I dont agree with home school.......

I think Munch's maths/reading/handwriting etc have all gone down hill massively since she left school. All she does is roam the streets and play with friends (so much for home edders not socialising)

This is part of a part of a conversation I had with my mother yesterday. Nearly 2 years into our home ed journey I had thought she was on the same page after initial concerns.
Guess not.
A discussion ensued whereby I was accused with bullying Munch into home Ed( erm no......2 years of research and leaving it up to her )and of jeopardising her future.

As for the roaming the streets, Munch got in trouble for that as she turned up at mums unexpectedly following a bike ride to her friends. ( only a short distance away, 5 minutes maybe? ) and was not where she had said she was going. I would like to give her more freedom but don't believe it is wise to do so at present. Whilst we would have cycled for longer/further as kids she doesn't have much road sense and does worry me sometimes.

Her handwriting hasn't got worse, it's always been bad (family trait) but she does a fair bit writing which she enjoys..... usually shopping lists and menus which include prices. It took a while to undo the damage from school. They had almost destroyed her love of learning and reading in general and I am pleased to now see her playing and learning things of her own volition. That's the bit I think mum struggled with most......not seeing any school work being done ( certainly not sitting at the table for hours on end) but I believe she is beginning to understand now. She is willing to come along to some home Ed meets et to see the bigger picture.

I can understand her point of confusion. When she was younger and still living on the road relatives were being harrased and even prosecuted for not sending their children to school. (Usually the boys who were out working with their dads) much of the year was spent travelling and following the work (farming, fruit picking and the like so very seasonal) I know she hated school and was bullied due to her learning dificulties (hard to keep up when you only go to school in deepest winter ) and racism against mums kin was still rife (she is in her early 50's and being Roma was definitely not as fashionable as it seems to be these days).

Of course I then confirmed my madness and mission to destroy the girls lives by airing our plans to travel/woof/visit friends and take the girls back to our roots living on the road ......if looks could kill.....but that is another post in itself.

Another busy week

A busy week of fun and frolics.

This week has mostly been about reconnecting as a family and enjoying the weather (avoiding housework is always good too)

Fun home ed trip to wildwood...Tinkerbell scrambling the climbing wall.

 3.5 year old in sling....miles too big but she was tired 

and Blu's new flongies....our first ever custom clothing item.

Awesome brunch with my ladies on Saturday 

followed by a craft afternoon, which Blu was less than impressed by

Sunday celebrations consisted of a massive family group outing to Howletts. Around 30 of us all together. A great time was had by all. Lots of animals and family fun. Especially pleased with Munch who despite being scared of heights insisted on going with all the other cousins on the Go Ape. She did brilliantly and completed the course. 

Nappycino, naps, bonkers and books.

The last few weeks have been rather busy to say the least. I am now running the bumps & babies coffee mornings as part of my involvement with the NCT in my local area. During many conversations with other members, and many, many conversations with various groups and friends over the last few years I have decided to set up a non-profit nappy library in my local area too. There is nothing available in our town which seems a real shame. Needless to say I am spending lots of money we don't really have on nappies for the library, several friends have been very generous and I am hoping to get some leaflets and information packs from some of the main nappy companies too in the near future. We currently have 1 kit on hire already with several more in the pipeline, our room looks like a nappy explosion has occurred. I have also had lots of fun dying some of the plainer nappies....a veritable rainbow of colour is happening now and has really brightened my days. We have a facebook page too and my lovely, supportive ginger ninja is busy designing posters/leaflets/ and business cards.

I have also just become an Usborne books representative....we just love books in this house and this seemed like a good way to try and earn a few extra pennies by spreading the love and meeting new people. Admittedly this has taken a slight back seat to the nappies at present....but plans are afoot.

We also finally have a new car...well new to us anyway complete with wheelchair lift for the ginja ninja's mobility scooter, it's a very snazzy red colour and the girls just love being so high and seeing over garden walls into beautiful gardens whilst we are driving along.

Munch has been busy with her weekly craft club....it is lovely to see her really start to open up at last and let her creative side run free. She is really starting to take some pride in her work and her confidence is growing too.

there has been lots of building, playing and general fun in the sun.

A good day

Today was a good day in home ed land. A relaxed morning of play time and pancakes followed by a wander to the farm for a home ed group. I was concerned as to how it would go today as we had to walk. Although the map said it was only 1.5 miles we took a slight wrong turn and walked almost 2 miles. On the plus side it was a beautiful walk along the loose valley with lots of plants and animals to discover along the way. Both girls did really well with very few complaints, even on the steep incline.They enjoyed looking at the map and made me keep checking we were going the right way. (OK so it was the GPS on my phone but that counts as map reading/geography right?)

We came across a steep staircase which took us from the back of a housing estate to the wilds of loose.

The girls were initially confused by this gate

And surprised to find a gypsy wagon protected under cover.

Once at the farm we wet through the country code again before heading back down the road to the farm nature reserve.

The girls learnt different bird calls and had to fill a small container with as many different things as they could find. The afternoon was spent playing, doing chores and cooking before a well earned bath...although tinkerbell fell asleep briefly before bath and woke up very grumpy :-(

Birth Art and "the chat"

During my break from blogland I have been lucky enough to attend several sessions Birth Art through my local NCT group, which has been a very positive experience.

I struggle sometimes with depression, largely due to the difficulties involved with my OH's illness and general anxieties about life (don't we all?) but BA has been a chance to get together with a small group of ladies and have coffee/cake/chat and a short meditation after which we draw/paint/model our visualisation. It sounds very new age, which I guess it is but is not totally out there either if that makes sense?

It has been a very positive experience, where I often find things seem better afterwards, I feel more earthed' a bit like a reset button. The object of the exercise is to use the emotional, artistic, feeling, right hand side of the brain rather than the logical, fix it, solution finding left side. Artistic talent is not necessary (thank goodness, I was at the back of the queue when talent was handed out) it is about the feelings and connexions made.

Also whilst washing up and preparing dinner last night Munch and I had "The Chat". A first for her in regard to asking questions etc as usually if the subject comes up she gets very embarrassed and refuses to talk about, which is one of the reasons I bought her the Usborne book of Growing up. (I remember my aunt buying me a copy at about Munch's age as my mum was rubbish at explaining these kinds of things.)

I have also been looking at A Mighty Girl on facebook and their websites to seek out positive female role models for my dd's and inspiration in addressing the issue of gender stereotypes as well as celebrating new moon passings and the our inner goddess.

Well I am finally back in blog land, hopefully some o e missed me at least. A combination of no internet service, new baby and lack of sleep whilst trying to find d a new family rhythm has meant I am very behind and now playing catch-up. I missed reading all about what you guys have been up to.

So much has been happening it would take to long to and be too boring to fill in all the blanks so I will simply say we finally moved into a home of our own, luckily managed to get an allotment and happily welcomed  Blu into our family at a healthy 8lb 13.

I hope to get more organised with blogging etc and look forward to catching up with you guys soon xx