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BusyMum

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  1. No serious injuries here - just the usual bumps, bruises and (for me) ringing ears! :) My boys adore their romp with Daddy and my husband is very good at gauging how far to go. If someone gets a serious injury then they may be on the sidelines for a few weeks but the romp will go on. I think it is a very valuable formation as it teaches kids (especially boys) how to get all excited and het up but to still retain control. If my eldest goes too far the romp stops. I have really seen him grow in his self-control, especially when angry or upset. It also teaches them how to turn off that excitement and settle down.
  2. NZ is nuclear-free too. I voted hydroelectric, but our cooking and hotwater is gas.
  3. IMHO this is just rude and pushy. You can choose to be offended and tell them that you find their gift distasteful. Or you can choose to laugh it off and pass the book on to someone who WILL appreciate it. I would generally tend to opt for the later and just see it as a quirk in that person and not really worth getting steamed about. I hope they don't spend too much money on these books!
  4. We sort by size. Little pieces in one box, middle sized pieces in another and big pieces in a third. Every now and then I go and dismantle the creations - but more often my two year old beats me to it. Our sets are completely mixed up and we have tens of thousands of pieces. I would have prefered to keep them seperate but was overruled by DH who is the one who spends hours sitting with Mr7 making stuff.
  5. I actually find these threads really motivating and empowering. Just as we learn from other people's successes, so too can we learn from their mistakes. I always read these threads and end up with a list of points to consider - humbly and without defensiveness. How can I do better? Are any of these things traps that I am inclined to fall into? What things should I put in place to ensure I do the best for my kids?
  6. I must point out that I had never me her before. She was a random stranger in the supermaket. I'm guessing that either she had been at the Christmas sherry a bit early or her cheese had slid off her cracker. At least I don't have to sit down to Christmas dinner with her and make polite conversation. I forgot to mention - she then followed us round the supermarket muttering and giving us the squinty eyed evils. Thank heavens for my husband! He hussled us through and kept me from ambushing her at the end of the bakery aisle with a french stick. :lol:
  7. That bit did make me giggle later. I was still reeling at that point from her telling my son he would much prefer to be in school with his friends like a real boy and not at home being a namby pamby mummy's boy. I'm going to ruin his character, don't you know.
  8. for clocking the demented old hag who when she asked my son what school he went to today proceeded to berate me for being lazy and giving up on his education by choosing to homeschool him. Apparently it wasn't good enough to withdraw him from a school that wasn't meeting his needs. I should have looked harder for another school or worked more with his teachers. Parents have to take some responsibility for their kids education too! :confused: Unfortunately I am recovering from having major surgery last Tuesday and my blood alcohol is unfestively low right now so I was just getting ready to clock the cow when my husband rejoined us and hussled me away. Now back home and more rested I have regained my sense of humour and have thought of all the things that I might have said. Witty and scathing things. The kind of things that I probably would have had to confess. As it was I stood there like a guppy and turned red with barely repressed indignation. I do so hope our paths cross again! :lol:
  9. I did quite a bit of mine online this year. And I am particularly pleased with myself for getting my nieces and nephews presents online, giftwrapped and sent straight to them - eliminating the need for me to queue at the Post Shop with three kids and pay an extra lot of postage.
  10. My seven year old complains a lot less of being bored now than he did when he was at school. I figured its because when he was at school I often relied on the TV and his toys to entertain him. Now I have cupboards and shelves full of books and activities. Plus he is reading independently now which makes a HUGE difference. His favourite activity at the moment is to read through a book called '101 TV-free activities for kids' and pick something for us to do together - sometimes a recipe, sometimes a craft or a game.
  11. EDIT: Somehow managed to post this twice! Sorry
  12. Positive: Love is in the details - my parents spent time doing stuff with us that made us feel loved. One of my formative memories as a child is getting to school and opening my new exercise book (which had to have a line ruled down the side and across the top) to find that my Dad had ruled each line in the book in a different colour. I remember grinning and thinking "Wow! My Daddy really loves me to have sat and done this for me!" As an adult I told him how precious this memory is and he doesn't even remember it. This teaches me that love is in the details. I may not think that what I am doig is a big deal but it may mean a huge amount to my child. Negative: Don't say you will do something that you won't carry out. My parents are great planners but lousy implementers. There was always a reason but I got sick of being disappointed in yet another exciting plan that never got off the ground. They really enjoyed the planning stage and never realised how much it upset me that things didn't happen. Now I always tell my kids whether I am not sure if we can actually do something and if I say we can then I carry it out.
  13. Simple answer: Good = things that draw us to God; Evil = things that draw us away from God. There is nothing that is neutral but there can easily be a lack of thought or appreciation of the nature of something on our part. For example you could argue that a sunrise has no moral value but you can look at the sunrise and be filled with wonder for God's creation and drawn to Him. By this argument, the contents of my toddler's nappies are inherently evil. :lol:
  14. Urgh! That brings back memories of the Christmas before last. We sent Mr5 down by plane and drove down to my parents arriving on Christmas Eve. We arrived and Mr5 immediately vomited all over me. He was sick all that day but much improved the next day. By that time I was as sick as a dog, running from both ends, and only managed to eat one pea from my Christmas dinner. What a nightmare!
  15. Please God we are leaving that behind us this year! We greeted the new year with a newborn, me recovering from a c-section, a six year old with two broken arms and norovirus and a two year old teething molars and also suffering from norovirus. At one point all three kids woke screaming at 3am and we just sat there trying to figure out who to go to first. The ones who were puking won. :lol: This year it is so far so good. I am recovering from major surgery but the kids are well. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :001_huh:
  16. These are marvellous! Thanks for posting them. I really enjoyed them. :lol:
  17. I think that any kind of addiction or chronic over-indulgence is wrong. Wrong for the person and wrong for society as a whole. Having said that, I have been known to over indulge in Rowntrees Fruit Gums on the rare occasions that I manage to get my greedy hands on some.
  18. It took us four months to really get into the swing of things after pulling mr (then) 6.6 out of school. I didn't back down on requiring a certain standard and amount of work and I praised and rewarded liberally for good behaviour. The last two months have ben fabulous. We have our "I don't want to" moments but he has learned that when I say he has to complete xyz before he has a snack/break/drink etc then I mean it. He has also got used to the groundrules - NO tv, computer or drawing till ALL school work is completed. NO breaks until after maths, handwriting and spelling are completed and only one break is allowed. Weather permitting, break must be taken outside in the fresh air and sunlight. Schoolwork done fast and without complaining is ALWAYS rewarded in some way - praise, having a 'cup of tea' and biscuit with mummy, playing a game together, visiting a friend or going on an excursion. We found in the first months that having a rewards chart for things like attitude, speed, and completion of work was a really beneficial thing for him.
  19. Generally all the schoolwork is done while the little ones are up and roaming around. Mr7 does his spelling, handwriting and maths by himself (unless it is a new concept or he is having trouble). I am nearby (on the other side of a kiddy gate :) ) with the little ones doing housework or reading them stories. Then I put the little ones up to the table with a snack and we do Faith & Life and either FLL or SOTW at the table while the kids are having an early morning tea. I leave Artistic Pursuits until the littlies are both asleep at the same time. This may only happen once a week so we grab the oppertunity while we can or we do it at the table with the littlies in their high chairs playing with play dough or with crayons. We have worked really hard this year to get mr7 working independently in several subjects. This is important to us because of the little ones. We are very blessed and grateful to have a bright boy who can learn to be semi-independent at this early age. Its not always the norm.
  20. I'm going to start reading him Call of the Wild today. I was reading him The BFG but I wasn't going fast enough so he finished it off himself. He's just started James and the Giant Peach today so that should keep him happy till the end of the weekend. I kind of like the idea of giving him something to read at his reading for enjoyment level and reading aloud something different that is a bit more challenging.
  21. Goodness! She definitely DID go too far! Your poor poor son! What a mortifying, confusing and above all dangerous situation to put him in! I think that now is a good time to teach your teens how to protect their dignity. She will not be the only person they will encounter in lifes journey who does not know how to treat others appropriately. They may later encounter it in co-workers, boss, relationships etc. You have the oppertunity to teach them how to deal with this - with a staunch belief in their own worth and dignity but also kind respect for the other person's obvious problems. Teach them about boundaries and about protecting themselves from allowing others to abuse them. Give them the tools they will need in life to deal with people who emotionally unbalanced without taking responsibility for their problems. And above all, teach them when to walk away from a toxic situation. I think that handled well, this can be a powerful teachable moment.
  22. We don't currently do copy work - which is partly why I am considering doing WWE. I know we need to plug that gap. We have a trampoline, bikes, fort etc and the boys spend hours outside every day - especially now we are coming into summer. We also walk at least three times a week. I am having surgery next week but after I recover we will be doing a lengthy walk every day as I try to lose some baby weight. I have considered doing Spanish but I have held off while I am so new to homeschooling as I have minimal modern languages myself (highschool french and german plus university attic and koine greek). I will see how we settle in with the new additions next year and maybe look at introducing a languages program after Easter or towards the middle of the year. I don't want to stress either of us out by adding too much too fast. And I am really enjoying our days. He is so much more relaxed and happy than he was at school. I look back and realise how stressed his poor wee body was - he has gained so much urgently needed weight and is a much nicer person to be around. One of the key skills that we have worked on this year is his ability to work independently - since I have the two little ones as well. He has excelled in this area and there will be days where I find that he has pretty much done EVERYTHING with no input from me!
  23. I sometimes worry that I am not doing enough with my seven year old (August birthday) son. He is often completed his day's work before 10am! :001_huh: Every day we do: 1 lesson of Faith & Life (Catholic) 25 Quick maths equations 4 or 5 pages of Singapore Maths 2 1 exercise and 4 spelling words from MCP Spelling C 1 pages handwriting and letter formation practice Then we also do: 3x a week one lesson from FLL3 2x a week one chapter of SOTW1 1x a week one chapter of Artistic Pursuits This has been our first year homeschooling and next year I am wanting to add Prima Latina and music. I don't do formal science yet - we get educational books and DVDs and follow his interests. Today we completed his ant farm and have spent hours learnign about ants and life cycles and nutrition etc. I am also thinking of doing a formal writing program such as WWE. But he zooms through the work so fast. And it isn't superficial. He retains everything. I sometimes wonder whether I should be doing more or whether we are covering enough and not to stress him out with too much of the formal schoolwork while he is still so young. Any thoughts?
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