Taking stock

This weekend it will be a year since we removed both Sophie and Connor from their primary school. Connor was removed at the beginning of May, Sophie at the beginning of June.
Its flown by in some respects, although in others when I look back it seems like we've been home educating for much longer than a year. We've achieved so much in that time. Both are more confident, happier and more secure than they were. Connor was frankly heading for a breakdown and now I look back and consider what the same Primary school did to Chloe I'm quite sure that he would have followed the same path to misery and behavioural problems, mental anguish and psychiatric intervention( which I'm happy to report she hasn't needed at all since shes been at her school- where shes successful and happy!- Ill write about that later)

Connors speech has improved massively to the delight of his speech therapist who now sees him much more infrequently than she did when he was in school.He is reading much better and although he is still almost phobic about 'English' I am trying alternative ways to win him over and get him doing any writing/typing at all. That doesn't seem to matter that much really though,in the greater scheme of things he can now read much more than just boring 'baby' books. indeed when we removed him the school claimed he could read. We saw no evidence that he could, seeing evidence of that took until early September last year( so 3/4 months).
He now can tell you all sorts about the solar system, is fascinated by the recent Mars landings. he questions ( often to the point where I want to scream) can discuss his almost encyclopedic knowledge of premier league football and notices the smallest things, like ants at a bus stop, dragging a dead one along the floor... none of that can or would be measured by a SATS test and yet he is far from a failure. he is willing to try more things and is open to more ideas, as long as he doesn't perceive them as 'schooly' or difficult ( although that doesn't rule out our structured approach as long as its gentle) He can swim ( rather well as it turns out). tie his shoelaces( a big deal) and recently assesses Tae Kwondo as "It looks hard but I have learned I can do something hard if I want to badly enough" and thus he has joined in, something he never would have done before. He'd have screamed the place down and refused to even look any more- even if he 'wanted' to do it!


Sophie is much more confident in herself than she used to be, although I'm not sure we have achieved our initial aim to help her catch up with what she had been 'missing out on' in school she has learned much more. She struggles with tables and avoids them like the plague but is happy to attempt anything else mathematically that isn't connected directly with or she perceives as being connected with multiplication. That's a massive step for this child who considered herself"'a bit thick and dint even make me try maths"
Her self esteem has grown loads in the last year, she now is strong enough to be cutting ties with her last 'friend' from school. A child we never really warmed to terribly because she flitted between Sophie and the girl who bullied her,sometimes being her ally, sometimes being her enemy. I cant say I'm disappointed with this and was really proud when she said "she was horrid to me on msn so Ive blocked her" and although she asked a couple of times to phone her she soon decided that the answer to "Is that SUCH a good idea" was "actually no, probably not!"
Shes achieved masses in her trampolining sessions and her coaches are thrilled with her progress in the past 6 months especially. Shes also coped with a couple of changes of coach, something which previously would have left her grief stricken and others treating her as if she was just a ridiculous attention seeker as she would sob about it.I realise she must have found it so incredibly hard to cope with, first building trusting relationships and then having them removed. I'm so proud she seems to have realised that she will be OK and that partings are the way of the world.
She has also started swimming club at the centre where I work, she went in alone, not knowing anyone apart from one of the teachers and got straight into it. I was really proud of her, she still struggles with her body image and I think it probably was a big thing for her to be able to get into her new swimsuit and walk into a pool with 25 kids who are strangers to her but who have probably known each other a long time and join in the swimming club.The coaches came out and said "she did really well and tried her very best" ( all I can ask I think!) She now wants to learn the recorder, the guitar and to make her own clothes !

She now has fewer friends but those she does have are so much better for her I think. She is looking forward to the social side of the small school we hope she will join in September however she isn't so sure she wants to go every day and work! Ive told her she needs to make a choice on that one. I suspect she wont and I will choose for her, in favour of sending her but she knows she can say "I want to change my mind" and that will be OK too( I hope) She very much enjoyed her day in school and I think she needs to at least give it a good go. I do recognise she needs friends but that her previous schooling has made her vulnerable to bullying and that in my mind she needs to go back to the 'right' school as far as is possible, a huge senior just wont ever be able to give her what she needs.

Chloe continues to thrive. This time last year she was emerging from the damage that years of bullying and lack of provision/understanding for her special needs had caused. At the end of last summer term she won the 'headmasters cup' and I was so incredibly proud, I spent the whole day crying openly, I was so so proud of how far she had come.
I saw another mum at school watch her child receive the same treatment at Christmas and he had been through similar anguish( and they a similar battle with the local authorities) and she too sobbed and sobbed. We've chatted about this and agreed neither of our particular kids at school thrived while being home educated ( Chloe was for several months and her son for more than a year) and home education just wasn't for them. It still isn't for them, despite us both buying into it with great enthusiasm and seeing as parents the benefits, especially for Sophie and Connor. We are so blessed that there is a school which is suited so completely to unravelling what is going on for them and meeting their needs as a result of what they find. Chloe's school has unravelled the 'odd' things about her, explained them, treated them as completely run of the mill and just something else which unravelled some more of the puzzle which makes up my very unique daughter. 'Complex' was the label applied to her by the state which meant "we cant deal with her so we will write her off" It horrifies me that my daughter who has turned out to be such a bookworm and such a 'swot' ( and I use that term proudly!) was destined for "a gentle skills based curriculum with an emphasis on gaining skills for life" which in effect meant "we will take her on tripe, teach her how to shop, cook and clean and maybe teach her to read a little better and so some maths".... now none of that is wrong or viewed by me as not valuable but when you consider that all other learning opportunities would be limited to a very low level to meet the needs of children who have difficulties understanding its a horrifying prospect for a child with a high IQ, disabled by severe dyslexic difficulties who was expressing feelings of severe self loathing and demonstrating it regularly and dramatically at home. I look back at the crumpled, damaged and exceedingly angry child we bundled into the car and forced to visit the school, who scowled at the head and refused to speak... who later CHOSE that school and in 18 months is now in the top set for maths,is a prefect and is helping another very damaged little girl settle into school.(and has been recognised for her efforts)

I think "Thank god, I think Ive made the right choices for my kids at the time I have felt Ive needed to make them and Ive chosen my fights" and thank god a panel of people agreed Chloe needed the school and thank god the law allowed me to say "No I wont put Connor through this any more and do what we did ( unintentionally) to Chloe forcing her into school"

I have met so many lovely people since we've been home educating, many who are a constant source of friendship and support,.
Ive met some who clearly don't agree with my choosing a structured/eclectic/semi structured approach as one which is right for my children... that's all fine.They are my children and I make my choices for them but that's not to say we don't have things we can learn from each other and value in each others approaches when the time comes ( if it comes) for alternative ways to be 'the best way' for our respective children.
I think Ive grown in confidence in my own decisions and sadly have to thank the LEA and the awful fight against them for that. That I was right about my child... I wasn't a professional yet I was listened to and was agreed with by 'professionals' That gave me confidence.
As a home educator, i started out thinking "I can return them if this doesn't work" but it is working, I can see its working in front of my eyes. They aren't 'filling up' with facts as fast as children in school but I wonder whether that is in fact of any use to them later? I am pretty sure the usefulness of such an approach is severely limited and I value the fact I( and Chloe's school) can get my children to be literate, numerate and loving learning, loving discovering and growing as people. It is also what I value about her school- my child is taught in portakabins... for an independent school it isn't 'academic' nor 'posh' it just nurtures beautiful people who also need and thrive in school ( and frankly if you read this and are a home educator who thinks ALL schools are ALL evil,damaging institutions you'll be wasting your energy complaining about my view!)

Chloe's school motto is ( translated from Latin) 'The same roads by different steps" and its only while writing this that Ive realised that's what we do as home educators do, that's what Chloe's school does( and they are vehemently anti LEA interference/Aggro too). The aim is to nurture children who can achieve, who want to, because they believe that they can.
Its such a shame the state system is so frightened of different steps, that we can all tread the path through life without being labelled a failure, that we all have talents and weaknesses and that if we were all the same life would be very boring.... rather like many children find state schooling... where we must all tread the same path, the same way and fit our square pegs into those round holes however or whatever the cost.
My square pegs fit rather nicely into their respective holes and I hope that continues! If it doesn't, we'll change the hole, not the peg!

Grand Slam concert -pics!

Mad bank holiday weekend!

Flower is fine and is home in her hutch, safely locked in! They treated her for the posioning regardless of her not showing any symptoms and she stayed fine so she came home this morning. It was an expensive outing but fortunately we werent charged the 'bank holiday' charge. The vet must have taken pity on us so just charged for the treatment and stay. The bill wasnt as bad as I'd feared but Ill be taking out pet insurance for them both!

Monday afternoon at the Grand Slam Celebrations was brilliant! The kids had an incredible time

and were very well behaved. The concert was amazing and we had really good seats. It was just a shame it didnt last longer! The kids agreed it was well worth queuing in the cold for!

Blogger doesnt seem to like the pics sadly. It keeps failing to save when I try to upload them!

Darren had the day off today and so after Connor had been to the half term soccer school I signed him up to we all went out for lunch out. We had intended to have a walk after that but felt stuffed so abandoned the walk and went to the caravan storage site to check on our caravan.

We had alot of work done on it last year after we inherited it from my parents and discovered it had several areas of deterioration. We also tackled some of it ourselves and there is still some work to be done replacing some seating, renewing the water pump system and a tyre needs changing. We were glad to find that its been no worse for the bad weather we have had lately and the leaks we fixed in the spring are still watertight so weve promised ourselves we will try and get the last of it done. I have no idea how to tackle most of it but it will be a good learning experience for us all, Ive spent lots of time trying to find advice etc on the net. We need to get it finished by the first week in July when Chloe finishes school as we will have to take it to Somerset for the end of school celebrations.

We've all been really enjoying The Apprentice, the kids are really interested in the business aspects of it as well as the competition as a whole. My moneys on Lee or Alex to win...they seemed the least likely candidates to start with too! Sophie in particular spends alot of time thinking what sort of business venture she could start to make money! Im off to watch it now :)

It never rains....

But it pours...
I got sent home ill from work last night with a high temperature, Im still not feelin great this morning. Im working too much I suspect. Im really looking forward to a few 'days off' (not that they will be days off really!)
and...

We've mad a mouse infestation in the garden. At first they were cute and the kids enjoyed observing them scurrying about but when we realised they were getting in the rabbit hutches and as a result the rabbits werent eating their pellets we decided the mice had to be dealt with. Darren went off yesterday and bought food and I said to the kids Make damned sure the hutches are shut properly and you do not, under any circumstances get the rabbits out.
I woke up this morning to Flower, our little netherland hopping around the garden in the rain having got out of her very much unlocked hutch in the night.
She is now at the vets after we discovered an empty bait tray ( please let the greedy mice have munched it all) and we're hoping she will be ok. So far shes not showing signs of having munched a whole load of anything, much less the bait but we just dont know. The vet said they would call later and promised me if she goes downhill they will get us in and they will put her to sleep rather than keep trying while she suffers.
Sophie and Connor are upset and worred but its taught them a hard lesson in listening and keeping their animals safe. Being a bank holiday it wont be cheap either, god knows how we will find the money for the bill, she isnt insured....the vet said we could pay a little at a time since they know us which will help.

On a brighter note,
A colleague actually sat down and asked me what we actually 'do' when we 'homeschool' ( which was in a convo she initiated about whether the kids are going to school- again) but at least she asked, and importantly listened and was open to the positives such as following an alternative curriculum in subjects where they have different learning styles( like Connors Miquon) and how the kids get more done without having to (her words) "Play to the slowest common denominator while putting up with the loudest, cheekiest, naughtiest.." which drives her nuts about her kids school where the kids go and play if theyve finished their work until everyone else is done or have to stay in if they run out of time!

It was really nice for the conversations to have moved on from negative perceptions and misconceptions about what we do into constructive questions and discission!

AND.....

the day of the Grand Slam party has arrived so we're all looking forward to that and are meeting friends beforehand so we can all sit together. Thats keeping my mind off me feeling really blaghh still and Flower's predicament....

A ( slightly) better day today!

I woke at 3am being awfully sick so that was the museum day completely off the agenda! Darren took the day off work and so he took my car to its MOT which it passed.. PHEW and he took Connor to his tuition session while Soph and I spent time pottering about and feeling sorry for ourselves!
We spent some time this afternoon watching a couple of documentaries on BBC i-player, reading and the kids did some maths games on the PC. Connor did some more Miquon which he has sussed is maths and so isnt too happy because he claims it will therefore "be rubbish and hard" but he completed a worksheet without too much objection, since its actually really simple at the start.He was pleased when he got to explain to his dad how the cuisinaire rods worked as dad wasnt really 'getting it'!
I pulled out the tesco clubcard vouchers to order day out tokens and discovered we had many more than I had thought, many many more! So Ive ordered enough for a crossing on the Eurotunnel so we can go back to France for a weeks camping in the summer holidays! We bought annual passes for disney last summer so we can use them again( Hint- never buy tickets in advance or a package if you are going for more than 3 days to disney Paris... buy a 1 day ticket at the gate and redeem it off the cost of an annual pass which is cheaper than a 3 day ticket!)
I just have to book a site now and check the tent etc since we havent used it since we got our caravan which is about 2 years now!The caravan is lovely but its a huge drag taking it to paris from Dover!
Connors just got back from Tae Kwondo and it went really well, the lady who helps out said he was really good at it and Connor is just buzzing with exitement!

Ever had one of those days?

Today seems to have been one of the wierdest for a long time! No home ed got done ( unless you count Connor playing around with a mirrors book for 5 mins this afternoon!)
It was completely taken up with irrelevancies and time wasting! This morning I had an appointment at the hospital, only to drive there, be told all my results were normal but referred immediately to my GP, who saw me but sent me away and asked me to return a week later claiming the hospital and I were wasting her time.... Ho humm.
then the landlady phoned, the bank hadnt paid the rent into her bank account ( great, what a start to things) so chase that up....
managed to get some shopping done or there would have been no lunch, popped to the local home ed meeting( late as usual) breaking open packets of stuff from said shopping for something to eat for'packed lunch' ( without the 'packed') in the car park ( the height of disorganiastion and slovenly neglectful motherhood) and made it into the meeting...
Left to drop shopping home and meet my mum and Sophie off the train, she stayed over there last night, hello, goodbye and then into Kwik fit for tyres( all 4.. I almost fainted!), asked the guy "do you have time to do them by 3.40ish... he looked at me as if I was a bit dim and said "Its only 3...
I finally arrived home, in Hubbys car at 4.10 after he dropped in and we swapped cars( should have started work at 4) kids in tow and him still waiting for my damned car!Got out of car and a huge howl went up... Sophie had trapped her finger in the door of hubbys car!
I sorted the icepack and tissues and really did have to drag her into work with me clutching her hand and yelling into the mobile for hubby to shift his butt( before being calmly reminded he needed my car to shift in which was taking rather longer than anticipated)
Hubby finally turned up at 5.20 ( I kid thee not, the trip is about 3 miles from kwik fit to work)
Soph was then carted off to hospital. still shaky and crying with Hubby protesting "They wont do anything anyway"
errr Sophs now well bandaged and slinged having broken her finger.
Work was a nightmare, no dinner when I got home ( the footy is on, what should I have expected? a miracle?)
ah well at least I have wine, Im sure everything else can wait until tomorrow!

On the plus side, Chloes extra happy as shes been given a bedroom of her own at school( her absolute ideal situation) and is bouncing with happiness. Shes also top of the school in housepoints( the indicator of who is working hardest)

Connors decided he will start tae-kwondo tomorrow after almost chickening out and lots of tears last night when he went to watch and declaring "I dont care of its hard, it looks really hard. Im going to go and practice until I can do it( not bad for a kid with dyspraxia)

Sophies managing ok with her hand and mum told me she was extra kind today, insisting they helped a young mum who was breastfeeding to get on the train! She also cooked tea last night for my mum and dad :)

Im so proud of them on days like this when everything else is falling down round my ears!

She's home... and I'm here!

Just catching up with my emails...
Two very kind colleagues packed me off home....*massive grin*
We had the longest cuddle ever, a lovely tea and shes watching crap on the telly

Zonked

I'm completely knackered... No amount of sleep seems to be helping but then I'm not getting a lot Ho, Hummm.
Ive worked every evening this week so I can have Chloe's precious half term to spend with the kids and am steadfastly refusing to work anything other than my set classes that week.

Last night was a nice, if late one. The local Sikh association held its annual social event in the centre and I worked until 1am. I was knackered but it was a lovely night, the people were fantastic and not only invited us to join them for their meal, the ladies insisted I take some home for the kids :) I was gently scolded by one of the old ladies for not having large ice cream tubs to decant mountains of curry into too and told next year I must bring some!
So its the most delicious curry for tea for the family, I wont get any... Ill be in work again..!!! GRRR.

Chloe's home tonight though and I can't wait. Mum and Dad suggested they drive down to get her as we've been invited to join the whole school trip to Techniquest in Cardiff Bay and so she can stay home tonight, spend some time with Granny and Grandad this afternoon. She said she will pop down and see me in work for a couple of hours. I wanted the night off but its not possible,loads of people have gone off sick (nothing to do with the nice weather of course... Im such a cynic!)
I can't wait...I miss her so much when she's at school and bury my sadness and get on with it then shes on her way home and I get all teary. I'd home ed her if she wanted to be but shes incredibly happy in school with her friends.They went to Longleat yesterday and after being told on Friday that she didn't want to go because "longleat is crap and its for kids" guess where shes insisted we go back to in half term??
Ive waited to go for a while so I think Ill exchange some tesco vouchers for passports its quite pricey otherwise!

Connors Miquon has arrived and looks really interesting, if a little easy for what he can do, but this is a plus in my mind!He can get used to the style of working without it introducing any new concepts.

Ive also ordered these books from Amazon after looking at one at Amazon and the one-to one book has arrived.They look really good for activities to dip in and out of.I was also reassured that my thinking on Connors learning to read was backed up, just expose him to enough books and often enough and he will carry on wanting to read enough to keep at it!The author also shares my love of 'traditional' literature and recommends loads of books Ive already bought for the kids. Im looking forward to the other title arriving now, although it looks like Sophie will start at school in september neither book dictates that "You must home educate" and also suggests how to best supplement anything which is happening in school. Maybe that will make me feel better about sending her back!

An Early start....

But so worth it!!!
A colleague at work told me last night that tickets for the Wales Grand Slam Celebration concert would be released this morning to people nuts enough to queue at the stadium.... http://www.wru.co.uk/1391_18066.php
Yep you guessed it, we were up at 6.15 and outside the stadium at 6.50 surprisingly no 35 in the line we parked ourselves on the pavement and waited for 2 hours.The kids were interviewed and photographed for the local paper, said they were home educated and were asked if they had waited all night ?? ( no, were not bonkers!) so they will probably be in the paper tonight!

It was worth it though! We now have 12 tickets after I was given 6 and as we were walking out the kids said they felt it was very unfair that the woman said that it was 6 'per group' yet other children who had waited in groups and who were there with us were being given 6 each. I agreed that yes, it did appear that they didnt seem to have applied the rules fairly and that the website had stated 6 per person.

So back they went and said politely "excuse me, you arent applying your rules fairly, given us 6 as a group, other people waited in a group and have been given 6 per person"
The lady tried to say it was because they had approached the desk as a group and then it was because they were children until Sophie also pointed out all the children in school uniform were also given 6 each and they were similar age to her, she added it was now school time and they were out of school.
The lady tried to argue that they could 'fill out a form'( rather amusing given that the kids were standing their ground politely and calmly) and her boss stepped forward and gave them 6 tickets agreeing they should apply the rules fairly!Said "will that do you?" and Sophie said "Yes, thank you, thats very good of you" leaving the lady looking very silly!

So now, even though of course we dont need 12 tickets, we have 5 for us, 5 for Welsh friends living in Norfolk who missed out on the excitement at the time of the match and two for the colleague who told me about where and when to get tickets( who was stuck in work!)
I said to them, it just shows it sometimes pays to politely complain and stand your ground! Especially if your motive isnt a selfish one:)
It was only ten past 9 by this point and I felt like it was lunchtime!
We spent the morning at The museum of Welsh life at St Fagans with my mum and some friends she has staying with her who have two children who were home educated for a while. They all raced around exploring, ate cheesy rolls and gingerbread men from the bakery and had a ride on the horse and cart before Connor admitted defeat and said he wanted to go home so Ive left Sophie with the rest and come home for a few hours with my feet up and he's watching a documentary on Mars exploration. The Miquon stuff arived this morning too so Im busy reading my way through all the accompanying teachers books with a cuppa.
I start work soon and don't finish till 11.30... I hope I will still be awake then!

Wise up! YMCA

Sadly Ive had to edit this post.... I wa aware the organisers of "Wise up" are linking to my blog, despite recent events which saw the Chairperson Louise Murray undertake a vicious, needless and vindictive campaign against me... My crime? getting involved in Wise up on more than the most casual basis.

You see over time the organisation grew, more people got involved, including me... only anyone Louise Murray doesnt particularly like or agree with, eventually falls victim to her vincictivness.

IN my case it took the form of allegations of abuse towards her child which were completely without foundation... a witch hunt ensued which to date has included numerous libellous emails,claims I should not be allowed to work with children, claims that I had perpetrated terrible acts against a vulnerable child claims that she has been attacked and so on.

You should be aware if you intend to attend wise up that the committee and chair are bullies, pure and simple, if your face doesnt fit, if you happen to disagree with the chair, you WILL be placed in the firing line...

In my case I was banned from ever attending again, my children denied access to wise up activities. By my count alone I am now one of at least 5 parents treated in this way since 2008...The people who tried to refute Mrs Murrays lies and bullying were also unable to attend... people who are honest, have integrity and who ust wanted to speak out against the nastiness and bullying she indulged in

dont let your children go through this, please

We havent been to wise up since March....2010 its now almost NOVEMBER 2010 and the harrassment by the committee continues in various forms...

PLEASE... dont be the next victim. DONT get involved

You know sometimes you just have a day where you end up feeling like crying? Well today was one of those days.
The kids had done loads today, dug over the flowerbeds, planted some flower seeds, some sunflowers and some mint ( in pots) and had done some bookwork, Draw write now, colouring etc and been thoroughly pleasant to each other all day ( their behaviour towards each other is a real issue at the mo) The sun shone and they got on with whatever it was they wanted to at the time from the pile of stuff I put on the table while I got on with unpacking.

So why the upset? Some of the guys in work....
Since we've moved house almost everyone I work with has put pressure on me to put the kids into a school near here, there are quite a few I could choose from( as has been endlessly pointed out) but today really took the biscuit... I was told, in no uncertain terms by two colleagues that they would get a better education in school( and you know this how?) that They need interaction with other children (err yeah ancd your point is??)
I was compared to a person who allows their children to truant "Because after all it really takes the biscuit,since they dont even test em or nuffin and yet they prosecute people who dont send their kids to school" What do they do? learn through play?? ( in a scoffing tone)
I was also told "Its not about them and what they want, its about whats easiest for you and after all, they aint sposed to like it... tell the little EFFERS tough ****** and get em back"
I said I would send them back if they wanted to go and if they werent happy to go I wouldnt force them back.I also pointed out home education is far from truancy and no, my children didnt spend all day 'learning through play' but if they did and that was age appropriate then thats what they would do... since they arent little, I dont feel that it is... so mine have work they complete, when they are done they do whatever...I wasnt aware that truants did that?

FGS... since when has my childrens education been any of their business? I dont comment about the fact that their children go to school ( even though, as they admit, no kid likes it, thats not the point of school as they also admit) I havent suggested they home educate their children.
All of a sudden its open season on my kids ... wonderful.
Its been like chinese water torture these past few weeks, when are the kdis going to school then? what school are you putting them in then? well why not then?

Because I dont bloody want to thats why!

and yet the first thing a supportive colleague said this afternoon when he saw me was "They just said you home educate?? Thats a bit cool innit? What lovely well mannered kids you have, they are so polite..."
Im just trying to hold onto that comment and not let the ignorant ones get to me
and why did I get all this interest? because for an hour of 'school' time my kids were in work, in the pool, splashing about and having fun... what a heinous crime, enjoying PE

Its been a long day!

And Ive been in work again all day....and rescued a child who was in difficulty for the first time. Im amazed how calm I was, I'd always been worried when it happened I would panic but I was cool and he was just fine. PHEW!

I got home to find the kids had had a lovely day...

Chloe's sore but surviving! Her friends mum said she had kept an eye on her and she had a good day and was managing fine with parcetamol, although she was shuffling about alot she has been swimming in a lake nearby today and spent last sleeping on loungers under the stars in the garden :) a really big step for her, I never thought she would be brave enough to do something like that, although we've camped previously! She seems to have had a really lovely time.

Sophie and Connor went up to Darrens mums to see her and spent much of the day mooching around, no fighting( thankfully) at home in the garden.

Connor seems to have spent much of the day indoors playing/on the pc/watching Tv but he isnt good at being out in hot weather !

I got home about 4.30 and Sophie made curry for us all, very hot to be eating in this weather but she enjoyed making it so we sat with the doors open to the garden enjoying the sunshine while we had tea.It was really nice not to have to cook too!She's made another card today for one of her other cousins, she was really pleased with the results.

Tonight Darren was out taking down the qashing and discovered that today some bees have built their nest inside the pole which holds up our washing line!

The kids were fascinated seeing the holes they have bunged up with a substance which looks rather like mud and the lowest one which is being used by bees for access to the hive.

the holes are all the same size, this is the only one 'open' the others havent shown up very well in the pic! We will have to look up how bees make their hives and colonise etc

OOPs

Chloe rang this evening from her friends house. She's was out riding with her friend in the New Forest and the saddle slipped, Chloe tumbled and is now in lots of pain, with bruising to her back and hip shuffling around like an old lady apparently! Shes being very brave and her friends mum said she would take her to the hospital if the pain hasn't improved by tomorrow morning. They were about 2 miles from the house when it happened, Chloe's instinct told her to get up and try and walk or ride back. Thankfully her friend ensured she lay still etc until her mother arrived! She's had a sit in their spa bath which helped. I think she'll live:) She was having lots of fun despite the pain. I just want to go and give her a hug. Im not too worried, if her friends mum thinks she will be ok, it would just be nice to be able to check and comfort her a bit! She sounded quite chirpy on the phone though and was just worried Id be cross!

All the moving, working etc finally caught up with me today and I went to work at 7am feeling dreadful. I thought it was because I'd finished at 11.30pm last night but when I came home today with a stinker of a migraine I was forced back to bed and that's where I stayed until almost 6pm. Its done me good though, I feel so much better for the enforced bed rest!There must be some sort of virus going round as Soph has the headache this evening.

The advantage of moving and unpacking has been the discovery of several books/resources we either didn't know we had or had forgotten about. Sophie discovered this book in a box, complete with CD. http://tiny.cc/3rgOs
I vaguely recall buying it when they were in school and Chloe dropping out immediately a few years ago. So we'll get onto that when I can get them some recorders
I had a week of spending very little so that I can catch up a little moneywise and order a couple of Galore Park english books for Sophie,she seems to work so much better from a textbook style book than the workbooks I bought and she was pretty ambivalent about. They are pretty expensive though I hope they are worth it! Others have commented positively about them qand the sample pages look good so fingers crossed. Ive bought the ones which are below the suggested age group as they are used in prep schools and appear to be a higher level than she would have done in school using the national curriculum.
Shes made a beautiful card for her cousin's birthday today using the 'draw, write now' books. Ill take a picture when I can locate my camera! Shes really proud of it. I'm going to get her working on an entry for the structured home ed forums children's competition this week.
Ive decided to buy in Miquon maths for Connor. He's quite good in some areas of maths but I dont think he really 'gets'; why the answer is what it is and has great difficulty sequencing etc. It uses lots of manipulatives and he's very much a kinaesthetic learner. He also thinks about things quite differently before reaching the correct answer on all sorts of things which his speech therapist also picked up when doing some work on semantics with him.I understand Miquon has quite a 'different' approach so I really hope it will suit his roundabout way of thinking too! It starts with first grade, way below his chronological age but I'll be starting at the beginning with it because his knowledge is very patchy, even in things like counting.

Moving house has really started to pay... I have enough money for these things this week! I havent driven anywhere for days, I havent needed to! Its shocking how much money we were literally 'burning' and killing the planet, just to get to work and essential trips to the shops etc while living in an area Ive always hated.

Getting there slowly!

Unpacking seems to be taking forever, not sure why...at least the books are in the bookcase and I'm getting close to being able to once again see half the living room floor.
The under stairs cupboard is full of stuff I'm going to boot sale which escaped the first 'sort out'
Living in such a small house previously means even surrounded by all the boxes this house feels uncluttered! Every time I have unpacked a box these last few days Darren appeared with more boxes and dumps them in the living room!I( which is where they stay until I do something about it!)
Ive also noticed he now has three trays of varying types full of 'bits' which I'm not allowed to touch or move...except Ive had enough and am buying him a tool box( not that he owns many tools, he just hoards 'bits')

Its all such a hassle getting through it all when the weather is good and I wasted most of yesterdays good weather stuck in work in melting temperatures when I could have been out lounging! Its cloudy today but the weather is due to return soon. I found a load of outdoor cushions and beanbags in a sale so for less than £50 we have the lounging arrangements for the decking in hand :)

The poor rabbits don't seem to keen on the weather though, our poor dwarf lop, thumper is moulting furiously as he tries to keep cool and his coat is looking decidedly sparse in places.. I must investigate a way of keeping him cooler. Ive shaded part of his hutch and run with some cardboard for now.

Education wise, not an awful lot is being done here. We've been out to visit our nearest local group this week and caught up with friends we haven't seen for a few months there and next week there is the next home ed event at the YMCA which Ive managed to switch Connors Dyslexia action session to accommodate so I'm looking forward to taking them to that. I can't tell them about it yet though or they'll explode with excitement and then work themselves into deciding they aren't going by Tuesday.

Connors spent some time playing 'football games' he found on the woodlands junior school website this morning.I'm a horrible mummy because I wont let him on his playstation during the day so he felt triumphant that he was still 'playing football games' on the PC despite my 'ban' ( So we both won I guess;-))
He's also spent lots of time practicing his spelling words using the wooden letters I bought him. He really enjoys using them, Chloe suggested it when she saw he wouldn't do the spellings he was being given by his dyslexia tutor and they've been a great success. Obviously, being a 9 year old boy 'rude' and anatomical words feature regularly! I drew the line at spelling anything dreadful though....

Sophie did a couple of pages of her science workbook and watched the birds in the garden for a while. I must get her a bird spotters guide as she seems really interested in them at the moment and is desperate to identify the tiny mouse ( or maybe its not) which keeps getting into the rabbit hutches and taking off again before she gets close enough to take a picture/look closely enough.I must get her a bird box kit and get her building that.She really got into it after we went with our friends to Center Parcs.

Chloe's off to stay with a friend this weekend who lives in the New Forest, they are going riding horses on the beach.. lucky thing, I'm so envious.

We've spent another day drifting between unpacking, tidaying and enjoying the sun! I dont think it matters that there are still masses of boxes to get through if the sun is shining, they will still be there when the sun goes away again!

Sophie was supposed to have a friend coming for tea tonight and spent alot of today getting her room straight, only for the friend to not turn up.... shes upstairs sobbing her heart out.She has so looked forward to it.
Its times like this which make me realise just how much she needs to go to school..She misses the daily contact with other children so much that school really does seem to be what she needs even if thats just to provide her with the friendships she craves.

Settling in

Is really happening in earnest here.
The kids are really much hapier since we moved in ( last week) and although we are surrounded by boxes and chaos its all getting worked through slowly.Things are getting moved into place and its starting to feel like its 'ours' I'm posting this sat on the floor, surrounded by boxes as we decided not to move the old PC desk!

I hadnt realised, until we moved how much living in our old house affected me nor the negative effect it was having on us all as individuals and as a family.
Although the unpacking is causing arguments between the kids its all so much more bearable now I have the space to walk away from it, as of course do they only they dont seem to be doing so... so on that front I cant wait for it all to be done and hopefully some sort of calm will return! Chloes been home this weekend so the three way bickering resumed... Im assured its not just mine who do this..!I hope as they settle peace will reign ( one can but hope)
Going back to the house to clear it out was just horrible, I was in and out as fast as possible, almost like a child feeling if I hung around too long someone might tell me it was all a bad joke and we'd have to stay!

The weather is lovely here at the moment, another thing we've noticed.. how much brighter and calmer the weather is now we arent living at the top end of a valley, glued to the hillside and feeling like were clinging on for dear life whenever the wind blew!
Here we have a garden we can use! ( our old one was steep and only suitable for hanging washing in!)The kids have spent time lounging on the decking and weeding the flowerbed. There are some lovely plants and flowers already here so were going to plant some sunflowers and hanging baskets/planters this week to add our own touches.
Sophie spotted some 'outdoor' bean bags in a catalogue so were going to save up for one or two,I think the deck will make a lovely spot to curl up and read in the sun.

There are starting to be some great home ed activities happening now the overly long winter is finally at an end. Today there was a visit to a falconry centre, sadly we cant go, I cant find the family railcard, cant afford the petrol to drive for over an hour each way and have far too much unpacking to get through, maybe we'll make it to the country park tomorrow!

GGGGaaaaaaaaah!!!

Ive come to post an update and have found the blog locked... due to it being a possible spam blog or having a link pointing to a specific site or site which crops up often... so I'm guessing that would be the home ed webrings then?? If you ( whichever human reads this and decides if its spam) are looking through my posts reads this, please sort it!
I suspect it was also because a spammer posted on my blog a couple of weeks ago, which is why Ive put comments into moderation. Its blinking annoying! Ill definitely be looking into alternative platforms now.

Sophie's day in the new school was cancelled due to the teacher being absent for the day, she was gutted but it was rescheduled for a week later and the visit took place on Friday. She loved it and came home full of what she had done and the people she had met, including a child she was in her primary school with who had been removed "because mum and dad weren't really happy with it"... so were not the only ones who think "The best school in the area" ( allegedly) isnt all its cracked up to be then!

She appeared to have managed very well with the lessons she was given, was asked to write about her family in English rather than take part in a spelling test with the rest( although she said she offered). She seemed to do OK with the maths she brought home, although I'm not really sure what level it was, since they don't use the national curriculum. She came home raving about all the kids though ( even the boys) which is the main thing for me, she had enjoyed an afternoon playing rounders in PE and is asking when she can return, completing her 'homework' this weekend which she later admitted she hadn't been asked to do, just felt daft not having finished it...
So I guess that's an unequivocal 'yes' from Soph then..... although she did say she didn't want to go every day so maybe if we can flexi school its going to be what makes her happiest for now.

I cant publish this so Ill post it when I am allowed and my blog is unlocked... now to go and search for alternatives to blogger... GRRR