Stacey Solomon has revealed she is home schooling her two children – and admits not everyone may agree with her decision.
The Loose Women presenter has revealed that she’s taken her two sons, Zachary, 10, and Leighton, five, out of school, choosing instead to home school them.
Speaking in her new column for The Sun’s Fabulous magazine, the 28-year-old said: “The truth is that they no longer go to school. Last September, the boys and I decided that we were going to try home schooling. This wasn’t a decision we made lightly. It’s one we’ve been pondering over for a few years.”
The I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! winner confirmed that Zachary and Leighton had both been at school from the age of four, and at nursery before then.
But Stacey says that halfway through Year Two, Zachary started to change.
She said Zachary’s personality began to change and he became more introverted and less eager to ask questions.
“Homeschooling has always been at the back of my mind, because whenever I am with the boys and we are out in different environments their senses heighten and their enthusiasm to learn is at its best,” she said.
The X Factor finalist went on to admit it hasn’t been easy, but her mum has helped out, and she has a maths tutor visit once a week.
The boys’ lessons include spending time with Stacey’s sister, a marine biologist, and her brother, who works in technology, as well as learning Mandarin from an online course and visiting museums.
Stacey confirmed she’s following a school curriculum and will leave it up to her boys if they want to go to secondary school when they’re older.
“Yes, it’s controversial and not everyone will agree with me but parents have to make their own decisions,” she said. “No-one should judge them and you shouldn’t feel judged.”
Her 864k followers were supportive of the presenter’s decision. One wrote: “Awww this is exactly what I want to say when I talk about my decision to homeschool my son but can never find the words to explain it all so perfectly. Thank you for sharing this and hope it all goes well x.”
Another added: “Wow, what you’re doing sounds amazing, homeschool me please! 😝.”
A third, from a former teacher, read: “As an ex-teacher, it sounds to me you are giving your children what they need and that is exactly what more parents should do, not just shoving them in school because that’s the norm and easy.”
Read more: Stacey Solomon delights fans with cute family pic of her sons on holiday
Stacey and her boys have recently been on holiday in Gran Canaria, where they clearly enjoyed the sunshine as they sat on a wall by a pool.
The fan favourite, who is dating actor Joe Swash, was making the most of her time off work as a presenter on Loose Women.
Beside a cute picture with her boys, Stacey wrote: “When you just can’t stop staring at them 😍😍 My life… Having the most wonderful time spending quality time with these two.”
She added: “They make me laugh so much and I want to smother them with love every second of the day… and I do much to their dismay 😂😂.”
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