The new Orchard year is nearly here! Orchard Homeschooling returns back to learning on Tuesday 1 September. Over the summer, a great deal has been happening behind the scenes. Lessons have been planned, weekly learning has been prepared and everything is gradually being put into place ready to welcome our families back. For some children, 1 September means returning to a familiar Orchard routine. For others, it will be their very first Orchard week. Either way, there is no ne

Two of the questions parents ask me most often when they are thinking about homeschooling is: “But how am I going to teach them everything?” and How much teaching do we parents really have to do? The answer is — you probably aren’t. Homeschooling does not mean recreating a classroom at the kitchen table, with a parent standing at the front explaining every lesson. Nor does it mean handing a child a pile of worksheets on Monday morning and hoping for the best. There is a much

September is suddenly not very far away, and things are getting busy behind the scenes at Orchard Homeschooling. How are we getting ready for September? We are welcoming new families, getting our existing families ready for the new year and putting together the first weekly learning packs ready for Week 1 on 1 September. There has also been a lot of work going on with the curriculum over the summer. We have been looking carefully at what our children will be learning this yea

Tomorrow marks the final day of the Autumn term. It has been a very long 15 weeks, with Covid and norovirus affecting us in the first half of term, followed by a particularly tough half term that ended with three weeks of flu. This flu has hit our younger home schoolers and their parents especially hard, with some of our families feeling the effects for over 3 weeks. Despite all of this, the resilience and commitment across our community has been remarkable. Over the course o

Week 13 - of our Rethinking School Series Last week, we explored the growing link between mental health challenges and the decision to...

When it comes to learning, not all teaching roles are the same. A school teacher, a tutor, and a homeschool teacher all help you learn and grow, but they do it in very different ways. Understanding those differences can help you see why one hour of work a week is never enough to keep up, especially if you are learning from home. School Teachers vs. Homeschool Teachers A school teacher works with a whole class at once. They follow a set timetable and a curriculum that is made

Ok it look's like we might be having a bit of a Snow Day today! Some of our very youngest homeschoolers haven't seen snow before so I have had some very excited messages already this morning. As homeschoolers that won't both us! Sadly, we wont be getting a day off learning - before you ask! You can either: 1) get your work done early and then go out or 2) if it doesn't look like it will settle go out now and enjoy it and come back in and do you work! Whatever you do - do enj

Welcome back! We’re kicking off the Autumn 2 term with all of us feeling much better than we left Autumn 1 — a fresh start and new energy all round for our half term ahead! This month, our big focus is Design and Technology , and we’ve lined up some brilliant hands-on projects to build skills and spark creativity: Week 9: Woodwork Week 10: Sewing Week 11: Soft metal Week 12: Gingerbread houses (yes — we finish with something delicious and creative!) Honey Bees, KS1 and K

As we head into our final week of Autumn 2, there’s a real sense of optimism in the air! It’s been a challenging half term for many of our homeschooling families, with a wave of norovirus, the 72-hour virus, and COVID making their rounds. But the good news is — we’re definitely on the mend!

There is always a Plan B. Instruction to our homeschoolers whilst we are sick.