The joys of having a home-ed family around the corner, and baking on a sunday afternoon...

Picture the scene; you walk out of your front door of your  flat and get stopped by your nosey neighbour, who asks why your child doesn't go to school...when you tell him you are home educating he recoils in horror and asks if it is legal, and 'haven't people been sent down for that?'... (yeah I know right)?... you walk to your local shop, passing by a local secondary school and nearly get trampled by a load of blazers. You go to your local park and yours is the only child in the playground over the age of four (unless you end up getting jarred to smitherines by some local truanting schoolboys who try to teach your child to swear)... and you don't drive, so you can't escape very far for very often. Now imagine that you suddenly find out there is a mother and father of four living just around the corner who have Taken Their Children Out Of School!!! Just around the corner!! :) On Wednesday our lovely friend Annabelle and her bump payed us a visit and we all went around to visit them. Esther and her partner are wonderful and Acey loved playing with her children, especially Rhys who is seven. So yes, it is a brilliant thing to have some home educated children just around the corner!!!

Tuesday at home ed group was very seasonal - the children made beautiful leaf crowns and masks, and pretty leaf rubbings. Acey did make a small mask, although alas his heart was not really into it this week, as he just wanted to run around with his tomboy friends. How very handy it is to have a playground right next to the village hall!

On Thursday we did alot of spelling... Esther gave us some magnetic flash cards with different words that children can learn to spell and put into sentences. I have cut them up and put them in a little wooden box so Acey can pick words out at random and learn them. He is so good at reading and sounding out words, and the fact that he has taught himself pretty much by asking questions and sounding letters out really proves that children do not need teachers; they simply need gentle nurturing guidance in life and the freedom to learn what they want when they want how they want. Then it all becomes so much fun.

Today has been a typical boring sunday, so we decided to do some baking of jam tarts... you can tell we're mostly raw now because whenever we try to 'cook' anything, it never comes out perfectly anymore through lack of practice. ;) They were more like bramble jelly fairy swimming pools, but hey, they still tasted alright. My one naughty thing before juice feasting this week.

Acey stayed at his nanna's on friday and so I spent my time going to Hestercombe gardens with a friend, reading my mermaids and mythology magazine which is THE BEST and knitting...

This is the 'mermaid' shawl I have been knitting for quite a while now.

And so next week Acey's nanna is off work and we shall probably have a crafty week getting ready for christmas, making chutneys for people and getting the sewing machine out. Can't wait; I love preparing for the wintertime :)