Since leaving school

Just a little end-of-month update as to B's progess.

1.She has learned (finally!) to make her Mummy a nice cup of tea.
2.Made playdough/salt dough by herself, my using ml measurements and scales.
3. We have embarked on a Keepers of the faith club, which is a bit like Girls Brigade, but with more emphasis on learning Scripture, which should be lots of fun. (Over the next few months, she will have to memorise passages of Scripture, commence a study of hygiene, write upto 8 letters (correctly formatted), and we are deciding between beginning to do counted cross stitch or basket weaving, but I'm still looking into the costs!)
4. We have reached up to Lesson 28 in Saxon Maths, and can now tell the time. (which they didn't cover in school?!) Mental maths is improving greatly....I hope.
5. Literacy - working on a revision of all she has learned so far. (Common and Proper Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, Subjects and Verbs, Singular and Plural, Exclamation Marks, Verb Tenses, Adverbs, Pronouns, Conjunctions, Prepositions, Adjectives - comparitives and superlatives, opposites - verbs, Apostrophes, Sentences (subject and predicate), Direct Speech and Positive and Negative Sentences.) Still to cover a lot of this before the Summer break.
6. Character studies combined with communication skills. An occasional, but enjoyable study.
7. Silent and Aural reading
8. Music studies (Composers, and medieval music)
9. Gardening (she has learned to plant seeds, and care for seedlings)
10. Baking (lots of this now!)

And for next 'term' -

11. Ancient Egypt study will commence after Easter along with J! They can't wait to get using the teracotta clay to make a tomb or a mask!
12. Hope to commence a reading study on Botany from Apologia Science with them all. Just a 15-20 minute session in the afternoon will be all it takes. Such great books! They are geared towards the younger and older child.

Me time.

On Thursday night, I had the privilege to leave behind the dirty dishes, nappies, and the housework for a few hours and attend the Ballymena Seven Towers Male Voice Choir Concert. They normally host a local artiste, and this time, it was Sam Law, an A-level Ballymena Academy Student with masses of talent. He was a Young Musician of the Year finalist in 2008 and has been 'comissioned' twice to play for Mary McAleese.

I'd only ever heard Sam play when he was 11 or 12 at the local festival. I distinctly remember him playing Brahms Rhapsody Op.72 in G minor (his technique was perfect, but I felt it was played in a robotic style, with no expression whatsoever) as I'd also just learned it. This time was different, however. His playing was exquisite and almost effortless. I was never aware of the Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.8 until last night; absolutely jaw-dropping! The best £8 I have spent in a long time!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/youngmusician/sites/competition/video/sam_perf.shtml

Quote for the week

Truth is, we can’t effectively train our children on the side. We can’t
discipline them here and there. We can’t teach when we’ve got a free moment. We
can’t mother intermittently.
Inconsistent training is ineffective
training.
If we are distracted by projects or pleasure, we may miss valuable
teaching moments, opportunities to encourage, disobedience that requires
discipline, or a chance to show affection. These moments, once lost, are gone
forever.
So ladies, may I encourage you, as I do my own daughters, to give
training and discipline your first and full attention. Walk carefully, and keep
your eyes on the mothering road.

Carolyn Mahaney

Quoting my 7 year old son...

He was helping out baby sis in creche yesterday....the lady who was on duty made a remark about her top she was wearing being not as she would quite like it to be - to which J replied "It's OK, M - I'll buy you a new top with my pocket money!"

A new Geography site

http://www.kbears.com/geography.html

And a great post.

http://chfweb.net/articles/week47.htm

Here it is. For me to refer to when I need it!

A VERY tentative start...

Ok...so here goes. A very tentative start back into the world of blogging. My old blog was over at http://www.3foldcord.wordpress.com but I gave up on that almost a year ago. The truth was it was addictive to me, and I wasn't being a good steward of my time, but hopefully I can begin again and not have to check for comments every hour! Mainly because I know I'll probably not receive many!

It will be short and sweet, and will contain mostly little family thoughts and fun-times that I'd otherwise forget about.
I have started to home-educate my kids, so this will also be a good opportunity to upload photos and write about their day of learning at home. Occasionally.

I love the challenge that home-schooling presents, but it is a challenge. Although I have the kids around me more, there is more to deal with and there seems to be more tidying to do than ever. But I haven't looked back, and God is very gracious to us. B is a happier child and more content. J just can't wait to start and C begins in September.

Naomi