Life without school

It's that time of year again when most parents breathe a sigh of relief that they have survived the Summer unscathed by the presence of their children for the duration of the holiday period. I have to say I certainly feel like that! The rush to buy the new school shoes is over as is the sudden panic of 'they've grown over the Summer and their uniform doesn't fit!' However, unlike the majority of parents out there I continue to enjoy the full time company of my children as they don't go to school at all......in a moment of madness (many think) some six or so years ago, I dared to question the system and decided (much to the disapproval of many of my family and friends) to do it myself. I decided back then, when Miss P was only four, that we could cover everything that was covered in school (and more) in just an hour or so a day, and then we could have a huge amount of free time in which to play!

 The little lady and small boy creating a post box. We had to use it all day!


I developed a huge thirst for the subject and did masses of research, I joined a group and 'the rest is history' so they say. Some six years down the line and now three children and we're still doing it! I have to say it's such a relief NOT to have to rush the children up in the morning and scream at them for an hour and a half to get ready, we just potter about and wake when we're ready and oh, dream away......it's like the holidays all year round!
The thing that most people ask about is their friends.....Miss P had thought about going to secondary school as of now and someone commented 'Oh that will be lovely, you'll make some friends at last!' What??? Oh if only they knew. We honestly have soooo many friends and really good friends too (REALLY good friends), I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. My children are always having lunch dates and sleepovers and sleepovers and more sleepovers and more lunch dates, it's really quite unreal. And me too, I have many many lovely lovely mummy and daddy friends. I always dreamt of having a house full of children with noise and chaos. They may not all be my children but I feel I know them all so well they could be.
One thing that is really different about the world of home education is the respect and acceptance we have for one another. We have escaped the competition (psssst, what reading level is......on?). I was as guilty of that as the next person, we can't help it. But it's so lovely to be free from all that.
So what do we do all day? Well sometimes it seems like not much at all, but when you look closely you'll discover that small boy discovered a toad had moved into the garden and has laid eggs (that's life cycles covered with questions and answers rolling and dealt with), Miss P creates a puppet and writes a play for it to star in and the little lady learns how to apply make up (really badly)! All in a days work. They have freedom to create and to research and to learn the things that interest them at the moment their interest is ignited. I do sometimes set lessons too but always with much scope for further investigation by themselves. Workbooks occasionally creep in too (do you know how dull and boring they are?).

 Fishing the canal with fishing line and garden canes. Who needs fancy equipment? We caught fish!


So as I write small boy is in bed no doubt dreaming about his toad or tree climbing session or perhaps the next wild adventure he is going to have, the little lady is complaining about a rash she has developed this afternoon, probably where she has been rambling in her knickers and vest through the undergrowth of the garden and Miss P, well she's probably talking 'sticks' or creating more Stardolls to sell to her willing friends. (The latter two are at a wonderful friends having yet another sleepover). Me? Well I'm on line creating this blog in the hope that one day I'll create some kind of business enterprise. Dreaming again!!!
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