Sunday 30 September 2012

(Day 302) cradled



Dear Layla

in the years when you look back through the photographs of your precious babyhood

I want you to know just how many hours you have spent like this

cradled in the arms of your mother, your father, your brother and your big sisters

held lovingly in the arms of the ones who love you

and the ones you love

In the absence of a cot or suitably clean place to lay you down today, as we commenced renovations on our house, this is how you spent many of your hours. In the arms of your brother and sisters. 

How blessed you are to know such unconditional love.

Saturday 29 September 2012

(Day 301) A very bad day


Covered in a terrible rash after an allergic reaction to meds for your ear infection, today was a very bad day 

Although you recovered very quickly - and were remarkably happy for someone who looked so miserably unwell!

Wednesday 19 September 2012

(Day 291) Asleep sitting up



You know that it is a good day when you can fall asleep just like this...

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Why we homeschool 1#





For regular readers of our little family blog, you will know that we started our journey into homeschooling a few months back and have been enjoying great success with this life-style. For me it was a bit of a no-brainer. For the first time in many years I was free of study, qualified (and thus able to find more flexible work), and in a better position to take a good look at my family, assess its needs and see what I could do to make a positive impact on our little corner of the universe. 

Being (mostly) at home, with little Layla, afforded me the time and perspective to see that my children were extremely unhappy in mainstream schooling, and had experienced many of the trauma's that we seem to take as part and parcel of the school experience, over the last few years (including bullying from other students and teachers, a loss of interest in learning, apathy and dread of school, pre-school morning illnesses and a myriad of other things). Initially I described our situation as 'less than extraordinary' as I did not feel that my children had been bullied any more than what was normal for most children, and I didn't feel that my children were any more traumatised by school or teachers than anybody else either. However, a very small voice inside me made me think that perhaps as a mother I could do better, and that life did not have to be the way it was.

And then there was homeschool.

The thing about homeschooling is that when I began, I never considered that I might have to justify my decision or choices to anybody but my immediate family. After all, I do not consult the general public on opinions as to what toilet paper my family should use, what vegetables I should use to make dinner for my children, or how qualified I am to assist my children with their homework. Likewise, it would never occur to me to ask a complete stranger to justify why they have sent their children to a certain school, why they think that their children will do better at that school than at another, or to explain to me their children's marks on their report cards. 

Thus it has come as a bit of a surprise that there seems to be constant attention focused on myself and my children on any given week day, when we dare to enter the world outside of school, on (God forbid!) a school day! Everyone from shop attendants to security guards, elderly people in check-out lines and random people in the library, or at the beach, seem to take it as their personal business to get to the bottom of why 'these children' are not at school! I am in awe of how much attention we attract, doing the smallest and most mundane things (i.e. borrowing library books) and the questions that are asked of us, almost weekly, such as:

"why are you not at school?"

"are you on school holidays then?"

"taking a day off are we? tut tut"



... and (even more shockingly, the third degree that follows):

"but children need school to socialise!"

"Oh no - how do you make sure that they are learning the same thing as everyone else their age?"

"but you won't know if they are falling behind?"

"do you know your times tables?...(and rarely) so what is ____ +_____?" (yep, I will draw the line at quizzing my children!)


I know that one of our fellow homeschool Mum's is so self-conscious of this constant barrage, that she sometimes feels the need to avoid public spaces during school hours, as it can be overwhelming to have to face questions all of the time. However we will not stay inside! 

For anybody who is curious about homeschooling and generally wants to know. I will try my best to articulate why we homeschool over the next few posts. I hope that this is informative (in case you are thinking of homeschooling yourself) or at least, may be enough to help you to think about education differently :-) 


Thursday 13 September 2012

(day 285) Baby hiking




           
                                                        "phew, that was hard work!"

Wednesday 12 September 2012

(Day 284) In memory of Kerryn

As most of you know, I started this blog as a '365 day project' to document every day in the life of our little family. The idea behind the project was to appreciate every day, see the beauty in things that could otherwise be seen as mundane, and to perhaps look back on this in days and years to come and remember the little things that we often miss in the busy-ness of our lives.

When I started this project it was with another wonderful group of like-minded people - almost all women, and almost all of them mothers. As mothers we have a tendency to take a lot of photographs of our children  (and without us in them because we are always behind the camera!) however today I made a special effort to have myself included in a photograph, in memory of one member of our group, Kerryn, who was tragically and suddenly killed this week, while 8 months pregnant with her second child.

You can find Kerryn's blog here: http://366daysofkiara.wordpress.com/

There are no words to express the tragedy of Kerryn's sudden departure from the family that she loved and treasured every day, with every breath, and every photograph of the little girl that she held so precious. And it is the one saving grace, perhaps, that her daughter has such a wonderful and vivid collection of memories that her mother saved up just for her - one every day - that she might be able to look back on one day. As one of her very last photographs was with her daughter, we are reminded that it is sometimes important to leave memories for our children, not just as we saw them through our eyes, but of ourselves living life alongside and with them.


How you live a lot of your days on the beach - in the sling :-) (note: there was a hat but it got thrown off of your head by the wind and you refused to wear a wet hat and decided to try and bite me every time I attempted to put it back on!)



                My view of Layla - legs dangling and kicking me with all the cheekiness of a big bubba



                       Your big sister putting sunscreen on your arms and legs while entertaining you



                                                               More wildlife at the beach!





Monday 3 September 2012

(Day 275) First week of spring





It is the first week of spring and we are out enjoying the day while your brother and sister do their homeschool work lazing on park benches in the shade

...while you are taste testing everything that you can get your hands on :-)!

Sunday 2 September 2012

(Day 274) First father's day


Your first ever father's day - and you're at Bunnings already!

Saturday 1 September 2012

(Day 273) New house


Today we went to look at our new house - our first ever house that is going to be 'ours'

This is a pic of us taken almost by accident as we walked through excitedly taking photographs of all of the little nuances and things that might need to be looked at and fixed before and after we move in.

It is nothing short of miraculous to me, the life changes that have happened since you have come in to our lives...and more so, the changes that have happened between our first child and our last child.

Whereas our children have all known us through different stages; as teenage parents struggling, living in a caravan and busking in different places, travelling around in a 1970's kombi van and frequenting folk music festivals

and then as young parents, struggling to gain a degree and an apprenticeship, raising chickens, joining bands, taking on two or three jobs at a time, working holidays, nights and weekends to get an education, send children to school and get enough money for our own vehicles, accomodation and family stability

We have been through poverty and business development, years of study, and travel, work and sacrifice

And yet the world of our family that you, Layla, have been born in to is profoundly different. The year that you were born (and in the months proceeding), your parents have been together for over 15 years. 

Your brother and sisters are well into their primary and secondary schooling, and your home is nothing if not stable, secure and perfect for all of your needs. 

Your parents are both qualified. Your brother and sister are homeschooling and always here whenever you need them. Three months after you were born, your mama got her car license, and graduated from university -  so you will never know a life where you are stuck at home with one parent without transport.  

And very soon, you will live in a house that belongs to our family, which you will be able to forever call your own.