Still Knitting

Truth be told, I've been in a bit of a knitting funk since going on our camping holiday.

I finished these before going:

Placket Neck Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

(I also did a matching cotton baby hat)

Smockie based on Second Little Sublime Handknits pattern

Matching Basket Hat from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders

Baby Hat from One Skein, Baby Booties from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

Since our holiday I've only managed to finish off the baby hat, knit a couple of dishcloths, stare blankly at M8's half finished second sock and daydream about the things I'd like to knit for myself. I'm hoping a bit of wet weather and a cooler temperature this weekend will get the knitting juices flowing again. I really need my preggie friends to start popping out little girls now.

Worzel Gummidge

Embarassingly, I never even realised that Worzel Gummidge was a book! What a reflection on my 1970s/1980s TV-focused childhood.

I spotted the book as I was racing out of the library one day recently. My eyes popped out but I didn't have time to grab it. This week, Jane over at Yarn Storm posted a pic so I took that as a sign that M8 needed to read the book. So she did. In two days. And loved it.

Cruelty is...

keeping children inside on a day like this!

Let go and learn together

This morning was a time for Mama to breathe deeply, let go of her expectations and let the kids do their thang.

M8's current career aspiration is to become a spy, inspired (or should that be inspyred?) by reading Harriet the Spy last year. This morning she was on a "spy adventure" collecting "everdence".
Today, I5 is a band manager. She has made a poster for the concert this afternoon and tickets and money to buy them with.

A (nearly)3 is in amongst his blocks.

Mama joined in and that attracted the two girls to get involved. Here's a bit of multi-aged cooperative construction learning;-)

In a little while, we'll all come back together to read our Greek Myths and Five Children & It.

I've been really enjoying Nikki's documentation of the daily learning journey of her wee gang. Pop over for a bit of a glimpse into an "unschooling" lifestyle.

Inadequate

One of the banes of my walk as a home-learning mama are the feelings of inadequacy that ebb and flow. Sometimes the immensity of being responsible for fostering a lifelong love of learning in my three charges feels very overwhelming. On the "good" days when the household runs smoothly, we're all happy and relaxed, enjoying one anothers company and our learning I finish the day feeling proud of the environment I'm helping to create.

Then there are plenty of "other" days when I struggle to press down the inadequacy, panic when it bubbles back up to the surface, question whether we should have "outsourced" this aspect of our parenting, and I rush to the 'workbook' cupboard and make the girls sit up at the table. At least if they "look" as if they're learning I'm doing something right, right?

Or if I have pretty displays then visitors will think I have it all together and won't worry about what my children are missing out on at school?

Or if I have a real pencil sharpener then I'm a "real" teacher, right?

I wrap the memories of the "good" days around me as I tell the children it's "Mummy's turn to use the sharpener".

Peer Pressure

Ever since The Bean Bag posted about darn Maycey's Glo Harts I have had bad, bad cravings for them. I had a small fix when my sister saved a few off her M8's birthday cake for me when we visited. Then the post arrived this morning and, Callooh! Callay!, she'd sent me my very own bag! I'm currently testing The Bean's theory about the headache.

A Theme

Lately...

February has been a jam-packed month for our family.

In the first week a friend and I attended a home-education conference to hear Andrew Pudewa on Writing. While I won't be rushing out to buy his resources, he was hugely encouraging of what we're already doing, and especially passionate about reading aloud good literature to your children.

A couple of days later we headed off on our first family camping holiday to the Bay of Plenty. What a fantastic time catching up with family and good friends, basking in the sun, eating too much icecream and getting in some much needed relaxation.

It's now back to reality as the year cranks into full gear. The downer of my return to Suburbia was eased by finding this stunning fabric canvas waiting for me. Thanks so much, Nikki. Completely undeserved but much appreciated!! Thanks also, for sharing my bottle of wine at the very "dry" Knittercino the other night so I didn't feel like a big lush;-) (The girls are buzzing that you sent me a card with my knitting scissors on the front.)

This wide-brushed, rough, very brown artwork was done by I5 yesterday to express some of her feelings about the naughty person who stole Daddy's computer gear from our place the night before. Yeah, that's you looking all brown and yucky, in a stupid burglar's hat, skulking about our place with the ciggie lighter you left behind. Derbrain!!

To end on a happy note, we're all looking forward to seeing my parents and their new puppy this weekend. M8 has an exciting schedule of activities planned for Louis although she is a little disappointed Grandma doesn't have a handbag to carry him around in. No doubt, pictures to follow.

Art Studio