school's out...forever

Tuesday 19th February 

Today we met with friends in the New Forest. finding natural tree sculptures, playing with twigs and branches, making shapes with our shadows and generally hanging out with some of the best people I know. The smalls only get to play with each other once a year (usually, this was a six month surprise catch up, yippee!) and got straight on with the business of playing. Mostly the grown ups walked and talked. The only thing missing was daddy, it felt a little incomplete without him. However the temperature reached double figures, which is the first time in months, and the sun was shining and it was dry. Completely beautiful day.

We walked along the cycle tracks and stopped to share lunch. The smalls all went snake hunting with daddyB and then we headed back. Pumpkin hitched a ride in the buggy and Plum was in the sling. Back at the car they played with the football and the frisbee whilst Plum had a breast feed and Pumpkin sat and 'drove' the car.

This was all followed by a trip to a nearby pub where we ate delicious dessert and drank tea whilst the smalls played in the play area. There was some assistance needed to cross the wobbly bridge and climb the ladder to get to the platform to go down the slide.

It wouldn't have mattered if it was freezing or wet or windy (in fact that would have been closer to our normal meeting environment) because being with friends is always the best bit. It just so happened that today the weather reflected the joy it was to be together, rather like the setting in a good novel.

Pumpkin playing shadows

playing on the dragon

Pumpkin found this crocodile swimming

Disappointment

Dealing with disappointment today. Half term seemed to be upon us early (inset day, I guess) and our attempt at going bowling was thwarted. 'have you booked?' asked the lady on the desk. Booked? Why would I need to book? They were full up with no room for two smalls. Disappointment followed.

We walked into town and Bean wanted to go under the road through the underpass but it was flooded and Dispite his best efforts to come up with an idea of how we could get through (some of them very plausible if it had not been Pumpkin in the buggy) disappointment followed.

We went to the library only to find we had hit baby rhyme time. It was crazy busy and we couldn't get through. Momentary disappointment followed, fortunately they finished whilst we were returning books and we were able to read and choose books and play on the computer.

The whole day wasn't disappointing! We read a lot of books, mostly we read books. Both boys were up later than usual, probably because they were both awake in the night for a spell. It just so happened that today Plum decided to wake up an hour earlier than usual (so close to a sleep in for mummy but not close enough!)

Bean and Plum and mummy went into the garden again this afternoon for an hour and a half. Bean wanted to water the garlic he planted yesterday and we swept the paths and put some compost on the vegetable patch. We played football again and this time had a goal each. Bean kept winning so he pretended to get distracted by spotting wild and crazy animals in the sky so that I could score a goal. Totally lovely. Then we cut back some of the shooting raspberry canes and Bean sat and cut up a few canes with the secateurs and devised an entire plan involving making toys from the canes and selling them. I cleared some of the lingering dead bind weed and was reminded of our annual struggle to curb it from taking over the garden.

Pumpkin still remains energy-less and looks grey, hence why he was in the buggy for our town trip. He lay on the sofa for the afternoon and had a sleep when we were in the garden.

And Plum. She has spent most of the day in the sling or sitting on the floor with her brothers or charging around holding on to the furniture but she goes at such a great speed. She's enjoying standing up without holding on to things and claps herself every time. She blew a kiss to Bean this morning too.

A life less ordinary

Monday 11th February

Chores. Do your kids do chores? Mine do. They brush their own teeth and wash their own faces. The carry their empty dishes back to the kitchen. They pour their own drinks and hang up their own coats, amongst other things. Sounds quite angelic, doesn't it? 

In reality they don't do these things all the time, or every day. Sometimes I help them, sometimes I do it for them because they don't want to. Sometimes I shout at them because of the inconsistency of when they choose to and choose not to. 

We've never made them do chores. But we have asked them to help and sometimes they say yes and muck in and help, and other times they say no, and at other times they completely ignore us! Bean is beginning to recognise 'jobs' that he doesn't like doing but mostly they just join in with the jobs that we're doing and don't really notice that it's a 'chore' as such because we're just doing life together (ooo that sounds like a prison sentence!!! ha ha ha) 

Today I was washing up after dinner and Bean comes in from playing in the other room and says, 'mummy can I help you?' 'sure' so he pulls up a stool and I give him a cloth and we spend ten minutes washing the dishes together, except really it wasn't ten minutes washing the dishes it was, in fact, just ten minutes together. precious.

Do you have to register?

Tuesday 12th February

Do you have to register to home educate? was the question de jour. Brief answer is, no. You do have to deregister though if your child is being removed from school in order for them to be home educated.  This normally, in turn, means that this information is passed on to the relevant faculty within the council and they will probably, in turn, contact you.

Do you have to be inspected? No. The faculty should only be there to offer support and help and home educators are under no obligation to meet with or submit any information, although some do choose to. It tends to be a personal family decision.

Do you have to use a curriculum? No. (Isn't home ed cool?) Some families choose to use some curricular for some things (maybe English and Maths) others use more, others use less. The answer really is, you can if you want to but the freedom that home education brings means you can choose. Anyone who's read more than one post on the blog will realise that we don't follow a curriculum and are autonomous in our approach to learning, which was really just a natural progression for us as the children have never been to any form of structured preschool or school.

So, today's adventures have included:

Bean drawing a brick wall (again) in a grid like pattern and me showing him how Pop's taught me to draw bricks and them him giving it a go.

The gas works starting outside our house, which will be in operation for a few weeks yet and a great source of joy for the smalls, even Plum.

Making potions with bicarb and vinegar and food colouring. Bean wasn't that impressed mainly because the vinegar smelt.

Some guitar playing, paper aeroplane throwing, lego model making, small world car play, and mummy and Bean making a brick house (notice the recurring theme?) complete with garden, car, fireplace, communal sleeping area, kitchen and comfy chair :)

It's cold outside

Wednesday 13th February

Reason #321 to love home ed: we get to see Fav Auntie #3 on a weekday (which is good because she works weekends)

We didn't meet in our usual spot as there are major roadworks on the m25 making the journey much slower and longer than it needs to be so we joined the traffic and went across country and met her at Dunorlan Park in Tunbridge Wells, it was freezing, officially 0! It was a great walk around the pond. Bean, who normally avoids dirt, decided that walking on the muddy grass was preferable and got stuck in a muddy bog. The picture does not do it justice. He was covered up to his knees. He also played hide and seek in the bushes. Pumpkin had originally opted for no coat but as FA#3 got Plum suited and booted he had time to rethink (or experience the cold) and put coat hat and gloves on. We also feed the ducks, thanks to a passer by sharing their bread supply, and checked out the boating prices ready for a return visit in warmer climes when the boating shed is open.

The afternoon was spent at FA#3 (new) house where we played rapido. It turns out that Pumpkin is really very good at making a whole range of items from playdough at speed and I am quite good at guessing them! Although it also helped that Bean was in the kind of mood to let others win and not be disappointed and upset when he didn't, he was just enjoying the fun of it.

FA#2 and cousin B joined us for dinner and pancakes and then we travelled home. Both Plum and Pumpkin fell asleep in the car (about 6.30pm) and Bean challenged himself to stay awake the whole way home, even though he was struggling at some points, just so that he could have daddy read him some stories. Needless to say, there weren't that many stories before he crawled into bed!

apples by Pumpkin

flower by Pumpkin

teddy bear by Bean

cat by Bean

traffic light by FA#3

traffic light by Pumpkin

When I'm 64

What a great day! It all began with the idea that we would go to Nyman Gardens but as it was wet and cold we toyed with the idea of going bowling but both boys decided that they were happy staying at home. and what a busy day followed!

It all began with a conversation about what grown up people do and I asked what they thought they would do when they are grown up. Bean put forward the ideas of being an astronught and a pirate and Pumpkin drew and drew and drew. Fortunately my phone is now working so it is a well documented activity. His drawings are really good and it was only a few months ago that he was screwing up every bit of paper because he thought it was not good enough.

This was the highlight of the day for Pumpkin and he was pretty quiet for the rest of it...and still, both very unusual.

Bean played on teachyourmonstertoread but he is starting to find that it doesn't move on quick enough for him and you can't skip forward so we're on the search for more games and books etc that will engage with him. The tricky thing about learning to read later than the educated masses is that the books that are readable are aimed at much younger children (easier concepts and story lines) but mostly he is happy listening to us read to him and getting to grips with environmental words.

Pumpkin did decide that he wanted to make daddy some heart shaped biscuits but didn't join in when it came to it. I made them on my own. Plum was asleep again by this point and Bean bought the Lego down from his room and began building brick walls. He overlapped the bricked the way we had done earlier in the week and the way we have been drawing them too. It's interesting to watch how he plays out this new skills. He made several pyramids and then finally measured them all up against each other and joined them together. He worked really hard at it for about 45 minutes. 

All this time Pumpkin quietly built a city out of bricks and played with his own Lego creations on the window sill, which has become a favourite play place for Pumpkin recently.

After lunch Plum, Bean and I went into the garden but Pumpkin wanted to was Cars (again) ...why is it that no matter how many times I watch it I still get excited and end up crying? Anyhow, we planted some garlic and thinned some snowdrops and pulled out and cleared a lot of dead plants and played football. Bean had a great time. We came in and watched the rest of Cars with Pumpkin. 

The end of the day came with Pumpkin playing drums on the pots and pans, daddy making it home in time to eat dinner with us, Bean playing pairs with cvc words and writing 'real and funny' words that he could write.

Pumpkin as the future king

Pumpkin as a soldier

Pumpkin as an astronaught

Pumpkin as a blindfolded artist

Pumpkin the explorer (finding the tallest tree in the world)

Pirate Pumpkin

Pumpkin driving his magical car

Mr Pumpkin the teacher

Pumpkin the chef

There on the stairs

Monday 4th February 2013

Monday's normal journey to little verse followed by gymnastics. Plum spent 20minutes going up and down 2 steps at little verse and felling very proud of herself.

Bean made a Lego airport set today. An aeroplane, check in desk and baggage carrier. I was so impressed. The future holds great Lego constructions, I can see it now!