Monthly Archives: May 2012

Home Ed on the move

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One of the things I love most about the Home Ed lifestyle is that you can take your classroom anywhere.  This is especially useful for us when Suburban Dad is away overnight for work.  The children really miss him and daily life is just that little bit harder for me, so our favourite thing to do when Daddy is away is to go and stay with Granny.  Having lots of extra attention from Granny makes the absence of Daddy more tolerable for the kids;  I also enjoy the company and the change of scene (it helps that my mum lives in a very beautiful rural location!)

Another benefit is that without the regular activities we fill up our week with at home, the big ones certainly get a lot more concentrated learning done, while the little ones are having a wonderful time playing with Granny.  I am not saying it doesn’t work at home – it just works differently. For me it is a good balance to have a fairly busy schedule most of the time, with lots of opportunities for socialising and shared learning, but to get away from it all occasionally and enjoy having more time to develop the boys’ learning and also relax and have fun together.

I really like being able to cover more subjects in one day without having to rush from one to the next.  In two days, we have done Maths, Reading, Spelling, Story Writing, Science, Geography, History, Latin, French and violin practice.  The children have also had plenty of free time for drawing and making things, playing with lego and trains, board games and puzzles, listening to stories, playing in the garden (Grandmother’s footsteps, stuck in the mud, blowing bubbles…) and probably loads of other things I’ve forgotten.

Today we have come home, and it’s good to be back.  We had a great afternoon at our small local Home Ed group, with lots of outdoor play and some brilliant Science activities (making sherbet which was very successful, and using lemons as batteries which is a work in progress!)  The big boys then went to Beavers before returning home tired but happy.

So thanks to mum for a lovely relaxing couple of days, to our good friends who hosted the group this afternoon and to the Beavers leaders who work hard every week, without much thanks I suspect.  Hmm, perhaps I need to go and thank all these people, in case they are not reading this.  It’s good to write all this down – it makes me realise how lucky we are.

Beautiful and useful

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I love these French flash cards by eeBoo because they are beautifully illustrated and look and feel like really good quality, as does the sturdy cardboard box in which they are stored.  There are 56 cards – eight words in each of seven categories.  They are: vehicles, colours, clothing, market, room, animals and nature.  Both the English and the French sides of the card feature the name of the category, the word, a picture and a sentence containing the word.  The set also includes suggested games and activities, and a pronunciation guide.
To some British people, it may be seen as a downside that eeBoo is an American company (based in New York) and therefore American English is used, with spellings such as “colors”, and a number of examples of different vocabulary usage.  On the other hand you could take the view that this would lead to some interesting discussions with your children about regional variation in the English language!  I find it fascinating anyway – some examples include: airplane/aeroplane; pants/trousers; sweater/jumper; truck/lorry.  Interestingly on the card for “l’automne”, the word is translated as “fall” but the sentence “En automne les feuilles sont belles” is translated as “In autumn the leaves are beautiful.”

American usage aside, what I love about these cards is that, among so many educational resources for children, they stand out because they are both beautiful and useful.

Science and milkshakes

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Today Monkey decided he wanted to learn about how bees make honey, so we read together quite a lot of the information about it from The Usborne Pocket Scientist – the Blue Book.  There’s more to read, but so far we have found out about different types of bees, the anatomy of a honeybee, beehives and beekeepers, pollination, how bees make honey and different kinds of honey.

After reading the book, Monkey wanted to try out one of the suggested activities which was making honey milkshake.  So he and Owl and Rabbit made it together and it was a great success.  Even Tiddler sliced his own banana.  It’s a nice simple activity, suitable for all ages – with or without the scientific learning about honey!

Honey milkshake

Blend together a cupful of milk, a scoop of ice-cream and two teaspoons of honey.  Pour into a glass and top with banana slices (though as Owl pointed out, the banana slices sink so it’s not exactly a topping.  Leads neatly on to the next science lesson…)

Thanks to Usborne Books for the idea.  Obviously it’s a pretty simple “recipe” and there could be endless variations.  Anyway, it was a fun activity to go with the topic, and I’m sure we will be making it again soon.  Whether our hands-on learning will go as far as keeping bees in the back garden, I don’t know.  I think the idea appeals to Suburban Dad but I’m not so sure!

Funny

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If Tiddler could write and I asked him to blog his favourite bedtime story, this would be it.  He can’t just yet (home ed kids may be advanced, but he has only just turned two) so I’ll have to do it for him.

Tiddler was given this book as a birthday present by his Godparents and he loved it so much that it has been essential bedtime reading ever since, and sometimes before his afternoon nap too.  His word for bunny is “funny” which can be a little confusing.  If you forget to read him the book at bedtime, he can be seen with his best cross face on shouting “Funny! Funny!” in a tone of voice which implies that forgetting his book is anything but.

The book has appealing illustrations and simple rhyming text, both of which are somewhat upstaged by the star of the show, a wonderfully soft and very cute bunny rabbit puppet, which toddlers will love to cuddle as they listen to the soothing story.

Ballet is fun for boys

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Ever since my two biggest boys were small, I have wanted to give them, among other learning opportunities, the chance to try ballet.  I’m not sure why it felt so important, but it has long since troubled me that we steer our children down narrow paths according to gender, with little room for diversity.  The polarisation of girls and boys, pinks and blues, seems summed up by our choice (many of us) to send our sons to football on a Saturday and our daughters to ballet.  I really don’t mind if my boys decide they love football best and my little girl chooses ballet, but what kind of a choice is it if they don’t get to try out both?

Having held this opinion for the best part of 8 years did not, however, lead to any swift and decisive action on my part.  When Owl was about 2 I vaguely enquired about some ballet lessons I saw advertised, but the time and location weren’t convenient and nothing came of it.  When he was 5 he started football, and nearly two years later Monkey joined him in the same class.  Some months ago, we discovered another football class nearby that takes children from age 3 up so Rabbit was able to join.  She has nearly always been the only girl there but it hasn’t bothered her.  She has a lot of fun and thinks that wearing football kit is cool (an accolade she only ever awards to boy clothes.  “Girl clothes aren’t cool mummy, they are pretty.”  I haven’t managed to persuade her that the two needn’t be mutually exclusive!)  So far so good, but still no ballet…

Then earlier this year I found out about a free trial ballet lesson at a dance school very near us, aimed at children aged 3 to 6.  I signed Monkey and Rabbit up for it and established that it was okay for Owl to join in for the trial although he is too old for the classes.  We went along and it was an excellent lesson.  Even Tiddler joined in and all four children loved it.  I signed the two eligible children up for a term of lessons on Saturday afternoons ( 3 hours after football so plenty of time for getting changed and cleaned up!)  Owl was disappointed that he couldn’t join in but he goes to choir at the same time so at least he has something else fun to do.  I also told him I would try to find out about ballet classes for his age, although so far I haven’t succeeded (cue overload of parental guilt…)

Still, I was really happy that two of the children were able to try ballet.  So, we went along for the first lesson, which was okay but Monkey was upset that he was the only boy, and even Rabbit felt left out as all the other children were dressed in pretty pink ballerina outfits.  A quick flurry of bidding on ebay soon sorted that one out, but that only added to Monkey’s sense of isolation.  He started to protest about going to the lessons, but I asked him to keep trying, reminding him how much he had enjoyed the trial.  I’m sure some would say I shouldn’t have pushed him but my parenting instinct was telling me to keep it going if possible.  It was hard though, hearing him tell me that “Ballet is for girls” and watching him get upset about going.

A few weeks in I was beginning to think that we should give it up after all, but we talked about how real ballets have men in them and they have special clothes and shoes for dancing and Monkey started to get interested.  Another ebay session later and he now has black ballet shoes which arrived today.  I don’t know if they have magical properties, or if it is coincidence, but this afternoon when I asked him to get ready for ballet he handed me a note, said brusquely “Read. This. Information!” and ran out of the room.  This is the note.

It was a priceless parenting moment!  So if you are a parent of boys and wondering if they should have a go at ballet (or your girls want to do football), I hope this post will encourage you that it is worth a try.

Postscript:  this morning Rabbit and Tiddler went to a trial session of Dramabuds and they both enjoyed it.  So for the rest of this term they will doing that on a Saturday morning, which means no more football for Rabbit.  I think that’s okay, but I hope she will rejoin the boys next term, which might mean taking her to a midweek drama lesson if she wants to continue.   And that will lead to more childcare headaches… it is so much more difficult to do activities in the week unless they are suitable for all four children, but there are only so many things one can cram into a Saturday.

Just one more thing: should it worry me that Rabbit was only interested in ballet clothes if they were pink?  Perhaps that’s for another post…

A good day

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Today was busy but successful.  In the morning I took Tiddler to his Musicbox class while a lovely friend looked after 6 children in my house (3 of mine and her 3).  The music class is a relatively new thing for us, and I really enjoy doing something with and for my littlest one, as most of our activities revolve around the older ones.  I’ve wanted to do it for a very long time, but it seemed impossible.  I’m so glad I’ve finally made it happen (and very grateful to the kindness of my friend, and in other weeks my mother-in-law, in looking after the big three children.)

When I arrived back home, the two of us gathered up our collection of children, coats, packed lunches, etc and got ready to set off for the city farm.  A friend joined us with her two little ones, and when we got there we met up with several families from another local home ed group which has recently been set up (there are a lot of us about!)  It was fun to meet some new people and we were fortunate to be able to join in the farm tour which they had arranged.

The children enjoyed feeding the animals (sheep, goats, alpacas… I’m not sure if any of them were brave enough to feed the cows, they were a bit too slobbery…), looking at the tiny newborn piglets and their enormous mother and watching the ducks for a very long time…Tiddler in particular kept coming back to them.   They also had fun stroking a rabbit, visiting “chicken village” (love the name) and feeling a newly laid egg which was warm.

Next we headed into the classroom to eat our packed lunch.  The peace was spoiled by a classic Tiddler tantrum, when he spotted a chocolate bar and therefore refused to eat his sandwiches.  I would like to apologise to the other families (if they happen to be reading) for the terrible noise, but would also like to claim experienced parent brownie points because I WON and he ate his sandwich and apple in the end.  Of course he got the chocolate bar afterwards so he was happy!

The final activity at the farm was clay modelling which was a great hit with the older three children.  They were asked to make models of animals, and were absorbed in the task for a long time, before heading out into the fresh air and sunshine.  It was a lovely outing, and we returned home in time for the children to enjoy some downtime and a Friday afternoon free choice of activities.  Monkey continued to work on and perfect his clay model, and he and Owl did some drawing while Rabbit played with her favourite doll (Holly – who probably deserves a post of her own sometime) and Tiddler had a very long sleep.

I managed to fit in a session tutoring a lovely nearly 10 year old girl (while her mum looked after my children) and the day ended with some fun playing in the garden, enjoying the evening sunshine, until Rabbit demonstrated clearly that it was bedtime by biting her big brother’s arm.  Oh dear – but at least she was tired enough to settle down quickly, as was Tiddler despite the afternoon sleep.  The big boys stayed up a little later to enjoy 20 minutes computer time which they had earned earlier in the day, before going to bed quite cheerfully.  So all in all it’s been a good day!

Monkey’s Cat in a basket

Owl’s Ducks in a duck pond

Rabbit’s Very Big Pig and Very Small Piglet

Owl

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Owl is 7, very nearly 8, my first baby… and the book I have chosen for him is Owl Babies.  I have read it to all my babies, and still do.  Though they are not babies any more, not even Tiddler really, they still love this book.

Written by Martin Waddell and illustrated by Patrick Benson, Owl Babies is the story of three baby owls and their mother who live in a hole in the trunk of a tree.  One night the babies wake up and find that their mother has gone.  They edge out of their hole, sit on the tree and wait for her for what feels like a very long time.  “And the baby owls closed their owl eyes and wished their Owl Mother would come… AND SHE CAME.”  The baby owls jump around and flap with excitement.  ” ‘WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS?’ their Owl Mother asked .  ‘You knew I’d come back.’ ”  In some ways it’s an unsettling book to read; the feelings of anxiety so clearly drawn will resonate with anyone who has experienced them as a child or recognises them in their own children.  However, the reassurance of the Mother who always comes back brings a happy and comforting ending to the story.

Monkey

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I said I would write a post about a children’s book linked to the nickname we have chosen for each child.  Next up is monkey.  Our monkey is six, and it wasn’t hard to choose a book to write about for this one.  We have been reading Monkey Puzzle to our two oldest boys since they were very small, and now the younger ones love it too.  Another creation of the brilliant Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, it is a delightful combination of a simple and satisfying story, wonderful rhyming prose and detailed and funny illustrations.

The story starts with a monkey who has lost his mum, and a butterfly tries to help him find her, but she keeps on getting it wrong.  After she has suggested many different animals to the monkey, he replies in frustration: “Butterfly, butterfly, can’t you see? None of these creatures looks like me!” Butterfly explains that she didn’t know the monkey’s mum would look like him, because “…None of my babies looks like me.”  After this misunderstanding is cleared up, she leads him to his dad who takes him home to his mum.

Home Ed Camp

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Yesterday we set off on a short journey to a big adventure – our first overnight camp with a local home education group.  After a quick packed lunch and a chance to explore, the older children had a go at archery while the little ones had a session with slightly less dangerous bows and arrows.  For the rest of the day, they all enjoyed playing in the big open space and wooded areas, getting muddy and collecting wood, and after the evening meal we gathered round a camp fire and toasted marshmallows.  When we eventually tried to put them to bed, the excitement of the day was too much, combined with the excitement of bunk beds, and it was almost midnight by the time our children finally slept.  We did manage a game of knockout whist and some grown-up conversation though, before heading off to bed and discovering our daughter asleep on the floor of the corridor – she was the last one to give in to sleep, and not without a fight.

This morning, we were a bit slow to get going, but after a quick run in the drizzle (me) and a hot chocolate (the children), we joined the other families for breakfast.  Soon after that the older children had a go on the climbing wall, while the younger ones played frisbee, ran around and jumped in muddy puddles.  After that there was just time for a quick lunch before packing up to leave.  We had a great time, but it’s good to be home.  We may have mountains of muddy clothes to wash, but we also have happy children who are thoroughly worn out and now sleeping soundly.  We are very grateful to those who worked so hard to organise the camp, and already looking forward to the next one!

Rabbit

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Yesterday I wrote a post about Tiddler, the book which inspired the nickname of our smallest one.  After much discussion with the three older children, I have chosen a nickname for each of them, and I thought it would be fun to link them to some of our favourite children’s books as well.

Rabbit is our four-year old and our only girl.  There are no shortage of children’s books with rabbit in the title, but The Velveteen Rabbit is one I particularly like.  When I was thinking about writing this post, I realised that I hadn’t read it to any of the children for quite a while and when I showed it to my daughter she didn’t recognise it!  This is possibly the downside of having a houseful of books – we have so many that special ones can sometimes disappear for a while.  In fact, it’s gone missing again in the last two days…

The Velveteen Rabbit is a classic children’s book, written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson.  It is the story of a toy rabbit who becomes real through the love of a small boy.  “Real isn’t how you are made…It’s a thing that happens to you.  When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real.”  Beautifully written and illustrated, it is as relevant to children today as when it was first published in 1922.  It is an ideal bedtime story for little ones, and also an enjoyable read for older children.  Now I just need to find my copy…