Home Schooling Part 4: A Tough Week and a Harvest Lesson

Originally written in September 2014 as 'Home Schooling Part 4' — Updated for clarity and reflection in 2026

What do you do when home schooling suddenly feels hard?  

That is the question I found myself asking this week.

This is the fourth instalment in our home schooling journey. If you want to follow the story from the beginning, you can read the earlier posts on the blog here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

This week has been mixed. Some moments were brilliant. Others were difficult.

Home Schooling Part 3: Building Confidence and Community

Originally written in September 2014 as 'Home Schooling Part 3' — updated with clarity and reflection in 2026.

Home schooling is still going really well — I couldn’t be happier.

Here’s what we’ve been doing.

Stereotyping: Seeing Beyond the Label

Originally written in September 2014 as 'Stereotyping' — Updated for clarity and reflection in 2026

Since starting home schooling my son William, I’ve come across the same stereotyping that I’ve faced many times before.

Different Perspective: Why My Life Isn’t Baggage

Originally written in September 2014 as 'Different Perspective' — Updated for clarity and reflection in 2026.

Over the past year, I’ve been told that I have a lot of baggage.

People have listed it as:

- having two children  

- living with my dad, who is seventy‑four  

- seeing my children “too much” for a single dad  

- living with health issues that affect my mobility  

- home schooling my eldest son  

- going to church  

- working part‑time when I can  

I find that strange, because I don’t see any of this as baggage.

Home Schooling Part 2: Finding Our Rhythm in Week Two

Originally written in September 2014 as 'Home Schooling Part 2' — updated with clarity and reflection in 2026.

We are now into week two of home schooling William, so it feels like the right time to share how things are going.

Home Schooling: Our First Day Learning at Home schooling

Originally written as 'Home Schooling" in September 2014 — updated with clarity and reflection 2026

My eldest son, William, had been struggling at school, so his mum and I made the decision to home school him. We live in Rainham, Kent, and there was plenty of support available, which helped ease some of the early nerves. My only real worry was how this would work as a single parent, difficulties that the gender role of parenting may cause, and how I would manage the curriculum on my own.

Breaking Point: Why We All Eventually Crack

Originally written in September 2014 as 'Breaking Point' — Updated for clarity and reflection in 2026

Yesterday evening I went out to water the plants in the greenhouse after being away for the weekend. While watering, I noticed a few tomatoes ready to pick. When I did, every one of them had split. I asked Dad why, and he said it was probably a miscalculated amount of water.

Was it really that simple?

Our First Family Holiday at Butlins: A Single Parent’s Story

Originally written in September 2014 as 'Being Busy; Butlins' — Updated for clarity in 2026 with Reflection.

The boys and I have just come back from a long weekend at Butlins. It was our first proper family holiday together, and it felt like a milestone I never thought we would reach. My dad paid for the trip as a treat for all of us after Mum died. It was two years on, and we were still finding our feet as a family. My brother Nathan and his partner Donna came too, which made it feel like a full family break rather than a quick escape.