Too much to do for Christmas? If you are always the one who's dashing around getting things ready, cooking the dinner and clearing up after, come and find out how to give yourself a break! We have switched from our normal de-cluttering plans to follow a gentle schedule that should ensure we are ready in time. It was very popular last year, so do come to The Clearing and give it a try if you would like some support.

If you are celebrating an alternative festival in December or January, I hope you will also find these Plans of use.

I'm excited about what I've got planned for you while the rest of us are in the New Forest at the Educationsense Camp. Come to the website, and you will *virtually* be there with us!

You can follow our programme of events all week, and I will include suggestions as to how you can adapt what we are doing with your family at home. There will be a daily newsletter from the Camp, including photographs, you can check the website for virtual Postcards, and your family can even send virtual Telegrams to the attendees!

There will also be a few 'synchronised' activities, with participants joining in all over the world!

Throw a blanket over the dining room table, crawl inside, and join us on the Internet for more Mirth, Magic and Mayhem than you could shake a pointed stick at!

Camping at home is fun!

We came, we saw, we camped... ...And we loved it, so let's do it again!

The Second Educationsense Gathering: 12-18 September 2003
The First Spiritsense Camp: 20-23 September 2003 (no more tickets available)

Please see the Events Page for details.

Unfortunately, the Craftsense festival I had planned for this year is not going to happen, but I hope to reschedule it in 2004. The Educationsense Gathering is going to happen in September, and will be immediately followed by a short Spiritsense camp. Please see the Events Page for more information.

The popularity of Educationsense continues to grow and the website has now received over 41,000 visitors! Until now, the majority of registered users have generally been from the UK, but the balance is about to shift due to the number of international users finding their way via Google and also, it seems, by word of mouth recommendations.

HEClutter is the first of my Educationsense lists to reach a subscription of one hundred people. We are in the process of designing an online diary system and I will shortly be moving all The Clearing users to their new, purpose-built website, Spiritsense.

I'm delighted to tell you that Educationsense has now received over 30,000 visitors! Incredible! Thank you very much for your support. I'll be launching a new website called Spiritsense soon, and it will cover de-cluttering in more detail, along with other personal competences and whatever else I can come up with! I'll put an announcement here when it is online.

This week on Educationsense, we are having a Working Together Week for the purpose of de-cluttering, but specifically geared towards the aftermath of the Christmas holiday. If you would like to join us today, please take a look at the plan for today - we are covering paper-based and virtual clutter (i.e. clearing out our computer hard disks, including all the e-mail!).

No matter how well intended they might be, many gifts can turn into clutter almost immediately.  In preparation for Christmas, the HE Clutter list subscribers have come up with a few 'clutter-free' gift ideas.

As home educators do not receive any financial help towards the costs of educational resources from the government, I have decided to do my bit for the cause by offering products and services to home educators at cost price where possible.

From car stickers to web hosting, I hope there will be something to interest you on my special offers page. Please note that these offers are all made by me on behalf of my companies. If you represent a company and would like to offer a product or service to home educators at a genuinely reduced rate, please contact me and I will add your details to my page.

I am thrilled to note that more than 20,000 people have visited the website since it began on 10 April 2001! The visitor total is calculated according to the number of user sessions logged with the server, and is not to be confused with the total number of 'hits' to the site. Educationsense currently has over 100 visitors per day. Thank you, everyone, for your support. I hope I continue to offer something of interest in the future!

When I attend various camps, I usually have a board outside my yurt to publicise home education. Quite a few people have complimented me on my posters, and so here are a few for you to download and print. Put them up in libraries, parent and toddler groups, village halls, doctors' surgeries, and anywhere else you can think of! If you laminate them, they will last a lot longer, and you can also display them outside.

Unfortunately, I had a different computer when I printed the original posters, and it has since died a death, but I am gradually rebuilding the files and the posters containing images will be available in a while.

Education at the child's pace, part 2: socialisation by Wendy Bance

This new section of the website is meant to give home educated families a virtual stage on which they can perform.

Schooling versus Education: "I never allowed schooling to interfere with my education" by Carolyn Pope. This article relates an urgent matter in Australia - please help if you can.

As you can see, we had a great time at the first Educationsense camp. I plan to hold another Gathering in 2003, this time capping the numbers at 40 families, as this ensures that we keep the feeling of a close community. If you know of a suitable site in the New Forest, please contact me with details. Pictures are still being added to the 2002 Gallery, as other attendees forward their photographs to me for inclusion.

I'm in the process of overhauling the site, and there is a lot to keep track of nowadays. Because of this, I have changed the way this page is laid out and, from now on, I will be dating each news item. Hopefully, the reader will find it more straightforward to follow how individual projects are evolving over time.

Online Merchandise Store

We have come up with home education slogans which we are in the process of printing onto t-shirts, etc. We'll put together an online store capable of accepting credit card transactions. The store will also sell gifts, etc. made by home educators.

Update: Some items are now available via this website, and the online shop will shortly be opening, so please check back soon!

HE-Hub.com

This new site will host a highly sophisticated search engine, geared towards giving home educators the information they want and omitting the links they don't.

The Educationsense Skills Database

This database will be hosted on Educationsense.com, and will connect people with home education queries (e.g. mathematics, science, jewellery making, archery, anything really...) with others who can help with those specific needs.

The 'Trust' Network

An 'opt-in' online database of home educators whose identities have been asserted. This network will complement other services we plan to offer and so it will not be appropriate for everyone to join.

 

Update: This will be launched as part of the "HE E-Cards" system (see below).

HE Cards

I have been asked to look into the possibility of producing a laminated card bearing various details, from confirmation of home education status, to a list of outlets where home educators may obtain a discount. I'll be looking into the feasibility (and desirability) of producing such a card.

 

Update: The cards will be available in the New Year.

HE E-Cards

Similar to the previous card, but an online version with security features built in.

 

Update: The system will be run in conjunction with the 'real world' card system, and will be available on the Educationsense website in the New Year.

Online Signatures

We will be looking into providing electronic signatures for use in the HE community.