Another afternoon free!

Well today my niece took the girls for the afternoon. Issy is doing a little dance for her theatre group (Hettie doesn't want to get up in front of everyone) and my niece is a dancer so she helped Issy plan a little ballet dance. So I found myself alone again. What did I do, well tidied and mopped through and sorted out business tax to pay, all boring but necessary, and I did get to do it all in peace. I also managed half an hour with a cuppa and rubbish tv.

This morning I got our new reward charts out. I think really it's way past time they start helping around the house and really they should do it without reward. But I figure I buy comics and dvds etc anyway and give Hettie some pocket money for helping at the weekend - so pocket money is now the reward which they can then spend on what they want. Or that's the theory!

They started with great gusto today!

I haven't taught Hettie to iron yet - that's for tomorrow.

Issy couldn't do the shoe rack, 'cos tbh she needs some help to start.

Surprisingly enough they were quite knowledgable about how to use the washing machine and sort their darks and lights. Mmm I think we could have started this some time ago!

We're on Spring Holiday so no official HE work today. A reader I ordered for September schedule was read by Issy about 10 mins after it came through the door! I need to go up a Grade or two for her, and hide the readers as they arrive. My Galore Park books (history & english) also arrived and I'm fairly pleased with them. So I may need to have a look at my curriculum again and tweak. Hettie will probably want to use them as well, 'cos dh spent some time reading them and they usually like the same type of layout when it comes to books.

I worked yesterday and dh & girls did the weekly shop. They made dinner, chicken, garlic bread, new potatoes and salad. It was an interesting salad, the girls did all the chopping and included carrots, about an inch thick, some apple and quite a few other things.

Dh actually sat with me for a while and looked at Sonlight and other stuff I'm dithering about. And looked at the curriculum I'm devising. So that was helpful. Surprisingly enough although he would have hated something like Sonlight he thought it looked good for Isobel, and didn't blanch at the cost LOL.

I'm off to look at my new books!

Alone at last .....

Its very quiet here, everyone is out. The girls are at theatre group for 3 1/2 hours (well worth the money) and dh is working at my mum & dad's. Therefore I have allowed myself 1 hour computer time and 2 1/2 hours housework - I really need a day for housework! This afternoon I plan to have a little rearrange of bookshelves etc. Unusually for me I was awake with the lark today at 7am, discussing re-arranging bookshelves - dh unkindly said could I shut up and go back to my normal pattern of sleep! Think I was disturbing his quiet morning time!

We went to the theatre yesterday with some of the Home Ed group to see the Birmingham Stage Company's version of Roald Dahl's Danny Champion of the World. It was brilliant and we all enjoyed it. They also bring the Horrible Historys to the stage as well, which are also excellent. Worth checking out if they're in your area.

We (dh & I) have decided that Issy needs to finish her last term if possible, although she's finding it hard going at the moment. But her regular teacher will be back after the Spring break and there's lots of fun things this term, so it will be a shame if she misses all the best bits. That said I am busy working on a curriculum for her now just in case we have a change of plan! So tune out now if you're not interested in home ed curriculums.

I keep going back to look at Sonlight. My main concern is it looks like a huge amount of work and is fairly expensive if we're not going to end up using it. I'm also torn at not wanting to leave our lovely Waldorf behind. But Issy likes to work, probably late at night - at 11pm last night she told me she was 'inspired' to write a story. I need a plan to fit both girls in or I can see us getting no-where, so I've been making up my own which as you will see I've 'borrowed' heavily from others.

Each will have a folder with plans and activities. Issy will probably be able to do a lot of hers with less support than Hettie needs. So in theory she can get on with at least some of it, allowing me to carry on with Waldorf with Hettie. Hettie then will have her folder so when I'm with Issy she at least can pick something to be getting on with. Hettie doesn't need to do the history work if she doesn't want to as long as she does her normal main lesson work. I'm using Grade 2 Waldorf for Issy's main work (lets face it I have most of the curriculum already). Its a 3 day schedule with 1 day that's for Home Ed group activities, and can be used as a 'catch up' day if needed. Leaving me 1 day and the weekends to go to work.

Main idea is morning verse, maths, read alouds will be together, as will arts/crafts in the afternoon. I'll swop history for geography every few weeks or so when I get that far, and the plan is to have week blocks for various festivals throughout the year.

Ok so thats the theory. Will it work, who knows? but I'm thinking that if I say this is what we do they'll get on with it. Experience shows me if I say what do you want to do they amble about dithering, I dither and we get nothing done. Oh well I've had a nice time buying lovely folders, coloured stickers etc etc. Now for housework (groan) and C another new book just arrived throuh the door LOL

Happy Birthday Grandad!

Happy birthday Grandad Tom (dad), 80 something years young (we won't reveal your age)
Love us xxx

A Quiet Day...

Probably because Issy was back at school LOL. Hettie was really keen this morning to do some work. So we had a look at some times tables - again! Still on 3's but we're getting there. Then we carried on with our measurements block which I'm hoping to get finished up this week. We looked at a mile:

We did laugh and say this was a very thin, tall Roman pacing out his mile! Then Hettie wanted to finish building a Knex car she had started and do some colouring (Scooby Doo, not very Waldorf!) I think we were just enjoying the quiet. We carried on reading On The Banks of Plum Creek which seems to be taking forever to finish, after lunch.

I spent the spare hours working on a curriculum for Isobel. I'm trying to mix Waldorf with worksheets and a Sonlight approach. I know sounds mad but it is coming together. I've ordered some readers and read alouds from Amazon and am going to get a few bits from Sonlight. I'm thinking that Hettie liked lots of worksheets when she first was home ed and it gradually wore off and it could go either way with Issy, so I don't want to spend lots of money until I'm pretty sure of how she is. Books don't count by the way when it comes to spending, you can never have too many books!

I took a leaf out of L's book and tried to cut down on internet hours today and even got some ironing done! Good plan to self limit internet time.

The girls had their Brownie fete tonight, a very small affair, but they had all worked hard to get stalls sorted out. I did buy about 8 books for 10p each, all on my read aloud list!

Oh and yesterday I spent cleaning through again post party and wiping lots of smears of chocolate off door frames etc and realising its not a good idea to leave a chocolate fountain 'til the morning to clean 'cos the chocolate is rock solid!!!

At Last ...

... we had some snow! Not much compared to some places around the globe but enough to make a snow angel, which was Issy's dearest wish! The girls jumped up to see what the Easter bunny had delivered and Issy promptly got dressed and rushed outside. Dh followed and as it fell more Hettie got her act together and joined them. All went well until the cold and wet suddenly hit Issy and she rushed back in crying because she was 'stinging'. Hot baths for all !!

I tidied and cleaned through before our family turned up to spend the afternoon and as it happens the evening as well, 'cos no-one went home until 10pm. Fortunately dh's cousin and SIL bought all the food. We set the chocolate fountain up later and they all stuffed themselves full of more chocolate - well it is Easter. The snow was gone by this afternoon! The children all played nicely together and the house looks vaguely like a bomb has gone off, but as the adults polished off quite a large amount of wine, I'm not too bothered.

Mmmm Yum Yum !!

J may have been the smallest but he ate the most marsh mallows!

My BIL suddenly became a maestro!

Happy Easter!

What to do ..........

Well early planning is a must for this 'two girl' curriculum. Or we are all going to get in a right old muddle. So I've spent some of today poring over the internet again and my collection of books to try and cobble something together. I think I will probably buy some books & bits from Sonlight and try to follow the Waldorf themes for Grade 2. But it's still very much in the early stages, and no doubt will need lots of tweaking.

I found this link The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project which I actually already had somewhere, but I was looking at Ambleside Online (just in case Charlotte Mason was the way to go with Issy LOL). There's a book called Our Island Story by HE Marshall on there which is the history of Britain, but retold in story form and looks great.

The one thing I've learnt is you can't beat good children's literature and most alternative curriculums to the UK National Curriculum are full of great books.

Other than that I've been to Morrisons - twice - the first time it was so busy I couldn't get in, you'd think the shops were going to be shut for a week, not less than 24 hours. Finally tracked down some Easter eggs for tomorrow, I should have bought them weeks ago. Popped to my mum & dads, and started tidying 'cos dh's brother and cousins and families are all coming over tomorrow afternoon. Good opportunity to get the chocolate fountain out me thinks!

Best laid plans and all that....

In my mind I was imagining Issy finishing school and joining in our dreamy relaxed Waldorf world, with the biggest problem being sorting how to teach one at Grade 2 and one at Grade 4. Issy has had two days 'sick' from school, although to be fair she was actually sick (once), and has joined in with us. She came to the home ed meeting on Wednesday and joined in making Easter cards, again thanks to one of our bigger girls who arranged it all and supervised. Then she went off to play. Hettie was a bit put out at her little sister hanging around!! It was a good meeting, mums and dads all got to have a good chat.


Before we went Issy partially joined Hettie and I with tables practice and ball throwing, and she read a Spring story. Then I set her up to copy a summary from the blackboard. I finished reading the story of Easter to Hettie. When we came home Hettie wanted to paint so we got all the stuff out and they painted. Waldorf works so well for Hettie it never ceases to amaze me, she decided to paint the crucifixion (not my idea). And put her heart and soul into it. She did a little more on Thursday and just has a bit more to finish.

In one day I began to suspect this was not going to be as straightforward as I hoped, especially when Issy declared 'I don't want to do all that rubbish Het does, I want to do proper work' Hettie promptly replied 'I want to stick with Waldorf'. Mmmm!! Mummy hit the internet and scoured the Structured Group archives, once I picked myself up off the floor - 'rubbish indeed'.

On Thursday when Issy finally rose she was ready to work. Unluckily for Hettie I had a plan. I decided after much searching that some structured maths would be good for independent work while I teach the other one. I found Singapore Maths and had placement tests printed and ready to go. It was recommended by another mum, thanks Carol!

Three things came out of this. One they're at the same level, Issy's maths isn't as good as I've been led to believe and Hettie didn't get stressed, managed to complete nearly the whole test and stuck with it. A year ago she would have been in tears. So much for independent maths! I've been umming and ahing about the Sonlight curriculum for Issy. Again thanks to Carol & Ruth for their help & advice. Currently I'm having a little play about to see if I can put something together myself, which incorporates Waldorf type blocks of work but with a more workbook type approach. I'll let you know what I decide, or should I say what Issy agrees to!

Today was house blitzing day. Dh worked all day and so I got stuck in. I managed to shrink Issy's bedroom curtains! But we did get it all done. Issy and I watched best of Riverdance, well I watched and she danced.

And here they are later, slobbed out watching TV.

Oh well such is the life of a home edding mum, no doubt it'll get sorted out or as Hettie said 'If she's going to be at home mum, we need a plan and quick!'