Credit Crunch

Due to an amazing opportunity which has been given to me to do with my writing, I am going to have to write a lot less on my blog. So instead of the credit crunch I am having to time crunch. I will be writing a couple of times a month now on the first Monday of every month and the third Monday of every month. I will be writing about our experiences with other home schooling parents and children and offering some insight into how it is all going in our camp. Keep reading.
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Broad shoulders

If you as an individual believe that what you are doing is right and not hurting anyone. If you are able to change your ideas when appropriate and use experiences from life to create a fun and exciting time for you and your family then go for it. Be brave. Don't let anyone stand in your way. You only get one go at this.

Old comments

I have just looked through the blog and noticed the wonderful comments people have written, whether they are positive or negative all is welcome. No-one in this world is an expert in bringing up a child, and as a mother I believe everything we do for our children is a learning curve. I believe that when someone offers advice it is always useful to read it and take it on board and then add it to our experiences. I am surrounded by people from different backgrounds and different workplaces so it is invaluable for me to listen to people older and wiser. Take for example the comments given by the producer in early October. I realised Isabella was doing too much aswell and therefore changed the way we did things. We are not going to get anywhere in this world if we don't listen to other people and learn from them. It would be futile if I was to write this blog and ignore comments. So please feel free to write them. No-one got anywhere in this world by staying quiet!

An open forum

Watch this space, something monumental has happened today. I can't explain what yet. BUT I will be filling you all in as soon as I can.

The early years.

I am currently writing my third article. This time it is discussing the relationship between nursery education and the early years with the decisionto then home school. I am researching lots of articles about how children develop most from 0-6 and this is when they become aware of social skills, interaction skills and behavioural skills that they learn from their peers etc. I am having to be very diplomatic when I write this article and discuss the benfits of attending nursery and not attending nursery. I think the argument boils down to the fact that as long as your child is interacting at some level frequently with other children and other adults then they will develop the skills they need in later life naturally. I believe it is our responsibility as the parent or guardian to put our children in a position where this is able to happen. Nursery then becomes the most obvious choice. What I don't believe in is a child that is taken to full time nursey from 7am until 7pm Monday to Friday. Surely this cannot be good for any child. Please let me know if you disagree with this.

Other peoples influences

I think I am probably more overprotective than other parents but I do find it difficult to let Isabella be looked after by people that may not care as much for her as I do for a whole day. Is this wrong? Should I be letting other people influence her and manage her? I understand teachers have this responsibility but when we work on set she is looked after by a chaperone. We have had various chaperones throughout her working year. This chaperone is responsible for her well being whenever on set. When your child belongs to you, no-one looks after them like you do. So when should you stop this and pass them over. I never had a problem when she was at Nursery, I believed that those adults may have known more about bringing her up than I did, however ever since a couple of years ago I believe I should be there to protect her for as long as I can. I can also speak from experience from the other side having been a teacher and someone in charge of children. When you don't have children and have never experienced your own, you do look after them and treat them in a very different way from when you have had one and experienced it as your own flesh and blood. Basically I am trying to say that as someone who is responsible for a child I believe that until you have your own you do not really understand children and how they work. I am at the moment fairly able to understand most children up to the age of six howvever I have no idea about children older than six.

The next three days

For the next three days we are in the studio and Isabella has a gruelling schedule of filming four episodes from 9am until 5pm. Our day starts at 8am in the taxi and finishes at 6pm when it drops us off. I am so relieved we don't have school as this term would have wiped her out. It has been so intense for me, let alone Isabella, and she is the one that is working. She has the most amazing life at the moment but some people do worry that she misses out on having a weekend and being normal. HOWEVER I strongly believe that life is so long that she has plenty of time to be normal and have weekends at home.

Are children growing up too quickly

My granny surprised me toady by asking me if Isabella still believed in Santa. As far as I'm concerned I don't think Isabella will find out until she is at least 10. Maybe that is unrealistic and as soon as she is around her school friends this will all change because as soon as one finds out,they will all do. Also children will learn from their older siblings as well. I really want Isabella to stay innocent for as long as possible. A friend today however said that this was unfair for Isabella as she would just end up disillusioned by life. But what is wrong with remaining young and innocent for as long as possible especially in the current climate where children can obtain guns as easily as penny sweets.

On location with Bill Oddie

We have spent the last two days with Bill Oddie, a lot of children, Jelly and the Green Balloon Club and Nature Chris filming the Christmas Special song for the programme. We were in a barn on a farm in Essex. It has been so cold but a lot of fun. Isabella has played with Bill and even ended up teaching him some dance moves. He was so kind and sweet with her.

The Blue Men

In America The Blue Man Group have reinvented the idea of how a school should be run. Have you heard of The Blue Man group? They are an entertaining phenomenon. They have opened a private elementary school in the East Village of Manhattan. They have created a school that will stimulate creative thinking, using creative ideas to stimulate the children. It sounds amazing. It instills a sense of creative mischief in the children. I know I have used the word creative alot but that is the schools basic philosophy behind its teaching. It wants the children to be creative!

A dedicated time slot

I have found today that I have spent a lot of time playing with Isabella and working at the same time therefore doing nothing productively. It is hard to try and do everything. So now I am going to try something new. I will focus on one task and one task alone. I will give my complete atention to playing for one hour and then do my work whilst she works. Then hopefully we can still play and I can still work without saying the inevitable "hold on" or "wait a minute."

Puppets

We are obsessed with puppets at the moment. We play new stories and traditional stories and stories in french or made up languages. This is a great way to get your child thinking and using their imagination.

Letter to Father Christmas

When writing the inevitable letter to Santa you can do one of two things. If your child can write then this s a perfect time to practice their writing however if you prefer for a younger child they can cut the pictures out and stick them on to the letter or draw the picture of the item. The best idea is to do all three. Isabella has written a letter that has words and then a picture and then more words and then a drawing. This keeps them interested in this activity for a long time. To take the activity further then write a story about how Santa makes the toys and where they are coming from and what would happen if you didn't get any toys. Let your imagination run wild.

A stressful day.

I am failing miserably at being supermum at the moment. I can't believe the days are so short and there is s much to do. I went to work this morning, leaving Isabella with the granny and returned at 1pm. We then played before heading off to singing and dance. I now have to pack to be away for five days for filming. I am really looking forward to slowing down a tiny bit. When this will happen I will never know. Does everyone else have this feeling at the moment. I am so relieved i don't have school to think about as well.

Create a multiplication wheel

This idea can be used for multiplication or division. It may take some time to make but is great fun. Create an animal or object and colour it in and cut it out. About the size of a hand span. Then create a circle to fit on top and attach it in the middle using a butterfly pin (the one that opens up and allows movement) On the front have numbers from 1-12 for multiplication and then the answers on the back in the corresponding places. You must make the hole to see the answers on the animal or objects body NOT the wheel. At the bottom of the wheel on the static part of your drawing have which ever times table you are doing written down ie X2. Whenever you turn the number on the front next to the X2 there should be the hole at the back which shows the answer. For example move the wheel to 3 above the X2 and turn it over and you will see 6. For division do exactly the same but the answers must be written the other way round, do 1-12 on the back and the answers on the front with a divide and number written on the part of the picture that doesn't move (just like before.) Rember you will need a different animal or object for each times table.

The radio

I didn't realise how powerful the radio can be. Instead of a TV we have a radio. For me it is on in the background, for Isabella it is a source of musical adverts and weather reports and all sorts of information that she brings up thoughout the day. We also listen to story CD's which I will put on for her when she is playing. It is a fact that children will absorb things from the sounds around them even when they don't think they are taking it in or really listening.

A child needs their own time

Isabella really appreciates her toys when she has been away from them. Yesterday she played for almost two hours in her bedroom with her barbies and dolls etc. She invented a tea party as well as repeating a scene from the play we saw on Broadway "The Little Mermaid." I believe this time is crucial for children. They need to learn to play by themselves, they also need to create and have imaginary play. Whenever it is possible, even in the busy lives we lead, children must be give time to just be with their things and play.

Need to slow down

Suddenly coming back from holiday I feel exhausted already. There is something about the way we live in England that is just non-stop. I am actually trying to remove things from the diary as it is getting silly now. I am also experiencing very little time for me. This is crucial when home schooling, otherwise it can become too intense. To rectify this little problem I am up earlier to get my work done, however, I do need to have a social life as well but feel that I am too tired in the evenings and my weekends are taken up with Isabella filming. How can this be resolved? At the moment I am not sure, all I know is that I spend my whole life saying "next week will be different" and it never is. Everyone says the years rush by and they really do. I suppose that is why I like to go away, when we are away from home we don't have to think about all the normal stuff, we can focus on other things. The trouble is I can't spend my whole life on holiday! Unfortunately! Does everyone feel like this. I also only have one child, I can't imagine what it is like with two. I a really going to try and slow down and make more time in my week. I am not sure how yet, but I will let you know when it works out!

Toys out of old toys

At the museum in Manhattan Isabella participated in a wonderful workshop where children made toys out of old toys. Instead of throwing old toys away, take them apart and use lego and glue to fix them together to see what else you can make. Get them to draw their design out and come up with a name for their toy and invent something that it does.

Free idea

Go to a market, even though our markets are getting fewer and fewer. They are still fab places to take a little one. Tell them about prices and weights and diffent foods, their textures and tastes. Have a trying session at home using foods you would not normally buy. Set up your own market stall when you get home and use your weighing scales.

Choose a topic

Instead of worrying about seperating the core subjects, English, Maths etc choose a topic such as The Eiffel Tower, draw it, measure it, write about it, research it, cook french food and speak french. Suddenly they have done a whole weeks work covering every topic.

Non standard measuring. At the moment Isabella is going around measuring everything. Sometimes with a ruler but also with her teddy. So our bed is ten teddies long etc. Measure anything as you are walking along to the supermarket.

Ideas

How about writing on a board on having this up on your fridge: Today I feel.......... and then having a few choice words that your child can choose from e.g. frustrated or happy etc. This will help them to extend their vocabulary and learn to read and recognise new words and also let you know how they might be feeling. You could also do this.

Then you could create a Poet Tree, draw a tree out and add words or sentances to it and to creat your own poems or haikus. ( I think that is how you spell Japanese poetry)

Completely new ideas

I can't believe that my ideas can change so radically. I would never have considered home schooling until six months ago. I am also a true believer in after school activities BUT having been away from them for two and a half weeks. I have not missed them. Isabella has not missed them either. I do think they are important but maybe we all try to do too much after school. If only the children could take part in these activities in the day as well as receiving the educational element.

Weird to be back

I have found it very surreal coming home. I have loved being away, and not seeing the normal day to day running of Richmond has been fine. However coming home and walking through town on my way to Ballet brought back a mixture of feelings again. I know we have had a wonderful time, but seeing everyone and hearing about their normal day to day stuff, school etc does make me question my decision again. I am sure about what we have chosen to do but I can't help but feel like this when I see everyone living a normal life. I have the normal worries about whether Isabella is missing out on seeing her old friends and being in a classroom with everyone doing spelling tests etc. I have to keep reminding myself that she is happy. We are also happy as a family.

Back home

We have arrived home safely. The flight was awful and Isabella had to look after me. It is 1pm and we have just woken up. Anyway, I have lots of ideas which I will write down later. For now, we are glad to be back and have a busy week ahead of us. Isabella is filming Friday through to Wednesday for the Xmas special song. It was going to be wonderfully cheesy!

Going home

Today we watched The Rocketts at the xmas spectacular at Radio City Hall. It was so wonderfully cheesy. The dancers were incredible. Then it was off to the Children's Museum of Manhattan. This was another fantastic museum, so interactive and not expensive. Isabella made a friend called Molly and they are going to be pen friends. We also arranged a playdate for when we return in the summer. Unfortunately we have packed and leave the hotel tomorrow at 6am. YUCK. Then a twelve hour travelling day. Anyway, I have lots of new ideas which I will blog about when I return in a day.

Today

Public Library, Empire State Building, Childrens Museum of Manhattan, MOMA for late night opening. I think we are going to be exhausted later on today.

Childrens Museum of Art

Another amazing place, this museum is a little gem. It was a loft like building with different areas for different activities. Isabella was able to make objects out of clay, make a puppet, create a collage, draw a still life. There were several artists there to help out the children. We spent three hours there. It has given me lots of ideas for my academy. It was filled with children of all ages and they were able to experience different styles of art as well as be part of an art gallery. They had displays of professional work on the walls. It really was an inspiring place.

A wet day

Today was the first wet day in New York. However it didn't prevent us from visiting Ground Zero. This was just as emotional as I thought it might be. Isabella spent the whole time following me, asking me if I needed another tissue. It really is very emotive seeing photos of everyone and imagining how horrific it must have been. They have started rebuilding on the site. We visited the little museum next to it. Isabella obviously couldn't grasp the enormity of what had happened, even for me though I found it difficult to imagine what was once there. A very moving experience.

Change of name

I think I am going to have to change my web address name. Isabella is no longer saying "Can we play now". Instead she is saying " Where are we going now" and "What are we going to do now" We have done so much, I think we will all want to get home for a rest.

President Bush

I am currently sitting in our lobby watching a lot of police setting up the barriers for George Bush to leave his hotel in a couple of hours. He is staying in The Waldorf and Astoria opposite us. There are TV crews and lots of important people running around trying to look busy.

Book Club

I am going to set up a book club for children. I am going to try to get the children to read aloud and then give comments and also write a book review and creat their own stories.

In America every childrens programme is dedicated to reading and I think it would be fun to have a childs book club in England.

A successful day

Today was wonderful watching the Veterans parade. Isabella is turning into an all American girl. We also managed a trip to Grand Central Station and had a go at the whispering gallery. It really worked. Lastly we managed to find out a little bit about acting for children in New York and we have met some very interesting people. But enough about that until I can report something concrete.

Busy Day

This morning we started by heading off to The American Girl Place. This is hell, but a place that everyone will visit if they have a little girl. We bought the doll and the outfit and ate lunch with it! Then we had a little more culture by visiting Central Park and The Rockefeller Centre, finishing off with some ice-skating. All in all a very American day. The diary is filling up and I feel we are both learning so much. I am loving being with my daughter and feel very fortunate to be able to experience such momentus occasions with her.

Financial Support

I couldn't stop dreaming about my idea last night The Academy of Discovery. I believe all I need for this to be a success is a lot of financial support from someone who is willing to help. Any offers? It would be like a university for children. I can see it all so clearly.

An educational experience

Do we think that school is crucial? Does school play an important part in our childrens development? My answers to these questions is yes. However I wish it could be in a different way and not so regimented from the beginning. I worry that when Isabella returns we will all find it too difficult to adapt back into the system. I don't want her to miss out on the school choirs though or school teams. So I shall tell you my answer: In America there is actually a homeschool choir, football team, theatre group. I wish these existed in England. This would be the perfect mix. How can we start this? Would anyone be interested? Is the idea too American? Maybe we could create a building purely for home schoolers, as if it were a school with all the benefits of a school and we joined it like a gym to pay for it. We could have certain lessons that we could participate in if we wanted to. I suppose it would be more like a university of life for children(with parents if they wanted to join in.) The more I think about it, the more I am loving this idea.

Out for supper

We have been out to a brasserie for supper. We all got dressed up and went out quite late. It is amazing the difference that I notice in Isabella when she is expected to eat well and behave in a grown up way in public. Sometimes it is easy to forget how small and young our children still are. We have such high expectations on them at such a young age that I am really enjoying letting her be young and having some fun. I hope this fun never has to end.

American Diary

The american diary is going well. I hope Isabella remembers everything she is experiencing. She already knows so much more about america'a current affairs than I do, that I am sure she will learn something from this trip. I have bought a fantastic time line about the US presidents, I intend to make the same for the English prime ministers when we get home. We will create our own time line not only for important and influential people but also eras, artists and architects. We will create ours through pictures.

Statue of Liberty

We arrived yesterday having taken two flights. Only to arrive at our hotel to be told that our room was not available. We were offered a smaller one and some breakfast vouchers. I was not amused. Today we have been moved into the right room. We have been very busy, visiting the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and Time Square. I can't believe how busy New York was today. Isabella actually fell asleep this afternoon for two hours. We are now waiting for the granny to arrive and then we can work out our schedule for the week. I am sure it will be full of amazing experiences.

I'm not perfect!

It is wonderful that some people feel they can correct me when I spell something wrong or my punctuation isn't right. Please do feel free to let me know. Even though I am home schooling my daughter, I am not perfect. I am teaching her the basics and at the same time hopefully improving my skills in writing etc. I don't profess to being perfect, but believe me I know a lot of teachers who get things wrong as well. All I can say is that I am doing my best.

Fish

We have just finished our three hour fishing trip. It was on the lake at the bottom of the garden. Isabella used her Barbie rod and caught the first fish, I then caught the next two. Then Charlie caught a big Bass and Uncle Dave caught one too. Then Isabella finished off with her last catch of the day before Charlie caught a huge catfish. We are now eating them for lunch. When Isabella caught them we thought she would want to save them and put them back. So we said,"shall we put them back or do you want them to die?" She said "Yes I want to kill them and eat them" Not the response I was expecting from a Green Balloon Club member, but then again, how cool to be able to catch your lunch and eat it!

The point.

I read an article in an american family magazine. It was in the best museum I have ever seen called The Chicago Children's Museum. This museum is all about play and learning as one educational experience. This article just asked very clearly, What is the focus of a parent in a child's life? Is it to help them work towards a career and work on their position in the future? The outcome was one that I agree with completely. It stated that if a child has various experiences throughout life and has this amazingly filled and fruitful childhood then their career and interests will automatically arrive.

ILLINOIS

Wow, we have arrived in Springfield Illinois. It is beautiful. The house we are staying in is on the side of the lake called Lake Springfield. There are wild deer and possums and racoons. I feel like we are in another world. We are going fishing today on the lake. Isabella has been given her own fishing rod, only in America do they sell Barbie fishing rods! Then we are off to see Abraham Lincoln's Museum. I can't believe how much there is to see in America and learn. Even in the smaller areas. Isabella is enjoying herself so much that she is waking at 5am every day. She doesn't want to leave America, I have to say I agree. It is wonderful and we are looking forward to coming back and doing another road trip for longer next year.

TIP

Try this game: What if? add on anything like, you had two pairs of eyes in your head. Think about the benefits, the burdens and any other interesting points.

Isabella really loves this game.

The Mall

Today we are off to a mall. I am very excited! Then we are going back into Chicago to go on a boat trip through the river. Chicago really is beautiful. The Sears Tower was incredible. We are going to work on a project about the famous buildings in the world and we are going to see how many we can visit.

Then we went to The Shedd Aquarium, next to Lake Michigan. This was brilliant as well. The most beautiful fish was the Sand Leaf Dragon, it was like a sea horse only more beautiful.

We are then off to Springfield Illinois for two days before we head to JFK.

Chicago

We actually went to the area where Barack Obama spoke last night when he recieved his presidency. Everyone seemed very happy in Chicago yesterday. We asked a couple of passers by how they felt and they said it was a new America. There are lots of adverts on the TV now about supporting Obama and how it is a new time for everything.

The level of service.

We went out for supper last night. The level of service was incredible. Tim and Al both of our waitors last night couldn't have been kinder and more helpful. I do wonder why our level of service is not the same in England.

5x TIP

When teaching the 5x table, try and teach it with the clock. This means your child will learn how to tell the time and can associate the five times table with quarter past, half past and quarter to and the whole way round. You can also then explain 60 is the number of minutes in an hour etc. Everything coincides. Then you can talk about North, East, South and West. The connections are endless.

Gestures and hand signals.

I have found a technique that really works when teaching Isabella maths. I use gestures.

When teaching division, I put my hands together as if in prayer then split them and this helps Isabella understand dividing. When working through multiplication, I make a circle with my hands when we reach the 12 x of anything to show it is the whole, the end of the table. Half way through when something is x6 I do a gesture that represents half way through. It just gives Isabella an understanding of fractions and division and mulitplication altogether and how they fit.

Going through Chicago tonight

We are about to leave Detroit and travel back to Chicago for the biggest night for most Americans. We voted today with a family member who is American and saw how it all worked. We hopefully have been part of history.

Quite relieved.

I am very relieved, this morning I got Isabella to do some work. We wrote her America diary and then did maths and spellings and reading. Having not worked on it for a week I was very worried that she would have forgotten everything. We started with the times tables and did 2's,3's,5's,9's,10's,11's,12's. She remembered all of them. I have this amazing technique for learning the 9's. I am not sure I can explain it on the blog though. Imagine you hold up both hands facing you. Then put the one little finger on the right hand down and make that 1x9. How many fingers do you have up, hopefully 9. Then put the second finger in down and lifting the first one back up. You will have 1 on your left side of the second finger down and eight on the rest thus making 1 and 8 so 18. carry on with third and fourth etc and you can work out the nine times table until 10x9.

So the outcome of this morning was that I was so impressed with her spelling etc and her writing. I am really pleased with her working three hours on her holiday.

Not much work today.

Although we are experiencing lots of different things, I am concerned that Isabella is not doing any work. I know this isn't a huge problem as we are doing other things but I still feel guilty. It is still a weird feeling knowing that we can do what we want, whenever we want to. At the moment her experiences are a different ball game to being in school. I just hope time will tell and show that what we are doing is really benefitting her.  

The election

It is amazing, everyone is so excited about tomorrow night. The election is taking over everyones life. When we go to Chicago tomorrow we have been told there will be lots of parties ready to start. Today we went to the Henry Ford Museum which was brilliant. We saw the actual car that Kennedy was assasinated in and also Lincolns car. There was the Bat mobile and the Ghost busters car. It was the best museum ever, so large and spacious and hardly anyone there.

Everything is huge!

I am not joking, everything is America is HUGE!!!! The drinks and food and shops are all HUGE. This morning the milk carton was 4 litres and the orange juice was the same. I could barely lift them. Isabella has noticed this as well and is saying bizarre things like " Wow I have never been in a lift this big" The trouble is everything she is commenting on is no different to the things in England!

Presidency

On Tuesday we are going to be in Chicago for the election of Barack Obama! Is this presumptious, not according to the people from Chicago it isn't. There are going to be parties and rallies and all sorts happening and we are going to be in the middle of it. I am really appreciating visiting the countries relevant to our history lessons. I know it is an expensive way to have a history lesson but she is learning so much about America and its culture. We are going to buy lots to help us learn about America, maps and guides etc etc. I am now planning our next road trip to a country that is relevant to our History and Geography lesson. 

We have arrived

We arrived last night in Chicago. We are all shattered but can't believe how lovely it is here. The flight was'nt as bad as I had feared. We played various games. There are a couple of them that I would like to share with you: Try discussing what you would do if you owned your own school. How would you run it etc. Also If you could be a superhero what would you be, what powers would you have and draw your picture. Also think of a story and take it in turns to come up with a line for it. Finally we drew a story board of that story.

We are hoping tonight that we can catch up on our sleep before we go off to the Henry Ford museum.