{Feeling Yuck}

I have had a horrid few days of feeling really rough. Awful flu like symtoms that have really knocked me back. The children have been pretty good and managed to just get on with what they could.

So, what has been happening? Well, Wednesday was the worst day for me, with sickness thrown into the mix. Chelsea was really good and got on with things without being asked - she covered Numeracy, Literacy, and started a project on Italy. She also sat with Tiegan and helped her with a Maths workbook. Joseph read the Our Island Story for me - that's our family chapter book at the moment that we read together. He also did part of his Maths workbook, and a bit of copywork - copying a poem from a book, then illustrating it.

Our caterpillars were checked and were growing nicely - I took this picture..


Thursday was a great day for Tiegan as it was her first day at Brownies! She thoroughly enjoyed her Rainbows experience and was eagerly anticipating Brownies, so much so I was nervous about it living up to her expectations. It seems that my worries were unfounded though as Tiegan came out afterwards absolutely buzzing with excitement and chatterings about how it all went and what they did. I knew she was going to be alright though when we walked in and she was immediately surrounded by her new pals with crys of "oh it's Tiegan!" from those she had met previously at Rainbows, arms flung around her, the works. Very cute and reassuring to see.

Today (Friday) was a disappointing one in that we were meant to be joining the local HE group for a visit to a Deer Farm. I really just couldn't face it though, still not feeling at full strength, and Callum was still suffering from a horrendously snotty nose (sorry for the graphic description) so we thought it best to rest ourselves and protect others from our lurgy. Instead I have had another day of resting and wiping Callum's nose - whilst the children pottered around on laptops, projects, workbooks and playing with the kids next door (who weren't at school again...) I ordered Tiegan's Brownie uniform :o)

I took photos of the caterpillars who have made yet more progress on the growth front...

I am strangely fascinated by the process, I really should grow up I think, but I think this is part of the fun of home-educating I guess, being involved and experiencing what the children experience. I wouldn't change it, even on days when we struggle to keep everything together.

Fascination...

Are the days getting shorter? Sure seems like it in this household. We don't seem to getting as much done as I would like to. We have been a little lapsed with the "sit down" schoolwork, and have been enjoying time outside in the warm weather instead. I knew it wouldn't last though, and seemingly just to prove my point, today has been a wet and indoor kinda day.

It started off well, with each child doing various workbooks. Chelsea was working on Maths, Joseph and Tiegan both on English. Callum sat with us and drew pictures, played with his cars, and talked about colours.

Tiegan then went on the laptop, making use of various websites. Her favourite site at the moment is the Rainbows one. Joseph went on the laptop and used a few Maths sites, whilst Chelsea sat with me and corrected a very poorly written letter I had been sent a few days ago. She was horrified at the poor spelling and punctuation, and corrected both. It made me smile as she was tutting over her "just what are they teaching in schools?" remark.

After lunch I set about continuing with my organising. Having decided that the current schoolroom was too small for our needs, I have moved some of the school resources into the dining room. The old schoolroom will be my craft room/kids arts & craft space. I will get around to taking photos of the new areas one day :o)

This afternoon has been filled with various goings on. Chelsea and Joseph have been doing "website reviews" together:

whilst Tiegan and Callum had a colouring session:

Callum found some "new" games, that had been long lost in a cupboard, only resurfacing due to my change around. In one of the boxes he found a timer, the type filled with sand. Here he is looking at it with utter fascination...

Don't you just love those moments?

The kids are currently playing Twister Moves...

A lot of noise and a lot of laughter!

{Our Tuesday}

Not much to say about our day today really, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked.

The day started with a bit of swirling for Tiegan:

That's the swirly thing she made at Rainbows.

For the rest of us the day started with the usual cleaning routine - Dusting, Hoovering, Mopping, cleaning bathroom, sorting dishwasher, and sorting out the washing.

The children then did a bit of work from their English Workbooks. I have been absolutely amazed at how many words Tiegan can read. We haven't used any scheme, I haven't sat and actually "taught" her anything, I've just read lots of books outloud, and answered her "what's this word say" questions when she asked. Child learning at it's best.

After the workbooks it was out on the trampoline for a mad jump about, before we settled down to read a couple more chapters of Our Island Story.

Then lunch time, after which we all piled into our car (yes, OUR CAR!!!) and headed off to take Kira to the vets. She was due to have her stitches out today, and I was dreading it hugely. She isn't the easiest of doggies around people she doesn't know, in fact she sounds darn right nasty! However, she was pretty much okay today. She barked like mad for the first couple of minutes, but then as I sat with her she settled down and looked quite happy to give her paw and have the stitches removed. We now have a fit doggy and a car on the road again!!! Brilliant.

The rest of the afternoon I spent sorting out our "school" resources. I have files and files of magazine clipping, posters, printed worksheets etc etc, and I wanted them moved from one room to another. I also moved a desk and a cupboard. We now have much more space to work at which feels much better. The old schoolroom will be used as our Arts and Crafts room.

I had a horrid headache accompanied by weird dizzy spells which slowed me down somewhat, meaning I have more than I would have liked to finish off today.

Whilst I was on my organising spurt, the older kids did some more work on their fantasy story, and Callum did more work on his cars ;-)

After a quick dinner of quiche and salad, I took Joe around to his cubs session, taking Kira for her first walk in two weeks. Mad thing! Joseph earnt another badge tonight, for some written work he had done about his firestation visit a few weeks ago. Another one for me to sew on.

{Thing of the Past?}

I am really hoping that this scene:

that has been greeting me each day for far too long, is now a thing of the past. After a quick test drive this evening, it seems as if my wonderful daddy and fabulous husband have sorted our car out once and for all! I am sooooo pleased. We have mobility again, although a very poorly bank account :o( Just a shame all of the local garages have run out of petrol!

In other news, the children and I have had a pretty good day. After my bargain book arriving this morning, we promptly went outside for a reading session on the trampoline. We read the first two chapters of Our Island Story. I bought mine from Browns-Books (have I said it was just a penny?!?!) and was very happy with the condition it arrived in (quick delivery too!)

We then went inside and the children illustrated what they had heard.


The children then went their seperate ways for a little while. Tiegan went off to read and play in her room, Joseph went outside to help the men with the car, and Chelsea started writing a Narnia-style story. Callum played with his cars, had a play-picnic, a bit of trampoline jumping, drawing, and lots of chatting with mummy.


Tiegan went to Rainbows this evening. She is still enjoying her time there very much, and seems to have fitted in very well. Today's session was filled with group games and the making of a swirly hanger.


After dinner the children gathered together at the table and started discussing the story that Chelsea had been writing. They brainstormed ideas, and came up with some interesting concepts. Suddenly the idea of it being made into a film was mentioned, and they set about thinking of what the characters would look like, who would play what role, what special effects they would use, etc etc. Fascinating stuff in all honesty, it all sounded very exciting. They are now going to work on the story together. I'm quite looking forward to reading the final edit :o)

{Strange Thing in Tree and Bargain}

I had a little chuckle to myself this morning and I thought I would share it with you.

Joseph and Tiegan were playing on the trampoline in the garden whilst I was hoovering. Joseph suddenly rushed in all excited, "there's something weird in the tree!" he exclaimed.

Me: "Weird?"

Joe: "YES! It's round and look likes a skeleton but has a bit of a tail!"

Me: "Huh?"

Joe: "Quick, come and have a look. Tiegan is keeping an eye on it for us, you can only see it from the trampoline."

So grabbing my camera with the zoom lens to enable a better view, we rushed outside to see this strange thing. I clambered onto the trampoline, looked up, and...and...and...it was a...a...a....

Pigeon!

Here is the little fella causing all the fuss. The view from the trampoline:

and from the front.



After having a good giggle, I went back to the hoovering, and Joe and Tiegan continued on the trampoline.



I'm sat with a cuppa before calling the children to "schoolwork". Joe is now sat with the younger two having an impromptu reading session again :o)



Ooooh, the postman has just been and delived me the bargain of the century!

I ordered a copy of Our Island Story from a seller on Amazon on Friday evening. It was stated as new, but with bad damage to the cover. I didn't care about the cover, and as it was just 1p plus postage, I thought it worth the gamble. What has arrived this morning is fabulous hardback book, with slight creasing to the cover jacket. I am thrilled! £2.76 in total for a heavyweight hardback book. Off to have a read :o)

{Fathers Day}

Unfortunately, Fathers Day hasn't been very successfully celebrated this year. The children couldn't do their usual breakfast in bed for daddy routine, as my own dad came over at something ridiculous o'clock and got us all out of bed. Why? Because the men are working on our car today. Bless 'em.

I had invited my parents over for dinner, so the morning was spent preparing the roast and vegetables. I then got on and did the 4 baskets of ironing that I had successfully managed to ignore all week. I keep promising myself that I will keep on top of the ever growing piles by doing a little ironing each day, but I never do. Then I am full of regret when I have to spend 2 hours doing it all in one sitting. Ho hum. One day I will learn.

Other than that excitement, we have had a fairly pleasant day. Whilst the men have been out working oh so hard under the car, Tiegan and Callum had reading time with big bro. No, not the channel 4 version I'm afraid, just dear Joe.

I uploaded a door hanger on my craft blog that I had made as part of a blog challenge team I'm a member of. Whilst working on the laptop, I couldn't resist taking these pictures of my little handsome chap - looking rather battered at the moment with an impressive looking battle scar.




and one of Tiegan looking deep in thought...


Of course Fathers Day hasn't been completely forgotten in the household. Yesterday the girls and I (with Callums assistance of course!) baked Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies and Coconut Slices. Both turned out to be rather yummy and we only just managed to save some for the Daddys. I should have taken photos of them, but I forgot, so you will have to make do with the wrapping:

My dad went to pick up my mum just after lunch time, and the afternoon was spent playing games and chatting.

There was lots of giggles and laughter.




and Kira loved the extra attention.




I have started to implement a no TV during the day rule, as I was finding that the children were watching more and more each day. I'm not against TV as such, but got a little frustrated when I noticed that the children weren't bothering to think of what else they could do, but just went and switched on the TV instead. I really think today has benefitted hugely from this new rule, and noticed that Joseph in particular was much more sociable. He will often take himself off to watch the small set in the Dining Room whilst the rest of us are in the living room. I wouldn't mind if he was going to watch something special, but he just sits aimlessly flicking through the channels before checking out what is available to watch on the replay service. Today though was very different, and we all sat together chatting. One of the children suggested we play a game of hangman, which we did and I hugely enjoyed playing along. We had quite a laugh together, it has done me the world of good :o) My mum and dad looked as if they were enjoying it too, and as simple as it was, it was such a special family time.

I captured these pictures of Tiegan today and I just love them.

Time is Racing

There's not long to go before the big day, and I feel as if time is just racing by. I'm enjoying it though, and I am trying to ensure that we take time out to soak up the festive spirit so our Christmas isn't lost in a wealth of birthday celebrations.

So what has been going on in our little corner of the world?

Well for starters, there has been great excitement in Tiegan's corner, with the news that she can finally begin Rainbows in January.

We put her name down on the waiting list for the local group when Chelsea first started Guides, and we have had regular "When am I going to Rainbows?" pleads ever since. A couple of days ago, the long awaited letter dropped through our door, and the pleading ended but the daily countdown began :o) Tiegan is a little sweetheart, with a gorgeous smile and an infectious giggle. Her latest thing to amuse is a wonderful Catherine Tate impression, "Does this face look bovered?" Along with Joseph, she does a brilliant little sketch that has me in stitches :o)

Joseph is a very happy bunny at the moment, as he finished the term at Cub-Scouts with the highest number of inspection points.




This meant he came home this week with a medal around his neck, a much looked at and admired medal at that. He was also bursting with the news that he is going to be a Seconder when he returns in January. I am proud of his efforts, and he has overcome much to get to where he is now. I have noticed a real change in him this year, he has grown up immensely and now settles happily and confidently into whatever is asked of him.

Chelsea is working hard with her schoolwork, working alone through a Biology textbook, and still enjoying writing her poems. She has gained my real love of animals, and that makes our relationship all the more precious.





I feel as though we are firm friends, not just mother and daughter, and I love our cuddles and chats on the sofa when the others are in bed. She is a wonderful helper, always willing to help out with dinner, or check and feed the animals, and I fully appreciate all that she does for our family.

Callum is still the little darling as ever.





He brightens up the darkest day, and never ceases to make me smile with his antics. He adores all things Thomas the Tank, and has an obsession with In the Night Garden. His speech is coming along wonderfully, and I never tire of listening to him chattering away to all who will listen, with eager expectation of gaining a response. He has a definite sense of what he wants and doesn't want, and makes sure that everyone is aware of such. He is caring, affectionate, generous (to a point that I have never seen in a child before. The dog often gets the largest portion of his sweets...), and extremely loveable.

Kira hasn't been herself over the past week or so, and as such has been resting. Aha, anyone that has ever tried to rest a Springer Spaniel will know what amusement it can bring. Now she is back to full health again, we have been building up her exercise level gradually, and today we felt she was ready to start our usual long-walk routine.

We went to the local woods and had the most wonderful time. It was great having all the family together, and the dog looking so happy again. Here are a few pictures (too many, but I was playing with my camera).

I have been thinking about where we are at, schoolwork wise, and what I want to be doing next year. I've decided to relax a little and not be so hard on myself making the usual plans and lists that I rarely manage to stick to, and then inevitably get angry at my own failure.

I've decided that Monday, Saturday, and Sundays (dh's at home days) will be our Family Days. I have planned out some things I want to do on such days, some for fun, some with a more educational aspect, and I think the relaxed approach will be more do able.

On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, we will be more "work" orientated, with a definite aim to do Maths, Reading, and Project work. Our projects tend to be cross-curricular, so there is no need for me to be anymore specific than that. We will see how things progress, and if I feel we are lacking in any area, we can adjust as necessary.

House Piccies...

I have felt bloomin' awful today. I have caught Callum's cold and it really knocked the stuffing out of me. We haven't done much because of that. I managed to catch up with a bit of housework first thing before my energy was drained, but much of the day has been spent on Neopets (me with the children lol), and in general conversation about goodness knows what. Much of what we have been talking about lately seems to involve what Chelsea and Joseph are hearing on the News or reading in Newspapers.

For anyone that has the slightest interest in how our house is looking at the moment, I thought I would share these piccies.
Living Room:
Before....

After....








Kitchen / Hallway:
Before...



After....

Stairs:

Before...

After...


I will post piccies of the upstairs and the dining room, school/craft room, and playroom tomorrow, along with outside piccies if the weather is dry!

I've just spoken to Tiegan on the phone and she is having a wonderful time. I miss her so much, it feels like I've lost something huge.

Joseph went to his second cub scout meeting tonight and very much enjoyed it. Apparently he has settled in wonderfully and the Akela wants him to have his Investiture in 2 weeks time if we are happy to go ahead with that. He has also been asked to take part in a parade in November as well as the Remembrance parade. He is so chuffed :-)