A youth theatre for everyone

There should be a free youth theatre for every town. Everyone could be involved and this would keep children of all ages off the streets! I just haven't figured out how this is funded yet!

Sex education

The other headline hitting the news at the moment is once again about sex education. When is it right to introduce your child to this. I don't have an issue with school telling my child about sex. I have an issue with them telling her about lots of things. The trouble is school puts everyone in the same zone. One child might be ready to hear about sex, another might not. Just because they are in the same year does not mean they are all ready at the same time to hear this information. Everyones child is different and the trouble with school is that it pigeon holes everyone. Everyone is expected to learn everything at the same time. I believe this is wrong. I think it is the parents that should be having extra lessons and advice on how to teach their children. Parents are the ones that need to start taking more responsibility for their children. I am obviously talking about a minority of parents that leave their children to fend for themselves. The trouble is this minority is getting bigger. It is up to us as the parents to help our children see what is right and wrong.

National Testing

Have you seen all the articles recently about National tests and that teachers and the government are arguing about whether they should be removed. My opinion, having read all the articles on the tests, is that school basically stops when tests occur. This is due to the fact that teachers have no other time to fit in other lessons and these tests take over. It also stated that other lessons such as history and geography and the arts are actually being forgotten about. There is not enough time to fit everything in.

So far though nothing has actually been sorted. I won't hold my breath.

The youngest golfer

There was a report in First News about a young golfer Rory McIlory. The 19 year old told First News how he believed that becoming the youngest golfer ever to enter the worlds top 50 was all down to his parents, how they've been the best parents in the world. He states they obviously wanted him to succeed through all their hard work and determination. People believe that it is down to alot of luck that people get where they are today. This is not the case, it is down to hard work and determination from parents and the child themselves. I ask the question what is so wrong in wanting this for your child if your child wants it too.

There were several children at The Tennis Academy today in Richmond that are homeschooled due to the fact that they aswell as their parents want them to be a success in the game.

I say Good Luck to them.

A very good day.

Today was brilliant, we have found an amazing tennis centre. I was able to play whilst Isabella had a lesson at the same time. Then the usual stuff and off to work. We had a wonderful time celebrating Shrove Tuesday. I need to research why it is called Shrove Tuesday and the meaning of the next few weeks. We are also going to try and give something up for Lent. Any suggestions?

Vomit from a bunk bed!

Isabella complained tonight of a tummy ache. I have therefore gone for the safe option of putting her in my bed, just incase she projectile vomits. As you can imagine this might not be a pretty sight!

A poorly friend

We have a friend at the moment who is dying of cancer. Death and illness is a very difficult issue to deal with. We all deal with these issues in different ways. An old friend of mine chose to tell her children about this illness and what was happening. I do not feel that this is necessary. I would not take my child at age 6 to a funeral but someone else might. This is what makes us all so interesting and different, seeing how we all deal with these situations differently. What it does make me do with Isabella is talk to her about how lucky and fortunate we are as a family to be be healthy and have so much. As long as she realises this and never forgets it then things can never be taken for granted.

I want to dedicate all my thoughts to my friend. xx

Strict

I am a very strict parent, I can't help it, it is a natural part of my parenting. However I saw a child the other day that was obviously not aware of even being told off and had no obvious boundaries. This child was behaving very badly and her mother could not cope with her and looked close to tears. All children need boundaries and once these are worked out it is amazing what can happen within them. This morning Isabella dealt with me very well! I was getting frustrated and so Isabella very calmly spoke to me and resolved the issues. Likewise this afternoon she got frustrated and we spoke about it and everything was resolved. Due to our understanding of boundaries and rules Isabella is a very thoughtful and kind young lady. At the moment what we are doing as parents is working out. I can't stress enough however though that in ten years time she might hate us and have a million piercings!! But that is life!

1,400

This is the number of people who have read my blog and I am averaging about 8 a day which isn't bad. I hope it is helping some people realise they have a choice in their childs future. We do not all need to follow the norm of school. In some countries children do not even go to school until they are 7/8. Who says what we do is right anyway. If you want to do something different don't be afraid to make that decision.

We are not perfect

This is a little message for all those mums out there who know they are not perfect but are trying their best. A very good friend of mine sent me a beautiful poem tonight all about Invisible mums and how we all put a huge amount of effort in to being a mum and don't expect anything back. We just do it because we love it. It is very hard work being a good mum. It is equally hard when we make mistakes, as long as we can realise our mistakes and realise we are not perfect but that we are doing our best. What more can our children ask for. So a slap on the back for all the mummies who read this and a huge well done.

Poetry Pie Launch

This was lovely, it was held at The South Bank and was attended by lots of children. It gave the children some brilliant ideas about writing poetry. They started with a favourite smell, a favourite food, a favourite place and a favourite sound. Then they put them all together in a poem.


My Favourite things by Isabella

I love the smell of Hyacinths, they smell like rosemary.
They look like earrings and droop so prettily.
My favourite food is salt and is crunchy like strawberry seeds,
You get it from the sea and it looks like crystal beads.
I love to go to London to see my Daddy for a cuddle,
He works for a company that is called Huddle.
I also love the sound of ants scuttling along the road.
They look like they're off to a ball to dance with a toad.

Paris

We are off to Paris with the granny soon. I read an article about Grannies not being as useful as child minders or nurseries. My mother is amazing with Isabella and although other grandparents might not be as proactive as my mother, the love that grandparents can give and knowledge should never be underestimated. I have seen some appalling nannies and therefore think it is unfair to say all grandparents are hopeless just as much as it is to say all nurseries and childminders are better. Everyone is different and each individual can bring something different to a childs life.

Work today

I have been able to work today and have planned meetings for tomorrow. It is surreal suddenly having a day spare when I have not had one for such a long time. It is still a lot of fun having Isabella off from school and we are both learning so much together.

We have decided to do some sewing. I am awful at this so we are going to learn together and make her doll some new clothes.

This could be a complete disaster or actually turn out OK!

4 days of filming

We have four days of filming coming up and are preparing for them each day. It is amazing how she remembers the lines. We try and do research around them so that she is able to talk more about the subject than is written down in the script. It also gives us a wonderful curriculum to follow.

Orleans Art Course

Today Isabella has been on an amazing art course. We try to do these every holiday. The Orleans Art Gallery run them once a week in the term time and for a couple of days in the holidays. They are such fun and the children come away with so many different things. Today they made aliens out of plaster of paris!

Happy Valentines Day

The first words uttered from Isabella this morning were "happy valentines day" I feel today I am very lucky to be waking up with a wonderful daughter who makes me proud of her everyday. I think Valentines day should be dedicated to everyone today and in the words of Isabella "Today is a day to love everyone" So to everyone who reads this and knows me I am sending you all huge love xx

Not enough time

I am still worrying about not being able to achieve everything we want to achieve in our year.It is amazing how quickly the time goes. I really appreciate the support my friends and family have given to us over this last year. Isabella is a very lucky young lady that is able to experience things that some people don't ever get to experience and is also surrounded by her loving family and friends. I hope to be able to go off next year as a family to somewhere that allows us to help other children who are less fortunate than Isabella. This will be another wonderful experience for her. As we all know some people can get taken up with the day to day things that aggravate them and maybe put too much time into issues that don't really need their attention when all over the world their are children that really need love and support from families that don't get it. If anyone has any particular charities or ideas that we can get involved with please let us know.

Roohoo Productions

A BBC producer has set up a company called Roohoo productions, she specialises in taking amazing videos of your child for a keepsake, they are not like normal and are an amazing thing to have done once a year or for a special occasion. If you tell her you got the info from me then you will recieve a 25% discount. Please google her. I know at least three of my friends have had them done and they couldn't be happier with the results.

Poetry Pie Launch

Poetry pie is a new programe starting on Cbeebies and they are launching it on Monday at the South Bank with a free event. It should be amazing. It starts at 2pm. Also all this week is the childrens festival at The Southbank with lots of free events.

Email address and penfriends

At the moment Isabella is collecting a couple of pen friends via writing letters and emails. It always astounds me how by just watching us or showing children once they suddenly know how to log on, type in passwords, get onto the internet etc etc becomes second nature to them.

Scripts

We have lots of scripts to learn at the moment for a four day shoot next weekend. five to be precise. They are so interesting though. They cover vibrations, foot prints, hyacinths and metamorphosis. Lots of work to cover so that Isabella understands what she is talking about.

A wonderful day

Friday was lovely and really reminded me why we are not at school. Having had a week in Spain and chilled out. It was lovely to come back to some brighter days. I dropped Isabella off at riding and then did the food shoping. Collected her two hours later and came home where she had her music lessons and then had a playdate. Altogether a lovely memorable day.

A play date

Isabella has a play date with one of the nicest friendliest children we have ever met. She has a whole day of playing. WhenI dropped her off I stayed for a coffee and then twenty minutes later the little girl came down and said " Isabella says please could Isabellas mummy go now"

Thats just how I like it!

A tennis academy

The great thing about living in London is that people are so much more open to doing different things. We visited a tennis pay and play area today which is amazing. A chap showed me round and he explained there is an elite academy for children who want to be tennis players professionally. The idea is that some children don't go to school becasue tennis is their thing and so they have an educational area where they all get together in the day and do school work. What an amazing life. To be able to grow up knowing that each day you can do what you love and not be restricted by school but make school part of it.

Science experiment

SNOW is brilliant for all sorts of teaching. We are going to make a snow picture, do a snow experiment and snow sculpting! We are off to watch nature in the snow!

Working well

This week we are off to Spain, hopefully! It will be our time to work and get all our bits done that we can't get done at home due to normal day to day stuff! I find I really look forward to this time out and getting away from it all. I think it is important that when you homeschool you have a place to go to have time out either from work or from the busy schedule of day to day routine.

A Purple Hat Day

Today is one of those very special days where we have a choice: either get stressed and try and get to work or remember what life is about and enjoy this weather! I call this my purple hat day based on a poem written by a lady who was dying from cancer. It is all about grasping opportunities and enjoying life when you can. Therefore if Isabella was at school today we would skive! We are going to do what children should do, build snowmen and have a snowball fight and sledging! I understand there may be important things to do today but really can't it wait!

ENJOY!!!!