The Last Week

During the last week so much has happened I dont really know where to begin.

Lets start with Joseph, the oldest kid:
still a kid to me at seventeen years old, Joseph is into all sorts. At the moment he is programming a website with an online friend of his. Each day he comes to me with a list of questions mostly aimed at html coding. I have been pretty vague in my replies largely because I want him to go away and look up the information on reference sites himself. I have actually bee amazed at what he is learning computer programming wise, the relationships between transferring files from macs to pc's and vice versa, and the overall gumption that he is throwing at this project. Good for you Joseph :)

Lionel age fifteen going on thirty:
this last week has seen Lionel ranging from acting like he is ten to moaning about the place like he is well into his late thirties. In between all that he has had some level hormones as well and has been concentrating on his guitar. He is in the process of writing a song with a distinct Spanish sounding rhythm to it. From what little I can hear when he is practising in his bedroom, it sounds good and really skilled for someone who only ever picked up a guitar at Christmas just gone. Lionel has also been working on his cartoon drawings and making animated flicker books with the younger children. One of them was of a weight lifter who had enormous weights which expanded with every lift, very amusing as the facial expressions were complete with beads of sweat flying off in all directions. Really imaginative.

Angelica our ten year old ballerina:
Well the last few days Angelica has not been very well and she has been coughing and sleeping a lot. But having said that she has been working hard on her writing skills writing stories and generally brushing up on comprehension. Art is featuring high on her agenda these days and she is still working on a flower project that she started last week as well as continually practising her dancing.

Imogen has been learning vowels this week. I think she has grasped the concept on a consonant and a vowel and the differences between the two now and is more confident in her writing as a result. Her reading is coming along in leaps and bounds too and she seems genuinely pleased with her progress which is fantastic to see.

Ivan has been focusing on numbers and art work this week. He has started to write some really cool sentences as well and is always so proud to show them off to me with a huge smile on his face.

It is difficult to write about what the kids do during their home education journey because each day starts around 6am and goes on until around 11pm most days for some of them. They are so active all of the time it wears me out. With the baby moving so much I feel like I am constantly doing aerobics getting up of this chair and keeping up with the kids. I will be glad when the warmer weather comes and I can take them out to do their work because then I can lay back on the grass or something and let them just be free instead of cooped up like they are at the moment as it has been raining every day for a week with only a few dry hours in between.

At least we have the back garden. The kids love doing their work out there. Ivan was intrigued and captured by his seed packets that arrived yesterday. He is bursting with excitement to actually plant them but it is slightly too soon for them just yet so he is having to learn a bit of patience as well just now. I am sure he will cope.

Kids and Art

We have been working on the children's creativity these past few days. It is half term here in Tyne & Wear so we have another boy who normally goes to school staying with us again as we have him every holiday. This means that with the unborn baby there are seven brains to contend with at the moment two of which have come down with some sort of stuffy nose virus today so are a little bit bunged up.

The oldest two Joseph and Lionel have been exploring more fully their manga drawing techniques this week. They have been following a course that I purchased online over a year ago. Only another few weeks to go until Easter time then after that they will submit work for a course completion certificate and award. I am really pleased that they have stuck with it for well over a year and feel quite proud of them. I remember in the early stages when the simplest technique would stump them but now they are drawing all kinds of action figures and scenes. Lionel has made up his own Anime which is rather good. When he lets me take some photographs I will post it on the web. Unfortunately he is very shy about showing off his work but may get a bit more confidence when he gets his certificate and award.

We have been doing a Paint What You See exercise with the others. It is working out well. Using different types of paint the children have already chosen their favourites to explore more fully. Angelica has taken to watercolours done in acrylics. Imogen and Ivan seem to like mixing powder forms of paint and exploring different thickness' to achieve different results.

All in all it has been exciting watching them explore and discover the various types of mediums for themselves. I hope that they do stick with nurturing their creative sides as that is very important I believe.

Also this week, yesterday we went to a Chinese New Year craft and celebration with our home education group. It was fun but we had to leave early. The kids never made anything which was a tad disappointing but they enjoyed looking at all the interesting objects and catching up with their friends.

Angelica has been working on her writing skills as well branching out into calligraphy styles. She is keen to master this art form of writing and is working hard at it. Lionel has been writing in Chinese for the New Year celebrations and Imogen and Ivan have been adding to the stories they had already started last week drawing pictures to go with them.

We hope to go rock pool exploring again this week possibly Thursday. The weather has been really bad though so we are playing that one by ear I think. Will post some pictures when I take them off the camera.

Against The Law

In a kind of weird twist yesterday, Ivan and I began discussing what sort of things were against the law. The afternoon was taken up with all sorts of activities relating to that subject with some surprising results.

Imogen was very good at drawing some scenes of things that are against the law. She drew a figure (man) putting some sweets into his pocket while a security guard was looking the other way near a sweet counter.

Angelica wrote a piece out about things that she thought were against the law. I was delighted to see her writing about the way some people use racist terms like "black ..... " and similar phrases that just seem to roll off the tongue. I asked her why she thought that using names like "black something" were against the law now and she went into this huge description of people making other people feel bad or belittled because of something physical about them or their appearance. This led to a huge debate between all the children about disabilities both physical and not so obvious.

I feel so proud that all of them knew about this subject. I couldnt work out what to put down in my "I can prove we actually educate the children" book to show the local education authority when they make their annual inspection here. This morning I filled it in and will be pleased to show this off.

Later today we will be doing some paintings to reflect our discussion on equality. The children have ideas some of which are surprising. Ivan is drawing black and white hands all jumbled up on the page. Imogen is doing a man with a guide dog jumping on the trampoline as she said "why shouldn't he" when I asked her why she came up with that. Angelica is writing more about why she thinks that some people 'have' to make other people feel bad to make themselves feel good. Lionel is showing pictures of different degrees of physical disability doing sporting events. He has been researching this today. Joseph who has Marfan Syndrome himself knows only too well about feeling bad and sad because of the way people look at him or speak towards him not with him, is doing a piece about equality at work. He has been looking at what facilities employers have to provide and what the law says about equality.

To think all of this came out as a subject to follow because Ivan said that he thought someone nicked a magazine from Tesco's yesterday. They hadnt, the lady had taken a freebie magazine but Ivan not knowing it was free to take was convinced she "nicked it". I am always amazed at my children's ability to just take a line or suggestion and run with it for two or three days. Last night we actually fell asleep discussing equality of various types but we all felt happy and the brains felt like they had achieved a lot.

Symmetry Fun

From A Magical Childhood website newsletter, I was sent some craft ideas for Valentines Day this Wednesday 14th February. One of them was about exploring Heart Symmetry by making a Heart Shaped Scrapbook and using painted hearts to teach about symmetry. Folding pieces of paper in half and showing the kids how to draw a half heart shape, cutting it out and unfolding it to form a heart. Giving them some small dishes of coloured paint and ask them to drop various blobs of it on the inside of the heart, then fold it shut again. When they open it up again, they'll have a pattern that is symmetrical -- the same on both sides. Talk about what else is symmetrical -- some shapes, our bodies, lots of trees.... and then ask them to find examples of things that are and are not symmetrical around the house or in magazines.

We had great fun with this this morning but no actual scrapbooks were completed yet as we got stuck into the painting and so the actual books will have to be put together once the paint is dry.

The finished book is going to look something like this

The instructions can be seen here Valentine's Heart Scrapbook

We also have begun exploring the Chocolate Curriculum

Valentine's Day is synonymous with chocolate. Did you know that chocolate has been around for over 2000 years? It didn't start out as a candy bar — it started out as a drink! What follows are some great links to websites where you can learn about the origins of chocolate, how it was used, when and where the first chocolate factory started and much more! You'll also find some sweet activities that your family can do to extend the learning.

Ivan is particularly taken with the chocolate based learning. We are having great fun.

Cookery Fun with Lynn B.

Today the three youngest brains, Angelica Imogen and Ivan went over to Lynn B's for a cookery lesson which lasted for most of the afternoon right through the evening and up until about 8pm!

Loads of fun, they made cheese pies, pasta salads, cake, biscuits and a lot of mess :)

This was Angelica's first time making short crust pastry from scratch and I think she managed it pretty well especially mastering someone else's kitchen scales. Ours in ancient, an old Tower one from the 1970's which was extremely advanced for its time as it has ounces and metric weights on it.

Also Lynn B. cooks on gas and we have electric. So all in all, with the new things to get used to, all the kids managed really really well.

There were six kids in total and I think that for a first attempt at teaching cookery, Lynn B. managed remarkably. All the kids gave her enormous cuddles when they were leaving with their various eddible goodies before we came home.

I tried each one and I have to say they were delicious!

I Am The Music Man

For Christmas last year we got Lionel an acoustic guitar in sunburst blue. Since then, I have shown him a few basic chords and pointed him in the right direction for looking up some popular songs online which have the chord sequences laid out above the words.

At first, I was a little worried that Lionel had no rhythm because even the most basic of strumming patterns he was struggling with but over the last two weeks something has clicked and he is really taking off playing two songs which he sourced himself online: More Than Words by Extreme and My Girl by The Temptations. Good choices I feel as they are not too complicated but make you feel like you are 'really' playing complicated songs.

I am now sourcing some books with popular songs that Lionel may have heard before or know quite well already so that he feels like he is really playing something rather than just doing rifts exercises.

Beyond the initial teaching of my showing Lionel the basic chords of A, D, E and G, he is teaching himself the rest and each day has used his hour on the computer to learn more. I am constantly amazed at how fast he is picking up the guitar in this way and smile each time he shows me proudly what he has mastered each day.

Good for you Lionel.

The Nintendo DS War

Today Angelica and Joseph went ice skating with some friends. They just came home and had a great time by all accounts.

The Nintendo DS war broke out at home today though which was kind of upsetting because with the baby kicking about so much after lunchtime, I started to feel tired.

What is it with these monotonous games that children (and some men we know) find so fascinating? The music is just repetitive and the game just goes on and on and on and on the same sort of things all the way through. Even our five year old, the youngest brain in the house, is hooked and constantly asking to 'play' the DS.

There is huge scope for some really cool educational stuff that would encourage children to read and comprehend. Basic maths even. But the only intelligent game we have in our house at the moment for the DS is the Brain Training Game which Angelica got for Christmas last year.

I think games developers should perhaps release one educational title for every top selling game released to balance the scales a bit and keep on side with us parents. The two games should then be bundled together as well as being available for purchase separately for those who dont want both. I would buy a bundled package if it meant getting an educational resource as well as the much sought after game. That way I could put time restrictions on how long they play each one every day like I do with the family imac computer. Each of the older three are allowed one hour each and that is it with the younger two on half an hour each per day.

Paintings are drying in the kitchen still from this morning. Ivan did some work on symmetry which caught Imogen's attention and we had to do mirror images for a while with the paints. She painted half a face and held it up to the mirror sideways to get the completed face to appear in the mirror. Great fun. I was surprised at how quickly Imogen and Ivan both understood what symmetry meant.

Will do more work on that tomorrow I think. Loads of scope there.

Homage To Bart !

Sitting here earlier tonight having gone to the Ante Natal Clinic in the afternoon to check on the sixth brain of the little bunch, I asked my daughter, the third brain, if she would make a cuppa for me. I attempted to bribe her with a pound coin that she got as change when she paid for ballet school today. She sat there for a few moments contemplating the prospect of having this pound coin to spend as she chooses when all of a sudden she sat back, put her hand up to her chin in a rather adult fashion and sighed "Oh my ovaries" !!!

I laughed so hard I could not sit up straight for a while and then after I thought the giggles had gone, I asked her where she got that from. "Bart Simpson of course" she said and went into this whole description of how Bart uses the complexities of the female reproductive system as excuses to get out of various things he has to do. I had to wonder where we would have been without The Simpsons Videos these last couple of months as even the youngest ones come to me with ideas of what to learn after hearing something on the programme. We can usually get at least a whole weeks worth of sessions and activities out of one Simpson's Video.

So Bart Simpson and the rest of the Simpson clan, I solute you and thank you for your insight and educational seeds. Even if it has led to my side splitting laughing fit tonight !!

Rock Pools

Took the kids down to St Mary's Lighthouse Island in Whitley Bay yesterday to do some rock pool hunting.

Angelica's quest was to find a hermit crab. Sadly though, she did not find any but did manage to scoop up all sorts of various coloured shells which are going to go in the currently being built fairy garden and dwelling.

Out of all five kids Imogen surprised me the most as she seemed to have the most fun. I felt for certain she was going to be scared of the slimy rocks and slushiness of the place. But nope, in true Millennium woman style, she thoroughly got stuck in and found the most creatures, shells and did some sand art as well. I am impressed.

Today nothing so glamorous however, and the brainy ones are rolling around the floor while I am typing this singing silly ditty's to each other and laughing their sides out.

It never ceases to amaze me the things my children do to amuse themselves when my attention is tuned off them. Angelica, who is the middle aged child of five soon to be six, is sat in the middle of all that chaos and playing her gameboy SP casually reading out the odd phrase or suggestion to her older brother Lionel who is currently perched on the edge of the sofa arm and changing the wheels on his beloved new skateboard that arrived yesterday. The last one looked like it was attacked by a shark and had that distinctive shark-bite chunk taken out of it with at least half the board missing. Most amusing because prior to that happening he had spent many hours sanding, painting, fixing up with new parts and then took the board out did one jump which the aliens inform me is called an "Ollie" and bham! the board was no longer in one piece. I swear, his face looked tinged with green when he crept in sheepishly to show it to me.

The biggest brain is in bed having got up to attend to his various pets and dogs early this morning only to discover the world is white today after the snow fell during the night. So no Joseph to join in the chaos just yet today.

The two little ones now have removed themselves from the floor much to the carpet's relief and gone outside in the back garden to gather up some snow. They are so funny as they keep on howling with laughter which is making me smile and giggle from in here and I cant even see what they are up to.

It is true what they say, laughter is infectious!