Looking at the models, there was no safe way to reopen schools in the pandemic, and so we took the per head funding for each student for that academic year and paid it directly to parents on top of their child benefit money.
Projects are a great way to learn in homeschool. For example, a child who loves history can choose their own time or event to study, then talk about the geography of the region, weather patterns, biome and wildlife. The religions of the region and how they were practiced in that era can be discussed. They can then write a fictional story about the characters, make a poem, a song, artwork and/or a dramatic presentation of the event. Facts and figures from the time can be used in mathematics too. This way there is an integrated approach to learning that can be driven by the interests of the child and they have a portfolio of work they can be proud of.
My teenagers wanted to sleep in until noon, and I needed the mornings to get stuff done, so finding the best of both worlds was as simple as going with the flow.
Once a child can read and do the basics, homeschool becomes very different from school. Whereas the classroom teacher is more akin to a bus driver; homeschool is more akin to giving the kids the key to their own car and being there when they ask for directions or help. And beyond that, it's a more relaxed pace of living with a lot more laughs.
When you allow a child to follow their passions, with others in a cheerleader role, they become as rockets who have finally found enough spark to ignite their fuel.
Once the kids had done their creative writing paragraph, all told in every day words, we did dramatic readings of them. That was the beauty of homeschool, all that freedom to have fun.
We did math first thing, always using our fresh brain for the number work. Then we put on the french bread dough, doing five sets of ten minutes exercise videos between pulsing it down in the mixer. Then when we set it to rise we can head out for a play and a walk, to take inspiration from nature for the things we want to write about, draw or ask science questions about. We can back hungry, shaped the bread, put in the oven, and soon we had the best bread in the world, often with a few foraged greens. Homeschool brought us together, and we loved it.
It can take a little time to unschool, to let the restrictions of the institution go and relax into homeschool routines. There is still order in homeschool, still daily tasks and repetition, yet there is more freedom too and the chance to learn how to become a self motivated and independent learner.
Homeschool has better results than private school with none of the stress or regimentation, and any parent can do it, especially with websites such as Descriptionari and all the resources of YouTube, it's a true privilege to spend so much time bonding with your child.
Our children have needed more time to play and be self expressive, homeschool is a perfect opportunity to give them just that.
Homeschooling teens have less self esteem issues or peer pressure, instead they have enough space to develop their own personality and sense of self worth.
Homeschool is great of socialising, real socialising that is, not the fake and trauma-inducing levels of school. Schools are a pressure cooker, home is for family and feeling that you truly belong. Recall that we evolved in small family groups of different ages, helping to care for younger siblings and taking part in daily chores as a cooperative group. They need good adult role models, and to have a few friends of a similar age. That's all the socialising young humans require for good health.