Several loud "woops" greeted last night's announcement that today was to be a home day for the gallivanters. After Littlehampton, Chichester, Goodwood and Fishers Farm already this week it was a popular choice. Sensibly I had the foresight to cancel our regular Thursday cleaner for the rest of the month, not that the house doesn't need cleaning but, on an average Wednesday, the pre clean tidy takes The Daddy One and I a solid couple of hours; I just didn't face tackling it on my own!
"Hooray, we can play all day."
Noteworthy only in that I suspect most members of the GP assume home educators always stay home!
Bedtime wasn't too tricky last night. Did the whole bath thing and, thanks to the assistance of audiobooks on the sonos (Famous Five for E, 5, and Swallows and Amazons for S, 7, everyone was snoozing pretty early after a day in the spring sunshine.) Et and I did a couple of pages of his latest Star Wars sticker book for bed. He is matching the words and the shapes brilliant. He really is learning all the time!
Then this morning, as everyone was enjoying their jacket potato breakfast, I fused the electrics when a light bulb blew in the hall. It means we are without the lighting circuit in the downstairs front of the house but our regular electrician can come first thing tomorrow and fix it.
So, by 9am there had been numtums, playdoh (which started off as just O,2, then expanded to include everyone and included making letters and numbers and globes and slicing cakes into fractions), playmobil, lego, lego website. If you are looking for home ed blogs about sitting up at the table talking quadratic equations and adverbs then we are not in that zone. Far more holistic approach to learning all the time
Mostly so stayed home so we could skype with The Daddy One - the time difference with Texas is a real pain and connecting to Fishers Farm Park wifi yesterday was not hugely successful. At mid day he was treated to three people trying to talk to him at once whilst the ocado grocery shop delivery arrived. Ocado, Skype. This are very modern parenting challenges!
Mostly today we have had a fluid transition between activities, if I oil the wheels with food and sleep it is mostly okay. E struggles the most and each day I am closer to make peace with the situtaion that it is not the youngest child that requires the most attention. We made pizza for lunch and cakes (well, them not me. Cottage cheese and ryvita for me!) Watched Horrible histories about the Domesday book and had a trip to the local park for climbing and spring flowers (PE & Nature Studies!)
I showed S he Conquer maths website as several of her friends have been using it. She declared it "Yawntastic" but she might come back to it
We put The Daddy One's leggy tom seeds outside as they need more light, we googled leggy seeds and discovered that tomatoes have higher light requirements than other seeds (science!)
Much Scooby Doo has been watched over the last few weeks
9 more sleeps til The Daddy One returns and we have plans for three of those nights, a new spring rhythm is emerging.
10 comments:
You are never home! You have so many fabulous places to go. We don't get out nearly as much as we want to or previously did grrhhh. Great tune today thanks x
I used to have to plan to stay at home some days to get some 'work' done! But I still feel the most valuable education takes place out of it.
I reckon it needs a different name from 'home' educating - 'out and about' educating would suit better!
Home Educators Loving Learning Outdoors "Hello!"
West Sussex is great Angela - come and live here :)
I agree Ross - it gives the wrong impression totally!
We are seriously thinking about it as a possible plan certainly if we are to stay in the UK for any greater length of time. I quite like Hastings which I know is East Sussex but certainly your part of the UK seems more attractive for our needs right now.
I know I do sound a bit like the Sussex tourist board sometimes! I had to laugh yesterday when Visit Sussex (@Vsussex) retweeted the blog! Obviously they think so too.
The thing that is great here is that we are close to London and the coast so we really have the best of both.
Don't know East Sussex so well as West but obviously still near the sea and Sussex is the sunniest county (statistically) in the UK too
I can't imagine ever living anywhere else really but if I was too move in the next ten or fifteen years I'd use this map to help me! http://edyourself.org/articles/latotalnumber.php
It is handy to have a home day occasionally Ross - to consolidate the laundry and the baking and to research other places to go!
Ok, sunniest statistically just sold it! See you soon lol
The actual town is Bognor - most hours of sunshine anywhere in the UK. I knew the sun would won it!!
Best of all you know is the freedom and control to say "It's a sunny spring day let's go out." or "It's cold out there let's stay in!"
I just love the flexibility of a life out of school :)
Let me know when you need estate agent details - I am tempting Zoe too
ps - All the blog songs are on a youtube playlist in case you didn't know
Back when i was running the local group several families moved here having first enquired about the home ed scene. It can be expensive but not needing to live in the catchment for a """good""" school helps.
Post a Comment