  Those were his words. His thoughts. His beliefs. I was not tolerating that under any circumstance. 

The fact is he's not any of those things, he's actually 'average' ( I hate that word but can't think of anything more suitable right now!) but these days average is the worst place to be. You don't get extra help unlike those above being left behind and you don't get praised for being above and beyond. Nope, you sit quietly, in the middle causing no fuss, no bother and in turn becoming totally overlooked. He didn't feel he needed to stretch himself as he wasn't in the top group, yet he felt totally useless being in another group.
His self esteem was trashed.

On top of that, he's a boy that likes to know whether he is coming or going. He is emotionally sensitive (which is a great quality) but it means he works best with consistency and knowing what's expected of him. So, when you combine this with 4 different supply teachers a week for the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, he was getting upset in the mornings about going to school. He didn't know who he'd have on any given day and he didn't like that kind of boundary change. Some kids can handle it. Others, like mine don't like having a super strict teacher one day and the next day one who lets you play games and has no control over the class. Quite honestly I'd had about enough.

Stories of not being allowed to go to the toilet when he needs to go left me confused. As an adult you've learned to manage your bladder but at 7, it's all too easy to get engrossed in your work, or be too scared to ask to go til the last second. And then you *really* need to go. (hence frequent 'emergency countryside wees' on the way home when he can't hold it any longer. )

Half made models coming home because he wasn't allowed to finish it before the topic changed- I want him to finish doing something because he's finished not because the teacher says they have to move onto something else. I wanted him to feel like he'd achieved something. 

And finally, something I have thought for at least 20 years,  I don't believe school prepares you well enough for the outside world.

I bet if I asked you to look back at the GCSEs you sat, you'd have at least two you either hated, had no interest in, or haven't used to this day.  I don't understand the ethos of making a student waste time studying lessons  that are there just to fill a school timetable, and not because the child is interested, Why are they made to study something they don't want to?

On the flip side... 'how about 'every day' things that most of us need to actually know. Were you taught how a mortgage works, how APR applies to credit cards or the best way to invest money? What about budgeting household bills?

Were you taught about politics and elections and how the voting system works?

Did you leave school knowing how to prepare a weeks meals for a family of 4 healthily on a tight budget?

These days there is no guarantee of a job at the end of school, college or university.
It's claimed GCSEs are getting easier. Are they? Really? Or are the kids just better trained to pass them now? I daresay I wouldn't pass a maths GCSE paper today if you put it in front of me. Would you?

For every class that leaves school, there are 30 kids with almost A* grades. All of them the same. Perfectly manufactured clones, with similar knowledge because they have all been taught the same thing.

To  my mind what this does is make the exams a bit pointless. How does an employer choose a candidate when the 78 CVs he's been sent all match each other? Except for someone's hobbies..... 

And would you expect to be given the role *because* of your hobbies? Well, no. Because hobbies are not official qualifications.
I find that interesting because people have hobbies because they are interested in that thing. They are self motivated and passionate to learn. 

They do it because they enjoy it not because they need to. But you would never hear an MD say 'we are hiring Karen, she has no GCSEs but she's really committed in her training to be a black belt in karate so she'll be perfect '.

At the end of the day, some people are just better at studying and passing exams than others. This doesn't make them any better than anyone else. It just means that's something they can do. Like you can play the trombone and Carol down the road can play badminton well.

When you standardise testing for students you do every single one of them a disservice. A standardised test or exam will not show a kids personality, their passions, their strengths or their character. It'll just show someone who is good at being tested.  I am halfway through a post about the importance of GCSEs so I will expand my thoughts there instead.

These are a few of my reasons that made me decide to give it a go in the first place.

People all over the world Home Educate for many different reasons but the one thing we all have in common, like every other parent, is wanting what is right for our children.

Sunshine, scarecrows and smear tests

Saturday saw a scouts adventure day so I dropped off at the scout HQ in Tuffley and left him and his friend Jack for 7 hours of apple bobbing, climbing walls, badge making,  picnics and it's fair to say he was barely standing by the time he got back through the front door!  Good day all round it seems. 

When Barnaby met Ed Sheeran.....

Then on Sunday we were invited to join some friends in Quedgeley and participate in the local Scarecrow Hunt. 43 locations which was approximately a 7 mile walk - though we only did 5 of those.
What a beautiful day we had, map navigating,  seeing all the brilliantly thought out costumes and finding routes across Quedgeley I didn't know existed (despite living there for 5 years!).
Barnaby was particularly thrilled to meet Ed Sheeran along the way! 
When we had completed as much as we could we left and headed over to a special boys 3rd birthday bbq and had more fun with friends.

He didn't have a clue who Worzel was....! 

We revived our roll a robot tournament but changed it into a roll a snail game instead: details here, if you're wondering! Roll a robot tournament

"Make sure I look like a Dude Mum"

Great excitement in the household when Barnaby had saved enough for his brand new BMX!  We went to Asda to put his coins into the counting machine and then to pick it up on Monday.
The afternoon was spent watching me build it. It would have been a prime opportunity to get him involved in reading the instructions and helping with the build but quite frankly when you mix in my looming pmt with a 7 year olds over excited enthusiasm thinking he knows best how to build it, it was not a good combination so best that he left me to it.
He's literally not been off it since. 

We visited the library for new books.  Vikings are popular at the moment since watching Time Team and Tony Robinson showed a viking poo that was about the size of Barnabys head! We also got some reading books and a joke book.
Finally I said he could hire a dvd and he chose Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief. I quite enjoyed it. He apparently loved it and it triggered that kid obsession about watching something over and over and over. His knowledge about mythical Gods is coming on in leaps and bounds! 

He accompanied me to my smear test on Friday morning. Can categorically state that this is not something I'd have considered when he was at school but being home and together all day he's learning about all aspects of life. With this kind of stuff if I catch it early enough and am rather matter of fact about it all he will treat it will indifference. That's the idea. After all, smear tests are important aren't they? So after explaining that they were testing some cells in my cervix to make sure that I stayed healthy his response was "Can I watch Percy Jackson when we get in?"
He did thoroughly enjoy telling the nurse all about home education and how it meant he could have lie ins every day and do nothing at all but eat crisps in bed.
Of course.
That's *exactly* what we do all day. 

Our Geography project is coming on nicely.  I will write a separate post on that but here are a few photos of it so far! 

Today was sports club where he played hockey,  dodge ball and tag,  then Beavers tonight was the sports day with other local Beavers and scouts. He had a great time! 

So, a busy but fun few days!  

Ps - I know you're wondering but sadly no, no photos taken at the time of mt smear test ;)

Useful resources - stuff I found so far!

I thought it might be good to list some of the places I have found resources that Barnaby is using to learn at home.
Taking into consideration we are pretty much flat broke then 'reasonably priced' is what I'm looking for. Free is even better! There is so much out there and everyone will suggest different places to look so this is really a quick short list of things that have helped on our entry into Home Ed - and might also be useful for those parents of schooled kids that they wish to do some extra at home.

Lots of stuff can be found by googling and there are lots more other places I've not even looked yet such as Twinkl, which seems to be very popular.

• www.urbrainy.com gives credits for 5 free printables. They cover EYFS and Primary and I mainly chose spelling and Maths. 
• teacherspayteachers.com - Free printables is the link to a fab site that you can download various printables and powerpoint presentations among other things. The site is free to join and works on a basis of teachers sharing work they have created although I've included the link to the free section
• Primary Resources.co.uk brilliant site with teachers offering their work again so you can download via subject. 
• http://primarygames.co.uk/ - kept Barnaby entertained for hours

Cheap workbooks can be bought from various places - Poundland, Asda, The Works, Home Bargains and normally under a quid. The best workbook we have used so far is an Atlas book for 69p that covers info all about the Earth and it's components and the lots of very detailed descriptions about the countries. We refer to this often at the moment.

Book resources can be found for free at the library, obvs. This is where we look first of course but some times you just need books for reference. I have found the Works great for these at a good price but my best recommendation is The Book People (The Book People) - they email almost every day with flash offers, free delivery or discount codes so worth waiting for a few days to work out the best deal. I spent £37 when we first started Home Ed and not looked at a single book from their as yet, however I know we will enjoy what we have bought in the near future.

If you want to have a nose at my Pinterest board for home ed the link is here though it's early days yet so there isn't loads on there!

We are signed up to Conquer Maths (www.conquermaths.com) which is a years subscription. It's a brilliant resource, provides a lesson and then a test for understanding at the end. It is worth seeing if you can combine forces with other home ed families to secure a discount on resources.

Finally, I work electronically!  I only record Barnabys results and print him a certificate when he achieves it. He can refer back to his learning on the website itself.
I take endless photos of work and post some on this blog as a trail of learning which documents  everything. That way I try to limit the amount we spend on ink and printing costs - and of finding somewhere to keep it all. My tiny little house is already bursting at the seams!

Half term happiness

So we generally stick to terms of the school calendar because it makes life easier to see friends who are schooled.

Hence, come the weekend of half term we eased up on the lesson work and had lots of fun.

The Tall Ships festival was at Gloucester Docks and we had a fab time 2 years ago but this time we missed being able to go because it was his Great Grandads 86th birthday so we went to Wales to celebrate.  We has a quick walk round the Docks in the evening but everything was shut up by then.  

Great Grandad was very interested about the home ed aspect of our life and Barnaby took on board advice about trying hard at Maths (!). It was nice to think that at 86 someone still has an open mind about the ways in which kids differ and why school isn't always to most suitable place for them.

We went to see the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular in Cardiff which, for 2 fans like us, was spectacular indeed!  2 hours of the most powerful orchestral music and footage on big screens,  being accompanied by Daleks and Cybermen and Ood (among others!) This nicely kicked off Barnabys Dr Who project and he has spent much of the week on and off organising folders, contents lists and sticking stickers on the cover pages!  Oh, and using it as an excuse to watch lots of episodes! 

Actual real life scary Daleks! 

Waterfight with Amy and Zoe

Wednesday we went to Bicester to see some friends and Barnaby,  despite the horrible weather,  coaxed the girls into a water fight which was the highlight of his day.

Turns out you can build a den
anywhere! 

The weekend was spent with Daddy who took him to The Natural History Museum and spent time designing their go kart project which has been inspired from watching Scrapheap Challenge.  It will give Barnaby something to get his teeth into under the expert guidance of his Dad.

Other stuff:

• Sports club 
• Beavers
• Football 
• Park with friends 
• Conquer Maths
• Sudden fascination with Top Gear.  
• Dismantling some of his toy cars and seeing their components,  then using a magnet inside one of them to test various metals to see what is magnetic and what isn't. 
• Learning about the Vikings - inspired by a Time Team special. Toby Robinson found a viking poo which was about the size of his head which of course,  being 7, was THE most fascinating (and hilarious) thing ever.
• He's been practising his flags of the world.  
• We spent hours making lego together.

At the Natural History
Museum with Dad

Interest remains from the election about politicians and what David Cameron does on a daily basis so we often discuss that. Oh, and he has been running a mile or two every day on the treadmill. 

At the moment he's switched off from reading books at bedtime but he will quite happily sit and do complex sticker books to build robots,  and read out all about them, so that'll do me for now. 

We went to a farm park the other side of Bristol today and he was willingly reading all the information about the animals as we went round.  He appeared to have a bizarre affinity with the goat who all rushed over to the fence to see him as soon as he arrived but they weren't bothered about anyone else. Was quite cute really. Lunch was eaten on a go kart which he managed to work out how the steering and wheels were attached so he could tell his Dad how they were going to do it on theirs! 

Every goat needs a pink diamante collar! 

Official Local Authority report

Here is a copy of the letter following up the visit made to us from the Local Authority.
If you are interested in the preceding post to put this in context you can find the link HERE Visit from Local Authority

Needless to say that we were happy with a lovely report!

Conquer Maths and The Solar System

This week has been a bit hit and miss because putting my back out and having raging toothache has left me feeling really ropey.

I think it proved that Barnaby really feeds off my enthusiasm about getting things done and is not of an age to be self sufficient in learning. That's not to say he hasn't done anything of course, just that me facilitating his learning or putting something under his nose if often the way it begins and without that he's been inclined to build a den, hide with his tablet or watch Dr Who on Netflix (not complaining, I love Dr Who). I am looking forward to being tip top again and getting back on track.

The early start of the solar system - can't  you tell?!

We've watched some educational programmes including lots of Deadly 60 (thank you Steve Backshall for cheering me up while feeling sorry for myself) and Scrapheap Challenge which just so happened to be in honour of Isambard Kingdom Brunel so that was following on from our learning last week.

Tuesday he enjoyed sports club and as well as enjoying that, he loves when sports club ends and all the kids disappear outside and run around playing their own games in the hedges and undergrowth behind the YMCA! Tuesday night was Beavers again and they went to Forest School in the junior school next door. We had his friend over for tea and they created him a world on Minecraft for when he comes to play. As I explained to Barnaby the best way to confirm that you know how to do something is to teach someone else. You'll soon see where your own level of understanding is!

Wednesday we missed Home Ed club due to some emergency dental treatment I needed so my Mum came and made sure he got through his list of chores before taking him to the park where he spent 2 hours running around with new friends.

We have activated our account on Conquer Maths - online Maths lessons.(http://www.conquermaths.com/)  It is similar to the Mathletics he was signed up to at school but with this he can work at his own place as often as he likes. There is a 'lesson' with a test at the end and awards and certificates to work towards. He seemed to be quite interested and it helps that it's not always me teaching him - it's an online Australian teacher explaining how to do the maths. I'm just there checking his comprehension. We were really lucky to secure a super discount for a one year subscription thanks to the efforts of another Home Edder  negotiating the reduced rate for us as a group. As you will know there is no help or funding for kid educated anywhere than at school (despite the fact we aren't costing the government £5000 per year per child) so I was thrilled to be getting this with a £60 discount and intend to really make the most of it. I thought it was quite telling Barnaby wanted to start with Year 1 lessons because he is "rubbish at Maths" but soon changed his mind because it was way too easy!

The other stuff we've been working on is our Earth project - we wanted to make a paper mache Earth - but this had taken us down the route of the solar system so we all started on the Sun and Mars (thankfully the real Sun came out and aided the drying on the washing line!) It allowed us to look again at countries, continents and also the core and mantle of the earth.

At the moment Barnaby is really reluctant to do any writing whatsoever. Not sure why. He is just choosing to do everything else but that. I've mentioned a couple of writing competitions I've heard about which he tried not to be interested in but I think he was, we will see if that is enough to get him to pick up a pen!

I've put in place a fun daily test - the day before I tell him 3 things I will randomly ask him the following day: definition of a riddle/4 times table/draw the Egyptian flag and then when he's doing something else entirely (in a shop/eating tea/on the loo!) I'll ask him the questions. Just a quick way of improving his learning and recall.

I've been doing some research and found some great online resources so am merrily building up a series of powerpoints and printables that will help us in the future. I am putting them all into a blog post to share with you all.

Got a hectic week coming up so probably won't post again til next Friday - but you never know!

Scrapheaps, Balloons and an Oboe!

Barnabys TV  programme of the moment is Scrapheap Challenge - talk about engrossed. He seems to have an inherited knowledge of 'how to make things work'. His Daddy, and his Grampy, well they are engineery type peeps. His Dad 'does' 'stuff' (you might notice I am not one of these engineery type peeps and thus can't elaborate any further on that statement. It's stuff. And he does it.) Barnaby is also going to be a doer of this stuff. His engineering gene is switching on in his brain.
I am led to believe this because he shouts at the telly 'TUT. They don't have enough traction on that. If they go up anything steeper they'll just slide back down' and 'TUT one chain will never cope. They need a second to take the weight'.
Lo and behold 30 seconds later the expert is telling them their traction is dodgy and they need a second chain.
I don't know how he knows it. Neither does he. I asked him. He's got no clue.
Personally I am just thrilled he's very nearly graduated from the 'how to take things apart' stage of his life. Clocks, kitchen timers, anything with a cable, buttons or a noise has been dissected by Barnaby. Hopefully now he'll learn he has to put things back together too!

The upside of this Scrapheap Challenge fascination is that he's asked if he and his Dad can work on a project together on the weekends he's staying with him. His actual request was that he got his own workshop built and furnished with any sharp or dangerous tools and one that make bright sparks when you use it. I'm not sure that's going to happen but I expect he'll be feeling pretty chuffed when he's built himself a Go Kart or something!


This weekend was all about friends and family - it was my birthday Friday so he had chance to see some of his school friends who had popped in, then he spent 3 hours playing hide and seek with a couple of friends from in our road. Saturday he went to Cattle Country for another friends birthday and thoroughly enjoyed himself, running around, wearing himself out and stuffing his face with food!

For my birthday I was given some helium balloons - not only did they prove that 39 year olds love them as much as 7 year olds but they can prompt a whole chat about different types of gas and then cause Barnaby to spend at least an hour and a half attaching them on to various objects: socks, toy army men, toys and teddy bears to see if the balloons would lift any of them. I asked him to guess in advance whether they would, and how many he thought it might take.

The kittens were not so thrilled with this game and guess what... 3 balloons aren't enough to send a cat skyward but is enough to terrify them so they fly upstairs with the balloons bobbing behind them. Who knew?!

Sunday we had a real treat - we went with our friends Vicky and Jemima to see another friend who was playing Oboe in the Gloucester Symphony Orchestra for their performance of Peter and the Wolf! We loved it! Not only did it allow Barnaby (handily in the front row) to learn the look and style of some of the different instruments that were being played but at the end they handed out instruments to all the kids who were lead by the conductor in a final piece of music. It was great - everyone enjoyed it and it's reiterated to Barnaby that he absolutely positively must become a drummer! I was more taken aback at how much effort it looks to play an Oboe! Well done Louise, I'd have passed out after about the 12th breath not from not enough puff!!

Sorry for no pics in this blog - my phone has broken so nothing to take them with!

We're all going on a Summer Holiday!

Well, ok, not *quite* a summer holiday, it's still a bit chilly! Here's what Barnaby has been up to of late: