It has been over two months now

Since we all left school

I have to say that our school days

Already feel a long way behind us

But we have had an awful lot going on

We started our home education

With not one but two holidays

First visiting my parents in Spain

And second

Spending Tilda’s birthday on the farm

At Coombe Mill

Now we are camped out in a rented flat

Maisonette

While our home is being renovated

We had hoped to be out for two months

But it is looking most likely to be three

Perhaps even more than that

We have decided to take the summer

To deschool

And to find our feet within the home education community

There is not much explicit teaching in our current routine

But there is a whole lot of learning going on

We read every single day

I read to the children

And most days Esther and William will read to me

I have bought reading scheme books at the appropriate levels

But we also read real books

And the children enjoy learning through Reading Eggs

I do some phonics with Esther

And I do high frequency flash cards with her too

At the beginning we did early morning work

Maths and English tasks

We were all trying to replicate school at home

Which is why we are taking some time to deschool

To find a rhythm with one another

And establish a teaching and learning pattern of our own

At the moment we are taking on lots of groups

Classes and lessons

This is to see what interests the children

And also to get to know other Home Ed families

To see what it is like on the ‘homeschooling scene’

Our days and weeks are busy

Time is flying by

On Mondays we have swimming lessons

Ballet and Acro

Bea has tea with Granny

Meaning that between dance classes

I can do learning activities with the twins

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays

We meet friends

Plan a learning activity or field trip

Or go on Home Ed group visits

We have recently done a World War Two day

And been on a Minibeast Adventure

We will soon be visiting The Tower of London

Buckingham Palace

And London Zoo

On Thursdays we have a farm day

Esther does Pony Club in the morning

And we all do an Animal Care course in the afternoon

Bea will be with us alternate weeks

On the other weeks she is going to an amazing child minder

For what we are calling ‘baby school’

On Fridays we go to an art group in the morning

And play outside all afternoon

On Saturdays all the children have music school

Then Esther does dance and drama at RAZZ

Sundays are our family days

When we have Daddy around all day too

We are busy busy busy

But it is good

I am driving now more than I ever have before

Every day I drive us all somewhere

We still have difficult days

I still suffer from anxiety and PTSD

But there are more good days than there have been

We are all learning

As a family

And slowly

Very slowly

We are moving forward

Our sights set on September

When we will return home

To a fresh start

To begin a more structured home school life

Using the home we have created with just that in mind

And until then we will continue learning

Together

From one another

About each other

And the worry will lessen

The good days become more frequent

And we will all begin to live again

With Tilda in our hearts