Author Archives: Daddybean

Breathing in the Sky

Nursery day today, so kids have been there moslty. Last day tomorrow.

It was Stringbean’s last Ballet clss of the term, turned up there a found that it was a session for parents to sit in on while they should us the sort of things they ahd been doing, so much dancing and skipping around by cute little girls in ballet outfits :-) Also cute was Butterbean who did her ‘wobbly dance’ to the piano. I relaised afterwards that we had missed the last lesson last term – so it probably is a regular end of term thing. Helen will be disappointed to have missed it. And of course no piccies as I didn’t realise it was happening :-(

That’s it really, SB made a goodbye/thankyou card for the staff in her room at nursery – She did some good conifer treees on it – apprently it was a christmas tree shop.? :-) The sun was also setting she informed me so there wasn’t much sky below it.

On the topic of sky, yesterday I think it was she started talking about the sky and said that ‘we breathe in the sky’ – which I thought was an interesting way to put it. I did introduce the idea of the atmosphere being all around us and mentioned about the sky looking blue. But realised that it’s a rather intangible concept – ‘sky’ as more of a visual effect than a thing.

Had a little chat over dinner about things she might like to learn a bit about now that she will have finished nursery and we will have more time at home. She said that she wants to learn some more about space and said she wants to learn from the ‘picture books about things’ – which I assume meant the Picturepeadia and alll the other nice DK books we have. So we will see where that takes us.

Other than that Helen is away tonight, she has gone up to soem conference or training thing or something – in Leeds as it happens. so won’t be back until tomorrow night. So a bit late getting both kiddies to sleep – but me and SB had nice snuggle and read for her bedtime stories – a rather nicely illustrated book by Nick butterworth/Mick Inkpen as it happens retelling some of the parables Jesus tells in the bible. She did complain a few times, that the story of the Good Samaritan said the chap was bleeding where he got hit, but none of the pictures showed the blood! :roll: Followed by a lift the flap book of the nativity story (I think it’s the same one) – she’ll be wanting to go to church next :-)

I’ve whiled away much of the rest of the time, fiddling about and wandering around some new blogs starting from the 13th Carnival of Homeschooling over on Why Homeschool

This amused me , among other posts. I liked the album thing here – I liked her time line idea as well. There is a good debunking of anti home education critiscisms over on the Bonny Glen and talk of the idea of tidal homeschooling struck a cord.

One of the above is hosted on Homeschoolblogger and I’m wondering if I should be linking to it or supporting the boycott, but I’m generally dubious about the effectiveness of boycotts. Though it seems here that this is boycott as a form of publicity tool to highlight the issue, rather than to ‘bring down’ HSB

Wallpaper patterns

Butterbean was a total pain last night, woke up around 2.30 – 3 am, basically spent the next 11/2 – 2 hours crying before going back to sleep. I got so fed up stting on her bed that I came downstairs to watch something on the TV. I think she slept from 4.30 to 6, but I didn’t really.
I did how ever learn that there are only 17 types of wallpaper patterns on some program on BBC2 (it’s all to do with the mathematic of group theory or somesuch – and with how you can repeat a pattern on a plane)

12th Carnival of Homeschooling

well, we will get round to some proper blogging, but until then I have enjoyed reading some of the articles featured on the
12th Carnival of homeschooling

And here are the Previous Carnivals

A Blast From the Past

Spurred our first digital camera in June 2002 we started posting daily pictures of Stringbean on our website. When we started this there weren’t such good tools around for photoblogging etc. so it was done manually. Probably becuase of the effort it took, we eventually stopped after about a year. I did work on better system, but never good it up and running. And then they got taken down for soem reason or other. But they’ve been ressurected, viewing them all again it’s tempting to have another go – should be much easier/qucker now with better tools around.

Yeah, I know we have Flickr , but the rather cleaner presentation is nice. Should be easy enough to pul suitably tagged pictures out of Flickr though using their API.

Anyway here is Stringbean’s Picture of the Day

This takes you to the last one we posted, browse back from there

Thankyou Sarah


My Blog

Originally uploaded by Scrumbledelicious.

what a lovely idea! An Ed Phil in miniature!

Hama Heart

Stringbean has spent so long on this that I think it deserves a post of it’s own:

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I think it is lovely.

Helen helped her set out the rainbows, becuase she couldn’t quite count/plan out how many to use for each colour, but otherwise the design and work was all her own.

Think I need to fiddle with colour/white balance, it was on a white piece of paper.

3 PJ tops and no bottoms!

HONESTLY!!

So where is the man?

Have come across this a couple of times, passing it on for the benefit of those who haven’t.

The Moon

Hint – zoom to max

Monday, Tuesday …..

Time to catch up, so what happened on Monday then? a bit of black hole memory wise.

Monday morning – me and SB played her ‘Build a Beetle ‘ game for ages, before during and after breakfast – and er, not sure what else, there was some reading of books as well. We also tided the sitting room – wel l i tidied, BB untidied and SB persched on sofa and watched CBeebies moslty

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Afternoon we were going out to a home ed social gathering at a another house a couple of villages away. Luckilly Helen was able to make it from work as well. Rather a nice time, got to sit and meet chat with some more/new/different home edders/play with some other children. Though SB not quite herself the last few days and was a bit reticent to join in as much as she normally does. But didn’t want to go home , so take that as a sign she was enjoying herself. Took place in a rather nice ‘room ‘ they ahev in their garden. Bit like a very large shed, but all fitted out nicely inside, with an office room as well – rather nice.

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Tuesday me and SB started off by having good look at one of here Picturepedia books on space. Spent quite a long time looking ta things in in chatting about variosu things such as star life cycles, gogin to the Moon, planets, space stations, living on the Moon, Mars etc.

Then we played with the Wacky Wigglers, made one from the instructions, later on SB made her one ‘monster’ with it. There was little bit of Hamaing over breakfats, and then it wa tiem to get organised/dressed and go to the library for storytime and book changing. Helen and found one of the books (Huggly’s Pizza) which had gone AWOL so we don’t have to pay for another lost book. As usual, SB was the last to finish doing her crafty stuff.

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Home, lunch, lots of reading of library books, more more Hama-ing. SB did start on following a Dinosaur pattern, but decided to use her own colours, then I think got mixed up and then got fed up so stopped. Then started on a large heart board with a complicated pattern that she is still working on. Told me to make a giraffe, but that is still unfinished as well.

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Did some maths, this time using Miquon maths, mostly working on doing numbers up to a hundred. Then it was tiem to get dinner ready, the girls pottered about a bit doigng this and that, then dinner in the oven while we went off to SB’s swimming lesson, hoem from that to dinner, and then a bit of long stretch before Helen got home at about half 8

Peaceful.

Me and Butterbean have been up since about 8, she has spent the last hour being very grumpy and has now gone back to sleep. Helen and SB have yet to rise at all :-) Not a good night for anyone again.

Had? nice time though just playing with BB byherself andi t’s all rather peaceful now really. I am really tempted by a cup of coffe and a read of the Grauniad, but that kitchen floor really is a mess…… Decisions, decisions