Home School Set up - What am I missing?

Good day @homeedders hope you have all been well and working hard at building tomorrow's leaders and future generation. Tonight poses a question as well as an update as I'm a little stuck, I'm not a teacher by trade so I worry at times I am damaging my daughter but I got some really really good feed back the other week.

I started a new job so had to seek some occasional care for lil miss on Thursdays as Thursdays I have a pretty big day filled with execs, directors and leaders and unfortunately lil miss loves to get in on my meetings but this one is a little more complex. Mums working not at home and I struggled to get someone to come over.

We opted for occasional care and they slotted her into a kinder class with other kids her age. On the second Thursday I picked her up the teacher stopped me to ask which kinder she was at previously. I informed the teacher that lil miss is home schooled. They were shocked and looked at me as if to say by who? You?

I got some feedback that her speech, communication and problem solving skills were really well developed and she was in fact a head of many of the other kids. Made me feel good.

They asked which school I'd be sending her to next year as I wouldn't want to keep homeschooling as I might not be that skilled at it. I was a little taken a back. They made mention of a local private school that was a little pricey and we're filled to capacity but would most likely take her due to her development being really good.

My wife and I have been discussing it and did think about the school but most likely won't be sending her to the private school. If she's able to learn off me then she would do well everywhere. But we are still in an undecided position if we will continue to home school or jump across to mainstream education. I'm a big believer in mainstream education being a construct that was born of the industrial revolution and only made to condition kids to be "good" workers. This isn't a conspiracy theory this is well documented and researched.

A quick investigation and you will find many scholars and academics writing about it. Which is why the current model of schooling often fails kids. It was developed for a by gone era. The research papers are also used to help push change in education, especially in early education.

With truth be told I never gave home schooling a thought, we were thrust into it due to COVID and I wasn't just going to sit back and let my lil girl miss out on her early years education as I know the importance of it. I did study social work and then onto law so I do know a few things especially around human development. I drew on those skills to set up early education activities and now I'm thinking I was a little too hard on my lil girl if she is advanced beyond the others.

Despite my thoughts and undecided position on the matter I will need to brace for reality and that's that Australia is not going to be vaccinated by the end of the year and with other countries filling orders as priorities, rightly so I think I will be in for another year of home schooling.

Australia is doing really well on the elimination of COVID but with winter approaching, international flights resuming and no vaccines in sight I think an outbreak and further lockdowns are eminent.

So I've started setting up a full blown school in my house, I want this next year to be about reading and writing. I avoided or didn't go too strong into this space as I have struggled with words and their pronunciations. I've learned that the English language is extremely challenging to teach as letters do not sound the way they sound in words when reading and speaking.

Lil Miss wants to learn to read and write, she has told me this and of late has pushed this more with me. I have been reading and pointing to words, saying them and I go through the alphabet. I've also been using smaller words to sound out and pronounce the letters. I am making traction and now she is starting to grasp what words start with that are said. But spelling is extremely difficult. These aren't big words I am starting with Cat, Dog, Bird etc.

But my question to more advanced home schoolers is, what am I missing?

If you could go back and commence home schooling again, what things would you do differently and what things have you learned that are effective and work?

I think I will struggle with the reading and writing aspect, I did at school and even in adult life I still struggle and require the support of spell check and auto correct. English is not a strength of mine and I dont want to make a mistake with Littls Miss.

Lil Bloke will also be coming to age through this stage and I am finding that he is learning things alot more rapid than lil miss, mainly because he has someone to watch and pay attention too. Lil Miss being the first born only had us to watch and as a baby must have been pretty boring. Where is Lil Bloke gets the engagement from his big sister and a constant buddy to talk to.

I put alot of effort into constantly talking to lil miss when she was young but it is hard to keep talking to a baby that doesn't talk back. Whereas lil miss will spend hours talking to her lil brother, playing tea parties and other games. He will just sit there and watch and try to get involved. I'm amazed at how much they pick up. He is only 9 months and I feel I let lil miss down by not doing more.

Lil Miss also goes a little further by trying to teach her brother the skills she has learned which is quite cute to watch.

But I'd be keen on hearing from you all and knowing, what can I do to improve.

Thank you and have a wonderful day/night!