It takes a community! 

We home educate our children, two older boys now teenagers with our eldest off to college to study his GCSE's. We also have a toddler at the beginning of her learning journey.

We have always loved the idea of them learning via their own volition.  Following their interests and integrating learning opportunities into everyday experiences and interests. 

We have also found this is not always as easy to do in practice as it is in theory. Especially if it’s all coming from us as parents. 

Simple things like facilitating a discussion between our children to make a shared decision that meets everyone needs - a wonderful opportunity to develop so many essential life skills. Can also take a lot of time patience and not always be easy. 

Over the years we have met many challenges and the biggest one has been finding enough people to enrich our kids life and provide new fresh learn in opportunities. Along with the other biggest challenge which is balancing bei if the parent and person supporting them in their learning. 

Some of challenges we are working through at the moment:

Learning to invite, to request and not to demand…being ok with a no! 
Learning to identify shared values and needs 
To be consistent and able to adapt as they grow and needs change. 
To separate the parenting requests from the learning invitations.  
To offer the time and attention that each child deserves every day and keep offering it.
To sit and be with our children, especially on the tricky days when they can’t engage in activities/ sessions we planned
To plan and issue invitations and be ok when invitations are not taken up or sessions annihilated very quickly. 
To be curious and experimental ourselves when exploring learning with our children. 

We would like to invite you to join us in our home educating journey.  

We are offering a community to share skills, grow and learn together as well as opportunities to drop your kids off and leave them in a place where they will be nurtured and challenged. With people who want to know them and will enjoy they for who they are.  

Firefly is a therapeutic environment

What makes it therapeutic?
- the way the space is held in the sessions 
- the way all adult facilitators interact with the children (waiting for an invitation before speaking!)
- the way invitations are offered to the children and the way the space is set up. 
- respecting play cycles, noticing what stops the play. 
- the resources and activities on offer encourage exploration and curiosity 
- the physical scaffolding we can offer - play in different positions, allowing time to land before others join… 
- modelling Sociocracy (every voice is equal, delegating responsibility, trust, feedback loops, open communication, active listening with talking stick) 
- modelling NVC - becoming better at recognising feelings as a signal to an inner/ met need, becoming confident expressing your needs and noticing others need. Facilitators and learners. 
- prioritising and holding space and time needed to notice and be in touch with your own flow, feelings and needs. This can be through the timing and space we allow for arrival and landing. Nothing when you wish to eat, allowing individuals to notice invitations in their own time and waiting for their invitations. This is all prioritised over anything else. 
-physical scaffolding and support offered by therapists when needed, until not needed. 
- facilitation offered and all staff trained in being able to notice signs of regulation and dis regulation. 
- VERVE supervision offered for all staff and for all children so we can notice and watch as each child blossoms and develops skills at their own pace 
- quiet 1-1 space available when we offer sessions to continue to develop skills that we can then support individuals to integrate into the day (coordination, communication, play, social interaction, stretching…) 
- individualised approach to settling in, to daily routine, to what learning looks like, to how we recognise progress. 
- strong emphasis on everyone knowing they belong and add value to the community. 
- opportunity integrated into the play, invitations and how we speak to learn about NVC- speaking and listening from your heart. Enjoying authentic connections with each other that energise us, enrich an experience, build integrity and honesty in relationships.