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Gemma

@gemma982

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Solo mum by choice via donor IVF.
Home educating as a first choice.
Love family travel, musical theatre, cooking, crafts & scrapbooking

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Our first ‘official’ month of home ed all wrapped up. Though it looked very different from a normal month due to our travel adventure - more details on that to come in a separate post.

But for now, we’re finding our feet in our new-ish routine. M is missing her nursery friends a little, but thankfully she already has some home ed friends and other groups that she started a while ago. So it’s an adjustment, but a relatively gentle one. Looking forward to an October filled with books and crafts and outdoor time in the autumn sunshine. by @gemma982

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16 days ago

She was so excited to take her camera on our Netherlands adventure. But when we went to the big events, the camera stayed in the bag so that she could fully focus on what was going on. It was so funny to see what she noticed and what she wanted to take photos of. These photos are from the Cube houses and harbour area in Rotterdam, the Windmills at Kinderdijk, the giraffes at Beekse Bergen and the ice cream shop in Utrecht. She has learned so much from taking the photos, looking at the results, and trying again until she got the picture she wanted. Were there a LOT of blurry photos? Yes. Photos with people’s heads chopped off? Yes. Photos with wonky horizons that make you feel a bit seasick? Also yes. But I’ve let her keep some of those photos, because she took them for a reason, and they’re part of the memory of that trip. I’m looking forward to seeing how her photos improve as she grows and practices, and I get a little window into her world at the same time. taken in Netherlands by @gemma982

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a month ago

Yep, she wanted to play dress-up in a ‘posh school uniform’. She very quickly started moaning about how tight the shirt collar was, how long I was taking to do her tie, how annoying the skirt was and how she couldn’t run properly in the blazer. She said ‘Mummy?! What do the schoolers do at playtime? Cos this uniform is NO good at all for running or jumping or climbing trees!!! Can I take it off now?’

And so, of course, her response was to find the most colourful, sparkly outfit sne owns, and bounce around the garden on a space hopper 😂. We have so many exciting things in mind for the coming year, we wouldn’t be able to fit school in! But on a more serious note, I’m so glad that we have the opportunity to do this - more family time, more travels, more freedom to follow her interests and go at her pace, and the pleasure of witnessing it all first hand as her mum. Happy September! by @gemma982

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2 months ago

It’s so interesting how these questions are phrased, because they all boil down to the same assumption - that school is the default, the norm, the gold standard even. The idea that home education is a second-best, a last resort, when all else has failed. A means of salvaging something of a child’s education, when they cannot attend.

Very few people are aware that home education is (and always has been) the legal default. It has always been the PARENT’S responsibility to provide their child with a suitable education, and ONE of the ways that can be achieved is by enrolling them in school (state school or independent school). School has simply become the social default, because the majority have used it for over 100 years.

But for us, this isn’t about whether she would enjoy school or not. She HAS enjoyed nursery, and she does enjoy being around other kids. So, there are aspects of school that she probably would enjoy, especially in reception, where learning is play-based. But I also know that there are aspects she wouldn’t enjoy. Interestingly, nobody is asking the parents of children starting school ‘but what if she enjoyed home education?’ Or ‘but what if she doesn’t enjoy school?’

For us, this was about weighing up the pros and cons of both options. There ARE pros and cons to both.
Home ed as a first choice offers her so much more at the moment, and also offers us all as a family so much more.

Anyone else choosing home ed from the beginning? Are you getting these comments too? by @gemma982

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2 months ago

It’s interesting that everyone seems to assuming that learning to read and write is a complicated thing. It IS a complex process for a child’s brain, but I don’t believe you need to be a qualified teacher. M already knows all the single letter sounds, digraphs and trigraphs, and can sound out almost any decodable word, yet she’s never had a formal phonics lesson in her life. But we have done lots and lots of reading and letter games etc, led by her interest.

Same goes for maths. She already understands WAY more maths than what is taught in reception, because it’s been woven into our daily life since she was a toddler. And we will continue the same way. Because specific methods are not important, especially not at 4 years old! Developing a deep understanding of numbers and pattern and shapes and sequences is really what she’ll need - no methods or worksheets in sight (unless she chooses to do them, because to her, a worksheet is just a page of puzzles and to her that is fun)

Yes, we WILL have to show evidence of learning and progression, after she turns 5. But no, we don’t have to follow the national curriculum, or any curriculum at all. This is what I am most excited about - being able to follow her interests, go down rabbit holes, dig deep into things that fascinate her and move on quickly from things that don’t. We can build our own ‘curriculum’ as we go along, and that can be flexible. No targets. No assessments. No prescribed subjects or topics. Just leaning into the natural curiosity of a child discovering the world on her own terms.

Happy to answer any questions , fire away! by @gemma982

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3 months ago

4 years and 2 months of swimming lessons with Water Babies. We started at just 10 weeks old, and she instantly loved being in the beautifully warm pool. And now, she’ll swim with her woggle and jump in happily when they play the banana game. She’s not quite brave enough to swim without the woggle just yet, but she’s so close. I’m sure that when she decides she’s ready, she’ll be able to do it. She’s going to miss Marta and her little swimming buddies, but I’ll be honest, I won’t miss dragging her out of bed to make it to the 9.30 class 😆 So it’s goodbye to Water Babies and on to big kid classes now. by @gemma982

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3 months ago

Actually, I think this is a great question! This was one of the reasons it took me a long time to come to a decision to home educate - what would I do with my child on my working days? I work 3 days a week, in a job that can’t be done remotely. Initially, I thought this would be impossible, so I actually started out looking at flexischooling instead, where she would go to school 3-4 days and have 1-2 days at home.

But then I discovered that home ed friendly childminders exist (though a bit like gold dust!). We’ve been so lucky to find an amazing childminder, close to work. My daughter LOVES going there and never wants to leave. And, I’ll be able to use funded hours until she turns 5.

So the answer - a mix of paid childcare and my mum for my working days. She will be learning with both, and getting opportunities for different activities than she does at home, as well as a lovely mixed age group of kids to socialise with.

That still gives us 4 days a week and annual leave to do all sorts of learning together, and I think it’ll be a good balance for both of us.

And yes, I appreciate that teaching in a classroom is a full time job. But I’m not her teacher, and never will be. I’m her mummy, and my job is to provide opportunities, encourage and facilitate learning. I certainly won’t be spending time doing lesson plans and assessments 🙂

Home ed families - how do you juggle work and childcare? by @gemma982

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3 months ago

Where to start?
It’s really hard to answer this one, because it’s been a gradual process over the last couple of years. Lots of reading, googling, joining Facebook groups. Slowly figuring out what will work for us.

But if I had to nail down what I really needed before making a decision, it was making sure I really understood the legalities, rules and regulations.
What is expected and what isn’t, and what my responsibilities are. This is where I started. And from there, joining our local home ed Facebook getting my head round what is happening for kids in our area. Finding out what our local LA home ed officers are like and how they work. Going to some meet ups suitable for younger kids so that we get to know a few people before we officially start.

So now the groundwork is already in place. It doesn’t really feel like we’re ’starting’ anything come September, because there’s no big transition.

See comments for resources if you’re just starting your research or want to know more by @gemma982

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3 months ago

Honestly, most of the responses from people who know us well, have been positive. But many people have asked these practical types of questions, simply because they’ve never given home education any real thought before. I’ll answer the first question here…..future posts to follow on the others.

I don’t really think I’m brave for making this choice, after all, the ‘bravest’ decision was in becoming a solo mum by choice in the first place. I’m no stranger to doing things a bit differently - I was the kid to continued with unpopular ‘uncool’ hobbies as a teenager, because I didn’t care what others thought. The one who chose French and Spanish A-levels, with ambitions to study medicine. The one who stood by a decision not to drink alcohol, when student culture was all about getting drunk. And eventually, choosing to go it alone with donor IVF to become a mum.

SO, home education? Outside the norm, yes. But brave? Not really. We’re excited for this new chapter, and it’s not too far away now…..plenty more posts coming soon. by @gemma982

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3 months ago

Home from a lovely scrapbooky weekend away. It’s always amazing to have dedicated child-free crafting time with no interruptions (other than some….*whispers*…retail therapy). Time to catch up with crafty friends from the other end of the country, and regularly fed and watered with no to-do list in sight. And this year, an extra bonus day 🙂 Meanwhile, the small girl had a whale of a time crafting and cooking all weekend with Gaga. Win Win! Already booked for next year 🦊 by @gemma982

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4 months ago

She’s 4, and deep into small world play. It seemed like the right time to add some animal figures, and I found these gorgeous giraffes on eBay, less than half the price of new.

She’s had a basic set of Connetix tiles since she was 2, and we’ve since added some extra shape sets.
The flowers are from a stacking toy aimed at babies.
The acrylic rainbow arches and blue wave stackers were Christmas presents.
The wooden balls are from a different ‘baby’ toy.

I asked her to tell me what she made, and this is what she said:

‘The rainbow bit is a playground, and the blue wavy bit is the aquarium. The hexagon buildings are the greenhouses for all the tropical plants and butterflies….and tree frogs. Cos I love tree frogs. Then this big building is the giraffe house. They’ve got a playroom with balls to play with, and a feeding station on the roof. There’s lots of leaves in there cos they only eat leaves. And the flowers are in the garden. So that’s the whole zoo!’

None of these toys are ‘fancy’. The magnetic tiles were the biggest investment, but they’ve been played with almost daily since we got them. No elaborate setups by me, no time-consuming ‘invitation to play’, just 2 second-hand giraffes and lot of imagination 🥰 by @gemma982

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4 months ago

Super proud of this one for completing her first stage show with her musical theatre group. 3 shows in 3 consecutive days. She was MEGA excited (her own words) to be a honey bee in the production of Winnie the Pooh, and despite being the youngest of the girls and the only one still at nursery, she was completely unfazed by it all. She made friends with a few of the bigger kids backstage, especially Eeyore and Rainbow Blue, despite having never met them before the dress rehearsal. I sat upstairs in the theatre and was able to watch them from above while they waited to go on stage. It was so cute to see them all chatting and looking out for each other, Eeyore even gave Miss M a big hug before they went on 🥰 She tells me she can’t wait to do it all again next year! by @gemma982

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5 months ago