e-petition on Pilot Safety

We're really concerned about the governments new proposals regarding the hours a pilot is allowed to fly.  Please have a look at this you tube video made by BALPA the pilot's union and think about signing the e-petition.  We need to stop this from happening!

Trying again...............:-S

No one ever keeps to New Years Resolutions do they!

Anyway, I just wanted to draw your attention to the blog my eldest daughter has just set up.  I thought it may be of interest to all those intrepid Home Edders out there.  Rhiannon was home educated for 5 years and took a determinedly unconventional approach to her learning!  Despite my efforts at encouraging something different, she insisted on taking only 2 IGCSE's which got her into college to do a Level 2 diploma in Art and Design.  She found the course unchallenging but achieved a Distinction*.  She was then advised by one of her art tutors to "skip" A levels and go straight on to an Art Foundation course.  This was a big leap - the course is intensive and is designed to prepare students for Uni.  At the same time she is busy with violin, drama and opera, so her days are full to bursting.

She is now applying to university to do Theatre Design.  Obviously we don't know if her unconventional background and lack of qualifications will be a problem.  We don't know if she'll get any offers.  But it will be interesting.  And I thought it may be of interest to other home educating parents who are perhaps worrying, as I did (and still do), that home education may not always provide our children with the same opportunities as they would have had if they had gone through school.

http://artstudentmind.blogspot.com/

New Years Resolutions............

....yes, I know it's a bit late but I never was one to be on time.  I can't believe my last post was last May - that's pretty awful even for me!  But the children are often saying "...oh perhaps you could put this on the blog...." so guilt has finally got the better of me and I thought I'd try again.  It's also nice to look back at things we've done, so....here goes!

I'm sure you can imagine that alot has happened in the past 8 months (oops, is it really that long).  Don't worry, I won't ramble on for long..............

Rhiannon got through her exams (despite everything) and is now at college.  A shock to all of our systems. Despite the colleges somewhat snobby attitude to her when she went to interview, the course is way below her abilities and has been somewhat unstimulating.  It makes me realise just how much our children progress and flourish at home.  She is not at all disadvantged by lack of formal teaching over the past years.  On the contrary........  So I am determined not to underestimate the talents of my children in the future.  I will be pushing to get R onto the course she wants, irrespective of whether she has the formal entry requirements.  As long as she believes it is right for her.  She knows her own limits - because she has learnt to know them.  Having said all that she is still trying to extract as much as possible from the course, especially with respect to putting together a really good portfolio of work for the future.

And what about some other stuff....  Well, Rhiannon, Sam and Jo are now all members of the Clarbeston Road players and performed in this years panto "Snow White and the Six Giants".

                                                          Rhiannon as "Snow White"
                                                        

                                                        
                                                                       Jo as "Grumpy"!

They always have a great time at drama!
They are just starting work on a one act play "The Hard Yards" that they will be performing in April, so watch this space!  It's a play about the difficulties a bright 17 year old boy faces and it covers difficult themes like parental pressure, peer pressure, teenage pregnancy, depression, promiscuity...........I'm exhausted!  And all in less than an hour!!  The point is, Jo is too young for this one so it's just Rhiannon and Sam involved.  Sam will also be in the adult groups play "Chain Reaction" which I think is a comedy about house selling (if that could ever be conceived of as funny!)

So, what else?   Well......we enjoyed the pre-Christmas snow..................really not too bad for us compared to January 2010!

Made lots of our christmas pressies including soap (from scratch....interesting piece of chemistry), felt, lavender bags and calendars.

                                                         Detail of Rhiannon's felt cockerel....


Keira took her first ballet exam (!)

We hatched some Bantum eggs for our eglu......

Built scarecrows..........

Painted rocks.......

Went to Fiddle Festivals (well, one anyway...)

.....to name but a few things (8 months is definitely too long!)..............

Sam especially spends alot of time modelling, designing and building stuff.........last week he built a replica piston engine out of K'nex...powered by a drill.  Must show you that one when I get around to it!

Life is full of things we do that seem unimportant and ordinary at the time...but then you look back and think "wow, we did OK didn't we?"  Or at least we hope we do.  I won't promise anyone, least of all myself, that I will start blogging regularly, but I will try........for us it seems to be more about creating some king of log of our home ed achievements.  To remind us that it is in the little everyday experiences and discoveries that we actually achieve so much without really noticing.

So what do you reckon.......anyone gonna' take bets.............I wouldn't if I were you!