Sleep

I am dreading the clocks changing mid filming on Sunday. I am pleased our evenings get longer but I hope she doesn't get too tired. She has been sleeping quite badly recently due to wanting to get up and play all the time. She has this passion for life and unfortunately this means sleep and eating come very low down the scale. I am constantly trying to explain she needs both to be able to enjoy life.

Art

We had the most wonderful day in the garden two days ago. We took out seven canvases and I gave Isabella big tubes of paint and said go for it. What was interesting was that she wanted to be precise with her drawings and draw flowers etc. So to get her out of her comfort zone I told her to just splodge and make shapes and try different techniques with the different brushes. She found this very hard at first because children are always being told to be neat and stay in the lines etc. However when she realised she could do whatever, it really started working. She realised nothing was wrong and she could do anything.

They look like they are amazing pieces of modern art.

You can't change your children

I have a friend who has a child that is amazing at art. She is naturally gifted but the mother is not keen on her doing art. However we can't change our children and I believe if they have a natural skill then we need to go with it and feel proud of what they are good at. Whatever your child is good at, this should be celebrated. I know Isabella at the moment is never going to be a mathematician. So I am making sure she continues to use that skill but it is not a priority. A book I have been reading says children have skills in such different areas and we should celebrate their individual skills much more even from a young age as opposed to pushing them to do every subject if they are just not good at it. This does not mean however you stop them from doing science or maths! Just take the pressure of those subjects slightly.

Gardening club at Kew

I think this is a wonderful idea and wish garden centres did this everywhere. There is a gardening club at Kew and it is for children to nurture their skills that may already be there or to learn new skills. I am hopeless at gardening and can't wait for Isabella to be able to be among like minded people. She has an interest in it that is just naturally there.

The tutor

We have found a wonderful tutor called Katie, who is coming in just to put my mind at rest and make sure Isabella isn't slipping too far behind with her school work. She comes in twice a month at the moment and works on Maths and English. There are just some things that I don't know enough about and if Isabella is to head back into education (whenever that may be) I feel it is very important she keeps up to date with the curriculum.

Not ending

Hopefully The Green Balloon Club won't be stopping filming. Even though they are just going to repeat it, they are interested in doing some big one off specials. It will be very sad when we leave the studio for the last time in a month. It has been such a big part of our lives for a year. I do not know where that year has gone.

Filming today

We are off today to film with BBC with Helena Bonham Carter. We are both very excited to be experiencing something different. It will be interesting to see if things are done in a very different way to The Green Balloon Club.

Times Tables mobiles

Get some metal coat hangers and attach in a mobile way with strings, numbers.
Choose the times table you want your child to learn and then only attach the numbers in the times table to it. Get you child to colour them in and cut them out. So if it was the 2 times table you would just have a mobile with the numbers 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24 hanging down. The idea is that your child gets to visualise the numbers in a fun way and will then without realising it recognise which numbers belong to which times table.

Not just us

When you read my blog, there may be moments of " gosh I would never do that with my child." However the other day when speaking to a mother about what Isabella does, this mother stated "But does Isabella enjoy it, does she want to do it." Then when returning the conversation to her daughter it transpired that " We would like her to be in the Olympics next, she is so good at Gym and has a natural talent." Do you know what, I agree, her child is very good at Gym etc. My point is that this mother did not see that she was doing the exact same things with her child yet in a different medium. So I ask everyone who sits there in a judging way to actually look at what it is they want for their children and even though it may be different, deep down there are the same underlying themes. We all want them to do well and succeed in something they enjoy doing, we are just choosing different avenues and skill sets that our child has.

Enid Blyton

I am so proud of Isabella, she got a part in a ALDI Easter advert the other day which I believe is on TV at the moment. She has also just been given a small part in a BBC drama with Helena Bonham Carter all about Enids life. It is Isabella and Isabella alone that gets these parts, I do not have enough contacts to arrange this. She works hard and understands what this means if you do. She loves what she does and is experiencing something so amazing. We are very lucky to have also worked with some wonderful producers and directors, ones that are kind and thoughtful. I get to chaperone her on each trip and therefore can protect her from anything innappropriate (Not that there has been anything yet.) I also get to be part of her amaing experience which she writes about.

March Already

I actually can't believe it is March already. Where has the year gone. I can't wait for this time of year. It is the most wonderful time to just be outside and enjoy the world. I think the biggest difference in our lives so far from home schooling is the feeling of freedom. This morning, Isabella is sitting in my bed reading outloud some of her favourite books: Charlie and Lola. I am going off to work and she has a tutor coming in for two hours. This is instead of a babysitter! Then we have all afternoon at a playdate. What a wonderful day. Don't get me wrong though, there are still difficult days when maybe I am tired but generally we are both much more relaxed and really looking at things in different ways. It is a very weird feeling when something so regimental is removed from your life.

School places

Another article has come out, all about the lack of school places for five year olds in the next six years. I find this information very worrying and also enlightening. Do we not feel that it is therefore time for a change with an alternative being offered. We need a more holistic approach to education. We need to educate both children and parents. This could be the most perfect time for education to change and become interesting and part of our lives not that thing that runs our lives.

Paris

We have just returned from a four day tour of Paris. It was wonderful being with my mother and Isabella. We did all the touristy things: Eiffel Tour, Pompidou Centre, Le Louvre, Boat Trip and Notre Dame. We had the most beautiful weather as well. I won't pretend that I am the one that knows everything in order to teach Isabella. I often find that I didn't learn anything from school. The most exciting thing about our trips though is that we learn together. Also it does help having a mum that worked in a school and knows all sorts of things from History to Geography to Maths etc. We really had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back.

Me time

I have really understood the importance of me time. For everything to work well and for us to remain happy and independant this is essential. I always felt guilty with her being at school, that we didn't see each other enough or do enough together and now we can, I appreciate the time I have off so much more and do so much more with it. So that when we are together it is still fun and loving. It is a very difficult balance to get but I think we have worked it out.

Spring is here

With spring just around the corner I feel there are all sorts of opportunities arising. I am now appreciating even more the time with Isabella and how quickly it is going. I can't believe we will have been out of school for two terms. I do not know where it has gone. Everything has really started to fit together well. My work and her learning, our playing and her playing, family time and friends time. The pressure is off us and therefore we are enjoying life so much more yet also being productive. We are off to Paris on Thursday and as the song says " I love Paris in the spring time!"

Narrow mindedness

It is astounding as to how many people still comment in a negative way on the choice that we have made to home school our daughter.

Having had a couple of very busy weeks of filming and work etc it is still apparent to us that it was the right decision for us to take. We are very lucky that Isabella has just auditioned for a part and been succesful in getting a part that is working alongside Helena Bonham Carter. The experience she will gain from this is amazing. She has also just participated in a radio programme. At the moment Isabella is still enjoying everything she does so we will continue with our way until she lets us know that she is unhappy.

The Richmond Magazine

I have just read a wonderful article in this magazine all about home schooling.

There are over 0,00 children in the UK who are home schooled
There are between 500-1000 in surrey

It is refreshing to read an article that is so positive towards home schooling.