Happy Independence day to all those in America.
It is a special day for us too as it is officially a year since we began home educating!
Of course today really just marks the day they left school. In some ways we weren't really officially home educating until the September when they didn't go back to school. Actually though that long summer holiday last year watching the children and already seeing how naturally they learnt was very important!
I must admit when I realised it was a year gone by I did have a minor panic about what we have to show for a year, especially when a fellow home educator following a more traditional path has piles of workbooks! In that case though that particular child is definitely going back into the school system whereas I feel we are able to take a longer slower path as it were.
Our achievements for the year are more subtle but more significant. Both children have grown in confidence and sense of self. I have a very clear idea of each of their interests and how to nurture them. Both have vastly increased in reading confidence and most important discovered the real joy of reading. Both have made many friends and retained old ones. Best of all both are curious, inquisitive and interested in learning.
We have done a lot so I put together this slideshow to help me remember just some (but by no means all!) of the amazing things from the past year.
The biggest changes have probably taken place in my head. I am so much more relaxed about it all and loving supporting the children as they learn. Here's to the next year!
It is a special day for us too as it is officially a year since we began home educating!
Of course today really just marks the day they left school. In some ways we weren't really officially home educating until the September when they didn't go back to school. Actually though that long summer holiday last year watching the children and already seeing how naturally they learnt was very important!
I must admit when I realised it was a year gone by I did have a minor panic about what we have to show for a year, especially when a fellow home educator following a more traditional path has piles of workbooks! In that case though that particular child is definitely going back into the school system whereas I feel we are able to take a longer slower path as it were.
Our achievements for the year are more subtle but more significant. Both children have grown in confidence and sense of self. I have a very clear idea of each of their interests and how to nurture them. Both have vastly increased in reading confidence and most important discovered the real joy of reading. Both have made many friends and retained old ones. Best of all both are curious, inquisitive and interested in learning.
We have done a lot so I put together this slideshow to help me remember just some (but by no means all!) of the amazing things from the past year.
The biggest changes have probably taken place in my head. I am so much more relaxed about it all and loving supporting the children as they learn. Here's to the next year!
