The British Homemaker - One day at a time

Yesterday I talked about my decision to homeschool my 9 yr old. Today I want to share a few thing that I've learnt along the way (though I know I have so much more to learn yet) in hope to assist a couple of my friends who are also considering this move with their own children. We each make this decision for different reasons yet from what I understand the majority of us struggle to make the transition without 'beating' ourselves up, doubting our ability and being unsure what is available out there to prevent our kids being 'held back'. A few check points to consider: * We start our schooling at 10am * We have a timetable that guides us, not dictates * We cover 2 elements of numeracy and 2 elements of literacy a day plus reading * We've set our basic subjects as numeracy, literacy, reading, religion (not just Lds), arts & crafts, homemaking (no surprise there, eh?!) * I set up a jar where any questions Charley has on other subjects get written down...

A couple of months ago I made the huge decision to homeschool Charley. I confess that I'm not a believer in homeschooling based on the fact that I'm  one of those moms that likes to divide up my time to equal a balance, with the kids in a school it's meant I could work, do the momsy stuff or other stuff. I also think it's healthy for the separation. But , given that the new school is currently in the process of being built right on the development site I live on and the fact that the school he was at was as helpful and supportive as a wet roll of tissue paper it was the only choice I could make and keep some of my sanity. The first peace of advice when I asked around other homeschooling parents (both UK and USA friends) was to 'relax', 'de-school', 'take control of how you want to educate'. After 21 years of having at least one child in school, let me tell you the 'de-schooling' was the hardest thing I found. The whole routine of bedti...

One of the things I took on board when I was active in the Lds church was the preparedness they encouraged. This covers a whole range of things from food storage to car breakdown, from family emergencies to power shortages. With the Uk on various weather alerts there's a lot of talk on whether it'll happen or not but I like to air on the side of caution and prepare for the worst. The one thing I don't like is being caught out with such things so I figured I'd share what I've done to prepare my family for the severe rain and winds, cos one thing is for sure, we ain't going anywhere! The following suggestions are just that, they will vary family to family but some are pretty standard, however I'm not sure how long the bad weather is set to last so I'm working on a 7 day period. {Food} ~ Be sure you have plenty of the staple foods such as bread, milk, potatoes. If you have a plastic box you can store some outside if you can't fit them in your fri...

I'm not really a huge fan of this kind of post but now and again I need to put something out there that not only reminds me but anyone else that is feeling down and beaten. This blog is real, I am real, what you see is what you get but that doesn't mean I don't improve or learn, I'm always getting better, failing, getting better again and on it goes. Sometimes though one person can do so much damage with lies that you have to react in the appropriate way. We each have good points and bad points. Far too often we spend time thinking of our bad points, things we can't do or talents we don't have etc. I want to do the opposite, and if that makes me sound conceited then I'll take it. People are so much better than they give themselves credit for. Even the mean people have good points, I wish I could get them to see that they chosen method of speaking/acting hurts them as much as the person they are trying to hurt or in some cases the person they're trying...

I meant to post this on 1st December to see if it could be added to and/or altered for other fun crafts. My teen isn't huge on crafting but the dude is, he will sit for hours making, drawing, designing, writing, colouring and creating something from almost nothing. Add that to the fun of Christmas crafting and it makes for a happy mommy! Every year we have our own little routine in preparation for Christmas, quite simple really and it keeps the kids happy on the colder days and longer nights. Goes something like this: 1st - Tree goes up and decorated 2nd - Decorations around the house From here on we have a rough sketch of what we want to do each day up to Christmas Eve: Make window decorations paper chains operation Christmas child boxes {between 2 ad 6} paper bunting felt ornaments bread and pastry goodies soap/hand lotion gifts teacher/church teacher gifts salt dough decorations personalised baubles chocolate and marshmallow chocolate gifts cookies, cake...

The Lds church don’t believe that Jesus Christ was born on 25th December but we do celebrate the day for a few reasons. One being that it’s an opportunity to share in the birth of Christ with other religions and non faith people, two being that we love to have a good time when it is good and uplifting and three because it’s an event that very often brings people together. Our church is all for unity; unity of people, of faiths and of hearts. Today, in our Branch Council Meeting I was deeply touched by the vision our recently called leaders have for the coming year. We have been called the ‘happening branch’; we are well liked and respected by other wards/branches in our stake and I  know from experience we give the warmest welcomes to visitors, members and non members. Our activities are driven by the spirit (I know cos I am the activities leader!), we are driven to include anyone that wishes to come along and take part. We do not ‘bible bash’ and preach. We are friendly, bus...

At the start of each month I work out what goals the kids can reasonably aim for the following month. Whilst doing this this evening I was curious to who else does this. Do you? For a few months now I pre-plan things for Charley that he is either working on at school, in church, at beavers or just things around the house that he is old enough to learn. I don’t have the kind of home where the kids are busy every day, I think that is far too much and takes a lot away from their childhood, and besides, Charley loves nothing more than to be in his playroom with all his toys or battling a game out on the Wii . However, there are times when he’s a little too comfortable doing this and I feel he is missing out on other things, so a while back I come up with the idea of goal setting. Nothing drastic, just minor rewards for reasonable expectations. For November Charley is already working on: Daily scripture reading from The Book of Mormon Stories Daily reading/letter s...

You understand why the family unit is so important Becoming a teacher of all good and healthy things feels like you should earn a degree by the 10th year Giving up is not an option, simply because the Lord has made it clear on a load of occasions that He will get me through Being so tuned in to your children fuels your sense of worth and purpose Quitting on your kids is not an option Knowing that the kids have security, faith and acceptance from me is priceless Cooking and baking becomes second nature, especially with all the activities we and the kids share in Some days its hard to remember that we have a deeper understanding of parenting, some days its just so very overwhelming Accountability becomes another title Faith and gratitude override all the downsides, the tough days and the worries. Debs

An elder Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life. He said to them, "A fight is going on inside me.. it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, …envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith." "This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too", he added. The Grandchildren thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied… "The one you feed."

Ok so I don’t usually bother with Halloween. Over the years the kids have gone trick or treating but over all I just don’t ‘do’ it because I think its beggars glory and potential for nasty outbursts. Anyone reading the news lately will know that 1 in 3 children will be injured by an adult who’s door they have knocked on. The latest and sickest trick is to put razor blades in a bowl of sweets. I mean, who could be that evil? Yes I know there is a lot worse out there but still, let the kids be the kids, if you don’t want them at your door put up a sign or don’t answer the door, but please, don’t harm them. As for the beggars, they are the ones that get mean when they don’t get something ‘decent’ then claim it to be a ‘trick’. Both methods has totally taken away any fun for the kids that do enjoy the day. Me, I love it when the kids come to my house, I love to hand out something that I've baked and wrapped all nice n halloweeny but then that’s cos I’m nice :) As Kirsten has got olde...

Get life going so much that you end up burning out. Why? It’s a harsh world out there, we have mortgages to pay, cars to maintain, children to care for and a whole other range of things but let me tell you something… It is more in your control than you think. Shocking? Shocked that I’ve just simplified life as a mother/partner/friend and all other titles we have? You’ll live. I promise. And deep down you know I am right. I used to blame living in a city on how crazy my life was. I dreamed of living in the country to have the slower pace, the nature all around me. I believed once I had all that my life would be idyllic. Cr*p. It' doesn’t work like that. We do. In my time out I had many conversations with so many different people from all walks of life, one in particular, with a local radio show host (more on that soon as its related to The British Homemaker) and off air we talked about how he felt relaxed and inspired talking to me. He proceeded to ask me the s...

Charley: This week Charley started a new school . With having rather drastic winters here and having no car for a long time I realised that the local attachment school held more appeal than I realised. So I checked it out, both my neighbours send their kids there and they gave great reviews. We looked around, asked questions and Charley was sold. Bigger school, lots of after school activities, bigger classes and more advanced work than he was doing. Monday we spent most the day getting the sweaters, PE kit, book bags and all that stuff ready. We labelled, washed, ironed and set out the weeks requirements. Charley loved doing this and is definitely showing signs of preferring to be organised and up to date with things. We made cupcakes, lollipops and bread, packaged some up and gave them to friends in his old school, including teachers. We collected his new glasses, picked up his shoes from Clarks and chose the winter coat he will need shortly, just a shame we had to order one in f...

Driving across town today, enjoying the sun, the breeze and the knowledge that my kids where happily in school I got to thinking about the talk given by President Uchtdorf. It’s not a new one but its one that continually resides in my mind, especially when I am trying to make some positive changes to our lives. I plugged in my ipod and listened to the talk again… Like most things in life, the more I hear this the more my thinking expands. Whilst I am taking more time with myself and my kids just now I am seeing the blessings unfold before my eyes just by not clock-watching or trying to fill up every waking minute of the day. Instead, because I know this time out is only to recoup and reset some values I want the kids and I to strengthen I feel like I am being taught so much more. I love learning, even if I forget a lot of stuff, I still retain bits of it to ponder then eventually the whole principle of something just clicks. Light bulb moments are rock...

Today is the first day that I make time out for me. Just me. Alone. Today I have walked 3 miles. Today I have swam 20 lengths. Today I have done the exercise bike for 30 mins to work my knees. Today I have ate breakfast and prepared my lunch. Today I feel on top of the world. Today will come around again tomorrow. Then I will pay for today and consider giving up. But I wont, because I am determined to: return to my size 10 jeans. be able to breathe without gasping for air. feel like I am 41 not 60. respect my life and good health. build up my self esteem and really feel like I am worth something. In just a few weeks I turn 42. I don’t mind my age, I have 4 great kids and an awesome granddaughter to show for it. I have memories that no one can take, destroy or rewrite. I have laughed till I fell off chairs, cried till I couldn’t breathe, loved till my heart exploded and all because I have a life. I am a person. I have an individuality that makes m...