I was always going to homeschool, and may homeschool in the future, but right now one child is in school and the other in preschool. The number one reason is for social interaction. They're interacting with other children not only within school (and in Australia, 2hrs of schooltime is free playtime), but we also have afterschool playdates twice a week, as well as extracurricular martial arts and music; so many opportunities to socialise. The homeschooled children I see (and I host a group weekly) tend to meet other children between one and two times a week, often for a structured activity. (I'm sure it's different in more populated areas of the world.) My daughter's school teacher actively monitors the social interaction of the kids in her class; yesterday she scheduled an extra free play session as she'd noticed a few girls struggling to interact appropriately. She used this time to observe and support more positive interactions within the group. Teamwork is also actively encouraged, across all the subjects. I feel strongly that peer learning both broadens and deepens children's understanding; and often my daughter will come home and tell me something she's learned from the experiences of the other children in her class. Having said that, there's lots of things I don't like about her public school. But I feel there's pros and cons to everything. I am currently planning homeschooling for high school (that is 7-12 here) though; the kind of bullying and online sxual stuff that my nieces have ended up suffering through has been awful, and I am honestly shocked at how little actual knowledge they seem to have - from the times tables to the whereabouts of Brazil.

Wow, interesting. I was pondering the other day whether "true love" meant two people who were naturally easygoing and didn't have a heap of baggage to work through. I can see almost every fight we have is related to a trigger from one of our pasts, even though ostensibly it might be about something random or minor. I truly envy those who have easygoing mentally healthy partners (and are also easygoing and mentally healthy). Very lucky.

Thank you so much for this. It brings me back to my university days where we were taught the one true way to teach reading/maths (direct instruction) with absolutely no balanced discussion of other research or viewpoints. This article explains a lot!

I hate it when people say "sure that's fine" when it isn't! So frustrating. I have no idea what chiggers are. They sound awful. My vent - freaking hopeless certain people I host on a Wed. No other group causes me the stress of these bunch. Let's face it, it's probably two families who are hopeless at controlling their kids while everyone else is lovely. If you cannot stop your children spreading mess all over the place, don't bring them. Or at least offer to clean up afterwards - at least apologise!!!

You don't know what can happen in life, though. I'm a specialist in a field which you'd think would have heaps of jobs - but a big change occurred due to govt rules and so now it's actually very hard to get a job (went for several interviews last year - now I'm going back to uni). I think the main thing to teach your kids is flexibility. Want to be a builder? (lucrative career right now) What happens when they put their back out (my friend's husband, hasn't worked now for years). Anything could change. I say follow your passion, but have a few backup ideas. And I mean a few different ones - because anything can change.

Thanks everyone. I ended up calling one sister (the peacemaker one) and I think it is all sorted out - thank goodness!

Great article - thanks!

Yes, she'd rather just have a simple family meet-up. She's said it; I'm trying to say it again, so some people listen. It's driving me insane!

So, my Mum will be 70. I have asked her a few times. She doesn't want a party. My siblings are convinced that nevertheless, we should have a party. I am finding this very annoying. They want a party so they can tick off obligation - go to party, all done. Easier than actually listening to what she does want!

You might find that small schools are more flexible. My daughter is in our small local school and they have been very flexible with us (she is gifted). We're in Australia, though. They play about 2 hrs out of the 6 that they're there, and do music, art etc so I'm ok with the 9-3 timetable. It goes fast!

Well, there's no point deciding you're going to get married at either 18 or at 38. You can't choose when you're going to meet the right partner. Maybe you never will. So better to focus on the things you can control, like studying, career, travel, hobbies and volunteer work. If you do want kids, at some point you might need to decide whether you'll have them alone. But it's not something to lose sleep over at age 15.

Talk to the hospital social worker, esp about financials. There's this for residential - is Wodonga near you? https://www.mindaustralia.org.au/need-help/mind-services-in-victoria/mind-victoria/residential-services/youth-residential-rehabilitation.html

Congrats! I just put in my last assignment for semester one (other side of the world). Feels good.

Hope you can spend the day with some good friends and cry on their shoulders. We're all thinking of you and yours.

I used to do a lot of meatballs - so I'd get mince, some nights chicken mince, some nights beef or lamb - and then add salad, a sauce, a wrap of some sort. They could eat the bits they liked out of that. So it might be a Greek version, with lamb meatballs, yoghurt sauce, greek salad. Or maybe a chicken, cheese and tomato version.

I think Lori Pickert's guide to introverts is a good one - start your own group, that way it remains within your control. I felt really isolated once I had kids but have ended up starting quite a few different groups, and if you start them yourself, the group can be whatever you want. Decide on what you want, let people know, and the people who are similar to you will come join in.

Yeah . . . project based homeschooling isn't about 'projects' as in school projects (which, when I was a kid, meant sticking things on a piece of cardboard). It can mean anything at all - that the child is interested in. From climbing trees to making a sculpture to exploring molecules. Anyway, the book is worth a read. I started it with my daughter at age 2 and it has informed everything we do - it's about respecting the process of learning, and giving the child space to develop their own interests.

I'd also recommend googling RDI and getting ideas from bloggers - for example Jacob's Journey was a blog which had good ideas. I used to be an RDI consultant and often got great ideas for activities from other people doing RDI. There used to be some good videos on youtube too.

Have you read project-based homeschooling by Lori Pickert? Very useful guide to self-directed learning.

Raised fundamentalist Christian, now happily atheist. Read an interesting description of 'spirituality' in a research study yesterday - having high ideals, and deep ideas. That is me for sure, so you might say secularly spiritual!

Be careful. I had a post like this on a forum and it turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy and the woman lost her tubes. If in doubt, check it out.

We've done the storytelling lessons with my bright 6 year old. I highly recommend them - great not only for writing stories but for analysing films and books. And entertaining!

May as well just copy and paste Farrar's response, because it's mine. Well, except swap up the Outlander bit for Norah Roberts magic series.

I thought we could share some ideas that have working for mixing up boring dinner-times. I made lamb kofte (minced lamb, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, rolled in balls and fried in the frypan), on a bed of baby spinach with fried haloumi and tzatiki sauce. Everyone liked it and it wasn't too difficult. Share something interesting that's worked for you?

I reckon break down the skills and teach them directly. I am hopeless at stuff like that - eg cutting straight - and yet I still like crafting. There are actual tips that normal people seem to have worked out that always bypassed me (I am not a details person). For example - when you're colouring in, colour in the same direction, not several different directions. When you're cutting, turn the paper, not your hand. Your point about not following directions? That's me, too. Took me ages to learn to knit because I just could not follow one direction, then the next, then the next. Till I had to. I would see a finished product and have no idea how to get from point A to point B, and yet not follow directions. Crazy. So, my suggestion would be - training observation to look at details. Breaking things down and teaching each step. Showing how a big project (eg a shield) is made from lots of little steps, each of which has to be done right if the whole thing is going to work. I'd start with things that don't matter to him - things you assign. Then, when it's his project and he wants full ownership of it, he can do it himself.