Selfsufficientish.com

As many of you know, we home educate our 3 year old, and intend to continue to do so when she reaches 'school age'. I thought it would be nice to chat with other home educators, but haven't been able to find any at all around here. I'll keep trying, but the nearest I have found is a North East Yorkshire group who appear to be ignoring me - perhaps because I'm in East Yorkshire and therefore too Southern Others are just too far away. So for the time-being, until I find more local home-ed people, I'm trying to 'meet' people on the internet.

I've looked at Education Otherwise which sounds interesting and inviting, but they require members to pay a subscription. I decided that before paying I would try to get the opinions of other people, so I joined another forum and asked. A few people replied, and gave links to blogs and things, which I read and decided to wait a bit longer before handing over my cash to EO. But in hindsight, and having found and started following some of those people on Twitter, they sound like a load of bitter loud-mouths and give the impression that if you don't say what they are saying then you're not only wrong but your stoopid. I tried to join another forum, but had to send an email confirming that I "do not have any conflict of interest such as being a trustee, council member or committee member of any other home education organisation in England, Wales or Northern Ireland", which gives the impression of that group being competitive with the others. I was a bit taken aback by this as I didn't realise that there was any reason for competition between home education forum groups! When I looked again at their website, it didn't say much about them at all; no names, no numbers of members, nothing. So I've put that one on hold for the time being too.

I'm getting the impression that a lot of home edders out there are quite bitchy and competitive, whereas I had hoped they would be enveloping and supportive. I don't want to be one of those parents who spends all day and every day on the computer while LO lolls about in front of the TV, so I'm restricting myself to the amount of time I can spend searching for contacts. And I'm getting nowhere. And I'm feeling a bit - well, alone.

People on this forum are fantastic (we all know that, you don't need me to tell you), and I know some of you home-ed. So I'm wondering if you belong to any groups or forums that are NICE and FRIENDLY that you can recommend to me, or do you go it alone?

I'll be your friend

I do belong to 3 forums on HE but im not active really on any of them - but it helps me keep in touch, you know when someone is trying to change the law etc. one is the EO forum - I did join EO for one year.. and then let my membership lapse. but you dont need to be a member of EO to use their forum - the traffic on it is huge.. and the politics even huger. it is not a place to share resources.. more shout about the law etc. But i have seen people asking if there were other home edders in such and such area.. could be a good way to start. The other groups are my local group - the south west one which i only read, and a special needs one - which is great.

My experience goes like this... at first i thought I had found a whole bunch of like minded people. Then i realised we were nothing alike, then after a while I found a few that were like me.

I did imagine, when I started HE, that the parents would all be open minded to our different ways of doing things.. but they can be just as dogmatic - just as sure their way is right, and just as inclined to tell you you are doing things wrong!

A lot of home educators do not work to any structure or routine. Thats fine if that works for them, it works for us to have a routine. we do do worksheets, and I do teach my son things. I also, controversially, allow the home ed visitor to come to my house. He's a lovely man and very supportive of what we are doing, and writes lovely reports. if that changes.. well then i might not let him in.

Because I do do routine, worksheets (ie written evidence that education is taking place - but thats not why.. my son likes worksheets) and visits, I have been told that I am not showing solidarity! When i asked on a local forum who allows visits.. and got lots of people telling me how bad it would be if I did allow them - I then asked if they had ever had any - because I wanted to hear of actual experiences, I got asked if I was a spy for the council. Seriously.. I'm sure the council spies are blending in much better than me!

What happened next though.. is quietly.. people wrote to me privately and told me their experiences.. and it turns out there are people like me out there - just maybe they are not so vocal on the forums etc. The truth is, the people that are getting on with it all just fine, have very little to say on the subject - you know 'everything went well, we are having a lovely time' isn't something to twitter everyday

Honestly, I mostly go it alone - but that is aided and abetted by my son being not keen on social contact with kids (ASD stuff)
I expect there are groups in your area.. its just finding them - turned out my local group actually met in the village hall, and i never knew !

meantime feel free to contact me. perhaps we should start an ish-home edders forum

Thanks Red, I feel better after reading about your experience. I like the idea of Ishers talking more about home education. Maybe I should just ask more questions here, but if there are enough of us an Ish Home Ed forum as a kind of spin-off might be nice.

Hiya

I home educate my two (aged 8 and 9) and have done form the start. I educate autonomously but we do do the odd worksheet and we do set them tasks like give them of list of things to find out and they have a choice of using books or the internet. As they get older we will add more structure. My daughter is very creative and at the moment is mad on sharks and has loads of books and dvds, she loves drawing, making and building. My son on the other hand likes computers and games, and at the moment he says he wants to be a Police Dog Handler when he grows up.
I am a member of a few groups but like red I don't post much, I just use them to keep in the loop of any legislation etc.

There is a big home ed scene here but some of the people aren't our kind of people so we don't tend to go to all the gatherings!
We are not known to the LA yet, but we don't hide the fact we home educate.

Forums I know of are....

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EarlyYearsHE/ - Early Years (Formerly muddlepuddle)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AEUK/?yguid=188715893 - Autonomous Education

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eo/?yguid=188715893 - Education Otherwise

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SYHEC/?yguid=188715893 - South Yorkshire home ed

Awwww

We home educated our two & they turned out ok; one is a PA/Leagle secretary & the other one is on her way to becoming a volcanologist! Hay, I never said they were 'normal'!!!

EO in Leicestersire in the 1990's (when we were members, briefly) were very 'white, middle-classed' so we gave up on them. I wish the internet had been around in the early days as we did feel a bit isolated, but our best help & friend at the start was our eldest's former head teacher. He put us in touch with several other home educators.

Good Luck

MW

This grouphug smilie has been made just in time because that's exactly how I feel right now. Thank you for the replies, everyone, for all the stories and the information. It really does help me not feel like I'm the only one on the planet who's home educating.

I was at the library earlier this evening, and for quite a while now I've been seeing a notice on the wall there saying "Home Education information packs available, ask staff for details". I've never asked before, because the staff have always been so busy and never seem to have enough time to get everything done (they almost run around the library), so I've always thought "next time I'll ask". Well this evening they were not quite as busy when we arrived, so I asked. The 'pack' was a booklet that couldn't be taken out, but I flicked through it and got copies of some of the pages. It contains lists of various websites, some of which I know, others I don't know, and......AND!!!! a contact name of a local person along with a time, day and venue of a local meet up!! I won't be going this week because the venue is literally a stones throw from where there's a massive travelling fun fair and you just don't go round that end when the fair's there, but I'll definitely pay it a visit soon.

All in all I'm feeling much more positive. Don't you just love Ishers?

that does sound positive - well done

and have one of these too

you will prolly find, like me, tha when you are out and about during school hours, you bump into other home edders.. at the park/pool/ etc

I would definitely be interested in a ish home edders group. I joined EO two years ago and went to a couple of the activities. It is very cliquey, and very political, I felt quite uncomfortable so didn't go to many.

OUe local list is very EO biased as two of the main ladies are there and it is very cliquey, but luckily for me there are a couple of families local to me who find it the same and we are starting our own little group up away from
them all! If anyone wants to add me on facebook please send me a pm.

There is a forum here it's just getting off the ground and seems to be friendly http://homeeduk.ning.com/
If a few more members join and get chatting I'm sure it will liven up a bit. I joined earlier this week and my daughter has already got a penpal from there

hi all

this has been our first week home educating our boy who is 7 nearly 8 now. we've had a great week, i wish i'd done it from the start. i've managed to find a couple of forums, EO being one of them, not sure what to make of them yet. i've met up with a local group of home educators that meet in a local park each week. too early to be sure if we'll gel with the group, but they seemed nice and welcoming. we have been contacted by the LEA via letter, they've assumed they can visit! while this is annoying, i think i'll meet with them as i think i can put things across better face to face.
hopefully this will be the start of something great for us, we're really looking forward to it
i see that this is quite an old thread, so how's everyone getting on with their home ed-ing?

going fine - had lastest home ed visit - man from LEA is more than happy with what we are doing - and that does help when you have to face people who think its odd.. to be able to say the authorities supoort my methods!

its incredibly freeing isn't it? home ed, you suddenly have time to learn things.. without school being in the way

pleased to hear all's going well red. we've always considered our son home educated with school getting the way we hope to carry on as we've always done only more so! this week we've done everything from garden bench restoration to astronomy, it's been great

I am half a world away and I still understand everything perfectly! We homeschool all four of our children. It can be so isolating sometimes, even if you do have a group, your neighbors and family think you are doing some sort of irreversible damage, and if you aren't like minded enough, the group shuns you.

Question: Are visits from LEA mandatory, do you get a choice, does that depend on your area? How difficult is it to homeschool in Britain?

All of our states have different laws, then each city/county/parish has laws, then each school district has guidelines. But for most states, we just have to tell our local district where the kids are and fill out some paper work. Sometimes the children have to do some testing, but nothing to be worried about.

If we get a home visit they think we are being abusive or not doing any work at all. I get the impression that is not the case for you.

Most American homeschoolers, how do I say it, wish to live very independently of government interference. We aren't radicals with bombs or anything, just very anti-government involvement in the everyday running of our lives. Very self-sufficient-ish. And VERY anti-public ed, which I am not so I don't get to play with the other mommies very often. What is the predominate political climate for you?

hi there sortanormalish,

many LEA's assume they have the right to visit but as the law stands in england at the moment home educators are not legally obliged to meet with them. we (home educators) do have to persuade them that an education is been given. this can be done via letter with an outline of educational philosophy/provision. from what i have read, it very much depends on the individual LEA as how easy this actually is. some may want more detail and evidence. some LEA's don't seem to understand the law regarding home education and misunderstand their role. so far i've been told that a meeting will be arranged but haven't had it yet. i hope to able to find some middle ground that satisfies them but doesn't compromise our educational approach.

cheers