tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79368603807350962052024-03-13T19:06:09.540-07:00Homeschooling in LondonFun and laughter learning from the kitchen table Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-90723783973381960152015-03-08T03:35:00.000-07:002015-03-08T03:35:29.237-07:0012 Things you Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">creativity<br /><br /><br />I read this really interesting article today and I wanted to share it with you. I have a number of reasons why I decided to home educate my son. However, one reason was I really did not want to stifle his creativity by sending him to a mainstream school. This article really resonated with me and so I thought I would share it with you. I am sure that most homeschooling parents will agree with a lot of what is being said. <a name='more'></a><br /><br /><br />Read it here >>>> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-Yourself-Laura-Berman-Fortgang/dp/1585424471/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=writinghustle-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=JQDDJJC2LTUM4R3W&creativeASIN=1585424471" target="_blank">12 Things you were not taught in school about creative thinking </a><br /><br />I just recently posted a video about coping with anxiety as a mother. I hope you find it helpful, check it out here >>>>> <a href="http://homeschoolingineastlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/coping-with-anxiety-as-mum-video-post.html" target="_blank">Coping with anxiety as a mum </a></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-20920622095146576752015-02-17T01:56:00.003-08:002015-02-17T01:56:50.290-08:0019 Genius Ways to Immortalize Your Kids' Artwork <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />We all know what it feels like to stare out the beautiful artwork that our kids have created and just wonder what we are going to do with the piles and piles of paper and other stuff. Well, yesterday I came across a really cool article that outlined some genius ways to immortalize your kids' artwork. <a name='more'></a>Check it out in the link below. You will love it!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/morganshanahan/genius-ways-to-immortalize-your-kids-artwork" target="_blank">19 Genius Ways to Immortalize Your Kids' Artwork </a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-87944560105155203222015-02-16T09:58:00.002-08:002015-02-16T10:02:23.372-08:00She Mixes with Laundry Detergent and Glue and her Kids are Entertained for Hours In this video this cool mum mixes laundry detergent with glue and her kids have fun for hours. Check it out! What do you think of this idea? If I were to do this, I would look for some non toxic glue and detergent and give that a try. Share and comment!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ilukp2NnvLk" width="400"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-83229672533505328042015-01-11T12:09:00.000-08:002015-01-11T12:09:25.782-08:00Coping with Anxiety as a Mum (Video Post) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In this video I just give you some advice about coping with anxiety as a mum. I have made no secret about the fact that I suffer from anxiety. I am determined to help others who are going through the same thing. It can be a very crippling and stressful disorder and sometimes it is not taken seriously. In this video I give you some tips on how you can help to alleviate the symptoms of anxiety on a day to day basis, especially if you are a mum. I hope this helps, and I will be doing a series on anxiety and how to cope with it as a mum over the next few weeks. Leave comments to let me know if you want me to do more videos like this on here and on the homeschooling <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-c0aXLZqg0DN6T-t6ZsiPQ" target="_blank">YouTube channel. </a><br />
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Excellent panic attack and anxiety cure program here >>>>>> <a href="http://fdf0960r6ansla-6o11jmmphoa.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_blank">Panic and anxiety cure program </a><br />
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Thank you in advance<br />
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Abena xxxxxx Peace and love xxxxx<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-16559120315971102112015-01-11T11:55:00.002-08:002015-01-11T11:55:42.538-08:00Posting Videos on the Blog for 2015 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi guys! Happy New Year! I haven't blogged on here for a while because I have been so busy with work. Also I have been trying to decide exactly what I want to do with this blog. I have decided I will post videos on here and on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-c0aXLZqg0DN6T-t6ZsiPQ" target="_blank">Homeschool YouTube channel</a>. The videos that I plan to post on here will be more inspirational videos to help mothers, I will also post a few recipes for kids on here as well as on the YouTube channel.<br />
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The blog will also be a platform for me to promote and sell the eBooks that I produce. The first book coming up in 2015 will be a healthy recipe book for kids. So keep your eyes peeled for that!<br />
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If you are interested in healthy recipes, health journey vlogs and personal development you can head on over to my other <a href="http://www.youtube.com/veganfresh" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> and subscribe for updates on new videos.<br />
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Thank you, peace and blessings, and I hope you had an amazing holiday season and peaceful new year.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-11359249575888100932014-07-31T14:17:00.001-07:002014-07-31T14:18:11.325-07:0030 Vlogs in 30 Days Hey homeschooling parents! I hope you are well. I just wanted to let you know that I am currently doing 30 days of vlogs over on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-c0aXLZqg0DN6T-t6ZsiPQ" target="_blank">YouTube channel. </a> I love doing these vlog challenges because it pushes me to come up with new material, and I think it also helps people to see what you are doing on any given day when you are a homeschooling family. I really enjoy vlogging, and I love posting something every day. It is great because it gives you a visual record of what you do each day.<br />
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I am going to be visiting a lot of parks over the next few weeks. As my son loves parks and I want to explore what London has to offer in terms of park and nature.<br />
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Anyway, if you have not subscribed to my YouTube channel please do so by clicking the link above, and have fun watching the videos. Here is day 1, enjoy!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-91552769452643216632014-07-10T09:25:00.001-07:002014-07-10T09:25:36.441-07:00Homeschooling in pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1MOhvmqPeUI/U76-cxpZ13I/AAAAAAAABZc/W7sl3NY58Z8/s640/blogger-image-206780440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1MOhvmqPeUI/U76-cxpZ13I/AAAAAAAABZc/W7sl3NY58Z8/s640/blogger-image-206780440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-LaO9D-smegg/U76-fYl0_rI/AAAAAAAABZo/Xu6ULYzV-aw/s640/blogger-image--1471362603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-LaO9D-smegg/U76-fYl0_rI/AAAAAAAABZo/Xu6ULYzV-aw/s640/blogger-image--1471362603.jpg"></a></div><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1MOhvmqPeUI/U76-cxpZ13I/AAAAAAAABZc/W7sl3NY58Z8/s640/blogger-image-206780440.jpg"></div>Here are just a few pictures from the past couple of days. Enjoy ! <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M3d02GijWdc/U76-eH-AULI/AAAAAAAABZk/dT4-UK-fD1A/s640/blogger-image--689644803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M3d02GijWdc/U76-eH-AULI/AAAAAAAABZk/dT4-UK-fD1A/s640/blogger-image--689644803.jpg"></a></div><br><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xb0yMEvf2UU/U76-betC49I/AAAAAAAABZU/8JSUVBOSPJg/s640/blogger-image--2039553409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xb0yMEvf2UU/U76-betC49I/AAAAAAAABZU/8JSUVBOSPJg/s640/blogger-image--2039553409.jpg"></a></div><br><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XhGOdUMjScI/U76-Yqp8NpI/AAAAAAAABZE/2TajgQ4pDDw/s640/blogger-image--483919365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-XhGOdUMjScI/U76-Yqp8NpI/AAAAAAAABZE/2TajgQ4pDDw/s640/blogger-image--483919365.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o192xd1WKsk/U76-aH3C2rI/AAAAAAAABZM/LRu8rzAVwgA/s640/blogger-image-1203826800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o192xd1WKsk/U76-aH3C2rI/AAAAAAAABZM/LRu8rzAVwgA/s640/blogger-image-1203826800.jpg"></a></div><br></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-44516740895753448202014-07-08T05:53:00.001-07:002014-07-08T06:39:55.783-07:00When you find Home Education Difficult : Stop!Recently I have been battling with my decision to homeschool. I decided I would flexi school in September, he will go twice a week to a lovely private school not far from where we live. <div><br></div><div>However, I started to feel like maybe he should go to school full time. He is giving me hell right now. So what I have done is just stop. I have stopped trying to make him do stuff, I have stopped trying to get him to do certain pieces of school work in the morning. I have just been letting him play. He has no interest in doing anything else at this point. </div><div><br></div><div>Before he was interested in reading and writing, doing drum lessons and drama. Now it's like I'm dragging him to places. It Is getting really tedious and I have had enough. So I have cancelled his lessons from now on. As he gets older he will tell me what he wants to do. So, for now I am not stressing out. I have simply stopped. For the past few days we have just been going to parks. We have learned a lot in that space of time. For now we are happy. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-22238826074942897192014-06-19T15:56:00.000-07:002014-06-19T15:56:02.686-07:00Homeschooling Vlog: Budding Photographer and Park Discoveries <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-56118870185389456912014-06-11T11:32:00.001-07:002014-06-19T15:56:27.332-07:00My Decision to Flexi-School Hi Friends!!!<br />
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If you have been reading my blog since inception, you will know that at one point I was interested in flexi-schooling. For those of you who do not know what flexi-schooling is, it is basically part time schooling, and part time home education. I looked deeply into flexi-schooling because I thought it would be the perfect solution for my son. However, I could not find one school that was willing to even think about it.<br />
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I decided to go head first into full time homeschooling. However, I found it really overwhelming, there were times when I found it amazing. There were also times when I found it too hard to cope with. My son really enjoys being home educated but he has recently expressed an interest in going to school part (but not every day he said) So, I have decided to give it a try, I really don't think full time schooling is right for him at this point. We have too many other things to be getting on with, such as travelling, going on field trips, baking and having lazy days. We hated the full time school run, it really did not suit our lifestyle. However, I think this would be perfect for my little man. So, in September we are going to give it a try.<br />
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The school is an amazing Montessori inspired independent school, they support home education and believe that every child is different. They do not force their beliefs on anyone, and allow the parents to choose how many days they wish to go into school. We have chosen 2 days a week, and we think it is perfect. He will be there Monday and Tuesday, and the rest of the week he will be with me. We have already planned some really cool trips away, and some other amazing things. We have decided that for the last few months of full time home schooling we are going to pretty much let him do what he wants to do. We will do some simple reading and numbers in the morning. Then for the rest of the day he can choose what he wants to do.<br />
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This summer is going to be amazing, and we can't wait. Look forward to some really cool posts in the next few weeks and months. We are going to be having tons and tons of fun!! Watch this space.<br />
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Before I go, tell me what you think of flexi schooling. Do you think it defeats the object of home educating? Someone did say that to me today, and I think they are wrong. I think that if it is not possible to homeschool full time then flex-schooling is the perfect option. At the moment full time homeschooling is just too exhausting, only because I have to get some kind of work done in order to be able to pay any kind of bills etc etc. Homeschooling full time, I find it impossible to work without feeling totally frazzled the next day. My son said he is happy with this decision and we think it is perfect for both of us. It might change in the future, but for now this is the best option. We still get to home educate, and he gets to go to a really understanding pleasant school.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-43357950692432662152014-06-09T13:33:00.000-07:002014-06-09T13:33:08.486-07:00Unschooling: Why I have Decided to Give it a Try I have been watching unschooling video after unschooling video on YouTube recently. I have even connected with a few unschooling mothers in my local area recently. I have decided to give it a try, I have experienced some serious homeschool burnout recently, and I feel like I am trying way too hard with it. I have been finding myself worrying about how much my son is learning, and if he has up to the standard that he "should" be at this age. I have been staying up really late at night researching, putting work boxes together, and generally worrying about everything. I have even been neglecting blog posts, vlogs, work and everything else in between to focus on home educating.<br />
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I came the realisation a couple of days ago that I need to calm down, I need to release the stress. I need to relax, I need to stop worrying, and I need to stop thinking about what other people think so much. Unschooling fits my sons personality, he is a free spirit, I does not like to be tied to a chair doing handwriting and learning numbers. He is very sensitive, empathetic, and he does not enjoy being stuck indoors. Having said that, I take him out quite a lot, but I think we need to start doing more interesting things. So, I have decided I am going to start the unschooling process. I will be doing things my way though, and there is going to be some degree of structure.<br />
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I want to get the basics down, reading and writing and basic number skills. I have noticed my son loves to use the iPad and the computer. So, I am going to do something regarding numbers or letters daily with him. For example, doing Education City on the iPad for 20 minutes, counting cars, painting numbers of letters, watching a YouTube video, listening to a song, cooking and learning about quantities, or reading a book. I will do that daily, it won't be forced or structured but it will be something. If he wants to do text book work he can do so, but it won't be something he is made to do every day. The rest of the day will be out and about learning as we go, walking about , getting lost and just having a good time. He also has activities throughout the week such as drum lessons, and drama lessons.<br />
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I have also decided that we are going to start travelling a lot more. I booked a holiday to Spain today, we will be going in September. It is work thing actually, and I originally said no because I was thinking it would be impossible to bring him. I found out today though that I could bring him along. I am also thinking about taking trips to different parts of the UK every week, just to get a feel for different surroundings. This weekend we went to a football themed kids party, then we went to a sport festival, he loved it. We were both exhausted by the end of the weekend but it was great because we just immersed ourselves in newness. I feel less stressed at the moment and I feel like this is the right decision for now. He will still continue to go to his classes and activities every week but for the most part we will be unschooling. Stay tuned!!! This journey is going to be awesome!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-38679385889316513022014-06-01T05:36:00.001-07:002014-06-01T05:40:51.111-07:00Homeschooling in picturesI have not been posting on here as often as I would like to. So, here are a few pictures from our homeschooling days. I will be doing this more often ! Enjoy !<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-34706936689176903272014-05-14T12:26:00.000-07:002014-05-14T12:26:05.410-07:00When Homeschooling Gets a Bit Too Much Clearly I have been absent, I have been vlogging way more than I have been blogging on here. I have started to think about maybe scrapping the blog because I have been so busy and so stressed out with this whole homeschooling thing. Today I sat down and started applying for schools for my son because I am so exhausted. I started to think that this whole homeschooling thing just is not for me. My son was crying, I was almost in tears and we were both just quite frankly fed up.<br />
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I feel so tired I can hardly even open my mouth to speak right now. I can barely type, but I had to put something down. I had vent in some way, I really cannot talk anyone else right now about this because they just do not get it. I know other homeschool mothers out there will get it, I am sure many of you have felt like this before. I might be wrong about the latter, but I surely it cannot just be me. When I first started homeschooling my 4 year old son in back in December 2013, I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I had it in in the bag, I just knew that it was going to be the best decision I had ever made regarding my son. Today I sit here and I am thinking that maybe it was the worst decision that I made regarding my son.<br />
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I have never been so tired and so low, fed up and just plain run down in all my life. I am feeling kind of lost and alone right now and I feel like a single mother although I am not. I feel that way because this homeschooling thing is something I chose to do, my partner is happy about it but he does not get involved because he is too busy with work. I work from home, on weekends, at night and whenever I can. However, he plays no real part in the whole journey, my partner I mean. I do everything when it comes to our son's education. I feel overwhelmed, like maybe I am just not cut out for all of this, like maybe I should just send him to school. I say this but when he was in school I was miserable too, I would wake up with this sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. My son would cry and scream some mornings and did not want to go to school.<br />
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Sometimes I feel like I am trying to get too much out of this homeschooling thing. I have put so much into it and I feel like I am looking for more, and what I am looking for is just not there. Some days I can see how much fun he is having, then there are some days where he has a tantrum and screams and refuses to do any of the activities I have laid out for him. He refuses to do anything, go to the park, do free play or anything else. He just wants to sit there or just jump up and down and scream his head off. I can't take the noise, I want to go into a soundproof room and lock the door and put headphones and place a blindfold over my eyes and shut out the noise and the light for about 5 minutes and then return to the madness.<br />
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So, this is it, I filled out some application forms for schools today. I am not sure if that is really what I want to do or if I am just being dramatic at this point. Deep down I know that the mainstream education is not right for my son but I feel like I am going insane at this point. He was not interested in school, and he is not interested in what I have to offer either. I don't know what I plan to do right now but I know something does need to shift at this point. I will be back in a few days maybe I will have more information by then.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-67430062038870165582014-05-06T14:45:00.001-07:002014-05-06T14:55:27.081-07:00Why Are Mothers So Stressed ? <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SFr9G5TS9Mo/TySOnl7XOjI/AAAAAAAAE1A/iintX4cM390/s200/parental+stress+and+aspergers+child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SFr9G5TS9Mo/TySOnl7XOjI/AAAAAAAAE1A/iintX4cM390/s200/parental+stress+and+aspergers+child.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.myaspergerschild.com/2012/01/dealing-with-parental-stress.html" target="_blank">Source </a></td></tr>
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Homeschooling has really opened my eyes to the amount of pressure 21st century mothers truly are under. Every mother I come across looks stressed and exhausted, even those who appear to have it all under control. You can see the exhaustion when you look into their eyes, they just look drained. Sometimes I stare in the mirror and see the same blank expression that I see when I look at other mums. So why are mothers so stressed? The answer should really be obvious right? I think that a lot of the stress we experience as mothers in this day and age is actually self inflicted. Allow me to explain before you bite my head off.<br />
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<b>Comparison</b><br />
Mothers are known for it, comparing ourselves to other mothers, keeping an eye on how well other kids are doing academically. Seeing how organized your friend with 4 kids kitchen or living room is. Wondering how that woman next door with twins manages to run 2 businesses and still get her kids ready for school in the morning, drive them to school, and work non stop until 3pm and then go and pick them up. We never really focus on ourselves and all the great things we have done as mothers. We look at what we have not done, and that can cause incredible anxiety. I remember going to a friends house and seeing her neatly organized living area, and feeling anxious because I had left my living room in a total state that afternoon. We need to stop comparing, it is hard but we need to try.<br />
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<b>Social Media</b><br />
Social media is in some way a gift and a curse because it allows us to do more comparing. We can click on one link and be propelled into the living room of a Stepford Wife, with some freshly baked cupcakes and fresh linen neatly folded in a washing basket about to be neatly folded into the linen cabinet. This can lead to instant anxiety. Especially if your linen is crumpled up in the poor excuse for an actual linen cupboard. It is possible to sit for hours looking at Instagram pictures of perfectly designed baby nurseries and wow factor kitchens and feel instantly envious of what that "model mum" has. It can make you feel like you are not doing the right thing, and that you could actually do better.<br />
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<b>To Proud to ask For Help </b><br />
Some mothers are simply too proud to ask for help. I used to be like this, now I have no problem asking for help when I need it. Some mothers find it so hard to ask for help that they would rather muddle through on their own tearing their hair out at the roots than actually ask someone they know, and trust for help. To reduce stress, seriously just ask for help if you have someone who can help.<br />
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<b>Putting the Kids First all the Time</b><br />
It is important to make the kids a priority however, it is also important to make yourself a priority too. I have noticed that most mothers put themselves last. They even put their husbands first, and everything else first, and they come last. Is this really a realistic way of living? I think not! At some point we are going to need to put ourselves first, even just for 1 day out of the week. I make a point of doing this on the weekend, and my sanity has actually been restored. At one point I was tearing my hair out, and I am not afraid to admit it. Now on the weekends, I have pamper days, days where I just sleep, days where I spend the whole day aimlessly strolling around the shops. I also have days where I take my laptop to a local cafe and drink green tea all day and and write, write, write. Some days, I just cook my favorite things and watch movies all day.<br />
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Ladies, so next time you feel stressed and what to take a day off. Do it. (Okay I know some women do not have a choice, and they have no one to help. If this is you, when you put the kids to bed, relax for one day out of the week.)<br />
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I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the mothers out there who try their best for their kids. Give yourselves a break once in a while, and exhale.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-39790574819811606752014-04-23T13:24:00.002-07:002014-04-23T13:24:57.407-07:0030 Days of Vlogging : Our Homeschool Days Hi homeschooling parents!<br />
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I just wanted to check in with you guys and let you know that I will be doing 30 days of vlogging on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-c0aXLZqg0DN6T-t6ZsiPQ" target="_blank">YouTube channel.</a> I will be vlogging our homeschool days for the next 30 days to show you what we get up to on a day to day basis as a homeschooling family. The vlogs will mainly show the work we do, and they will also show when we go out on field trips.<br />
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Since we do not officially do school on the weekends, we will only be vlogging Monday to Friday for the next 30 days, not including the weekends.<br />
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If anyone is interested in joining in, head on over to the YouTube channel and subscribe to keep up to date with our videos. I would love to see your vlogs too, so comment on our videos to say you are doing the 30 days of vlogging too and I will head on over and subscribe to your channel too.<br />
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Peace and Blessings<br />
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Abena xxxUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-57850818141936637542014-04-23T13:19:00.001-07:002014-04-23T13:19:47.098-07:00How to : New Crayons from Old Crayons <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
For those of you who do not follow my YouTube channel, here is the latest tutorial I posted. From now on I will be posting my tutorials on here, as well as videos for the benefit of those who do not subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you do wish to subscribe after watching this video, please do so here >>> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-c0aXLZqg0DN6T-t6ZsiPQ" target="_blank">Homeschooling in East London YouTube channel </a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-37285747589528196412014-04-07T17:25:00.002-07:002014-04-07T17:25:56.736-07:00Homeschooling Update Hi fellow homeschool parents!<br />
I just wanted to check in with you guys because I have not posted in a while on here. Since February in fact. Being a homeschooling mum requires a lot of juggling, and I have had a lot on my plate. This is why I have not posted in a while. I am going to post up on here at least once a week from now on, I was trying to post every other day but I have not had the time to do that.<br />
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If you guys do not follow me on YouTube, please do. I have been posting vlogs on there, and I will be posting a vlog a week over there.<br />
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In terms of how things are going with the homeschooling. It is going great, there have been days where I have felt like packing it all in. However, I really do find this whole journey very rewarding. My son is enjoying learning new things, he loves the freedom of being able to get up travel anywhere we want to go at any given time. We do have a schedule that we refer to but sometimes we just step out of it and do something else. I have noticed that he is becoming a lot more assertive in terms of what he wants to learn. Some days he will tell me that he wants to learn a specific letter, or that he wants to do numbers or experiments. When he does this, I let him do what he wants. I really do not think it is a good idea at this age (4) to force him into doing something he is not interested in doing at that specific time.<br />
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I have so many interesting things planned for the next few months. I really cannot wait to get started, we have a unit coming up on Ghana, we will be learning about different cars, bikes, buses, our local area, various fruits and vegetables from around the world, African artists and much more.<br />
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Please stat tuned to my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-c0aXLZqg0DN6T-t6ZsiPQ" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a> and join me on Instagram too. Right now we are on spring break over here in the UK so we will not be posting very much on Instagram but I will be posting tutorial videos on YouTube as well as general chatty videos about homeschooling.<br />
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Thank you<br />
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peace and blessings xxxx<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-80260582685955920262014-02-12T03:07:00.001-08:002014-02-12T03:07:57.831-08:00Why I will never send my child to another Montessori SchoolFor those of you who are new to reading this blog, you might not be aware that I did originally send my son to school. It was a Montessori school, and he was there for 4 months. I took him out for a number of reasons, I will not go into that now. However, the main reason I will never send any of my children to a Montessori school is ; many Montessori schools do not employ all Montessori staff. <div><br></div><div>The school that my son went to was generally a decent school. However, there were four teachers in the school that were not trained in the Montessori method. Which caused a lot of confusion for the children. As far as I am aware any school can use the name Montessori, the school might have three Montessori trained teachers in the school and the rest of them can have no Montessori training whatsoever. </div><div><br></div><div>I don't want to generalise here because there are many great Montessori schools. I also very much believe in the Montessori method but if a school is asking you to pay huge fees to teach your kids in the Montessori way then all the teachers should be trained. Otherwise you might as well send them to a conventional private school or a state funded school. I decided to go against the grain and homeschool. Most people might think I am completely crazy but really to be a homeschooling mum, you kind of have to be a bit of a rebel to have the guts to do it in the first place. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-11161613405386907202014-01-29T07:24:00.001-08:002014-01-29T07:24:12.653-08:00Homeschooling in pictures<div>Just a few pics from yesterday. I will be doing regular picture posts of what we do on a daily basis. Join us on instagram too @homeschoolinginlondon </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ha37Rs7iFK8/UukdDb0OmYI/AAAAAAAABL8/hojrcPDGcE8/s640/blogger-image--1588473608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ha37Rs7iFK8/UukdDb0OmYI/AAAAAAAABL8/hojrcPDGcE8/s640/blogger-image--1588473608.jpg"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ha37Rs7iFK8/UukdDb0OmYI/AAAAAAAABL8/hojrcPDGcE8/s640/blogger-image--1588473608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ABzW_sCecTk/UukdGmEe-xI/AAAAAAAABMM/_-KrF5Ec__Y/s640/blogger-image-1005192096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ABzW_sCecTk/UukdGmEe-xI/AAAAAAAABMM/_-KrF5Ec__Y/s640/blogger-image-1005192096.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DDoUs1mtJ0U/UukdAHSp0BI/AAAAAAAABLs/iBIJ9yyOGBc/s640/blogger-image--1419848410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DDoUs1mtJ0U/UukdAHSp0BI/AAAAAAAABLs/iBIJ9yyOGBc/s640/blogger-image--1419848410.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-79dfqICpdCg/UukdBCdGQzI/AAAAAAAABL0/UHpG-JIIRXU/s640/blogger-image-1781543915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-79dfqICpdCg/UukdBCdGQzI/AAAAAAAABL0/UHpG-JIIRXU/s640/blogger-image-1781543915.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zBkU0IlV7y4/UukdFpwyc0I/AAAAAAAABME/cHZHEeazSe4/s640/blogger-image-273642958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zBkU0IlV7y4/UukdFpwyc0I/AAAAAAAABME/cHZHEeazSe4/s640/blogger-image-273642958.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AwH5ZlH3Dsw/Uukc_KmxzTI/AAAAAAAABLk/HzxjqsQz2M4/s640/blogger-image-1955243437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AwH5ZlH3Dsw/Uukc_KmxzTI/AAAAAAAABLk/HzxjqsQz2M4/s640/blogger-image-1955243437.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_ZyLxle6bl4/Uukc8Kn8uMI/AAAAAAAABLM/1d4ej_ui_n0/s640/blogger-image--131779817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-_ZyLxle6bl4/Uukc8Kn8uMI/AAAAAAAABLM/1d4ej_ui_n0/s640/blogger-image--131779817.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E5X200d7_CE/Uukc-LYwjcI/AAAAAAAABLc/GrigU56hWrM/s640/blogger-image-1173596898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E5X200d7_CE/Uukc-LYwjcI/AAAAAAAABLc/GrigU56hWrM/s640/blogger-image-1173596898.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NRXQ2ZqSOK8/Uukc9LAz0-I/AAAAAAAABLU/vI1xNXJSLWk/s640/blogger-image-388805973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NRXQ2ZqSOK8/Uukc9LAz0-I/AAAAAAAABLU/vI1xNXJSLWk/s640/blogger-image-388805973.jpg"></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-28643186485813364102014-01-29T04:39:00.001-08:002014-01-29T04:39:30.273-08:00When homeschooling gets hard! Stop !These past couple of days homeschooling has become pretty hard. I never thought it would be easy but my son seems to not want to o anything at all. None of the games, he doesn't want to go out really, he just wants to play with cars. I think learning can come from all places. However, I don't think he is learning anything throwing cars around the room. I tried to turn it into a learning game but he does not want to know. I did five minutes with him this morning before I burst into tears. What is the solution ? Stop ! I am just going to leave him to it for the next few days. Then try again, this is the problem they had when he was at school he did not engage, even with the fun stuff. He seems to have gone backwards in this past couple of days. <div><br></div><div>He was flying last week, now he doesn't know his numbers or letters anymore. I am not trying to force him but I want him to get the basics down before throwing a whole heap of other stuff on him. I thought he was interested in science but he doesn't seem bothered about it. I know he is only 4 so I shouldn't push him but I am running out of ideas at the moment. I have to rethink, sit back and rethink. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-24267344693134078332014-01-26T09:19:00.000-08:002014-01-26T09:19:04.406-08:00Our Book: 4 Year Old Author <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our book<br /><br />Homeschooling so far has been such an exciting and humbling experience. Prior to homeschooling my son and I put together this book. He said to me one day that he wanted to write a book just like mummy. He came up with the concept, I wrote it down and he illustrated it. The book is about a Kyron (my son) and him no longer being scared of spiders. You see, my son used to be scared of a lot of things. He seems to have toughened up over the past few months, we put this book together to help boost children's confidence and self esteem. This book has already really helped to make my son feel more confident and think more positive. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />We are very proud of this book and we hope that you guys will support us and grab a copy of the book. It is available on Amazon here>>> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kyron-Said-Not-Scared-Spiders-ebook/dp/B00I0BT7YQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390732471&sr=8-1&keywords=kyron+said+I+am+not+scared+of+spiders" target="_blank">Kyron Said....I am not scared of spiders</a> or it is available via Paypal here>>>>> <a href="http://homeschoolingineastlondon.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html" target="_blank">Kyron Said I am not Scared of Spider </a></td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-68511710669098398692014-01-26T09:12:00.002-08:002014-01-26T09:12:30.713-08:00Free Doodle Pattern Colouring Book<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikprfxnXGTA/UuTpyICeWBI/AAAAAAAABLA/InnmG9hfono/s1600/photo+%252820%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikprfxnXGTA/UuTpyICeWBI/AAAAAAAABLA/InnmG9hfono/s1600/photo+%252820%2529.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free doodle pattern colouring book<br /><br />Hey guys! I promised I would give away a free doodle pattern colouring book and here it is! My son and I love doodle pattern art, and we are always creating different designs, especially on a rainy day like this one! I have a compiled some cool doodle pattern designs for you and the kids to play about with. You can use pastels, paints, felt tip pen, pencils, anything you like really! I love playing about with pastels with these, I will post up some pictures of my pastel pieces when I get the chance to do so. <a name='more'></a><br /><br />Today is a really rainy day in London, UK but strangely enough I like it. On days like this I get a lot of work done, this is one of those days where I make myself a hot cup of green tea and clear out the clutter. Today, I have laminated a whole bunch of worksheets for the little man, I have written four pages of my poetry book. I have also formatted the ABC story book that my son and I put together, that will be available for download real soon. I still have a few other things to get done but overall, this is a good day for getting organised in terms of homesechooling anyway.<br /><br />So far I am loving this home education journey, it has only been just over 3 weeks but in that short space of time I have learned so much. My son has matured, he seems to be way more confident and he knows a lot more. Cheers to many more wonderful years home educating.<br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwpGgEf9rrGWVzUwT0cxZUgyc0k/edit" target="_blank">Click here</a> to get your doodle pattern colouring book, or you can click on the picture to the right! Have fun! Remember to send me your pics via Instagram @homeschoolinginlondon<br /><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-50654876052126994232014-01-21T13:12:00.001-08:002014-01-21T13:12:34.317-08:00Homeschooling : Why are so many people so shocked ?I have been pondering this for a few days, I do not really like to judge people. I also do not look to make people feel uncomfortable. This is why, I have told very few people that I am homeschooling my son. I told three mums this week and all of them have given me the same reaction. Shock, sympathy and in some ways disgust. One of the mothers basically told me I was crazy to homeschool, stating that she needed time to herself and she would not wish it on her worst enemy to be stuck with a child 24/7. I simply told her, it was best for us at this time. That is all I said because I really do not feel the need to explain myself to people that bare so significance in my life whatsoever. I actually would not have said anything but she asked me what preschool my son goes to. I said he does not go to school, and that I homeschool. The look of shock on her face was priceless. <div><br></div><div>One other lady said I should consider sending him to private school if I am so against the system. I really did not feel the need to get into a huge debate about the effectiveness of homeschooling or the I effectiveness of going to mainstream school. Why? Because I do not fall into any specific category, I am homeschooling right now because it is what is best for me and my son at this moment in time. That might change in the near future. However, for now we are loving it and enjoying every minute of this journey. I just wonder why people are so damn judgemental, I don't look at people in the street and question why the hell they send their children to school. I also don't shout out in the street that yes I tried private school, it was not the best option for us either. Not every child thrives in a classroom setting with 25 other children there. </div><div><br></div><div>Another mum asked me how is my son going to be able to socialise with kids if I isolate him by homeschooling. Again, I did not want to get into some kind of debate, I simply said he goes to drama, football and other activities. In fact my son is so well socialised we barely have time to sit at home and just do "homeschool" as they think we do. We basically do a couple of hours a day and the rest is activities and other fun stuff. I have only been homeschooling for three weeks and we have done so much in such a short space of time. Looking at the work he did in school and the field trips he went on he has done more in three weeks than he has done in four months at school. Some say that school teaches children how to live in the real world. For me school do not teach me this, it taught me to hate education. I only began to like it when I went to university and I was exposed to independent study. I had freedom because we would have two lectures a week, three seminars and the rest was independent study. </div><div><br></div><div>I am not trying to get into a debate here as to which way is best. Because some thrive in school, some thrive homeschooling. However, what I would actually prefer would be flexischooling. I asked for this at two schools, private schools and they said no, quite rudely actually. I just think that people should stop judging on both sides of the fence, and enjoy the choices they have made. For me homeschooling offers freedom, more time with my son, it gives my son more opportunity to explore what he likes, and we can travel the world if we want to. My partner is a musician and when he goes on tour we can stop off for a week or so and he gets to spend time with his daddy. Rather than not see him for months on end. I read a tweet that Jaden Smith (Will Smith son) wrote, he said that if all kids were homeschooled the world would be a better place. There was uproar, I think I know what he was trying to say. I think he meant that if all children were homeschooled they might be able to explore their interests at a younger age. Also excel in subjects that they enjoy rather than focus on subjects they do not enjoy at all. </div><div><br></div><div>Personally I think that the basics like Maths, English and science based subjects should be taken. However, other subjects could be replaced with something the enjoy doing. For example, my son is really interested in photography. So,he is learning about photography, just the basics but he is still learning and he loves it. I know he would not be learning this if he was at school. He also loves to run, and said he wants to be in the Olympics. I know he is only four and this might change however, at school he only gets to run around for 40 minutes a day. The rest of the time he stuck in a building, which is not great for little ones. Today, he ran around the park in circles for 2 hours, all the Joggers were really impressed. He had a great time! He said he wants to do running every single day. So, I will be taking him. You never know, he might turn out to be the next Usain Bolt! </div><div><br></div><div>I don't know why people feel the need to be so judgemental and poke their noses into other people's business like it affects their children I don't know. However, all I know is that homeschooling is the perfect option for my son and I at this moment. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-33700745947808057172014-01-21T12:32:00.001-08:002014-01-21T12:34:53.378-08:00Homeschooling is FreedomI feel free, my son feels free, homeschooling is the perfect slice of freedom for both of us. The bliss of waking up in the morning and realising that we do not have to make it through that dreadful robotic school run. My son used to some days feel physically sick in the morning because he simply did not want to go to school.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning through day to day life </td></tr>
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This week we are doing a train theme. We are learning about trains, and everything we do in terms of worksheets and activities are train themed. My son is loving it, we got the train theme pack from a cool blog called http://www.mamasmonkeys.blogspot.com. The pack is free and it includes worksheets and a couple of cool games too. This week so far we have done some fun phonics work with the train theme, played the game from the pack, done train spelling and tracing, made a train painting and we have taken a train ride. We also went to the museum of childhood in East London, where we looked at retro toys, toy trains, and found out how steam trains work. We also looked into the history of superhero toys. Here are a few pictures from the museum and from our day out at the park today. </div>
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This last pic is of a cute toy I got from the charity shop for £3. It is originally from John Lewis so I got a bargain. It can be used for motor skills, colours, counting and to learn how things work. My son had fun with it when we got back home, it kept him occupied for about 40 minutes straight.<br />
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We have had a really good, productive couple of days and we hope to go to the transport museum on Thursday. Tomorrow we plan on going to the library after his piano lesson and spending the rest of the day there reading lots and lots of books. I always find the library quite relaxing because most of the time we sit in a quiet corner and read and read until he doesn't want to read anymore. Then he goes off and has a play and I read on my own for an hour or two. </div>
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Keep your eyes peeled for some more detailed day in the life posts. I am still trying to pull everything together and work out what activities he will be doing weekly, and what activities he will be doing sporadically. All I know is I simply cannot wait to see where this journey takes us! I am so excited to explore the world with my son ! He is a little explorer just like I am, and I know that homeschooling is the way forward for now. It might change in years to come but for now, this is the right decision. </div>
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Peace and blessings xxx </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7936860380735096205.post-54366591580269823502014-01-20T14:45:00.000-08:002014-01-20T14:49:47.802-08:00Massive Improvements Homeschooling a 4 Year Old<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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I have only been homeschooling for a little under 3 weeks now and so far I have seen a massive improvement in my son's progress. He was in school for just over 3 months, in the reception class and in terms of academics, he actually did not really learn anything. I would ask him and he would tell me that he did not remember anything because the classroom was too noisy.<br />
<a name='more'></a> I generally think my son likes to learn in a quiet environment, when it comes to basic academics anyway. In terms of absorbing information from the outside world, he loves field trips and being out and about. He seems to remember everything from field trips, for example last week we went to the farmers market. I was talking to him about all the different types of fruit and the benefits of each one. He remembered everything the next day!<br />
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When I took my son out of school, he did not know any of his letters, he barely knew his numbers. I know most parents do not place much emphasis on academic achievement at such a young age. However, I believe that this is the perfect age to introduce academics in a basic and fun way. He now knows all of his letters and his numbers up to 30 in just under 3 weeks. I just introduced in a really relaxed way, and used Montessori style methods to make it easier for him to grasp. I am very impressed with how quickly he is coming along. Even his artwork looks much more interesting and creative than it did before. He seems happier, more confident in himself and constantly keeps telling me that he is a strong boy. I am so proud of my little man.<br />
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One other thing that I did want to drop into this blog post was that, myself and my son and have written a book. I have put all the information on the books page if you guys are interested in taking a look. The book is called<a href="http://homeschoolingineastlondon.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html" target="_blank"> Kyron Said...I am not Scared of Spiders</a>. Kyron came up with the concept, he did the illustrations and he came up with about half of the written content (without actually writing it just saying it) My son is very creative, he comes up with ideas for movies and plays. He is always asking me to do acting with him, and this is something I do not think was being nurtured at school. I know that some people might say, well send him to drama class after school, or on the weekend. I personally have not had very much luck with after school activities with my son. He is exhausted by the time he finishes school and focusing on another activity just did not work for him.<br />
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I think homeschooling is perfect for my son and I think I will continue to homeschool for as long as we both enjoy it.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0