Sunshine, Conferences, and Classical Education in the UK

Summer 2026 has been full of surprises so far, with two heatwaves already behind us and more apparently on the way! This sudden scorching weather comes right on the heels of a gloomy spring filled with rain, grey skies, and bizarre days of alternating hail and sunshine. Having lived in the desert and experienced truly extreme temperatures before (sometimes 50degrees C!), I confidently thought our family was more than ready for British summers.

Boy, were we wrong!

The intense heat and unrelenting humidity for days on end with no respite was quite a struggle. Thankfully, we used the flexibility of homeschooling to our advantage and took a week’s break! While that might sound like a grand adventure, in reality, the kids spent most of their time in front of a fan, hosing each other down in the garden, and eating ice lollies and watermelon. Meanwhile, I was completely flat on the sofa with a book, a portable fan, and a cool glass of iced tea with lemon and mint. 😊

Here is a little update on what we’ve been up to lately:

Home Education

It has now been more than a year since we fully transitioned into the Memoria Press curriculum. Since subjects like Latin, Classics, Classical Composition, and Christian Studies are mastery-based, we had a lot of “catching up” to do. Each level must be completed sequentially, building directly upon the previous step. We have spent the last few months working hard and ploughing through the material, and I finally feel like we are in a “comfortable” position.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I am taking it easy! I can already see new challenges looming on the horizon—like Logic and Greek—but it was wonderful to take those initial 12 to 18 months just to familiarise ourselves with this new pedagogical framework and its traditional approach to classical education.

Just to clarify though, this year wasn’t our very first experience with Memoria Press; we have actually used their excellent Latin programme since the beginning of our home education journey. However, it has been incredibly interesting and enlightening to fully immerse ourselves in the entire curriculum. We are now beginning to see the holistic, overarching view of how all the different elements fit so beautifully together.

The UK Memoria Press Facebook group has also been wonderfully active lately. They have been running a series of regular Zoom sessions called “Community Evenings,” with Carrie (the homeschool liaison for MP in the US), Brian Lapsa (the MP representative for Europe), and fellow MP parents.

It was encouraging to listen to the various talks, which covered fascinating topics such as:

• Why do we study Latin and Greek?
• Tips for anglicising the curriculum
• Why study the Greeks and the Romans?

These online sessions have provided a space to connect with other families, learn from each other, and encourage and spur one another on.

Conferences

Education Revolution Conference hosted by Christian Concern in Westminster Chapel, London

Back in April, my husband and I travelled to London to attend the Education Revolution Conference hosted by Christian Concern at Westminster Chapel. It was an incredibly encouraging event for both of us for so many reasons.

It was wonderful to meet other passionate, Christian home educators and hear firsthand about their experiences in the UK—including the unique challenges they face and the steady hope that carries them forward. We also had the privilege of learning about various new ventures by parents to establish local co-ops and schools, as well as the hurdles they have experienced.

Throughout the day, we listened to several inspiring talks such as:

• Steve Beegoo (Head of Education at Christian Concern) and Andrea Williams (Founder and CEO at Christan Concern) spoke powerfully about the amazing work being done to support Christian home education families and communities.
• Brian Lapsa from Memoria Press delivered a brilliant session on the amazing benefits of studying Latin.

We also got to visit many home ed exhibitor stands and learn about some of the fantastic programmes available. In addition, at the event, there was worship music as well, and I specifically remember the last song we sang when the event was coming to a close – “In Christ Alone”. It was a powerful way to end the conference.

We left Westminster Chapel feeling deeply refreshed, encouraged, and completely determined to press on with our own home education journey!

Somerset Conference, Cheddar church

Later on in May, I travelled down to Somerset for another wonderful event: the first ‘Shaping the Next Generation’ home education conference, hosted by the Rooted to Flourish team in the beautiful town of Cheddar. Our whole family travelled to Somerset together, but since it was a mums-only event, they spent the day exploring around the beautiful sights of Cheddar and the caves of Cheddar Gorge!

Once again, the conference turned out to be a beautiful day filled with worship, prayer, and meaningful connections with fellow home-educating mums. The day was packed with helpful breakout sessions, and I chose to attend the ones focusing on Exams and Curriculum planning— both of which were very informative and offered lots of practical insights.

It was such a refreshing time to encourage our hearts, eat plenty of cake, and be encouraged to press on in our home education journey!

You can read a beautiful recap of the day written by one of the organizers, Molly Ashton on her blog, Mothering through the seasons.

That’s it for now. How has your summer been shaping up so far? I would love to hear about your own seasonal rhythms or curriculum updates in the comments below.

Here are a few more pictures of our spring and summer: