Socialisation...you've got to be joking!!

It's funny....anyone who doesn't Homeschool / Home Educate (or whatever else you want to call it!) always comes up with the 'S' word as a valid reason for not doing it, as if we are going to lock our kids up in the house all day and never let them leave or talk to anyone! Unfortunately it's these people that seem to scare the living daylights out of  people new to Home Ed and it's usually these people who really have no idea what Home Ed actually is!! As if shutting kids up in a classroom with 20 or so other kids all of the same age is actually normal and how we all should live..... THANK GOODNESS WE AREN'T NORMAL!!! This week we have had a real problem with 'Socialization', in fact I am worn out with it all already and it's not finished yet......

First...Camping with a lovely group of friends at Gibralter Farm, Silverdale

Second....Concerts and performances for Eilidh at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal all afternoon Wednesday and Thursday evening.....after playing all day with friends....

Third.... out and about with Daddy on Friday...

Fourth... on to Sedbergh Folk Festival today..

every Festival has to have mud and lots of it!!

.....and still lots to do next week too...shame the kids don't socialize isn't it!!!

Just Playing about in the River....

The little lads on Rock Island

Launching off....

The girls make their escape...

The Peace of Wild Things

 I have to admit to finding this on someone else's blog but just thought I would share it here.....Peace for me is always found in the wild things...

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come to the place of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come to the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendall Berry
From the poem "THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS"

Woody day...

Yesterday we had a woody day at a friends house. Lots of wood, lots of company, lots of very sharp knives and lots of happy children making whistles, whittling, using shave horses to make weapons(!) lots of smoke from the fire and lots of lovely food!! Great....

Making and sailing reed boats

Whittling 'birdy' whistles.

Busy, busy, busy ....

Lunch outside..yum!

Alice....

Just something a little bit different today....we have a young friend who has terminal cancer, she has been through chemo, radiation and goodness knows what else in the last four years yet has always kept a smile on her face. Her family tirelessly fundraise for different charities  and are a real inspiration to many. Alice has really come to the end of the road in medical terms and just has some things she really wants to do while she still can......please, please pass this on wherever you can.....

Alice's Bucket List

She has already had some incredible offers and the love and kindness which has been shown in the comments are just amazing to read...but make sure you have some tissues handy, you'll need them! Her aim really was to just keep friends and family in touch with what she is doing but this has gone completely mad! She really, really just wants people to become Bone Marrow Donors so other people can be helped so please, if nothing else do this......

Bone Marrow Register

or...Anthony Nolan Trust

Bushcraft and Boats......

 Although I have to admit to trying to avoid most of the Half-Term Activities, and from going anywhere near the touristy spots up here, we have ventured out to a few different places in the last week. Friday is Dad's day as I work so they went off in the boiling hot sunshine to the local Bushcraft Fair at Lakeside loaded up with suncream, spare clothes and lunch. It sounds like they had a great day, a lot of it spent wading in the lake as it was so hot!!   

The swamp monster of Windermere!

Maid Marian

Robin Hood!

Saturday was again spent down by the lake, this time we helped some friends tow their little boat into the water (who has a boat without a tow bar on their car???!!) and packed everything up for a relaxing picnic and play while they went out on the lake. Eilidh and Dave went off for a motor around the islands while Ben happily played on the beach and I read and did some hand hooking. Lovely!

Eilidh the spead freak!

Marooned...

Hours of fun with two fire engines and a beach!!

The Sun has got his hat on......at last!!

Yes, it has actually been sunny here today, in fact it was positvely summer like!! After ending up with a burnt face whilst wrapped up in jumpers and coats at the outdoor craft fayre on Sunday I wasn't taking any chances and stayed in the shade all day...

Once a week we usually end up at our Home Ed friends house, a lovely old farmhouse up a lane with a beautiful wild garden (the best kind!), we share lunch, chat, and the kids play all day.....lovely....

The wild garden....

Their gorgeous old caravan...

Just trying out a new camera!!

A bit of jumping...

Who needs expensive toys when a pile of dried beans and rice keeps them occupied for ages!

Then a little snooze in the 'gypsy tent'