Our Homeschooling Journey Begins

Starting this blog post feels exciting and a little overwhelming because it means sharing some quite personal details. Recently, I made the decision to homeschool my youngest son, Luke. Luke is bright, creative, and also navigates the world with ASD and ADHD. He was diagnosed when he was still in primary school and has manged well so far. Traditional schooling presented consistent challenges for Luke, from social interactions to maintaining attention. As his mum, it was difficult seeing him struggle. He is very smart and finds lots of topics easy to learn and pick up. Despite having put Luke on medication for his ADHD to help things, mainstream school was just not working out.

Choosing to homeschool wasn't an easy decision. Particularly because I struggle greatly with anxiety and depression, and the last few months have been particularly difficult with this. Anxiety, self-doubt, and the fear of not being enough are heavy, daily burdens for me. However, watching Luke face constant obstacles in mainstream education made me certain that I had to change something. Luke was getting pushed to the point of meltdown on multiple occasions and then he would be the one to get punished. The same thing was happening over and over I feel that the school were really letting Luke down. It was over the same issues and with the same students and teachers that these incidents would happen. The school’s solution was to continually punish Luke rather than address the clear triggers that were causing the issue. Furthermore, we had been pushing the school to get Luke into a more appropriate setting, but it felt like the school just were dragging their heels and not bothering to help. Luke was on the ‘School Action Plus’ system, meaning he had enough issues to warrant a number of hours 1-1 teaching assistance. He was allocated 18 hours a week, this was different teaching assistants on different days and classes, meaning Luke wouldn’t really know who would be with him when. The lack of consistency and structure in my opinion exacerbated the issues Luke had.

Our homeschooling experience so far has been mostly positive. There have been rewarding days filled with excitement and discovery, where Luke’s enthusiasm and progress has reassured me of my decision. In the end, it felt like quite a last-minute decision and I found myself scrambling to read as much as I could about homeschooling over the half term, so that I wouldn’t have to send him back. The school tried to insinuate that Luke had damaged a computer the school and were attempting to get me to pay the full brand-new price for it. In response I asked them to do a full investigation, and they simply hadn’t done that. So, I never sent him back to the school and it’s ending on a very sour note. I’m still not sure if they will be charging me for the equipment. Although, I feel strongly that their lack of adequately supporting Luke contributed to the incident in the first place. (not to mention other students confirmed that the computer was already broken). It was disappointing to have his time at mainstream school end in such a bad way. I am glad that it happened though, as I feel that Luke will be much happier at home.

We are only a week into homeschool and there have been difficult days filled with frustration, and doubt. The first week was tricky, as I balancing planning, teaching, and managing mental well-being has hard. The learning curve is steep! What lessons? What level is Luke at? How will we structure things? How will I teach him MATH?!

I decided I have to go into this preparing and being willing to just change things up. Be flexible enough to fit around my work and structured enough to ensure Lukes needs can be met. We’ve agreed on a set time for school and certain days we will do things. We are also incorporating outdoor task and practical fun lessons too. Recognizing when either Luke or I need a break, and adjusting our expectations, accordingly, has been crucial. We have been gardening, looking after the chickens, baking and finding local groups to venture out with.

In terms of what and how I would teach Luke, it has taken a lot of research. However, there has been some assistance that I would have not coped without. Firstly, my sister who has homeschooled her six children for years, was my go-to source for info! She’s managed to teach them all at varying ages and levels. Her children are just wonderful, thinking of how amazingly she has done fills me with hope and confidence. Secondly, there are so many online groups of supportive people going through the same things. Knowing we're not alone in our struggles has been deeply comforting. Finally, I actually don’t think I would feel as confident and organised as I do now, without the help of AI. I can use it for a multitude of helpful things, lesson plans, ideas, and even finding resources online. It is very helpful for making things tailored to Luke’s specific needs.

We are starting with a number of resources that I have found so helpful.

-CGP books – These are really great to gain a specific knowledge for following national curriculum. They have all subjects and study books as well as workbooks. You can also get an online copy of the book with a code in the physical books you buy. The downside is that they aren’t particularly cheap. One or two won’t break the bank at £14.99 each, but with 8-9 subjects and workbooks to go along with them, the £££’s add up.

-IXL – To mis things up we have also included a bit of online learning, this is a monthly subscription website, but it helps Luke to do varied learning. We have used it for a week and Luke seems to find it easy to use and helpful. I found it really helpful in figuring out what level Luke is in math, English and science.

-Youtube – There are just so many great creators out there that have thousands of learning videos for free on YouTube.

- BBCbitesize- this is a fantastic recourse for homeschooling. It has whole lessons, with a mix of activities throughout that really seem to keep Luke engaged. 

As we continue our homeschooling journey, my hope is not only for Luke to succeed academically, but also for the ongoing improvement in our whole family’s mental wellness. If you're navigating similar experiences, please know that you're not alone. I'd love to hear about your own strategies or stories, so please share in the comments below.

Thank you for being part of our journey.