Sometimes, this blog seems to be lacking in topics about Home Education, which is a bit of a shame really as that was the whole point!! However, LA is only 3 - so realistically it is going to be a whole lot more about life and learning, than specific to Home Ed.
Still - Here is a topic that fits the original plan (yes honestly, it does!!)
A few months ago LA decided she was going to learn to read. It started as "What does that word say Mummy?" "What about that one?"
It developed into "That word is the same as that one" and today we have a little girl who gets very frustrated when we tell her that the book she is waving about is "much too difficult" (yes I know, a very negative attitude...).
So we got some starter reading books from the library - mostly the Oxford Reading Tree and she sailed through them happily, looking for more.
I got my money out and purchased the Oxford Reading Tree and Red Nose Readers and shes so keen to read all of these, we were considering taking them away and slowly giving them back.
We haven't - as we realised that would be falling into the school trap. It would be deciding for her which words she should learn first, which when you think about it, really is a very silly idea.
So we read the "hard books" together, with LA reading the words she knows.
It does however totally reaffirm our decision not to send LA to school (she does ask to go - but that's another story), as we doubt this enthusiasm would be allowed to continue in a class of 30.
Friday 30 November 2007
Tuesday 27 November 2007
So much for the celebrating...
...we ALL came down with a sickness and diarrhoea bug yesterday. Yuck!
Poor Rich had to take the day off work, because no one was well enough to look after LA. But after it while, it became apparent that it was a good thing he hadn't gone.
We are still not feeling much better today. BA and MA have had a day off school (I'm sure that will cause trouble for them later this week) and LA and I have sat about feeling sorry for ourselves.
Rich has a parents evening this evening - so he felt that he had to go to work, but really wasn't well enough to do so. Lets hope no-one upsets him, he's not at his most patient when he's not well.
Poor Rich had to take the day off work, because no one was well enough to look after LA. But after it while, it became apparent that it was a good thing he hadn't gone.
We are still not feeling much better today. BA and MA have had a day off school (I'm sure that will cause trouble for them later this week) and LA and I have sat about feeling sorry for ourselves.
Rich has a parents evening this evening - so he felt that he had to go to work, but really wasn't well enough to do so. Lets hope no-one upsets him, he's not at his most patient when he's not well.
Sunday 25 November 2007
Wedding Anniversary
It's our 18th Wedding Anniversary today. WOW!
And how have we spent this momentous occasion?
Clearing out the garage!
We have a builder coming next week to have a look at it to see if it can be converted into a room.
We do desperately need the room - so sacrificing the day wasn't a pointless task.
Tonight we are off out, BA and MA are babysitting and we are going to have some adult time.
Peace.
And how have we spent this momentous occasion?
Clearing out the garage!
We have a builder coming next week to have a look at it to see if it can be converted into a room.
We do desperately need the room - so sacrificing the day wasn't a pointless task.
Tonight we are off out, BA and MA are babysitting and we are going to have some adult time.
Peace.
Saturday 24 November 2007
Catch up time (again).
Another busy week with no blogging...
My Mums husband is in hospital at the moment, so Monday and Tuesday were taken up by driving to Cambridge and back. Luckily I didn't have to take LA with me, so at least the journeys were "are we nearly there yet?" free.
Apart from that, we've been busy crafting, reading, writing and using the computer. LA's computer skills are coming on in leaps and bounds. She now opens Word and starts typing some of the many words she knows, she can also change the font, font size and colour.
She also uses EducationCity, she's currently on the nursery stage, and seems to find it all so easy. Although while she's still happy with it, I'm reluctant to change it. It's good to have some easy things around, and there's plenty of time for the next stage.
We've sorted out all LAs baby toys and taken them to our childminder so her baby can have them. LA was very happy to do this, she obviously felt very good about giving these things away.
Playschool continues to present its problems, and we have decided to drop a day next term. We wanted to have a little flexibility on attendance, but they tell me they are audited and have to have reasons why children don't attend. So LA will only be going one day a week from after Christmas, and only this day so that she can stay in touch with the children she's met there. We will be filling this time by going to Home Ed group more frequently.
Today (Saturday), LA has been unwell, leaving little piles of bodily fluids everywhere. Yuck.
Hoping for a peaceful day tomorrow.
My Mums husband is in hospital at the moment, so Monday and Tuesday were taken up by driving to Cambridge and back. Luckily I didn't have to take LA with me, so at least the journeys were "are we nearly there yet?" free.
Apart from that, we've been busy crafting, reading, writing and using the computer. LA's computer skills are coming on in leaps and bounds. She now opens Word and starts typing some of the many words she knows, she can also change the font, font size and colour.
She also uses EducationCity, she's currently on the nursery stage, and seems to find it all so easy. Although while she's still happy with it, I'm reluctant to change it. It's good to have some easy things around, and there's plenty of time for the next stage.
We've sorted out all LAs baby toys and taken them to our childminder so her baby can have them. LA was very happy to do this, she obviously felt very good about giving these things away.
Playschool continues to present its problems, and we have decided to drop a day next term. We wanted to have a little flexibility on attendance, but they tell me they are audited and have to have reasons why children don't attend. So LA will only be going one day a week from after Christmas, and only this day so that she can stay in touch with the children she's met there. We will be filling this time by going to Home Ed group more frequently.
Today (Saturday), LA has been unwell, leaving little piles of bodily fluids everywhere. Yuck.
Hoping for a peaceful day tomorrow.
Thursday 15 November 2007
Christian Ponderings
Well, where do I start?
I guess anyone who has read this blog before will know that I'm not a Christian. So what's the title about? What's up for pondering?
A story for you:
Once upon a time, in a land far far away (Suffolk), there was a little girl, who was brought up as a Christian...
...when I was a little girl, this was great, as it meant that when people and animals died, we just had to be patient and wait until our turn to die when we would see them all again. It also meant that life wasn't pointless or hopeless as at the end of it - there was Heaven.
However, as I got older, I began to ask questions that no-one seemed able to answer. Christianity didn't make sense to me. It didn't 'fit', it was like wearing someone elses shoes.
But the message was, that those who weren't Christian, were evil and wicked and would go to Hell.
So at the tender age of 13, I decided I was destined for Hell.
Then in that way that only teenage girls can - I brought Hell to Earth! I made several people very unhappy (oh what an understatement that is), I manipulated, lied and cheated. I cared very little. I was horrid. Much too horrid to explain, and just as horrid to myself as much as everyone else. It was a bleak black time.
I suppose things got better when I started my nurse training. It was a "vocation" after all - maybe in some way, I felt I was back on the right path. I met Rich, and we got married in the local church. Time passed and I had my eldest 2 children, they were both Christened.
We even used to take them to Church at Christmas. but I was spending time thinking about what I really believed, and it really wasn't Christian.
Then I started working for Age Concern, running a small day centre in the church hall for people suffering from dementia. Part of our remit was to orientate these people to the time of year etc and every opportunity was used to do so. So in Autumn we stuck leaves on a tree picture, at Xmas we had a Christmas Tree...and one Halloween, I made the mistake of putting up a picture of a witch. A large picture of a witch on a broomstick, all coloured in with sweet papers.
Well, the vicar apparently "went mental" when he attended the hall for a church meeting. He leapt up onto the worktops and ripped the picture off the wall and into several pieces.
At least that's what those who were there told me. I continue to deny it had anything to do with the heart attack he suffered later that week.
The next time the vicar and I met, a few months later - I apologised for upsetting him. In return, he handed me a large pile of leaflets about The Evil Origins of Halloween, which talked about its Pagan past.
So, being one of the privileged few who had access to the Internet in 1995, I looked up Paganism.
And yes, he was right - I am a Pagan, my beliefs are absolutely in line with the beliefs of the Druid Tradition.
I have been Proud to call myself a Pagan ever since.
Now, LA is 3. She has only been exposed to Pagan beliefs, except for when cbeebies sneak a little religion in. Children see Paganism so easily, it's basic.
But, as she won't be going to school - she will miss the exposure to Christianity. I can cover the subject as it arises, but its hardly the same as experiencing it. So I wonder if I should take her to Church at Christmas, however despite my pondering sessions - I can't decide.
Christianity never did me any good, but I can see the good it does for others. As much as I may dislike it, society does sit on a cushion of Christianity (which itself sits on a bed of Paganism..), and much of what occurs in the world is based on religions.
Its not that I won't teach her about other religions - its the experience I'm wondering about...and try as I might, I can't decide how best to make it end happily ever after.
I guess anyone who has read this blog before will know that I'm not a Christian. So what's the title about? What's up for pondering?
A story for you:
Once upon a time, in a land far far away (Suffolk), there was a little girl, who was brought up as a Christian...
...when I was a little girl, this was great, as it meant that when people and animals died, we just had to be patient and wait until our turn to die when we would see them all again. It also meant that life wasn't pointless or hopeless as at the end of it - there was Heaven.
However, as I got older, I began to ask questions that no-one seemed able to answer. Christianity didn't make sense to me. It didn't 'fit', it was like wearing someone elses shoes.
But the message was, that those who weren't Christian, were evil and wicked and would go to Hell.
So at the tender age of 13, I decided I was destined for Hell.
Then in that way that only teenage girls can - I brought Hell to Earth! I made several people very unhappy (oh what an understatement that is), I manipulated, lied and cheated. I cared very little. I was horrid. Much too horrid to explain, and just as horrid to myself as much as everyone else. It was a bleak black time.
I suppose things got better when I started my nurse training. It was a "vocation" after all - maybe in some way, I felt I was back on the right path. I met Rich, and we got married in the local church. Time passed and I had my eldest 2 children, they were both Christened.
We even used to take them to Church at Christmas. but I was spending time thinking about what I really believed, and it really wasn't Christian.
Then I started working for Age Concern, running a small day centre in the church hall for people suffering from dementia. Part of our remit was to orientate these people to the time of year etc and every opportunity was used to do so. So in Autumn we stuck leaves on a tree picture, at Xmas we had a Christmas Tree...and one Halloween, I made the mistake of putting up a picture of a witch. A large picture of a witch on a broomstick, all coloured in with sweet papers.
Well, the vicar apparently "went mental" when he attended the hall for a church meeting. He leapt up onto the worktops and ripped the picture off the wall and into several pieces.
At least that's what those who were there told me. I continue to deny it had anything to do with the heart attack he suffered later that week.
The next time the vicar and I met, a few months later - I apologised for upsetting him. In return, he handed me a large pile of leaflets about The Evil Origins of Halloween, which talked about its Pagan past.
So, being one of the privileged few who had access to the Internet in 1995, I looked up Paganism.
And yes, he was right - I am a Pagan, my beliefs are absolutely in line with the beliefs of the Druid Tradition.
I have been Proud to call myself a Pagan ever since.
Now, LA is 3. She has only been exposed to Pagan beliefs, except for when cbeebies sneak a little religion in. Children see Paganism so easily, it's basic.
But, as she won't be going to school - she will miss the exposure to Christianity. I can cover the subject as it arises, but its hardly the same as experiencing it. So I wonder if I should take her to Church at Christmas, however despite my pondering sessions - I can't decide.
Christianity never did me any good, but I can see the good it does for others. As much as I may dislike it, society does sit on a cushion of Christianity (which itself sits on a bed of Paganism..), and much of what occurs in the world is based on religions.
Its not that I won't teach her about other religions - its the experience I'm wondering about...and try as I might, I can't decide how best to make it end happily ever after.
Tuesday 13 November 2007
Knitting, Xmas and Cats
Well - so much for the childrens education... I've been spending my time educating myself.
This week - I taught myself to knit. Now, OK, I know that this doesn't make me sound interesting or trendy - and 'tis true, I am neither. But I am "well pleased" with myself and have been telling anyone who stands still near me long enough.
I've also started my Xmas shopping online. I did most of my Xmas shopping online last year, and intend to do the same this year. Much less stressful.
And even better news - my lovely little Maggie cat has returned home. She has been away for the summer - and returned to us this week. I think shes been living with a rich family as she's put on a lot of weight. But, she obviously decided that life wasn't all about food, well either that or the posh family don't have heating.
This week - I taught myself to knit. Now, OK, I know that this doesn't make me sound interesting or trendy - and 'tis true, I am neither. But I am "well pleased" with myself and have been telling anyone who stands still near me long enough.
I've also started my Xmas shopping online. I did most of my Xmas shopping online last year, and intend to do the same this year. Much less stressful.
And even better news - my lovely little Maggie cat has returned home. She has been away for the summer - and returned to us this week. I think shes been living with a rich family as she's put on a lot of weight. But, she obviously decided that life wasn't all about food, well either that or the posh family don't have heating.
Saturday 10 November 2007
School Application Forms
We received a pack from the LEA today about LA starting school. We've looked at it and ignored it. It came with a letter from the local primary school, and some forms to apply for a place. We ignored those too.
I don't know if this was the right decision to make, but I figured they'd contact us again if they felt it necessary.
I don't really know how I feel about letting them know we intend to HE come compulsory school age. Part of me wants to be upfront and if necessary confrontational about it, the other part just wants to be left alone.
What will be - will be...
I don't know if this was the right decision to make, but I figured they'd contact us again if they felt it necessary.
I don't really know how I feel about letting them know we intend to HE come compulsory school age. Part of me wants to be upfront and if necessary confrontational about it, the other part just wants to be left alone.
What will be - will be...
Wednesday 7 November 2007
Sunday 4 November 2007
Fireworks!!!
The like of which I have never seen before!!! WOW!
We went to Abbey Park (Leicester) bonfire night. It was absolutely brilliant. The fireworks were awesome! Unfortunately being to awestruck to take photos - I have none to share, so you'll just have to believe me. It was a real WOW! Stunning. They had some that came down on little parachutes and some that exploded into circles within circles within circles. It was the best fireworks display by a very long way that I have ever been to - and I'm a real firework freak!
MA and LA thought so too. LA got a little bored - it did last a while, but she says that she enjoyed it this morning. MA took a friend and they had a good time.
BA apparently turned up to - but we didn't see him -there were lots of people!
This afternoon - its glitter time. We'll be making fireworks pictures and wearing glitter for the rest of the week!
We went to Abbey Park (Leicester) bonfire night. It was absolutely brilliant. The fireworks were awesome! Unfortunately being to awestruck to take photos - I have none to share, so you'll just have to believe me. It was a real WOW! Stunning. They had some that came down on little parachutes and some that exploded into circles within circles within circles. It was the best fireworks display by a very long way that I have ever been to - and I'm a real firework freak!
MA and LA thought so too. LA got a little bored - it did last a while, but she says that she enjoyed it this morning. MA took a friend and they had a good time.
BA apparently turned up to - but we didn't see him -there were lots of people!
This afternoon - its glitter time. We'll be making fireworks pictures and wearing glitter for the rest of the week!
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