There are so many things I have planned to post about recently, but time has escaped me. So I will do some mini posts within a post. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin....
The Boys
I have noticed some thing very weird and slightly depressing about my boys. They weren't in school for that long, but the impact it has had on them has been immense. They still ask each day if it is a "work" day or not, and they still ask when break/ lunch/ afternoon play time is. This is a stark contrast to OD who has been out of school for over six months now, and who doesn't apply these restrictions to her day at all.
The other contrast is their attitude to learning. OD is quite inspired now, she will bring up things she wants to learn about, and enjoys filling up her scrapbook with all kinds of subjects she is interested in. The boys aren't like this. A good example is yesterday, when they were looking at this book about the human body. They asked questions and I answered what I could. I detected a level of interest so suggested that next week we did the human body as a topic. Immediately EB shut the book, put it back on the shelf and said he would rather not, thank you. I could kick myself now as I think the word "topic" was a poor choice and reeked of school to him.
Planning
This leads nicely on to planning. I have been up and planning since six this morning.
Why?
Because there are so many things we all want to do, I am having trouble organising it coherently. We want to learn more about amphibians, boats, the rain forest, electricity, light sabers, trees, eggs and how bogeys are made. We want to be creative and try felting (again), painting with acrylics, finger knitting, sculpting with air drying clay, mural painting, making miniature crockery for the dolls house, sand art, collage and wax painting. We want to go out an explore the Science Museum (again), Avebury, Prinknash, the Farm, the Living Rainforest, the beach, the Steam Railway, sailing, exploring caves, fishing Oxford Natural History Museum and den making in the woods. Add to this that I want to get as much educational elements worked into these interests and visits as I can, it makes for some serious negotiation and pre-planning on my part. I am determined not to run myself as ragged as I have been, and have decided that sticking to a planned calender of events and saying no to what isn't relevent or logical is the best way.
There are only so many days in the week, and there are limited funds in the bank, so some things won't get done for a while. I have tried to plan a month to six weeks at a time - any further than that and it simply won't happen. There seems so much to do. I am half excited and enthusiastic, half panicking about the logistics.
When I look at the list I take a deep breath and remind myself that I am lucky to have my children at home to do all these things, and how I would rather be doing this than them being in school and me missing them all day. I'll keep you posted on how it all goes....
1 comment:
Do you collect the Tesco vouchers? They've helped us get lots of admission tickets--they do Didcot & English heritage. We like going up to Oxford, Avebury, Didcot & the rainforest--so lots of options.
And remember--everything doesn't have to be done by next month! The educational elements will just come to the kids. I think letting them wander is the best way for things to catch their interest. Just a casual remark every know and then is all they need--in no time the boys will run you ragged with their questions! I've found it's easier to let them explore museums, and let them mull over what they see, without having a set purpose to the visits.
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