A Learning Experience to Remember: August 2021-August 2022

The expression of gratitude is often an underrated emotion. This state of mind sometimes can be misplaced in the busy life we live in, and not be kept in the forefront of our consciousness. It is not always easy for us to find the good in our lives and not only acknowledge it, but to embrace and summon the gratitude towards it.  As human beings we can find it easier to be selfish and take everything for granted, whether it is material items, health, or our loved ones, and not think to give back. To be selfless can take more thought, one of the ways we can work towards this goal is to have 'an attitude of gratitude' as my mother would say. This phrase used to drive me mad during my teenage and young adulthood. I was an angry mess, hurting, fighting against the world and not wanting to see the good that was there.  However as a mother now myself, I can see the sacrifices that my husband and I make without question for our family, and we have become selfless to their needs. I can...

Autumn has arrived dramatically with drawn in nights, pitch dark mornings, flash storms and high winds which had my husband rescuing the trampoline from flying away into the neighbours garden one evening. The girls love going out in all weathers but I drew the line at play times out in the freezing temperatures with rain lashing down. Unfortunately we had a week of charming weather like this so we bunkered down in the house and waited it out.  Maths update: The girls are adding in fives and tens with their mental maths, and Xander is surprising us by counting in multiples of five and ten. Sophia is filling out times table wipe clean books, using the multiples she knows. They are learning multiples of three currently. The learning aid clocks keep disappearing from the school room as they draw an unfathomable fascination from all three children. Sophia wanted to practice telling the time the other day and because she could not find one, she used her imagination and created one out of...

The last few weeks have flown by with lots of hospital admissions and autumn cleaning at home, in readiness for Christmas, as well as teaching the brood! It has been home for a few days, back in hospital for a few days in an ongoing cycle. Thank goodness for home education in these scenarios! It's amazing, that despite the constant upheaval which has been our life these past six months, the children are making tremendous personal progress in their skills and knowledge. I believe that if you take home education seriously, progression can always take place, no matter the current life scenario.  We have two young girls who are keeping up with their school life despite their mummy and brother disappearing every few days.  Sophia has massively grown in confidence over the past month, and her reading ability greatly reflects this change in attitude. She is reading for pleasure from the bookshelf which is a joy to witness. She has voluntarily chosen to start the Unicorn Academy serie...