Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I’m sharing my review of Nadia Sawalha and Mark Adderley’s Honey, I Home-schooled the Kids.
Honey, I Home-schooled the Kids was published in September 2020 by Coronet Books and is 224 pages long.
What It’s About
The book explores a couple’s decision to home-educate their two daughters and all the ups and downs and pros and cons it entailed.
Writing Style
The book is structured chronologically, with the authors sharing their experiences and insights on their journey into home-schooling their children.
Nadia Sawalha, an accomplished television presenter, and her partner Mark Adderley, a documentary filmmaker (now presenters of their own YouTube channel), address the challenges and joys of their approach to education with honesty, humour, and pages full of practical advice.
The book showcases how home-schooling can be customised to match the interests and passions of each child, with the authors emphasising how this method of education empowers children to achieve their full potential, learn at their own pace, and develop life skills crucial for their future success.
Throughout, Nadia and Mark offer anecdotes of their personal school journeys and reflect on the lessons they learned through the home-schooling process, allowing readers to connect with them on a more profound level and gain invaluable insights into the educational advantages of their chosen route, including the benefits of one-on-one learning, flexible schedules, and tailored curriculums.
The authors are frank and enthusiastic about their alternative approach to education; they describe how they arrived at their decision to home-educate and the challenges they faced in devising a curriculum while balancing work and family responsibilities.
The book is well-written, with Sawalha and Adderley offering a conversational tone that is easy to read. Moreover, the personal anecdotes and stories add a personal touch that brings the book to life, making it engaging and entertaining.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this book, and it changed how I thought about schooling. I used to believe you could only gain a ‘proper’ education by attending a ‘regular’ school, but I have learned that’s not true.
I must say, I totally envy those who home-school through choice and planning. I don’t think I could have. During the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns in the UK, my husband and I had no choice but to home-school our nephew, and let me tell you, it was hard.
The hardest part was trying to adhere to any semblance of structure, especially when all my nephew’s friends seemed to be skipping school work in favour of video games.
Nevertheless, we persevered and just about managed to pull ourselves through. I wish I had read the book back then because I don’t think we would have put so much pressure on ourselves, and I’m positive it would have calmed our anxieties that we were getting it all wrong.
I was convinced our nephew’s intelligence level would be zero by the end of it because of how terrible we were at home-schooling. However, as it turned out – in case you were wondering – his intelligence level is just fine.
I think, as well as providing their experiences with home-schooling, Nadia and Mark will prove to readers that there is more than one option regarding a child’s learning experiences and that just because traditional schooling is the norm, it doesn’t mean it’s for everyone.
I am giving Honey, I Home-schooled the Kids a 7/10.
Have you read the book? Are you a homeschooler? What are your thoughts?
As ever, thanks for stopping by to read my review. It means a lot.
Until next time,
George
© 2024 GLT
Categories: Book Reviews, Reading
GEORGE L THOMAS 
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