Episode Summary

In this episode Dr Natasha Wallace is joined by Katherine Wilkinson, a mother of two, entrepreneur, and founder of The Online English Teachers. Katherine supports families with limited English to help their children learn through stories, play, and everyday routines, without pressure or expensive tuition.

Katherine shares her journey into home education (not “homeschooling”), explaining why she and her family chose a different educational path for their children and how home education allows learning to be child-centred, flexible, and rooted in real life. Together, Natasha and Katherine explore the realities of balancing motherhood, work, neurodiversity, and mental health, including sensory overload, exhaustion, and the constant juggle of priorities.

This honest, relatable conversation highlights that work–life balance isn’t fixed, it shifts over time, and that there is no “right” way to parent, educate children, or build a career. Instead, it’s about finding what works for your family, your capacity, and your season of life.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

The difference between home education and homeschooling in the UK

Why traditional schooling doesn’t suit every child or family

How learning through play and real-life experiences supports confidence and life skills

Navigating work and motherhood without school hours or childcare breaks

Parenting neurodiverse children and managing sensory overload

Why flexibility, not perfection, is key to work–life balance

Modelling emotional honesty and boundaries for your children

How ambition, work, and motherhood can coexist in healthy ways

Key Takeaways

🔑 The difference between home education and homeschooling in the UK.

🔑 Why traditional schooling doesn’t suit every child or family.

🔑 How learning through play and real-life experiences supports confidence and life skills.

🔑 Navigating work and motherhood without school hours or childcare breaks.

🔑 Parenting neurodiverse children and managing sensory overload.

🔑 Why flexibility, not perfection, is key to work–life balance.

🔑 Modelling emotional honesty and boundaries for your children.

🔑 How ambition, work, and motherhood can coexist in healthy ways.

Episode Chapters

🕒 00:46 – Introduction to Katherine Wilkinson

🕒 02:31 – Home education vs homeschooling

🕒 07:48 – Learning through play and real-life experiences

🕒 12:31 – Burnout, balance, and motherhood

🕒 16:38 – Sensory overload and emotional regulation

🕒 20:36 – Work–life balance across different life stages

🕒 25:57 – Modelling ambition, emotions, and boundaries for children

🕒 39:34 – What Katherine would tell her younger self

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