Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Oh what a horrible start to the year we've had
Imagine this.
Your child is being bullied at school; it has had a devastating impact on his or her ability to learn and on their psychological and emotional health. You are very unhappy with the way in which the school has handled or failed to handle this. The situation is worsening. You seek to withdraw your child from school and make alternative arrangements for his or her education. But there is a new law that states you must apply for permission to de-register;you apply as instructed. You are refused.
How would you feel?
What would you do?
Currently, British law recognises parents as their child's primary educators whether or not the child is currently at school; the adults who best love and understand their child are those in law who have ultimate responsibility for their education and welfare and it is your judgement as a parent which counts; you decide what kind of education best suits your child; if it isn't working , you have the right and power to seek an alternative.
A new government review seeks to overturn this time-honouredprinciple of British law and to replace the judgement and authority of the parents with that of the State.If it is passed, it will radically change the relationship of all parents to the State and seriously undermine the integrityof families.It will also replace the judgement of those who best love and understand the child with that of faceless bureaucrats whose focus is on delivering a standard policy and imposing a government agenda rather than on the well being of the child.You can read about the review here; and remember, regardlesss of its title , the proposals would affect all parents.
http://www.freedomforchildrentogrow.org/8318-DCSF-HomeEdReviewBMK.PDF
and petition for it's agenda to be dropped here;
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/EHEreview/
Your child is being bullied at school; it has had a devastating impact on his or her ability to learn and on their psychological and emotional health. You are very unhappy with the way in which the school has handled or failed to handle this. The situation is worsening. You seek to withdraw your child from school and make alternative arrangements for his or her education. But there is a new law that states you must apply for permission to de-register;you apply as instructed. You are refused.
How would you feel?
What would you do?
Currently, British law recognises parents as their child's primary educators whether or not the child is currently at school; the adults who best love and understand their child are those in law who have ultimate responsibility for their education and welfare and it is your judgement as a parent which counts; you decide what kind of education best suits your child; if it isn't working , you have the right and power to seek an alternative.
A new government review seeks to overturn this time-honouredprinciple of British law and to replace the judgement and authority of the parents with that of the State.If it is passed, it will radically change the relationship of all parents to the State and seriously undermine the integrityof families.It will also replace the judgement of those who best love and understand the child with that of faceless bureaucrats whose focus is on delivering a standard policy and imposing a government agenda rather than on the well being of the child.You can read about the review here; and remember, regardlesss of its title , the proposals would affect all parents.
http://www.freedomforchildrentogrow.org/8318-DCSF-HomeEdReviewBMK.PDF
and petition for it's agenda to be dropped here;
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/EHEreview/
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A birthday, a Christmas and a New Year
I have a question going round in my head I need an answer for and I don't know how I will feel once I know the answer. I'm a little nervous now ... I don't want to tell you quite yet what this question is but I will soon...
I havent updated my blog in a long time and there are so many things I want to share!
Christmas has come and gone, and so has another year. My mum is in England with us at the moment and she came just before my birthday (5th December). Mike and I went out for a nice meal to Skidby Mill which was nice. My mum looked after William for us while we were out. We don't get much chance to go out, so it is nice to take my mum up on her offers to baby sit for William.
With my birthday money I ordered some (MORE) books from Amazon, 3 on unschooling / home schooling and a copy of Sandra Thursfields Medieval Tailor Assistant. Since joining our 13th and 15th century reenactment group we've been busy sewing and making shields and belts and other "stuff". Mike needed some persuading about the whole reenactment thing but now he is as excited as I am about getting dressed up and swordfighting and all the rest of it! And I'm sure once the new season starts I'll have lots of things to tell about our reenactment adventures ;)
For Christmas we had Mikes parents for dinner on Christmas eve and we celebrated the Austrian way where we opened presents and lit the tree with real candles - GOT to have real candles for me!
On Christmas Day we went to Mikes mum who cooked a Christmas Dinner for us all which was delicious.
On Boxing Day all my family came for a buffet and more food (my sister and her son, my brother and their mum and partner - my dad was married before meeting my mum)
We had a lovely time and as soon as I possibly can I will upload some photos. I know how much I like looking at photos of other peoples blogs so in case anyone is reading this I don't want to let you down ;)
William obviously got lots of presents although I had planned on keeping them down... we were going to get him a highbed for his room to maximise space as the two childrens rooms are very small. I then realized that there's no need to purchase one as I found a way to use the bunkbed we had without the bottom bed in it. Mike will need to adjust the height eventually and raise it up so that William can have a sofa or a desk or something underneath it if he wants to. But at the moment it's perfect for him - he's got the space to play and we've got an extra bed for guests (William still shares our bed)
So instead he got a play sink which you can actually put water in and squirt it out of the tap, some play food and a play till - he loves playing with the money in it! He also got a scooter, a rag doll, some clothes and a few cars - his all time favourite!!! He is a typical boy i guess. I asked for arts and crafts stuff and he got a table top easel and a book with ideas on what to make with kids. His birthday is in February so it won't be long before he gets even more!
Last night, New Years Eve Mike, William and I stayed in and popped some party poppers, blew some noisy blow outs, put some paper strings on Mikes haid and pretended it was his hair and watched the few fireworks we could see from our bedroom window, then we went to bed. William slept until lunchtime today and then we went to have a meal at Home Farm where William was able to play in the softplay area there. He made friends with a gorgeous girl, about 3 times his age who looked after him. She was very sweet and William followed her everywhere!
I havent updated my blog in a long time and there are so many things I want to share!
Christmas has come and gone, and so has another year. My mum is in England with us at the moment and she came just before my birthday (5th December). Mike and I went out for a nice meal to Skidby Mill which was nice. My mum looked after William for us while we were out. We don't get much chance to go out, so it is nice to take my mum up on her offers to baby sit for William.
With my birthday money I ordered some (MORE) books from Amazon, 3 on unschooling / home schooling and a copy of Sandra Thursfields Medieval Tailor Assistant. Since joining our 13th and 15th century reenactment group we've been busy sewing and making shields and belts and other "stuff". Mike needed some persuading about the whole reenactment thing but now he is as excited as I am about getting dressed up and swordfighting and all the rest of it! And I'm sure once the new season starts I'll have lots of things to tell about our reenactment adventures ;)
For Christmas we had Mikes parents for dinner on Christmas eve and we celebrated the Austrian way where we opened presents and lit the tree with real candles - GOT to have real candles for me!
On Christmas Day we went to Mikes mum who cooked a Christmas Dinner for us all which was delicious.
On Boxing Day all my family came for a buffet and more food (my sister and her son, my brother and their mum and partner - my dad was married before meeting my mum)
We had a lovely time and as soon as I possibly can I will upload some photos. I know how much I like looking at photos of other peoples blogs so in case anyone is reading this I don't want to let you down ;)
William obviously got lots of presents although I had planned on keeping them down... we were going to get him a highbed for his room to maximise space as the two childrens rooms are very small. I then realized that there's no need to purchase one as I found a way to use the bunkbed we had without the bottom bed in it. Mike will need to adjust the height eventually and raise it up so that William can have a sofa or a desk or something underneath it if he wants to. But at the moment it's perfect for him - he's got the space to play and we've got an extra bed for guests (William still shares our bed)
So instead he got a play sink which you can actually put water in and squirt it out of the tap, some play food and a play till - he loves playing with the money in it! He also got a scooter, a rag doll, some clothes and a few cars - his all time favourite!!! He is a typical boy i guess. I asked for arts and crafts stuff and he got a table top easel and a book with ideas on what to make with kids. His birthday is in February so it won't be long before he gets even more!
Last night, New Years Eve Mike, William and I stayed in and popped some party poppers, blew some noisy blow outs, put some paper strings on Mikes haid and pretended it was his hair and watched the few fireworks we could see from our bedroom window, then we went to bed. William slept until lunchtime today and then we went to have a meal at Home Farm where William was able to play in the softplay area there. He made friends with a gorgeous girl, about 3 times his age who looked after him. She was very sweet and William followed her everywhere!
Friday, August 15, 2008
The beginnings of life
My neighbour has had her baby!
A little baby boy.
She gave birth on Tuesday, 12th of august, after 9 hours of labour to a healthy 7lb 15 oz baby boy using only gas and air. Unfortunately couldnt use the birthing pool because she had to be monitored. I dont know why yet but I'm almost certain it was for some ridiculous reason or the other....
I am going to go visit her after lunch today. I can't wait to hold and feel that soft baby floppiness in my arms again.
To smell that sweet baby smell.
To hear those cute baby noises.
It will get me broody...
Oh how lovely little babies are!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I'm all about poems at the moment
Now I've found this one:
Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton
Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
- Ruth Hulbert Hamilton
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
a poem about babywearing
INTO YOUR ARMS
Into your arms I was born
for you to hold me
to protect me
for you to nourish me
to love me.
I can smell your sweet scent
I can feel your movements
your heart beating
in tune with your gentle rocking
Sometimes its you I can feel mummy
sometimes its daddy
his deep voice soothing me
I can feel it vibrating in his chest
so close to him
in his arms
Into your arms I was born
for me to get to know you
and love you
for me to get to know the world
from the safe place I can always return to
9 months I spent in your calm warm womb
you let me grow in peace
until I decided to be born
Into your arms I was born
so I can continue to grow in calmness, warmth and peace
until I'm ready
to walk out of your arms
into the world
but always knowing
I can return
into your arms.
Into your arms I was born
for you to hold me
to protect me
for you to nourish me
to love me.
I can smell your sweet scent
I can feel your movements
your heart beating
in tune with your gentle rocking
Sometimes its you I can feel mummy
sometimes its daddy
his deep voice soothing me
I can feel it vibrating in his chest
so close to him
in his arms
Into your arms I was born
for me to get to know you
and love you
for me to get to know the world
from the safe place I can always return to
9 months I spent in your calm warm womb
you let me grow in peace
until I decided to be born
Into your arms I was born
so I can continue to grow in calmness, warmth and peace
until I'm ready
to walk out of your arms
into the world
but always knowing
I can return
into your arms.
I copied this from startling lives blogspot
What you've got to do is mark the books you've read. Seeing the film doesnt count.
1 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations Charles Dickens
11 Little Women Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy
13 Catch-22 Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare William Shakespeare (some)
15 Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia CS Lewis
34 Emma Jane Austen
35 Persuasion Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin Louis de Bernières
39 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh AA Milne
41 Animal Farm George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney, John Irving
45 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies William Golding
50 Atonement Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi Yann Martel
52 Dune Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
62 Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist Charles Dickens
72 Dracula Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupery (a lovely, lovely book!)
93 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks
94 Watership Down Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl (think ive read all her books)
100 Les Misérables Victor Hugo
What you've got to do is mark the books you've read. Seeing the film doesnt count.
1 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations Charles Dickens
11 Little Women Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy
13 Catch-22 Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare William Shakespeare (some)
15 Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia CS Lewis
34 Emma Jane Austen
35 Persuasion Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin Louis de Bernières
39 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh AA Milne
41 Animal Farm George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney, John Irving
45 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies William Golding
50 Atonement Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi Yann Martel
52 Dune Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
62 Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist Charles Dickens
72 Dracula Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupery (a lovely, lovely book!)
93 The Wasp Factory Iain Banks
94 Watership Down Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl (think ive read all her books)
100 Les Misérables Victor Hugo
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