Slowly, please.
Alison denies that the girls miss anything from school. "They meet their friends in the evening and catch up with the latest gossip", she says, "and we organise our own visits to museums and art galleries." This week , they are studying a technology and Alison has arranged a visit to a local company which designs computer games.
The girls are looking forward to the trip. "It should be fun, but educational at the same time," says Jade, 14. "I think we'll learn a lot about how computer games are made." Kim, 13, agrees.
"We do more interesting things than at school. I was in trouble a lot because I was bored by the lessons. Mum works hard to make it interesting. It's not easy , though. We do tests every week and we both work hard so that we can go to the university when we are older," she says.
"We asked ourselves what would make them happy," Alison says. "We decided than higher education was so important so Kim and Jade will take the same exams as the other children."
Kim and Jade's friends have got used to only seeing them in the evening. "I think it's a great idea," says Dylan. "We all missed Jade at first, but I know she really enjoys it. My parents would like to do the same thing, but they haven't got the time."
Kim tell us about the disadvantages. "Mum is so strict!" she complains. "And it's much harder to make an excuse for not doing my homework." Although she admits that she can be a bit strict, Alison believes that home education should be challenging. The important thing for her is that her daughters are educated in an atmosphere of love and understanding.
"School is about passing exams," she says "but education should be about life. I want my daughters to get some qualifications, but it's not the most important thing."
Kim and Jade and the other children who are educated at home are certainly not unhappy. The attention they get from their parents and the time they can spend together is very important to them. It might not suit every parent, or every child, but it's an idea which is becoming more popular. So, how about it? Do you think home education is for you?
I hope that's slow enough.
A couple notes:
In the sentence "We decided than higher education was so important so Kim and Jade will take the same exams as the other children," I changed "than" to "that."
and
Instead of "mum," I say "mom." Of course, being an American, it's rather odd-sounding inserting "mums" throughout my speech.