January in the UK is a test of endurance. It is grey, wet, and relentlessly dark. In our previous life, this was "Peak Meltdown Season" - the time of year when the cumulative exhaustion of school would leave Ash silent, pale, and constantly on the verge of tears.
The Classroom in the Kitchen
This Tuesday, however, was different. I was working in the office when I heard a noise I hadn't associated with education in a long time: Excited shouting.
Ash came bounding out of the dining room (her makeshift classroom), clutching a notepad. She had just finished her online Psychology session from the Two Pound Tuition Hub.
"Dad, you have to see this. It makes so much sense!"
Metacognition in Action
We spent the next twenty minutes standing by the fridge while my 12-year-old daughter gave me a lecture on the Amygdala and the "Fight, Flight, or Freeze" response. But she wasn't just reciting facts for a test; she was decoding her own history.
- The "Freeze" Response: She explained that when she used to sit silently in French class, unable to speak, she wasn't being "difficult." Her brain had literally frozen to protect her.
- The Cortisol Spike: She drew a jagged line showing how her stress hormones spiked before each lesson finished, knowing a hallway scrum of noise and shoving was imminent.
More Than Just Grades
I stood there, listening to her articulate her own trauma with the clinical detachment of a professor, and I felt a lump in my throat. This is the power of the "Eclectic Curriculum."
If she were in school right now, she would be forcing herself to memorize the rivers of Europe or the dates of the Tudors. Useful, sure. But is it as useful as understanding why your brain reacts the way it does?
The Return of the Spark
After her lecture, she went off to the kitchen to start her newly formed Baking session (making brownies). I heard her and Claire laughing.
It’s January. It’s raining. But inside this house, the fog is lifting. We aren't just "home educating" to get GCSEs anymore; we are watching a child put herself back together, one psychology lesson at a time.
