All of a sudden

The end of summer is in sight

There is a sense of autumn in the air

As the light of the day is changing

And the nights are drawing in

For me this is a time to start setting the wheels in motion

For a new academic year

This year Esther and William would be starting Year 3

And Bea would be beginning her school journey in Year R

Our plan is to continue home educating

With more structure and routine than before

But also with lots more creative and practical work

I am so passionate about learning through play and experience

But too often I panic and worry about evidence and dish out bundles of worksheets

This year I am determined to have more confidence in myself

And faith in my children

And settle on a path of imaginative immersive learning

And spending as much time as possible outside

Whatever the weather

My plan is to link EVERYTHING to books

We all love stories and information books in our house

So I am going to let literature lead our learning

I am certain that there is a book for everything

And we own hundreds perhaps thousands of books

That can inspire our learning through play

I think that this year I am going to have a set of objectives for the week

Daily planning does not work for us

We are committed to lots of classes and groups

But also with four children things do not always go to plan

We need to be flexible in our approach and having a set of goals for a week

Will make them more achievable

And make us all feel like we are doing well

And everyone needs to feel that

This year I want to focus on writing for Esther and William

And with Bea I want to focus on her reading

She has only just turned four

Each week I have kept Mondays and Fridays free from classes

This will allow us to have one intense day of doing at home

And one day for going on an ‘ed’venture with Daddy

David has agreed to work a four day week as often as he can

So that we can explore new places as a family

Linked to what we have been or are going to be learning

I am really excited about this

I am also very excited about a series of workshops and visits I am planning for the year

Inspired by a local Home Ed community

Kent Family Learning Group

I have teamed up with a local theatre in education group

Bindlestick Theatre Company

To offer weekly learning through drama workshops

This year we are focusing on history

History through theatre

My children adore the lady who runs the workshops

She is an actress and a teacher

Her workshops are incredibly engaging

High energy

And inspiring

We have been to lots of her drama sessions over the past year

But found that the Kent Family Learning Group

Were not covering the topics that we wanted to learn about

And so I decided to start Edspire Edventures

This year the focus is covering a range of primary history topics

Mostly Key Stage One

Our first session will look at History Skills

And how we learn about life in the past

The plan then is to cover

The Plague

The Great Fire of London

Victorian Times

Guy Fawkes

Remembrance

WW1

WWII

Christmas on the Home Front

I am really excited about travelling through time in this way

With my own children

And with other home educating families who I hope will join us

To complement the workshops

I am also planning a series of linked visits

Including so far

Walking the Great Fire

With a guide from All Hallows Church in East London

A drama workshop about the fire at Kent Life

A meet up at The London Museum

I am still putting the timetable together

But it is starting to take shape and I am really very excited about it

The plan is to fill our days with wonderful events and meet ups

And to try and use the structure of the history workshops

To inspire our daily reading, writing and maths tasks

I have so many ideas and I know that I am more likely to make them happen

If other people join us and come along to learn with us

The social aspect of home education is what most people do not understand

They think that families all work in isolation

But it is not like that at all

People come together in larger groups all the time

To work and to play and to learn

We also attend lots of classes with schooled children

So Esther and William have a lovely mix of friends

I am hoping that this year their friendships will continue to grow

Much of our week is focused on dance

Esther, William and Bea all dance with the

Charlotte Hudson School of Dance

They do ballet, tap, modern, jazz, acro and musical theatre

All three children also have swimming lessons

Esther rides a horse

William does gymnastics

The twins have a Spanish tutor

They also learn piano and ukelele / guitar

William is starting Cubs in September

They have SO much going on

I love classes because I think it is good for the children

To learn alongside other children

And be taught by other grown ups

It also gives me time to focus on the child or children

Not involved in the class

And the sessions punctuate our week

And underpin the routine on which we all thrive

As much as I have loved our long hot summer

I am itching for autumn now

And getting back to the old (new) routine