Nursery school and Home Ed

[Annpan]

E was getting her jab today, last one for 3 years. Health visitor (don't we all love 'em) was asking me if I was sending E to nursery school.

I sort of shrugged my shoulders and said that as I was planning to HE I had no current plans to enrol E in any Nursery... HV asked me what I was going to do, I said that I was going to join Education Otherwise and find out what else was going on and what othe HE do in the area.

I have no interest in E being in our local playgroup or in Nursery school... I don't want to treat education like childcare and I don't want to insututionalise her befor removing her to HE.

I do not drive but I have made a few friend through Mums and Toddlers and I am hoping to invite them to our house regularly to give E more socialising time, but I also don't believe that kids should spend all their time with other kids the same age, I think they learn more in mixed age groups.

And another thing... the way I see it I already HE, it is the way we live our life and it is no biggy to me when E learns to read or write or count, but we do the early things already... why does she need any form of instututional education?


Soooooo....

What are you doing / have you done when LO reaches nursery age?


I have a really laid back attitude and we 2 have a lovely wee life here, we are relaxed and happy... I only get thrown off kilter when I have to fit around other peoples plans (like rushing breakfast so we don't miss mums and toddlers) This morning we were both in tears as I was rushing everything to get out the door in time... Oh dear I am rambling again

[citizentwiglet]

Ann, can I come and live in your house please? I'll sort your garden out for you (and build that greenhouse ). I love hearing someone so positive and contented about their life and home, it's truly inspiring.

I couldn't do home ed. I believe in it, as long as children have the opportunity to socialise, I'd just be no bloody good at it! No patience, me. Tend to bark commands. I'd probably have been a very good teacher back in the 50s...

I will be enrolling Ellis in nursery when he's ready but only for his 'free' place (2.5 hours a day, isn't it?). It's literally 2 minutes walk from here to the nursery, if we're lucky enough to get that one. But he will, of course, be going to school, so I'm not concerned about the idea of institutionalising him - in fact, the wee sprite could do with learning to do as he's told!!

At the moment, I would go so far as to say that he is a bit behind with his 'mental' development (speech in particular). He also gets a very limited opportunity to mix with his peers, apart from Toddler group once a week, so I see nursery more as an opportunity for him to mix with his peers and learn from others through play and socialising than anything strictly educational, IYSWIM.

Really admire Home Ed, though. If we lived in better circumstances (friends for Ellis, etc) and if I thought I could do a good job of it, I'd certainly consider it. Maybe not enough confidence on my part here, but having a child who is not reaching milestones in vocabulary makes me feel that I am already doing something wrong. Maybe not 'wrong', but not as good as I could be doing it, if you get my drift.

[baldowrie]

I home ed but my lad is 11, nearly 12.

Just as a piece of info you can send E to nursery, but that does not mean that E has to go to school nor will you have to inform Education and Child Services of this as nursery is not authority schooling....they may well try to tell you otherwise!

Socialising is EASY!

My lad does swimming lessons... socialising and learning to swim ans well as PE
sports activites..PE and socialising
and dog training.... socialising with adults and being a structured class with responsibility.

He is happy and enjoys his home ed and social clubs. We are not with EO but have found a home edder club near the Forth Road bridge and just started going......they are doing drama next week!

[Annpan]

Baldowrie - can you PM me details of the group near forth bridge... my sister lives there and it might be do-able when E is abit older.

Nice to hear you don't have probs socialising... I guess its being in tiny village with no transport (bar Shanks Pony lol) I walk 3 miles to M+T but it is too far to make the journey more than once a week.
I hope we will get some transport sorted out befor E is 4 or 5 anyway... fingers crossed.

[baldowrie]

will do...the group has lot of babies and toddlers in it as well as older children

I live 2 miles from the nearest village.

Selective socialising is far more productive than forced socialising.

[Clara]

AnnPan I think our LOs are about the same age (17months) - I don´t think I will homeschool due to the integration/language issue with being in a foreign country, though if I were back in the UK I would be looking at unschooling, which to me sounds like the way you already approach things.

At the moment we do what you are talking about, once a month we have what I call a "baby riot" at our house and invite all the babes I know, I also try to go to an alternative mother and toddler group every couple of weeks (alternative in that the parents are alternative, not that we do any weird activities or anything!). Though to be honest I feel like DD doesn´t get enough time to socialise with other kids (we live really remote) or just have time when she can be one of many, rather than have the spotlight solely on her (which I think comes with its own pressures). I´m hoping that the rumours of a nursery of a nearby Steiner school opening a nursery wil come to fruition.

But that said, I will always obey my instinct on these matters, there is a time and place for all these things, if they are done mindfully.

[mrsflibble]

I have put soph's name down for playgroup, but I'm going to be trying the pre-playgroup classes at my local surestart centre- which by the way has a huge home ed meeting place, groups to join in trips etc and resources.....

anyway, this class thingummy is like a mum+toddler group, only the toddlers go in one room and the mums in another. if your child is distressed you can go and comfort, leave at any time, and soph will get used to spending a little less itme with me.

I'm still unsure about school; but I'm also really unsure about my abilities to teach.

[Annpan]

A baby riot sound good - our house is a building site just now though... not to safe for more than 2 kids at a time.

I think, if I were in the same situation as you (ie. language considerations) I would do the same...

My approach is most like unschooling - I just prefer to call it home education, because to me, it is an alternative education, rather than an opposition to school (does that make sense?)

Anyway, I plan that we will do our own thing, and see where it takes us...

E will probably have read before she went to school anyway, this way I am not putting other kids under pressure to keep up with the mini-genius....(I am kidding, don't worry )

[multiveg]

...
I'm still unsure about school; but I'm also really unsure about my abilities to teach.

That was my main concern so son goes to school - we live in a Welsh-speaking area and although I learnt Welsh, I am not confident to teach it. The schools teach subjects through the medium of Welsh. However, there is a large home ed community in the county.

[mrsflibble]

my problem is maths. I was taught maths, I have an intermediate gcse in maths but my ability is terrible. I swear I'm number blind!! (been tested for it, but no I'm not; I just work out lower than average in my ablities)

mind you, I do have a husband who is off work for 7 days in a row and who is far better at maths than me so maybe there's hope.

[Annpan]

MrsF - No one is expecting you to teach LO to do quadratics... can you help her learn to count, to add, to subtract, to multiply, fractions, etc... I am planning to use baking and cooking as a tool to teach these things.

Have confidence, you are already a fantastic mum, and so far you have taught LO everything she know and she is a smartie.

I will also be teaching E how to use the library and internet (under my watchfull eye) asap, and teaching her how to quench her curiosuty herself, we will learn a lot together and she will learn how to run a house (and mini-holding) which (in my experience) is more than I learned at school.

I don't want to talk people into Home-ed, it is not for everyone, but if you want to try it, then try it.

[Annpan]

Ann, can I come and live in your house please? I'll sort your garden out for you (and build that greenhouse ). I love hearing someone so positive and contented about their life and home, it's truly inspiring.
...

Yeah sure come and dig my garden and build my greenhouse... canyou pick up the greenhouse and some lumber on the way... please

I've PMd you

[citizentwiglet]

How many plates of glass can I get on a buggy, d'you reckon??!!

[mrsflibble]

depends on the size of the buggy and the size of the glass.

I got a rake, hoe, spade, a bucket, plastic planter and a bag of compost home on mine- as well as the toddler.

it's one of these
http://www.toysrus.co.uk/Product.aspx/B ... ers/717223

[Russian Doll]

alex and zach wont be going to pre school....they have enough social skills to last a lifetime all ready and i love doing all the education at home with them...alex is shy of three and we do flash cards he can count to twenty now and recognises thanks to his sisters patience lots of colours including abstarct ones like burnt umber

i love my boys at home and when the day is for them to start mainstream i will be lost