Don't panic!

I've found panicking to be very unhelpful in the pursuit of teaching or facilitating early years education.

When I initiated our learning journey, I didn't research or network with experienced home educators. I wanted to experience it without outside influence and carve my own path. Therefore, I made mistakes.

I decided in my unexperienced 'wisdom' to shake up a working formula of teaching....during lockdown. In retrospect, the timing was terrible. We were hardly at our most calmest, safest level-headed selves during that period.

I panicked.

The girls were leaving the safety net of the alphabet and 1-10 and were ready to spread their little wings into hard core reading and writing and the first little addition sums.

I immediately lost my head and fell back into the safety net of the school system. I followed term times and holidays. I spent hours micromanaging curriculums and dividing up the hours of the day. 

There were glorious moments and wonderful memories. It was a complete failure in terms of academic progress. 

This was the year I realised how detrimental it was to strictly follow a school year within home education. The girls were confused by the half terms and summer holidays when learning just disappeared. It took them weeks each time to reset back into a routine and they fought hard against it. I was in teacher mode and they were students. 

Now, I'm not saying this schedule doesn't work for anyone. It is, after all, a common structure that most children accept and thrive on. 

It was a mistake for us as a family. My autistic pre schoolers did not adapt. It was a wake up call for myself to go back to the drawing board and rethink our journey. 

I realised that they were little people with brains and opinions and that they deserved to have a say in their learning journey. I needed to find a way to involve them. Indeed, my eldest didn't start reading successfully until I took her opinion into consideration, and a team was born. 

It works for us to make decisions together and for me to guide their decisions. A child led philosophy was adopted, and they flourished. I include it alongside many teaching philosophies, but ultimately I have structured learning on Mon-Fri, where they have choices along the way. On weekends, it's Dad's lessons, life skills and child led. They can have a day off whenever they need one..however child led naturally dominates. There is learning every day.

This failed year was when I truly discovered what Early years education is meant to be and how the emphasis should be on the child as a whole.

It goes beyond just academic education. It is more about  giving them knowledge in which to navigate and understand their world, and express themselves in different formats.

So when you feel yourself panicking about the larger picture, take a breath and most importantly, keep drawing inspiration from the children who's education you are facilitating. They can help.