Check out this link and work from here for a few days - I'd like to give it a test run :)
THANKS!
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Friday, April 08, 2005
Home Edding 4 & Lapbooking
Well for the last week I have been having my first taster of what teaching four children at home might be like! The boys have been doing 'school' this week and the girls have had the week off (it's officially still Easter hol's, but we have another week off planned at the end of the month for the Elim conference in Prestatyn which we are going to as a family). It's been interesting!! Obviously it's not been a very true picture of what life will really be like, because obviously by the time I am teaching all four they will all be 2 years older than they are now, so that'll be 10, 8, 6, & 5 - and the not-yet-born baby will be at playgroup!! I expect I'll have another tiny by then though..! ;)
The little ones need so much more one-on-one and as I have never attempted to anything pre-schooly before I really don't have too many resources hanging about, just the odd bit that I've downloaded for 'emergencies' and a few games and things, but the girls wanted to 'do school' with the boys, so I rose to the challenge!! Abbie is SO intense (Mummy, mum...Constantly!) but desperate do school, yet at the same time a real dizzy-doo and does my head in a bit! Phoebe is quieter and more serious about life. Even at her young age able to apply herself to whatever I give her to do :) I set her a task, she eagerly takes it on (with good understanding) and busies herself without until she can say "done it!" - and she will have usually done exactly as she has been asked - no more, no less - and with great care and attention. Abbie on the other hand, if I turn away for a few seconds, will rush whatever she's doing and sadly not produce what she is truly capable of - just wants to get on to the next thing - hurry, hurry, hurry. She is not so good at following instructions either and will do things she hasn't been asked to, which can be quite unhelpful at times!! But they have both produced lovely lapbooks this week(with a lot of help from yours truly in as far as I 'constructed them') . The work inside them is all their own and they are going to take them to show-off at playgroup on Monday :)
I must say these have consumed all my energies this week - three VERY late nights at the computer and/or table cutting and pasting little bits of paper & card together! BUT I am very pleased with the result and I hope that the next lapbooks will be less effort, as I know more what I'm doing now and don't have to hunt down all the resources again - I have them 'filed'!
The boys have produced nothing like anything so worthwhile this week - only they have produced a lot of noise and played a lot of football!! They go to the park alone-together sometimes now, with my mobile phone in Jacob's pocket to call me when they are on their way back (it's just across the road and they have rules!). I sometimes set the timer so they have to come home when it beeps at them. It seems to work well and gets them out of my hair for half hour or so!! :)
My next idea for the boys is to make lapbooks with them too. I was going to this week, but I'm so glad I didn't - it would have been just too much to make four at once! Theirs will be 'together' projects on two topics (or maybe three) - made over a few days each. Topics will be; Egypt (history), Ireland (geography) and possibly Plants or Classification of animals (science). I've cheated (sort of) and bought a project pack for the Egypt lapbook which should contain all the ideas I need and more & complement our Diana Waring studies nicely :). The others I shall make up as I go along (although I might cheat and buy the 'plants' one too, from the same site, if I get too bogged down).
SO, that's been us this week and aside from the house being simply too noisy and busy for me to handle very well at the moment (probably due to lack of sleep!!), it's been an OK week. The baby is VERY active all the time - think it might be another Jacob - it never seems to sleep much, but the pregnancy is going well (and fast!) and generally I'm in good health. I don't feel as big this time around (Ellie was 9lb 10oz for those who don't know - 2lb heavier than my heaviest up 'til then!), which is good :) The children are very excited - especially Phoebe, who keeps asking if the baby is coming out yet! - Bless!! She says she wants the baby called "Susie" and surprisingly Paul and I both quite like it (yes, another 'eeee' at the end though!!), so, if it's a girl, it MIGHT be named Susannah - which is biblical (Shushannah is the Hebrew form), so that works and it means 'lily' - my number one choice for a girls name that I am simply not allowed! Paul even says I can call her Lily as a pet name if I like (all my children have one), he just doesn't want it to be her real name - then she can choose when she's older! Great idea I say..! :) Boys names... still working on that one - ideas, but nothing too solid just yet! I can't believe I've just 8 weeks to go - here's hoping!! By record that'll bump up to 11+ weeks, but we are praying for a miracle this time, a break in the pattern - an EARLY baby (not too early, just a couple of weeks). Reasons being :- 1. It's hideous going 3 weeks past due, or any time at all for that matter. 2. Paul's course ends May 7th (yup - just one more month of student income, and then ... who knows!) and I want the baby to arrive BEFORE he has time to find a job, so that we don't have to worry about whether or not he can have time off (unlikely in a new job). There are quite a few jobs to pick up around here, so that shouldn't be a long term problem, but it will be in the short term, especially with such a high rent (we'd also like to move by the way) ... but I've decided I'm not going to stress over money - I've too much else to think about at the moment - like nappies ;) !!
PS - Can anyone reccommend where I might move my blog to - I am fed up with Blogger crashing, but I can't find anything as good or as easy to customize!! (after a whole day of searching I might add!!)
The little ones need so much more one-on-one and as I have never attempted to anything pre-schooly before I really don't have too many resources hanging about, just the odd bit that I've downloaded for 'emergencies' and a few games and things, but the girls wanted to 'do school' with the boys, so I rose to the challenge!! Abbie is SO intense (Mummy, mum...Constantly!) but desperate do school, yet at the same time a real dizzy-doo and does my head in a bit! Phoebe is quieter and more serious about life. Even at her young age able to apply herself to whatever I give her to do :) I set her a task, she eagerly takes it on (with good understanding) and busies herself without until she can say "done it!" - and she will have usually done exactly as she has been asked - no more, no less - and with great care and attention. Abbie on the other hand, if I turn away for a few seconds, will rush whatever she's doing and sadly not produce what she is truly capable of - just wants to get on to the next thing - hurry, hurry, hurry. She is not so good at following instructions either and will do things she hasn't been asked to, which can be quite unhelpful at times!! But they have both produced lovely lapbooks this week(with a lot of help from yours truly in as far as I 'constructed them') . The work inside them is all their own and they are going to take them to show-off at playgroup on Monday :)
I must say these have consumed all my energies this week - three VERY late nights at the computer and/or table cutting and pasting little bits of paper & card together! BUT I am very pleased with the result and I hope that the next lapbooks will be less effort, as I know more what I'm doing now and don't have to hunt down all the resources again - I have them 'filed'!
The boys have produced nothing like anything so worthwhile this week - only they have produced a lot of noise and played a lot of football!! They go to the park alone-together sometimes now, with my mobile phone in Jacob's pocket to call me when they are on their way back (it's just across the road and they have rules!). I sometimes set the timer so they have to come home when it beeps at them. It seems to work well and gets them out of my hair for half hour or so!! :)
My next idea for the boys is to make lapbooks with them too. I was going to this week, but I'm so glad I didn't - it would have been just too much to make four at once! Theirs will be 'together' projects on two topics (or maybe three) - made over a few days each. Topics will be; Egypt (history), Ireland (geography) and possibly Plants or Classification of animals (science). I've cheated (sort of) and bought a project pack for the Egypt lapbook which should contain all the ideas I need and more & complement our Diana Waring studies nicely :). The others I shall make up as I go along (although I might cheat and buy the 'plants' one too, from the same site, if I get too bogged down).
SO, that's been us this week and aside from the house being simply too noisy and busy for me to handle very well at the moment (probably due to lack of sleep!!), it's been an OK week. The baby is VERY active all the time - think it might be another Jacob - it never seems to sleep much, but the pregnancy is going well (and fast!) and generally I'm in good health. I don't feel as big this time around (Ellie was 9lb 10oz for those who don't know - 2lb heavier than my heaviest up 'til then!), which is good :) The children are very excited - especially Phoebe, who keeps asking if the baby is coming out yet! - Bless!! She says she wants the baby called "Susie" and surprisingly Paul and I both quite like it (yes, another 'eeee' at the end though!!), so, if it's a girl, it MIGHT be named Susannah - which is biblical (Shushannah is the Hebrew form), so that works and it means 'lily' - my number one choice for a girls name that I am simply not allowed! Paul even says I can call her Lily as a pet name if I like (all my children have one), he just doesn't want it to be her real name - then she can choose when she's older! Great idea I say..! :) Boys names... still working on that one - ideas, but nothing too solid just yet! I can't believe I've just 8 weeks to go - here's hoping!! By record that'll bump up to 11+ weeks, but we are praying for a miracle this time, a break in the pattern - an EARLY baby (not too early, just a couple of weeks). Reasons being :- 1. It's hideous going 3 weeks past due, or any time at all for that matter. 2. Paul's course ends May 7th (yup - just one more month of student income, and then ... who knows!) and I want the baby to arrive BEFORE he has time to find a job, so that we don't have to worry about whether or not he can have time off (unlikely in a new job). There are quite a few jobs to pick up around here, so that shouldn't be a long term problem, but it will be in the short term, especially with such a high rent (we'd also like to move by the way) ... but I've decided I'm not going to stress over money - I've too much else to think about at the moment - like nappies ;) !!
PS - Can anyone reccommend where I might move my blog to - I am fed up with Blogger crashing, but I can't find anything as good or as easy to customize!! (after a whole day of searching I might add!!)
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