Camp Bestival Costumes

So the excitement is building, Blondie is on permanent repeat in the car and I am on frantic sewing duty to make the costumes for this year.

There's a Medieval theme and our plans are not too difficult but as a perpetual putter offer I have of course left it to the last minute. Today I pulled my finger, and sewing machine, out and got on with it! Putting the finishing touches to a dress for Mia and tabards and cloaks for the boys and there is one tabard spare with a daddies name on it!!

Okay, so only 2 sleeps today!

Maid Mia?

Job done

Camp Besti Countdown

The blackboard in the kitchen is sporting it's chalk countdown - 4 sleeps today.

And this weekend has been dedicated to sorting our much longed for wooden festival cart. Arriving in the early part of last week it has been sat in it's huge cardboard box in our hallway, children looking at it longingly whenever they pass by and repeatedly asking "when, when, when can we get it out? Pleeeeeease, Daddy"  only to be told over and over that we would do it "at the weekend". In the end it has to be officially diarised with an entry reading 'Daddy, Mia and Ollie - Cart 9am'. They still weren't that happy though!!

 

With the cart built, the creative process began, personalising the panels and making a cushion. While not quite finished yet that first ride down our hall way was enough to keep them going for now!

 

It's wednesday- it must be Georgians!

Skipping, as is our want, through the ages, today is a Georgian themed architectural and historical treasure trail across northamptonshire. Ending with an authentic, well as much as possible, Georgian picnic.

So, cakes baked, buns placed in baskets, ham removed from it's plastic packaging to be re-wrapped in baking paper and tied up with string, we head off.

Looks good, yes?

The word 'picnic' first appeared in the english language in 1748, described as "The practice of an elegant meal eaten out-of -doors", oh yes, we have been learning facts and everything!

A happy Georgian lad! (note a change of hose and no waistcoat, Tudor to Georgian just like that!)

Ah! The dashing Master Cox

We rendezvous for our first clue

Ready for the off to Swanspool House in Wellingborough.

Sadly you can stop no where near Swanspool House, But as we spotted it navigating the one way system of the glorious Wellingborough it did look mighty fine, and was gifted to the town in 1919. Our next clue led us to Ecton and to a founding fathers father!

The former home of Benjamin Franklins father, once to smithy for Ecton before he sailed off to try his fortune in the new world.

Happily frolicking Georgian children! Apparently they get busloads of Americans stopping by to have a look so we weren't too much of a surprise for the Landlord. The blacksmiths is now The Three Horse Shoes. 

Next stop Northampton and the former haunts of the only Prime Minister to be assassinated, Spencer Perceval.

Check out those fine Georgian proportions.

Once the Court house the head above the door  has a loose tongue said to waggle if anybody lies in court.

Now the tourist information building, tunnels run underneath to building in Northampton

Ready for the last clue.

Of course its perfectly normal to see small children in period costume talking excitedly about architecture!

Our last stop was at the Caroline Chisholm school, a prominent spokesperson for convicts and immigrants rights to Australia, Caroline was born in Northampton. Next Salcey Forrest and lunch.

Yum

Yum

Yum!

You thought Harry was done???

Of course not, I think that if William is ever to marry it will be in a Hogwarts castle, all dressed in robes and they will file out to the theme tune with wands held aloft. He will be forever in the hearts of some.

And of course I am on my next full series read through with child number five!

Best of all this weekend though is how all things Harry prompted David to sit for hours Making a T-shirt of quotes. Give the boy seven books, a tub full of sharpies and plenty of time, make him stop for water and to clear the fumes and see what he has achieved..........

Perfecting the sharpie point

It took an couple of hours to get halfway done

Searching for just the right quote

All done

It looks brilliant and was much admired by his friends on his second viewing at the cinema on Sunday. It only makes the people with him look slightly odd when he's wearing it, as you can't help but tilt this way and that to read it!

Monday - Lets "do" Tudors

They look happy to be there (mostly)

Making butter balls for Queen Bess' feast

Learning to be a Tudor child

Pike drills for all ages

5-8 year olds are ready to protect the country from the spanish hoardes

Paying attention and answering questions!

making felt

The back of Oliver as suddenly I am NOT allowed to photograph him, even if I am trying to document his time spent in educational pursuits.

More felt rolling.

It was a good day, but I forget just how geared up for schools these places are and how much home educated kids are not trained in their ways! Not that they don't listen, answer questions, wait turns or be polite, but that they aren't used to the herding that goes on. Or doing things like toileting en masse. 

I am not sure how the leaders took us and it was different for the children too as many had been left in a few adults care when they would usually be with a parent. But they seemed surprised that the children could listen and carry out instructions after one demonstration, one asking, when a small boy went straight to task, "what did I ask you to do?" and he replied beautifully and exactly what she had just said and was just keen to get on! It was as though their first thought was that he would be just mucking around or not have a clue.

 Maybe they were not sure what to expect from 36+ home educated kids, who arrived in various groups and states of excitement and chatter. I am sure that most of them had had the "be respectful" chat on leaving the car, but I guess we would have looked slightly different on arrival than a coach load from school smartly lining up and walking sensibly to the entrance. I hope that is the case and that we've shown them that we too can participate in situations like theirs, it was quite a challenge to book the session to start with as "we don't normally do that!".

{This Moment}

A special picture from the week, as inspired by soulemama.com.

Harry- time to say goodbye.

We have read them all over and over (some of us more than others!) and are reading them from the beginning to our last child now. We have followed Harry through his journey as ours has taken us around the country to new homes and friends and read and watched and played as our children grown in number from three to five. We have marvelled at how a 6 year old boy managed to learn to read, it felt, almost overnight and then imerse himself into Harrys world., knowing it would always be htere for him as a place of comfort and magic. We have watched all the films together and apart on rainy days at home home and with excitement on birthdays, with part one of the Deathly Hallows on right now. We will then head to the cinema to watch the final installment. Full of excitement and a twinge of sadness we are ready!

Watch out we are the ones whose kids are not in school and are dressed as wizards!*




*during a conversation I had said that I could easily make a Dobby costume, but let me reasure all cinema goers in our area that Oliver will not being attending the cinema in nothing but a pillow case and large ears.

Musical Madness

Laptops at the ready....

So here we are poised, laptops synchronised and web pages refreshed. Trying to get more tickets to see Pulp! Musical madness maybe. 

But all this music stuff has got me thinking about how much it influences our lives. It has turned David into a hard studying, poetry reading, articulate teen. We have common interests that we share and chat about and differing tastes that we debate about.  He practises hard because he wants to get better and learn new things. He's made a link between poetry and lyrics and has been writing more. Bands that have been influenced by writers are now influencing him and expanding his reading material, leading him to look even further. He's reading because he wants to, trying out things that if told to read he may very well have turned his nose up at. If he likes it, brilliant and if he doesn't thats okay too. 

Following bands has opened him up to all sorts of media and has made him more aware of current affairs. With updates about his favourite bands he's also finding cool and interesting information about the environment or even politics, prompting more discussion. 

The world can be a scary place for a teenager and their parents, easy access to everything and their own laptop can seem like a very bad idea. But being able to see the path they are following and sharing it with them is a wonderful experience. Space and trust given is being rewarded with openness and laughter.

Worth a ticket to see a band any time!

Harry Potter

Harry has taken over this week. We're reading him, watching him, playing him, drawing him and counting down to til we see his final adventure.

3 sleeps to go!

Goodrich Castle

A photo montage of children (ours) at a site of historical interest. We take them places wether they like it or not. Most often they do like it, they just forget on the 2 hour journey there.

                           Oliver the intrepid, you can't tell but he braved the leg wobbles and made it , where other lesser mortals (his mother) failed, all the way to the top. It is also amazing what this boy knows about crossbows.

Mia "The Mountain Goat" Rose. Scared of the spiral staircase and of going to bed.
But any sort of rock face,  no fear, not her!!!

Ah, William the wistful. When not being the Princess in the tower you will find him looking as if he about to pen some ode to her about her beauty and his rescuing her.

And finally "Teenboy" TM. Ever willing to grumble and moan and generally mutter incoherently throughout your journey. But take him to a big old ruined castle and he remembers he quite enjoys running around and climbing stuff. Best if fed first though!

New pile

A new little pile has appeared on the kitchen table. I had to grin to myself after the earlier post.
They're on their way up to Davids room, I'm hoping they'll make it there today, but it's a long way up those flights of stairs you know. He's a dipper, he loves a pile of books all of them on the go, and he thought he might try these.

Piles

We are a messy, chaotic, disorganised bunch.
We pile, dump and accumulate everything.
Washing, books, paper, clothes, cards.
You name it, we've probably got a pile of it somewhere.

Some things we actually want that way, purposefully piled. I mean the ironing for instance, you do the washing, sort it and some of it definitely needs an iron. So you make a pile. Sure you're meant to do the pile once in a while. But its a necessary pile nonetheless.

Others, hmm, not so necessary!

If you stop by you probably wont see too much of the mess, we're very good at hiding the mess. Or piling it porposefully!!! (But not the ironing one- definitely hidden).

And we do try. But I think the problem is the books are breeding and people seem to think my bedside table is as good a place as any to move stuff to before deciding where it should actually live!

Yep, got to do something about this.

To be fair I probably did most of this to myself. Trying to move bits and pieces from the stairs or kitchen table. But the camping lantern, no idea. Old phone - not me. 

Kitchen table pile.

At the end of the table lies a pile. An ever changing mixture of post, library books, pens, paper and cables.

Piano pile.

It's mostly music, completely relevant. And hey you're starting to build a picture of who we are!

Lounge side table pile

Interesting books, varied. We like to read.

Bookshelf 

Not sure it needs an explanation, but it definitely needs a double. Piled high and deep I worry for its stability.

DVD Pile

Yes we have shelves for them, yes they're right by the T.V, but no we don't seem to use them. Ecletic mix though, right?

Fabric pile.

I don't have shelves or a custom built girl shed for all my stuff. It's organised, vaguely.

But see here now, this is where it gets good. We have been trying very hard to keep our playroom sorted. Yes there are piles, but we know what they contain. We try and put stuff back and also keep things to hand. It's looking like this at the moment and it makes me smile.

Table

The table has its pots of pens, pencils and chalks. It's been covered with printouts from our newest Anorak magazine. We have been colouring a chatting away together, reading the stories and poems and planning our own.

Bookshelf

Looks mess and stuffed, but is organised by shelf. We have science books and art, history geography and languages.

More books!

Yep, more books, there are games too and resources. I can live with the piles when I look at what's in them, books and drawings and our life. But, I really must go sort my bedside table!