- oky_katie 3 Comments

Is it too late to say Happy New Year?

Book 'The Shortest Day' and zebra socks on a purple blanket

Wow. So Christmas happened! We had the usual lurgy filled early December, but W had holiday to finish up from work, so there were often the two of us around, which was novel.

Christmas itself was spend at home, skyping with family members spread far and wide, taking family walks, and eating our amazing Christmas cake, (you can compare it to last year’s cake.)

Since the new year we have been to the Panto (which was particularly good this year), and now we are back to our day to day lives of work, learning and trying to get the washing dry.

I have high hopes for 2015, but before I tuck 2014 to bed, here are the things I found that really stuck with me last year:

  • Dobble (aka Spot It – in the US) – Various blogs I read talked about this game in the run up to Christmas and I got it on a whim, but I’m really glad I did. I now keep it in my bag so that I can pull it out if we’re out and about. Plus it gets plenty of play at home too. We got the standard version, which it recommends for 6+ but my 4 year old is fine with it. (There are a ton more versions of it in the US including educational ones with letters, numbers and even sight words. There are also rugged waterproof outdoor sets, and character themed sets, like pixar and disney themed ones.)
  • Milly-Molly-Mandy by Joyce Lankester Brisley (ISBN 978-1447273066) – I never read Milly-Molly-Mandy as a child, and picked up one of the books randomly at the library. We read through that in about two sittings, (in fact we probably could have done it in one, since all three were asking for more), and have since gone back and read through the rest. In fact as well as the original books, I have some of the seasonal collections on my phone, in case I need to whip out a story on the fly. They are simple enough that my (bookworm) nearly-2 year old will sit through a story, but engaging enough that FB (who is 6 now), asks for them too. And if you like them, then you should also try Bunchy (ISBN 978-1903252222) which is by the same author.
  • Community (NBC years and now yahoo screen) – I am so late to this party. I am notoriously late to most parties, but since having children my finger is usually off the pulse, and only prodding from the BFF will get to watch something. Luckily she has great taste, and has got me into shows such as Leverage (which you should also check out if you haven’t before now), and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (ditto). She lent me the first four seasons of Community, and then sat patiently while I found the time and the head space to watch it, knowing that when I did I would be texting her to rave about it. (Which I totally did.) She told me it was basically an american ‘Spaced‘, and I didn’t believe her, because I’m a fool, and she was totally right. (Dan Harmon has admitted as much.)
  • Sarah & Duck – Everyone in our house is a bit in love with the cartoon Sarah & Duck. It’s just funny and strange and sweet. And short. It’s our go to programme when I need to brush CP’s hair, (why yes, our nearly 2 year old has hair that reaches more than halfway down her back now, and doesn’t like having it tied back), or where there is time of one more tiny programme while I serve up dinner.  The narration is done by Roger Allam. Having grown up listening to Cabin Pressure, my eldest two don’t bat an eye. I could listen to him talk for hours (though I’m still not going to listen to him read bloody Jeffrey Archer on audible. That would be going too far.
  • Bullet Journalling – I have kept notebooks off and on since I was a teenager, and as a mum I tried various types of To Do list, but after coming across the Bullet Journal video last summer I gave it a go and it’s stuck. It doesn’t keep all my plates spinning, all the time, and not everything that gets written down gets done, but it’s made me a hell of a lot more intentional and productive, and I’ve stuck at it, and don’t plan to stop any time soon.
  • Project-Based Homeschooling Master Class – After doing the Journalling for PBH week long class in the summer, I did the PBH master class last autumn and it was outstanding. Lori is a thoughtful, caring and attentive course leader, full of good ideas, honesty and solid support. I need to go through my materials and put myself through the course again in my own time to be honest. I think I’ll find just as much to learn the second time through.
  • This amazing comic about teaching art by diaemyung – I only found this yesterday, but relates to ‘teaching’ and I found it really inspiring and a Home Ed parent.
  • Junto by Basement Jaxx – In the late-90’s, when I was a student, I lived in Brixton around the corner from a club that Basement Jaxx regularly played at. Or so my housemate told me. I wasn’t cool enough for that. And I was listening to a lot of Belle and Sebastian, and Suede. Now I go running to Basement Jaxx and it’s like pure sunshine in my ears.
  • Wittertainment on Radio 5 – because who doesn’t want to listen to a load of movies I’m not actually going to see, interspersed with old-married-couple arguments and in-jokes from Mark Kermode, and Simon Mayo?
  • Running – As someone who has never enjoyed doing sport, it amazes me that I actually completely the couch to 5km program last year. But I did. And it was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. And then I hurt myself. And then winter came. BUT… the thing it that I know I can start back at a level I feel comfortable at and work my way back up again. And that feels revolutionary.

So there you go. Thanks 2014. You were a tough year in many respects, but there was some really good stuff there too.

In 2015 I’m planning more dyeing, more patterns (VAT be damned!), and more writing here.

What lit you up last year?

- oky_katie Leave a comment

Circle Time Basket – Autumn 2014

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(Precursor – We are currently a home educating family, mostly because we can be. This is the start of our second year, and we are really enjoying it. And while this isn’t strictly a home ed/homeschool blog, I will probably share things about this part of our lives here from time to time. Particularly when it comes to books. But you already knew I was crazy about books. 😉

After a break of all of the summer I’ve restarted circle time/morning meetings and I finally gathered everything together into the basket I used last year.

Here’s what’s in my basket at the moment:

  •  October song (find link from pinterest)  This is slightly pre-emptive since FB has only just started reading, but he is interested in how words are spelt and LR loves songs and months are something that hasn’t totally clicked. So I’m giving these songs a go.
  • What to look for in Autumn by E. L. Grant Watson (ladybird 072140099X)  We read this last year and it really informed our family walks. It’s dated but given my children’s love of historical farming, that doesn’t much matter.
  • Year Round things to do (aka something to do – puffin 978-0140302370 ) (folio society – doesn’t have an ISBN weird.) This is a great book full of Shirley Hughes illustrations. Each month has sections on key (christian centric) festivals, british historical dates, a bird, flower, and pet of fhe month. There are seasonal outdoor and indoor activities, recipes, gardening information, games, songs and poems. Again, old fashioned (first published in 1966) but full of good stuff.
  • The singing year by candy verney (hawthorn press 1903458390) I love this book. I have the companion book ‘the singing day’ too and they are both great. They are full of seasonal poems as well as songs so we do a bit of both.
  • Autumn (wynstones press 0946206481) I find the songs from these books tricky because i don’t sight read music cold. (i wish someone would record the songs – maybe they already have? I should check.) but the poems are great. I tend to crack it open at random and read whatever I come across.
  • Usbourne Internet Linked First Atlas (usbourne 9680746053454) my mil gave us this book and I’m letting the children pick a double page spread they want me to read. We already have a wall map so they have a basic understanding of the world.
  • Usbourne travel activity pad (usbourne 9781409561910) My god mother brought this for FB when she visited in the summer. I am planning to do a page or two from it at a time. It’s got a nice mixture of activities and is encouraging FB to do some letter and number writing practice, without feeling too worksheety.
  • The Squirrel Book by phyllis kelway (collins) Another vintage book I picked up at Oxfam. (This time from 1944). I haven’t read any of it yet, but the park opposite us is full of squirrels so it’s at least relevant. I’ll let you know how we get on.
  • Bunchy by Joyce Lankester Brisley (jane nissen books 1903252229)
    We are in the middle of a Milly Molly Mandy kick at the moment, which everyone is thoroughly enjoying (except daddy who things they are too repetitive.) I never read them when I was a child and so I’m enjoying them for the first time right along with the children. This is written by the same author, about a girl who lives in the countryside with her grandmother and who has to literally make herself some friends. We read the first chapter this afternoon, it was lovely and the children have been asking for more ever since. I’m guessing this is about the move into a bedtime book and I’ll have to find something else. Always a good sign. 🙂 (Expect a post about Joyce Lankester Brisley – there is one in the pipelines!)
  • Autumn by Gerda Muller (floris 9780863151910) and Jamberry by Bruce Degen (harper 0694006513) are there for HB (who is now 19 months) either to look at or read as something her-centric to mix things up a bit.
  • Taking Turns (cherrytree 9781842344989) and Owning Up (cherrytree 9781842344965) are part of a series of books W’s aunt bought FB when she heard we were home edding. They are what used to be called PSE (personal and sociel education) when i was at school).
  • (not photographed because it was a late addition to the basket) Wildlife Watch from the wildlife trust (which my mum sends the childen). These magazines get looked at a lot but not really read so I realised we could read a bit at circle time and get more out of them.
Important! We don’t do everything every circle time! We just do a bit. As an illustration, this what we did today:

– 2 songs from The Singing Year
– 2 small mazes and a number problem from the Travel Activity Pad
– 3 pages from the September chapter of Year Round Things to Do
– 2 pages from First Atlas about how maps work
– October Song
– 1 chapter from Bunchy
– 3 short poems from Autumn

That still sounds like a lot doesn’t it? We were probably there for half an hour, but since we were hanging out on the double bed, we were comfy. And if they were getting wiggly I would have stopped sooner.

I really like circle time because it ticks a ton of boxes for me as the (home ed) parent. I know I have read to them, and touched on a number of interesting, seasonal things that might then turn up in our day to day lives. (For example LR pointed out rose hips in a front garden we passed, on our way to our friend’s house, and told me we had learnt about them in a book. Which we had. At circle time.) We have done a bit of maths and literacy so I can basically consider the ‘schoolly’ bit of the day done, leaving plenty of room for interest led things and play. Plus curling up with my children and reading stuff is just fun.

And when the ‘omg am I doing enough?’ panic sets in (which obviously it does for me, just as much as with anyone else), this and my home ed journal are my life raft.