Stories

Home educating can be daunting, especially in the early days. Most of us experience the wobbly days of doubt or the crazy ones where you wonder what are we doing! For those of you who are new to home educating, we hope our stories will inspire and encourage you. For those who are older and wiser; you carry such wisdom and we hope you will share your story with our community – we are keen to learn from you.

We believe that in sharing stories we can demystify what we do as home educators. It is in sharing and being real we can empower one another to bravely walk the journey.

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Consider the Trees

I'm usually the first one awake and this morning was no exception. I walked out to my spot in the living room, Moreton Bay glimmering on the horizon, a thin strand of silver under an overcast sky. We were blessed early last year to find a secluded rental property...

Caleb White|15 Mar 2022

How I started appreciating home education

In the middle of studying for my English language IGCSE exam, at age 14, I could never have fathomed pursuing any kind of writing as a career. I didn’t like formulating ideas, didn’t like having to be creative and struggled when having to. This dislike, or even...

Matthew Telles|8 Feb 2022

Flourishing Grandchildren!

"What are you doing to enable your children to flourish?” asked the school inspector of me - a newly appointed and very young headteacher. Since that wonderful and significant day I have spent a privileged lifetime with, and alongside, children and teachers from...

Jonathan Rendall|17 Dec 2021

Home School Economics

It is a rare family indeed that isn’t hit by the financial impact of home education. Let’s be honest about that. Whether tag-teaming shift work, paying for books and resources, covering examination fees, or stretching your food budget to incorporate weekday family...

Streams|14 Oct 2021

Socialising

Surprising as it may sound, I consider socialising one of the great unsung strengths of home education. Children learn social skills from others around them. In a home education scenario, where the ratio of children to adults rarely exceeds 6:1, adults are able...

Jen|14 Oct 2021

Dyslexia

I started home educating before I had any idea that my daughter might have any learning difficulties. She was clearly a bright child, making her milestones, curious and interested, and extremely conversational. I am not British and was not impressed with what I...

Jen|14 Oct 2021

From Mainstream to Home

We joined the world of home education over two years ago with our two girls who are now 13 and 10 years old. They are very different from each other and, therefore, need a different approach to learning, as was the case in school but they were unable to provide...

Nic Harris|30 Sep 2021

From Home Ed to School

I was homeschooled until I was 17 and one of the biggest benefits has been being with my family a lot of the time. My memories of early homeschooling include sitting around the kitchen table with my siblings to do school work, going on trips together with friends...

Streams|30 Sep 2021

Leaving School Age 9

The start of my learning journey actually began in school. We lived in Leeds when I was little and I started school age four. I don’t remember too much other than I had one special friend at school and her name was H. We were really good friends, we played a lot. I...

Streams|23 Sep 2021

Why Are So Many Professionals Leaving the System?

Why are so many professionals leaving the system? My story looks at why there is a rise in the number of children being home educated but also a rise in the number of teachers and leaders leaving the profession. I want to help people realise that even teachers...

Sarah Cudmore|15 Sep 2021

School to Home Ed

I was in school until I was 10 years old. I actually moved school twice as we moved house. My school in Bristol was my last school where I was from year 2 until year 5. School was okay; I enjoyed seeing my friends, play time was always the best! I did not enjoy...

Jo Sweetland|10 Sep 2021

Not Missing Out on Childhood

I know that there are some people who are drawn to home-education who enjoy watching quietly from the sidelines, not yet ready to take the plunge themselves; some are fearful of "doing the wrong thing", and many have concerns that they might fail their child be...

Streams|7 May 2021

Reflections on a Journey

This reflection I wrote for a family blog in 2017 when we stepped out of school. I rediscovered it again this week and thought I would share it here. It very much captures that sense of freedom that you feel when you step out of the system. It is a decision made...

Jez Richards|23 Jun 2022

We got our daughter back!

Three years ago, our daughter entered secondary school and, initially, seemed to thrive. It is a well respected school, the same one our boys had gone to with positive experiences. However, as time went on, we noticed her getting more insular and less excited about...

Jeanine Porter|19 May 2022

Taking the leap & no regrets!

If you had told me when my son started school in 2011 that we would become home educators, I honestly would have laughed out loud. Coming from a family of teachers, the thought of home educating did not even come onto my radar. I will also confess the term ‘home...

Jez Richards|30 Jan 2022

Deschooling myself

"Do you remember when we learned all about the Sumerians when you were younger?" I asked my 18 year old daughter. "We dressed up, made different foods, and even did a puppet show?" Looking at me blankly, she responded "No, I don't remember doing that!" We used to...

Juliet E.|11 Dec 2021

I Feel Proud of Myself

The photo is such a special one to me, the happiness and laughter on my daughter’s face is one thing - but there is something that you can not see in this photo… Minutes before this was taken on Saturday night, my daughter had just watched herself on a cinema...

Streams|21 Oct 2021

Socialising

Jen|14 Oct 2021

From Home Education To Self-directed Education; Things I’ve Learned on Our Journey.

We’ve been on this crazy home educating journey now for four years and let me tell you it’s a rabbit hole! What looks to be a simple premise on the outside; you educate your kids, at home, suddenly opens up into a whole new world of possibilities and choices and...

LittleFluff|11 Oct 2021

Remember the End Goal

My story began over 20 years ago when our 1st child was born. As new parents, we were full of idealism and wanting the best for our daughter and we both thought home educating would offer a wonderful way to educate our child. My husband encouraged me to home...

Streams|7 Oct 2021

Breathe, Take Your Time, Find Your Feet!

When we first started two years ago, we bought a big expensive boxed curriculum, which worked well for us initially but as I found my feet, I discovered that it didn’t entirely meet our needs. So, now we’re into our third year and I’m beginning to “pick and mix” to...

Streams|7 Oct 2021

A Family World Adventure

One of our dreams all through our homeschool journey was that one day we would be able to take a year out and go travelling with our family - early on we had met another family who had spent some time going around the States in an RV and the idea of taking a family...

Streams|30 Sep 2021

Why We Chose to Home Educate

Oliver, our eldest son, was born on the 26th August, a summer-born baby boy. Oliver was a bright, inquisitive baby and toddler - always asking questions at every opportunity and eager to learn new things. He enjoyed pre-school for a time, but then became...

Streams|23 Sep 2021

The Glorious Days…

There aren’t many whole days that I could describe as ‘glorious’, but they come as moments, sometimes hours if we’re lucky. They’re the moments our kids are rolling around laughing and making up funny rhymes or working together on building a den. With my oldest...

Streams|23 Sep 2021

Looking Back on My First Year

When my 9 year old daughter innocently explained that she was using disassociation and self-harm strategies to get through maths lessons, we knew we’d never walk her over the threshold of the school again. As ex educators, both my wife and I had already...

Streams|23 Sep 2021

Finding Community

Stepping into the world of home education when you have been in the education system was a challenge for me. I stepped out of our cosy school community (which also had it’s playground chatter challenges) and suddenly found myself alone with the kids. We had made...

Jo Sweetland|10 Sep 2021

Why We Chose to Home Educate

Oliver our eldest son was born on the 26th August, a summer born baby boy. Oliver was a bright, inquisitive baby and toddler always asking questions at every opportunity and eager to learn new things. He enjoyed pre-school for a time, but then became frustrated...

Jo Sweetland|10 Sep 2021

Socialisation – Busting Those Myths!

As a home educating mum of 7 children, I’ve had ample opportunity to become aware of, and observe, all the benefits and drawbacks of home education. Obviously, like so many other parents, I was challenged or criticised by others at times for our choices and have...

Juliet E.|23 Aug 2021

Why We Are Home Educating

MY SCHOOL EXPERIENCE My own school experience was on the whole, positive. As my parents were largely ‘uneducated’ immigrants who spoke very little English and worked long hours, school gave me an education that my parents could not. At school, I excelled in my...

Streams|7 May 2021

Moving From School to Home Ed

Our journey into home ed began when we finally accepted that our daughter's primary school did not have the resources to effectively support our dyslexic daughter with her learning. At the time, S was coming to the end of year 4 and we had invested a lot of time...

Streams|7 May 2021

It Was Only Meant To Be for Two Years

Our home education story began a number of years ago when I was working as a youth minister at a church in Surrey, UK. It was during that time that I first remember meeting families who home schooled. I’m not completely sure why they chose to home school (as I...

Matthew Harris|7 May 2021

At the Start of the Journey

We took our children out of school at the ages of 10,6,6. It was not a rash decision; it was one we had explored, nearly done when we had moved house three years before, and then an intense nine months of really getting ready to exit. At this point I was a...

Streams|7 May 2021

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