Our first week of "de schooling"

It's been a week of ups and downs! The emotions of it all hit Michael hard when we finished his last day of school and he regressed back to his default toddler behaviour. We had two solid days of tantrums and tears when I began to doubt our decision. But we have some really amazing family and friends, and they reminded me that this behaviour is exactly why we have chosen to home educate in the first place. This is why de schooling is so important. It takes time to adjust.

Life soon began to settle though and overall we have had a really positive and sociable week!
We have a mini white board that we have been using as a diary. Michael and I talk together about what we want to do for the next few days and write it down. Michael likes to write on it too!

Michael has started a diary. I don’t want to pressure him into writing everyday or anything but I thought it would be a nice way to get him recording things during the de schooling process. It’s something I intend to carry on with him if it works.

We’ve joined a home school gymnastics club. It’s fab!! Michael absolutely loves it, and it’s a really good opportunity for us both to meet other HE families. It really struck me how open and accepting (and polite!) all the children are. The idea of mixing with children and people of all ages seems so much more natural to me. Learning only with children your own age has always seemed a rather odd concept to me. Aside from gymnastics club being a good opportunity to make friends, it’s also really good for Michael’s motor skills. He has always been very clumsy. His brain finds it hard to speak to his limbs.

Steven loved it too!

Every week we have a vegetable box delivery. The boys love to open it up and see what treasures are inside. Michael likes to count how many of each vegetable we have and write it on the receipt.

Thinking about it, we’ve actually done a lot this week! - We’ve had friends to play, been to friend’s houses, read books together (LOTS of books!), built wooden railways, been to a steam railway museum, been to firework displays, walked in the woods, written in the mud, jumped in puddles, climbed trees, fed the ducks on the canal, shared cakes into quarters (that’s maths right!?!?!), played maths games, played at a soft play centre, cooked meals together, baked cakes together, watched nature programs, played with sensory toys like water beads and moon dough, set each other challenges with padlocks and bolts, visited a working Quarry, played together, cared for the chickens, played on the ipad, been to church, cut their hair, got new tyres for the car, been to kids clubs, cleaned the house together, and cuddled. And during all of this we have talked, asked and answered questions and experienced “life” together.