Full disclosure: I am not your average teenager, so the title is already misleading and should probably be changed to "A Day in the Life of an atypical Home Educated Teenager". If I'm not sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of tea, crocheting, you will probably find me with my nose deep in a good book.
I am writing this article for the people who have questions about home education. Maybe you are a parent, mulling over the decision about pulling your children out of school and whether or not it is even remotely possible to teach them. You might be a teen who has just left school and does not know where to start or how to adjust to your new life. Or, you might just be curious.
A rigid, monotonous routine just does not work for everyone - it cannot be said that one size fits all when it comes to people and their individual personalities. I know that the constant rush, peer pressure, and barrage of homework became unbelievably overwhelming when I was at school and, because of that, I was not even learning properly or enjoying it.
Now, the times have changed. Our routine is flexible but also packed full of lessons. I know of many fellow home educators who use online classes and a set curriculum to assist them; some learn through living; and others (like myself and my sister) enjoy a bit of both, although the curriculum is our own.
Even though we are not up at the crack of dawn, we like to have a reasonable start in the morning, no matter how hard this may be (teenagers will understand!). After a steaming cup of coffee, and firing on all cylinders, we start the day with maths and French, two of our core subjects. These finished, we crack on with our next lesson and after that, lunch. Unlike school, we don't have a set hour-long lunch break; simply enough time to relax a little and eat. We then sit and read aloud together for about half an hour. This is usually our time to cry over a Dickens or laugh until our sides ache over a P. G. Wodehouse. We choose and complete another subject and then whilst one of us plays the piano, the other reads and does any other jobs/lessons they need to do. Some days we then go on to our dance lessons, otherwise my sister toddles off into her craft shed where she spends a couple of hours before dinner and, as I first said, I will then crochet or read.
It doesn't have to be a great chaos of lessons where no one can quite concentrate. It is plain to see that once the strain and confusion of a regular school classroom and day is removed, an incredible amount of learning and growth in the student can be achieved. Having an adaptable routine allows us to cater to our needs - we can rest when we need to, or we can go out for the day (visiting old, historic houses is a family favourite).
There is no "it's the end of the holidays" dread in the pit of your stomach, or a perpetual worry about having made sure that you have kept on top of all of your homework. You can adjust your day and your way of working so that it best suits you. Everyone studies in their own unique way and educating at home makes this possible.
I suppose what I'm trying to say is that when I was at school, I had to learn. Now, I want to learn.
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