http://www.mrallsophistory.com

Just wanted to share this great website!

Half term is here...yay! A great from studying with CJ but now studying with RJ who is studying for his exams starting next month - A levels.

Speaking to a mum yesterday who home schools her four children the topic of curriculums came up. While we follow www.cie.org.uk for IGCSEs I did discover they cover much younger children in primary from the age of 5. 

However to be honest there are many books and online resources that home schoolers can follow that show what school children are learning nationally for each year group.

In the UK we are teaching children younger and younger and I genuinely feel that we must learn from other countries who start teaching their children from 7 onwards. Academically their results are great - could we learn from them?!

I challenge you to search the internet for famous home schooled adults - you will be surprised!

Had to share this one with you guys out there! Definitely worth a good look.

www.khanacademy.org 

These guys are amazing and this is a free resource but you can donate if you wish. An excellent resource for home schoolers in Math, sciences and slightly more. 

Maths preparation this evening - The Quadratic Equation!

I have been studying ahead of CJ so that I understand everything fully to enable me to help him through the maths curriculum.

Sometimes I just have to search the internet for help and today has been one of those days. 

The Quadratic Equation just wasn't explained clear enough in the text book so I looked to expertmathstutor on youtube - we are so grateful for the teachers who take the time to post their explanations and lessons. They are a great resource for home schoolers.

What I have noticed is that the teachers are catering to GCSE students and often mention that the students don't need to know the equations off by heart as they are given in the exam. Please note that IGCSE students do often need to learn the equations off by heart as they may pick up a mark for knowing such equations as The Quadratic Equation. IGCSEs seem to be more in depth!

Just one more week of home schooling and we have a weeks break. Well that is for CJ as I will help and support our eldest son in his preparation for his A level that start next month.

After months of home schooling I am now very focussed on gaining my degree. Environmental Studies mixed with maths is my chosen route but I do have many options with an open degree. 

Will I teach? I think so but not in local education as there are too many restrictions and I really feel that alot more time could be spent out of the classroom and on more practical lessons.

My own education from the age of 5-11 was amazing and I attended a village school run by a dedicated headmaster who chose his staff wisely. The school was a safe and well run environment and we were very aware that we were cared for very much by the staff. We were well disciplined but had a great sense of community. I will always be grateful for such a great start in life and long to pass that on to others. 

Sunday morning!

Just found the dog in the chicken enclosure again! The commotion outside is always a give away - there is a certain squawking the chickens make when being chased by the dog. I stood guard at the back door trying to yell at the dog in as quiet a way as possible in hope that the neighbours won't be disturbed but I'm guessing if we could hear the noise then they could too. If we disappear in the house to get our shoes the dog just goes back to chasing and rounding them up again and Hugo is a collie so rounding up everyone and everything is just in his genes and is his favourite thing ever along with his favourite toy - a big black bucket. Andi reluctantly got up and went out to retrieve Hugo and forgot to close the porch door so we now have muddy paw prints through the hall and in to the lounge - what a start to Sunday morning.

Home schooling is very much on my mind this morning as we are planning a week of past exam papers. Although we are only 9 months in to the IGCSEs we have covered an awful lot of the course already. You see an hour  home schooling is very much different to an hour in class at school. With no distractions you really do get alot done. CJ knows there will be questions he can't answer but after going through a maths paper recently he found it encouraging to see just how much he could do but also found it helpful to get used to the style of questions he will meet in his exams next year.

RJ has A level exams next month and so revision and study is very much what is going on in our home. Home schooling during the day and revising in the evenings and at weekends. RJ has a great offer at a good university near our home but 2 A's and a B are high grades to get. 

After all of the studying so far I have been inspired to go back to studying myself. I am now registered for my degree that starts in October. Through helping RJ I have come to love Environmental Studies and although the next home schooling year will be the most important one I know I will find time for my own studies too. In just three years CJ could be gone off to uni so it will mean I will be finishing my degree and who knows what I could do after the children have flown the nest. 

Our days don't always go to plan and yesterday was just one of those days. Instead of the usual 4 subjects we only covered 3. However being ahead of our studies means that catching up isn't really necessary but with bank holiday Monday we are already on a shorter week.

This morning Mrs J our English tutor wasn't able to make it but she rang and set this weeks work out of the text book so CJ won't be missing any lessons there. So the English lesson has changed to an Economics lesson.

I just love the flexibility home schooling brings and also the relaxed way in which we school as well. Our home is usually a quite, calm and relaxed placed during the day but there can be exciting times such as last week when the puppy made it in to the chicken enclosure and brought out a chicken in his mouth!!! Thankfully Ermintrude survived her trip around the back garden. 

We have also the option the travel and still home school. Making a 350 mile journey last month to be with my sister when she gave birth to her first baby meant CJ was able to come and still study. Not only did CJ get to meet his new cousin but day after day it snowed and so he got to go sledging - something really exciting for us as we rarely see snow where we live!

Home schooling is a commitment for any family. For us it was a change of life - my full time job turned in to part time house worked around home schooling and family life - I wouldn't change it for anything now.

If a child cannot learn in the way which we teach.........we must teach in a way the child can learn.

Such truth in those words!

A new trend in stating that 'Every child matters' on a school's website does not impress me at all and neither do a school's exam results. 

As parents we simply want the best for our children and we always celebrate their achievements. If they get a D in an exam after trying their best then that  is something to be proud of.

How can a teacher in a class of 30 mixed ability children meet the needs of every child? 

Please know that I am not against schools as you can see we stumbled in to home schooling through the school closure last year. We had placed our children in local education and then private education at senior level.

It is just that I now realise that we are able to teach our son in a way that is best suited to the way that he learns - if this makes sense?

Our son is relaxed and confident in his studies. He has lots of relationships through his sports and friends he meets with a few times a week. He has grown confident and to some degree more adventurous in his plans for his future. Peer pressure is not a problem and our son is able to be who he truly is.

Home schooling for us is such a blessing.