No T Words mentioned at all - a fresh start

flowertotmum

Hello all...
MLW..so glad your back and had a great time..

Well today is the last day of my old life and tomorrow is a whole new world for me and my family...its Fern's last school day today..and tomorrow we start on our Home Education adventures...
So far we have moved our DS into the bigger of the small rooms(oxymoron there)..re-decorated it for him and bought him some lovely new bits and bobs to make it his own...and have turned the other room into a mini school room...we are collecting a double desk tomorrow(ebay bargain),i am currently watching some school chairs(6) in total as you never know..i have over the last months collected maps,posters,paper etc...joined a Home Education website(£15) for 3 yrs..got lots of ideas and moral support..plus the entire curiculum for both littlies..done a learning plan for both of them so they don't get overwhelmed and started French lessons...i am currently looking into music lessons also.We are all so happy about this decision..the school has not said one word to me about it and thats fine by me.
As for some folks fears that they will be isolated..well they need'nt worry about that..we have joined a few dance clubs and some history and archaeology clubs too..lots of lovely people and their children are making all feel most welcome.

We have re-jigged our budget as i have no uniforms,shoes to buy so that we can afford to get our very own POLYTUNNEL yay yay...the poor garden looks a complete mess..everytime i get it tidy and weed free..it bloody rains again.However our spuds are doing amazing and taste so nice..i have actually boiled a few bags and prepped them in the freezer so i can have lovely roasties from here to christmas..don't shoot me coz i said the C word..lol...
My ds has passed and been accepted on his new Joinery course for another 2 yrs...so i am impressed with him and very proud.
My newest GD is doing great..still a little night owl but getting there..putting weight on and being more alert.
So there you have it..my new life and great begginings for me and the girls..i am actually looking forward to it very much ..think perhaps i will learn stuff as well as the girls.
right got to go..hubby has made a coffee..
love to you all
ftm

marrbett

Hi FTM,
I'm just de-lurking to say welcome to the wonderful world that Home education brings. My 4 children have never been to school and are lovely, lovely people. Take your time and don't expect too much, too soon.

cdm

Hi all! Although I do not post very often, I am a fervent fan of this little (!) community, joining in to read most days, and I feel as though I am gradually getting to know you all. I just wanted to rush in and say a great big 'Hello' to flowertotmum, if you'll allow me. I want to wish you well for in your forthcoming HomeEd adventures. I can see you have been very thorough in your investigations before making your choice. I know this was not a quick decision...you've obviously done your 'homework' and been thinking about it for a long time. You seem so well organised -- just as we're winding down here, you're all fired up and ready to go! You've already tapped into some brilliant networks and resources both out there and online.....you will do well. Enjoy the summer (!) when it arrives...I'm looking forward to reading more of your adventures!
Best wishes to all your lovely family, and a special welcome hug for Emma!

[Deleted User]

Hey FTM - Good on you for being brave enough to follow your own path, the Home Education path is so good for littlies, we had to home school our youngest Ruth for 3 years when we were living abroad for Dh's job. The local school wouldn't take her as she had only a smattering of the language and she would have been in a reception class with turkish and vietmanese kids who were just starting and she was just 7 so had already been at school for 3 years in England. We had a set programme of work from an international home schooling college and a Tutor back in the UK who was there if we had any problems or concerns. We sent work back for assessment once a month. She flew like a bird, she was like a little sponge just soaking up any and every aspect of any subject we worked on. We were lucky enough to have another english family who were also home schooling in the next village, their kids were a couple of years older but that meant she had some extension work as she always wanted to do the same thing as them. The very very best thing I found was having the time and resources to explore all the things that spun off from the area we were working on, to have time to look in the encyclopeadia or reference books and explore possibilities and aspects you wouldn't be able to do in a mixed ability class at school. When we came back home she was almost 10 and was 3 - 4 years ahead of her peers. That caused some heartache and problems but we found a small village school with just 2 classes and very good and adaptable trachers and again she flew. She is now a qualified Doctor on a GP Training programme and says it is really due to the time she was home schooled, says it gave her a work ethic and such a start, and so much confidence that nothing seemed unreachable.

Huge conratulations to your DS on being accepted for his new course, so glad that Emma is doing so well and I am so delighted that you can get the Polytunnel too, it will I hope give you as much satisfaction as ours is giving us. Wish you all the very best of luck on all the new ventures and I am sure you will learn just as much as the kids do - I know I did!!!!! Cheers and hugses Lyn and a soggy doggie xxx. Have a good summer!!!

flowertotmum

Hi all..thank you cdm and marrbett for the encouraging words and its nice to know i am not alone..and welcome to our little thread ..its lovely in here..
MLW..thank you..i have discovered that Fern is higher than her class in literacy,but in the lower end for numeracy..more due to lack of confidence than ability..so thats the first thing we will remedy..build up her confidence..thankfully her dad is a math whizz and i can spell just about any word in the world..thats the beauty of being a book worm..
We have just spent this morning putting finishing touches to the room,the girls have made a door sign..and the rules are
1, in the room we work hard
2,we read for 30 minutes a day..either out loud or quietly.
3,we have funtime in the afternoons..this will be fun but educational,only they don't realize that yet lol..
4, if it nice outside then we will do work out there...
5, we will have 1 project a month..and try to incorporate it into other projects and things we do .
Think thats it...i feel so relieved..like a huge pressure has been lifted from my shoulders and both me and hubby are at peace with the decisions we have made...
Fern is so happy...we had no tears this morning and she has been very bubbly..normally we have tears and a very quiet girl before school...Iris is just happy to have her sister here..they have been playing and colouring posters...
Right i have to go and rescue hubby..he has been clearing his drawer out and has 2 greedy grasping pair of hands delving in the drawer...lol..he looks stressed lol...
love to you all
ftm

[Deleted User]

FTM - we found the days just flew by, it is so lovely being able to turn a nature walk into a science lesson, or an art project, a cookery experiment if we found edibles. The music led to mad dancing sessions that doubled up as P E sessions. The language and comprehension served as a way of showing her how to access an index or work the cataloguing system at the library and the books we read together led to showing her how to use the dictionary properly. It all links together in a cohesive programme and they learn so much so quickly. Sometimes we had swimming instead of PE or went on bike rides out into the country. The thing I liked best was the odd day where we had a 'History' day and having done the research on the period of choice, renounced the 20th century and lived like the people we were studying, dressing up and all. I still remember the day we started the bonfire to cook on using a magnifying glass in the sun. What on earth the neighbours thought is anybodys guess, but we had FUNNNNN!! It didn't ever seem like hard work to either of us - enjoy! Cheers Lyn xxx.

prepareathome

Mrs LW I have to ask although I know it would be very unlikely, you daughter is not a GP looking to come to a certain city in a few months for 8 weeks so looking for somewhere to stay is she? Its just I read a mail from someone I know asking and a good friend who lives just along the road has said she willing to be considered. I don't have a spare bed at the moment with study being a dumping ground and 3 dogs are a bit much for anyone to cope with.

FTM I homeschooled my youngest - took him out at 8 after getting fed up being told dyslexia is Middle Class Mums Syndrome ( this was late 1980's and school now is a centre of excellence:rotfl: for dyslexia but in those days they denied it existed) he also was off so much due to being in hospital so I thought he would be happier at home which he was and he loved it. When he was 11 I started a degree and took him with me ( had checked lecturers didn't mind) and he loved it he could have sat the finals and passed he just lapped it all up. We did all sorts, days out here there and everywhere and he thought it was wonderful and he learned so much as to him it wasn't learning it was fun. He sat his GCSEs at 14 through a local college and passed them all - was fun doing chemistry in the kitchen but I did have him go to college for some chemistry as making some mixtures of chemicals or gas was not something I felt safe doing.

When I did this home schooling was hardly heard of and the education dept actually took me to court over my sons non-attendance at school, needless to say I won as of course it was quite legal, always has been. There none of the groups there are nowadays to help when I started but by the time he was 16 they were springing up all over the place.

In the early 1990's our city started a big stamp down on truancy and I do not know how many times we got stopped by the police and asked why he was not at school - they were using the police to find children and take them to school. When I used to say he doesn't go to school you could see the disbelief eventually I had to start carrying the letter the local authority had, had to send me stating they agree my son is being home schooled round with me to show them. Oh fun days but I loved every minute of it. Due to the way the school had been with him over his dyslexia ( lazy, to slow etc) he has never been happy reading or writing in public so he went down the non-education path and became an outdoors pursuit teacher and adores it as it then, changed now I think let him train on the job and tests were practical only and he loves it.

Good luck you have made a great choice and you will love it totally.

[Deleted User]

Bless you PAH thank you so much for thinking of us, you are so kind. Sorry but no, she's just started her second year of training, the whole is 3 years, and was lucky enough to get all her placements in her local area with her local Health Authority so she is able to live at home and travel to them very easily. You are such a sweetie, what a lovely thing to offer, I'm very grateful. Thank you Love Lyn xxx.

Kaz2904

DS has just finished first school and will be going up to middle school in September. I have said to both children that I want to work hard with them on their handwriting this summer as it is not very clear. I spent a while today looking around and have found some good resources so hope that they will improve over the holidays. It seems a great shame that schools don't focus on neat legible handwriting any more, and don't get me started on spellings!
My friend and I spent yesterday clearing out DD's bedroom and it is lovely in there now. So peaceful and restful in there, I'm jealous! I will do DS's next week. Hopefully DH will help me with it as it's too big a job for one person .
Am looking forward to the holidays with them, just got to stop them going wild and try to keep them focused

[Deleted User]

HI KAZ - have you finished that blanket yet? Hope DDs arm now completely healed and you are finished with the medics! Funny old summer down here so far, nothing seems to be growing on the allotment it is still the same size as when we planted it out, the only change is that now the runner beans have flower buds on them. The only produce worth having so far has come from the polytunnel. Have a nice summer holiday with the littlies and keep chatting to us - Cheers Lyn xxx.