A Day In The Life …
Tuesday, 22 January 2002

We got up around 8.15 and Freya talked with her Mum for a while as she got ready to go to work. After waving her goodbye at about 9.00, it was time for me to have another cup of coffee, look through the post and contemplate the day. Freya had an appointment with her castle and the continuing battle between the two armies that had been interrupted by bedtime.

Whilst merrily engaged in her battle she also decided to listen to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, read by Stephen Fry, which she is working her way through. The magical battles in HP continued as she listened intently and rearranged her castle. She actively listens to the tape and often discusses various aspects of the tale with us. On many of our walks, we have imaginative and adventurous discussions, play hide and seek, storm the odd castle wall and generally use our minds to create adventures.

At 11.00 it was time to watch a couple of Schools programmes, which we enjoy. Maths Man was looking at lines of symmetry and reflections. (I realise that I've reached 39 without knowing the word Tesselate! It's good to see standards have improved and all today's kids will know it!!) Freya got all the right answers to the questions asked in the programme. We then looked around the house to spot things that were symmetrical. We found several and then talked about a round plate and what an `infinite number of lines of symmetry' might mean. Then it was XP the experimenter. The science and the humour make this one of Freya's favourite programmes. Today was about space and the moon. We discovered why the moon looks a different shape at different times. We saw a Saturn 5 rocket which took people to the moon, which we had also seen on an interactive CD Encyclopaedia of Space. We talked about how much rocket was needed just to get out of the Earth's gravity. Cousin Sarah was at the Science Museum, tried on a space suit, and saw an actual command module that has been to the moon. Freya hopes to do the same when she goes to London next month. Zig Zag followed and was all about the food that the Tudors ate. We really disliked all the meat that the posh people had, but Freya liked the sound of the sugar and marzipan sweets and decorations. We discovered what potage is and didn't fancy the sound of nettle soup. They didn't have potatoes and we talked about by whom and when they were discovered (and tobacco). Part of the historical evidence they used came from the Mary Rose shipwreck and we related this to another programme we had seen and also Time Team last Sunday who were diving on a Spanish Armada ship, (the Tudors again).

After a busy couple of hours watching, talking and thinking it was time for lunch and to get ready for the EO group. On the drive to Penrith we played `First to see'. Freya looked at the Howgills and said she would like to walk up them in the summer with her new boots. We looked at the flooded streams and wondered why it was sunny in Penrith and cloudy in Kendal, and talked about the weather a bit. The wind was also blowing the van around.

At the EO group Brigitte was doing a talk and activity around words and the history of language. We played a variation of `call my bluff' and made up a great word `Playtropic' from play as in enjoy, and tropic as in turning. We thought roundabouts, Ferris wheels, and flumes were all `playtropic'. Another group made up `paedomania' a dizzy, noisy, mad condition that children seem to have at times.

There was some time to play with the other folk and talk about the weekend away in February at Wooler YHA. Then it was back on the motorway and Freya continued developing her singing with further renditions of Good King Wenceslas. She's working on a better range of notes and bouncier rhythm. On the way, she also asked about rocket launches and where one could watch one. We talked about going to Florida to see the space Shuttle and the costs and practicalities (not this year!), and the guy in Manchester who builds his own. She was very keen to see a launch. We also talked about satellite
launches and what they were for.

At home, it was time for a brief relaxation and some tea before heading out for Gymnastics club at 6.00. Freya's been going for a year now and is working on her different techniques. At 8.00 Lorrainne picked her up after collecting Imogen on her way back from work. Imogen is also Home Educated and is staying the night. Tomorrow she and Freya have many games planned, plus we have to put the finishing touches to the bird table we've built together and put it outside. She also needs to finish her letter to Uncle Stephen and read another Slow Dog book to me.

Normally she would have a chapter of Lord of the Rings at bedtime, but tonight she and Imogen are happily creating noisy mayhem. Perhaps they may be asleep by 10.30 if we're lucky. And so ends Tuesday. Not all days are quite as busy as today but the range of `topics' we cover is certainly representative.

Principles

We believe the purpose of our approach is to assist Freya's natural sense of enquiry and wonder. Our aim is to help her explore the world and gain a useful understanding of `how it works'. Learning is a natural process best done through a cycle of experience, reflection and re-application. It is fun and enjoyable and children want to learn about their world.

We would like her to have a wide range of experiences and maybe discover what she can be passionate about in her life. We hope she will develop values that include respect for herself and others, and the natural environment. We encourage her to think and ask questions, to ponder and to reflect. We would like her to be her own judge of the worth of things since many of the benefits of our society are of questionable value. We hope she will be able to hold onto a strong sense of self in a world that constantly encourages conformity. We encourage her to have dreams and visions for the future and to value the joy and beauty of life. She does the same for us.

Learning `at home' allows us to work towards the above aims. It provides a natural environment which is responsive, flexible, adaptable, inclusive and holistic, tailored to individual needs, shared by the family, efficient and effective, based on experience, relevant and learner-centred, fun, challenging and exciting.

The system of mass coercive schooling, invented by the Victorians, has outlived its usefulness and it's time it was re-designed. It cannot match the benefits of `home education' in delivering effective, individually tailored learning that encourages well-rounded `pupils' who are engaged with the world. Perhaps the school system could learn a lot from home educators.