Juggling some tricky times.

I was up at 4 am and did a few chores before the rest of the house awoke. Once the boys had eaten and taken their medication etc Owen decided he wanted to make some bread. So we made enough dough for rolls, bread sticks and a loaf.

There then followed a Horrible History Marathon where Owen and I joined in with the songs and had a great laugh. He is remembering the facts more readily and paused the programme often to fill me in with further details.

What does this red button do?

Lots of chess again...

After lunch, Sam and I played some chess , he's helped me so much I am slowly starting to improve. After that we played bowls and tennis. It was then after 3 pm so the children went off to play online.

Lots and lots of reading today and Sam and I washed the dogs because they were a bit wiffy and it was so hot, we thought it would cool them down.

We went on to play tennis, bowling and golf and the children went to their Jujitsu class.

It was really hot again so we headed off to Downs Bank for some shade in the trees and a paddle. Owen is having all sorts of sensory issues and we really struggled to get him outdoors. He cheered up a bit once we were there but tired quickly .

The children spent a night at their grandparents , while Blokey and I took a much needed break from routine. They went swimming, visited historical Shrewsbury and played at the park.

We chilled out , had nice meals and wandered round Chester.

Back home we read a great deal and  met up with friends at Amerton Farm for bouncy fun and games. 

The next day we had a really early start because the children had a respiratory appointment at Birmingham Children's hospital. The staff there were wonderful. Sam really struggled getting ready to go and hid under his coat for some of the journey. On arriving we were seen promptly and the staff are really great at coaxing Sam out from under his chair and getting him to do his lung function test. Owen was a little shy but became quite chatty as he warmed up. Thankfully, both boys are doing really well and we can try and reduce one of their medications to monitor how they respond.

Afterwards we went to the Think Tank Science park. We managed to have a great time outside in their garden but sadly it was so noisy inside with about 7 school trips , that the children ( and I ) found it hard to cope with the sheer volume of people shouting. I was glad we were given a concession on the £40 entrance fee, cause we barely lasted an hour inside and the children felt pretty stressed.

A quiet day in was requested and I needed it too. We all just bimbled about doing our own stuff. I did some house work and the boys ran back and forth showing each other their work on the PCs ...I may have had a little doze off in the afternoon between answering questions.

Meet up with friends in the woods for a paddle and play. Owen and Sam tried to look out for Giant Hogweed after we had read about it earlier in the week. 

Then back home to do some money skills, working out the cost of Fadecloud add on's and using their Go Henry cards. Owen is very confident about this now and guided the less confident Sam through his transaction. Owen also wrote a complaint email regarding a failed transaction.

Friday was a 'do as we please day' because I was very unwell . The boys played with friends online on the Home Ed server.

A big day next as it was a Charity Fun day for Gentleshaw and the children's jujitsu grading. Blokey and I went off for lunch and the when we got back the children had passed their grading and were proud owners of a full orange belt. Both boys had been very anxious but did incredibly well despite their worries.

Next we grab them some chips and flew off to meet up with friends at the fun day in Whitmore. Our home ed friends had worked really hard, to raise much needed cash for the local wildlife charity. So we spent up our money and bounced chatted and played until the children asked to go.

The following day Owen and I worked at home together in his bilateral coordination . We used game based play such as Wii sports or Wii fit as well a Jedi training on the Xbox kinect. Today Owen chose Jedi training...as I am his co trainee we both manage to work up quite a sweat fighting baddies. Sam and Blokey went swimming and Sam swam 50 lengths 'because I just wanted to see if I could do it' . Wow. 

It's been a really difficult week this week to be honest. Lots of meltdowns over the seemingly smallest things. Both boys have broken much loved items in temper that belonged to them and we had to explain they needed to save up themselves or do without as we are trying to save up cash for a holiday. Neither boy has wanted to engage with others much and I was very tired and run down so didn't handle things as well as I would like. It's been very up and down so Blokey and I have been discussing the best way to help the boys move forward next week.

I also have to think about a new treatment plan for my neurological issues and  am weaning off my current medication, due to ongoing problems. I am just waiting for everything to be set up. I feel nervous about it all and unsettled and I am sure the boys are picking up on it too.

So a big shake up is again in order, we know from past experience that any home education routine doesn't last for long here, the boys crave change quite often and we have reached that point again.

Wonder Quest

I just wanted to take some time today to write a bit about the Wonder Quest series of videos ( link at the bottom). For those who don't knows us, we are a Home Ed family and have twins aged 8 ..'nearly 9 now Mum!', both whom have special needs.

The boys LOVE playing and watching everything about Minecraft. Almost to the exclusion of everything else at times. Sometimes I struggle with this obsession of theirs. I fully understand what a fabulous learning resource it is but I miss doing other stuff together some days.

Both children are very much into Stampy and 'Squid Nugget'. I am pretty sure they consider them as friends ..mealtime chatter is often ( read always), full of references to them and all things Minecraft. We also follow Wizard Keen (Adam Clark) who does educational work on Minecraft too. The children ( and I) were very excited to hear that Wizard Keen had teamed up with Stampy and started making a series of videos called Wonder Quest. That's when I started to see a new and exciting development in the children's video watching unfold.

After pointing the boys in the direction of Wonder Quest they started running backwards and forwards from the PC screen, telling me about space and asking questions about Mercury.  I could see them expanding their knowledge and it was presented in a format they related to completely. They were loving it! It was just the most perfect learning experience and the children, it was made for them.

As a home educating Mum whose family doesn't fit any type of 'norm' ( hence the failure of mainstream school) , I often run the gauntlet of trying to engage the children with 1:1 activities/learning opportunities without putting the them into 'defence mode' or mental meltdowns ( theirs and mine). I feel I am constantly walking a tightrope to keep the household happy, engaged and calm. I won't lie, it can be exhausting and at times I run out of workable ideas, due to the constant need to reassess what's working and what isn't.

I learnt long ago, through trial and error, that 'making' the children follow any sort of curriculm put me on a hiding to nothing. Hence, our decision to follow a more autonomous route ( google it if you are interested). It's not an easy route, it's unconventional and means I have to run with every opportunity. There is much negotiation between us and for a person like me , who loves routine and structure, I can find it stressful at times. There is no timetable the children can follow and the best I can do is have a running list of options to offer...many of which I have to accept will be rejected.

So, when something like Wonder Quest drops into my lap, I send an offering to the altar of the Autistic Gods of Autonomus Education. Why!? Well, the reasons are many. Getting my boys to engage is no easy feat and the series is a gateway. It stands alone as an educational resource, whilst remaining fun and interesting to my 'Mineheads', it is  full of fantastic facts. Another big draw is it leads the children to ask me for further information on the topics covered, so I have an opportunity to expand on what the videos have shown them, building on their interest. Yet, (and here is the magical key for us), it's on the children's terms, it's fully child led in the best possible way. The boys are doing the asking, they are receptive, enquiring and they are not being led into something by me...which they hate. For us, the best type of learning happens, when the children's natural inquisitiveness is being tapped into.

But don't just take my word for it, here are some of the children's responses when I asked them:

"It's EPIC!. I like Wonder Quest because it's fun and there's Stampy and Wizard Keen and sometimes Squid pops in too, like he's visiting. I love that it's Minecraft and learny stuff, all in one thing...not like the learny stuff we did in school. It's just brilliant, episode 2 is my favourite one so far. I learnt about trees too what they need to grow, space and the water cycle.

"I learnt about how the earth tips on its axis. I like the animated ones too. At the end they say 'Always Keep wondering!'.

http://youtu.be/_AuP6eQjV8Q

So give it a go ..I think it will appeal to all types of children , schooled or unschooled , Mineheads or not.

Word searches , friends,sunshine and family days out.

We couldn't make it out today for various (very boring) reasons, so Sam asked if I could play chess with him..he's still teaching me, but it's hard as the rules are ..ahem..a tad flexible at times. He's a good teacher though.

So brain games were in order, analysing, memory, mental maths, time etc etc..that took us up to and past lunch time. 

After that Sam wanted to earn some extra pocket money for a game upgrade he's been saving for.

We worked it all out together and he got busy earning  the extra pennies he needed. I added it to his GoHenry card account and we went through the steps to buying his upgrade via online payment.

Lots and lots of sporty stuff, tennis , bowling, baseball, boxing. Jujitsu in the evening and Sensei tells us that boys are ready for their next grading in July.

Quite a few issues today but once things were calm Owen and I played a maths game outside...it was really hot and we took a pitstop for drinks halfway through. Owen decided on how we would play the game and he drew numbers on the paving stones. The furthest away were the highest values.

We played a sort of hopscotch type game with multiplication and addition. Basically, you could do what you wanted with one or a combo of two numbers..the higher the score the trickier it got. 

Afterwards Sam decided he would like to look at his Animal activity book. He chose a seabird word search activity and asked me to look up information on each bird he successfully found on his grid. He is getting much quicker at looking for the words now and organising how he wants to do it.

He then went on to some animal spot the difference games, I was again impressed with how much easier he is finding information on a page now. I think before it was blind panic and he couldn't concentrate.

After lunch we met up with friends and played at their house. The boys had a great time playing games and running round the garden, whilst all the adults caught up. Owen and I watched more Dr Who whilst Sam watched Minecraft videos and we all sat down for pizza when Blokey got home. I managed well but was ill later in the evening...it felt really great to see everyone.

An early start today as both boys were raring to go. We started off with Sam teaching me chess again. We are both new to this game so we looked at the rules and checked we were doing it correctly. Owen was trying to take over the game as we played, so I sorted him out with a few things online elsewhere. Sam is very patient with Owen when he is being tricky, even so he needs his 1:1 time with me too, so we are working out compromises as we go, to make sure he gets it.

Owen had a quick game too...

After many games of chess Sam and I did a crossword, word-search and played a few games of Top Trumps. I did manage to win one game of chess this time and Sam was very gracious about it...he thrashed me on everything else though!

After lunch Owen decided he wanted to battle me at Brain Games..Sam decided he would join us. We did various tests of different levels, Sam and Owen against me *eek* . It was a draw overall and I felt lucky to get that. Next Owen and I played Wii tennis and boxing...he thrashed me.

I finished the housework and Owen went on his PC, where he designed some outfits, including a 'bacon cape' for his Minecraft man. Sam got really interested in one of the Wonderquest videos about space and asked me lots of questions about Mercury etc.

http://youtu.be/D9lShBZI2uo

Another tricky start with Owen, I have not been on great form myself all week, so I spent some time talking with him about how we could help each other.

The post arrives and we have a new word games to try.

 We looked into the history of the Punch and Judy show and watched a performance ...Owen thought it was hilarious.

Sam and I discussed the Wonder Quest Videos some more and he told my all the wonderful things about Minecraft and how, in his opinion it was the best kind of learning. The children watched some Wonder Quests and we tried out our new board games.

Takeaway night tonight, so we all gather round the table and try each other's food...we the boys do if they are feeling brave. There was a time they couldn't even sit at the table if we had spicy food.

The next day I woke up feeling so much brighter, the sun was out and we decided to have a family day at Blists Hill Museum, in the Ironbridge Gorge. It's been few years since we went. There is a great deal more to do there than before and we had a fantastic day. 

The boys were amused and terrified of the man pretending to be the Victorian School master, loved the ginger biscuits from the bakery and looked at all the workshops and machinery with great interest. Next time we need to take more cash as they were disappointed that we ran out of money and there was none left for the Sweet Shop and all its enticing jars.

Back home we filled the paddling pool and whilst I pottered around the garden Sam decided to have an outside bath...brrrr..

The following day, we got up early and all went swimming. I don't manage to go often and was rather wobbly afterwards. It really needs both of us there because Owen needs a great deal of support in the water. Both boys did really well and everytime I manage to get there , I can see great progress in Sam's confidence and ability. The rest of the day we all chilled out doing our own thing.

It was a tough week, for a variety of reasons but we definitely ended on a high.