A mum who took her son out of mainstream education to 'de-school' him after training to be a teacher herself has said she wants him to be free to choose his own activities.
Bethany Bishop, 29, took her six-year-old son out of school in May this year after training to be a teacher and realising she could spent the time teaching her own child rather than everyone else's.
The mum-of-two also hopes to homeschool her four-year-old son when he's old enough, and said that letting her children learn at their own pace has had a positive impact on their development - as she even lets them have lie-ins whenever they want or spend hours playing with Lego.
Bethany, from Hexham, Northumberland, said: "My eldest son was in year one and we decided to take him out of mainstream school after researching about homeschooling.
"Through that transitional period, we did some research and came across the term 'de-schooling' which we never heard of. It's the idea that every year the child is in mainstream school you give them a month to de-school.
"I applied to be a teacher last year and I got accepted but I thought I will be going out and teaching other children when I can teach my own children. I wanted to spend more time with my children."
The mum and her husband had always thought about homeschooling their kids but hadn't felt ready until they noticed that their son was struggling with certain aspects of school life, such as writing and keeping up with his homework.
And Bethany insisted she's had a "really positive experience" with her son's school after taking him out of mainstream education, as his teacher was "very supportive" of their decision to homeschool.
For her son, the only thing he misses is seeing his friends at school, but Bethany makes sure he keeps in touch with them outside of school hours so he doesn't feel lonely.
She added: "I talked to him about the fact we were doing this. We put forward the idea to him and we asked what he thought. The one thing he said was that he would miss his friends but we have kept him in contact with them and joined other home educators in the area.
"He has found a lot of freedom in that he is going to play with Lego for hours on end, then I am going to read books - he is such a bookworm."
In the UK, there is no curriculum for home educators and no requirement for children to sit exams, but many home educators do choose to follow the national curriculum.
For Bethany, she's allowing her son to learn in a hands-on way by taking him out into nature and showing him how to identify different butterflies and teaching him how waves are formed.
Currently, the day-to-day curriculum is dictated by her son, and often sees them enjoy a "slow morning" before choosing what to do in the afternoon.
"He doesn't tend to be a morning person but for the most part, he wakes up around 8:30. It is a slow morning but it builds the day," Bethany explained, "Then he decides from there, perhaps, that today he wants to do some baking.
"We might go to the library in the afternoon or go to the park. There are some local home education meet up that we might go to or we might head down to the river or the beach. He does a lot of Lego and K'Nex. They are a great form of learning which we don't really think about."
The mum plans to homeschool both her children until they turn 18, but has insisted she wouldn't be opposed to putting her sons back into mainstream school if they told her that's what they wanted.
She said: "This is something I hope to continue but I am not opposed to my child saying he wants to go to school. I am hoping to be more child-led in how they learn.
"In terms of how children learn, I am a product of the school system, I have a degree and from my point of view, de-schooling can be harder for the parents than children. There is such a preconceived notion of how children should be learning and what they should be doing.
"For de-schooling my child is loving it but I am constantly second guessing myself about what they should be doing - it has been very emotional."
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