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January
2010
6th I have been pretty
useless at updating this site for the last 6 months or so. New years resolution - Keep the web site up to date!!!
Recent events and acheivements - Jessica has done very well in her ice skating this past year.
She recently passed Level One Compulsory Dance and she is working on her Level One Field Moves, Level One Original Dance and
Level Two Compulsory Dance. Jacob is now on Grade 7 and is doing very well. Both performed in the Christmas Ice
Show for a week in December.
Jacob's home education is going very well. Still not reading but
his maths skills are very good. I am fairly certain he is dyslexic but can't have him assessed for a couple of years
yet.
We are very busy with Ice Skating 4 times a week, swimming lessons, Theatre Train, Brownies, Badgers,
Home education meetings, trips out etc, etc. Not spending very much time at home.
Jessica auditioned
for a part in a TV Commercial filmed on ice, she actually got the job but the local council child employment team refused
to process the licence application for her as it was short notice. So, she didn't get to take part in the commercial after
all. Shame.
The children have taken an interest in making short movies and using the movie editor on the
computer. They have their own You Tube page with all their videos on.
Jessica is still on waiting
lists regarding her autism. I have begun an Open University course on Understanding Autism in the 21st Century, so that
I can have more understanding myself. Enjoying the course and have now signed up to do 2 more, starting in a few months
time.
UPDATE
Well, what can I say? I have got a bit behind with updating this site haven't I? I shall write a quick update
and then start again from September I think, easier than trying to remember everything we've done in the past 4 months!
Jessica is doing well with her Ice Skating and has competed at Riverside and Gillingham in the regional ice dance
league. She is currently perparing for her level one tests.
Jacob is doing brilliantly with his maths and
science. He is getting more interested in reading and is starting to recognise a few words.
We went to Scotland
to Craig Tara Holiday Park in May and went to see a man called Ian Jordan while we were there. He specialises in children
with special needs and has a great reputation for being able to help with visual perception problems etc. He suggested
that Jessica may have ADHD and ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) as well as the autism. He found visual perception
problems aswell and provided Jessica with a special pair of blue tinted glasses. He was very insightful.
Jessica
passed an NVQ level 2 in Singing. She wants to do an NVQ level 2 in creative writing next.
Jessica performed in
Rythmn and Blues at the Sadlers Wells Theatre in June and she did very well.
Both Jess and Jacob have attended
auditions for the Scallywags Agency. Jacob did one for a garden safety commercial and a kitchen catalogue and Jessica
did a screen test for a Disney commercial. They didn't get the parts but Jess was in the final 4 for hers.
They really enjoyed auditioning and hope to get some more auditions after the summer.
APRIL
I haven't updated this past month as it has been a busy month. We went to Butlins for
a week which was a nice break. Jessica has spent a lot of time writing stories and making up musicals. Jacob has
found he enjoys maths and is racing ahead with it. This month we attended workshops at Danbury Country Park, one day
with Jacob, the next with Jessica. Jacob really enjoyed himself and made some new friends. Jessica passed Gold Ice Dance and is now on Level one. Once she
has passed Level One Field Moves she will be eligible to compete. Jessica took part in a Holiday Club at church. It had a jungle theme. She enjoyed
spending time with her friends. I,
personally, have been spending time trying to get the garden sorted ready for the summer. Jacob helped me to mend the
broken lawn mower.
MARCH
2nd Jessica received her Entertainers badge at Brownies
for performing in the Ice Show at Christmas. 5th We went into London to the Tate Modern where we met up with other local home educators.
We did various activities relating to Cubism and the State of Flux exhibits. We then went to Covent Garden and listened
to a string quartet. Jessica recognised several of the pieces of music they played. We had a good day
and also discussed the architecture of various buildings that we passed. Jacob passed his grade 5 ice skating and can now join the Junior Skating Club. 12th We went to the
Science Museum today. The kids enjoyed a workshop called 'Short Circuit' about circuits and electricity.
Jacob then attended a workshop called 'Whizz Bang' with the other children in our home education group while Jessica
had a play in the Launch Pad with me. We only just made it back home in time for swimming lessons. 27th Jacob has now
finished the KS1 Science Curriculum. He was very interested in it and enjoyed doing the work. He can't wait
to get started with KS2 Science. He is also steaming ahead with his maths. Still not recognising letters
or reading though. No interest there whatsoever, happy for me to read for him and write for him - he just gives
me the answers. 30th
Jessica's 9th Birthday!! We had a lovely day and visited friends. Jessica went to Brownies and did some
Easter crafts. 31st
Jessica is doing well with her ice dancing. This month she has passed her bronze and silver Ice Dance and her bronze
single skating. She is now skating with a boy called Sam when she is at the Ice Dance Club and it is hoped that they
will start to train together soon.
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| Jessica and Sam |
FEBRUARY
12th I haven't updated this site for a few weeks, we have been
pretty busy with day to day stuff. We had a lot of snow last week and the children enjoyed making a snowman in the garden.
The local schools were all shut because of the weather. Writing out a daily activity sheet has been working very
well. I do try to get everything on the list done each day, but if we don't manage, I move things to the following day
if convenient. I am fairly relaxed about it.
Jessica and Jacob are doing very well in their ice skating. Jessica is going to try the
Ice Dance club next week. Hopefully, Jacob will get a place in the Junior Skating club soon.
Jacob is sailing through the KS1 science curriculum. He really enjoys doing his science
workbook with me. He is also doing extremely well in Maths. He is still not recognising letters though, so reading
is not going well at all yet. Back to the drawing board with that one.
Jessica is still enjoying Brownies and was made 'Brownie of the Year' for 2008. She was
really pleased about that. She is now a 'sixer' and is looking forward to this year's Brownie camp.
17th Jessica is doing very well with her ice skating and is showing
a talent for ice dance. She joined the ice dance club today and did really well. She doesn't know very many of
the set dances yet but she is learning. She only has one element to pass on Free skating and ice dance in order to pass
her bronze award.
19th Jacob's 5th birthday! We had a great day and both kids
really enjoyed themselves. We had house guests most of the day and annoyed the neighbours with our Playstation Singstar.
They couldn't complain though as they had been invited aswell.
JANUARY
1st We went to see Cinderella at the
local theatre today. It was very good.
6th I have been experimenting with new ways of timetabling our
activites. It seems to work best if I type up everything I have planned for the next day in a list, with the time listed
in half hourly - hourly intervals. This way, Jessica can look and see exactly what we are doing that day and when.
It also ensures that I make better use of our time. Sometimes Jacob can get carried away playing on the Playstation
and I will just leave him to it as it means he is quiet, entertained and I can get on with housework or doing something with
Jessica. I now allocate him a couple of short timeslots a day, for computer games, and he is learning that when I say
'switch it off now' I mean it.
I have started to cover curriculum work with Jacob now and he has his own maths and science workbooks
from CGP. His is still struggling to recognise letters but we are working on it slowly. I have had some
good advice from the Ambleside website, which covers the Charlotte Mason teaching method, and this looks like a good route
to take with Jacob.
29th We joined other home educators today, at the Police Museum.
We learned about observation skills, and played various observation games. The children looked around the museum and
dressed up as police officers. Jacob bought himself a pair of handcuffs which he wore all the way home!
DECEMBER
6th We all attended a wedding today. Jessica was a ring bearer
and she did a very good job of it. Later the same day we went to a disabilities group Christmas party. The kids
really enjoyed the obstacle course that was set out for them, and the bouncy castles.
13th We enjoyed a nice day out to Colne Valley Railway.
We travelled on the Santa Special train and the children received a gift from Santa.
15th -21st Jessica performed in Snow White at the Riverside Ice Rink. She
did the show 10 times in one week. Rather exhausted by the end of it.
18th We attended the Home Educators Christmas Party and Jessica took part
in the talent show, singing and dancing to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Originally Jacob was supposed to have
dressed up as the Christmas Tree but he changed his mind.
NOVEMBER
5th We took part in a Victorian Workshop at Hylands House this
morning. We made Victorian Christmas cards and had a tour of the house. Jessica and Jacob got a bit bored during
the tour and Jessica did not like going into the basement of the house where the old kitchens were. It was a very
interesting tour and very well presented. Afterwards we had a walk around the grounds of the house.
9th Jessica went to Legoland with her Brownie pack today.
She really enjoyed herself and bought an Indian Dream Catcher to make at home.
11th We made a lot of dough stars today to decorate our Christmas
tree. Jessica had a go at making the dream catcher but I ended up doing it for her as it was a bit tricky.
13th Jacob passed grade 4 ice skating today and Jessica got her
15 metres swimming badge. (Though I notice from previous diary entries that she already passed that in May!)
19th We went to the Natural History Museum today. We
managed to see a bit more of the museum than we usually do. Jacob's favourite part was the earthquake section and Jessica's
was the crystal displays. They both chose some rocks for their collection, from the shop. Afterwards we
went ice skating at the outdoor rink at the museum. It was lovely skating outdoors just as it was getting dark and the
lights were on in the trees. We did have to be careful not to skate over any fallen leaves as that proved rather dangerous!
29th Jessica competed in the Future Cheer Winter Wonderland competition
in Brentwood, Essex. Her team did well, but not as well as in previous competitions and Jessica was a bit disappointed.
She coped very well with nearly 11 hours of watching cheerleading. Jacob, however, only lasted until lunch time
and had to be taken home by his Grandparents. (don't blame him really).
OCTOBER
2nd Jessica passed her grade 10 ice skating today and Jacob passed
his grade 3, so both of them are feeling very proud of themselves. Jacob is getting a lot more confident on the ice
and enjoys chatting to others while he skates around the rink.
6th - 10th Had a few days at Butlins. Jessica and Jacob did
lots of creative stuff, made carnival masks, clown hats and ties, sleep masks etc. Jessica also did archery and fencing.
Jacob took part in football training. We saw several shows which we all enjoyed.
13th We went to London Zoo today. We saw a lovely parrot
display and met a meercat called Mara and learned all about a hawk. Jessica and Jacob loved watching the penguins being
fed. Jessica's favourite animals were the meercats and Jacob's was the tiger (though we didn't see the tiger for very
long). It was a beautiful autumn day and the trees in Regent's Park were fantastic colours.
20th - 21st We took advantage of the National Schools Films Week
this week and went to see WallE on the Monday and Mr Majorium's Wonder Emporium on the Tuesday. I had already downloaded
the worksheets to go with each film and we enjoyed doing the tasks involved. We also made an short animated
film using robots built by the children.
SEPTEMBER
Well, the schools have gone back and Jacob is now officially home educated, hooray.
Jessica is very pleased that Cheerleading, Brownies, Swimming etc are starting up again. She is going to do an extra
Cheerleading class on a Thursday evening which finishes just 30 minutes before her swimming lesson starts at the other side
of town, so careful planning required!!
Jessica has several appointments relating to her ASD this month which I hope won't be too stressful
for her. Jacob will enjoy them as it means he can spend some time at Grandma and Grandad's.
9th I had a phone call today from one of our local primary schools
asking why Jacob hadn't turned up for his first day!! We hadn't registered with any of the primary schools so not sure
why they thought he would be attending. Hope I don't have to now deregister him from a school he has never been to.
Silly old Education Authority. I have found some very nice web sites with resources for Jacob's home schooling,
mostly they are american sites, as home education is much more common over there than it is in the UK. I will post links
to the sites when I get myself organised.
27th Jessica has had 3 appointments so far this month. An
intelligence test a couple of weeks ago, health check last week and the ADOS test (autism diagnostic observation schedule).
Jessica did very well, but I found the ADOS test very upsetting as I was not allowed to help her at all. It made me
realise how much I have to prompt Jessica to talk, make eye contact, stop chewing her hair, sit still etc. etc. it was
difficult to watch her struggle. I am now awaiting feedback from the ADOS.
Some acheivments this month aswell. Jessica is now on her grade 10 ice skating. She
then goes on to bronze, silver and Gold.
Jacob enjoyed skating with another couple of home schooled boys this week. He is very sociable
and makes friends very quickly. I have been attempting to teach him to read but it is not going well. I have tried
the Montessori reading lessons but he was not really coping with it. Gone back to the absolute basics and we are going
to learn one letter a week until he knows his whole alphabet, able to recognise all lower and upper case letters and not just
singing the alphabet song by heart (he can do that but he can not recognise the letters if he sees them).
AUGUST
We didn't really do much worth writing about in August. Our routine changes so much due
to sporting classes and social clubs being closed down for the school holidays. Spent a bit of time with Jacob,
trying out different workbooks and websites. He really prefers to work on the computer than sitting doing a workbook
with me.
26th & 27th July Jessica took part in the BCA International Cheerleading
Championships in Telford this weekend. She did very well. Her team came 3rd and won a huge trophy. She
really enjoyed herself and is looking forward to the next competition.
JULY
10th Today Jessica completed her yr 4 maths course with Meleto
Maths, an internet maths tutor. She scored 97.3 percent accuracy for the entire course which is pretty good! I
was rather annoyed that, in the final review lesson, she was marked wrong for writing 'no' without a captial letter.
The question was about equal fractions and she had to answer yes or no depending on wether the 2 fractions she was shown were
equal or not. It said the correct answer was 'No' not 'no'. How ridiculous!!! Jacob enjoyed doing a Gold
Stars Maths CDRom with me today. It is meant for age 5-7 yrs but he managed to do quite a lot of it. His attention
span is increasing and he usually wants to carry on for a lot longer than I intend him to.
12th I found this advert in the local newspaper today. It
is a good advert for Home Educating!!
JUNE
3rd I started putting together a proposed timetable for when I
start to home educate Jacob properly. I am actually looking forward to him leaving nursery so we can get on with it.
His home education is going to be mostly play based with a bit of time set aside for doing workbooks, which he loves.
I am using a picture timetable so he can see what we are planning for the day. As is usual for our home education,
any timetable we use is just a guide and not set in stone.
4th We went to a local home educators meeting today. It is
held in a library. Jessica had an accident while we were there, she cut her head on the corner of a book shelf and had
to go to hospital to have the cut glued as it was still bleeding an hour later. She was very good, as was Jacob.
We later went for a long walk down Southend pier and we are considering doing a history and geography project based on the
pier as it has quite a history and many stories to tell.
5th Jacob achieved his grade one ice skating badge today.
Not bad for his first proper lesson. He was very pleased with himself.
19th Jacob passed grade 2 ice skating today. We attended
a local home education meeting and made kites out of toilet roll tubes, crepe paper and carrier bags.
27th The LEA have now agreed to giving Jessica a statutory assessment.
This decision was made as a result of the Eduational Psychologists report, which I haven't seen yet. So next months
tribunal has now been cancelled. Jessica still wants to be home educated but if I ever had to return her to school at
least the transition would be less painful with a statement in place.
We are caring for 6 kittens at the moment. A neighbours cat moved into our house about
6 weeks ago after deciding she preferred it here! Her kittens were born 18 days ago. They have conjunctivitis
at the moment and I am putting ointment in their eyes twice a day. The smallest of the litter is also being fed kitten
milk formula as it is not growing at the same rate as the others. They are very cute, but are beginning to walk a few
steps so no doubt my home will become a giant kitten playground within the next week! I shall put a few photos of the
kittens on the site soon.
Jessica was using the computer this afternoon and decided to recreate the Solar System using
Microsoft Paint. Here is the finished result.
29th The kittens will be 3 weeks old tomorrow and I have managed to get
a few nice photos of them today. One of the kittens was hiding so there are only 5 kittens in the photos.
 MAY
I haven't written much during May as we have had a busy month with various appointments.
Jessica was seen by an educational psychologist and we are still waiting for his report to arrive. She was also
seen at the Ear, Nose and Throat clinic where she was prescribed nose drops and nasal spray as she has asthma in her upper
airways aswell as her lower airways. We saw a paediatrician a couple of weeks ago who, after 20 minutes, said that there
was not much wrong with Jessica apart from elective mutism. We received a letter from her psychiatrist a few days later
stating that Jessica is a very complex girl with quite severe Asperger's Syndrome. So not feeling very confident about
the NHS at the moment, they do not communicate with each other at all. The Local Education Authority have been annoying
me aswell. A few months ago I thought I would try to get Jessica a statement of special educational needs as I thought
a couple of days a week at the local special needs school might be good for her. Needless to say the LEA have refused
and have been very underhanded in a lot of their dealings with her case. They are also saying that they are not prepared
to spend the money on a statutory assessment as she is home educated. We are due to go to tribunal in July but I have
lost the heart for it and now know that home education is definately the way for us. I have now decided that Jacob
will definately be home educated aswell. He has made friends at the local home ed groups and the freedom to go, and
do, what we like, when we like is too good to give up.
Jessica spent 5 days at Brownie Camp this month and she really enjoyed it. She took
part in canoeing, abseiling and archery while she was there. She did very well. Jacob was pleased to have the
computer to himself for a few days.
We attended 2 local home education groups this month. At one they made necklaces out of a huge
assortment of beads provided by one of the other mums. The other meeting was all about things that spin and Jessica
made a spinner out of thread and card.
This month Jessica also achieved her 15 metres swimming award. So some good stuff happening
to balance out the rubbish we have been subjected to via the NHS and LEA!
APRIL
7th We enjoyed a lovely tour of the Palace Theatre, Southend, with other local
home educators. It was very interesting and informative. Jessica and Jacob both had fun exploring the theatre
and Jessica especially liked having a little dance on the stage.
11th - 19th On holiday in the Netherlands. We stayed at a lovely holiday
park called Duinrell which is near The Hague. It is built into the sand dunes and has beautiful woodland areas for exploring.
We go to the Netherlands at this time of year in order to visit the Keukenhof Gardens at Lisse. Keukenhof is only open
for 2 months of the year and displays the most fantastic colours and varieties of spring flowers. It also exhibits some
rather brilliant and bizarre sculptures. The flowers were a bit late to bloom this year so the gardens were not as colourful
as they had been this time last year but were impressive none the less. Jessica and Jacob both chose their favourite
flowers out of the thousands of varietys on display. Jacob chose a mix of pink and yellow flowers called Pink Giant
and Tete a Tete. Jessica chose some pink hyacinths called Lady Derby. We had a lovely week though Jessica became
unwell towards the end and we had to make use of the Netherlands health service.
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| Lady Derby |
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| Pink Giant and Tete a Tete |
25th We enjoyed a trip to the science museum in London today. Jacob
enjoyed making bubbles and both Jessica and Jacob loved making a shadow video which we could email to ourselves to watch at
home. We met up with some other home educating families and Jacob especially liked meeting some new children.
After the science museum we made a beeline for the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, always a favourite with Jacob.
As the Tube was running so badly, we ended up taking a detour home via the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. I took
the opportunity to discuss our recent history project about the Tudor period.
30th We had a lovely meeting with a local home educators group at Southend
Library today. Jessica and Jacob learned about making electric circuits and they made a working lamp. It was interesting
to see how Jacob payed a lot of attention to what we were doing and took great interest in it. Jessica did well but
found it hard to concentrate for any length of time. We later headed off for the Sealife Centre and had a look
at their favourite fish, the angel fish and the ray fish. They had a nice long play in the soft play area which was
practically empty (another good thing about home educating is that we get to go to places like this when it is quiet and all
the other children are at school!). Jessica's tooth was very loose today and was hurting her, which she says is why
she could not concentrate at the library, it has now fallen out!
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