--- In homeeducatorsUK@..., "emily.rowlands" <em@...>
wrote:
>
> Go for it! Take her out and do it. You can and I'm sure you'll do
a
> good job and have a wonderful time together. It is great being
able
> to hone in on their individual interests but I would encourage to
> have some idea of stucture and progression that you want to follow
> simply so you can monitor her progress. Keeping a brief diary of
> what you've done is helpful as a record of work for the LEA should
> they inspect what you're doing, plus you need to be able to show
her
> work. Two hours of consistent work one-to-one is the equivalent of
> what they would cover in school. I use a structured syllabus to do
> that two hours worth of work, with my children and then the rest of
> the time I do all exciting extras that are interest specific with
> them. That way I know I've covered the essentials and am not
leaving
> any gaps. I don't know how parents educate without a syllabus
> because it would seem to me to be very labour intense with
> preparation etc when there's a home to keep aswell. But research
> shows that children who are educated without a set structure and
sort
> of left to discover things themselves are still better off
> educationally than their peers in school. I couldn't do it without
a
> syllabus - and I'm not using National Curriculum - but then I've
got
> four being home educated!
>
> But let me encourage you to do it.
>
> Emily
>



Thanks Emily! Its nice to hear some encouragement....too many people
act as if i'm considering locking her in a cell without social
contact for 24hrs a day! I have seven children altogether - 3 have
left school and the other three are at secondary and don't actually
want to leave. So its just the youngest to consider. I do drive and
there are loads of 'educational' places to visit round here, and also
loads of simply fun places! I think its a real possibility. I was
hoping to maybe do the English, Maths and Science by following the
curriculum, so that she would be ok if she wanted to go back into
school at any point. But then let her decide the rest! The way she
learns is not really within 'subjects'. For example I was doing an OU
course on Volcanoes and she learned it with me - by drawing pictures,
looking at maps of where they occured, making a model, learning about
gasses, making up and writing stories and finally going to the
exhibition in the natural history museum! So really she chooses a
topic and then all the other subjects 'fall in' with what she's
interested in. I have no idea whether this is'normal' or not. The
school would never have allowed her to explore her interests in such
a way. So, I am thinking of structured for the big three subjects and
then letting her choose a topic in which she can explore geography,
history, cultures etc at whim. Doea this sound even slightly ok? Is
that the sort of thing the LEA would look for?
Talena