My Favourite Things

Hours of play with Pippin, 2, in the morning as the big three slept long. We drew pictures and face painted and watched Winnie the Pooh as we buttered toast together and played Charlie and Lola Snakes and Ladders.

The Big Three woke up several hours later. Plum, 5, spent most of the day lying on the bed or sofa and watching on her tablet. This was interspersed with playing in the garden and playing with the kitchen set with Pippin. They picked the tulips and Pumpkin put them in a vase for us.

Pumpkin, 8, played Roblox and we tried to load The Amazing Frog but there is an issue that, dispite my best efforts and following all the suggestions, we cannot access the game. He has also been helpful as i hurt my back and suggested that i think about something else instead of the pain so we sang Raindrops on Roses.

Bean, 9, dictated the Fifth chapter of his minecraft story to me which was trickier than the previous four as it involved a flashback and he wasn't sure how to make sure the reader knew that it was a flashback. We got there in the end. He also made me a flower vase from lego.

Welly boots

Bean, 9, Plum, 5, and Pippin, 2, filled welly boots with stones and compost today and planted violets in them. We did six pairs altogether and then potted the remainder of the plants in one large pot. We put the large pot and four pairs of boots out the front of the house and Plum placed the other two on the back door step.

Pumpkin, 8, watched YouTube and played Roblox.

Bean and I read an Usbourne puzzle book that we got from the library and then we went to the park across the road. Plum and Pippin rode their bikes and Bean took his remote control truck with him. Mostly they played with the truck but there was a little swinging and going on the round a bout.

Plum and Pippin played in the garden on the see saw and Plum went woodlouse hunting, she collected three but found lots more.

Pumpkin played haulabaloo in the evening and told me all about mosquitos.

And Pippin drew pictures and pictures and pictures.

Daddy's home

For Bean, 9, he's had a walking Archie (the dog), watching films (Star Wars, War of the Worlds, The Italian Job, Madagascar 3) bbq at friends, trampolining, easter egg hunting, Sims4, Roblox playing, four day weekend.

Pumpkin, 8, has had a Roblox extraveganza, minecraft card gaming, project ideas, rediscovering our hoppers, bbq at friends, easter egg hunting, trampolining, bank holiday weekend.

Plum, 5, has been helping daddy replace fence panels and clear some of the garden, she has swept the patio and washed chairs inbetween playing picnics and chalk drawing, there was the bbq at friend's house, trampolining, swinging, climbing, easter egg hunting, going to the park with daddy, loving daddy weekend.

Pumpkin, 2, has coloured and drawn and chalked, washed furniture and helped daddy load the car for the tip, wearing Topsy hair, watching Toy Story 2 cuddled on the sofa, book reading, easter egg hunting, bbq at friends, trampoling, going to the park with daddy, weekend.

We had a fire in the pit and all the children toasted marshmallows with daddy.

One hour

Today i set aside one hour for each of the children, just for them, well, almost mostly interupted with requests for food and drink and reading this or helping with disputes, but always returning to the one and playing with them.

First was Pippin, 2, we drew pictures and read books for an hour. She is sat next to me now readin 'i like it when...' to me. She's also good at Not Now, Bernard and Jesus loves me and Brown Bear Brown Bear.

I sat with Bean, 9, for an hour and played Roblox Murder Mystery. He showed me how to play, which keys to use and how to pick up weapons and strike others. I had a few goes with him alongside giving me pointers.

Plum, 5, made messy stuff today with Pippin joining in too. She got a large bowl and added water and lemon and chopped up carrots and added spoonfuls of flour. She added in cashew nuts and black beans and mixed it all together. We transfered it to a pirex dish and put it in the oven. We then spent some time watching Fixies and chatted about friction, surface tension and tools.

I watched Jimmy Two Shoes with Pumpkin, 8, and then we joined Bean and finished the ninth season of Pokemon and began the 10th season.

Daddy was out for the evening. The boys put on What's in the Bible and then Bean chose Winnie the Pooh movie. Everyone helped tidy up the living room. Pippin went to bed about 9 but took a while to settle. I read stories with Bean and we chatted about how humans have progressed over the centuries. Plum was playing on cbeebies games and skipped a story tonight and went straight to sleep about 10. I put on Finding Neverland to watch on iplayer and Pumpkin watched with me until the end.

It's Oh so quiet

At Home Day #3 Pumpkin, 7, was positively bouncing with excitement when i said we had no plans today. Bean, 9, discovered that he can watch dvds on their computer so he and Pumpkin chose two that Plum doesn't enjoy and they watched those, star wars and harry potter. They also play the espcapists and watch dantdm and stampy. I set up skype for Bean on his tablet and we play a skateboarding game together. Bean also has a bath today. And him, pumpkin and plum, 5, watch Kermit Swamp Adventures together in the evening.

Pumpkin is in his happiest when we stay at home. After watching films and youtube he plays a capture in the dark game that he has made up with Bean and Plum. This then turned into wrestling. Followed by general climbing, running, chasing, fighting, energetic games.

Plum mostly watched on her tablet today. She has been very restful. She has been watching Steve and Maggie. She helped me make cupcakes in the evening ready for her party tomorrow. We read stories before bed and she read Ketchup on your Cornflakes to me.

Pippin, 2, has been colouring and playing Bing. She has watched Bing and Topsy and Tim today and also found the Peppa Pig dvd on the shelf so we watched that together.

Joy to the World

Monday with a twist today. Plum, 4, dressed up as an angel (a pink one) and Pippin, 2, dressed up as a donkey (with a bright green cardigan and no ears but a beautiful painted black nose) and we all went to Little Verse to join in the Christmas Special: Nativity. Bean, 9, took his tablet with him and he had downloaded a few programmes to watch. Pumpkin, 7, was fidgetty and poking his siblings so we redirected him to another room to go and play, Bean went with him. The adults at the group read the Christmas story and the children went to the front and joined the nativity scene when the part they had dressed as was in the story/whenever they wanted. Plum took Pippin to the front to join the stable animals and they both sat with SGG for the rest of the story. Plum also inteoduced me to some of the children that she plays with regularly.

The rest of the day was spent wrestling in mummy's bedroom; playing 'run away from Pippin'; watching Pokemon, DanTDM, The Simpsons; Plum is loving the Christmas Tree and has made herself a cosy nook just below it; Bean requested a bath; we all played minecraft together; Pippin enjoyed her usual round of stories (current favourites Brown Bear, Brown Bear, We're going on a bear hunt, dinosaur roar); Pippin jumping everywhere and giggling; Plum and Pippin drawing at the kitchen table whilst i prepared food, Plum drawing her family below a rainbow with flowers and drawing a picture to put in a bottle for her friend who lives far away, bedtime stories for the boys (continuing Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

Bean has been playing with words a lot today. He came to ask me why we had the word 'yoj' on the tree, he was teasing me. And why do we have the word 'leon' hanging up? And the sudden realisation why DanTDM is called DanTDM, it never even occured to me that they wouldn't know but he does now.

People are more important

Monday. Plum, 4, went to Little Verse with SGG and SGS. Whilst she was out i played chess with both Bean, 9, and Pumpkin, 7. Pumpkin made his own Skylanders using lego mini figures. Pippin, 2, vacuumed with me and went back to bed for a nap about 11.30am.

Bean and me played on the wii in the afternoon. He chose Skylanders. We played together for about an hour whilst the others played happily together in my bedroom. He also cut out biscuits and then decorated them using tubes of writing icing. He mostly made faces onto the star shped biscuits. He spent most of the day watching Pokemon Advanced on his new tablet.

Pumpkin has been making his own Skylanders on his tablet (for Imaginators) as well as lego mini figures. He has also played through Lego: The Lord of The Rings on his tablet over the last few days too. This afternoon we played Mario Kart on the wii together and in the evening he played board games with Plum and daddy.

Plum got the cars and car mat out this morning and continued to play with them when she was at home. She put cars on all the road to create a huge trafic jam. She played cbeebies games on her tablet and instigated the hour long game of mummies with Pumpkin and Pippin in the afternoon. She also initiated the idea of making biscuits and cut out and decorated her own star biscuits. She had wanted heart ones but we have lost the heart shaped cutter. We sand twinkle twinkle whilst we were cutting them out and she taught me Dingle Dangle Scarecrow.

Pippin, 2, has enjoyed watching Bing and Tospy and Tim today. She has been busy playing cars with Plum and cuddled up on the sofa to read books with Pumpkin. She has cut out biscuits and played mummies with Plum as well as hoovering with me and drawing tiny squiggles very carefully.

People are more important than things. Proverbs 27

Be Thou my Vision

Sunday 9th September

A beautiful Sunday in more than one way. Wonderful Summer weather, excellent trip to church (where we gave thanks for our lovely daughter) lunch with SGG, SGS and their grandson, t@4, crumpets for tea and a film planned for the evening with daddy (although currently still have two children awake but hopefully they will be asleep soon.)

Bean spent a long time in the sandpit today building towers of sandcastles and making a bridge. There was a little altercation as he wanted to use 98% of the sand pit and was getting very upset and cross when others wanted a larger share. He's also done alot of colouring today and used the jenga bricks to make farm pens for his collection of animals.

Pumpkin has spent a large portion of the day practising his new skill of dressing and undressing himself and has been through several outfits and emptied the contents of his drawers onto the bedroom floor. We also found the bathroom mat soaking wet to which he announced that he had cleaned up the toothpaste that was on it. He has also decorated a toy car, the living room carpet, a table and probably other areas that we have yet to find in ink pen. Desperately trying to keep calm and remember that he is not being deliberately difficult but it is a huge clean up operation (which he has helped with in part) and that he is enjoying his new skills and I was so pleased with him for taking the initiative to clean the toothpaste mess he had made, was just wondering if he could not make it in the first place!

We gave thanks for Plum this morning in church. SGS led this part of the service as we requested as he has been such a support and majorly involved in our lives in the past year or so, not forgetting that he got to hold her when she was just 4 hours old. 

Take a walk on the wild side

Friday

It has been recently reported that today's children can suffer from Nature Deficiency Disorder, not so in our house. Today we saw a second visit to Nyman Gardens and loved it all over again. Bean and Pumpkin made me read all the signs they could see on trees and plants and where the plants were from (really must brush up on my Latin) and we felt and smelt and observed and described and hid and climbed and fell. (Asher fell out his first tree.)


We shared our lunch time with a Robin and two field mice, all of which were less than a foot away from us. The mice running around in the hedge row behind the benches we were on. The boys spent about 15 minutes watching them and I had fresh satisfaction and delight in our choice to home educate. 






















Our house is full of collections of sticks and leaves and cones and seed pods and various other natural findings. I can remember David Attenborough once talking about the importance of collecting things. In fact Nyman's Gardens itself is a huge collection of plants from far and wide. So our house may be full of odd bits and bobs but it is the beginnings of great discoveries.


Pumpkin has spent a lot of time with Plum today, holding her hand, singing to her, cuddling her and playing 'boo.' I love watching the boys relationship grow with each other and their sister and am glad that the transition from two to three has been a smooth and natural one for them all. 


The drawing is one of Bean's, it is the Horsham Museum. The bricks are a skate park built by Pumpkin. Bean also asked me to write "all the numbers" so he could copy them. As a teacher I was always quite apposed to giving the children worksheets of numbers or letters to copy but in the spirit of 'unschooling' I dutifully wrote down the digits from 0 - 9 for him to copy. Sometimes I think it's me that needs de-schooling, not my children!

And can it be that I should gain

Feeling very blessed today. I read in a magazine ‘If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life’ – and that’s certainly how I feel. How blessed am I that I am in a position to be with my children all day every day? And I don’t mean I don’t ‘work’ because as any stay at home mum or home educator knows we work very hard but how fortunate not to have to work long hours at something I don’t enjoy just to survive or slave for the fortune of someone else? 

I’m also feeling blessed at the beautiful gift of children. I’m blessed to have three healthy, happy children and a wonderful extended family. Today was the birthday trip to the in-laws, a large gathering, party lunch and wonderful cake courtesy of favourite auntie #3. I have mentioned how important family are to us before and there is no exception here. Some people have been surprised by my fondness for my in-laws as if it is the written law that everyone should be at odds with theirs, well I am not (so nerr) 

The boys today got busy drawing, something that I know nana and granddad will appreciate greatly being that way inclined themselves and the accompaniment of classical music in the background gave a very relaxed feel to the room. There  was also some individual pursuits in building and reading but mostly there was playing with L and J in the garden, all having a lovely time and all getting along fantastically considering it’s only the second time they’ve met. On the way home Bean asked, ‘how old is L?’ We weren’t sure so suggested we could ask fav auntie#3 or bfg. Bean suggested we could ask L. Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that?

I rounded off the day attending church with Plum whilst daddy put the boys to bed. Had an update on a charity we support, Raising Hope Foundation, which only added to my feeling of how blessed I am. Daddy also cooked some supper for us. A very blessed day indeed.

Clowning around

We spent the afternoon at the local play area. Bean turned it into a big top and Grandma was the ringmaster. He rode the white horse and performed tricks: riding backwards, riding standing on the saddle and riding facing the horse...until he fell off and the horse hit him in the face! The swings became the trapeze, the crows nest was the tight rope, the slide became the arena for his acrobatics and the trim trail used for his clowning around sequence, I can't remember what the round-a-bout was for but it was in the routine somewhere. He repeated his circuit several times. 

Pumpkin spent most of the time sitting in the buggy having fallen over and grazed his hand on the way there. It was the wrong time of day for a swift recovery of such an injury. He did eventually emerge but only after Pops had pushed him energetically several times around the play area pretending to fly him to one country or another.  I couldn't even tempt him on to the swings!

Pops hadn't quite realised the Plum was in the buggy too and the high speed turns, bumps and bangs woke her up so I fed her in the park which was interesting as there were no seats at all.
The day was topped and tailed by fuzzy felt pictures, dominoes, drawing, cutting and reading books. 

Home Ed @home

Today we did exactly what it says on the tin. Home Ed @home. Bean is still recovering from a horrid cold and after a very busy week he suggested a rest day. We made a list at breakfast of all the things we've been meaning to do for a while.The list consisted of: name bones of the body; pot plants; plant seeds; make soil; build a castle and make card for friends birthday party, and then Bean added hang out the laundry; do washing up; and clean the bathroom. 

castle

Bean started by building a castle. He found a smallish box in the place where we keep such items and proceed to instruct me where to draw certain lines for its different features: a moat, battlements and portcullis. He then drew in the details and then found some stickers of wild animals- birds and squirrels to stick on. He also found a queen sticker, a skeleton and a ghost. Reality and fantasy came together, as is often the case. He didn't finish it but insisted he would do so tomorrow in time for it to be wrapped. We talked through how he was going to finish it and I suggested a few timings as he wanted to paint the moat and I knew it had to be dry before we wrapped it. 


I washed up and the boys helped.

ladybird home

Plum needed a feed about now and an entire outfit change after a nappy fill. When I returned from doing this Pumpkin was excitedly relaying to me that they had built a ladybird house and a real ladybird was living in it. The boys had gathered up grass cuttings and piled them together even making an indentation for a doorway. They were most upset when the lady bird flew off. I nearly started singing, 'ladybird, ladybird, fly away home,' but I thought this might distress them even more at this point! 

Jesus dying on the cross

Bean and Pumpkin then set up shops in two enormous boxes. We played at buying and selling for a while, exchanging money and goods and adding up the cost of various items. This is the second shop Bean has set up this week (the other being a furniture shop comprising of all the dolls house furniture being very neatly displayed on the coffee table.) They found some light swords which they wanted to try out in a dark place as Plum had fallen asleep on our bed upstairs I suggested they try them out later (they wanted to test it in their room.) It was Pumpkin who suggested the boxes as 'They are dark when you shut them.' They about 10 minutes sat in their own boxes playing with their light swords.


Bean then wanted to write on the blackboard for his shop. Pumpkin made some marks and said it was a picture of Jesus dying on the cross.

And finally, just before lunch we potted some plants. Bean had seen some flowers on peoples door steps when we were on holiday and had asked it we could put some on ours. Fortunately I had some plants that needed planting somewhere so this was the perfect suggestion, brightening up our front door step at the same time, win-win!

'outdoor reared pork sausages'

Lunch was followed by a marathon TV session, which as the weather was so nice grated me a little but I had to remember that both boys have not been well this week and are still in recovery so I left them to it rather than trying to lure them away. As it happened Pumpkin fell asleep at 5.20 and didn't wake up until 7.30 the next morning.
Sausages for dinner with a label that tickled me!
Oh and just in case you were wondering we didn't get to do our bones, plant seeds, make soil or clean the bathroom. Never mind.