We had the app (sort of). We had the desire. But we hit a snag: Claire isn't a qualified teacher, and neither am I. The idea of constructing lesson plans from scratch for English, Maths, and Science felt like climbing Everest in flip-flops.
Outsourcing the "Teacher Voice"
Once again, we turned to the oracle of Facebook Home Ed groups. We quickly realized we didn't have to be the experts. There is a whole universe of online learning providers out there. After running a few options past Ash, we settled on Learn, Laugh, Play.
We set up a "classroom" in the dining room. Claire nervously helped Ash log in to her first live Zoom session. The anxiety in the room was palpable - until we realized the golden rule of online home ed:
- Cameras Off, Mics Muted: Ash didn't have to be "seen." She didn't have to speak unless she wanted to use the chat box. For a child recovering from school trauma, this safety barrier was everything.
She finished the session. She took off her headphones and said, "That wasn't too bad. But I need to lie down to desensitize."
And that was okay. She did the work, and then she listened to her body. We breathed a collective sigh of relief. This could actually work.
The App Evolves: Feedback Loops
Watching Ash navigate this new world gave me fresh ideas for the app. Claire needed to know what Ash had actually done, so I added a simple Register feature to track attendance (just in case the Local Authority ever asked).
But I also wanted to track how Ash felt. So, I coded a simple feedback system. After a lesson, Ash could tap one of three colourful faces to rate the experience.
- Green Smiley: I enjoyed this / I coped well.
- Amber Face: It was okay / neutral.
- Red Sad Face: This was hard / I didn't like it.
The 138,000 Member Realization
As I was diving deeper into these Facebook groups to find resources like Learn, Laugh, Play, I started looking at the numbers properly for the first time.
I saw a local group: 3,000 members.
I saw a UK-wide resource group: 27,000 members.
Then I saw the big one: 138,000 members.
I stopped scrolling. "Wow."
I looked at the little app I was building for my wife and daughter, and then I looked at that number again. There were hundreds of thousands of families out there, all trying to organize this chaotic, beautiful, non-traditional life. And I wondered... Could they use this too?
