Our Day ...

Karting and the social thing

2010-03-15T13:11:00.004Z

It never ceases to amaze me that the usual thing that pops up when being questioned about home education is the lack of socialisation. I know it's the bug bear of most home edders when people in the street, relatives, friends etc always bring up something along the lines of "well yes, but they won't be able to socialise will they?" It gets to me everytime, and probably makes me laugh alittle, which I guess puts that person's back up! If only people could stop and think alittle before they speak and just think about life in general. Do they really think home edders are going to keep their children locked up in the house 24 hours a day? For one it would drive the parent(s) (and I would imagine the kids) absolutely mad and secondly, surely one really can't survive very long without stepping foot outside their homes once in a blue moon? The vast majority of us socialise at every opportunity, not just with the teacher and a bunch of others in our class, but face to face and MSN/facebook/twitter to MSN/facebook/twitter with people in the street, the postman, shop assistant, librarian, neighbours, aunts, uncles, grandparents and other family members, the kid on the swings in the playground - all socialising at different levels. We are also lucky that we are still able to get along to our old home ed group. We have a good number of friends there that are all different ages, backgrounds and cultures who all want to get along together and be supportive of each other.

This last term has been full of social activities for Katie and Ben. When it's not as socially manic, Katie gets to meet others at the stables every day, or at her riding stables when she has a lesson. She sees friends every Friday afternoon and has a large group of on-line friends that she chats to regularly. She goes shopping with others or goes to the library and is confident to speak to others when she needs to. Ben has tennis every week, as well as jujitsu. He too also sees his mates on a weekly basis and for both there is usually at least one group activity to get involved in.

Social problems - I don't think so!

This week, we had a very large group of home ed children go karting at the Peterborough Raceway. It was quite an expensive trip, even though the group was given a substantial discount, and many of us thought it would be a one off - I don't think so! It was absolutely brilliant. Everyone who took part got completely hooked on the racing, taking part and trying to better their scores and perhaps beat each others lap times. Several teams of about 5 or 6 each had two 10 minute karting sessions. This was once they'd been well briefed on the safety issues and got kitted out with racing suits and helmets. Ben was in the first team of probably the youngest bunch of children. Having come straight from the briefing they were very, very careful on the track with lap times of over a minute! Their second race cut this time in half - they just wanted to put their foot down and race. As the groups moved along through the ages it was interesting to see how the confidence and speed rose. The adult race was very fast indeed.

Can't wait to go again (I may even drive myself). I don't think I've laughed so much in ages and witnessing the determination on their young faces and the smiles as they got out of the cars itching to see their lap times was fabulous.

Art Journals and lovely pussy cats

2010-03-10T12:59:00.003Z

I often come across inspirational blogs and websites when it comes to finding project work and learning for the children, but Kathy Barbro's "Art Projects for Kids" is a site we return to time and time again when it comes to all aspects of art. This year, as our year long project, we've decided to do an art journal, similar in style to that shown on Kathy's site. Thought I'd show you just one of the pages Katie and Ben have done so far. Although this particular work wasn't featured under the journal pages, both children picked up on how striking its multi-coloured circles looked and wanted to have a go. I joined in too, also having a journal, and was amazed at how much thought was needed to make the circles and the colours look good together.

Right, now for gorgeous new Allie and Pepper pictures, taken a couple of days again when the sun shone and the conservatory heated up a little!

Allie, 13, big and fluffy and loves a lap, especially mine when I'm trying to sew in the evenings. He has a fabulous deep miaow, enjoys his food and has very occasional spurts of energy when the spring in his tail takes him by surprise and he'll shoot off across the garden at a pretty quick pace (given his size and age - bless).

Pepper, 2 in June, is always on the lookout for a play fight with Allie or Kan. He's learnt that Allie will just swipe him and Kan will roll over onto his back and hiss, but he'll continue to pick for a fight and will often make the other cat's fur fly! Enjoys constantly coming in or going out, usually through an open window and therefore likes to leave his dirty paw marks and paw slides as evidence on windowsills and down the walls. His main dream is to catch Meg, Katie's rat - but he'll just have to continue to dream!

Group trip to local scalextric centre

2010-03-04T20:41:00.003Z

What fun this was and we had a great turn out of children and parents so lots of catching up while the kiddies raced each other for a few hours.

The children were put into mixed groups and each group had time racing each other on each of the 8 tables. They kept score (with the help of a lap counter on the computer screen) of their laps at each table in order to total them at the end to see who, in each group, was the overall winner. Each track was different in size and layout to make it all the more interesting.

Just love the concentration on Katie and Ben's faces!

The sun is making an appearance ...

2010-03-04T20:36:00.003Z

finally! Perhaps Spring is about to, um, spring?

Made the most of our first warmish day on Wednesday with a cup of tea in the garden mid morning. It was still a little parky (I needed a coat) but I didn't care, the sun was shining. Obviously Ben didn't think it parky enough, going around in short sleeves!

He made his first den of the year and then had a good time on the trampoline.

Our book of special days and people, 2009

2010-03-04T20:27:00.003Z

You may remember last year we were looking at special events, cultural activities and key people for our "culture board" each month. Well, I've finally got round to making up the book to show the whole year of wonderful work. Pics of some of the pages haven't come out brilliantly, but you'll get the idea. I'm very proud to display it on our book shelves along with the nature book we did the year before.

Our two week house guest ...

2010-02-27T18:12:00.007Z

We'd been talking about having a dog since we moved to our current home about 3 years ago. Being a family of animal lovers already owning a selection of furry and feathered creatures, we knew that a dog would be absolutely fabulous. Since starting at the stables with Katie last year, we have got to know and love three dogs, a Great Dane, Labrador and long haired Alsatian so we were certainly used to having larger dogs around us.

We started by looking for an older dog as the sanctuary websites often stated they were more comfortable with children and cats. Unfortunately, we found kennel owners or foster carers wouldn't return our calls, so this path seemed to come to a halt.

As it happened the lady who owns the stables mentioned that her neighbour's daughter was eager to re-home her 15 month old chocolate Labrador x Doberman. She was out at work all day, often working late hours, and was having problems with a boisterous dog! We weren't too sure to start with, we'd come across young boisterous Labs before! However, being a great believer in fate we decided to go and see Buster, and then have him on a week or two trial.

Having never looked after a dog before, we found it a little daunting to start with, but we began to settle into a routine. As the days went by we decided to limit Buster to two rooms (kitchen and study) to keep him out of harm's way (and away from the stairs to the bedrooms which he loved to explore!). However, we still felt we needed to keep most of the other doors closed, just in case, as he was able to open the kitchen door out into the garden and we knew it would be a matter of time before he could open the study door as it has a simple latch!
Buster was absolutely fabulous in so many ways! He'd been so well trained in all the basic commands and could do brilliant little tricks like waiting for the "get it" command when placing food on his paw when lying down! He'd thoroughly enjoy his three walks each day, as we did too.
His midday hour long walk with lots of ball and stick play in the park must have been his favourite - he'd zonk out after it and we would be pretty exhausted as well! Getting us all out into the fresh air has been wonderful - real family time.

Last weekend we went along to Sandringham Park where Buster had a great run around in the snow. Paul found a brilliant log for the fire but it proved a challenge keeping it from Buster! We'd also walked along the marshes, where he found Hector, a black Labrador to play with and he also discovered the many muddy ditches - so he's had a couple of baths too during his stay! Yesterday we took him to Breckland Forest for a walk along one of the by-ways. We worked out we'd walked for about 3 miles, needless to say he slept most of the way home!

He's provided us with lots of laughs: one evening when out in the garden closing up the chickens and rabbit, Buster discovered the plastic watering can and made such a noice with it flinging it in the air and trying hard to pull it apart that all the neighbouring dogs started barking in protest! Playing hunt the treat was also good fun, and our end of evening calming cuddles were just adorable. He'd sleep well too, 8 ish bedtime until 7.30 next morning - not bad.

We'd also had some annoying times though - although in the end we'd actually laughed about them: Last Sunday I cooked a roast beef joint only to discover Buster has swiped the left overs (half the joint) for himself! I cooked a cake yesterday and thought I'd put it high enough out of his reach only to find a trail of crumbs half an hour later.

Sadly, there was also a side to him that made us a little worried. Yes, we were upset that our cats weren't so close to us. We missed them coming around and being with us, sitting on our laps during school time and being close in the evenings when watching TV. Buster's barks and sudden lurches towards them were scary. Allie, being quite a bit older than the other two was slower to get away and he experienced a couple of very close shaves. We'd been told that cats and dogs do eventually settle together, so we were prepared to battle on with this, but then we also found Buster could become feisty towards us very quickly and often without warning. He'd knocked Paul over during a play session and would sometimes go for Ben, I guess being a smaller and lighter frame. He'd suddenly jump up and grab your arm and the final deciding factor for us was when he actually tried to drag Ben along, first by the arm, then by his gloved hand (so luckily the glove came off). Trying to stop this all happening seem to result in more excitability and rougher play.

Sadly to say we had to make the decision to send him back. We are feeling quite miserable about it as generally he'd been such a brilliant dog to have around us, so loving and loyal and fun. But to put it bluntly, we didn't want to end up fearing him and we certainly didn't want any really nasty injuries happening to any of us or to others.

Buster will always be in our memories - those special moments and wonderful times we'd spent with him.

The book, "It's me or the Dog, Victoria Stilwell" has been a really helpful read.

Check this out ...

2010-02-21T20:33:00.001Z

I think this photo of a Typhoon Eurofighter with the birds in the foreground is super-duper. Taken in the garden by Paul just a couple of days ago.

Aren't these lovely?

2010-02-08T14:24:00.004Z

Katie made this little Polymer Clay teddy-bear face for her friend's teddy-bear's birthday!

She's been working alot with Polymer Clay recently, thanks to small collection of assorted coloured packages landing in her's and Ben's stockings at Christmas! A friend gave us "Making Doll's House Miniatures with Polymer Clay" from a bundle of books he was going to give away. It's full of inspiration.

Katie is always making things using so whatever she can lay her hands on! This last week she's been making miniature tack for a friend's model horse.

This wooden dolly peg lady which she made a couple of weeks ago and looks so carefree would be perfect for Mother's Day.

Our BIG day Saturday

2010-01-31T20:10:00.005Z

A sign of things to come? Washing line of horse boots and rider's gloves!

Saturday was a BIG day for us - it was the first time we'd taken Katie's share pony, AJ, to a show with us towing the trailer! I've been quite stressed about the whole thing ever since Katie first put the feelers out that perhaps we could borrow the yard owner's trailer and start taking him to shows by ourselves. Once the trailer insurance was sorted I wasn't quite so nervous, but then I wasn't driving!!

The amount of stuff we had to take with us was stunning! We'd taken the tack home Friday night and Katie spent a good couple of hours giving it a thorough clean. I'd washed all AJ's boots and all Katie's gloves (she didn't know which pair to wear LOL) as well as all the grooming brushes etc. on Thursday. Luckily all her show gear was clean and ready to go, but there were still two pairs of boots to clean (again, she didn't know which pair to wear, the long boots or the short, which also meant her chaps needed to be washed, just in case!).

Saturday morning fast approached and we left for the yard at 8 a.m. (as luckily her dressage test was 11:40) and we were away with AJ at the agreed time of 9:30. It was lovely that his owner Jo came along too, having an experienced person with us was great.

For his trip in the trailer, AJ wore tall travelling boots, which he was not at all happy about! I don't think he'd worn them before and initially he refused to come out of his stable. When he did take his first steps he was lifting up his hind legs as if he had splints on them!

The journey was fine, with Paul driving (apparently feeling very nervous) and we reached our destination - Sheepgate Equestrian - in very good time. We browsed their wonderful Tack and Togs shop and later Katie and her friend found bargain Joules tops in the sale section which they both bought. We could have spent an absolute fortune in there, they had such a huge selection of clothing, boots, tack, horsey gear and gifts.

It was bitterly cold and we were pleased the dressage was held indoors where we could sit in the cafe to keep warm. We spent most of the time in the cafe actually, lots of hot drinks and plenty of fast food to keep us going!

We were thrilled that Katie came 6th in her dressage test with a score of 61.20%. She was up against 9 others, some of whom were quite advanced. After lunch she did a couple of jumping clear rounds, raising the bars alittle between them, bringing home 3 rosettes in all.

We were back at the yard by 4 p.m., just in time of AJ's tea! We were all shattered mentally I think and needed a good night's sleep. But before we got that far, we treated ourselves to an Indian at our favourite restaurant.

Afternoon walk

2010-01-26T14:47:00.002Z

We saw the sun this afternoon, in fact, as we walked we also felt the sun's rays alittle - Spring is just around the corner. We took Katie's new camera and all had a go at looking for things to capture. Here's our choices (mouse-over to see who took the photo):

Puss-cat pictures - we are not impressed!

2010-01-26T14:38:00.004Z

Well, neither were we, especially as they had plonked their butts on the work tables just as we were trying to do a bit of learning!

The obviously weren't impressed with the subject:

Bon Voyage!

2010-01-26T14:22:00.005Z

We are just over half way through our KS3 maths work book and things were getting rather tedious, so much stuff to read through, remember and then tests at the end. Painful (more than usual) cries from Katie and Ben lead me to think of something more interesting for them to do that included all this new learning.

I decided to send them on a voyage. I typed out a sheet of things I wanted to them to, which started with finding two countries that they'd like to visit. They had to find out about that country, where it was on the map (and also which continent), the country's flag and which currency it used. I told them how much spending money they could take and they had to convert it into the correct currency (showing all the workings of course). They then have to find all transport links, times, prices etc., which could include car parking fees, travel by train, boat, car or plane. Then next was sourcing a hotel in the correct location (and at a decent price!) and finally visit two places of interest finding out the cost of those attractions. At the end of the trip, having deducted any spending money from their original pocket money they had to convert it back to Sterling. Along they way, they also had to work out a 27% discount on their chosen travel and 1/3 of their return money to put into savings.

I think they enjoyed that. Ben asked to do something similar for a couple of cars which he's just finished, working quite well by himself so hopefully the new maths has sunk in now. Katie continued with her world tour by designing a tourist leaflet for the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb.

The Sunshine Award

2010-01-23T14:45:00.005Z

Big thank you to Claire of Lady Luck Jewellery for giving me this award - how chuffed am I!

According to Claire's blog, "The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blog world. The rules for accepting this award are:

Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
Link the nominees within your post.
Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award."

It is always a difficult decision when choosing blogs for awards but after an overnight big think, I decided on the following blogs:

Classroom Free
Emily Whittaker - Illustration

Still Cutting Off the Tabs

The Bunny Maker
The Chicken Shed
The Crafty Crow

Top Floor Treasures

Indoor bowls

2010-01-21T21:47:00.003Z

We met up with other families from the local HE group here, the Peterborough & District Indoor Bowling Club, and spent 2 1/2 hours with some fabulous chaps all too happy to teach the children (and some of the adults) the basics of the game of bowls.

The players were put into three teams, each with a trainer, to be shown the correct technique for rolling the wood (the correct name of the ball). As most of the players are avid and regular ten-pin bowling fans, they all started off throwing the wood as if they were trying to knock over a pin! It just took a couple of practises to learn the new skill and they were soon all doing really well.

The trainers were so enthusiastic and encouraging that it was us mums and dads that suggested a quick break for lunch! After this, they played a game trying rolling the woods into numbered holes to score points. It was noticeable that the lads were far more competitive that the gals - keeping score and comparing!

It was a very active centre, lots of comings and goings of indoor bowling fans. Sadly thought of as a game for the older, retired folk, I think the centre were keen to welcome our youngsters and show them it can be a game appreciated by all ages.

A week of birthdays

2010-01-17T19:19:00.004Z

Hubby's on the 12th. Some family members said he was now the wrong side of 40 - poor love!

It was lovely to have him at home for this special day and we enjoyed a curry in the evening. Very yum as always but I forgot the nan breads and found them completely cremated at the back of the oven two days later! Ben took alot of time baking and decorating a delicious Victoria Sponge cake with butter-icing and mini white chocolate stars.

Two days later Katie had her 13th birthday! She'd been waiting very patiently since Autumn for her present - a camera of her own. On Friday, she and a friend had a joint party at Laserforce (where you run around zapping your opposite team, laser style) with a bit of tea and cake (this time chocolate with choc buttons) afterwards and lots of Wii playing. The camera got used an awful lot that evening!

Saying "goodbye" to Poppy

2010-01-13T20:06:00.003Z

I never realised such a small animal could fight for so long. Katie got Poppy and Meg Christmas 2008, they were a year old and rescue rats. Poppy was probably the weaker of the two even then as she'd been badly treated by her previous owners - we were pleased to give them a new life. In the Spring, she developed a lump above her left front elbow. It grew quite quickly and the vet we originally took her to basically said that being a small animal, it wouldn't be worth doing anything - just wait and see what happens.

She lasted with the lump until after our Skye holiday in September. It had grown gradually during the months but she was more then capable to coping with it, literally tucking it up when walking around. We left her and Meg with my m-i-l during our two week hols and we noticed, once back home, how much larger the lump had become. She could no longer move around as freely as before, so we booked her in to our regular vet, Jane, who was so supportive.

Jane was as amazed as we were at how Poppy coped with the operation, removal of the lump and rebuild of the leg with several tissue and skin grafts. It had been the first time Jane had done such an operation on one so small and we were all thrilled to see Poppy get along so well, and so quickly, after her ordeal.

Unfortunately, Pepper, our young cat, managed to catch her shortly after the operation. Poppy went into shock and we thought she wouldn't survive the night, but she did! Antibiotics to kill any infection for the flesh wound, hand feeding and drinking for many days and lots of love too ensured she pulled round from this. She certainly was a fighter!

Another lump appeared which again was treated with anibiotics, cleared up then reappeared in another area. More antibiotics and another lump. This time we decided enough was enough - she couldn't go on with constant nasty sores on her tummy. We'd booked in for her final visit last Saturday afternoon, but I just couldn't bring myself to take her. She was still climbing happily all over the cage, eating well and appearing quite happy. Sadly, she made the decision herself and passed away on Monday night/Tuesday morning.

Poppy will be missed, not just by us but also by Meg, her sister. I know many people don't like rats, and I can understand why. I would never have considered having rats as pets but am so glad of Katie's decision - they are the most friendly, funny and cute little lovelies we've ever had.

Who says you can't have a winter picnic?

2010-01-06T20:29:00.002Z

Picked up a voucher for Domino's Pizza this afternoon so we just HAD to use it. Haven't had a take-out pizza in ages!

Packed up the picnic basket with a bottle of coke, cups and tissues and headed off for the grub. Living where we live, the pizza would have been cold by the time we'd got back home with it and we're too far away for delivery, so we sat in Bertie, the new Landie, with our picnic and pizza. Yum!

Bit dark but you can just make out two munching faces!

A true winter I think

2010-01-06T20:23:00.001Z

We had a bit more snow yesterday, just a layer, but enough to get me excited again. Deep down I'm wishing we lived further South to experience the deep snow they've got at the mo. Took some more pics:

Christmas catch up

2010-01-06T19:56:00.004Z

Went to my Mum and Dad's on the Monday after Christmas for a family get-together. They have a small bungalow but our family, my sister's family and M & D all seem to fit in OK. We always did think the walls were made of elastic!

It was great to see the four children getting along so well. Katie especially seemed to want to join in the fun and games far more this year. We all played musical chairs and later the kids played musical statues and bumps. Took some pics on my mobile and loved the blurred images that have come out.

Had to take a snap of Santa and his sleigh. This was from Woollworths many, many moons ago when I was tiny. It's always been my favourite Christmas dec.

Wishing you all ...

2010-01-01T21:22:00.001Z

More snowy pics

2009-12-27T14:32:00.002Z

With AJ having a bout of nasty coughing and then the heavy snow, Katie hasn't been able to ride him very much at all lately. He and his yard mate Sid, also haven't really enjoyed stepping out in the field with all the cold snow around, especially as it means there's no ready to eat grass, they had to snuffle around, hunting for it through all the snow! However, after a couple of days, the idea of getting out of the stable and into the field made them quite exciteable - galloping, chasing each other, rearing, bolting and having a good old roll where all on the cards!

We took the opportunity to enjoy the snow by taking our new pride and joy, Bertie the Defender, out along one of the lanes we discovered by the Ouse in King's Lynn during the summer. We actually promised ourselves to take fish and chips along the next time we went, so we could sit and watch the water enjoying our grub. This didn't happen, it was way too cold, but we did enjoy the snow. The whole scene was stunning and I was really pleased with the photos that I took with my new phone.

Crafting and Lego

2009-12-22T13:56:00.002Z

With Christmas comes crafting in our household as the children (and me) make presents for family and friends. Katie got a lovely craft book from her friend in Wales and she made this notebook this morning with it's handy pocket at the front. Ben has also made one and Katie has used maps to make little notebooks for the car.

Ben's been busy with his Lego, getting inspiration from watching Star Wars movies. Here's some kind of training station I think:

A proud young Ben

2009-12-22T13:52:00.002Z

Not only did he have a grading a couple of weeks ago at Jujitsu and was awarded a red stripe on his belt after just three months in the class, but last night, at the Jujitsu party, he was awarded this trophy for the student who has progressed the most in his class during the last term.

He is extremely proud of himself and very eager to have his pic taken this morning. We're all very proud of him too. He's worked so hard at his moves and loves every lesson he goes to.

Well done Ben!

Snowy Christmas photos

2009-12-22T13:47:00.005Z

Isn't this sweet? They had spied a little bird outside and just had to take a peek!

Bright and cheerful trees

2009-12-12T19:33:00.002Z

Katie and Ben requested to do some art this week so we checked out Art Projects for Kids and came across this lovely idea. We all had a go while listening to Christmas tunes on You Tube. Katie also made some lovely gift tags. We've put them on our culture board and read up about the history of the Christmas tree finding this site rather useful.