Home Educating the Puddle Girls…

Finishing off the Year

Its been a while since i did any photos so i thought i would put a few up to round off what we achieved together this year. I suppose we have just come to the end of our “first term” of HE in a way, and i must say i am really pleased with the way its going. I feel that not only has real learning taken place but it has been positive, constructive, largely self directed, albeit with the help of a mummy who enjoys “facilitating” and most of all she feels very confident with what she knows and understands and i think thats pretty much the most important thing. It was pretty special watching her sat between my Aunt and Uncle on Xmas day night, watchnig that (somewhat rubbish) Polar Bear thing and being able to really “chat” about the animals in the programme; she had obviously taken a lot in and more was coming out i didn’t really know we had done! I think she must have really enjoyed the video and dvds we have looked at and absorbed stuff.

So - here is a collage she did of sealife - hopefully it will go towards the wildlife badge we are working for

then there is the picture of a killer whale diet we did, looking it up in books and on the net together and finding clipart we liked as well. This has been really successful - she recalls pictorial stuff very well - it seems to suit her. I imagine she probably does have a visual learning style so it doesn’t surprise me. The picture on the right is of a shark who has just eaten an arm… the arm being the red bit in its middle… ahem… strange child…

These masks were lots of fun - Puds is from a kit FC gave her and Moo’s is a craft kit one - we still have loads to do from that! lol!

This is the Usborne Nativity scene we made together - the actual construction was way beyond her but she followed the plans, found the bits and the conversation we had during it was very interesting. She and Moo both sat doing a Nativity sticker book on Xmas Eve and clearly it had all stuck in her brain from what she chatted about as she did it.

Then, last of all are the coasters they made as presents - the 4 are from Pud to Uncle Rich and the 1 is from Moo to Gramps - she actually did several and was SO patient!!!! We backed them with thin cork and they went down very well.

Max and i have been mooting how we will go about things this year - we feel we need to bring Moo more into the realm of “actually doing stuff” rather than the approach we took with Pud, who needed space to find her own patience. We have vague notions of some sort of informal science curriculum/topics as well as getting back to using our maths materials. He is busy reading John Holt which i am finding incredibly supportive and i feel a bit more comfortable with getting it right for her i think.

Today we went to see “Finding Nimo” - i need a repeat button to whisper “The good guys always win and never die in disney” into Pud’s ear till she goes through the fright pain barrier!!!! They did enjoy it though and i thought it fitted very well with our most recent topic!!!!!

Pud has requested that next year we carry on learning about the sea, learn to read, learn spanish and “do more on Henry” (ARGH!!!!!)

Most Festive Festivities!!!

Aah - what a lovely few days - I’ve been taking a real break from the computer and its been so nice, so i will have to try and think back!!!!

Monday i took the kiddies to a christmas party at our local soft play area - we have been going for years and it was lovely with a fairy and santa and lovely puppet presents and food and playing - much fun was had!

Tuesday we got up early, tidied up and then i took them to the Santa at out local Tesco Extra- it was lovely- an open grotto so not spooky, a fabulous Santa who really chatted to them and great gifts for £2.50 each - i was most impressed! As an extra bargain they both asked him to bring exactly what he WAS bringing! Am i a fab mummy or what??!!! Then i took them to buy a DVD each with money from my nan and they adored that- i suppose kids don’t get all that much opportunity to make things go they way they want them too and they loved having the choice. Funnily enough they both chose exactly the one i had originally ordered from Amazon! After that we went to “playing Macdonalds” and gathered more Brother Bear tat, had a roll in the ball pit and came home for an afternoon with a couple of Aunties.

Christmas Eve was our nicest ever, no tidying to do, no last minute pressies to get, all the wrapping bar the bits done. As always we visited Auntie Kate in the afternoon to swap pressies and then for the first time i took the bigger two to church. It was a really nice Blessing of the Crib service and al lthe kiddies took part in a candlelit procession - Moo adored it - all pomp and ceremony with a choir and everything - she picked up the carol tunes SO quickly and by the second verses was humming along. Pud was a bit over awed by it - but on the way there she had really really questionned me about the Easter Story and the Resurrection (”But HOW did God make him alive again? Does he have magic medicine???”) We discussed it for ages and i found that as we talked things were almost falling into place for me too - it was weird. We got right up to present day church in the course of the conversation. In the church (which may have been Catholic, i am not sure) they had a statue of the Virgin Mary which she spotted straight away and asked about - then asked what happened to Mary after Jesus died. I wasn’t actually sure but explained about her relevance to the Catholic church and she said “Oh yes- like Henry was!!!” - she amazes me, she really does! As we had promised the Tesco FC we left out port, brussel spouts and a mince pie (carrots being out of stock!)

Moo was pretty overwhelmed by the end of all this and has tbh been a nightmare of meltdowns and hysterics for most of Xmas day but she made it through out private Xmas Eve dinner and zonked out - Max and i spent the evening watching the extended Two Towers and drinking!

We had a nightmare night of sleep that night as Moo lost the plot and had nightmares all night but everyone slept in till 9.30 which was a bonus. Kids were thrilled with their pressies - FC had brought dolly bunk beds for Pud and a Barbie torch for Moo as well as copious jigsaws, the fabulous skating dresses, some bits and bobs and some Kids K’nex for Moo which has been a huge hit (she is so methodical - its hilarious!) Then we went off to my parents and had 2 lovely days of help with kids and more nice pressies- mum and dad had got them stuff from the Science museum, including a microscope, binoculars and some “Glooze”. Oh yes - Scruff got a “Backpack” “Dora” “Isa” and “Swiper” - she has worn the backpack constantly and keeps patting it and saying “packpack” - she looks more like a hobbit tbh!- she also learnt “bubbles” and “birdies” - she ADORED her pressies and her little face was a picture - dead chuffed.

We are home now and Moo is under a chair, resisting any efforts to coax her out but a quiet few days should sort her out - Pud is watching Barbies various dvd adventure AGAIN!!!! But its nice to chill out :~)

Hope you all had a good one everybody :~)

Hibernating

Apologies everyone - i am hibernating - i’ve been playing neopets all day (or at least all evening!) Fancied a break from the real world :~)

Forgot to say we had a lovely HE group xmas party on friday - with a show by the kids, games, food, party bags, the lot - twas lovely. The girls have teamed up with 4-5 other little girls of a similar age and have a fab time there - its really nice.

I am currently chewing over a new dimension on the Moo conundrum put forward by an educational psychologist on friday - its not that what he said surprised me, just that it makes me feel profoundly uncomfortable and disturbed - though why i am not sure. Somehow i never expected to have clever children, or rather a child with a sort of cleverness out of proportion to the rest of her and i don’t really know how i feel about it as a possibility, nor quite how to handle it. I think its probably WHY i feel like hibernating because even though i know of LOTS of children in the HE world who are exceptionally beautiful/clever/gifted etc children, i sort of feel its a taboo to discuss it, or make anything of it. And yet i do also feel i am in danger of failing her by not recognising it, not giving her access to a world she can excel in… i think its time to get out the Montessori books again and start down a very different route with Moo to the one that has proved suitable to Pud. Puds type of learning is like mine, i think i have been ignoring Moo’s quickness with maths and words because i don’t really understand it - even though i should because i was a very quick reader from a tiny age and Max is a fabulous mathematician. I think i have “thinking” to do on how to draw out her talents and lessen her frustrations.

Of course my other problem is Am**on have cocked up my xmas order and i have had to cancel it and do REAL shopping :~O *shriek*

She did it!

Today was the Gala and she did it!!!!! I am SO proud of her - she made it all the way throguh her programme (to an enormous chorus of “aaaaah’s”) without falling over and all in the right order - it probably wasn’t the best she has ever done it but she did it and thats what counts! The big girls were fantastically supportive and cheered and clapped every little move she did just like they do for each other with more complicated stuff and she just glowed with pride! I think skating in front of 500+ people on a bright, huge ice rink at 5 takes some doing… what a star! She looked adorable too and was so chuffed that mummy finally got her bum in gear and got proper skating tights for her.

I on the other hand was a dribbling, terrified wreck! I hope its going to get easier! rofl!

From the family that brought you…
… the “serated edge of sellotape toe amputating incident”… followed by the “second bead up the nose incident”… now read all about the “trip to casualty with a washing up bowl related injury” extravaganza!!!! *rolls eyes*

Yes, dear readers its true… today my eldest daughter managed to run along the hall, fall on a washing up bowl, shatter the rim of it and use one spike of plastic to rip an incredibly deep gash into the side of her hip - and when i say deep - you could see skin layers!!!! You could see fat cells - it didn’t even bleed it was so deep!!!!! Poor little soul - she was very brave and is now all steri-stripped together. Bless her she asked, in a very small voice “will i be able to go to the toilet with this bandage on?” - its a patch on the OUTSIDE of one hip!!! Bless!

So - obviously i haven’t been here. Been awfully washed out all week but finally seemed to regain full consciousness today (had to save my energy for all the bead parcels!!!) Girls have been fabulous - well except for Scruff who has written over the whole house with red felt tip *rolls eyes AGAIN* She is a MONSTER that child! On Monday we went to see Moo do her singing at nursery - she was dressed up as a snowman in a white calico bag! Bless - “5 jolly snowman stand in a row..” sung in an american accent (or accident as Pud says!) of course. The rest of the week has been taken up with watching The Blue Planet, making Hama xmas decorations, watching Ice Age, painting wooden shapes and various other bits and bobs - nothing major really.

Pud stayed with my sister at the weekend and had a lovely time - and omg was the house quiet - she must make 4 times the noise of both the other two!!!!!

I notice i have missed 2nd class post for cards for the 29th year running… grin…

Hmmm… bear with me then

Well having struggled along with this cold all week i spent thursday night throwing up and when i woke on friday morning i was shaking so badly it took me an hour to get out of bed. The poor kids were standing by the bed sobbing with fear and there was bugger all i could do about it. It was awful :~( Couldn’t get hold of dh who had no idea i was ill having slept through it all (lol!), temp was over 40 and everytime i tried to take any pills i was sick on them again so i couldn’t get any better. So now i haven’t eaten since thursday either. Just managed to drag my sorry backside to the docs and i have another chest infection…. actually it feels more like someone punched a hole through it.

Will endeavour not to die….

Staggering about wearily

Trying to remember when the last time i either got to sleep before 1.30am or got more than 90 minutes sleep in one go - its been a fair while… 10 days maybe :~( Its finally caught up with me anyway - i seem to have lost the ability to express myself properly, with all the hazards that brings :~(

Anyway, girls all ill, i can’t stop coughing and feel like i have a million bugs all over my skin and if they were in school, Pud would be off ill this week anyway. So not a lot has gone on. We did build the nativity scene which was excelllent fun - too hard for Pud to really “do” but she followed the instructions, found all the pieces and we talked constantly about the nativity for 2 hours - betrothal, joseph being angry mary was pregnant, census, where bethlehem was/is, the star, the animals, the angel - a really GOOD chat.

Both girls have done all three levels on the Oz game but still love it and Pud played houses with lego today - she has been using some picture books to teach herself words too - she did very well at speech therapy today.

Got to sleep - night all.