Friends, groups and being social.

That question....
You know the one....
You know! The one everyone asks when you say you're home schooling....

'don't you worry about them socialising?'

I swear if I hear it once more! It's driving me mad!!

You won't meet more chatty kids than mine. Really. There was this poor guy in a cafe last week. Oh dear. My littlest must have thought him a prime target. Now, she can talk but only I can understand what she's on about. She's at that stage where only a few words are recognisable, it didn't stop her chatting with this guy though. Head cocked to one side, chattering about jigsaws in front of her, "she's a chatty little soul isn't she?". Yes she is.
My son. He gets to see people of all ages on most days. Instead of being in a classroom full of the same kinds of people who watch the same kind of tv, listen to the same music, even have the same friends that are in the same room. He gets to see babies, children, teenagers, adults, pensioners and everything in between. He meets shop keepers, zoo keepers, teachers, bin men, delivery men, postmen, policewomen, housewives, family. These people he meets he talks to. Hell, he even waves to the binmen every Monday and guess what? They wave back! His friendliness is infectious.
So you think they won't have friends now?
I think I've answered THAT question, don't you?

Splashing paint again!

It's come to my attention that a lot of our time is spent gluing and sticking and painting and splashing. If our kids were doing this everyday at school I think I'd be hacked off. I'm pretty sure its because art activities are low on everyone's agenda. Maybe its because maths, English and science are what we should all be good at? I'm not good at any of those. I'm the first to admit I still don't get my times table. It's currently stuck on our dining room wall and I still don't get it! Art though, I totally get. It's in my blood. It's what I love, really love. The minute we had kids that were old enough to hold a pen, they got felt tips, crayons, paints...all they could need. I've pretty much let them get on with it too and just look what they can do....
My nearly four year old can draw really cool stuff! I keep hiding them away like a squirrel. I don't want them to get thrown out in the recycling. These days are too precious. The days when we just splash paint. The days when we still learn. Our creative souls are expanding instead of being crushed by too much math!

Things we're up to.

Only day two of the blog. I thought I'd throw some photos into the mix. Show you some stuff we've been up to. Might interest you, might not. I'd be happy if you stole some of our ideas. We think they're pretty cool.

Today we've changed our little coffee table in the lounge. The little ones get all excited when the screwdrivers come out to take the perspex sheet off. Mostly because they get to use dads screwdrivers but they get excited because change means good stuff around here.

We have had a couple of things on our table since we got the perspex cut to size. The first was a world map. I was watching the opening ceremony of the olympics and was amazed at how many countries I'd not heard of (School geography lessons were not exactly a strong point for me). I wondered if the kids would be all that bothered either but the map lasted around a month until it became just a piece of furniture again.

Next we had a poster with flags from around the world on. The kids didn't really look at it much at all. I left it a few weeks until even I thought it was part of the furniture. It had to go. I had big plans for it too. I was thinking of basing learning around all sorts of stuff. Colours for E, shapes and names for A and all kinds of good stuff for P. Population charts, geography, customs....the list goes on. Well maybe it'll happen when I try again. The poster's still there under a couple of layers.

Then we had halloween. Sometimes we have a little party and its nice to decorate the house a bit. I thought I'd go all out and have some Tarot cards out. They're always hanging around the house anyway so its nice to see them out of the pack and talk about what Tarot is. I did a traditional ten card spread. We looked at the pictures and P asked about what they all meant. She looked lots up in a book too. They only lasted a couple of weeks too but that's fine. I was getting odd looks from visitors anyway!

So back to today......I thought I could use the black background some more. We have loads of coloured paper and card so I began cutting out some circles. I can see these being handy for all kinds of activities. First off was some colour matching. Mainly for E as A finds that really easy now. She did a grand job and looked everso pleased with herself.

So that's what we've been upto today. Well that and the usual stuff. We're all dressed a least. The kids have been playing with lego all day.
I'm thinking of a lego game using the table. Maybe using a dice? Landing on a colour and getting the number of coloured lego blocks? What can you make after three goes? What after four? Hmmmm....maybe we'll do more this afternoon.....

beginning now...

Back in September we made a decision. A decision that will change the course of our family life forever. Two of our three children will begin their educational life at home.

home...

oh my word....

have I completely lost my mind? I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know.

I've got to be honest, it scares me a bit. I'm scared they won't learn, we'll live in perpetual mess, my ugly miserable mummy head will come along and ruin everything, they'll hate me, my husband will hate me more....
I'm sure I'm not alone though. I've become members of lots of groups. Some on facebook and others in real life. I've noticed these thoughts are common amongst home edding families, which reassures me. So long as I have internet I'm never alone!

So, where to begin....well I've started this blog. I'm thinking I'll upload some photos of our days. Maybe throw in a few rambling notes and maybe help some other families who are worrying about the same stuff.
Here goes...