Latest / The BIG Home Ed Conversations | Home Education / Back to Home Ed After Summer: Transitions, New Systems and Too Many Hats

Transcript

Back to Home Ed After Summer: Transitions, New Systems and Too Many Hats · The BIG Home Ed Conversations | Home Education

0:14
Hello everybody, welcome back to season 6 of a big Home Ed
0:18
Conversations podcast. My name is Kelly Rigg.
0:21
I'm a home educating mum of two and a qualified mindset and ADHD
0:24
coach. I'm passionate about supporting
0:26
parents and neurodivergent families as they navigate
0:29
children not OK at school and then ultimately then the
0:31
transition from mainstream schooling into home education.
0:35
Together with my Co host Ashley Venerio, A fellow home Ed Mod 3
0:38
and a former primary teacher, we created the big Home Ed
0:41
Conversations podcast with what began as honest, heartfelt talks
0:45
around the coffee table and has now grown into a space where
0:47
hundreds of listeners now tune in for real, unfiltered
0:50
conversations about alternative education, mind certain
0:53
educational philosophies. We try to cut through the noise
0:56
and focus on what really matters to home educating families.
1:00
With that in mind, this season we're doing something a little
1:02
bit different. We are calling it the tricky
1:05
bits because let's be honest, home education is not always a
1:08
sunshine and nature walks highlight reel that we like to
1:11
see on Instagram. I think a little too often.
1:14
Sometimes it's just siblings who are sick of each other's faces
1:16
by 10 AM. And sometimes it's the noise,
1:20
such as the comments, the comparisons, the voice in your
1:22
head telling you that you're not doing enough.
1:24
So each episode in this series we're picking one of those
1:27
tricky, real unglamorous bits and digging into what's actually
1:31
teaching us. So whether there's a different
1:33
way to look at it or not, this week really we are just ready to
1:38
catch up. We have been pretty estranged
1:41
this summer. I've got to be honest.
1:43
I think I've seen you like twice.
1:45
It's definitely sad. It's not the way it should be,
1:48
but we thought we'd just catch up and tell you guys what we've
1:50
been up to and also like what the current tricky bits are
1:53
like. We're coming back into
1:55
September. I swear it is the same every
1:58
year. There is a massive go energy
2:00
right now and I genuinely hate it.
2:03
It has been, I feel like thrown right into things full speed,
2:09
like hit the ground running. We ended August with just a a
2:16
holiday trip to Italy and then came back on Sunday night and
2:22
started right in on Monday morning.
2:24
So yeah, it has been. There was no rest between it and
2:29
I think I would never do that again if I could help it.
2:32
That does sound like a really tough, kind of like just Chucky
2:35
straight back in the deep end. I think from my perspective as
2:38
well, we have a massive issue with transitions as a neuro
2:40
divergent family anyway. So those of you out there who
2:42
have neuro divergent kids will totally relate to that.
2:45
But going from one frame of mind to another can feel like
2:49
grinding gears, like it is so difficult.
2:52
It is definitely something that we we don't struggle, struggle
2:57
as much with it. I just think in this particular
3:00
instance I was not ready. I still have a suitcase upstairs
3:04
that's not been unpacked. So it is just a matter in this
3:10
case, I feel like of time. So typically before I start a
3:15
school year, and I say that very lightly because honestly we tend
3:18
to just keep going. But this summer because we had
3:22
such a significant pause that just happened to align with
3:25
summer, it felt more like a traditional school year to us
3:29
and so or to me anyway. So all the struggles that go
3:32
along with that we are experiencing, which is a bit
3:35
new, we don't typically have that.
3:37
And so I would typically have a week or two to really prepare
3:42
before we launch into like new curriculum, new topics, all of
3:45
this. And that has not happened.
3:47
And we've also had a ton of like random excursions, day trips,
3:52
you know, field trips, whatever you want to call them, which
3:54
have been great, but have meant that like we're out of the house
3:57
from 8:00 in the morning until 5:30 at night.
4:00
And so nothing is getting done. It is just I feel like I'm
4:05
playing catch up and I hate that feeling.
4:08
Yeah, I think if you don't feel like you've got your feet firmly
4:11
on the ground, when you kind of, if you, if you do find yourself
4:14
having stepped away from kind of the education side of things in
4:17
the more kind of formal respect and you have to try and get back
4:20
into it again. You really do need to feel like
4:22
you've managed to get your feet back on the ground first.
4:24
Like I definitely feel that way. And I've been trying a load of
4:28
new systems. So I've been sort of trying to
4:30
get my head back straight again because a couple of years ago I
4:33
had this really great system that it was so simple.
4:35
It's just a piece of paper on my fridge and it had like maths,
4:39
reading, writing, everything underneath it.
4:40
And I would literally just colour in a little square and
4:43
write a tiny, tiny bit like equivalent fractions or
4:46
something in that square and colour it in next to their
4:48
names. And each week it'll give me a
4:51
really lovely vision of what have we done this week?
4:55
Oh, loads great. OK, moving on.
4:59
And whereas I was using that system for ages and I had
5:01
switched to some other kind of really great things.
5:03
And obviously I've been using strew all last season as well
5:07
and still using that for kind of the more in depth logging.
5:10
But I was really losing sight of what have we actually achieved
5:13
each week. Like I just needed to see at a
5:15
glance when I went to go and get myself a cup of tea.
5:18
What else do I need to pay attention to?
5:21
And that combined with a new kind of wall calendar system
5:24
that I've got just like a Monday to Friday thing that I just
5:26
stick post its on with what the kids are expected to do like in
5:30
their days. That's reasonably small amounts.
5:32
That's kind of like me LED a lot of it.
5:35
They give me ideas and then I form that into activities.
5:38
And I was talking to them about do they like just being given
5:41
free rein to just choose whatever or would they like me
5:45
to prepare a couple of things a day and then they can kind of
5:47
leapfrog off of that and have some fun with it and do whatever
5:50
they want afterwards. And they said that they wanted
5:52
me to give them a couple of things so that they could just
5:54
like, they don't have to go. I don't know what to do.
5:56
Like, I'm not sure what to do. And I was like, OK, fair enough.
6:00
Like they're both autistic. I do need to be conscious of the
6:03
fact that they quite like rhythm and routine.
6:05
And so we essentially have sort of created this weekly calendar
6:08
system. And you know what?
6:11
The first two weeks have felt painful in terms of just go and
6:16
look at the calendar. Hello, you asked me to put this
6:19
thing together for you. Like I'm trying to help you to
6:21
see what needs to happen and trying to give you plenty of
6:24
warning and allow you to know what's happening the next day,
6:26
etcetera. But actually I noticed towards
6:29
the end of last week that we'd ticked off everything on the
6:32
fridge. I've been able to record loads
6:34
of really great things that they've done through the week.
6:36
They were feeling quite accomplished as well, like when
6:38
I sat and had a chat with them that actually says it's making
6:42
me smile. I've got a very cute little 1
6:44
waving at me whilst I'm trying to talk to Ashley here.
6:46
So I've completely thrown my thoughts saying now it's so
6:49
cute. It's so sweet, clearly.
6:53
We're also struggling with getting back into the routine.
6:57
When I record a podcast, I cannot get you a snack.
7:00
I cannot update you on the schedule.
7:02
I cannot help you read something in the closet.
7:06
Honestly, it's real life for you right here.
7:09
So yeah, so it's we've been trying to get them to kind of
7:11
get into the gist of it and it's felt really painful for all of
7:14
us because actually I realized it wasn't the schedule that was
7:16
a problem. It wasn't me having to prep and
7:18
plan before every day comes problem.
7:20
Actually, it was just the change in transition it we've gone from
7:23
being in the summer, just having fun, chilled, like I've been
7:27
doing quite a lot of work as well and kind of catching up on
7:29
important stuff. And so I kind of gave them all
7:31
gust off for the first time in like ever.
7:34
So like no enforced home Ed at all for a month and they were
7:37
just like, can I can I go on my maths apps, please?
7:42
What do you mean? What do I do?
7:44
Like I don't want to just do nothing.
7:45
That's weird. Which is wonderful to see that
7:48
they were both so inspired, like they've read so much and were so
7:51
engaged over the summer. So sweet.
7:52
But yeah, we're just, we're trying to get into the rhythm.
7:55
And actually I was sat there on Sunday morning having just
7:59
filled them all out again, put all the posters on there for
8:01
this week and I kind of sat back and I actually felt calm and I
8:05
was like, oh this feels quite nice.
8:07
I actually feel like I know that if we do all the things on here
8:11
and none of it is like there's not hours and hours and hours of
8:14
me like having to sit with them and do like 3 hours of maths or
8:17
anything horrendous. Like, this is like just little
8:19
tiny nods in the right direction that will lead into other things
8:23
naturally. But I know that if I just
8:25
generally make this week happen, how I've kind of planned it out,
8:29
that we will cover everything. And so if some of it falls away,
8:32
that's OK. Like it's like if I've got my
8:35
head completely wrapped around my work, this podcast, my kids,
8:39
I'm like, Oh my goodness. I actually feel organized for
8:41
the first time ever. Like I actually feel like the
8:44
kids know what that's what's expected of them.
8:46
They're happy with the system that we're working with right
8:48
now. And I'm like, Oh my goodness,
8:50
have we actually made it? But it's still that sensation of
8:54
this is a lot and I'm and I'm doing a lot and I need to be
8:57
really conscious of that. And I think we're talking very
8:59
briefly before we got on that, actually even in planning it all
9:02
out and looking at it, we suddenly realised sometimes how
9:05
full our weeks are and how very little precious time we
9:08
sometimes leave for ourselves or for rest.
9:11
And so, yeah, it's a real balance.
9:13
It's a real balancing act that I find very, very tricky
9:15
sometimes. Yeah, it's it's definitely been
9:18
a transition for us in that way of like going from we also had
9:23
the essentially August off. We did a few things, but not
9:25
that much. And then getting back into
9:27
school and like also feeling like we're sort of at this
9:30
tipping point of like my oldest is not that far away from really
9:38
needing to kind of hone in on what her not what her future is
9:41
going to like look like, 'cause that's ridiculous.
9:43
But like, if she wants to study this in college, university,
9:48
like what do we need to do to start to prepare to send her in
9:51
that direction? And that is something that I'm
9:55
like, OK, we're only like 4 years away from her being 16.
10:00
We're not even like 3 1/2. And then, you know, another, So
10:05
what, 5 1/2 till she's 18. Like when you look at it that
10:09
way, it feels like a lot less time.
10:11
And especially when I look at like, OK, if you want to be
10:13
entering university for this particular field of study, this
10:17
is what our next six years of school needs to look like to
10:20
prepare you for that. So things have felt a little bit
10:24
more serious. It's always serious, but like
10:28
just a little bit more structured, I guess, in terms of
10:31
what we want to do. And like also allowing her to
10:34
say, like, OK, let's take this time to also see like, do you
10:38
like these things? Like maybe in a couple years
10:40
you'll think, gosh, no, I actually don't want to do that
10:42
because I have not enjoyed anything we've done leading up
10:45
to that, right. And so we're we're kind of
10:50
figuring that out. But then also because it had
10:54
been like a like bigger break for us.
10:58
I was like, OK, we are going to just ease in to the week.
11:03
So the first week we're just going to do math, but we're
11:06
going to do it like right, we're going to do it every day.
11:09
Like we're not going to skip it. It's a very small lift to just
11:12
say let's just do math. So all of it.
11:16
My youngest loves her math. And what's really funny like
11:19
this is a little side note. I actually don't love her math
11:21
program. I don't think I like I don't
11:24
want to keep doing it. I think it's a little too like
11:29
fluffy for me. But she like asks to do it all
11:33
the time. So like, OK, we just have to
11:34
make it through it. Like, so I'm the one like being
11:37
like just grin and ferret. She's 6.
11:41
It's not like she's preparing to go to Harvard, so it's OK.
11:43
But anyway, so she's doing really good.
11:46
My oldest is doing good. My they're all doing good with
11:48
it. But I have found that like they
11:51
only my middle particularly will not do math in the afternoon.
11:57
She's very good at it, but the amount of like concentration
11:59
that it takes of her like after lunch is not happening.
12:03
So that is one of the things that like I've like, OK, we
12:06
figured that out the first week. Like we can't expect her to come
12:10
home from art class on a Monday and then do math.
12:12
So we have to do it before we go to art class, which means we're
12:14
doing math very early in the morning.
12:16
But then we added in English. We're kind of at that point now
12:19
where I'm trying to get into like, are we doing science and
12:23
history as frequently as I would like?
12:26
Do we need to do it two days a week?
12:28
Do we used to do it three days a week for like how, how do we
12:31
want to spread this out to make it work and not be like too
12:34
much? So that's sort of where we're at
12:37
this point. And it's definitely feeling
12:40
like, OK, we've got everything going on right now, plus all the
12:43
activities, plus they want to see their friends and they still
12:47
want to have their horse riding and they want to.
12:49
So it's just the weekends, the, the weeks, the weekends, they're
12:52
all full. And like you said, when they're
12:54
not scheduled, I don't want to do anything.
12:57
Like I don't, I'm not trying to add any more to it.
12:59
Like this year they decided they don't want to play field hockey.
13:02
And I'm like, great. I have my Sundays back.
13:05
Like I was as sad as I am that that's not something they want
13:07
to continue. And I like awesome.
13:11
Very appreciative. My youngest of Stephanie, she's
13:13
like, Mommy, that's my day to sleep in.
13:15
I was like, you're sick. Sleeping in for you is like 705
13:18
but OK. Oh pleasure, that's so cute.
13:23
I think it is, it is funny, isn't it?
13:25
I think they do. They do definitely have a sense
13:27
of what they want from their weekly rhythm too rate.
13:30
And I think when we're talking about creating an educational
13:34
lifestyle that works for them, it does have to have the
13:38
balance. That actually means that they're
13:40
able to focus and they're able to engage with it.
13:43
And also to kind of help to make them realise we're being
13:48
challenged a little bit isn't the end of the world.
13:50
Because my son this week has been really has been really
13:53
fascinating actually, how many observations I've made in just
13:57
having a little bit more of a schedule, just just trying to do
13:59
just that little bit more sit down stuff with them because a
14:03
lot of our education is very experienced.
14:05
Sure, it's very hands on. It's very fun and silly.
14:08
And like, we're trying to just recap on telling the time more
14:12
for my youngest sake the other day with an analogue clock.
14:15
And I was trying to get my son to pretend to be the clock, but
14:18
he was just not in the right frame of mind.
14:20
And I was basically just making her laugh relentlessly.
14:23
And I'm just like, OK, I want to make this fun.
14:26
But we do actually still have to get over the like the learning
14:30
goals that I wanted to try and just do with you, which is quite
14:33
literally just to understand that there's 60 minutes in an
14:35
hour and 60 seconds in a minute. And I just want you to show her
14:38
like what's happening every hour, like, Oh my goodness, can
14:41
you just move your arms how I'm asking you to move your arms
14:43
just for a second. Not really runs around like a
14:45
cartwheel, But it was it was funny and it was nice and it
14:49
kept it really light. But I did find myself feeling a
14:52
bit frustrated a couple of times and thinking, OK, come on.
14:55
You guys have asked me to prep a couple of things to just to help
15:00
to kind of give you guys some framework and things to do
15:02
because you didn't like how free flow it was because you didn't
15:04
know what to do with yourselves. And I didn't really know what to
15:07
do in the moment either. And then it would just be a bit
15:09
like from everybody. As I said, perhaps a few nice
15:12
easy things. But I do actually still need
15:15
your buy in. Like it's not all on me to carry
15:17
you through everything. Like I really would like you to
15:20
come and engage with it just a little bit.
15:21
And they were like, OK, yeah, sorry.
15:24
I appreciate that you've, you've planned this and you've put it
15:26
together based on what we wanted and like we're just messing you
15:29
about. Today, for example, is sat
15:30
trying to do this sort of reading comprehension thing.
15:32
We've just finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and
15:36
my son has read it like 10 million times, but this is the
15:40
first time my daughter has listened to the whole I was
15:42
going. To say when you said you were
15:44
done with it, I was like, wait, I know you've read this before.
15:46
Yeah, yeah, hundreds of times. My youngest is now getting to
15:50
experience that all the books all the way through.
15:52
It's just so exciting. And so I wanted to do some
15:54
comprehension work with them because obviously you listen and
15:57
they do take it in and they they comprehension is really good for
16:00
the most part, but I like to get them to think about it.
16:02
And for for him, I'd set in this quiz that was actually not
16:06
questions that he could just give a direct answer to you like
16:09
where did Harry to fight the dementors?
16:11
Whatever it was actually like, what did it show about Harry's
16:16
character when he was fighting the dementors?
16:18
Like actually that showed that he's brave and like selfless,
16:23
that he knew he could get into trouble, but he wasn't going to
16:25
let him and Dudley get harmed. And so it's like actually it's
16:30
getting him to think about the characters and what their
16:32
motivations were and what they're thinking about,
16:34
etcetera. And because he had to read the
16:37
question, process his thoughts and write it down, it took
16:40
forever to get his gears moving. And he was getting so frustrated
16:44
with it because his writing is still a real struggle for him.
16:46
His fine motor is not something that he feels very strong with.
16:49
It's much, much, much better than it used to be.
16:51
And he's really getting the hang of it now, but it's, it's still
16:54
hard. And so he did like a whole page
16:56
of questions. And then after that, I took over
16:58
and I wrote down his answers. And the answers were just
17:00
flowing out of him at this point because his brain was able to
17:03
just process his thoughts and tell me what you wanted to say.
17:06
And there were great answers. And so I was able to point out
17:09
to him at the end that like the struggle that he was facing in
17:12
that was actually more the, the physical mechanics of writing
17:16
it. So like thinking it through and
17:17
then having to process that to put it on paper.
17:19
And the ultimately that's OK. Like that is tricky at 1st.
17:24
And the more you do it, the easier it will get.
17:26
And he's really buying into that at the moment.
17:28
He's really accepting and understanding that things have
17:32
felt really hard for him, like riding his bike or reading or
17:35
whatever, Like things have felt really, really impossible, but
17:39
he has managed them eventually. And I was sort of saying to him
17:42
the other day that it's he's got such a precious gift in home
17:45
education and that as he reaches A struggling point, we don't
17:50
have to move on until he's mastered it.
17:53
Like everybody else in the world, they get taught it for a
17:57
period of time. If you haven't grasped it by
17:58
then, we're moving on. It's up to the parents at home,
18:02
it's up to tutors, it's up to them just trying to catch up on
18:04
their own. Like you have got to keep pace.
18:07
And that is very difficult if you are genuinely like your
18:10
brain wiring hasn't caught up yet, like the the actual muscle
18:13
strength hasn't built up yet. Like it gets there eventually.
18:16
And I said to Mike, is there anything that you've really
18:18
tried out truly persevere that that you haven't gone on to
18:22
succeed? And he couldn't think of a
18:23
single thing. And I was like, so when you kind
18:26
of look at that, you can see that all it really takes is a
18:30
bit of perseverance. And I'm really hoping that like
18:35
all these years that have been spent with them developing a
18:39
concept or an idea for something they want to do, starting to
18:43
work towards it, persevering through it with our like really
18:46
dedicated 1 to 1 support. Like to guide them and encourage
18:49
them and to keep challenging them gently every now and then
18:52
to kind of just keep upping that skill level that ultimately they
18:55
really do start to thrive in it and start to really show what
18:59
they're capable of to themselves.
19:02
I feel like I've gone on a bit of a tangent now, but I'm, I'm
19:05
very conscious of the fact that like it's felt sloggy and
19:08
difficult these past couple of weeks.
19:09
But the observations that have come out of it are really,
19:11
really good. And they've helped me to sort of
19:13
see that they are, they are intending to do well.
19:18
They, they want to do these things.
19:20
They want to learn how to do them, but they are struggling
19:24
with some of that initial motivation or that kind of fear
19:27
or like this is feeling really hard and that lack of
19:31
motivation. And it's, it's so nice to kind
19:34
of have the time properly carved out to sit with them and, and
19:38
try to do stuff with them that helps them to understand.
19:41
OK, well, it helps me to understand where they're at, why
19:44
they're struggling, what's going on there, makes some tweaks or
19:47
changes. And I guess it's what we do all
19:49
along and it's what I've been doing for years.
19:51
But for some reason it feels a bit different this time of year.
19:54
I think we have this kind of go period in September where we
19:56
feel like we've got to have whole new attitudes, a whole new
19:59
approach. We've got to put loads of ideas
20:01
and thoughts in. And that that sometimes kind of
20:04
earwell me quite a lot this time of year that we've got to like
20:06
step it up, that things have got to get harder.
20:08
They've got to get more intentional.
20:11
And I have no idea if we'll sustain the systems that we've
20:13
created to start us off this term, but it is feeling good
20:17
actually having a framework there that they're.
20:20
They're bought into and that they're willing to give a try
20:25
and yeah, I guess I'm just, I'm, I'm definitely feeling a lot of
20:27
pressure at the moment. And I and same boat, I guess as
20:30
what you are with your eldest. My son is, is coming up to an
20:35
age now where I will have to start thinking about his sort of
20:38
secondary education would be coming round the corner for him.
20:41
And it does step it up a bit, but it's also an opportunity to
20:44
specialized, right, and to go in on the subjects that do help
20:47
them to move towards goals that they've got for their future,
20:51
which I think is, yeah, it's really, really important.
20:56
Yeah, it is giving them a little bit more customization and kind
21:00
of ability to choose where they want to go.
21:05
And I think the struggle that we're struggle, I mean, it's
21:09
just where we are, right? That I'm feeling when I was kind
21:13
of questioning like why does this feel different than when I
21:16
was teaching? And I think like when you teach
21:20
in a school, you go to that school and you have like you're,
21:23
you're teaching life there like anyone, you go to work, leave
21:26
you focus for a period of time on just that job and then you
21:31
come home and like all the home stuff is there.
21:33
But I've been feeling lately that we're like, because we're
21:36
home and we're doing the teaching stuff.
21:39
I feel like I'm more sensitive to the mess that is around.
21:44
Like I'm also feeling like, why are you leaving your plate on
21:48
the kitchen table? Like take it to the sink, put it
21:51
in the dishwasher. I am feeling like I do not want
21:54
to be the, the household manager when I'm also being the person
22:01
who's like guiding us through what we're, what we're doing for
22:03
the day. And I've not felt that so much
22:08
as I have this month. And so I am wondering if it's
22:12
like, OK, that like increased workload, for lack of a better
22:14
term, the more seriousness of the workload that they're doing
22:18
for education, is that like being felt in the like
22:23
surrounding home environment? Like right now I'm staring at
22:29
the girls made these air dry clay pots Yesterday.
22:34
We were doing like an out school class for it and they're super
22:37
cute, but I'm like, OK, that means like they're drying in my
22:41
kitchen and like if I was in a school room, they'd be drying in
22:43
like the back of the classroom on a table and when I went home
22:46
for the day, I would be staring at them anymore.
22:50
Like, so it's just like the, the living in all the stuff and like
22:56
still having to like clean house and make sure that laundry is
23:00
getting done and all of that has just been, it's felt like a lot.
23:05
And so I think that we're still trying to figure out our
23:10
schedule of that. Cause typically I'd have like a
23:12
period of time where like, OK, this is what we do, like a 15
23:14
minute tidy and everyone goes and like kind of gets the stuff
23:17
and puts it away. And for some reason that hasn't
23:20
been, hasn't been happening. So we've got to kind of focus on
23:24
that. But similarly, I'm trying to,
23:25
like, reflect on like, what is making things feel difficult or
23:29
what is preventing us from getting things done?
23:31
And like, how can we adjust that before we get like months into
23:33
the school year and everyone's frustrated?
23:36
And it's so important to take that time to take stock, isn't
23:39
it? To, to notice that something's
23:40
not feeling right and to do something about it.
23:42
And I think I'm a fixer anyway. But I think often we, we kind of
23:47
almost just believe what it is hard.
23:49
It's going to feel hard. So we're just going to feel
23:51
hard. And it's like, OK, it does.
23:53
And it and it is at times really hard, but it isn't supposed to
23:58
feel hard 24/7, right? Exactly.
24:02
Like if it feels like that, it's really not OK.
24:04
Like we need to figure out what's going on there.
24:07
And I think it is definitely about like asking our kids like,
24:11
what is it that doesn't feel good about this?
24:13
Why are we not feeling motivated?
24:14
What noticing the time today when they work better or what
24:17
kind of environment they work best in?
24:19
My son for example, my daughter was SAT doing some Lego at the
24:23
table whilst I was doing this Harry Potter thing with him
24:25
earlier and he was fine for a little while.
24:28
But then she started making a little noise while she was doing
24:31
her Lego and it instantly threw him off and he really couldn't
24:34
concentrate. And asking her to leave
24:36
basically just results in a meltdown.
24:38
So it's just like OK, how do I manage this?
24:41
Do we either leave? Do we need to go somewhere else?
24:43
Do we need to just pause and come back to this in a minute?
24:46
Does he just need a lot of regulation break?
24:48
Going to have a quick wiggle, grab a drink.
24:50
Hopefully in that time she'll I'll be able to talk to her
24:52
calmly about it and get her to stop making the noise.
24:54
Like she's getting older and she is starting to understand that
24:56
when I have to have a conversation with her about
24:59
certain like stimming. So she'll make noises for
25:01
stimming kind of purposes. But it's OK to want to do that.
25:04
But ultimately we are trying to concentrate right now and that's
25:06
impossible for him to concentrate in that environment.
25:09
So we've got to have a compromise, like either you do
25:12
it for a minute and then you stop or you go somewhere else
25:14
and do it somewhere else or whatever the case may be.
25:17
So yeah, noticing stuff, tweaking the environment,
25:19
tweaking the expectations, just changing up how the week flows
25:25
is totally fine and totally what we should be doing.
25:27
And I think that that concept of the whole sort of churches
25:32
state, I think people refer to. And so it's like just just these
25:34
are going to be two separate things.
25:35
Like can we just like we just separate out some of this stuff?
25:39
And I think I always talk about it being the concept of wearing
25:42
hats that in one moment I could be wearing my, my mum hat, my
25:46
teacher hat, my housekeeper hat, my chef hat, my whatever else
25:51
had like project manager hat. And I'm just like, OK, that's a
25:53
lot of hats. I'm just, they're just going to
25:54
keep falling off my head. Like I just, I need to choose
25:57
which one I'm wearing right now. And that's a constant mantra in
26:01
my head. It's like, OK, which hat am I
26:03
wearing? Like sometimes it like of course
26:05
parenting is basically just like constant, but we are able to say
26:09
OK do you know what? In this moment I'm in sort of
26:13
teacher mode. Not literally, we're not
26:14
teachers, we're the facilitators of scaffolding, the support,
26:17
whatever you want us to call it. But like in this particular
26:20
moment I am wrangling 2 little monkeys and asking them to come
26:24
and do some maths. That is my goal for this next
26:27
half an hour. It's not to try and make that
26:30
phone call, it's not to go make breakfast, it's not to fetch
26:32
someone a snack. It is to do that and setting
26:35
that boundary for yourself as well as the kids actually and
26:38
saying no, this is the goal for the next half an hour.
26:42
This is what's happening. And I and I've even found it's
26:45
something as simple as saying that everyone needs to be up
26:47
washed and dressed by 9. Yeah, so we do.
26:50
Because but I want to get on with the day and until everyone
26:55
has had breakfast, brush their teeth and gotten dressed,
26:58
nothing's happening. Nothing is happening.
27:01
It's just a nightmare. And I was like, I'm just like,
27:04
we're stopping everything else downward.
27:05
And that's kind of, I refer to as like, come on, we need to do
27:08
our school just just to kind of indicate that this is the time
27:11
frame we need to get some education done.
27:13
This is our intentional education window.
27:16
It'll probably last for an hour to two hours with lots of breaks
27:19
and wiggles and snacks and all sorts of stuff going on.
27:22
But then once that is done, there's lots of other learning
27:25
that will happen through the day.
27:26
They've got other classes and groups and fun stuff that we go
27:28
and do. But then I feel better.
27:31
That bit is sorted. Then I can go and do some work
27:35
and then we can have some lunch and then we can move on with our
27:37
day. And actually it needs to have a
27:39
rhythm. Like it can't just be all over
27:43
the place. We need to have lines and
27:45
boundaries and compartmentalizing things
27:47
sometimes so that we can actually just focus.
27:50
And I think sometimes that then bleeds into our mood.
27:52
Doesn't it? Like you say that it's
27:53
distracting and frustrating. Yeah, and I am 100% not a
27:58
morning person. I can stay up until one or two
28:02
and then my ideal is to sleep until like 9.
28:05
But I realized that that's like not realistic at this stage of
28:09
my life. So it is one of the things that
28:13
like, I, I feel like I am already adjusting myself to.
28:17
So I am. But our expectation is that you
28:24
are ready to go with school by 8:15.
28:27
So you and my kids are up. So it's not like I'm waking them
28:30
up early. This is like this is kind of
28:34
when they're more than me. This is when they're sort of
28:36
ready. And so by 8:15, if if I don't
28:39
have something going, they're they're lost to me.
28:42
They're already going, they're playing, they're upstairs in the
28:44
loft in their playroom. And pulling them out of that
28:48
once they've sort of engaged in that is really tricky.
28:51
So which we experienced a bit today, which got me like already
28:56
feeling like behind the 8 ball. So for us, if we do that, I know
29:03
that by lunchtime we will have everything that we like, you
29:07
know, quote UN quote, need to get done done.
29:10
And then if we want to go out with friends in the afternoon,
29:12
if we want to do all that, it feels like a guilt free, like
29:16
I'm happy to do it. We have our activities and I
29:19
feel like this is a big change because before like years in the
29:22
past years, my kids have been smaller.
29:25
So evening activities were really difficult.
29:27
They were too tired. They caused us to be like having
29:30
really late Med times. People were unhappy, there were
29:34
meltdowns, they were too hungry, all this stuff.
29:36
But now my, my youngest is 6, which for her is still like, she
29:40
is still young. I feel like we, we keep dragging
29:42
her up. Whereas like when my oldest was
29:45
6, she didn't do any of this stuff.
29:46
But that's, I guess just the nature of it, right?
29:48
So for her, she's at the point now where we can manage
29:53
afternoon and evening activities.
29:56
She does a gymnastics class that doesn't end until 5:45 and she's
30:00
absolutely fine with that. We come home, we have dinner,
30:03
there are no issues. So I think that we're we're sort
30:08
of shifting for me school in the morning and then anything else
30:13
in the afternoon. But my kids are still kind of
30:16
like, but wait, why can't we go to this meet up at 10 AM on a
30:19
Tuesday? Well, because we haven't done
30:21
school yet and I know we won't do it when we get home.
30:24
And where is that used to be? Like, OK, we can, we can push it
30:28
till tomorrow. Like we're out of pushing
30:30
there's. No, there's.
30:31
No lead. Yeah, exactly.
30:33
So it's been a little bit of an adjustment for them, I think.
30:38
And also being like you guys don't make the decisions.
30:42
Actually, it's like I wish you could, but you can't.
30:45
You've got the bigger picture in your head too sometimes, right?
30:47
And I think this is where the whole kind of, it can be really
30:51
tricky, especially. I mean, I obviously appreciate
30:53
that. I completely respect the concept
30:55
of unscrewing and I love it as a like allowing children to be
30:58
completely child LED and to to prioritise things themselves and
31:02
to get to things when they get to things.
31:04
And for some children that can work beautifully.
31:07
And I think it really depends how driven they are, how
31:09
intentional they are, what they're trying to do with their
31:11
lives. And, and of course, we're
31:13
incredibly child LED. Like my children come up with
31:15
the topics they want to do. They indicate to me that they're
31:18
struggling with certain things and I will support them with
31:20
that. But I also like I've been
31:22
talking to them an awful lot about this kind of concept of
31:24
the bigger picture that we can get quite like insula into the
31:28
days that we just, we just focus on like, what do we fancy doing
31:30
today? Like, where do we want to go?
31:32
Like, what do we want to do? And actually, like you say, time
31:35
ticks on. And it isn't that there is some
31:38
hard deadline in the future, But at some point they're going to
31:41
want to fly the nest. They're going to want to go off
31:44
and do something really cool. They're going to want to travel
31:45
the world. They're going to want to get a
31:47
partner or have their own kids. Like there's going to be things
31:50
in their future they're going to want to be prepared for.
31:52
And ultimately, they don't know what they need to do to prepare
31:54
for that. They need guidance.
31:56
And much like we wouldn't expect them to literally learn every
31:59
element of the math syllabus for the exam and pass the exam
32:03
without ever being given any kind of direction.
32:06
We also have to apply the same logic to the rest of the world.
32:09
And, and unschoolers are not just leaving their kids to just
32:13
get on with it like they are inspiring them.
32:14
They're putting stuff in front of them.
32:15
They're scaffolding and supporting.
32:17
They're they're asking them what they need.
32:19
They're helping them to move forward.
32:21
Like this is not just a free for all.
32:24
And so I always think to myself that I'm sort of a more project
32:27
LED, eclectic kind of unschoolie kind of person.
32:30
I've got a completely random, yeah, it's like I am who I am
32:34
and I like how we work. But that's mostly been based on
32:36
the observations of me and my family and what I feel like we
32:39
need. And ultimately I always say to
32:41
mine that that they might not want to do maths every week and
32:45
they might not want to have to do loads of reading and writing.
32:47
But actually these skills, if we don't practice them often, they
32:53
stay as a big solid wall in front of us that we don't know
32:56
how to get over. And I quite literally mimicked
32:58
it with a pad of post it notes and a little pen lid this
33:01
morning for my son, saying like, right, I've given you this task
33:04
to do. And you've walked up to it and
33:06
you've looked up at this massive wall in front of you, which is
33:09
your handwriting feeling tricky, processing your thoughts and
33:12
putting the pen to paper that feels really hard for you.
33:16
And so you've looked up at that wall and gone, and your brain's
33:19
just gone. Can't do it and too difficult.
33:22
Can't be bothered. Won't, won't happen.
33:24
And I said, but the only way we bring that wall down is with
33:27
consistent little gentle practices towards being able to
33:31
build those skills. And I said, same way as Once
33:33
Upon a time you learn to walk or to run.
33:35
Like these things didn't happen just because you just got up and
33:39
ran one day. You had to practice and you had
33:43
to try and you had to keep falling and found it difficult.
33:45
And my God, the frustration when I look back on those times, like
33:49
how frustrated he was learning some of those skills.
33:52
But they all come to us eventually.
33:54
And it's not that I don't think he'll get there.
33:56
If he was to just like Meander, eventually, he probably would
33:59
figure it all out. But ultimately, I know that he's
34:02
got the capability of figuring it out sooner than that.
34:07
And if he did, then he wouldn't find these things quite so hard,
34:10
and maybe then he would feel more motivated to do the stuff
34:12
that really matters to him. So when he comes up with
34:15
incredible stories, like he can dictate a story to me with just
34:18
the most incredible vocabulary and characters and places and
34:22
ideas, but the idea of getting it down on paper feels almost
34:26
impossible to him. And I said, I don't, I don't
34:28
like that for you. I feel like that's sad.
34:30
Like you've got great ideas and the world needs to be able to
34:33
see them. And the only way we immortalise
34:35
what we have to say is either through something like this,
34:39
have a podcast, put it out there with a video or audio record.
34:42
And I said, but the written word is always powerful because it
34:47
gives people a chance to imagine it for themselves and to sit
34:49
there and really think about it and to, yeah, immortalises your
34:53
thoughts. And I said, and it's important
34:54
to have the ability to do that if you want to.
34:57
And he's really hearing me now. He's he's gotten to an age where
35:00
he's like, I understand what you're trying to get AT.
35:02
And I think we've got this amazing future in front of him.
35:05
I have no idea where it'll go. I don't know what career he'll
35:07
eventually choose. The moment it's a zoologist.
35:10
We'll see what happens. But he's passionate and he's
35:14
interested in the future and he's seeing the bigger picture
35:17
through me. And that's important.
35:20
I think we need that. It's, it's not easy to think
35:24
like that as a child when you've only got so much inspiration
35:28
around you. We can't depending on what
35:31
they've been exposed to you. There's only so much they've
35:33
seen. And of course, we, we as parents
35:37
often end up dictating or choosing what it is that they're
35:40
exposed to. And that can either be
35:44
beneficial or limiting, depending on how much that is.
35:47
And so it is important for us to think, do you know what?
35:50
You guys might just want to go play at the park and you totally
35:54
should. And we should move and we should
35:56
see friends. I mean, should work on those
35:57
social skills and we should move our bodies.
35:59
And we do learn concepts of physics and science and
36:03
mathematics just by playing in a playground.
36:05
Like all these things do happen. But ultimately there's a whole
36:10
syllabus of stuff and some of it just doesn't come up in real
36:13
life. It just doesn't.
36:14
And it's important to try and find ways to make those things
36:19
happen and, and be understood. Yeah, It's, it's fascinating,
36:23
really. It is good fun.
36:25
It's hard work. Yeah, if there's like this whole
36:29
juxtaposition too of like the, the glamorous and the
36:31
unglamorous bits of it as well. Like when you think about I, I
36:36
think my kids tend to go towards the fun, the engaging that that
36:39
the kind of glamorous side of, of education.
36:42
And and yet there are other things of OK, I, I totally feel
36:48
this. I do, I want you to, to learn at
36:50
your own pace to do all this. But I can tell you that if you
36:53
just spend 10 minutes and memorize these facts, like if
36:59
you can, if you can take 6 away from 14 without having to use
37:03
your fingers, if you can, if you can just understand that so much
37:06
will be easier and all the other things that you're doing.
37:09
If you can, if you can know multiplication division facts as
37:13
we progress in math, it will make it.
37:16
We were talking earlier about equivalent fractions.
37:19
Perfect. That's a great example of like,
37:21
if you know your multiplication facts, this is going to be
37:23
exponentially easier for you. So, and I think of those as like
37:26
the unglamorous parts, like doing your, your multiplication
37:30
tables like that, That sucks. Like it's not fun.
37:33
It's it's like, who wants to sit and look at flash cards for 10
37:35
minutes? Nobody.
37:36
So like, what do we do? We put them in the car.
37:38
OK, I'll turn the audio book on after you've each done the flash
37:42
cards one time. Like, I'm just trying to like
37:45
sprinkle it in throughout our day in moments when we're having
37:48
like downtime, but it's like those unglamorous bits that
37:50
sometimes springboard you into the next phase.
37:55
And I also similarly wish that we could allow our children to
38:02
just run through their education at their very own pace.
38:06
I love unschooling. I love the concept of it.
38:08
I love how it just takes all the pressure off the child to meet
38:14
these standards that they didn't choose and to be able to just do
38:18
what they find themselves drawn to and specialize in that.
38:22
And I obviously this is how it was years and years and years
38:25
and years years ago, right before, before the modern day
38:27
and all this. But but the problem I find with
38:29
it is that we do have these timetable deadlines because of
38:36
the world that we live in. And this is the constant battle.
38:40
I think that all homeschoolers are probably all parents in
38:43
general face right to, to push back on that and say, you know,
38:46
what if, if they haven't learned this by the time they're 15,
38:49
then that's fine. That's just fine like it.
38:51
But but then there you have the outside world saying, well, if
38:54
you want to come to this university and you don't have
38:57
this SAT score or a level or whatever, then you can't come.
39:03
And it's sort of like, I have no doubt that my kid will get
39:06
there. I have no doubt because I can
39:08
look at my own journey and see how much I have learned Post
39:12
University. In fact, probably way more than
39:17
I learned in all my time from a child to graduating university.
39:22
I have learned way more since graduating.
39:27
But there's still these timetables that that are
39:32
pressing to say no, no, if you don't know by this point, then
39:34
you're not going there. You're not doing it.
39:35
And then, you know, it does. Yeah.
39:38
So anyway, I feel like this is the constant conversation that I
39:43
have with myself of like, OK, do do we need to push this?
39:48
Do we say, OK, Nope, let's wait because there's zero interest?
39:52
Or do we say like, hey, this is the real world and sometimes you
39:54
guys do what you don't want to do like and we knowing the
39:57
bigger picture, know that it will benefit you in the long
39:59
run. You know I'm doing this because
40:01
the the cost of not doing it is greater than the cost of doing
40:06
it, right. It's it's kind of like the
40:07
concept. I think like of doing it the
40:10
hard way, that pretty much all skills will be learned
40:14
eventually. And some of us in our late 30s
40:17
or 40s will develop some understanding around investing
40:20
in stocks and shares. And we'll suddenly see that they
40:23
can make a heck of a lot more money on their money every year
40:25
than they can be by just sticking it in a savings
40:27
account. But up until that point, they
40:29
haven't bothered to even really put it in a savings account
40:31
because ultimately there was a cycle.
40:33
What's the point? Like I, I need to spend it on
40:35
XYZ, right? Like it's, it's, we sometimes we
40:39
learn things because they're taught to us.
40:42
Sometimes we learn things because we experience them.
40:45
Sometimes we learn things because they really matter to
40:47
us. Sometimes we learn things
40:48
because somebody else believes that they'll matter to us.
40:51
But ultimately there's lots of different types of learning,
40:55
lots of different goals and expectations and reasons for
40:58
learning things. And I think truthfully, it's
41:00
just a blend of everything. Like there's, there's going to
41:03
be stuff which just comes really naturally and stuff that
41:05
doesn't, and stuff that feels really hard and stuff that feels
41:08
really easy and stuff that's going to matter to you one day
41:11
and stuff that isn't. And I think the truth is.
41:14
The exciting part is it's different for every child.
41:16
Exactly. It's so fun, like let's just
41:18
make it a complete confetti of possible learning skills.
41:22
But I think, I mean, I've always really said that all I really
41:25
want for my kids is for them to know how to learn and to know
41:30
that they are capable of facing that big wall in front of them
41:34
that's going, Oh my God, Like that is so hard.
41:38
And I don't know how the heck I'm going to get over it.
41:41
And actually realizing that you build a staircase or you cut a
41:49
door into it, like you just have to find a way to build some of
41:53
the skills that helps you to actually overcome it.
41:55
And the more I can show them that they can do something hard,
41:58
they can do something their brain just goes Nope to and
42:01
persevere, the more they'll understand whether it's before
42:05
they go to uni, after uni, if they never go to uni, if they
42:08
get a vocational degree, if they do whatever right, like whatever
42:11
channel they go down in their life, if they are able to go.
42:15
That feels hard. But actually I've overcome hard
42:19
things before. I just need to learn how, Oh my
42:21
goodness, they could do anything.
42:23
And this is what I've kind of really realised with Mighty this
42:25
past couple of weeks. Talking to them is how much they
42:28
already know this. And I felt so proud of that,
42:31
that the work that I've put in these past years to keep saying
42:34
to them, I know it's hard and I know that the idea of sitting
42:38
down and doing this right now makes you want to run for the
42:40
hills. But I believe in you.
42:43
And I can see that you will figure this out.
42:44
And I will help to give you the tools to get there.
42:46
Like you will figure out how to do this and it will get easier.
42:50
And it's OK. Like it's OK for it to be hard
42:53
because every time something's hard, we're stretching and
42:55
growing and they are developing. And I think the more these
42:58
conversations that happen, the more they start to realise how
43:01
capable they are. And I, and I and I genuinely
43:05
also believe that as long as we're listening to our kids and
43:09
we're respectful of them and we understand that if they're
43:12
really struggling with something that we need to help them figure
43:15
out why and to help scaffold and guide them to make it easier and
43:19
to actually allow them to develop that skill in a kind
43:21
way. Ultimately, I don't ever believe
43:25
that that's going against their best wishes that that there's
43:29
always going to be moments when we're really tough on something
43:31
and we're really like insistent on, we want you to get this
43:34
skill. Like it's really super
43:35
important. I think it's really important.
43:37
And ultimately they may not think so.
43:39
And, and we might be wrong, we might be and like they'll,
43:45
they'll grow up and always enters for it.
43:46
And and that's going to suck. But it's the way it is.
43:48
Like we are worried about what we're worried about.
43:51
They're worried about what they're worried about.
43:53
Sometimes our worries have to overarch theirs a little bit.
43:57
Sometimes there's well back and it's OK.
44:00
And it's balance. And I think it's, it is about
44:02
just having that mutual respect, seeing what it is they want,
44:06
seeing what it is they want to prioritise, making sure we make
44:10
room for that and also asking them to respect us and our
44:14
bigger picture ideas. And, and also some of them just
44:18
said a lot of micro things like just like I just, I've just
44:20
noticed a little gap, just a little teeny weeny gap in like
44:24
for example, fractions was like a really weak thing for us.
44:27
I realised that I've even, I'm terrible with them, to be
44:29
honest. And I was just like, I think we
44:31
haven't done much on this because actually I find it quite
44:34
hard and I haven't necessarily figured out the way to explain
44:37
it to you yet. So should we just try and find
44:39
someone who explains it really well and watch some videos and
44:42
give it a go? Because I feel like I'm letting
44:45
you down a little bit on this one.
44:46
Like we should probably give it a bit of attention.
44:47
Like this is a kind of like a little tiny gap in your maths
44:50
knowledge that we haven't done a lot on.
44:52
And it's fine. Like it was, he was like, yeah,
44:54
OK, like that's fine. Like if you think we haven't
44:57
done much on it, we'll we'll give it a go.
45:00
And so, yeah, it's just a conversation.
45:01
It's just explaining your why, making sure they know what your
45:05
purpose is and that they they can then buy into it and see
45:08
that it's for their benefit. But.
45:10
Yeah, I think you talked about two really good things, like the
45:12
one, the growth mindset, I mean under arching all education,
45:16
that has to be a major thing that I hope all kids walk away
45:20
with. But then the other thing is like
45:22
you will not always have all the answers.
45:24
So like you will have to go to other people who are experts in
45:26
whatever field to learn things and like knowing how to do that
45:31
is a skill in of itself, right. So I mean, I think those are
45:34
huge things. Yeah, it is so important, isn't
45:38
it? That kind of idea of recognising
45:40
that we know stuff, that their daddy knows stuff, that their
45:44
friends who we see at a Co-op knows stuff, that that guy who
45:48
delivers odd newspapers knows stuff.
45:50
Like everybody knows stuff. And yeah, I actually really love
45:54
how curious my kids are and they will chat to random people and
45:57
like the volunteers at museums or they'll chat to the staff in
46:00
a cafe or whatever. And I really encourage them to
46:05
to take opportunities to learn what other people know, even if
46:09
it's just chit chat, right? Even if it's just understanding
46:12
a bit about that person's life or what's going on for them.
46:15
Because ultimately there's so much to know in that.
46:18
There's so much to understand about people's drive and their
46:22
purpose and their reasons for doing things.
46:24
And anyway, I think, yeah, I could talk about this forever,
46:27
but they. I know all over the maps today,
46:29
but I like it. Yeah, no, it's good.
46:31
I mean, it's, it's kind of giving you guys a taste.
46:33
I think for the point of this series is that there's there is
46:38
fear and there is struggle and there is kind of a a should I
46:44
shouldn't I the voices in your head.
46:45
There's other people's opinions, there's books, there's the
46:49
media. Like my goodness, there's just
46:51
so many things that get in our heads.
46:53
And like it's also OK to like be listening to this and being
46:56
like, yeah, no, I don't want to do any of that.
46:59
I kind of, I don't want to schedule and I don't want to
47:01
make my kids do math and I don't want to do this.
47:03
It's like, fine, great. Like if your kids are, but if
47:06
you're happy and they're developing and they're thriving
47:09
and you're happy and you're thriving.
47:10
And like, the point of this, I guess, is to help you to realize
47:13
that it's OK to puzzle through this stuff, to sound bored with
47:16
your friends, to think it through, to try new things, to
47:19
try a new schedule, try a new curriculum, try a new way of
47:22
doing things. Talk to your kids, observe,
47:25
change, tweak as many times in iterations as you need for them
47:30
to feel like they've gotten from their home education journey
47:32
what they need to go on to be successful in whatever capacity
47:36
it is that they're trying to achieve.
47:39
But also for you to feel like this time has been satisfying
47:43
and rewarding and enjoyable and nourishing in its own way for
47:49
you too. Like I, I want to get stuff out
47:52
of this homemade journey too. I've got great relationships,
47:55
amazing days out, connection and fun with my kids.
47:59
I love learning about new stuff with my kids.
48:00
It's fun. Like it's, it's a really
48:03
enjoyable part of my life. And it's.
48:07
Yeah. I think it's about kind of
48:08
recognizing that it is hard, but it shouldn't always feel hard.
48:15
There should be bits of it eventually that start to feel
48:18
aligned and natural and how they should be for you and your
48:22
family. And yeah, and I think this is
48:26
The thing is the whole point of this series is to help you to
48:28
realize that there's reframes in all of this.
48:30
There's other ways of looking at it.
48:32
There's other ways of thinking about it.
48:35
And none of us are doing it wrong.
48:37
We're just in the iteration that we're in right now.
48:41
And that's the truth of it, right?
48:43
Like it's just, it's always evolving.
48:45
Always. And it's, that's half the fun in
48:49
my world. I quite like it.
48:50
But that's just me and my crazy brain, I think just always likes
48:53
to come up with a new way of doing things.
48:55
But anyway, I hope this has been helpful.
48:59
And this is a little intro back into us and our September brain
49:01
chaos. We have got a list ready of
49:06
subjects that we are hoping to try and cover with you over the
49:09
next weeks. So we're just going to kind of
49:13
dive into another topic next week on a different area of home
49:16
Ed and, and what we really feel like is a struggle there and
49:19
have a bit of a reframe with you.
49:20
And hopefully each one will leave you feeling a little bit
49:24
more like actually, OK, you're right, it is pretty good.
49:27
Or I do quite like that about it or whatever.
49:29
Like it's not actually all as bad as it seems.
49:33
And that the tricky bits can often be solved as well.
49:36
Like we can find ways to make them feel less tricky.
49:40
But yeah, we'll see if we can try and help you guys feel a bit
49:42
better about those things as those topics come up.
49:45
But anyway, have a lovely week, guys.
49:48
Welcome back. Thank you for coming back and
49:50
listening and saying, saying hello.
49:53
I know we say it every time, but we need some of your reviews on
49:57
our podcast platforms pretty, pretty please.
50:01
So many of you are engaged and listening now.
50:04
We know we're getting hundreds of downloads, hundreds every
50:07
week. And I really, really, really
50:09
want to hear from some of you and to know what it is you love
50:11
about the podcast. Why do you come back and listen
50:15
again? Why have you ended up binging 20
50:17
episodes? Like we want to know why.
50:19
Like just drop us a little line on Apple podcast, Spotify,
50:23
wherever you listen. Let us know what it is that
50:26
makes you keep coming back. And obviously, that way, other
50:29
people will find us too. For every review, those podcast
50:32
platforms give us a massive boost.
50:33
So thank you those of you who have done that and please
50:37
continue to do so. Otherwise, we'll see you next
50:40
week. You've been listening to the Big
50:46
Home Ed Conversations podcast. Thanks for tuning in.
50:50
Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share with a
50:53
friend. Follow us on Instagram and
50:55
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50:59
Also check out our website at Big Home edpodcast.com.
51:04
Next week we're kicking things off properly with consistency.
51:08
Not the Pinterest perfect color-coded timetable kind, but
51:12
the real stuff. What actually gets in the way of
51:14
showing up for your kids the way you want to day after day, and
51:18
why that's so much harder in Home Ed than anyone warns you
51:21
about. If you've ever started a term
51:24
with a plan and abandoned it by Wednesday, this one's for you.
51:28
See you then and thanks for listening.