The early years: Building good foundations

When I first started home educating simply getting my daughters through those early years of infant school was my first goal. Even if I had to enrol them into a school once they hit the junior school years I knew I wanted to protect their childhood for as long as possible and sending them off to school at four years old just didn’t sit well with me. I wanted to secure for them that ‘quiet growing time’ that educational philosopher Charlotte Mason advocated for, an unhurried childhood where relationships were prioritised, play was paramount and academics put on the back burner.

I’m delighted to say that I was able to secure this time for them and those early years of education were truly such a gift, both for me and for my girls and here we are years later now in the junior school years still learning from home and with no plans of stopping. I’ve seen for myself the blessings and benefits that a home education can bring which is why I was delighted to be able to write about building good foundations in the early years of education for cultivating a love of learning is something I am truly passionate about.

Though my chapter on the early years of education I hope to encourage parents to keep things simple, reassuring them that less really is more and affirming in them the truth that they are and will always be their child’s first and most important of teachers. I hope that parents will also find some practical tips that they can implement in their own homes, which will, in turn, help them to set the foundations for future learning, enabling them to establish a flow to their days and an atmosphere of learning that they truly love.

Jessica Girard is the voice behind The Open Home, an Instagram account about home education and family life on the small island of Guernsey. As a part-time student herself she is passionate about life-long learning and revels in the joy of learning alongside her children and reading all the wonderful children’s books she missed out on as a child. With a background in social work and a heart for foster care, Jessica is passionate about protecting childhood and creating a nurturing home life for the children entrusted to her care. She is married to her childhood sweetheart, David, and together they have three young children, two girls and a boy.