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.

I had an advantage. I had taught Year 1 and 2, so I knew the topics and expectations well. Planning felt familiar, documenting what we did easy, almost like preparing my old classroom lessons, and creating a learning environment. It all looked manageable on paper.

Today was our first day.

Literacy went well. William was engaged, interested, and produced some lovely pieces of work. It felt like a strong start and something we could build on.

Numeracy was a different story. He struggled to stay focused and looked for any distraction. The lesson was no less engaging than literacy, yet he shut down almost immediately. It made me consider smaller teaching sessions as he enjoyed the games and practical activities, although the moment we sat down to work, he froze. It highlighted gaps I assumed he had covered in Year R. Counting to twenty and back was difficult. He looked unsure and worried about what was coming next. We spent a long time revisiting the basics. His written numbers from zero to ten needed support too. Apart from counting to six, he found most of it challenging. I will review this and try to cover more of the foundations tomorrow. It may even be worth considering using ICT games for ways to engage.

Religious Education was next. We talked about the creation story and created a timetable of the seven days in picture form. He was engaged again and happy to explore the ideas.

We spent half an hour playing and experimenting with the recorder. William managed two songs using the note B and another using A. He followed the rhythm well and only struggled when switching between the two notes. For a first attempt, he surpassed my expectations. We will have a full music lesson tomorrow, which we are both looking forward to.

Our final session was the start of a two‑week topic called Healthy Living. We talked about exercise and why we do it. Then we tried different movements and discussed which muscles they helped. James returned from nursery halfway through, and the two boys worked together. It was chaotic, fun, and full of energy.

Overall, the first day went well. Numeracy raised concerns, although the rest of the day showed how capable and enthusiastic William can be. I will try to update each week with what we are learning and how he is getting on.

2026 Reflection

Reading this now feels like looking at the first page of a book I did not know I was writing. This was the start of an eight‑year home schooling journey that shaped our family, my parenting, and eventually my blog. William later received diagnoses that helped us secure his EHCP and move him into a specialist school in 2022. James joined us in home education too, which I never expected at this point. I had no idea that I would become a home schooling blogger, or that our lessons would grow into science experiments, history projects, cooking themes, crafts, field trips, and posts that challenged myths and questions about home education, like the different styles or ways to engage with education. I was still trying to prove myself as a single parent and co‑parent, unaware that my blog would soon explode and lead me into a world of parenting, disability and health, lifestyle, and home ed writing. This carried on for years and became part of my voice despite some bloggers telling me to stop. This post sits right on the hinge where everything began to change. Eight days is all it took. 

You can read Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6,  Part 7, and Part 8 here.

Or, if you would like to read more about our home education journey, please click here.