It's rainy and windy this morning. It just about held yesterday so that we could play in the outdoor bits at the Science Center which was fortunate as the water tables and the Discovery Park are definitely our favourite spaces there! It was lovely to catch-up with lots of other Home Edders too, people from all over go to the discount days so it's a good opportunity to chat with people I don't get to see often. Plus things are inevitably quieter in the summer with our usual meets grinding to a halt, people going away on holiday and general hiding from the crowds, so it was nice to see how everyone was and share news on what we had all been up to over the summer.
Today our weekly home ed meet starts up again and Petal is excited to talk about her Book Club plans. Ballet, too, although Saurus is taking them as I'm working. Then we're gearing up for the great bedroom reshuffle of 2017...
Friday, 8 September 2017
Thursday, 7 September 2017
The Running Tide
Have kept trying to go for a run this week but haven't quite been able to make myself yet. Maybe today.
Mind you, we are also off to the local Science Center as they are having another Home Ed discount day, hoorah! They like to try out their new talks and workshops, we like to get in for only a fiver a head :D
It's looking grey and we had to have the quilt on the bed last night, just along the bottom. We may even need to dig out coats! Mind you, Roo went off to his first day at college this morning without one... that could prove a mistake seeing as how he's walking, but oh well. Live and learn, etc.
Mind you, we are also off to the local Science Center as they are having another Home Ed discount day, hoorah! They like to try out their new talks and workshops, we like to get in for only a fiver a head :D
It's looking grey and we had to have the quilt on the bed last night, just along the bottom. We may even need to dig out coats! Mind you, Roo went off to his first day at college this morning without one... that could prove a mistake seeing as how he's walking, but oh well. Live and learn, etc.
Wednesday, 6 September 2017
The Gull's way
So here we are in September, and some of the chicks are spreading their wings again. Saurus is looking for work and getting ready to go to America to visit his girlfriend, Roo is off to college and Wig is back to school.
I can't imagine how hard and potentially soul-destroying it is to have to drag children out of bed every day who really don't want to go to school. As Wig is at school because he wants to be, there's very little fuss even with him being a teenager who likes his sleep... he's all bouncy and bushy-tailed this morning, excited at the thought of going back!
For the rest of us we have new sticker books- Medieval History, fashion in the 1970's, Villains and Outlaws from through history and Cavemen. That last is Hoof's choice and rather cute. Rather than having to put certain stickers in certain places each double page spread is an empty scene which he can populate however he likes with the stickers assigned to those pages. We had a reindeer hunt yesterday and he wasn't at all sure he wanted his cavemen to actually catch any! That lead to some interesting discussions around diet and eating to survive from what there is versus eating for pleasure from vast choice.
I am also determined to sort out some of the huge quantities of produce we have from our allotment, and some from other people too- there are apples to be turned into apple sauce, a HUGE marrow from my sister that we're going to attempt Milly Molly Mandy style marrow and ginger jam with, courgettes to slice and freeze and Dot wants to make carrot cake again. We're certainly not going to starve in a hurry!
I can't imagine how hard and potentially soul-destroying it is to have to drag children out of bed every day who really don't want to go to school. As Wig is at school because he wants to be, there's very little fuss even with him being a teenager who likes his sleep... he's all bouncy and bushy-tailed this morning, excited at the thought of going back!
For the rest of us we have new sticker books- Medieval History, fashion in the 1970's, Villains and Outlaws from through history and Cavemen. That last is Hoof's choice and rather cute. Rather than having to put certain stickers in certain places each double page spread is an empty scene which he can populate however he likes with the stickers assigned to those pages. We had a reindeer hunt yesterday and he wasn't at all sure he wanted his cavemen to actually catch any! That lead to some interesting discussions around diet and eating to survive from what there is versus eating for pleasure from vast choice.
I am also determined to sort out some of the huge quantities of produce we have from our allotment, and some from other people too- there are apples to be turned into apple sauce, a HUGE marrow from my sister that we're going to attempt Milly Molly Mandy style marrow and ginger jam with, courgettes to slice and freeze and Dot wants to make carrot cake again. We're certainly not going to starve in a hurry!
Tuesday, 5 September 2017
Windy day
The seasons are inescapably turning here. Despite the fact it's still officially summer until the solstice, summer is definitely over. Jumpers are required for a start, sometimes even coats- though admittedly more for the rain than for the cold.
Conkers are in the park. We're blessed with a great many horse chestnut trees... it's a square really, originally belonging to the adjacent Victorian houses and the Victorians did like their trees! The place is stuffed full of them, including a truly splendid copper beech but it's the horse chestnuts we gather under now, scanning about bent over almost double, searching for small, brown, shiny objects or, even better, prickly green cases to stamp on and liberate the contents. They are still white and soft in places but there are plenty of ready ones to find if only you look carefully and it's almost impossible not to, to seek them out and start a collection is simply irresistible.
Mind you, not that we play conkers in this house. It's not banned, exactly, although one particular person is banned for life for getting waaaaay too competitive.... *cough* Papacrow *cough*
Conkers are in the park. We're blessed with a great many horse chestnut trees... it's a square really, originally belonging to the adjacent Victorian houses and the Victorians did like their trees! The place is stuffed full of them, including a truly splendid copper beech but it's the horse chestnuts we gather under now, scanning about bent over almost double, searching for small, brown, shiny objects or, even better, prickly green cases to stamp on and liberate the contents. They are still white and soft in places but there are plenty of ready ones to find if only you look carefully and it's almost impossible not to, to seek them out and start a collection is simply irresistible.
Mind you, not that we play conkers in this house. It's not banned, exactly, although one particular person is banned for life for getting waaaaay too competitive.... *cough* Papacrow *cough*
Monday, 4 September 2017
Down to the seas again
If you home educate, happy not back to school week!
If you use schools- happy back to school week!
Not doing things by halves here, we are of course doing both.
Wig is back to school this week, going into year nine- this year is all about options apparently, choosing what you want to do for GCSEs and he already has a clear idea of what he's going to go for, so that's good. He did of course grow like a weed over the summer holidays so he has new shirts, new school shoes and a new (much bigger) rucksack. He doesn't need new trousers because I cunningly got HUGE ones earlier in the year and he might need new PE trainers but we're going to deal with that next Saturday.
Roo has finished school, got the GCSE results he wanted (phew!) and is off to college this week to study architecture. He needs some new clothes at some point because despite being nearly six foot he is still going on up, and we need to have a root around in the attic today to see if we've got any spare steel toe-capped boots in there that fit him. If not, we'll need to get him some.
Saurus has all finished college, he's looking for work and preparing to go visit his girlfriend in America.
Fluff, Petal and Dot are all carrying on Home Educating and Hoof, who will be five in January, now officially joins them! Of course he's been doing all sorts of things for ages but now he's in the 'legally obliged to provide with an education' bracket. We have lots of fun things planned! Petal now has her own tablet and will be doing lots on that, we need to get back into Conquer Maths with a vengeance for a start.
So, I wish you all a happy and productive Autumn Term!
If you use schools- happy back to school week!
Not doing things by halves here, we are of course doing both.
Wig is back to school this week, going into year nine- this year is all about options apparently, choosing what you want to do for GCSEs and he already has a clear idea of what he's going to go for, so that's good. He did of course grow like a weed over the summer holidays so he has new shirts, new school shoes and a new (much bigger) rucksack. He doesn't need new trousers because I cunningly got HUGE ones earlier in the year and he might need new PE trainers but we're going to deal with that next Saturday.
Roo has finished school, got the GCSE results he wanted (phew!) and is off to college this week to study architecture. He needs some new clothes at some point because despite being nearly six foot he is still going on up, and we need to have a root around in the attic today to see if we've got any spare steel toe-capped boots in there that fit him. If not, we'll need to get him some.
Saurus has all finished college, he's looking for work and preparing to go visit his girlfriend in America.
Fluff, Petal and Dot are all carrying on Home Educating and Hoof, who will be five in January, now officially joins them! Of course he's been doing all sorts of things for ages but now he's in the 'legally obliged to provide with an education' bracket. We have lots of fun things planned! Petal now has her own tablet and will be doing lots on that, we need to get back into Conquer Maths with a vengeance for a start.
So, I wish you all a happy and productive Autumn Term!
Sunday, 3 September 2017
Vagrant Gypsy Life
It's going to be all move again... though admittedly only inside the house!
Hoof really needs a full size bed. Petal really needs her own room. After much discussion, Papacrow has come up with a solution!
Saurus and Roo are coming down from the upstairs bedroom to the downstairs bedroom and Wig is joining them. We will separate the bunk-beds in the downstairs room and buy another full size bed from our local second hand furniture shop. The piano is going out into the hall, the cupboard set there back into the front room. The toy cupboard and clothes cupboards in the downstairs bedroom will be used to divide up the space and to store their clothes.
Dot and Hoof are going upstairs. The bunk-beds in that room are currently separated so will be put back on top of each other, most of the toy boxes will go up to the fitted cupboard, some will go in the front room. Their clothes will go in the chest of drawers in the fitted cupboard and they'll take one bookcase from the downstairs bedroom with them (giving them two, the downstairs bedroom one).
Petal is going into Wig's room. It needs a thorough tidy up and I'll probably take out the broken white shelves. We need to go through the children's dvds anyway and make some decisions, we don't use them much anymore.
Fluff is staying where he is, as he's quite happy in his little room (though it could do with a tidy!), there'll be lots of pictures and shelves to move around, the upstairs bedroom needs repainting and the downstairs one needs sound insulation putting under the carpet.
The move, painting and sound insulation is scheduled to be done next weekend and the jury's still out as to where the monks bench, coat hooks and shoe rack from the downstairs bedroom are going...
Hoof really needs a full size bed. Petal really needs her own room. After much discussion, Papacrow has come up with a solution!
Saurus and Roo are coming down from the upstairs bedroom to the downstairs bedroom and Wig is joining them. We will separate the bunk-beds in the downstairs room and buy another full size bed from our local second hand furniture shop. The piano is going out into the hall, the cupboard set there back into the front room. The toy cupboard and clothes cupboards in the downstairs bedroom will be used to divide up the space and to store their clothes.
Dot and Hoof are going upstairs. The bunk-beds in that room are currently separated so will be put back on top of each other, most of the toy boxes will go up to the fitted cupboard, some will go in the front room. Their clothes will go in the chest of drawers in the fitted cupboard and they'll take one bookcase from the downstairs bedroom with them (giving them two, the downstairs bedroom one).
Petal is going into Wig's room. It needs a thorough tidy up and I'll probably take out the broken white shelves. We need to go through the children's dvds anyway and make some decisions, we don't use them much anymore.
Fluff is staying where he is, as he's quite happy in his little room (though it could do with a tidy!), there'll be lots of pictures and shelves to move around, the upstairs bedroom needs repainting and the downstairs one needs sound insulation putting under the carpet.
The move, painting and sound insulation is scheduled to be done next weekend and the jury's still out as to where the monks bench, coat hooks and shoe rack from the downstairs bedroom are going...
Saturday, 2 September 2017
A Wild Call
One of the table-time tasks Fluff, Petal and Dot do most days is handwriting practice. Those books, with all the lines... it's one of those things that kills several birds with one stone because we use poetry for this. They choose a poem out of one of our many anthologies and I write out a line in pencil each time for them to trace over with biro or a gel pen until we've finished the poem.
It's always interesting to see what they choose... Fluff has a love of D.H.Lawrence and Robert Frost, all of them adored Bishop Hatto and Dot likes nonsense verse. Petal is currently working on 'What Is It?' by Joan Poulson and I thought these lines from it were deeply profound and very apt, especially as applied to home edding-
It's always interesting to see what they choose... Fluff has a love of D.H.Lawrence and Robert Frost, all of them adored Bishop Hatto and Dot likes nonsense verse. Petal is currently working on 'What Is It?' by Joan Poulson and I thought these lines from it were deeply profound and very apt, especially as applied to home edding-
and I'm always being told
that I should be more sensible
use less imagination
but that's the way
I find out things
a sort of education
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