Homeschooling: Answering some questions

A few people have asked questions about why and how we will home educate our children, so here are a few answers...

Why are you home educating?

Good question. Well, the long and short of it is that we want our children to have an authentic Montessori education. We gained approval for a Montessori free school to open in our town, but were ousted by the governing body we recruited. Many things have since changed with the plans for the school which no longer fit into our educational aims for our children. There are no other schools in the area that offer Montessori to primary (elementary) level, so as we are qualified Montessori teachers, we will do it ourselves.

But what about socialisation?

Our children will have many opportunities to socialise. Firstly, there is family (many around the same age now). Secondly, there is church - lots of kids. Thirdly, we will require our children to take part in Guiding & Scouting, so they will interact there. Fourthly, they will also be able to take part in other groups & activities if they wish. Fifthly, there are many children in the area being home educated. We will try to link up with them, and if the groups match our educational aims (trust me some are just free for alls and chaotic) then we will attend them. I am also open to starting/running/joining any home ed co-ops (where several families come together once a week to do art, or a language, or science, or whatever really) in the area.

How will they get anywhere without qualifications?

Well, they will get qualifications. Some families choose to not put their children in for exams, but I think that is unwise and foolish (my opinion only). GCSEs and A Levels can be sat via the exam boards directly, or via places such as the National Extension College. If the NEC is still running when the time comes, we will opt for this option. Also, the International Baccalaureate is trialling some home education programmes, and I hope they continue to do this, as I would be interested in that as an alternative, and actually I will be using their approaches to learning anyway because I think they are the best preparation a child/teen can have for the world of work.

Will you have a schedule?

Yes. I think this is important. Many home schooling families don't have a strict schedule, or they 'unschool' where a child learns naturally from their interest and interactions in life. I'm not up for that. I am a disorganised person, and I, like them, need order and routine otherwise I am a mess. So, we will get up at 6am every day, have family learning and scripture study at 8am, and start Montessori school at 9am until 12pm. The afternoons will be free for outings, seeing relatives, shopping, activities, etc. We will also have term times and holidays of a sort, although these will be different to school ones (so we can have cheap holidays and also travel if possible).

Also, by having a schedule, they will know that timekeeping is important, that they need to work to a schedule, etc.

But they won't get enough education if you only do 3 hours a day...?

They will... trust me! They will get one-to-one and small group lessons all the time. How many children get that?! Just exactly how much time do children get taught for in school anyway when you take out registration, assemblies, break time, lunch time, sports, etc. And in a class of 30 children, how much one-to-one time will they get?

Also, if they want to carry on with a project or other work in the afternoon, then I won't stop them unless we have concrete plans. They can carry on until bedtime and at weekends too if they like! And when they get to secondary, at the very least when doing GCSEs, they may need to do an hour or two in the afternoons so we will just play that by ear.

Won't they get burnt out by your term structure? 

We will pretty much be learning all year round, because why should learning stop? We will have different paces throughout the year - September to December will keep going without a break - yep... no half term! (shock horror gasp splutter!)... Well, Montessori discovered that children absorb things from their environment all the time during the first 6 years of life. Children are always learning, why should we stop when they don't? Also, there are plenty of times to rest, relax, play and do fun things - every afternoon, weekends... and if something comes up that we just cannot miss out on, then we will even take a break in the morning from school! 

We will generally have 35 weeks of the year where we will be strictly educating, classroom based etc. Other than that, we will have 2 weeks 'off' at Christmas, where our learning will be about Christmas etc. We will still have our 1 hour family learning and scripture study time, and do crafts, read books, shop for presents, etc too so there will still be learning going on. We will have a week out from school at the Temple in April, and then 14 weeks over the summer where we will be learning outdoors, travelling, going to the beach or the forest or the park, gardening, swimming. But we will still be learning, keeping up with language and maths skills, and I will try to keep these more applied, like reading a bus timetable, budgeting for activities, etc. Also, the activities we will do will naturally have some basis in education - education is all around us! Travelling to a new place - foreign language study possibly, geography, history, learning about new cultures. Going to the beach - tides, geography (Bournemouth has a great bay!), zoology - I have seen lizards and crabs, birds of prey, fish and otters just taking the in-laws around Bournemouth! And so it can go on... 

Will they be at an educational disadvantage?

No. Any parent can teach their child to be honest, and I do have the benefit of being Montessori-trained. However, my children will not be disadvantaged educationally by being educated at home, and it is my responsibility to make sure they get the best education they can get. There are no limits, no set curriculum, no restraints. I quite often call the Montessori method a curriculum, and I do have albums with lesson plans in, but these mainly tell me how to teach the equipment. However, there are countless other things that children can be taught, mainly in what is regarded as the 'cultural' part of the 'curriculum' (geography, science (astronomy, botany, zoology, matter, chemistry, physics, etc), history, ecology, art, music etc). And for these areas, there are some Montessori materials, but every Montessori school is different because the majority of materials to teach these subjects are lovingly made by teachers to meet their children's needs. 

Montessori has been developed over decades and is in line with how children learn naturally, and actually often will excel earlier than other children in some areas. I have witnessed children reading fluently in phonetic words at the age of 4 before they start school, and doing addition, subtraction, multiplication (up to 10 times table) and division at the same age because the Montessori materials, designed to be so attractive to them and motivate them to learn, appeal to their natural learning patterns, and they cannot put the materials down until they have finished learning with them. Plus, many times, they love it and it does not feel like the drudgery of learning, because it is fun and engages them for hours! A child who needs more time can also have it, rather than being rushed on to the next subject having not grasped the more basic ones. 

Observation is key in Montessori and I will always be observing and making notes on my children's learning, so this will help me assess and guage their learning without SATs or other formal assessment tests in primary etc.

Although it is not necessary, I will also be attempting to map their learning against national targets (although if I know that a certain skill will be learnt by doing something else later, I won't be stressing out about it too much). I have a great Montessori record keeping system online, which allows me to put in the national targets, and then identify which of the Montessori exercises meet them when I enter the Montessori exercises. Then it automatically tracks this for me. Cool!

We will also have a lot more educational opportunities than children will get in school. We can learn all the time, or at our own pace. We can go to museums, do activities, visit attractions, put our learning into practice etc much more than a child can do in school. We can learn more, do more, see more, experience more. The world is their classroom.

Is it legal to home educate?

Absolutely! The law says it is the parents' responsibility to ensure that their child gets an education until aged 18 (I am paraphrasing) but it does not dictate that a child has to actually attend a school. In some countries it is illegal to home educate, but not here, and I hope it never will be. We actually don't even have to tell anyone we are home educating, although if a child is withdrawn from school to be home educated, the authorities do need to know. However, you can inform the local authority if you wish, and we may do this. Many home educating parents do not want inspections and regulation, because they are home educating to be free from the system. 

However, I think there needs to be some regulation or notification at least because I have experienced 3 home educating families where severe problems have been hidden because they have not had to declare they are educating their child at home. One was severe abuse of children, one where a child is just not taught at all and at age 7 can only just write her name and recognise numbers 1-10, and one where a child is never apart from her mother, who has attachment issues. I think the child was premature or something, but the child cannot function without her mother present, and her mother cannot leave her child anywhere without her. Also, the mother's idea of teaching English is getting her child to make up her own language and spell that way (a gobbledegook language, she cannot write or read English well at all!). The child also cannot run, because her hamstrings are too tight (a 7-year old saying that is concerning in itself) and cannot play with other children because she is never given the opportunity. These situations are horrific to witness, and I know there are the majority of home educating families out there whose children are doing fantastically well, and are better socialised than those in school. I just would not be opposed to some form of registration at least to home educate.

Do you get financial assistance?

No, not a penny. State schools are allocated around £3000-4000 per student per year, but if you home educate or send a child to a private school they get no financial assistance. I think this is a shame, especially for home educated kids, as the parents do have to fork out on some kind of equipment for their children. How much does depend on how you home educate though, and many do this on a budget. Montessori can also be done on a budget, and shortcuts can be taken, however, we are planning at the moment to buy as many authentic Montessori materials as possible, and I will make many of them too. We are already budgeting for this, so hopefully we will be able to do as we plan. Also, home educating means that we sacrifice one income - mine. But, again, we have planned for this, and we have set up our own business, Martin works from home (and will have an office too away from home from this week onwards). The business will support us enough to cover both incomes, even if business is slow. And we can adapt it and amend things to match market demands, so for the medium term it will work anyway.

What about sports?

What about sports? In a Montessori classroom anyway, children are naturally more active because they can move around as they please. We have our garden, and our children will be able to play out there, run around, etc. Afternoons can be spent running and playing at the park, or rambling in a country park or nature reserve. A requirement will be at least once a week swimming. We will teach them tennis and go cycling once I recover from my c-section later this year. They will do yoga, and relaxation. We will go on long walks. They can go ice skating, rock climbing (Go Outdoors even has a climbing wall, minimum £1 donation!), play football, etc if they want. From the age of 2, I want Addie to do some form of dance & theatre, maybe ballet. If she wants to do martial arts she can do. At age 3 there is the local football club for preschoolers. We may not be able to afford everything from a club point of view, but the children will be involved in making budgeting decisions about that, and there are so many free things to do. Basketball in the park, archery, fishing, high ropes, rock climbing at Cubs, Brownies, Scouts, etc. There will not be a shortage of sports and activities to keep them active and healthy, and it will become part of our way of life, not just when you are forced to by a teacher you don't necessarily like!

Is it going to be a lot of work?

Yes. And no. The Montessori equipment is great because the children are presented it and shown how to use it, and then they are free to use that equipment for as long or as short a time as they want. Many of the pieces of equipment are used over and over and have more than one learning objective (some are used for 3 year olds, 6 year olds and 9 year olds, at different levels!) 

Sometimes this can mean that a child will grab hold of a concept and work on it tirelessly for hours, days or even weeks. Can I sit back and do nothing? No, but my role adapts to this, and I watch them, perhaps while preparing something else or working with another child. Sometimes a child is not interested in learning the things they have been shown. It is then the duty of the teacher to find something that will work, or observe and re-teach it later. 

There are many materials that do have to be made by me, which means sourcing or making up the documents, printing, cutting, laminating for durability, cutting, sorting, storing, binding etc. But, hopefully, once these are done they can be used for all my children and I can just store them away ready for the next child to use. I have many of these already, or ready to print (sourcing and making them up can be very time consuming, or could take a couple of hours depending on what it is). Montessori uses many manipulatives rather than just words or concepts on paper, but I love making materials so although it will take me time, I don't mind. 

Many of my lesson plans I have already in my albums from my studies, and my studies have given me the opportunity to be able to think up new activities using the Montessori method quite quickly. And I just have to follow each child's learning path, so when they show signs of being ready to learn something, I will be able to get things ready quickly (I hope) so I can teach it. 

I do have to plan, write up records, observations etc, and prepare for each day, but that is no more than if I was a teacher in a school, except I have fewer students! Also, I am looking it as a form of journalling for my children, so I am excited to get going.

For those of you who do not know what I mean about preparing materials for learning - keep coming back to my blog and follow our journey - you will soon see what I mean!

Other concerns

There are several other concerns that people have raised, such as won't they be missing out? Well, they will be missing out on being in a bustling school and class of 30 students, with the inevitable troublemakers who distract and disrupt the course. They will be missing out on being held back or pushed to move on to keep the pace of the rest of the class, and they may feel they are missing out on going to school. However, I hope that we can show them and help them realise that actually being at home is much better. The world is their school, and the opportunities are endless, not constrained by a national curriculum, attainment targets, adults who with all the best will and intentions in the world cannot give 30 children everything they need educationally all the time. I take my hat off to teachers, I think they do a great job. But for my kids, who I will know better than anyone, I will be the best teacher they will have, and if they want to learn about Africa or Aberystwyth, Zoology or sewing a zip - they can and they will, for as long as they want until that interest has passed. 

Got any other questions? Post them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer them

Multi-age classrooms in Montessori

There are many reasons why an authentic Montessori school will have multi-age classrooms, typically with a 3-year age span. Here I will explore these many reasons, because it is normal these days to be separated into classes based on one year/age group.

Reason #1: Planes of Development
Through her extensive research, Montessori discovered that children learn in stages, which she called Planes of Development. These are: 

• First plane: 0–6 years (Absorbent Mind)
• Second plane: 6–12 years (Childhood)
• Third plane: 12–18 years (Adolescence)
• Fourth plane: 18–24 years (Young Adult)   (source: NAMC)

and can be broken down even further like this, which reflects how classes should be organised:

• First plane:
• 0–3 years: The child absorbs everything in her environment, subconsciously
• 3–6 years: Child is now conscious of what is being learned
• Second plane:
• 6–9 years: Child has the ability to comprehend. He questions everything. He has a very curious and active imagination. It is the time for creating a personal code of ethics.
• 9–12 years: Child is able to work more abstractly and enjoys BIG works. Inner order takes precedent over external order. Ethics now expands to peers and the world at large.
• Third plane:
• 12–15 years: Puberty
• 15–18 years: Adolescence                                            (source NAMC)

As you can see, generally, children do tend to learn in these 3-year phases (puberty may start earlier for some children, but during 12-15 years they tend to display similar learning traits and behaviour, so this is more related to that than the actual physical changes that are happening). It seems as if it is what nature intended...

Reason #2 - Every child is different

Every child is different, and they may not all develop at exactly the same time. The 3-year classroom will contain many children at all different levels as well as ages. This is fine because Montessori is an individual curriculum, and many of the lessons are conducted either on a 1-2-1 basis or in small groups of the same level or interest. So a child's self-confidence is not knocked because they are 'behind' or 'struggling'. They are given the freedom to take their time, or progress more quickly depending of their grasp of the topic or lesson being taught. Some children learn to be fluent phonic readers in 2 weeks! Some take a lot longer. If a child shows no interest in learning something when they are first taught it, then it is left for a later time, which is fine. All children will eventually learn it, because it is a natural thing for them to do, especially when surrounded by other children who are also learning.

Reason #3 - Progress is made within each of the 3 years of each cycle

Each year within a Montessori classroom is significant, and it is important that a teacher recognises the aims of that year within the classroom. The first year is a foundation year, where they are taught new things based on that stage of development. In the second year they practice and explore these concepts and lessons, and in the third year they are consolidated and applied. Higher level thinking skills are formed, in preparation to move on to the next stage, which is why it is important not to rush a child through this stage, mistakenly believing that they are ready to progress.

(Source: NAMC)

In this third year also, a child can develop leadership skills and other skills as they are able and encouraged to teach and support the learning of younger children. Once these skills are developed, they start the foundation stage of the next plane of development or sub-plane.

(NB. I would argue with the diagram that the ages given are a year out, but it is a good diagram anyway!)

These are 3 of the main reasons. I will add more as I have the time to think of them!

Every child has a huge potential if we let them develop it!

I tend to spend a lot of time (probably way too much) surfing the internet looking at educational things that inspire me. I came across a homeschooling website, and it had some examples of self-directed work that children had done. This is not necessarily Montessori work, but I love the way it demonstrates how a child can really get their teeth into something they love and learn at the same time, without the constraints of a prescribed and timed curriculum. If they are given the freedom to learn, look what they can produce! Here is an example of Ella, aged 9, who undertook a year long study on foxes, completely her own choice, and produced so many wonderful things including a 30-page Fox Encyclopaedia which she word processed. Think of all the skills she has developed in that one year.

http://pbhkids.tumblr.com/post/55635090139/fox-encyclopedia-by-ella-age-9

The skills I can think of are:

Zoology - study of animals, their habitats, different types of foxes, lifecycles, habitats, endangered species (if you look closely she includes this information on her pages)

Geography - where animals come from, the biomes/continents they live in

Language skills - writing a table of contents, alphabetisation, the format of books, note taking etc

Practical skills - word processing, book binding, using a scanner, typing skills, referencing and citing references, research skills, sewing, decision making, presentation skills

Art - sewing, using clay, photography

There are probably loads more that haven't automatically come to mind, but how amazing is that? This is what is possible in Montessori elementary (primary in the UK, or ages 6-12 approx)... I can't wait for this time!

First day back in to the swing of things

Today Addie showed a lot of interest in her educational toys we have for her. She seems to have lost interest in most other toys to be honest, which is not a bad thing I suppose. There was one puzzle - a geometric shape puzzle, that she could not do before we left for our holidays and the Pageant. Today, she just picked it up and could do it! Daddy also showed her how to carry it properly, and she absolutely loves doing that too! Here is a video of her doing her work today! It also shows her new skill of being able to stand up independently (she was very resourceful before and always used something else to pull herself up) and also her ability to now walk confidently (she could walk before, but didn't seem to have the confidence to go for it and now she won't stop!)... She still needs a little help standing up and then picking something up, which is why I take the material off her while she stands up, but she is coming on in leaps and bounds! Go Addie!!

The British Pageant 2013

I was planning on writing a daily blog about our family's experiences at The British Pageant 2013 - Truth Will Prevail however, being 5 month's pregnant, with an 18-month old and a husband who was trying so hard to work around our rehearsal schedule, which consisted of long, hard days, it all went a bit awry! So, I hope I can capture the spirit and great experience we all had at this amazing event and relay it all to you and do it justice.

The Pageant was a show that lasted for a 9-show run (plus two open dress rehearsals) that we took part in, and was based on the history of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the UK. It is the first time an event of such magnitude has been held in the UK (there are pageants that are held in the States every year). It comprised a core cast of about 20 or 30 people, a choir and then the family cast - a mixture of families, couples and single people - who made up the bulk of the people on stage. Because of the intensity of the performance and rehearsal schedule, the family cast was split into 2 separate groups - the Red Cast and the Blue Cast. We were members of the Blue Cast, and our time at the Pageant lasted from 1st to 10th August.

Before we left, I was really worried about the rehearsal schedule - 9 to 4.30 for 3 days, 9am to 9pm for 2 days and then the performances which started at 8.30pm to 10pm. I was worried because I get SPD (a pregnancy condition where my pelvis relaxes too much causing excruciating pain) and because Addie is so young, and 8.30pm is her bed time! I was more concerned when we arrived and found out that there were evening rehearsals too after the 4.30pm supposed finish, and also on one day the rehearsals would include a full dress rehearsal open to the public, so we would be there from 9am to about 11pm!!

When we started rehearsals, we started with dance rehearsals, named 'moving with joy' for those put off by the word 'dancing'... I really think this is exactly what happened, because there were so many people who probably would not have danced much at all, and possibly not come forward, had they known so much 'movement with joy' was involved! I abstained because I knew I wouldn't be able to cope physically, and I have to say that the choreographers and director were amazing at accommodating me in everything, and told me what I could do to still be involved and move with joy without damaging myself and my baby!

Learning the songs was a struggle for me - I couldn't even remember what my lounge looked like let alone words to all the songs, so I did what I could!

I cannot possibly put down all my thoughts and experiences from the Pageant, but these are my main ones. The first and most significant one was how well Addie coped with everything. She loved it, and always wanted to be involved with things on stage. When she had to clap, she clapped; she waved when others waved, she danced and had fun, cheered and fell asleep every evening towards the end, even during the loud music, dancing, clapping and cheering. She was amazing, and 80% of the time, when we explained to her what was about to happen, she seemed to behave and do as she was meant to, which was a miracle and such a blessing in itself. It was a pleasure having her with us, supported by some great people who were there to look after the children, and she made my week really. I learnt a lot from her, and learnt just exactly how much she is capable of, even at only 18 months old!

The second one was the experiences I had and how I could liken everything that was happening to us as a family. The whole cast and crew became like one huge family. We loved each other, helped, embraced, supported, cried, laughed, shared everything together. It was a wonderful experience of a united cause and of Zion for us. I was particularly affected by a few individuals, particularly the Director Alex and Assistant Director Jonathan, who were so accepting and kind to me, and made me feel so part of the Pageant, and did not leave me out at all. In fact, in one scene I decided I couldn't participate as I was not selected to dance on stage (I was relieved!) and knew I would not have been able to do the dance down the aisles. I was sat watching and Jonathan came over, and insisted that I had to be a part of what was happening, and found something for us to do. No one has ever really gone out of their way to insist I am involved in something before, and this really touched me. Also, in a later scene as I was sat in the back, where no one could see me because everyone else (180 people!) were stood up in front of me, Jonathan made it a priority in a certain part of the dance to come over and dance with me, even though I was 'invisible'. And this people, is a 22 (or maybe 23) year old guy, who is definitely older than his years... I was really touched by his efforts to include me, and he has told me we will be eternal friends, which is good to know. Between him and Alex, they made the whole Pageant experience one of enablement for me, they are great enablers. I did not feel handicapped or left out in any way, and I know that this then paved the way for me to have so many insights into the gospel and how it can be applied in my life.

I remarked to Martin that if he were ever to become a leader in the church, then one of the goals that he must have is to try to build the unity that we experienced in the green room and on stage, families working together, not individually or apart, but together as one, even when one was asleep or absent. One where everyone was welcomed, greeted, loved.

After every performance we had the honour of going outside to thank people for coming, and try to see if they had enjoyed it (all said a resounding yes!). Yes, we were tired, but this was such an important part, whether the people visitors were members of the church or non-members, because we were so happy they had joined us in the journey. I will try to do much better myself to thank and welcome people at church and try to talk to more people.

The other main thing was that there was a scene towards the end of the show where the Saints gather and get on a ship to emigrate to America to join the Saints and build up the church. Families were together, embarking on their journey to the promised land to be together in Zion. On the first or second performance, I had a bit of a small pregnancy scare and the medics recommended I went to A&E to get checked out. I went early, but as time went by it became apparent I would miss the start of the show. The nurses told me I was fine, but I had to wait for the doctor to see me before I left. By this time, it was 9.20pm, and I felt I couldn't wait any more. I had to go back to the Pageant to be with my family, I had to be on that metaphorical ship, I could not miss it and my family go without me. It was a strong and powerful moment, where I realised, in parallel to the church's teachings, that we are all sealed together as a family, Cassidy, this baby and our 3 angel babies, Sam, Ashley and Morgan are all sealed to us, but Martin and I have a responsibility to ensure that sealing power lasts into the eternities. If we do not do all we can to get there, we will risk not being with our families all the time, and I am determined that that will not happen now. I must be on that 'ship' with my babies.

I met some wonderful people, and had such a great experience. If they choose to do this again, I want to make it a family tradition that we are involved in it.

However, the most important thing about the whole experience is the vision of the church I had. We met with 3 members of the Quorum of the Twelve, Apostles of the Lord. Elders Ballard, Nelson and Holland shared with us their thoughts and insights into how this Pageant will be the start of a reawakening of the church in the UK. We have seen this already, with the experiences and missionary success that is happening as a direct result of the Pageant. There are 600 more missionaries being sent to the British Isles, triggered by the lowering of the age for missionary service. What happened on stage in the portrayal of masses of people being baptised in the 1800s will become what happens now in these days. The work is hastening, and there have been at least 60 self-referrals, innumerous commitments to baptism, people who were less active returning to the fold. We performed to nearly 20,000 people, with 2,300 on the last night alone! It is exciting to be a part of it, to see it happening, watching miracles unfold and I am excited to see what I am to do next! I have suggested to Jonathan that if there is no Pageant next year, perhaps we can put something together to continue the work using our talents, his musical/theatrical and my organisational... so we shall see...

I will put pictures in the next post!