Our Tribe

Our Tribe

Tuesday 31 October 2017

All sorts

Bean, 10, continues to build his skatepark with cardboard ramps and fixing them together with a glue gun. He took the ramp and remote control skateboard to his friends house to play and also found the finger skateboard too.

Pumpkin, 8, spent most of the day watching and playing on his tablet. He enjoyed nerf wars at his friends house and continued to play when he got home.

Plum, 5, is loving looking after the rabbits in the mornings. She played parties with pippin, 3. They got dressed up in special outfits and put on make up and nail varnish and decorated their hair together.

We spent three hours at our friend, O's, house. Plum went and played with the three big ones this time and took on the roll of healer in the nerf game. It seemed to work really well.

Daddy was home late but had arranged to watch The Matrix 2 with Bean so they started on that. I curled up downstairs with plum and we started watching Turbo together.

Monday 30 October 2017

There's no place like home

We had two consecutive days at home followed by two consecutive highly busy days.

Thursday and friday were At Home Days. Thursday was very relaxed with lots of watching and computer games, play dough, colouring. The children were relaxed and i got to spend concentrated and uninterupted time with each of them. Plum, 5, and i put together the new rabbit hutch which took 2 1/2 hours in total. Bean, 10, popped out every now and then and gave us a hand and pippin, 3, kept an eye on proceedings in between cartoons and playdough. Bean went out with daddy and bought a pumpkin in the evening.

Friday bean carved a pumpkin with me as his did not turn out as expected earlier in the week. Pippin and plum and i baked a marble tray bake to take to fireworks at the church in the evening. Pumpkin didn't get up until after midday! And in the wvening we went to the church with friends and had fireworks and sparklers and soup.

Saturday we were up and out looking at houses and home for a late lunch. Bean and i went into town to spend his pocket money. He had been planning on saving it to buy a nerf gun with pumpkin but three days from getting the next instalment he decided he wanted to spend it. He bought a remote control skateboard, a lolly for himself and kinder eggs for the other three. Then it was back home for a quick feed up before daddy took the big three to fireworks at the cricket club with their friend T.

Sunday was church day followed by a trip to Polesden Lacy where we meet friend A and J and did the Wizard of Oz trail, perfect for Plum who has recently watched the film several times. We had a great time rolling down the hill and walking along the trim trail in the woods. Plum climbed a tree higher than i have ever seen her climb and bean helped guide her back down again. By the time we got home everyone was exhausted and we relaxed all evening with food and The Simpsons.

Thursday 26 October 2017

Elongated

Our mornings and currentl elogated (at i don't imagine that changing in the foreseeable future) Pippin, 2, wakes anytime between 6.30 and 8am. Bean, 10, about 8/30am, plum, 5, gets up between 8 and 9am, and pumpkin, 8, didn't wake until 10.45am. Consequently our mornings are a relaxed mix of gaming, breakfast, toys, breakfast, five minute crafts, breakfast, chores and breakfast, which then blends into lunch as the first risers are ready for more food by the time the later risers have emerged!

Today we had a viewing booked in on our house for midday so it was mostly breakfast and chores and packing a lunch ready to go and meet friends so we could be out of the house. We met our church friends K, T and R at the church for a few hours of playdough, hide and seek, slenderman, grandma's footsteps and bull dog. I also timed the boys running different circuits around the inside of the building. They are a pretty even match, we had to start including the milliseconds to declare a winner.

Back home there was more playdough with pippin and pumpkin, and the marble run game returned for an hour or so. Everyone had a bath in the evening and bean continued to increase the amount of time that he can hold his breath for.

Wednesday 25 October 2017

Carving Pumpkins

Bean, 10, and i spent an hour hollowing out pumpkins this morning. I have learnt a few things about carving pumpkins in the past few years and today i learnt more. I remembered that it takes an age to hollow them out and that carving out a large lid is best. Today i discovered that the large pumpkins (which i have previously avoided) have the same amount of fibres and seeds in them as the smaller ones and are therefore easier to scoop out, they are also easier to carve as they have a larger canvas space.

Our friends, A, J, and H came over to play. They all choose pictures for their pumpkins and then their mum and I sat for hours carving them out. Pippin, 3, chose minnie mouse, plum, 5, chose the cheshire cat, pumpkin, 8, chose a scary face and bean chose another scary face. I didn't do so well with Bean's so we have plans to purchase another pumpkin.

Whilst we carved the children played marble run and a fighting/war/battle, there was some tablet games and discussion going on, and a new game based on the enderman character is minecraft which they called Slenderman. And there was food. Pippin got the Bing and peppa small world toys out and was singing Frozen songs over and over.

Later pippin and pumpkin played play dough together. Pippin creates characters and models and pumpkin was dissecting them or performing surgery on them. Sometimes it was a heart transplant and sometimes full amputation, head transplant or swapping limbs. It was brutal.

Bean and i played minecraft and he had a bath, continuing to practice holding his breath.

Plum took herself to her bed and watched/played on her tablet.

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Doing okay

Ours days are swinging between full on, everyone wants to do everything at once and i am stretched thin, to quiet, restful, everyone is engrossed in their own thing and i'm wondering if i have time to start a little project of my own (i haven't actually done it yet, mostly i potter around tudying and cleaning)

Thursday was gymnastics day, we took a quick detour to collect some handmade gifts (first Christmas pick up) and we also popped in on daddy to collect the rabbit food he had bought in town but couldn't carry home on his bike. Back home Plum, 5, and i sorted through her current wardrobe as the seasons are changing it is a good moment to do a full check. We pulled out items that she has never worn and others that are too small and did a stock check on warmer clothes. It turns out she only owns two long sleeve tshirts and no dresses so we planned a shopping trip.

I also did the same with the Bean, 10, and pumpkin, 8, but they have no interest in the contents of their wardrobe. Bean will wear whatever we put in there (although he does develop favourite items over time) and Pumpkin will decide when he pulls them out and puts them on and i will slowly gather a pile of items that he has rejected.

Friday we had a Big Day Out with other Home Ed families at Drusilla's (zoo). Bean and Pumpkin zoomed around the animal enclosures with the friend T and his mum. Plum and Pippin took a slower pace and we saw a few animals up and about that we haven't seen before (and we have been many times) It was rather windy and cool. We met up with the boys in the play area and we went in the indoor play area and then we went on the rides. Bean, pumpkin, plum and me went on the leaping cheetah several times and a hippo ride (similar to a magic carpet) Pippin was tired by this point and stayed largely in the buggy, T's mum and i took in turns to ride with the children. We also rode the hello kitty rides (cars, teacups and hopper) and ran around the maze several times.

Friday night the big three slept downstairs with the intention of staying awake as long as they could. Pumpkin figured out that if he took a nap in the car on the way home from the zoo then he would be able to stay awake the longest. Pumpkin and plum went to sleep about 1am, i don't know what time bean went to sleep.

Saturday we had no plans and everyone was tired. Bean and pumpkin did begin a lego scene together. Minifigures in battle. It has been an ongoing project since then. Bean also made a vehicle that transforms from a wolf style machine to a scorpion, rather like a transformer robot.

Sometimes i think we are not so busy, are we doing enough? And then i write it down, and i'm sure it's not half of it, and i realise we do a fair amount, we are doing the things we love, and we have time and space to play hard and relax hard and we're doing okay.

Thursday 19 October 2017

Lego club

Post holiday week, always a bit bumpy! Lacking the extra loving pair of hands to do....everything!

Monday we hosted the seasons first lego club. Five families came along, two new faces. There was a lot of rolling wheels on the floor in competition and several rounds of build battle. It ended with group games organised by the children outside, stuck in the mud, zombie it, grandm's footsteps. All played under a sepia sky, turned orange by the sand stirred up in the sahara dessert storm.

Tuesday and wednesday were our first home days in two weeks. We played minecraft together, made chocolate milkshake, played horses and doll's house and taboo. Pumpkin is still trying to find answers to stonehenge but we haven't got around to it yet. There was roblox and doghnut games and nerf games. We watched nanny mcphee and pirates of the carribean V.

Mostly it has been laundry, laundry, laundry and faciliating baths for everyone.

Sunday 8 October 2017

Questions, questions, questions.

Bean, 10, is on a crafing role. Today he began his day by makin a snowglobe for Plum. After alt of years of harbouring and collecting crafting items, they are now being used. Bean was notinterested in making using paint or glue when he was younger but recently asked if we could have a desigated crafting table.

Pumpkin, 8, was in a question asking mood. Do fish close their eyes when they sleep? What is nitroglycerin? What doyou call itwhen the moon is moretan half amoon but not a fullmoon?

Plum, 5, played doll's house and dollies with pippin, 3.

In the afternoon our friends came to play. A, J, H and their mummy. The big four played upstairs making traps and hideouts and playing roblox and sims4. H, plum and pippin played play dough pizza making and ice cream sets they also played momentarily in the garden with the small world.
We took themall to the park. Bean took the boomerang and they played a real life version of a roblox game similar to winking murder. This continued when we got home.

Saturday, daddy took all four smalls to bedgebury pinetum and meet FA#3 with cousins C and H. They had a good day exploring and climbing and doing a gruffalo trail. We watched Men In Black in the evening together.

Friday 6 October 2017

In the house

The gaming computer is back in the house and fully functioning so bean, 10, and pumpkin, 8, spent most of the day on the sims4 and roblox, plum, 5, joined them on her tablet. We researched new rabbit hutches and watched Back to the Future 3 (having watched the previous two at the weekend.) I watched The tinkerbell movie with Plum and Pippin, 3.

Bean has discovered 5 minute crafting videos on youtube and has made telephones using paper cups, origami book mark animal faces and is now attempting a snow globe.

Pumpkin is enjoying roblox: cowboy showdown and murder mystery and warfare.

The big three all went to gymnastics and pumpkin and C played chess afterwards before we headed home. Bean, pumpkin and m

Plum and pippin played more doll's house together and misfits board game.

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Weekly

I seem to be managing to post weekly at the moment. Not the plan but it's better than nothing. The problem is that i forget the detail of what the smalls have been up to.

Bean, 10, enjoyed Fisher's Farm with his friends. The tabogan ride, cannons, indoor play, crazy golf, bouncy pillows and waiting all day for skyfall to be open. He took the boomerang out for a spin again on Saturday and Sunday. Monday he had a good go at bowling without the bumpers up and the gaming computer had its first go on in months as it is now fixed. Sims 4 and roblox were the first games to be played. We met friends on tuesday and walked to an abandoned tank where they smalls played for an hour and a half. Bean also got out the dominoes again and attempted to make a run with operating parts. He also made a balloon catapult and telephone set using paper cups and strong.

Pumpkin, 8, is back to full health. Fisher's farm with friends included the tabogan, twin swings, cannons, gold, indoor play, feeding the animals, and bouncy pillows. He had a try at the skyfall by climbing to the first ledge but decided against it. He took his bike out on saturday and played boomerang with bean. He went out with daddy on sunday to play boomerang together. He thrashed us all at bowling on monday and thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the tank to play. He has been on the gaming computer playing roblox and has had his grossery gang out to play on the chess board and pirate ship.

Plum, 5, played all day with her friend V at fisher's farm. They fed the animals and rode the ponies, played in the tree houses, tabogans, bouncy pillows, cannons, twin swings, indoor play, golf, and probably more. She had a great time playing with her cousins C and H. They mostly played small world and role play games. We went to the play park and took a bath together too. Sunday plum went to the green and played boomerang with daddy and did hama beads with both mummy and daddy. Monday she enjoyed bowling with FA#2 and tuesday she rested a lot but also played doll's house with pippin.

Pippin, 3. Pippin is now three. We celebrated on her birthday with a HE trip to Fisher's Farm. She choose all the things she wanted to do. Pony rides, tabogan, feeding and stroking the animals, ice cream, chips, indoor play, tree houses, bouncy pillows, twin swings. After four weeks of not eating she is now eating like a horse! We had a family birthday party on Saturday. FA#1 and FA#3 with cousins C and H came to play. We played pass the parcel and a few other spontaneous games. We went to play pooh sticks and boomerang and to the play park before heading home for more play and dinner and a bath. She had a great birthday.