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RITUALS AND PRACTICES TO CULTIVATE THE LOVE OF MUSIC AT HOME Cultivating Music as a family cultural legacy Growing up, my taste in music was greatly influenced by my parent’s preferences. Motown classics, 70s and 80s disco funk, African hi-life, Zairean/Congolese...

How do you teach, encourage or inspire your children to appreciate or engage with music at home? This question was the subject of my discussion with Afia Bayayi, an ex-secondary school teacher turned full time home educator, on the podcast this week. In the opening...

Reflections from Podcast Episode 4  For most parents, any talk of summer holiday conjures up images of planning that much needed holiday in the sun, organising summer camp activities or catching up on much overdue socials with friends and families. The thought of...

Lent for me, like Advent, is one of those very important events in the Christian calendar that never fully came alive until I began home educating. I’ve always been big on Easter as I am on Christmas. However, the quiet periods leading up to these much-celebrated...

Last Wednesday, I had a rather unusual day. It was the first day of Lent. I had plans of having a quiet and contemplative day, with time for some deep, focused work interspersed with moments for my son and I to observe our various Lenten rituals. What we got instead,...

The word diversity is so loaded these days. To some, it could mean diversity of faith, of gender, of race/culture, geographical boundaries, social class or function. I am pretty sure this is not an exhaustive list. To avoid the weight of this nuanced word, I often...

Podcast Lovers Assemble I have been long term fan of podcasts since 2011. Before that it was talk radio, particularly BBC Radio 4. In fact, it was nostalgia for community through radio 4 programs that pulled me into podcasts once I got my first smart phone. Living in...

Who doesn’t love a good dose of beautiful, kind or soul stirring words? I love them even more when woven together in rhyme and metre echoing thoughts and longings I have never been able to articulate. This is why poetry is such as essential part of our home education.

About this time 2 years ago, I was right where you are now. Nervous and self-doubting as I contemplated the idea of taking my son out of school.
The idea of home education was foreign to me or anyone close I knew. However, as my confident son’s joy and self-esteem began to visibly diminished, I could no longer hide behind mantras of grit and resilience to rationalise my deep fear of losing my social status. I had to pay attention to his mental health and general well being.
2 years on, I still maintain taking the plunge was the bravest thing I’d ever done. I’m a better woman and mother for it. Above all, my son is thriving in every way.