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 :)

October so far...

''...I knew when Autumn came -

Not by the crimson flame

Of leaves that lapped the eaves

Or mist

In amethyst

And opal-tinted weaves;

But because there were alley-taws

(punctual as hips and haws)

On the counter at Mrs Shaws...''

This is a poem from one of Acey's books and we have been repeating it rather alot. Well, I finally got a new camera! (it's pink) So here are some pictures of our autumn so far - have still stolen a couple and some were taken from my phone...

I turned 24; my wonderful friends had a gathering for me in their beautiful farmhouse garden the day before, where Acey enjoyed playing with his friend Jacob, and then on my birthday we went to Bristol where my dad and step-mother prepared a grand feast! It was beautifully sunny weather, and nice to actually sit out in some gardens (we don't have one)!

(Acey and his nanna)

We have collected lots of conkers, and Acey enjoyed making conker necklaces and a conker cat at home ed group the previous week;

...And then going for a walk at Fyne Court, where they had great fun playing with the wooden instrument!

We had to put Giraffe into hospital, as Acey had been taking alot of aggression out on him rather alot (he needs surgery of the needle and thread variety, and lots of cuddles but I think he will survive)!

We said goodbye to our lovely Marcus who has gone to Jamaica for six months...

we've been for a run (well Acey ran, I walked)...

Acey has FINALLY discovered that he loves salad, and wants to become a raw foodist

He is also learning to play the guitar with his own proper mini electric one (soo cute)...


last weekend there was a history event on in town, where we saw some interesting people in costumes, watched a lady doing some pretty weaving, and watched a sword re-enactment!! Acey was a bit more interested in running around and climbing on his grandad on this occasion though :)

September, the start of the new school year but just the same as ever for us!

Autumn time has crept up on us again really quickly this year! Usually I am a little sad to be saying goodbye to the summer sunshine, but unfortunately we didn't really have the romantic skipping through wild flower meadows basking in the ocean skipping through forests with picnic basket in hand happy summertime that I'd had in mind really due to various reasons. Infact this was probably one of the most difficult disappointing years for me, and although we still did have some pretty wonderful times I can honestly say that for once, I will glad for an excuse for Acey and I to snuggle up, go for walks that are so cold we can't wait to come home and snuggle up some more, and hibernate alot with the knitting. And then we can have a fresh start in the spring time!

The beginning of the season started with sticky red fingers and mouths as we gathered SO many wonderful juicy blackberries. There were so many this year, we were literally going for walks daily, gathering them greedily. We mostly at them raw with delicious unpasturised cream, but we did make a couple of crumbles too! We have also foraged so far; apples (so many apples) pears and elderberries. When September came and most of the children went back to school, I have to admit I got a bit of a 'home educator and proud' attitude, and went out and bought some actuall school shirts, which we took home and tye-dyed with the elderberry juice. They did come out a lovely pinky purple colour, but didn't come out very tye-dyed at all (it was our first attempt) so we obviously did something wrong....still, the shirts are very pretty indeed! We are going to get some silks soon and have a go at batik patterns using wax, which a friend suggested we might be better suited to!

At the beginning of the school year, I really felt very in need of some structure (not MAJOR structure like sitting down doing arithmathics and letterland characters) but just a little routine put into our day, as sometimes it felt like we were just drifting and not really getting alot done! So I have devised a simple little timetable, just containing different daily chores that Acey can help out with during the day now that he is getting bigger, and different things to do each day, with special circle times in the evenings. I have learnt, after been total laid back slummy 'let him get on with it, hmm what shall we do today then' mummy that maybe children do need some routine and structure to their days. (mine does, anyway)! So far this little time table thing we have going does indeed seem to be working, and it is quite enjoyable really, for us both. We don't stick to it religiously, like if we have different plans for a certain day, but it  is nice for it to be there.

This month has also involved attending a steiner inspired forest school kindergarten in Broomfield, set up by my friend Chrissy, which was a really enjoyable day filled with baking bread rolls, making and eating soup, singing some songs and going for a walk at Fyne Court. Hopefully, there will be more sessions of this soon.. Acey has a new electric guitar from our friend Glenn and he has already had a few little lessons. He has the whole rockstar thing pretty worked out already!! We spent alot of time with our lovely friend Marcus, who is soon moving away to Jamaica (massive sad face) but is coming back in six months (massive smiley face)!! I am so glad I have met someone very amazingly smile provoking, kind and great with Acey. Hmm, I wonder if he is reading this ;) We love yoooou loads Marcus xx (urgh I know, pass the sick bucket, right)?!

We have attended a few home ed group sessions, which we really enjoy.. Acey plays very nicely with the children there, and looks forward to it. Unfortunately we missed the Not back to School picnic as my dad was here decorating my room (very pretty pink bedroom now though) but we attended the first session in a hall this week, where the children baked apples,did some cutting and sticking with some beautiful sparkly paper, and played in the little playpark. Some photos of this are included below, which we again have had to pinch from somebody else, as am still without a camera!

Perhaps the next blog post will contain more pictures, as I do intend to get my own camera soon!!

I have to say, this child-led with now a slight bit more structure added style of education is really working and going great for us! Acey doesn't go to school, but he does enjoy spelling, simple adding up, singing the alphabet, cooking and baking, going for long walks, and playing with friends. Sometimes I really feel that school children are missing out on the freedom that comes with this choice of learning at home, yet I can't think of anything that Acey (or any other home ed child I know of) is lacking in any way.  What a rewarding thing to be able to say!!

Five!

This week just gone Acey Spiros Alexander Johnston-Squire turned FIVE! Yep, this time five years ago I was sat, cradling my tiny baby boy not being able to stop staring at him (and ringing the NHS every time he cried - well, being an 18yr old unexperienced mum does have some drawbacks)! Little did I know then what an amazing natural parenting journey I'd be embarking on, although without any clue on how to raise or look after a baby, I stubbornly insisted on using cloth nappies, breastfeeding and no pain relief during labour. At this time I knew nothing, it all just felt right! during these five years, I have watched that little acorn grow into a small oak tree, it hasn't been an easy journey - it has has it's ups and very low downs, but I have watched him break his first smile, say his first word (I believe it was 'mmmmba' which is a very good word indeed), take his first steps (this happened at the big green gathering), learn to feed himself etc etc, and now he is teaching himself to read and write, draw, paint, how to act - how to be Acey. (I think he likes it). Our journey is still naturally unfolding, as I stubbornly insist on home schooling, and being mostly raw, and spending lots of time connecting with nature...having Acey changed the person I am in ways I never could have imagined, and I thank God every day for him, how blessed am I!

We had an extremely busy week, after getting back from camping, we went on a butterfly hunt and picnic with Taunton home education group at Thurlbear quarrylands, attended our sorry state of an allotment, had a visit from our friend Marcus and spent lots of time in the lake and star-wars bridge which is the best bridge ever because when you through stones at it, it makes a noise like nothing else on this planet! and laughing at an actuall huge tropical fish which was just lying in the middle of the pavement (yes I do wonder if I will ever grow up)..

For Acey's birthday my mother and I took Acey and his friend Vincent, who is Acey's longest friend (they met when they were just a few weeks old) on the steam train from Bishops' Lydeard to Minehead. It was such a lovely scenic adventure. The boys had great fun playing on the sand, and then we came home for a small tea party with family and a couple of Acey's other close friends. Acey had an amazing day, and especially liked his new octonaught paraphernalia. AND his cake shaped like a dragon! Here are some pictures from his special day;

and here are also a few taken from home ed group;
...busy making dens...

 ..and catching butterflies

And now we have another busy fun-filled week ahead!!
One last thing I want to share, before I go to tidy up the aftermaths of the birthday mess (as I have still not done it yet), is this video...this is somethig I feel very strongly about at the moment and would like to raise some awareness of! This is happening in the UK aswell as america, the psychiatric labelling and drugging of increasingly more and more children...(I'll post the video now before this turns into a full on rant)!

http://youtu.be/Wv49RFo1ckQ

cchrint.org for more info if you're interested...

Love and light xx

We've been camping and stuff.

Acey and I went camping over the weekend with my mum and her husband Malcolm at Charmouth in Dorset. Dorset is my favourite coast because I have alot of special memories from there, and because it is the Jurassic coast and it is very dinosaur-ey and contains alot of fossils. Fossils are one of our favourite things at the moment. Well mine, anyway!! (Acey's not quite as interested)! Acey had a lovely time, he played alot in the playpark in the campsite, and I'm thinking of changing his middle name to 'Danger' because he befriended an older boy who was being a bit of an acrobat, and decided to follow suit.. he caught some little fishies and studied them in his special bug box, made lots of sandcastles and we made a raft using things that had been washed up on the beach. It was pretty impressive! We did alot of cliff walking and kite flying and butterfly catching! And of course, we found some really interesting beautiful fossils :o) Getting home on public trasport was rather hectic (it took FOUR hours)!! but here we are... as promised I thought I'd do a blog post about what we've been up to, so here are some pictures from our weekend and a couple of photos which somebody else took of Acey a few weeks ago which I thought I'd share on here because I thought they were really nice. I can't wait to get a new camera of my own!!

One last thing, I have just read 'Free Range Education' and I highly reccomend it to any of my home ed friends who haven't yet done so. It is really nice to read stories from other home ed families experiences and has alot of  information regarding the law and home-education if you're not very clued up on the subject. Which has just reminded me of another stupid common home-educated related question which I often get asked;

Q. Do you have to be a qualified teacher to home-educate your child?
A. Yes you do. Luckily you become a qualified teacher as soon as you become a mother and you don't even need a certificate! ;)

peace out x

We're still alive!

Well, it's been ages since I last did a blog post, but I want to continue documenting our home-ed journey, just so that I can show this to any authoritive type people who may decide to come around and ask what we are actually doing. Because of our 'autonomous' style of education, which I don't really have anything to show for apart from alot of lovely drawings and a very inquisitive, well-socialised clever little (almost) five year old, I thought I'd better at least write about what we are doing, and post pictures (when I get a new working camera - if anyone has one we can have, ever the scab that I am, that'd be fantastic) of all our adventures. Anyway, I wrote this note on facebook the other day, which I was inspired to share on here...

A conversation between myself, Acey and a fascist old lady at the bus stop...
Acey goes up to her in his usual friendly manner showing her some unusual fruits that had fallen off of a tree and which he was throwing into the road so that the cars would squish over them. He is dressed up in a spangly waistcoat because he is going to his friend Danae's birthday party...
Old lady: What's your name then?
Acey: 'Acey'...
Old lady with slightly bemused look on her face: 'Oh, that's an unusual name'...turns to ask me ''how old is she''
Me: HE'S five at the end of this month
Old lady: 'Oh it's a boy is it? I thought that was a girl with long hair. Is he going to get his haircut soon?'
Me: Noo
Old lady to Acey: 'So, you'll be starting school soon then'
Acey: 'Well, I'm home-educated, actually'
Old lady looks away like she has just been slapped in the face...then looks at Acey disapprovingly and looks me up and down..
''I thought IT was a girl with IT'S long hair''...and then.. ''So, are you his big sister then?''
ME: ''Oh look, the bus is here - Jesus had long hair you know!!
Ahhh.....the joys of being a complete weirdo ;)

Yeah, this pretty much happens on a daily basis now... sometimes I don't bother correcting people when they think Acey is a girl... I guess I have mistaken girls with short hair for boys in the past before now (especially if they are not wearing a dress). I used to lie to people and tell them that Acey was going to be starting in the local village primary school in September, just to shut them up but I don't anymore. So here are some answers to people's common questions, starting with the most common one... in future when they ask, I am going to just give them a link to this blog page;

Q. What about socialization?
A. Oh my goodness, I know right?! HOW on earth do school children manage to socialize when they are stuck in a classroom all day with about 30 other children their own age day-in-day-out! Well, the only way out of that loophole I'm afraid, is to take them out of school, I'd say! We don't really have that problem that most school children have, because Acey gets to socialize with other home-educated children usually once a week, family, adults of different ages and nationalities, children at the park, communities, church-goers, healers, shopkeepers, artists, blacksmiths, vegans, carnivores, babies, new mothers, old ladies, goldfish, horses, dogs, hippies, librarians, pixies, fairies, trees... Oh and I'm sure he's about to make a whole load of new friends when he joins boy scouts soon too...so I'm not really the one to be talking to if you're having issues with socialization...sorry to hear it though!

Q. Is it legal?
A. Yip. Totally legal. As long as my child is getting some form of education, then it is perfectly legal. If I was sticking my child in front of the television, whilst painting my toenails and dancing around in frilly dresses all day I beleive that would be quite wrong, and the authorities would have every right to interviene, but we don't do that. Infact we don't even have a TV. In my opinion, what should be illegal under the human rights act is forcing a peacefully dreaming snuggly child out of bed in the early hours of the morning, forcing them into a dull uniform, giving them a bowl of un-lovingly prepared cereal, rushing them out of the house, making them go to a place where they have to sit behind a desk (sometimes on  a very beautiful day) with about 30 other children of their age group, some of whom they may not get on with, being forced to learn things from a very uninspiring text-book, being forced to respect an adult who probably doesn't respect them, being forced to do PE (urgh), having to ASK to urinate, feeling stupid if they perhaps are a bit behind the rest of the class, being diagnosed as autistic or ADHD simply because they are usually either too intelligent or bored, feeling peer pressured into conforming with everyone else, and then coming home and having to do homework!!! Someone should look into that...

Q. What do you do all day?! Do you have to follow the curriculum? Do you get given workbooks to follow?
A. We don't get workbooks to follow. Most of us don't want workbooks to follow. And curriculum shurriculum. We get out of bed when we feel like it, we have delicious green juice or fruit salad or blueberry pancakes, or even chocolate cake for breakfast sometimes! We go to the field, we go pond-dipping (which either involves the kind you do with a net and a magnifying glass, or literally taking off our clothes and dipping ourselves in the pond)!, we go to the woods, we go to the beach and find interesting things, we go to the library, we go to the park, we go shopping, we make yummy things, have picnics, go for long walks in all weathers, we read books, we go to home-ed group, we go to friend's houses, we have visitors, we go to Acey's nanna's, we go to Glastonbury, sometimes we just stay in and Acey plays with his toys, sometimes he draws and does spelling and colouring in. Acey learns through life. He knows what most wild flowers are, he knows the names of most herbs, he gives a great massage and reiki, he has taught himself to spell and can read a little bit too, but it doesn't matter if he can't. He's really good at drawing, he knows the name of superfoods that most school-teachers haven't even tried, he loves digging on our allotment. He has experienced community life, he has slept around a fire in a tipi, and in a gypsy waggon. He knows how to build dens and light fires, he knows how to forage, and he's just learned how to play the tibetan singing bowl, and he can work the computer better than I could a few years ago! Oh and he's a great singer too! ;)

Q. It must be such hard work! Don't you get bored? I think it's a brilliant thing, but I could never do it!
A. What....you couldn't parent your own child?! cos that's all I'm doing :) and I LOVE it!

Q. What made you decide to do it....I bet it's because you don't really want him to grow up. Won't it smother him, aren't you creating a rod for your own back? Won't it destroy his confidence?
A. See second question up. Do I really need to answer that?! No, it isn't because I don't want to see him grow up, I can't wait to see him learn and grow more independant and happy and healthy because he is nurtured in his own loving home instead of school (ie..institutionalizsed childcare)... and hey - guess what?! I get to witness this process every day :o) aren't I lucky?!

Q. What about the financial situation?
A. Ok, I'll admit..this is hard! Sometimes I think 'Oh, how I'd love to be able to go travelling, or go on holiday somewhere exotic once a year, oh how I wish I had a nice house by the sea, oh, I want that handbag but can't afford it :'( Yeah I am a single mum on benefits and soon I will have to work from home, probably on a very low income, yes I get lonely and upset and sad that I haven't got a supportive partner/husband who can bring in the money. But you know what? I wouldn't change my life for the world at the moment (unless I won the lottery). I'd rather suffer financially and be happy and free. Spending every day with my boy, knowing I am bringing him up how I feel is right, running around meadows, picking flowers, swimming in the sea, being explorers..... makes me feel so rich and blessed. :)

And one more thing; I don't judge YOU for sending your child to school. What is right for one person may not be right for another. But before you get all hot and flustered next time someone tells you that they are home-educated, please; go away and do some research. You sound silly when you ask all of the above questions as if yours is the only right way!

So yeah, anyway! Next blog post will be more about what we've been up to and less defensive, I promise.
Love and light xxx

(this is THE pond by the way)

Do I think the government pick on the most vulnerable people?

Yes, I do! and this blog post was going to be a full on rant about the fact that they are cutting benefits for single mothers (as well as alot of other people who need it most), and forcing us to search for a job when our children turn the measly age of five rendering alot of them in after school clubs and stuck with a childminder during the holidays,becoming mini robots as we all slave our asses off to pay taxes, so that the chancellor can have a nice car.  But what's the point? We all could moan about it, the people who are not allowed to retire until they're sixty six, and the many people who will be out of a job. but what can you do? Getting too bitter about it is a waste of energy. Of course you don't need to be a fortune teller to know that all this will cause is a higher rate of stress and depression, and no doubt more pregnancies. And one can only hope that David Cameron will be reincarnated as a single mother but in the meantime, what is the point in hating the government? After all, those who do not know love are the ones who need it the most.

But as a single parent home educating, where does this leave me? When I first heard that when Acey turns five in just under a year I will have to start looking for a job I really began to panic, thinking 'Oh no, I'm going to have to send him to school.' For me the most important thing in the world is bringing my child up how I want, giving him all of my love and attention. I weighed up the options;

• Find a rich man to marry
• Have another baby
• Move to a commune
• Move to Sweden (I think it is Sweden, where they recognize the importance of letting children be children and don't send them to school until they're seven or eight)

Of course, I'm only joking really. I'm too honest for the first one, couldn't cope with the second option, like my baths and my independance too much for the third and well, my family and friends aren't in Sweden are they?! I've managed to work a way around it, hopefully starting up my business from home, which I was planning on doing eventually anyway (just not this soon). It is scary, but we will make it happen. Loads of good energy sent this way, please folks!

So anyway, yesterday Acey and I went to a 'Somerset mother's circle' meet in Glastonbury, and met lots of other lovely children and their mammas who think like us. It was definetly what was needed as it is so great to meet other like-minded people who don't question the way you bring up your child when you do things a bit differently :) And I've noticed this before when being around other home-educated children, that there is a real sense of proper playfulness and freedom - just how young children should be! It really just confirmed that what I'm doing is so right for me and Acey. I love being his mamma.

Lastly, I just want to reccomend this book for other mums intersted in bringing their kids up holistically which I think is great - it's by Shazzie who is a huuge raw food guru: http://www.shazzie.com/ although it's not just about raw food, it mentions home edding, co-sleeping, breastfeeding, natural birthing etc and it's called 'Evie's kitchen.' I'll finish quoting a bit from the end of her book written by Kate Magic which really spoke out to me;

''In a culture that values career over family, losing weight over breastfeeding and making money over spreading love, holistic parenting takes ridiculous amounts of guts, determination, focus and compassion.''

Lots of love, and pumpkin soup xxxxx