DATE: SUNDAY 21ST JUNE 2026
ISSUE: 9 THE MYTH OF “BEING BEHIND”
Hello everyone,
When I first started school, I was put in the remedial reading group. I was one of the children who hadn’t “got it” yet, and I remember being mocked for this and feeling ashamed. My mum was really worried. There was this fear that I was somehow already behind at the age of 5!
But now, looking back, it is easy to see that I hadn’t learnt to read because I wasn’t ready to read. Six months later I was ready, and reading very soon became one of my favourite hobbies. When I was 11 I remember lying in bed and suddenly out of the blue, I understood number bonds. Maths wasn’t ever something I loved, like reading, but I distinctly remember not understanding the concept of number bonds at school over and over again and then suddenly one night in bed my brain was ready, or something finally clicked, and what had been impossible, was suddenly something I just “got”. I was lying there in the darkness and the penny just dropped! I wonder if you can remember suddenly understanding something as a child or seeing your child suddenly understand something? It is hard to put those moments on a fixed timeline!
In the school system, there is so much fear and dare I say it, unhealthy competition between parents about children being “ahead” or “behind”. I know for me when I started home educating my daughter, I was hugely relieved that I didn’t have to listen to that school gate competitiveness any more!
Of course progress is important and it is helpful to know where our children are at, so that we can help them to learn. But in my experience focusing on making the learning experience positive is much more helpful than fixating on National Curriculum levels or how our child compares to other children. Because when children are given the opportunity to learn in a way that feels right for them, then learning becomes inevitable instead of a struggle. And the truth is, that EVERY child will be better at some things than others, even if they would be considered “behind” by school standards. I honestly think that the concept of “behind” is outdated and unhealthy!
So this week’s newsletter is a little exploration into how we can protect our children’s learning experience so that they feel like the awesome learners that they are, wherever they are on their journey.
Lisa x
CLASSES
In case you are not aware, our class age ranges are there so that you can understand the level that the children are working at in the group. They have always been guidelines and we have always asked parents to make the right decision for their child and book the class that feels right for their child. Children thrive when the learning feels comfortable – not too hard and not too easy. Learning at the level that is right for them builds their confidence, which feeds progress. It is very difficult to learn if you haven’t understood the concepts that came before the ones you are learning. The only one thing we ask is that you be mindful that the topics discussed in a class will be in line with the age range though, when making your decision. It is worth remembering that home education gives you the freedom for your child to learn at the right level for them and not be boxed into the “correct” year and suffer the consequences.
Bonjour!
This week we thought we would share the wonderful world of LLP French with the amazing Jen!
Beginners French Year 2 – 5 to 11
Monday 12pm
These lessons and very fun and interactive, you will have lots of opportunities to chat and practise your French speaking skills, if you would like to. We will be learning all this through lots of songs, games and role-play with our friends.
Intermediate French Y2 – 11 – 14
Tuesday 2pm
The classes provide the essential French knowledge in the 4 language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. They are an excellent preparation to pursue French at a higher level with the IGCSE French classes.
GCSE (AQA) French Year 1
Wednesday 2pm
Welcome to French GCSE Year 1- This two-year course will help you prepare for the new specification AQA French GCSE. The Y1 course is aimed at students going into KS4, who already have some knowledge of French, and is ideal for students who will complete our French Intermediate Year 2 course this Summer.
THE RESEARCH TO CONFIRM
Sometimes research can help to reassure us and when it comes to how people learn, the research strongly supports home educating.
Two psychologists, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, have been studying what actually motivates people to learn since the 1980s. Their work is called Self-Determination Theory, and it is one of the most cited pieces of research in the entire history of psychology, drawn on by universities, doctors and educators all over the world.
What their research shows is that children learn best, and feel best, when three things are in place.
A sense of choice in what they are doing.
A feeling of being capable.
A feeling of being connected to the people around them.
When children have those three things in place, their motivation comes from the inside and they learn how to learn.
Their research also shows that the more controlling and outcome-driven a learning environment becomes, the more it wears away the very motivation it is trying to create. Which may explain a great deal about how some of our children felt if they were unhappy in a school setting before home educating.
So when you let your child choose, follow what interests them, and go at their own pace, you are doing the thing the evidence has pointed to for decades.
EVERYONE CAN WIN A CERTIFICATE OR PINWIN BADGE & BOOKS
PINWINS FREE SUMMER CHALLENGE
If you are looking for some child led fun learning for your child to take part in over the summer, you might want to take a look at the PinWins Summer Quest. It is a completely free child-led learning adventure where your child can choose activities from a board of 25 little challenges and dip into a new challenge whenever they want to. Things like learning something amazing and teaching it to someone else, going on a fact-finding mission, using food as part of a PinWin activity, or simply having so much fun they lose track of time.
There is a colour version and a black and white print friendly version of the challenge sheet available from the PinWins website. All you need to do is print off a copy and let your child choose their first activity. They can start early if they want to – but the deadline for submissions is 1st September! Full details are on the page.
Choice led learning is at the heart of PinWins and the summer is a great time to give them a try. There is no pressure and no right order.
Children complete any row, column or diagonal to earn a Summer Certificate, or fill the whole board for any free PinWin of their choice, including the badge, the books and postage of the badge!
A MESSAGE
FROM LOLLIPOP
Hello everyone, it’s me, Lollipop!
When I was a baby bear, I could not use a spoon to save my life. More food went on my head than in my mouth, and my ears were always full of porridge!
But nobody worried, and nobody said I was behind. They knew I would get the hang of it when I was ready. And one day, I did!
So if there’s something you can’t do yet, don’t worry one bit. “Yet” is my favourite word. Practise saying “I can’t do it YET!”
Love, Lollipop 🐾
WE NEED YOU!
We are looking for a small group of LLP parents to become our very first ambassadors.
Here is how it will work. You will show a little of your family’s LLP life once a week on your social media, in your own words and your own way, and/or post into Facebook groups or other relevant platforms. In return, you will receive an ongoing free place in any new class of your choice, and completely free annual community membership for the duration of your time as an ambassador!
You will also become part of our ambassador |Instagram group, a place to chat with the other ambassadors, share ideas, and be a real part of the LLP team.
There are just two things we ask. The first is that you are properly part of LLP, attending at least five regular weekly classes, because the ambassadors we are looking for are the ones who have made LLP part of their weekly rhythm and really feel the benefit of it. The second is that you have an active social media account. It does not need to be huge, it just needs to be an account where other parents interact with you.
If you would like to be considered, drop us an email at [email protected].
WEEKLY WELLBEING
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU COULDN’T SPELL CAT?
Ask everyone in your family this question:
“What is something you can do now that you found really hard when you were little that is now super easy?”
Let everyone have a go, you included. Tying shoelaces, riding a bike, spelling the word “cat”, swimming a width. Things that once felt impossible and are now just ordinary. Most children will find it laughable that they couldn’t spell CAT – and there is an important message in there. Things that are difficult don’t stay difficult forever!
AN EXTRA CHALLENGE FOR PARENTS!
If you struggle with the “Is my child behind?” worry, you might want to pay attention to it this week! Feeling that your child is behind isn’t just an academic thing – it is about comparing children academically, socially, emotionally or even in terms of their talents (gymnastics, sports, drama etc) so this is a challenge that can be helpful for all of us.
It can be extremely triggering if someone questions your choice to home educate, or makes a competitive style comment about their child (or even just wants to share how proud they are of their child!) or seeing what looks like the perfect home educating family on social media. Why not give yourself the challenge of noticing it for what it is without letting it derail you. Allow yourself to remember that your child is learning in the best possible way for them (which is not the same as being the perfect home ed parent!) and that learning will happen when they are ready and not when anyone else expects them or demands them to be ready. I know it is easier said than done, but I honestly believe that the more comfortable we feel with where our children are at, the more comfortable they will feel.