A day in the life of our home ed...

Let's begin...

I start the day walking our crazy cockapoo with my eldest daughter before she goes off to college. This gives my daughter some one-on-one time with me, and we get to walk without Isabelle complaining we have walked miles (we haven’t!).

As its autumn, our walk consists of getting our dog to spit out countless acorns, I’m starting to wonder if she was a squirrel in another life, then upon getting home I do basic chores whilst Isabelle has some time watching Cbeebies or NickJr whilst looking on her iPad simultaneously.

Isabelle needs to start the day doing her own thing whether this be role playing in ‘her own world’ (we call it this as she will pretty much shut off to everything around her and do her own thing/ pretend to talk to people in her game etc), or she might watch some of her favourite youtubers such as Family Fizz or Grace’s Room.

It's not 'work'

I don’t like referring to her learning as ‘work’ as I find it gives Isabelle the impression of something that’s negative and that she is being made to do it. I tend to slot activities in throughout the day, and I read when the right time is through her mood and behaviour. I also refer to her learning as fun things or activities. Every day is different. In the beginning I used to have in mind when we would go out/ do activities but I have learnt to just see how the day goes and usually Isabelle will let me know when she is ready to engage with me.

Some mornings we might pop to town or go to the park as Isabelle loves the swings and as it is a weekday the park is quieter which suits her. Going to town allows her to practice life skills such as shopping, queuing and learning about road safety.

Isabelle loves baking so she will read out the recipe as she loves reading and then we work together to make the cake or whatever we are making.

I have included some pics of the sorts of activities we do, and, in another post, I will share the types of games we find helpful and books too.

Down time

By late afternoon Isabelle is ready for some down time so she will watch T.V and watch YouTube or go on her iPad, or quite often all three at once! I think one of the hardest parts of home ed is being relaxed and remembering you are not trying to recreate school. It’s ok if there are days when Isabelle needs to do her own thing as isn’t in the right mindset for activities etc., we as adults have days where we don’t want to socialise or do things so why can’t our children?

Isabelle loves reading so our night routine always ends with me reading a chapter from the rainbow fairy books, Isabelle then chooses a picture book to read and then she listens to some Isadora Moon audio.

There is no 'right way'

Not every day is easy and some days I still worry if I am getting things ‘right’ but that’s the hard part, there is no rule book or right way, so you have to find what suits you and your child and your family’s way of life. We are all too quick to judge ourselves from the perspective of others, me included. I have been on Facebook countless times or Instagram and seen all these other parents home educating showing them out in the forest and having amazing days out but that doesn’t mean what I am doing is wrong. That’s just right for them.

Play dough mats...

I love play dough mats as they help spark creativity and encourage fine motor skills and strengthening of the fingers which can help writing skills.

Story maker...

I use a story maker sheet to help Isabelle tell stories for English. she struggles to initiate her ideas and these can help her visualise what can happen in her story. She picks something from each catagory so she is in control of what happens.

Waffle building...

This is our waffle builder game which encourages communication and life skills such as what to say when you go into a cafe and allows for turn taking, listening and following instructions. we also play a build a pizza and ice cream version too!