Empowering Parents with Home Education: How do you know what your child needs to learn?
- Kelly Hutton
- May 7, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: May 13, 2025
Embarking on the home education journey brings the rewarding challenge of tailoring learning to your child's unique needs. Recognising the multifaceted areas of development is crucial in crafting an effective and nurturing educational experience but what does this look like in practice? These are the focus areas of learning, which when thinking about what enriching experiences to offer your child would be of the most benefit to them from an holistic approach to learning...
🗣️ Communication, Language, and Literacy
Effective communication forms the bedrock of learning. Encouraging your child to express thoughts, listen actively, and engage in conversations enhances their language skills. Activities like storytelling, reading aloud, and discussing daily experiences can significantly boost vocabulary and comprehension.
Research underscores the importance of integrating language development within a rich curriculum. The Rose Report (2006) advocates for systematic phonics instruction, emphasizing that it should be part of a broader language-rich environment, however there is no one-size fits all phonics system which works for every child therefore it is good to focus on learning the terminology of phonics to help support early reading and writing, we have a parent workshop on this coming in the next few months! However in the meantime,
Encourage this through:
Everyday chats
Reading together
Storytelling and role play
Asking open-ended questions
Create a print-rich environment
Let them see you reading and writing
Use phonics games
Write shopping lists, signs, or letters together
Children are more motivated when literacy is purposeful!
➕ Mathematics
Mathematical understanding extends beyond numbers; it encompasses problem-solving, reasoning, and recognizing patterns. Incorporate math into daily life through cooking measurements, budgeting exercises, or nature-based counting games.
Programs like "Maths for Einstein's Universe" demonstrate that introducing complex concepts, such as powers of ten, through engaging activities can enhance mathematical thinking in primary-aged children (Lonshakova et al., 2023). Again, this is a parent workshop that we will be introducing in the next 2 months!
In the meantime, these things can help support mathematical learning:
Count toys or steps
Use cooking to explore measurement
Sort by size, shape, or colour
Explore patterns in nature and identify number patterns that occur (such as the way houses are often set in an even side and odd side.. or that they go up in 2s!)
🌍 Understanding the World
Fostering curiosity about the world helps children make sense of their environment. Explore natural sciences through outdoor observations, discuss historical events, or examine cultural traditions to broaden their perspectives.
The Forest School approach emphasizes experiential learning in natural settings, promoting independence and environmental awareness (O'Brien & Murray, 2006), but you don't need to attend Forest School if they are not available in your area. You can explore the local park, canal or meadows, collect flowers to identify, go cloud watching, use every day opportunities to discuss and elaborate on the reasoning behind and the workings of our wonderful world!
You can also:
Nature walks and growing plants
Cooking and cultural traditions
Maps, weather, animals
Safe use of digital tools
Use your child’s curiosity as a starting point. The more connected learning is to real life, the more memorable it becomes.
😊 Personal, Social, and Emotional Development
Developing self-awareness, empathy, and social skills is integral to a child's growth. Encourage cooperative play, discuss emotions openly, and model respectful interactions to nurture these competencies.
Personal, Social, Health, and Economic (PSHE) education in the UK curriculum highlights the significance of these skills, preparing students for life beyond academics (PSHE Association, 2020). Allow children to take calculated risks - talk to them about what the risk is and how they can think about it carefully. Allow them to test their social and physical environments so that they build confidence and self-esteem, learn to manage their feelings and form healthy relationships.
🏃♀️ Physical Development and Independence
Physical activity and self-care skills are vital for overall development. Activities like dressing independently, preparing simple meals, or engaging in sports enhance motor skills and confidence. Integrating physical tasks into daily routines supports holistic growth and fosters a sense of responsibility.
Incorporate it through:
Outdoor play
Helping with chores
Preparing snacks
Dressing for the day
These tasks support brain development and emotional maturity—and can be easily included in daily routines.
Final Thoughts
Understanding and supporting your child's learning across these domains creates a balanced and enriching home education experience. By integrating communication, literacy, mathematics, world understanding, personal development, and physical skills into everyday activities, you provide a comprehensive foundation for lifelong learning.
If you need support to help you document how you provide this amazing experience of learning for your child, or you just want someone to help you understand how to document it for your meeting with the Local Authority, then included in our online plan is a 1-1 consultation that can take place at a time convenient for you. Done online and repeated every 3 months, these friendly, relaxed conversations help keep you up to date and feeling confident in the learning experiences you provide for your child. More information included in the link below.
References:
Rose, J. (2006). Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading. Department for Education and Skills.
Lonshakova, A., Blair, D. G., & Treagust, D. F. (2023). Powers of the Universe: Empowering primary school students with the powers of ten notation.
O'Brien, L., & Murray, R. (2006). A marvellous opportunity for children to learn: A participatory evaluation of Forest School in England and Wales. Forest Research.
PSHE Association. (2020). Programme of Study for PSHE Education.
Department for Education (2021) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage
Development Matters (2020), DfE
NCETM (2020) Early Years Maths Guidance
Bruce, T. (2011) Early Childhood Education
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