So, you’re thinking about home ed, are ya?

So, you’re thinking about home ed, are ya?

I’m going to guess that if you’ve landed here, you’ve already done a bit of Googling.

Possibly quite a lot of Googling.

And now you’ve got seventeen tabs open, somebody on Facebook has told you that you need to “deschool”, you’re trying to work out whether you’re supposed to buy a curriculum, and you’ve somehow ended up reading about Montessori shelves.

Firstly: breathe.

You do not need to have your entire approach to education worked out before you begin. You don’t need to turn your kitchen into a classroom. You don’t need a beautifully organised stationery trolley—although, admittedly, I’m never going to discourage buying stationery.

You just need to start with the child in front of you.

For me, that child is Illy.

Wild Isle has grown out of the way Illy and I learn together: following the things he notices, the books he brings me and the questions that apparently need answering immediately—usually before I’ve finished my coffee.

Sometimes it becomes a whole project. Sometimes we follow an interest for ten minutes and never mention it again. Sometimes I plan something lovely and he is interested in a completely unrelated beetle.

I’m learning to go with the beetle.

The intention behind Wild Isle is to help other families do the same: to begin with their own child, use the real places around them and feel confident following curiosity wherever it happens to lead. I’ll share the resources we create, the things that help us and an honest account of what learning looks like in our actual home—not an impossibly polished version of it.

You can read more about Illy, me and how Wild Isle came about on our About Us page.

What does your child love? What are they always asking about? What makes them come alive? What has made school difficult—or made you wonder whether there might be another way?

I’m not going to pretend home education is always idyllic. Some days, everything seems to click and you feel rather smug about the whole thing. Other days, nobody can find a pencil, the activity you planned lasts four minutes and somebody cries because their toast is wrong.

Sometimes that somebody is you.

But learning doesn’t only count when it looks organised.

It can begin with a walk, a conversation, a library book, a dead beetle, a trip to the beach or an extremely urgent request to build a volcano before breakfast.

You don’t need to know exactly what home education will look like for your family yet.

You’re allowed to find out as you go.

So… what now?

You don’t need to make every decision today.

Have a proper conversation with your child. Write down what is working, what isn’t and what you hope might feel different. Read a little, speak to families who are already home educating and find out what your responsibilities are before making any big changes.

Then close at least sixteen of those seventeen tabs.

If you’d like to keep exploring, you can:

• Read our story and find out more about Illy, me and why I created Wild Isle
• Explore the learning packs for ideas rooted in real Manx places
• Browse the Field Notes for books, resources and honest home-ed ramblings
• Follow us on Facebook for new posts, packs and adventures

You don’t need to recreate school at home.

Start with your child. Start with what interests them. Start small.

And see where it takes you.