History of the first world war

Autumn walk

We watched War Horse last night. Long time overdue! I wanted to go and see it as soon as it came out as I'm a great Michael Morpurgo fan but sadly my son was against it! At last I got my way as it's out on DVD and my son is allowed a free DVD each week from the library. Yesterday I went on my own and selected it on his behalf  and so we spend a family night in round the television watching the film. As with all the books I've read by Morpurgo so far. it is based on fact. It covered the role of horses in the first world war and gave a glimpse into the conditions tolerated by the soldiers but in a way that most twelve year olds could handle. In fact my son who has Aspergers syndrome has watched far worse in documentaries about the war and can handle it because of a lack of emotional attachment due to his condition. His twin sister on the other hand couldn't. We all agreed that it was a film worth watching and are now looking forward to the release of Private Peaceful, a book which we have already read and which deals with the delicate issues of cowardice and desertion.
When it comes to home education the kindness of others never fails to amaze me. My son was given a bag of BBC wildlife magazines on Friday. They were bought by a couple from church for their Granddaughter but she wasn't interested. I often find that about so called 'educational books'. They are so often in pristine condition when we buy them in charity shops as children don't want to 'do education' after school- they are too tired having been bombarded with facts day by day. My son's encylopedias however are well thumbed. He dips into them as and when he feels like it and is always throwing unusual facts at us! We have been following the travels of a distant relative as they do a grand tour of Australia and an article about Dingos allowed us to add another piece of information to the jigsaw ! My son also received a heavy package yesterday - a book of all life on the planet which I'd swapped on Readitswapit it! A fantastic swap as the RRP was £20 and we got it for the price of a stamp. I will leave it in the car for him to pick up when we go out!

The time for school photos is long gone!

Watching as the bore comes in

Contemplation at Bardsea

My daughter came home with her class photo today. Now I know that my eye sight is getting worse but the fact that I couldn't even see my daughter didn't inspire me to pay the £10.50 requested  to boost school funds.
I've never really been a fan of school photos, in fact I can't see the point. They epitomise everything I don't like about school. There's the school uniform for starters. I could never work in a uniformed institution.  I hate the fact that everyone is made to look the same and feel that uniform stifles their true personalities. Not that I'm into pink hair and nose piercing ,but there is scope for arguing that you can look neat , tidy and respectable without a uniform. In fact my son's school has just reintroduced a shirt and tie , a retrograde step from my point of view, Firstly it involves an iron, and I hate housework, secondly if you have boys then you will understand when your son comes home covered from top to toe in mud having played rugby at break time (as mine did yesterday) that in fact polo shirts and fleeces are a great deal more practical if you need to throw them into the washing machine!
 Then there's the question of why anyone in this day and age would want a photo of their child , posing  for a portrait in their school uniform in front of a blank canvas when instead you can have a natural digital shot of your child with a backdrop of beautiful scenery. engrossed in imaginary games or  collecting shells on in beach and completely free. There is no contest in my book!
The whole palaver just reinforced for me the freedom of home education  gives to just be yourself - not fettered by false expectations to conform to a limited  idea about what 'education'  actually means!
Some things such as school photos are out of date. Schools need to move forward as advances in technology progress otherwise they will never catch up. They need to be creative, think of new money raising ideas and not just repeat the same old things year after year because that is what they have always done!

Bringing Education to Life!

Baking in the kitchen on a wet Sunday afternoon!

As I sit  here writing my blog my eldest son is building a Go cart at Explorer scouts for a competition. He has also been offered a Rover engine to strip down which awaits collection. Both involve important life skills- ingenuity and creativity!
Meanwhile my daughter has spent all evening curled up on the bed reading the second book in the Hunger Games Trilogy- in the last year or so her interest in books has really taken off. Just by offering books which I thought would interest her and not panicking if she didn't want to read them she has not felt under pressure.
We have found two Japanese pen-pals too, one for her and one for me, Neither of us speaks Japanese but my Autistic son`expressed an interest in learning Japanese and I thought if we wrote to someone in Japan we could learn about the culture and language at the same time. So we are having to start from scratch. Luckily the Japanese learn English at school so at least we have some way of communicating! I have found an Usborne book on Readitswapit for starters with 1000 words and am hoping that will help us learn some basic words. Meanwhile I'm corresponding with a Japanese English teacher who lived for a while in England so I'm hoping she can guide me in the right direction!
My daughter has also been baking in the kitchen this weekend. She made Rock cakes whilst I baked a Victoria sponge. It was a horrible rainy day and nice to spend time together 'doing our thing'.
Whilst all of this has happened at home ,school came up trumps and offered the opportunity for her to dance with the Rambert Dance company last week. She is also off on a Geography Field Trip to St Bees on Wednesday. We see these 'perks' as  an extension of our Education at Home.
Meanwhile my Autistic son has been busy on his Minecraft, building a clock and a slot machine.He has discovered Redstone - basic circuitry and is teaching himself how to implement it. This mornings discussions involved Geothermal and solar energy- not bad for a computer game!

Dogs and Autistic children

Rusty's first day
Welcome to the newest addition to our family- a border terrier called Rusty

This year we welcomed this little fellow into our household. He is our second dog . We already have a black labrador so I really didn't know how it would work. We live in a small cottage and the thought of two dogs rushing around like whirling dervishes filled me with dread! But my husbands heart was set on getting a border terrier since he was introduced to his friend's ,It was interesting to see how they interacted together. Rusty was 4 1./2 months old when we got him and had lived all his life with his mother and sister so was used to other dogs being around. Benny on the other hand has been used to being Top dog in our family but has a gentle nature!They were introduced when my son and I went to view Rusty . Rusty having never met such a big dog was soon scampering around. Benny meanwhile was more interested in Rusty's toys!
I can't believe what a success two dogs have been, The children love them and it has been hilarious watching them together. Rufty tufty terrier v soft black Labrador playing in the front room. When Rusty gets too much Benny grabs his tail and pulls him along the floor or sits on him for a couple of minutes but they love one another and rush off down the drive when they hear someone on the public footpath which runs past the house! Having said 'hello' they then bounce back up the drive with smiles on their faces, tails wagging. Yes I have to say it, having animals has been great for the children . Not only are they  great company, my autistic son has had to learn to consider something other than himself. He is charged with feeding them and the occasional walk round the back field when I am in a rush and need help! Despite having bought a Labrador for its super temperament with children in fact Rusty is  easier for them to handle. He can be cuddled like a teddy bear when they are sad. Chased round the settee at one hundred miles an hour and can sit on their laps when they are watching t,v. (or in his favourite place - my laptop bag whilst I'm typing!)When Benny decided to copy him, he launched himself across the room and landed splat on my husband's knee with his paws on his shoulders, somewhat like Scooby Doo. We hooted at my husband's surprised expression as the two of them nearly fell backwards off his seat! Dogs have certainly helped my autistic son to show his love and concern for them and they are great company for him when his siblings are at school! All  have to do now is to stop them for asking for another one!

Battle of Britain revisited?

Will someone please tell the M.O.D. that my son doesn't like low flying planes? At the moment his dad is on a course and we are nearing the end of the second week. As the days have progressed my son's anxiety levels have increased and his tolerance to noise has decreased, resulting in 'autistic behaviours - wringing of hands, unable to speak, head banging and other repetitive behaviours that home education has largely eradicated.

Therefore having to spend an evening last night with my son shaking, wrapped in a duvet with his ear defenders on, was not what I had planned and I would have appreciated advanced notice that planes would be continuously flying overhead for an hour or so,

We are not unused to military exercise  They happen occasionally in this area. On one occasion I had to throw myself onto the ground at the top of the garden, so great was the noise as a jet appeared without notice from the skies. In fact I believe that something like this happened to my son in the first place to cause his fear of planes. I remember him running into the house like a frightened rabbit some months ago asking 'what that noise was'. I hadn't heard it myself but assumed it was a plane. In fact I probably wouldn't have noticed the aeroplanes last night although my son certainly wasn't the only one, reports were coming in thick and fast to our local newspaper!

Since the day my son was frightened he refuses to be left in the house by himself,hates going outside and constantly looks at the sky like Chicken Licken as though it is about to fall in and it has taken months to get anywhere near normality again.

So Mr Minister of Defence will you please take note that whilst we appreciate the need for your Air Force to train it would be courteous to let us know! Meanwhile in our efforts to lessen the fear we have read your website  www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/.../lowFlying/Share to educate ourselves about your arguments for low level flying over our beautiful countryside.

Growing up Fast!

I find myself in the position that I advised against only a few months ago. Suddenly without warning my children have at least one after school club a day, sometimes two - not a good position to be in. I suspect that we will be exhausted at the end of the term. We obviously had a choice- we could have taken on less but I was very aware that my autistic son can sometimes hold the others back with his reluctance to go out. He creates whenever we have an after school pick up and it is hard.
I decided however to use the situation to our advantage. If my children are to flourish despite the shortcomings of their brother then they will need to become independent earlier than most children. My eldest is already catching buses, meeting friends in town and generally very able but because we live in the country I invariably have to drive him somewhere because of lack of public transport.
My daughter on the other hand is only 12 and wanted to do netball and dance at school. The logistics were complicated. I would have to leave my autistic son at home to collect her. Problem, whilst he doesn't want to go out neither does he want to be left in alone so you can't win. Which ever you do you have a fight on your hands with the inevitable swearing and bad language.
I discovered by accident that the children could buy a pass which meant that any journey they made throughout the county was £1. Furthermore there was a bus which left the village where my children go to school after clubs ended and which took them to a much more accessible town.(Their school is in the middle of the Lakes district and involves dark, windey roads in winter) Bingo! We discussed the logistics, visited the bus stops at both ends of the journey and discussed our back up plan if they missed the bus. Then we had to put the plan in place. Although we are lucky to have good neighbours who are willing to offer lifts it is sometimes nice to be independent and not rely on people.I can't always commit to offering lifts because my son may make it difficult for me to pick up so I would rather that we do our own thing sometimes.
Anyway my daughter coped admirably with her first bus journey alone. She bounced off the bus with a huge smile on her face and I knew then that she was old enough to do it! She has her independence and can go to after school clubs if she wants. Lets just hope that next term is a quieter one!

Learning when you are having fun!

It's quite a while since I posted. I didn't intend to leave it this long but the Summer holidays got in the way and it's only now the Autumn days are here that I'm beginng to get back into some sort of routine again. That's not to say learning didn't take place. I love having all the kids at home because without the constraints of school we have the opportunity to do things together and gain new experiences. That was certainly the case this summer which  seems to have been full to the brim of new learning opportunities for all of the children.
My eldest son who is now 15 set off with a small contingent of Explorer scouts on a round Britain tour in this jubilee year. From England to Southern Ireland up to Belfast where he was present for the Orange Parade ( a true lifetime experience) then back across the sea to Glasgow, then Edinburgh before travelling back home. They stayed in Scout huts ,budgeting and cooking for themselves and had a whale of a time! Then there was his Duke of Edinburgh Silver expedition where they were stranded in a barn in torrential rain, having been blown down the hillside in unseasonal weather. Two thirds of the way through and they decided it was time to bring in the troops before hypothermia set in. Another experience where they showed their maturity and ability to cope with harsh conditions. We were proud of them all, better luck next time!
An opportunity for a photo shoot at Great Tower Scout camp offered the chance to try sailing for the first time together with kayaking, abseiling and archery.My son is so lucky to have these experiences but he grabs the opportunities offered to him with open arms! It reminds me of a bench we saw today which bore a plaque in memory of someone's husband. The plaque said 'He lived till he died'.Isn't that just how it should be?
Meanwhile, my daughter spent the summer with scouts kayaking across Coniston Lake to Wild cat island where they filmed Swallows and Amazons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOmMxh5h0_k, She also tried body boarding on the Isle of Anglesey and quad biking and spent a week helping lead a holiday bible club in the village.
Even my autistic son was able to attempt  new experiences. Having his siblings around seems to encourage him and he is more motivated to go out. He started a shooting club, went quad biking, tried archery and had a lovely time in Madeira swimming, playing table tennis and crazy golf.
Anyway the summer holidays are over now, two children are back at school and my son has returned to learning at home without his siblings. I wonder what this school year has in store for us all?