Sparkle and sadness

A beautiful 3rd birthday party celebrated with beautiful people. A heavy heart for the leaving of a very special family.

Trains, planes and automobiles

I have a dream of an unschooled family life...curiosity is king, we all feel in control about what and how we learn, knowledge will be gained by active pursuit and immersion in the subject, we will follow our dreams and passions and our days will be filled with adventure. It perhaps doesn't sound terribly realistic and I know that many days will not be this way, but it is an ideal - something to reach for. We have grown and learned together since they were born, I see home education as a continuation of that. At the moment, Eli is only at his Steiner Kindergarten for a few days a week; from September, he'll be 'home educated' full time. I have used inverted commas with that phrase because I doubt much of our time will actually be spent at home. My hope is that we will have many more days of togetherness and learning like this one spent at MoSI (Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester).

We had so much to talk about here! We had conversations that covered Jupiter's spot, lifting weights with gears, earthquakes, bomber planes, war - and so so much more. It's days like this that help me believe we can do it...that help me to be confident that learning happens in an organic and spontaneous way and that being together makes it all the more joyful. 

The Boy in the Starry Pyjamas

 Following these instructions, I made Eli two pairs of pyjama bottoms. Some may consider this vaguely deranged behaviour, but for me, this is soul-nourishing stuff. Let me explain; they weren't made in a third world sweatshop; they're made from super-soft flannel; they keep my boy warm and snuggly, they are an Act of Creation.

The brown ones are particularly jazzy I think. To complete the look, I appliqued a wee star onto a t-shirt with matching fabric. As captured below - Eli is obviously beside himself with delight. A grateful recipient is clearly the best reason for home-made pyjamas.

Mmmm castles...

Whilst in Wales, we visited a castle. Who doesn't love a castle in magnificent scenery on a freezing cold day in April?

Valleys

This will be a post about our visit to Wales. This was over a week ago. I'm often late in life and I'm starting to worry that I will transfer this shoddiness to my musings. I Must Try Harder.

Belatedly...We visited the Grandparents in Trefriw, Snowdonia. Wales, and particularly this bit of it, is a truly magical place. I love coming here and so do the boys - mostly for the attentions and attractions of Rob's parents, but the place itself brings peace. Trefriw is quiet and quaint, with waterfalls and wooded hills. And a garden...

For Eli's birthday, Nain and Grandad gave him a metal detector, and much time was spent digging holes. These explorations did not always yield treasure...but with a little intervention and some luck, there was enough to fuel further curiosity.

For me, no visit to Trefriw is complete without a visit to the Trefriw Woollen Mill. Full of its own woolly magic, I can spend ridiculous amounts of time here. Tweeds on the roll and rugs and blankets as far as the eye can see make for a thoroughly satisfying wander.

I'll hopefully be returning very soon.



Five years

It's now over a week since my cowboy turned 5. For him it was momentous. For us it was a little scary. We talked about the day he was born; how he changed our lives forever, how much love there was and is.

It so happened that on this special day, Monty fell off his bike and badly hurt himself; we were around a corner and did not see. This 5 year old of mine stepped into his big brother shoes and approached people to ask for help. As I came into view, I saw him in the distance reaching out to passing strangers and trying to get assistance. My heart lurched then and lurches now when I think of him feeling alone and scared without us. But I also feel such pride to have witnessed his courage and maturity in his brother's moment of need.

Needless to say we sped to the scene, and soon our farm park day out with Nanny was back on course. The next day we followed up the fun with a romp in the woods. Good friends were there, and treasure, and hot dogs...and cake. Birthdays are a big deal round here and I think this one was a good one.

Happy Birthday dear Eli x

Crossing the Rainbow Bridge

These bright days are giving me plenty of opportunity to try out my new camera and, although it hasn't really been taken out of auto yet, I'm feeling slightly worried that my expectations were too high. I'm not sure if it's the workman or the tools but pictures seem to lack the warmth and definition I was hoping for and colours are pretty bleached. Maybe if I read the manual...

Monty was my first obliging model, he pulled a series of disagreeable poses.

This picture really shows the bump on the side of his nose from falling on the hearth; I worry that it will always be there now.

Daffodils are also fairly obliging subjects...

Then I snapped some corners of Cragg (these may become a series), on my way to Eli's 'Kindergarten birthday'. As I walked and photographed buds bursting and life unfolding, I marvelled again at the magic of this place that we are so blessed to live in. Unfortunately, my photography does not really do it justice yet.



    Eli's Kindergarten birthday was as beautiful as expected. Such care was taken by his wonderful teacher Helen to make it a very special occasion. I was fairly emotional from the very first notes from the lyre. Seeing my boy sit on the special chair, witnessing the wonder on the faces of the other children and listening to the story of how the little angel crosses over the rainbow bridge to be with his chosen family had the tears full flowing. Such a big moment, watching him cross into another year, ever growing. I'm fairly sure there'll be more birthday sharing before the week is out...