Homeschooling... Yay or Nay? - Poll - Please Vote

I'm pretty sure there are ways around the fees, I read something about it all a while ago, but it's not really an issue for us for a few years yet, IF we decide to continue to HE past primary education and then IF we put the boys through GCSEs, etc.

I'm loving all your replies!! Thanks ladies!! There's loads of great views here. Dh & I have had a great chat this evening about it all. He did a great interview with a HE family this afternoon & he is definitely wanting to look into it more. I really want to reply to some of the comments but I really have to go to bed so will try to do it. I'm dong a 14hr shift tomorrow & Grace normally get up at 5 so I really need my sleep!

I put not sure, I think its a lovely idea though I am one of the ones who doesnt know enough about it to say yes or no! I would love to learn more about it.

I have one issue though, when you have "school age" children how do you look after younger children too? I want to have another baby when izzy is a bit older, how would I give her all the right attention/opportuinities when Im heavily pregnant/recovering/BF 24/7 just a thought

I dont like the idea of izzy going to secondary school I had such a hard time I would hate for her to have that. not that i would base my decision on my own experience its just in the back of my mind.

Izzy spends most of her time with me and learns so much already however she also thrives at any group senario too would like to have both really

My eldest nephew did 3 GCSE's after being HE, he went and sat them at the local high school at exam time, and I don't remember my sister mentioning anything about having to pay fees My middle nephew didn't do any GCSE's, but is currently studying IT to a high level at college. The youngest, who has never been to school is 18 and at college now studying his GCSE's. He's had no problems coping with doing this despite never having been to school. He is very confident and his social skills are better than many other 18 year olds I see around.
I think the fact all 3 of my sister kids have done something different shows there are all sorts of options for secondry and then further education.
I think we'd make a decision on secondry education along with Kacie when she was coming up to that age. I'd hate for her to think she was missing out on something at that age when she sees all her friends going to school. That said I'd like to think by then I've got some other HEing friends with children she sees and that she's enjoying HE

I put not sure, I think its a lovely idea though I am one of the ones who doesnt know enough about it to say yes or no! I would love to learn more about it.

I have one issue though, when you have "school age" children how do you look after younger children too? I want to have another baby when izzy is a bit older, how would I give her all the right attention/opportuinities when Im heavily pregnant/recovering/BF 24/7 just a thought

I dont like the idea of izzy going to secondary school I had such a hard time I would hate for her to have that. not that i would base my decision on my own experience its just in the back of my mind.

Izzy spends most of her time with me and learns so much already however she also thrives at any group senario too would like to have both really

Sara I'll have a word with my sister about this, she actually took her older 2 out of school right around the time she was pregnant or just after having the youngest. I think the thing with HE is that you're not stuck with doing it at set times, so your not stuck with Mon-Fri, 9-3, IYSWIM. You can HE at the weekends and in the evening too and you wouldn't have to have 12 weeks of school holidays a year.

maybe we could do it together davina! Kacie and Izzy could go to school together! xxx

maybe we could do it together davina! Kacie and Izzy could go to school together! xxx

Awwww how sweet would that be It would be nice too if they both had someone they'd grown up with who was HE. xxx

maybe we could do it together davina! Kacie and Izzy could go to school together! xxx

Awwww how sweet would that be It would be nice too if they both had someone they'd grown up with who was HE. xxx

We could join you too!!

I voted yes. The more I think about, and look into, HE the more it makes sense to me. However, now that we're back in Aus, I'm less inclined than I would have been in the UK to home educate. I don't want Iris growing up to be a Brit abroad; she's Australian and I think she'll have a lot to learn about being Australian that I can't give her.

I also wonder about giving her a broad education. Even as young as she is, she's showing definite interest in some activities over others. She's a real problem solver and has been doing 24-piece jigsaw puzzles on her own for months. She wants to know what things are and how things work. I try and encourage other interests (like painting or sticking), but I think she's more fascinated in the how than the imaginative. Although I did catch her playing with her toast this morning as though it was a duck - she kept saying quack at it. I wouldn't want her to just take the easy route and do things that she's naturally gifted at, I'd want her to work on things she finds difficult, too. But I wouldn't know how to encourage that. I suppose HE is a learning process for parent and child.

As someone else has already pointed out at home there's no school day, school week or school term so children are not restricted in when they can learn.

If your child is being educated at home (i.e. not home educated but registered at a school and not able to attend due to illness etc.) and has a tutor provided by the LA, they get 1 hour a day of 1:1 which is considered equivalent to a day at school in a classroom where the ratio is often 30:1. One hour of more formal work in a day isn't hard to do at all (even with 6 children, including a baby, and running a business from home), the rest of the day is filled up with more autonomous type education. Kids learn huge amounts through just living and doing stuff informally (just as babies and adults do). As an example, DS1 (7) has taught himself multiplication, division, fractions and percentages just going to the supermarket with DH. He also taught himself to read and now has a reading age of an 18 year old. We didn't teach him, we just gave him access to books and offered support and encouragement.

Also, someone mentioned friends going to school and their kids missing out. What are they missing out on? They can still play with those same friends out of school times (evening, weekends and holidays). They'll probably see them at the same activities and clubs they go to as well. They're really not missing out on anything.

I've done both so can compare and IMO HE wins hands down for us.