Friday 28 October 2011

The little things.

The season is moving on and although it's still bloomin' hard to drag myself out of bed we are beginning to settle again. Generally life is moving on, things get done and some things don't. Of course it's been raining, the washing piled up and the tumble dryer is dying a slow and painful death. But it's not been the end of the world! The voices in my head have calmed down and I am allowing myself to appreciate all the little things that make our days whole.

Simple things like a word search being completed or maths evolving from reading the numbers on packets. A. Long walk in the field where all manor of topics and ideas are discussed.

Or like yesterday where a by small and simple event happened. Ollie took part in sharing time at our home-ed group. Okay, not ground breaking news? Honestly this was huge! He never, never ever does. It's weird, schooly and quite frankly he'd rather hide than join in. So we don't make him. Sometimes I'll sit somewhere with him and we'll watch, or we'll hide or I will join the others or I will hide out in the kitchen as secretly I don't always like it either!

But yesterday this.......





Joining and sharing. And it made me appreciate again that the littlest things can also be the biggest and most important. I need to hold on to that and carry on do what we are doing. All these little moments of bravery, thoughtfulness, learning and sharing are the biggest part of our home educating journey, of our life.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Weaving workshop

I tried and failed miserably to post about this the other day. It got eaten by the web dog or I pressed the wrong button, twice.
I just could not do it again!

But we had such a good time I'm going for the third time's a charm rule and having another go. But with less words.

So, Mary came.
She brought with her a magnificent table loom.
We were hooked.
A good day at iFlow was had by all.

Here are the photos, enjoy!



















- Posted using BlogPress, when I had five minutes spare!

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Typical home-ed day, week, month? Or just typically us!

I have been thinking about my sparse blogging this past month. Have we been particularly dull? Done nothing? I have I finally purged myself of the need to share the minutiae of our home educating life with the world and therefore the all judgemental voice on my shoulder too?

Umm, no. Definitely not the voice thing! That's still there. And maybe it would be better if I was really on top of the recording what we do, in all it's mundane and tiny glories. Perhaps then the voice would get a bit quieter, seeing the words and photos that show our every days. What is normal, typical and educational. Proof that this is time well spent!

I have not done that. That would be dull! I would like the voice to recognise the piles of paper flooding our house with bits of writing, drawings and plans as proof enough without listing "today so and so did 10 minutes of this and 20 minutes of that!". But
despite my not writing it I think this has been a typical time of home educating life for us. Things have not stopped. Things have not changed. The world around us has. The light and weather has meant cooler days and less trips are organised. And who wants to get up in the dark and cold? Not me for sure!

It's been a time to stop and think, re-evaluate what is working for us. What do we want to be doing in the coming days and weeks as it get colder and darker.

So we've invested in new online resources and bought some new supplies. We are re-discovering old skills and trying out new ones. Planning gifts and makes for the coming season of a crazy amount of birthdays and Christmas with new members of our family.

We are here. At home more now than not. And for now this is typical for us.





(being a ninja, samurai warrior is only typical to one of us but educationally speaking he's been researching a lot about samurai and the photo is cool!)

- Posted using BlogPress surrounded by mess as usual, but also quietly engaged happy kids. Life is good!

Friday 14 October 2011

Learning to trust and let go.

We did a small thing, it felt like a huge thing, turns out it was a good thing.

Learning our way has come to involve a lot of trust. Trusting that our children will learn naturally. Trusting that as parents we will know when to guide, encourage a little harder or when to stand back.

Yesterday David and I made a compromise based on trust. I left him alone at home longer than I have ever before and trusted that not only would he be safe, could look after himself but that he would also be productive and mindful of how he chose to use his time. He in turn could trust that, should he need me, I was only 20 minutes away and would be there whatever the need may be.

It worked! I let go and he made me very pleased I had.


- Posted using BlogPress, when I had five minutes spare!

Wednesday 12 October 2011

How we're feeling = What we're doing

It feels like not much right now. But maybe that's because we're a little more under the weather than we'd like. Colds are lingering on and autumnal winds have been making us really appreciate the change in season.

These quieter days find us pottering and sharing moments of happened upon learning. Like trying to find the cause of our aches and pains.





And just accepting the change in pace that a physical and emotional recharge needs.

I am trying to learn to let go of the emotional guilt of not getting things done, because although well practised in turning a blind eye to the mess and procrastination I find it still hits me inside. I'm finding that it's good to have my project or book out and be working at something, leading by example and sharing when they then sit beside me with theirs.

And they couldn't give a hoot about the messy hallway bench so I will also try not to mind!!!

- Posted using BlogPress, when I had five minutes spare!

Friday 7 October 2011

Thought I'd better...........

Get my brain sorted.
Show the mysterious home education bogeyman/woman we are still providing a suitable environment in which our children can learn.
And generally post what we've been up to!

Hmmm, bit stuck now.

I see evidence of book reading as I keep nearly sliding on them where they've been abandoned around the house and I found an atlas by the toilet (surely a sign a boy has been reading there!)

I hear evidence of music practicing that warms my heart if not entirely soothing my cold addled head.

And I am questioned and talked to constantly, even when I would like to sneak off to read in the toilet!

Oh, the conversations!
Sometimes I wish the house was rigged like big brother so I could capture, show and shout "THIS, this is what" when the voices ask well what have you been doing all day or when actual people ask "how does that work then?"

Then I could replay conversations about cancer, catastrophes and current affairs. A camera would follow the up, downs and all overs of the smallest member of our household going about making mess as she goes reading here, drawing there and imagining everywhere.

Or capture the middle two who learn so differently but share so much and manage to laugh and fight almost simultaneously.

A movement sensor could show the inner working of a teenage body as it struggles with hormones never felt by anyone before and feelings that can overwhelm in an instant but that can show compassion and understanding some adults still struggle with. It would reveal how the teenage brain works on a time schedule incompatible at times with normal life but that produces moments of concentration and creativity of which we can all be envious.

Maybe the cameras would follow us as we all cope with a shift in our family. As it grows and becomes smaller all at the same time. As we take on new titles like uncle or Grandma!! As the experiences we share gives us all new learning opportunities.

A week of a new month has gone by and this is our life, this month every month. Sprinkled with learning that even the casual observer would recognise! Maths and reading, language study and science experiments. We've even played with some Norse folk!





But it is the bits hardest to record photograph or explain that are shaping our learning and life the most.

- Posted using BlogPress, when I had managed to sit on the sofa and wallow in my headcold for half an hour!