Sometimes one group is able to speak out to protect another. I am not a journalist, I do not work abroad in dangerous countries and I am not working in the field to get information out to the mainstream media about shifting political situations.
Since I am safely at home in the UK I will blog this link to a page written about rape of female journalists, maybe men have this horror too. Blessings to them all and a secure recovery with people they trust and who love them.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Hotel California
'You can check out any time you like,
But you can never leave!'
The proposed (and being slipped in by the back door) 20 school day waiting period between deregistering and the child's name being taken off the roll made me think of this song. Sorry to be flippant about such a serious topic and I do realise that 20 days isn't never.
Go to the Badman Review Action Group for further discussion and actions. It is on yahoo groups, search under that name. Join for the first time or start paying attention again to the digests piling up in your inbox.
But you can never leave!'
The proposed (and being slipped in by the back door) 20 school day waiting period between deregistering and the child's name being taken off the roll made me think of this song. Sorry to be flippant about such a serious topic and I do realise that 20 days isn't never.
Go to the Badman Review Action Group for further discussion and actions. It is on yahoo groups, search under that name. Join for the first time or start paying attention again to the digests piling up in your inbox.
Counting good things
Last year sometime I read about the concept of counting up to 1000 gifts, ie good things that I see each day. It was from Ann Voskamp's blog, inspired by a dare from a helpful friend of hers and probably a tool many have used over the eons in different ways.
It was odd getting to the magic 4 digit number and realising the obvious, I'm now carrying on with numbering through dates like 1066. I'm still in the second millenium. I may alter to simply doing a list for each day after I hit 2011.
Each year S is given a massive tome of a desk diary by a generous company. It is exactly right for me. I used to use it to note narrations, ie things T and H told me about, a doable version of the Charlotte Mason narration technique. It also held nature observations, but now it is just for 'things I am grateful for' last thing at night.
To counter gratitude I am still working on a daytime alternate version, a problems book, where each problem can be numbered and given a page where I note ideas for tackling it. For me this is a way of being real about the not so good aspects of life and giving them a home rather than worrying around them and carrying them in my head all my waking hours.
It took time for me to learn how the gratitude book worked best for me and it is still taking time for me to find the best way of using my problem book. At the moment I am in a non action phase with it, but I know that when I come back to it I will have moved on in some way and will be closer to using it well for me or finding a different method.
It was odd getting to the magic 4 digit number and realising the obvious, I'm now carrying on with numbering through dates like 1066. I'm still in the second millenium. I may alter to simply doing a list for each day after I hit 2011.
Each year S is given a massive tome of a desk diary by a generous company. It is exactly right for me. I used to use it to note narrations, ie things T and H told me about, a doable version of the Charlotte Mason narration technique. It also held nature observations, but now it is just for 'things I am grateful for' last thing at night.
To counter gratitude I am still working on a daytime alternate version, a problems book, where each problem can be numbered and given a page where I note ideas for tackling it. For me this is a way of being real about the not so good aspects of life and giving them a home rather than worrying around them and carrying them in my head all my waking hours.
It took time for me to learn how the gratitude book worked best for me and it is still taking time for me to find the best way of using my problem book. At the moment I am in a non action phase with it, but I know that when I come back to it I will have moved on in some way and will be closer to using it well for me or finding a different method.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Power Of Facebook
Go and join this Facebook group to support Iman Al-Obeidi and call for her release.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Our beautiful lambs
As I drove past the field a few days ago I saw a mother ewe with one lamb snuggled up on the ground next to her and the other happily and neatly sitting up on her mother's back. I swear the ewe was smiling!
Another time I drove past and saw the little pink ears lit up from behind by the afternoon sun.
It is a miracle we cars get past in one piece, I keep on looking out of the window and slowing down.
Another time I drove past and saw the little pink ears lit up from behind by the afternoon sun.
It is a miracle we cars get past in one piece, I keep on looking out of the window and slowing down.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Eye witness account
From the FT magazine this weekend, page 25, article written by David Pilling:
'The last person I speak to in the evacuation centre is Tomoya Kumagai, a 58-year-old fisherman who had been on his boat when the earthquake struck. "The boat always rocks, of course. But when there's a big earthquake, the water moves differently," he explains. "You get these triangular-type, jagged waves. I knew it was a big one. So I headed back to the dock."
Mr Kumagai found his wife and mother-in-law and drove them to safety. From a hill, he saw everything clearly. He gives me the most vivid description of the tsunami I have heard yet. "The first wave was about seven metres tall," he says. "It didn't make it over the defence wall. But then it sucked out to sea and it came in a second time. The amount of water doubled and it broke the wall. It came in many times after that, four big ones. Once the water came onto the land, it didn't flow back because more kept pouring in from the ocean." '
'The last person I speak to in the evacuation centre is Tomoya Kumagai, a 58-year-old fisherman who had been on his boat when the earthquake struck. "The boat always rocks, of course. But when there's a big earthquake, the water moves differently," he explains. "You get these triangular-type, jagged waves. I knew it was a big one. So I headed back to the dock."
Mr Kumagai found his wife and mother-in-law and drove them to safety. From a hill, he saw everything clearly. He gives me the most vivid description of the tsunami I have heard yet. "The first wave was about seven metres tall," he says. "It didn't make it over the defence wall. But then it sucked out to sea and it came in a second time. The amount of water doubled and it broke the wall. It came in many times after that, four big ones. Once the water came onto the land, it didn't flow back because more kept pouring in from the ocean." '
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Our own HE meet up
Our town now has a fortnightly swimming pool meet up for home educating families. I even met someone I used to know maybe 8-10 years ago and she is home educating too. So that was a wonderful surprise.
I am very grateful for the public resource of a pool plus a cafe with a big car park. I now have my eye on the arts centre in the town. It has an art gallery, cafe and nearby free parking.... I wonder if anyone else fancies a meet up there from time to time?
I am very grateful for the public resource of a pool plus a cafe with a big car park. I now have my eye on the arts centre in the town. It has an art gallery, cafe and nearby free parking.... I wonder if anyone else fancies a meet up there from time to time?
Friday, 25 March 2011
March
From the chapter on March:
'The great spotted woodpecker - a completely medieval bird, like a joker, or a jester with mask, cap and bells. The black and white skullcap, the deep red velvet tail. the barred, flamboyant costume and the outsized conk of a beak, absurdly vigorous in its hammering. How on earth does it stabilize its brain?
from 'Notes from Walnut Tree Farm'
by Roger Deakin
'The great spotted woodpecker - a completely medieval bird, like a joker, or a jester with mask, cap and bells. The black and white skullcap, the deep red velvet tail. the barred, flamboyant costume and the outsized conk of a beak, absurdly vigorous in its hammering. How on earth does it stabilize its brain?
from 'Notes from Walnut Tree Farm'
by Roger Deakin
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Warm weather
Warm weather means all sorts of bees finding their way into our house. I see them on the floor and gently slip them onto a piece of paper and take them outside. Sometimes they start moving, which is heartening. Even if they have died, I think it is better for them to decompose in nature, where they came from, rather than in a landfill site.
Monday, 14 March 2011
In a bad mood
I should be full of the joys of spring, what with daffodils out at the front of the house where I planted them in the autumn and the tiny white lambs in the field.
If I do watch the news, it's bad, and if I don't, I feel I should have been paying attention. What my viewing will ever do to help I don't know.
One thing which jumped out at me was the recurring wish and need of people to be able to *do* something.
As H has his own plans and interests I am rather out of the picture and doing the laundry and washing up only takes so much time. I may resort to planting some seeds and getting my own gardening therapy going.
If I do watch the news, it's bad, and if I don't, I feel I should have been paying attention. What my viewing will ever do to help I don't know.
One thing which jumped out at me was the recurring wish and need of people to be able to *do* something.
As H has his own plans and interests I am rather out of the picture and doing the laundry and washing up only takes so much time. I may resort to planting some seeds and getting my own gardening therapy going.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Boring
Chatting with T in the car coming back from school. So glad we live in the boring old UK, no earthquakes, no gun toting dictators, no extreme religion. Location, location, location is all.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Tuesday was or will be Science
I have been engrossed in Brian Keenan, so have skirted around my little heap of science books. I'll take them up to bed with me!
I read a few days ago that the 3 year mark is when HE parents often hit a wall. Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. Anyway whatever I hit, it provoked me to find some **structure**, because while H busies himself all day long, I need a plan to keep sane.
My plan has boiled down to a topic a day and I have laid out the books for each one in a heap on a table. 7 heaps for 7 days in the week. With any luck this will lead to more purposive conversation and more interesting topics in my home ed tracking diary.
So far today our discussions have not covered Alaska in any shape or form (or science!), but they did take in an Amnesty International booklet which was lying on the kitchen table. H had a browse through it while I laptopped and surreptitously ate bits of apple, we discussed the fact that it described the various campaigns they are working on and I suggested he look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the back. He read out the one about legal remedies and so we discussed that.
I read a few days ago that the 3 year mark is when HE parents often hit a wall. Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. Anyway whatever I hit, it provoked me to find some **structure**, because while H busies himself all day long, I need a plan to keep sane.
My plan has boiled down to a topic a day and I have laid out the books for each one in a heap on a table. 7 heaps for 7 days in the week. With any luck this will lead to more purposive conversation and more interesting topics in my home ed tracking diary.
So far today our discussions have not covered Alaska in any shape or form (or science!), but they did take in an Amnesty International booklet which was lying on the kitchen table. H had a browse through it while I laptopped and surreptitously ate bits of apple, we discussed the fact that it described the various campaigns they are working on and I suggested he look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the back. He read out the one about legal remedies and so we discussed that.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Monday was Geography
So I spent it with Brian Keenan in Alaska, starting his book about going there with his family to explore.
Friday, 4 March 2011
GCSE run up
This is involving retail therapy on Amazon. Revision guides plus books to read. How can I say no to such reasonable and admirable requests? School fees are just the start! It's all in a very good cause though and I'm glad to be asked.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Today
Book day for T at his school, so I sent him off with a signed form agreeing to lots of book buying, plus some cash to top it up with. He is such a keen book person, he came back with Catch-22 amongst other things and made a tower of his unread books!
HE review day. I sent off my written review of the whole of 2010 for H. I'm worried that I have included details which maybe I should have not included. Here's my advice: sit down and read though your review, delete anything which bugs you in any sense at all. Then do this the next day too. Only then send it off by post.
This is one of the massive down sides to home ed, the underlying worry which never goes away. H is 13 and so I have 3 more years of this. After that the LA won't care about his education and won't be on our case. We will care of course, irony of ironies, and we will fund it willingly until he is about 21 or so in all likelihood. He will care about his education too and will pursue it as he does now, day in day out, term time and holiday time.
HE review day. I sent off my written review of the whole of 2010 for H. I'm worried that I have included details which maybe I should have not included. Here's my advice: sit down and read though your review, delete anything which bugs you in any sense at all. Then do this the next day too. Only then send it off by post.
This is one of the massive down sides to home ed, the underlying worry which never goes away. H is 13 and so I have 3 more years of this. After that the LA won't care about his education and won't be on our case. We will care of course, irony of ironies, and we will fund it willingly until he is about 21 or so in all likelihood. He will care about his education too and will pursue it as he does now, day in day out, term time and holiday time.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Minecraft has arrived
We have a new game in our house. If you dig down too far you get to the lava layer. This doesn't seem too bad until you realise that you can dig anywhere you want but you can never leave. So then it is time to respawn and start again!
At night, real time, the stars come out. I wonder when the sun comes up in its morning.
At night, real time, the stars come out. I wonder when the sun comes up in its morning.
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