Baby Love.

We are smitten. All of us, even though most us are yet to meet her. The teeny tiny little girl who has scared us half out of our minds for a good few hours of Monday the 12th. And deprived of 38 hours sleep.

Miss Nelli Eve Phillips Culculoglu was born yesterday weighing in at 7lbs and 10oz.

And we are now grandparents and uncles and auntie in our crazy home Ed family!

And it is wonderful. We are so happy and grateful that our beautiful daughter and granddaughter are safe and content. Bonding beautifully despite the trauma and surroundings they had not hoped for.

And so to end the gushiest post, although there are likely now to be quite a few more. Here is who our home-Ed life will be filled with over the next days, weeks and months!

P.S great anatomy learning has been going on!

The thing is.....

Unless you are going to sit at the table and work to a structure, and goodness knows it could work for you, you have to have a bit of patience. And trust. And, I've realised, quite a bit of emotional resilience.

We don't do school at home, structure doesn't work for us. That may change by child or due to interest or requirement to just get things done, I'm thinking about igcse's.

But the good thing about learning to recognise that need to trust is that it doesn't really matter if a child spends all their time researching swords, castles, Greek gods or ponies. It doesn't matter if they're in their pjs all day doing it, unless we need to go the the library of course. They frown on that!

They can spend all day teaching themselves to play the recorder or playing tunnels because the next day they will spend it writing a short story or a novel maybe. Perhaps they'll sew or work out how much it would cost for six people to travel to Athens. They might teach themselves how to play the whole of David Bowies back catalogue and read a bit of Shakespeare.

The thing is, this is how it works for us.

Working, planning, making, waiting.

As a record of our children's progress this blog has been sorely lacking of late. I would of course like to reassure the invisible educational pixie in my head or indeed any real educational bod whom happens to read this as some form of evidence that life in this home educating household is carrying on as usual. Even if the so called facilitator in charge seems to be doing bugger all.

Because that's really not true. And the mess, piles, the undone and half done would show anyone who walked through our door.

We are planning our Christmas crafts and treats, making bits and pieces everyday. Sometimes more that just cuttings and sparkles on the floor.

We have parties and concerts to enjoy. And we're waiting.
Waiting for that fabulous bump to decide its ready to meet us all. To make a young woman a Mama and her siblings Aunty and Uncles and this Mummy a grandma or whatever name we find that suits! This baby has a wonderful family to arrive into, blessed with many great and great great grandparents that we can't yet decide on a name to call ourselves.

Still, as this is home Ed and its all about the learning, right? While we wait we can be looking up names for grand parents around the world! Oma anyone or just granny?

What would we do without technology?

It is this home-Ed family's best friend and mortal enemy. I wage a daily battle with myself and the children on usage, content, sites and time. At the same time encouraging its use to provide answers, explore the world and keep up with friends.

We would be completely lost without it to be sure. But I am also very aware of their increasing independence and therefore the times when I am not around. And that they have access to all that television or the Internet has to offer.

As a family we are trying not impose without reason and discussion. Hoping to reach compromises and trust and when breaches occur and lines are crossed to not punish or scold but to talk, explain and talk some more! Being mindful of our own behaviour when thinking of the restrictions we might be about to suggest!!

This has led to interesting discussions about pornography, advertising, time management and sharing. And it continues to be a worry, an awareness maybe and definitely an ongoing point for discussion. Current debate is on the merit of the coolmath website and should they watch the Disney channel?

But then I walk in the kitchen to see this. David teaching Mia to play risk and then draughts. And I think we're doing okay.

Chirpy happy Mummy post (in which I spend the day sewing)

Sometimes I forget that people actually read this blog and that is is not just an extension of my thoughts and emotions.  But it is that, and many other things too I hope, so please bear with me on those days.

Today is not one of those days, today is a happy chirpy post!

Thursday is a planned day. Our home-ed group day. Six hours of fun, socialising, a mix educational, crafty and physical activities. It's busy, noisy. sometimes chilly and an important part of our week. We all get a lot out of our time together there.

Today was no exception, only I was not there and Daddy was. I'm told all sorts of fun happened including the planting of 60 saplings donated to our group and donated on again to the village hall we use to be enjoyed not only by us but the whole community for many years to come. Art and craft, digging, new members and friends made.

I stayed home and ignored the mess.

I sewed, sung to myself with the radio up very loud and had some some much needed me time. I often find it very hard to be selfish when I have this sort of time and although normally I am VERY able to ignore the mess around our home, when left on my own for any length of time feel the need to tidy like a woman possessed. The last big chunk I had like this I spent the day completely re-arranging the lounge, clearing and sorting. It was useful, really it was, but not time best spent for me.

But today I did this...

cutting always takes the longest

nearly finished

their new home
(note to kids, please put your hats, gloves and scarves in these lovely boxes when taken off, please!)

time left to make the cape cut months ago!

ignore the mess, ignore the mess, ignore the mess

Yay! It's done, it fits and she likes it!

I managed to ignore the mess (I really am well practised!) and used the time doing something I really love.

I confess.............

I have a "clingy" child, she is our youngest child, she has now turned seven. She gets stressed, throws the odd tantrum, doesn't like going to bed alone.

And she just quit brownies.

She has also wanted, even entered the building in all the gear, to start ballet classes. She didn't though.

And I feel we failed. She feels she failed.

And now we find ourselves worrying and questioning and feeling judged. The big question rolling around our heads, is it because she's home-educated? Would we have this confident child, ready to run off to school and whatever extra curricular club took her fancy? If we made her? Should we have made her? Brought her crying and left her knowing, believing that she would calm down after a little while. Trusting the "she'll be fine" both the brownie leaders and the ballet teacher gave us?

Well we haven't, we won't. She really wanted to give Brownies a try, but every week an internal battle was going on in her head. Weighing up wanting to go with wanting to stay with us. This time home won. She just didn't enjoy it enough. She didn't, through no fault of the lovely leaders, feel safe and happy enough to stay. She told us she had fun and did like it when there, we picked her up happy and smiling. But really she was on an hour and a half long roller coaster of emotion that even the leaders could see.

And so now we say it's okay. Try things. When it feels right you'll stay. You'll have fun the whole time. Because I know something that all the people, who watch when this "big girl" cries or cuddles or clings, do not, or have maybe forgotten. We also have an actual big girl who was very much the same. Completely refused to join anything, wouldn't participate in sports day, got upset and had tantrums. Bur, She went to school. Nobody worried that she didn't do ballet or brownies.

Did she fail?

I also know a woman and when she was a girl, starting a new school, completely flipped. Hid under a table and refused to come out. Threw her bag at people and shouted. She was nine. She was me.

I also know that my "clingy" girl runs off and spends three hours of Saturday morning at a music and performing arts centre. Where she is now doing ballet, tap and three instruments. Followed by two hours at art club. And I barely see her for 6 hours at home-ed group and that she'll happily roller skate for an hour with all new kids without needing to hold my hand.

And so I'll take your withering looks and politely refuse your offers to take my girls (or boys) from me because they'll be fine in a minute. I will keep offering chances and new opportunities. And I will hug, reassure and promise to listen to my children's fears.

Because none of us have failed. We have made a choice.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Mia's Monday

It's been a busy morning. After a busy weekend. It's always busy!

Spending more time at home is making me more aware of how the children choose to spend their time, watching how they learn, thinking about how best to facilitate their needs.

Mia is now 7. She has spent two terms at school in reception and has been home educated ever since. If I was to measure progress at all I guess she is the ideal candidate. She had not learnt to read, "do" maths etc etc. We choose not to impose any form of specific learning upon any of the children and I guess for want of a better label Mia is the shining example of natural learning. Picking  and choosing how and when she learns something. With us tagging along, occasionally throwing stuff her way when she shows and interest.  

As an idea this is what she has been up to this morning............

Art and breakfast. She loves using chalks and this is a desert island and sunset.

She was looking a empty plastic bottles and decided to make a raincatcher . She marked cm increments and then thought she'd like to make a chart about the weather.

Inspired by her art group sessions Mia has spent a lot of the weekend looking up James Rizzi and showing everyone the pictures she loves and how to draw in his style.

With my and her siblings suggestions on how to make a good chart and what should be included, this is how she thought it should be done! Temperature, weather symbols, time and rain amounts will be recorded.

more empty bottle inspiration. A rocket!

Her template of the moon. It was also used for the sun and earth so we talked about the actual sizes!

Her moon, with added chalk texture.

Creating her space scene

Being put on her bedroom wall. She is suspending the rocket from her upper bunk so that is will hang and sway in front of her scene.  We have talked about the moon, sun and earth and how we view them in the sky. and so ......

We are going to share this book to help us find out more.

This is just one morning of four children, choosing how and what they would like to learn. It is always changing, as are they, and we are always open to that. It is always slightly crazy. Sometimes it doesn't work, sometimes it does. Sometimes they work together. But it is always slightly brilliant!!