The Quirky Mama's guide to surviving the first year and a little bit of homeschooling!

Seeing as we are fast approaching the end of the first term of the second year we have been homeschooling. I thought I would write some quick notes about what I've found out so far.


Numero Uno:

When strangers come up to Louise or us  and asks what school she goes to  and she / we tell them we homeschool people tend to give you a look like you are crazy- as a side not we probably are  ; )


Numero Dos:

I once came across a homeschool blog called (may not be quite exact) 3 kids and a gluestick....and it really does sum up our family experiences that you really don't need to buy anything special to start homeschooling a child, Adam is probably 3 times more expensive to send to school than keeping Louise at home and homeschooling her by the time you factor in school lunches and money to the school for x,y and z.


Numero Tres:

There's lessons in  every day life. For example we stopped our Maths lesson yesterday when it was hailing and we talked about why it was hailing, why the hail turned to water when it hit the ground? why is it different to snow etc

Numero Cuatro:

Louise has really enjoyed looking back  at what she has accomplished, such as her attempting to learn her alphabet. So we definitely intend to film more of her learning so  she can see her progression.


Numero Cinco:

Practice, practice, practice!

Louise definitely accomplishes things quicker if we spend time doing the same things every day. We read and do 3 spellings everyday.

Numero Seis:

Oops I was actually gonna just post five but this is a big one for us, have activities on hand to keep the toddler entertained at the same time that school commences. Otherwise Marie demands that she want's her Playmate back. For some reason turning your elder sister into a horse is much more fun than watching her do her school work!

Aw, is it really the end of Autumn?

I do really quite like Autumn, I like the fact that there's beautiful colored scrunchy leaves on the ground that the kids can entertain themselves with outside whilst we run errands and that the nights draw in early and we can all snuggle on the sofa and the kids aren't trying to come up with arguments that it's way to early for bed because at 8 or 9 o'clock it's still light outside! Yep, that old chestnut. And this Autumn has been fab because it's been so mild but today feels like we are definitely into Winter.

I caught the weather forecast this morning whilst feeding Marie and on the weather map there was snow flakes coming down and at about 11 o'clock we opened the back door to see the hailstones coming down and they were literally bouncing from the courtyard into the kitchen.

My Mum and Dad also came over this morning so Louise spent most of the time at the dining table reading to Grandad. She loves sharing with others what she can do and she happily read the entire Husky Adventure tale to him. She was also head of heels that they came bearing gifts, My sister Bethany who is 17 found a white sparkly top ( completely up Louise's street) that she wore when she was a couple of year's older than her and my Gran had sent down via my Mum a knitting doll ( a knitting Nancy to be precise ) which completely made her eyes light up.

Switching rooms around.

It's flu season aka taking calpol time of  the year again. The girls have been bunged up and stuffed up and trying to master the art of breathing through your mouth.

We've also completely changed around the upstairs space in the house to make room for  a much needed office/ nursery for the toddler.

We seriously have fulled 4 black bags of toys that are broken or no longer fit for purpose to dispose of....I'm not sure how we managed to have ownership to so many toys, books and puzzles!

Just as a side note - Do you think a  real Christmas tree is worth the bother or would you use a re-usable one?

Our reusable one is knackered, we actually didn't put it up last year because we made a educated guess that it would be more hassle than it was worth because Marie would just pull it down all the time and it would turn into a mega hazard. So,me and Louise  made a paper christmas tree  instead and placed it on the wall  in the living room and on Christmas Eve we put the presents underneath it.

I just have this feeling.....

I'm gonna be dreaming of coffee machines all night long.


On Sunday evening I had a telephone call from the manager of a local restaurant/ cafe opening in town, offering me a waitress position.The hours slot in well with homeschooling and family life so that's all good.

Today I had a training day on how to make coffee.

I'm pretty sure that if it was a coffee making comp my coffee would of come last.


Oops.

What can I say prehaps I'm coffee making retarded.


Tomorrow I have a shift with the general public. Is it wrong to hope it's quiet tomorrow ? so that the manager assists that I can practice on whole batch of his  coffee.

Roll on tomorrow.

Has it really been Wednesday since I last posted?

I've applied for what feels like a bazillion (if that's a number?) jobs and I'm fed up looking at my CV. Malcolm's taken Adam and Louise to the cinema and they are watching some adventure film, Louise has gone on the promise that she sits and watches the whole film, somehow telling them last time they went that she wanted to go home because the film was too scary, only to confess when she walked through the front door that she had been bored didn't go down very well with either of them!

Guess what?

Tomorrow is Monday and we can start homeschooling again, is it  normal to feel this excited?

this week has been so loooooooooooooooooooong!

It's rained....

it's been cold.....

we've been stuck inside....

the oldest two kids have fought and played together in equal measure....

 and I've missed having the routine that homeschooling brings to the house.

Plus, its new project time (last half  term was Dinosaurs) and I've got a whole heap of advent stuff planned!

Coming back to my faith.

As a child I spent a fair slice of my life in Church, my Mum made sure I went to Sunday school at the local Methodist church and I sometimes went with my Grandad- who I call Buppy ( the story goes that when I first started talking I called him this and my Gran and Parents decided it was too cute to correct) to the local Church of England.  The primary school I attended although not a faith school had lots of activities in the Church but by the time I was a teenager I drifted away from God and the Church, I guess I felt it didn't fit in with my teenage life, my Mum for a short time got involved with the Jehovah Witnesses who were all lovely but I didn't get the whole blood thing and most if not all my friends were atheists. In all honesty in my teens I was just interested in boys and partying.

However, I started reading the Bible again when the eldest 2 kids were 6 and 1 ( I was 24). I was reading my Son some Bible stories from a book that he was given as a present at his Baptism when he was a baby and that evening I started googling about God, Jesus and the Bible and it whetted my appetite to what to know more. I ordered books from an online store and read them within a matter of a few days and then went back online and ordered more and really from that time God has become important in my life again.

The storm.

On Sunday when Malcolm was going to the gym I sent him out with a shopping list of essentials, bread, milk,eggs ( and pumpkins for carving ) in anticipation for the 'worse storm in 26 years' . I have  to admit I was a little  worried about what was going to happen, the kids were on the other hand  hoping for a storm of epic proportion ( think Noah's Ark!).  And when  Marie woke me up yesterday morning (sitting bolt upright at 3 am demanding shucks (socks) whilst waving her feet under my nose, which got the me dosing in out of sleepiness just to rub her feet, she went  in for her checkmate move demanding bot bot (milk) ) and we went downstairs, it was really blustery and I thought ' OK, here goes' but by the time 7 am arrived it was blue skies and just a heap load of leaves in our yard to clean up. Apparently, some boats in the town had got loose from their moorings and the seafront was covered in seaweed on the walkway. So, really the storm didn't affect us at all.

Who's who!

Hi, Welcome to 1 Quirky Mama.

Here's a Who's who of me and my family.


The Quirky Mama,

Me



Christian Blogger,
& Mum of three.

Someone who tries to just blend in with the rest of society but somehow comes up with these crazy ideas like homeschooling the kids and giving birth  at home.

The Daddy Bear

Mal - The city guy forced by his parents and now me to live among country bumpkins. Complete fitness fanatic that is able to polish off 4,000 calories a day and still look amazing.


The Boy

 Adam, 11 - die-hard Tottenham Hotspurs fan. He also plays for a local football side and L-O-V-E-S his Xbox.

The Princess
Louise, 6,the twirling ballerina of the household who likes to keep busy.


The Whirlwind:
Marie, 1 who gives her brother and sister a run for their money.