The Bad Government

Over lunch one day The OH and I were discussing Tony Abbott and detention centres. Shmoo and Loo wanted to know what we were talking about. We explained it to them and they were perplexed, they couldn't understand why anyone would want to treat other human beings like that. And Loo's comment...

"Everybody has to fight the bad government!"

Venus

The other day the kids were sitting around the table and I overheard Shmoo talking about poisonous substances. He informed his brothers that there was a substance called Venus that was toxic.

I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. The atmosphere on Venus? Venus fly traps? Then he informed them that it wasn't the planet Venus. I was even more puzzled.

Then he said that Venus used to be used in thermometers.

Ohhhh. He meant mercury! :)

Twinkles

Beanie Bear and I have this routine where he'll come up from his bath, hold his hands up to show me his pruney fingers and say, "Look what I got in the bath!". I'll pretend I don't know what he's talking about and I guess, "Hands? Fingers?".

Last night he looked at me in exasperation and said, "Noooo! Twinkles!".

Haha. Wrinkles. :)

The Things They Say

Beanie Bear: Pretty please with cheese on toast?

I guess he prefers cheese on toast to a cherry on top :)

And then there's Shmoo Bear's 'lawning the mow' instead of mowing the lawn. That's one that has tripped him up since toddlerhood.

Birth Blessing (by Natalie Evans)

Close your eyes and breathe deep

Breathe in peace, breathe out pain

Imagine your feet

Toes curling into dirt

Think of yourself as rooted

Think of your place in the earth

How did you come to be here?

Through generations of women named

A maternal lineage

That brought you to this place

Think of their birth stories

What you know, what you believe to be true

Realize that their births carry deep wisdom

Some may carry the memory of joy and transcendence

Each birth is a powerful experience

Each birth traces down to you.

Just as you pass this knowledge on to your baby

Understand that your birth is your own

It will be different from all others

Like the swirls in your thumb

Your birth will have a unique pattern

Unfolding with each contraction

Rising and falling like a newborn's chest

This birth belongs to you

This birth is an opening

This birth is the end and a beginning

May this blessing of birth come to you without fear

May this blessing of birth come to you with great understanding

May this blessing of birth make your heart soar

May this blessing of birth bring shouts of delight to your lips

Blessings to you and your birth.

What Not to Ask a Homeschooler

"Don't you think he should go to school?"

"But don't you think he'd be better in school where he can learn more? What can he do? Can he read? How can you teach him maths?"

Grrrr. Honestly, mum. What kind of parents do you think we are? If we thought Shmoo would grow into a happier, balanced, well educated person simply by attending a mainstream school, don't you think that's where we would send him? Do you think we deliberately keep him at home to hold him back?

He learns plenty through being homeschooled. I'd say, on average, he can do what most kids his age can do. Yes, he can read. He's been reading for quite a few years now. As a matter of fact, I've met quite a few 11-12 year olds from the local primary school who can't read as well as my 5 year old. And as for maths, I may be a bit fuzzy on how to solve quadratic equations but, at 7 years old, I think Shmoo's doing just fine working out the practical applications of basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and fractions. We'll cross the quadratic equation bridge when we come to it.

Boobies

Scene: Extremely crowded OBGYN's office. Beanie sitting in my lap, facing me. He plants a hand firmly on each side of my chest and begins talking very clearly and very loudly. Oh no...

Beanie: Mummy, are these my boobies?
Me: Gonna tickle you... tickle tickle! *lame attempt at distraction*
Beanie: *frustrated at being brushed off* Mama! Are these my boobies?
Me: *very quietly* Um, erm, yes??
Beanie: Mama! ARE THESE MY BOOBIES?!
Me: *absolutely mortified and unsure if he just didn't hear me or was unsatisfied with my answer* Um, no?
Beanie: Mummy, but why aren't these my boobies? Mummy? Mama!! Aren't these my boobies?!

Cringe. No, Beanie, they're my boobies and we share them but I'm not entirely comfortable having a loud discussion about them in front of a dozen of strangers. But, flustered and under pressure, do you think I could think of a concise way to say it that would be satisfactory to my 2 year old?

Yet another one of those embarrassing moments that come with parenting a toddler. You'd think I'd be used to it by now.

You vs. Me

The OH and Beanie reading a book...

Beanie: What's that?
The OH: 'u'.
Beanie: Me?
The OH: The letter 'u'.
Beanie: The letter 'me'?!

"The Idle Tower"

Image from here

Poor Shmoo couldn't figure our why we couldn't stop giggling when he was telling us all about the Idle Tower. =))

Well, I suppose it doesn't actually do much. Still, I'm not sure the French would appreciate it being called idle.

Or maybe he meant The Idol Tower?

Scene: The OH and I, standing around chatting with a couple of acquaintances while the kids play. They had been amazed at Loo's reading skills and Shmoo's neat writing.

X:  So which one of you is the 'teacher'?
The OH:  *quickly points to me even though he's the one far more likely to pull out a textbook* She is!
X:  *looks at me* Oh, so do you have a teaching background?
Me:  Uh no, no...
X:  Oh. It must be a lot for you to do, teaching them...
Me:  *shrugs* It's no more than any parent does from the day their baby is born. As parents we help our kids to learn right from the start.
X:  Yes but that's quite different to teaching them all the other things, isn't it?
Me:  Mmm... I kinda think it's not so much about 'teaching' them as encouraging them and giving them opportunities to learn.

Location, Location, Location

 

Excuse the blurry phone pics but it was too funny not to post. This is going straight to the pool room. ;)

Shmoo is fascinated by an electrical substation and insists on us driving past it whenever we're in the area. A couple of days ago, The OH picked up me and the younger two and drove us over to the residential area near the substation to show off his discovery. There, opposite the substation, was a small, modest looking house with a sign up near the entrance...

THE CASTLE

Feel the Serenity

Okay, so you'd have to have seen the movie to appreciate it, but don't you reckon that powerlines are a reminder of man's ability to generate electricity?

It's the vibe of the thing! =))

Forwarded through our homeschool group list. Glad to see it's not just our shelves that are crammed full of books like that :)

The Human Body

Last year we bought the boys an awesome book about the human body - See Inside: Human Body. Big book, clear pictures, and it even has acetate overlays so you can see the different layers of the body.Shmoo and Loo love the book and periodically get it down to pore over, completely fascinated by all the bits that make up our bodies.

Yesterday morning they were excitedly showing me me various pages, reading aloud and asking me questions. We talked about muscles, veins, lungs, kidneys, reproduction, the brain, bones and the heart. When they got to the heart, I asked Shmoo if he remembered what the heart did. Even though he knows that I know he knows the correct answer, he did his usual "I don't know, I can't remember!" 8-| So I asked Loo. He pondered the question thoughtfully for a minute and said "It pumps, like this..." and thumped his hand against his chest. Just as I was starting to think "Yay, he remembers!", Loo continued talking, saying "...when you love somebody". Awwwww. Cute. Not quite the answer I was hoping for, but cute all the same. =))

Then for dinner we had a roast leg of lamb. It led to continued discussion about veins as well as bones. They were intrigued by the ball and socket joint of the lamb bone and spent a good deal of time fitting them together and examining the range of movement. Shmoo asked some more in-depth questions and was quite curious about cartilage and bone marrow.

Split-Pin Dinosaurs

Today we made these Split-pin dinosaurs...

When the OH got home Shmoo excitedly showed him our dinosaurs and told him that the Velociraptor was for Beanie but we couldn't let Beanie actually play with it because he might eat the "little, sharp, pointy things" that we used to hold the pieces together. I asked Shmoo if he remembered what those pointy things were called. He hesitated for the barest second before confidently replying "Boobs!". Erm, I think he meant 'brads' LOL.

I Took His Hand and Followed

I posted this poem a couple of years ago but it's a good one and I think it's something that's always good to keep in mind...

I Took His Hand and Followed

(Mrs. Roy L. Peifer)

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn't make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I...

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood...

My kitchen wasn't swept today

But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill...

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,

That I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy

To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know.