Back to Home Ed After Summer: Transitions, New Systems and Too Many Hats

Welcome to season six of The BIG Home Ed Conversations Podcast, where we're digging into the tricky bits of home education. Not the sunshine-and-nature-walks highlight reel, but the real, unglamorous moments that every home educating family knows too well.

After a summer apart, Kelly and Ashley catch up on what's been going on and why September always seems to bring that big "go" energy, the pressure to have new systems, new attitudes and a whole new approach. Ashley shares what it's like to go straight from a holiday in Italy into a new term with no pause, plus the realisation that her eldest is only a few years from needing to think about what comes next. Kelly talks about why transitions can feel like grinding gears for neurodivergent families, and the simple fridge chart and wall calendar that have helped her autistic kids feel settled and accomplished.

Together they explore finding the right time of day for learning, the tricky balance between child-led learning and the bigger picture, why living alongside all the mess of home ed can feel so much heavier than a classroom, and Kelly's "which hat am I wearing?" mantra for staying focused. They also talk about helping kids face that big wall of "this feels too hard", from handwriting struggles to fractions, and why teaching our children how to learn and persevere might be the most important thing of all.

If you've been feeling the pressure this September, this one is a gentle reminder that none of us are doing it wrong. We're just in the iteration we're in right now.

Want to go deeper this season? We're creating When Home Ed Gets Hard, a reflection and journaling companion with questions for every episode of season six, releasing in December. Join the waiting list at https://www.bighomeedpodcast.com/when-home-ed-gets-hard/ to be the first to hear when it's ready and get an early-bird discount.

And if you're navigating ADHD or neurodivergence, whether as a family or for yourself, Kelly offers 1:1 coaching. Find out more at kellyrigg.mykajabi.com.

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