Home Ed Matters Podcast

Season 12 - Episode 16

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 12:49:00 +0000

This time round we're sharing the various activities we've been up to over the Easter holidays including a visit to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, Cadbury World, cloud-watching at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, seeing the Magic Faraway Tree at the cinema, an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet and making Warhammer's miniature of the month. Plus Eden and Mirabelle give the lowdown on their dress rehearsals for their upcoming shows, and Asher's doing an audit.

Season 12 - Episode 15

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

In this episode we are discussing our cute new chicks along with the various breeds of chickens we've had over the years. Mirabelle's sharing about the Oceans film she went to see as part of her ecology study, and the books she's reading on her WW2 topic. Meanwhile Asher's sharing about what he's learnt on Minecraft recently, and Eden is talking about how best to peak with her revision before GCSEs. Plus we're all sharing recommendations and what we're looking forward to over Easter.

Season 12 - Episode 14

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 14:04:00 +0000

This time round Mirabelle is enthusing about her visit to Crufts, studying tadpoles and spotting some interesting birds in the garden, as well as sharing some of the books she's studying. Asher and Luke have a fun trip to London. Eden's making progress with revision, reaching a volunteering milestone at parkrun and getting creative painting Warhammer miniatures.

Season 12 - Episode 13

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 17:33:00 +0000

It's a theatrical episode this time, with Mirabelle sharing about her trip to see Percy Jackson at the Hippodrome, and Eden talking about a play about the musical battle between Blur and Oasis. Plus Mirabelle's discussing the book and film of War Horse, her new ecology topic around biomes, and what we did to celebrate Pokemon Day! Finally Asher and Eden are (tiredly) discussing a busy weekend away with their youth group.

Season 12 - Episode 12

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 15:08:00 +0000

This time round Eden's giving the lowdown on her recent mocks, Asher's talking about finishing his PSHE course and shares some big news about his next steps. Mirabelle's talking about some recent books she's finished. Plus we're talking about seeing the Hunger Games show, Eden and Asher are talking about their time in the production team for an event, we're enthusing about a trip to our local games cafe, and we've got some book and game recommendations to share!

Season 12 - Episode 11

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 11:27:00 +0000

In this episode Mirabelle is talking more about her space topic, including making an asteroid belt, doing a tasty experiment about moon phases and learning about crater formation. Asher's discussing a recent mental health module he's just completed for a PSHE course, and Eden's talking about her latest role as assistant run director at junior parkrun.

Season 12 - Episode 10

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 14:29:00 +0000

This episode Mirabelle is talking all about the planets, including experiments she's been doing about their spacing, orbit and rotation. We've found some really interesting animal prints in the snow in our garden, Asher's talking about his new art group, and we're making some recommendations for excellent games, books and shows!

Season 12 - Episode 9

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 13:47:00 +0000

Happy New Year! In this episode we're sharing our best moments and presents from Christmas and New Year including our annual board games marathon on New Year's Eve. Plus we're looking back over 2025 and looking forward to 2026.

Season 12 - Episode 8

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 14:34:00 +0000

We're feeling very Christmassy this episode! We're featuring our #gifted trip to Silverstone's Lap of Lights, talking about some of our Christmas traditions (and how we're including our dogs and chickens this year), deciding on our favourite Christmas films, talking about books (as usual) and more..!

Season 12 - Episode 7

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 07 Dec 2025 17:54:00 +0000

It's December! This time we're enthusing about our trip to MCM ComicCon in Birmingham, Mirabelle's talking about her universe topic and the lifecycles of stars. Asher's discussing his recent exercise module and how it's impacted his times at Junior Parkrun, and Eden's discussing mock exams and past papers. Plus we're thinking ahead to what we're looking forward to over the Christmas period.

Links we mention include Everstromn hobbies, Dice and Destiny, Shelby on Safari and the Mad Hatter.

Season 12 - Episode 6

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 16:15:00 +0000

This time round Asher is talking about his latest PHSE course module, and helping change a car battery. Mirabelle is talking about the gases in the air around us and the story of flight. Eden's excited about her next steps for A-levels, and we're all talking about Stir Up Sunday, a film festival, and our latest family read aloud. Plus we're reviewing two games from Button Shy Games: Tussie Mussie and Dionysia.

Season 12 - Episode 5

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 14:26:00 +0000

It's our 200th episode! To celebrate we've got a bumper edition with highlights from our recent cruise around northern Europe and visits to Hamburg, Rotterdam, Brugge and Honfleur. Plus we're reviewing two fantastic games we were given by the nice team at Gamely games after they answered our questions for our boardgames focused last episode: Clues in Twos and The Pretender.

In case you want to listen to any of our 199 previous episodes from the last decade they are all available to listen to directly on our website www.homeedmatters.co.uk

Season 12 - Episode 4

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:59:00 +0000

Boardgames special! Like many home ed families we're huge boardgames fans and as we start to think about skills and subjects for future success we reached out to a number of boardgames designers and producers with some questions on the topic. In this episode we're discussing the thoughtful and insightful answers we got from a range of fab companies - questions around the skills that make a good games designer, the kinds of subjects they studied, what games inspired them, what games they're proud of and why are game boards often square or rectangular!

Huge thanks to the contributions we received from Gamely, Dranda Games, Professor Puzzle, Helvetiq, Catch Up Games, Button Shy and Off the Page Games. We'll be featuring some of the games from these companies in future episodes and on our website, so watch this space!

Season 12 - Episode 3

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:40:00 +0000

This time round Asher is discussing natural disasters from his Environmental Management course and Mirabelle is discussing cholera and famine in the Victorian era. More positively Mirabelle is doing tasty experiments studying genes and dna, and Eden is auditioning for roles in a forthcoming play. Plus the kids are enthusing about a climbing trip and making recommendations of books, games, films and shows they're currently enjoying!

Season 12 - Episode 2

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 18:37:00 +0000

In this episode we're discussing book adaptations, visiting Birmingham Botanical Gardens and the Back to Backs. Plus Asher is talking about the board game design course he's doing, Mirabelle's talking about some books she's working through in her Victorians topic, and Eden's reflecting on two weeks back at college and various groups. Plus the kids are making recommendations again at the end of the show.

Season 12 - Episode 1

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 13:20:00 +0000

We're back with a new season as we start our 12th year of Home Education! As Eden goes into Year 11, Asher into Year 9 and Mirabelle into Year 5 we share some of the topics and approaches we're using this year. We're also sharing about what we're looking forward to this term, plus recommendations from the kids on things they are enjoying at the moment!

Season 11 - Episode 20

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 03 Aug 2025 18:16:00 +0000

In this episode we're camping in the Lake District and attending the 150th Keswick Convention, plus making a quick trip to Scotland! Plus we're excited about our three new chickens, and staying busy over the summer.

Season 11 - Episode 19

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sat, 19 Jul 2025 19:00:00 +0000

We're enjoying our summer holidays, but Eden and Asher are pushing on with some of their GCSE studies regardless. Mirabelle's sharing about the paw print badge projects we're doing, we share about a fun trip to Southport and Blackpool, and we look ahead to a trip to the Lake District.

Season 11 - Episode 18

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 22 Jun 2025 17:00:00 +0000

We've finished another academic year! Eden's discussing how her last GCSE exam (this year) went and what she's studying over the summer. Mirabelle gives an update on her summer reading challenge, and we head for a wonderful break in Devon including a (windy) recording on the amazing Lundy Island!

Season 11 - Episode 17

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 17:28:00 +0000

As we're approaching the end of our academic year, Mirabelle and Asher are sharing some of the year-long book studies they've recently finished. Plus we're visiting a farm for Open Farm day to tie into our Environmental Management studies, and looking ahead to an exciting holiday to north Devon.

Season 11 - Episode 16

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Mon, 26 May 2025 11:44:00 +0000

This time round Mirabelle has been out birdwatching, and we have visitors to our nest box. Asher is sharing about the Explore Arts Award he has recently achieved. Eden is reflecting on her latest exam and discussing new subjects she's starting, and both Eden and Asher are sharing the volume of toast and weetabix they get through (as part of a balanced diet!).

Season 11 - Episode 15

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 11 May 2025 14:14:00 +0000

In this episode we're enthusing about our trip to the Tower of London. Plus Eden's looking ahead to A-level options and planning on starting a new religious studies course over the summer. Asher is talking about his Arts Award progress plus his current greenhouse duties, and Mirabelle is sharing about a recent book and her study of a mango!

Season 11: Episode 14

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sat, 03 May 2025 07:05:00 +0000

This time round we're reflecting on a fun trip to Liverpool and our Easter highlights. Eden's comparing exam technique for her upcoming Chemistry GCSE against her previous exams. Asher's starting a new PSHE course and Mirabelle's got an exciting experiment on the kitchen window involving nitrogen. Plus we recorded the entire episode in the garden!

Season 11 - Episode 13

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 06 Apr 2025 13:28:00 +0000

This time round Mirabelle is studying the Georgians, reading a book about yellow fever and visiting Hanbury Hall. Asher has sown seed in his garden, is talking about climbing and studying renewable power sources for Environmental Management GCSE. Eden's close to her chemistry GCSE and is also discussing a change of approach for biology. Plus we're talking about our current artist study on William Morris, and what we're all looking forward to over Easter.

Season 11 - Episode 12

homeedmatters@gmail.com (Luke Strickland) — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 13:58:00 +0000

In this episode we're visiting a cotton mill to bring our Industrial Revolution studies to life, Mirabelle's learning about Captain Cook, we're doing experiments to learn about oil spills to tie into Asher's Environmental Management studies, and Eden's deep in her chemistry studies from South West Science and getting ready to start exam prep.