Hey Blog! This post is unusual, as in this one I’m going to be explaining something I have been trying to explain for more than a year on Home Ed in a Shed – what home-ed is really like!
This post is really for those who ask us every time we go out what we do if we don’t go to school. I can’t answer for everyone, as every child is different, and one of the benefits of home-ed is that learning is totally child-specific. All of the families I know do things in a different way; some follow the school holidays, some follow workbooks and never do anything else, some just let the kids chose their learning. I’m aware that like any system people have conflicting opinions on what is the middle, but I’ll say it anyway: we try to stay in the middle if we can, taking breaks over roughly the same period as schools – but one of the advantages of this kind of learning is you can go when nobody else goes on holiday when it’s cheap so we don’t follow the terms exactly; learning what would be expected by college/university age, but going in detail about whatever interests us. Mum teaches me some things, and I do online classes for others, a few I do on my own, and occasionally I do totally my own thing like whittling in my shed or writing a crazy story with my friends. This blog is one of those that I do on my own, though Mum occasionally suggests a topic to write about.
I must state here that it doesn’t have to be a mum who does the learning with the child. Though it’s only mums who do it around here, Dad occasionally helps with science when Mum’s head starts hurting or I haven’t got on in the day and she wants some time out. Dad is the one who did welding with me in the garage over lockdown, who built the Home Ed Shed with me, and who I have long and complicated conversations with in the car when going places, with subjects ranging from how freezers work to how original Alice in Wonderland is!
To come to the most commonly asked question put to home-ed families, “How do you do your exams?”, as we choose to stay out of the school system we have to pay for our own education, including exams. Unfortunately they are very expensive, and I have not done any yet, though I will be starting a one-year GCSE-level study on Environmental Management from the amazing tutor at Humanatees in June. Also, contrary to most people’s belief, we do in fact go out with other children, and don’t stay home all the time. I am lucky to be living near Belper, as there is a brilliant community of home-ed families there, which we hang out with quite often. Unlike most of my friends, I also go to so-called ‘after-school’ things, such as Scouts and cricket, though I am the only home-ed kid there. It does feel like I’m a bit different, true, but then they all go to the same school so it would be like that.
Home education is very varied, as the child can choose the subjects it learns about, though I have to do basic maths, English and science. The fact that you can learn in a home environment is comforting for many people, so it’s hardly surprising that most of the people I hang out with are neurodiverse, with ADHD and Autism being the most common. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have the former of these, though we have not checked. On the whole, I would recommend home-ed for anyone who likes things that are not covered in the school system, is interested in being their own person, and is willing to do what society doesn’t like – that is, go against the norm and be a home-educated rebel, forging your own group of friends and your own identity. Hope to see you join the group soon!