I'm Vanessa (aka Hants Home Ed Mom) and this is my daughter Little Moo. No that's not really her name, it just happens to be the nickname I gave her when I started blogging as HousewivesInc back in 2009. And lets be honest, I don't feel comfortable sharing her real name on the internet!
Anyway, she'll be five in June, and should we have chosen to go the 'typical' route she would have started school last September (2013).
However, long before we had children, my husband & I had discussed and decided that we would home-educate. I believe here in the UK they don't like to use the phrase 'home school'... anyway, I'll probably be calling it both. A rose by any other name, and all that....
There are so many reasons behind our decision not to send her (and our son when he is old enough) to mainstream school. We are not hippies, and we are not anti-establishment - for some reason that's the reputation a lot of parents have for home-schooling their kids.
In an ideal world where money isn't an issue, we believe that private education is the way to go. Small classes, more individual attention, better discipline, better quality teaching, better exam results. Well, we just don't have the £1000+ per month that would entail. Sure, I could choose to go back to work to pay for it, but then I'd be back in a stressful job (I used to be a Bank Manager), and wouldn't get to spend much time with my family. This choice is also about a quality of life that is important to us.
If I teach my kids at home they will have the ultimate private education, and from an educator that really loves them and has their best (and personal) interests at heart.
I hope you'll enjoy following our journey,
Vanessa x
