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Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

Since December I have been really very sloppy in keeping note of what “education” we have done.

This is partly because of the christmas spirit, and partly because Asha has had a snuffly cold for a while, so were still not onto “written work”

However she now has full command of the following three works of literature :

Little Women – Louise Alcott.. to the extent that yesterday, when I asked her which was her favourite book, she informed me that ” little women is, because Joe is like you and me mummy” Slightly abashed I asked her what she meant by this” she has a tempor which rises up and we both try and control it.. but fail misserably” Well there you go…

She also asked why daddies cant always be around, and what the war was in the story. She seems to empathise a lot with the girls when they are sad..

The secret Garden – Frances Hodges Burnett. She has loved this title for some time now, and I am seriously starting to tire of it. But her games have gone from Colin;s nautyness to being an Animal Charmer.. She is no longer wanting to be like Mary Lennox, recognising that Mary has a terrible temper, which Asha says isnt like a princess… It has also encouraged a great amount of interest in india, and if anyone has any recommendations for indian literature suitable for a 5 year old i would like to hear them!!

The Little Princess, also Frances Hodges Burnett.
This is interesting as it is encouraging her good behaviour and her love of literature and her sympathetic nature. Its also bought up questions about mineing, death, quarrying.. and slavery / maids… Wonderful stuff!

She also has some command of the following works.

The Hobbit. – daddy is currently re-reading it to her.
Winnie the poo.
Hiawatha.. All these have developed a lot since November and I am pleased with these outcomes.

In December we went to a violin concert in liverpool held by the Liverpool Suzuki group, it was wonderful. Asha had a lovely evening, though she was fidgetty, after a long day in birkenhead and liverpool, visiting such wonderful places as Woodside, Birkehead, etc..

Her violin practice has been slow this month, but hopefully we will get back on track once her snuffle has gone.

Currently Asha is not interested in reading or writing. Were encouraging these skills by ensuring she always has access to pens, paper and reading fodder… I am not worried about these skills, as last time I worked on them with her, she was well within her age group needs… and well.. there is more to education!

Her fascination with local birds is continuing.. we feed them every day, and she watches them every day.. often for hours at a time.. I plan on doing more work with bird life, once I have found some more resources on it.. We certainly seem to enjoy talking about there shapes, feet, wings etc….

Crafts, before Christmas we made loads of decorations.. snowmen, candles for on the wall, birds to hang up.. all sorts, since christmas we have done some painting, some drawing and talked about the chemical reaction needed to make a crystal snow tree.

Asha has contined to spend much time doing skateboarding, walking and enjoying time outside. We have also enjoyed a trip to portmerion…

I am generally more than happy with Asha’s level of education. She is a sociable, happy child.. what else can I want?

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“God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December.”
- J. M. Barrie

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It was terribly cold and nearly dark on the last evening of the old year, and the snow was falling fast. In the cold and the darkness, a poor small little girl, with bare head and naked feet, roamed through the streets. It is true she had on a pair of slippers when she left home, but they were not of much use. They were very large, so large, indeed, that they had belonged to her mother, and the poor little creature had lost them in running across the street to avoid two carriages that were rolling along at a terrible rate. One of the slippers she could not find, and a boy seized upon the other and ran away with it, saying that he could use it as a cradle, when he had children of his own. So the little girl went on with her little naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried a number of matches, and had a bundle of them in her hands. No one had bought anything of her the whole day, nor had anyone given her even a penny. Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along; poor little child, she looked the picture of misery. The snowflakes fell on her long, fair hair, which hung in curls on her shoulders, but she regarded them not.

Lights were shining from every window, and there was a savoury smell of roast goose, for it was New-year’s eve—yes, she remembered that. In a corner, between two houses, one of which projected beyond the other, she sank down and huddled herself together. She had drawn her little feet under her, but she could not keep off the cold; and she dared not go home, for she had sold no matches, and could not take home even a penny of money. Her father would certainly beat her; besides, it was almost as cold at home as here, for they had only the roof to cover them, through which the wind howled, although the largest holes had been stopped up with straw and rags. Her little hands were almost frozen with the cold. Ah! perhaps a burning match might be some good, if she could draw it from the bundle and strike it against the wall, just to warm her fingers. She drew one out—“scratch!” how it sputtered as it burnt! It gave a warm, bright light, like a little candle, as she held her hand over it. It was really a wonderful light. It seemed to the little girl that she was sitting by a large iron stove, with polished brass feet and a brass ornament. How the fire burned! and seemed so beautifully warm that the child stretched out her feet as if to warm them, when, lo! the flame of the match went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the half-burnt match in her hand.

She rubbed another match on the wall. It burst into a flame, and where its light fell upon the wall it became as transparent as a veil, and she could see into the room. The table was covered with a snowy white table-cloth, on which stood a splendid dinner service, and a steaming roast goose, stuffed with apples and dried plums. And what was still more wonderful, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled across the floor, with a knife and fork in its breast, to the little girl. Then the match went out, and there remained nothing but the thick, damp, cold wall before her.

She lighted another match, and then she found herself sitting under a beautiful Christmas-tree. It was larger and more beautifully decorated than the one which she had seen through the glass door at the rich merchant’s. Thousands of tapers were burning upon the green branches, and coloured pictures, like those she had seen in the show-windows, looked down upon it all. The little one stretched out her hand towards them,
and the match went out.

The Christmas lights rose higher and higher, till they looked to her like the stars in the sky. Then she saw a star fall, leaving behind it a bright streak of fire. “Someone is dying,” thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only one who had ever loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star falls,
a soul was going up to God.

She again rubbed a match on the wall, and the light shone round her; in the brightness stood her old grandmother, clear and shining, yet mild and loving in her appearance. “Grandmother,” cried the little one, “O take me with you; I know you will go away when the match burns out; you will vanish like the warm stove, the roast goose, and the large, glorious Christmas-tree.” And she made haste to light the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother there. And the matches glowed with a light that was brighter than the noon-day, and her grandmother had never appeared so large or so beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and they both flew upwards in brightness and joy far above the earth, where there was neither cold nor hunger nor pain, for they were with God.

In the dawn of morning there lay the poor little one, with pale cheeks and smiling mouth, leaning against the wall; she had been frozen to death on the last evening of the year; and the New-year’s sun rose and shone upon a little corpse! The child still sat, in the stiffness of death, holding the matches in her hand, one bundle of which was burnt. “She tried to warm herself,” said some. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, nor into what glory she had entered with her grandmother, on New-year’s day.

The Little Match Seller a Christmas Story by Hans Christian Anderson

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Publisher Penguin books, 1992. ISBN : 0 14 0126805

I am currently re-reading one of my favourite books from my teens.. Yes I did read it well before I became a parent!

The first 30 pages of it have some wonderful paragraphs, which i feel are very instumental on explaining some of the ignorance and ways of individuals…I have decided to add them here, as i love all of them!

p14.

..

.and this is rather different from the challenge and protest type of thinking. Indeed some governments see the teaching of constructive thinking as the best protection against blanket protest thinking which is all that is usually availiable to mentally energetic young people who have not been taught thinking…

In the positive challenge we acknowledge the value of existing idea then we create a new idea and lay it alongside the old idea. We then seek to show that the new idea has merits and benefits

p15

Our egos become very much tied up with being right. In western cultures that is the basis of argument and the adversarial system. We are reluctant to admit defeat because of this ego problem. The result is that our thinking is both aggressive and defensive but rarely constructive.

p16

The second reason we have neglected creative thinking is very interesting indeed. Every valuable creative idea must always seem logical in hindsight after someone has had the idea, If the new idea were not logical in hindsight we would never be able to respond to it as valuable So we are only able to respond to those ideas which are indeed logical in hindsight. The rest remain as crazy ideas.

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One of her currently favourite books “Trouble for Letang and Julie”

Its a Longman new reader book, “when nibbles gets lost in Ms Millers classroom, will anyone be able to find the hamster”

In the book you can discuss disability – Julie has some physical disabilitie. Different lifestyles – Letang nan used to own goats. Bullying, and name calling. emotions, and all the animals which we call pets.. and how different people have different pets. Julies nan used to keep cows, so Julie had a pet calf when she was younger..

Anyway, following on from our story, Asha started playing pet games… again, and my bed is now covered in soft toys, but i managed to catch her at it… just a pity she noticed, and started “acting” for the laptop.

MOV000010.avi

I will embed this later, when i can remeber how to do it again… :d

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Whilst I cant claim to be an avid fan of the politics behind the National Trust as an organisation, I am a definate fan of there FUN days.

Today was Alice in Wonderland at Penrhyn Castle. Along with Chris, from the Harlequin Puppet Theater The oldest purpose built puppet theater in britain , at Ros on Sea – Well worth a visit!!

Asha loves the national trust fun days, as she gets time to do some crafty project – todays was decorating a fairy cake,

and making a plate rabbit. Also today she planted some seeds, in little pots. As well as this there was the colouring in competition, and the trail – with a prize for everyone who did it..

she also enjoyed having a go at lawn crochet, and hoop playing..

Added onto this, about three hours of Bimbamboozle,and time to play in the large grounds, fun play area and if you want visit the castle, or stable areas where there are displays such as the steam trains, old dolls etc etc..

Anyway, today we had agreed to meet some friends there, who did the fancy dress parade, as well. We didnt do it this week, but are going to endevour too for next week.

Having fun doing all mad stuff at the moment but I fall asleep as soon as I get home at night, exhausted!!

(Photograph of Chris, and Asha, kindly provided for by Debbie Pritchards Proffesional Child Minding Service )

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We recently managed to get hold of.. with some help from J, a boxed set of childrens shakespear books.  Redhouse books.

This morning we enjoyed,  Midsummers Nights Dream and Romeo And Juliet in bed, and This evening we read, Twelfth Night.

Asha absolutely loved them.. They are illustrated enough for her to enjoy looking at the line drawings, and ask questions whilst listening to the stories…

Fantastic.. And because they arent tooo long, I can read her a whole book in less than an hour.

Now which Key Stage do they cover Shakespere in

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The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up? I got 68!?
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1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
x (some of them) 4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
x 5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6 The Bible -
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
running total: 8

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Book Sellers

From – “A City of Bells” by Elizabeth Goudge – the hero is opening a book shop the next morning, and his grandfather,a lovable elderly Anglican priest, stops shelving books to deliver a homily on the profession of a bookseller:
“A bookseller is the link between mind and mind, the feeder of the hungry, very often the binder up of wounds. There he sits, your bookseller, surrounded by a thousand minds all done up neatly in cardboard cases; beautiful minds, courageous minds, strong minds, wise minds, all sorts and conditions. And there come into him other minds, hungry for beauty, for knowledge, for truth, for love, and to the best of his ability he satisfies them all…Yes…It’s a great vocation.”

“Greater than a writer’s?” … “Immeasurably,” said Grandfather. “A writer has to spin his work out of himself and the effect upon the character is often disastrous. It inflates the ego. Now your bookseller sinks his own ego in the thousand different egos that he introduces one to the other…He deals in the stuff of eternity and there’s no death in a bookseller’s shop. Plato and Jane Austen and Keats sit side by side behind his back, Shakespeare on his right hand and Shelley on his left…Yes, writers, from what I’ve seen of them, are a very queer lot, but booksellers are the salt of the earth.”

One of my all time favourite quotes

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We have all been quite ill since last Wednesday. Asha started antibiotics on Thursday, and is still coughing like an old woman. Steve and I have taken it in turns to stay awake, but at times, both of us have so wanted to just sleeeep.

Asha has spent some time watching films, listened to some audio books in welsh and english, done some arts and craft stuff, and used the computer for her educational games, which she continues to enjoy.

We have also made silver mugs as in “Little Bear”

little bear mugs

Two on the box.

and she can now tell the difference between a blue tit and a great tit. She knows the three types of Swan, and there differences, Not sure if she can tell them apart yet.. We dont get Swans in our garden, to test her with

She has loved reading some of my ladybird books, and enjoyed us reading to her. She is particully fond of “beauty and the beast” i find this bizzare, as it scared me witless as a child. – it is good to know, i am doing well in not passing on my own fears tooo much!

We have made her spare bed up, and changed her curtains, made paper swans, and beautiful spring scenes. In fact considering the fact that all steve and i really want to do is sit and fester, we have done loads… Asha is a lot brighter today, but still not at all right.

asha on her teddy bed 1

this almost gives you an indication of her dolls and teddys!

Oh we have also rang granny up. Asha was keen to phone Granny to speak to her. Asha had a great laugh with grandad though. The last few times Granny and Grandad have rung, Asha has been busy and not wanted to speak to them. It is great she wanted to ring them yesterday.

Tonight Asha wanted me to read a specific book, and at the end of the book, there is a picture of an ark. Tomorrow she wants me to make an ark with her!

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We just seem so busy, that nothing is getting done!

Steve and I sat down last night and decided on a daily schedule. Lets see if we can keep to it!

One of our problems is that we are out soo often, and when we are in, jobs such as chopping wood, cooking food, and getting ready for the next day, all need to be done. As well as finding time to spend with Asha. This means some days, it can be 10 pm, before we get to breath. Combined with the cfs, its no wonder i am currently exhausted.

Anyway, what has Asha done since last wednesday then?

Read the rest of this entry »

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Its Saturday. Steve and I had uni this morning, Asha went on a play date to J. She loves playing with A , E and K. Asha is one of these children, who when she is content, and feels safe somewhere, she will just get on with playing. Like me, Asha feels safe at J’s house.

After our rather successfull, but demading tutorial, for our welsh course, Steve and I both took it in turns to fall asleep at home. I needed it. Read the rest of this entry »

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At 6 pm she fell asleep, at 9.40, Steve went upstairs, and this is her sleeping!

Just another book mum...

At 23.30 I went into see her, she was sat with ALL her books on her bed, and told me “Mummy I need some new books, see”

Now please bare in mind this child who needs more books has a 6 foot high by 4 foot wide bookcase in her bedroom… with 6 shelves FULL of books. Another 3 bookcases in the living room, full of books, and more boxes of books in the “library room” Which she regually can be found “sorting out”

ARGH… And I bought her a new book today.. Which is really very very pretty. Rainbow Sea, A sparkle book.isbn : 1740470893

Kids!

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Its 11.30 at night. Asha actually went to bed at 8pm tonight, and fell straight asleep. after three Peggy Burton Christmas Stories. :

Christmas Adventures in Hazelnut Wood,
A Happy Christmas for Mr Mole

Christmas comes to Mrs Mouse

and a Rodger Hargraves Mr Christmas (Mr Men) however she is now sitting in bed, with 25 books of the bookcase in her bedroom, having needed the toilet, and will probably have another 50 there by the morning! – Argh she wants me. got to go!

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I recently aquired at our local home education group some wild west books by an author called Rick Steber.

A quick search online came up with his web site.  We havent read the books yet, but they are certainly interesting in the tales of the wild west series.

Hopefully as tonight Asha has finishd having Toms Midnight Garden.  – which steve and Asha both enjoyed-They  can move onto these as another change.  It is quite difficult to find new books to read to Asha which Steve can read outloud.

Vicki xx

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For a long time I have wanted this mans book, it has been recommended to me ages ago and tonight steve has ordered me it.

Musical instruments from junk materials sound great fun!

http://www.nickpenny.com/book.html

Vicki xx

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Home education, de-schooling, education otherwise… There are loads of different terms used to describe those of us who educate outside the “school system” and then there is flexi schooling.

Where we live none of the shools do “flexi schooling”. But then our LEA has no information on its web site about home education either!

so what is home education? Well I have no interest in formal, 9-3 sat at a desk all day education. that isnt education for me, although there are some home edders who do that. for me home education is providing opertunity to learn, facilitating learning experiences and helping the child to develop there own cognitaive  and social skills.

Sounds good.. but in reality?  Well at the moment it is loads of play with outside toys, reading books, looking at insects and the world around us and enjoying life to the full.

And after camp, that has mainly involved sitting infront of the tv, as Asha has had something with milk in it,  and listening to the borrowers. She has listened to it as a book, a few weeks ago, listened to it as a tape this morning, and this afternoon she is watching it with daddy on T.V.

Tomorrow / later today, we may well make them a home :d

That is what I call home education.

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Clogs… Those wooden shoes…nope they are sabot’s. clogs are wooden sole below an leather upper.

The word clog? Oh its a noun and a verb.. good hey. It seems to have started life in the middle english times.  (1150 -1450)

In cumberland dialect, a clog is any block of wood.

Interested? there are two books I can think off on the subject. Clattering Clogs, and Concerning Clogs, both by Bob Dobson… and both out of print!

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Not really had a good day today. Asha has had terror head all since 7 am this morning, refusing to eat breakfast, wasnt a good start for steve.

She then helped herself to sweets, which added to the chaos.. she really cant do those evil things.

She settled down a bit once i managed to convince her to eat some peanut butter on bread, but even that took serious amounts of effort.

I was exhausted as was steve so Asha ended up infront of the T.V and a new Dvd she got for her Birthday.. Barbie – ARGH” but it has kept her quiet!

She read some of “BUT MARTIN” but I read most of it, and she did at least fall asleep after a rather noisy bath.. Calling me even though Daddy was with her.. Today has just been one of those days!

Todays education? Some reading, some playing, some painting, some baking, (banana and walnut cakes) some tv, some lovely rhymes in the bath, and a bit of welsh. Add in there playing with neighbours, and on trampoline, etc…

Oh and tonights story from me was a bit different as well :

My Grandfather is a Magician. by Ifeoma Anyefulyu lovely illustrations, and great introduction to an african village.. oh as a side line, when we were in pwhelli yesterday, we passed a bulding called Kampala, we always end up discussing the capital of Uganda, East Africa and the nile.

As for how much today I have no idea. but we started at 7 am and she fell asleep at 9pm :d

Vicki xx

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Today, we were sitting sewing sewing cards in bed this morning. It was lovely.
This afternoon we sat in a cafe, and did reading and sticker book together, which was really good. Words such as Mountain, Lake and Flag rolled off her lips! And to cap it all off, we then got one of the waitresses to do some welsh with us, and Asha thanked her in welsh..

After our fantastic time in the cafe, Asha was praised further in Tescos, for being a great sociable little girl. who is obviously trying to speak welsh.
This evening we sat and watched Kipper together that was lovely.
To night, we sat and did some welsh, and that was fun.
Bedtime. Asha was a devil.. but I think she has fallen asleep reading.. Now thats is great!

Vicki xx

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