Home Education Matters

Today I am joined by children's author and educational psychologist Jodie Foster to discuss how to foster and then harness your child's love of writing. It's full of great advice for helping your child to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard!). Whether they're naturally interested in writing or resistant to writing, Jodie has some great tips to get you started in creating a happy, writing environment in your home ed world.

Today I am joined by the fabulous Lainie Liberti, bestselling author of Seen, Heard and Understood, a book which encourages us all to transform our family life. We discuss the idea of partnership parenting and the benefits of meeting your child exactly where they're at and in a way that wholly respects their sovereignty. Lainie answers some of the most common responses and criticisms of this approach, and shares some advice for how to apply this parenting style in everyday situations. Don't worry, it's not that we're doing it wrong, it's that we can maybe do it better. Check it out and don't forget to like, subscribe and rate our podcast if you enjoy it.

Join me for our first episode following the journey of Ash and her son as they embark on home education. Today we discuss deregistering, nervy moments, colour coded planning and even sneak in a quick 'quiz the teacher' round!

The second in our Sharing our Successes mini series is with the amazing Lauren, who was home educated up to 16 in the UK and then went on to do English and Astrophysics at university. The next time you see a post in a FB group asking for 'success stories' from home ed, this might be one to share. And much like our first Successes podcast with Liam, it's clear that home education is the foundation for Lauren's inspirational story. Do check it out and share it around.

I am joined by the wonderful Emma White, home educating parent and founder of Mark My Papers, and we're discussing how to support your child if they choose to apply to a top tier university. We talk about the preparation in advance and the importance of planning your application years in advance, as well as the way to build a firm academic foundation in your home education journey. This is a must listen podcast for any home educating parent aiming to help their child apply to a Russell group / Oxbridge / top level university.

For today's podcast I am joined by experts Jen Shaw, David Oates and Harriet Pattison to discuss how best to support your child to learn to read. We cover the main school approaches to learning to read and its limitations, alongside the other reading options open to home educators (and all parents).From the great Reading War (in the red corner we have phonics, in the blue corner we have whole word learning, in between we have a lot of very befuddled parents!) all the way through to tips on getting started right now supporting your child, this is a fabulous podcast for anyone wanting to help their child feel empowered to pick up a book. If you enjoyed it, do rate our show on your preferred streaming platform and join all our guests on our dedicated FB group just for guests and listeners to the podcast. 

Join Diane as she chats with Keeley, AKA The Farming Mother. It's a really inspirational podcast all about home educating through those tough times, and how nature and animals can bring you and your child something truly remarkable. 

Tara Vassallo, a lecturer in Education specializing in Autism, joins the discussion to demystify autism and highlight its benefits and challenges. They dive into recognizing early signs of autism in children and the crucial role of society in fostering inclusiveness. The conversation also covers the emotional transitions autistic children face, the significance of compassion in education, and the complexities of labeling within home education. Tara emphasizes the importance of nurturing individual strengths and creating supportive environments for growth.

We are excited to have Luke Dadford with us this week talking about Large Language Models, specifically the newly popular ChatGPT software. We discuss the good, the bad, the slightly terrifying and how you can use it to enhance your home education journey. 

Join Diane and Chris as they discuss the wonderful imaginative world of Dungeons and Dragons. From maths to creative thinking, strategy to team work, it's an amazing way to incorporate play into your learning journey. Chris is in our FB group so feel free to pop over and ask him any Dungeon related questions! And follow / subscribe to the podcast to get a notification when we do our follow up podcast with him guiding us through getting started with the game.