Home Education Matters

We don't always think of play as offering opportunities to learn in the traditional sense but what if it was actually the most powerful tool we had at our disposal, not only creating learning opportunities but making learning simple, fun and easy? This week's guest, Ruth from Play Nest Learning, shares how play based activities can be fun learning tools to build reading, writing and maths skills in the early years.

Ruth Parkinson-K...

Has your teenager just come out of the school system? Starting home education with a teenager is a whole new challenge and in today's episode we interview Dr Naomi Fisher for her top tips for how to navigate those early days, what to expect, what to avoid and what to focus on.

And if you'd like to have a look at Naomi's new book, you can find it here on Amazon: FIND HERE (We're not affiliated in any way - just think it's a cool boo...

Charlotte and I continue our series on parenting styles by looking at practical ways to incorporate connected parenting / authoritative parenting into different challenging situations at home.

With practical advice ranging from meal times and getting ready to leave the house to verbal and physical aggression, our resident child psychologist is here with real life tips to help you handle tricky times and stay connected with your chil...

Join the wonderful Caroline and I as we engage in a fun debate looking at both sides of the AI argument. We discuss the benefits and perils of incorporating AI into your world, as well as the advantages to home educators and whether we should be AI proofing our children's futures.

And if you'd like to see our 'didn't use AI to make it' tutor directory, you can find it here: https://www.homeeducationtutors.com/

With Caroline Mukisa- ...

This week's episode is an edition of our live podcast we put out on youTube and on our FB page.

This little brother of our main podcast is fuelled by fun, naughtiness and laughter (just like all the best little brothers!) and in this episode we're discussing whether home education is a lifestyle choice. We all give our answer in the first two minutes so let us know your yes / no down below!

This podcast is a labour of love, and time...

There are some subjects that can feel a bit out of reach for home educators, often those that involve coursework (NEA). So today we talk to Rose and Paul from Spark Creative who specialise in liaising with exam centres to help home educated children sit some of those hard to reach subjects.

We talk through the different specifications for each exam, what to expect from the coursework element and the many benefits of sitting these ex...

The first in a series of chats with Charlotte where she talks to people with interesting perspectives on school, home education, parenting and more.

Expect free flowing chats and real talk, as Charlotte and her guests set the world to rights!

This podcast is a labour of love, and time and energy and commitment and lots of coffee! It really helps us if you can follow us on our social media channels and comment to let us know if you en...

How do home-educated children build a successful career in the creative arts?

In this week's episode, we're chatting with Helen Kenworthy about the many exciting pathways into creative industries and how families can support young people who dream of turning their creativity into a career. We explore practical ways to get started, build a standout portfolio, gain real-world experience, and develop the skills and confidence needed to...

Join us as we discuss the temptations and pitfalls of focusing on quantified learning with our home educated children. From AQA Unit Awards right up to A levels and beyond, we are a world that honours quantifiable achievement in academics.

But is there more to learning than that and are we, as home educators, uniquely positioned to be at the vanguard of a new approach to education that prioritises experience, understanding and pass...

AI is a thorny topic and no more so than in the lives of our children and their learning. How can we use this new tool in a way that feels responsive and healthy, as well as ethical and sustainable? We discuss this and more with Frederik Bjørnbak from GradeAid, the creator of an AI based maths platform that aims to both harness your child's natural interests and get them off screens ... sound impossible for an AI platform? Find out...

Sometimes home education isn't a choice and it's not filled with happy smiles and perfectly curated craft activities. This week we're talking to Louisa from Believe and Bloom Education who has supported numerous families to navigate the rocky road into a harmonious home education journey when they've had to embark on the journey from chaos and desperation. She shares hope, tips and lots of reassurance for families that are being th...

The new social media ban is causing a bit of a kerfuffle online so we thought we'd discuss it with two of our home ed children. Buckle up for some big opinions and do share yours in a comment wherever you're listening to this or join our live podcast this Friday at 10.30am on all our social media channels (yes, we feel the irony!).

This podcast is a labour of love, and time and energy and commitment and lots of coffee! It really hel...

Join Charlotte and I as we explore the style of parenting known as connective parenting, gentle parenting, attached parenting, authoritative parenting. It's got a ton of names but you might know it best as that lovely sweet spot in parenting where it just goes really well!

Yes, those rarest of rare moments when you feel you're bossing it as a parent, fulfilling all the needs in just the right way and still finding space for persona...

Today's podcast dives down into learning Japanese when you're home educated, from the early steps through immersion right up to GCSE. Kenia guides us through the best ways to learn, what to expect in the exam and even gives us some fun phrases in Japanese to throw into conversation. 行こう!

With Kenia Lopez- Hello!  I am Kenia.  I teach French, Japanese, Spanish and English online! I have been a language teacher for over 20 ...

In this week's episode Emily is joined by Jess Garner who founded Gr0ve, a mentoring service for neurodivergent young people. From diagnosis and self identification to community, belonging and co-regulation, this episode is packed full of tips, insights and advice on navigating the autistic experience as a family.

Jess is late-realised Autistic, ADHD mother to neurodivergent children, and a former secondary school teacher and middle...

Today's episode is discussing the transition from home education to college (16-18) and the challenges, opportunities and social dramas it involves.

If you would like to find out more about Education Brothers (we receive no money for this promotion - we just really like what they do!), check them out here: https://www.educationbrothers.co.uk/

And remember to like, subscribe, leave a comment, join our various and random social media c...

Dave Bradbeer guides us on a fun (yes fun!) ride through the early years and primary maths curriculum. Packed full of practical ways to cover the maths syllabus up to Key Stage 3, this podcast is full of ideas for how to engage your child with maths learning in a way that focuses on engagement, real life understanding and enjoyment.

With Dave Bradbeer - I am a learning coach, working with parents and children to help deliver Ma...

We are joined by Alice Khimasia who talks us through her wonderful, challenging, exciting, liberating unschooling route!

Home educating your children is, as Alice describes, an inherently counter cultural act. Choosing to unschool them is a step even further away from the norm, bringing with it joys and challenges on the way.

It's a beautiful and thoughtful discussion on one woman's experience of unschooling her children.

With Alice K...

It's a topical one this week and so we've dashed out a fun and at times pretty controversial episode on the new bill. It starts out restrained and then descends into unexpected rants. What's the conclusion? It's time to both boss up and settle down.

To settle down: Join the friendly little community we've established! Here is the link to join (did we mention it's free?): https://www.skool.com/home-education-uk-1347/about

To boss up: ...