Holy Cards for your Inspiration

A commenter kindly introduced me to her unique blog on which she displays her extraordinary collection of holy cards, some of them over 100 years old. This Hummel Children at Tree Shrine card was one that particularly caught my attention as my mother has a collection of Hummel figurines. I had forgotten that they were based on drawings by a German Franciscan nun, Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel. Reading this site, I discovered that her artwork appeared on holy cards before it was picked up by the Goebel company who manufactured the figures. I love it when things make connections.

Do go and see Micki's beautiful collection of Holy Cards for your Inspiration. I think some of them will make a nice addition to something I am working on for Little Cherub. More about that later!

Whipsnade Zoo

We are lucky enough to live only 15 minutes away from the country branch of London Zoo. Over the years we have been many times, but often in spurts - one-off entry is expensive, so we have occasionally bought annual pass. We binge on the zoo for a year and then take a break. This time I cashed in supermarket clubcard vouchers and took my animal lover, Star, and Little Cherub. Angel opted to stay home with Dad. I think next year I may buy an annual pass for myself to take Little Cherub (under 3s go free), and then take Star occasionally in the school holidays.

Whipsnade Zoo is a big sprawling place that was originally a farm - large enough that you can take your car in (for a hefty fee) and drive round, though it is more fun and more economical to combine walking with hopping on and off the zoo bus. Perched on top of chalk downs overlooking the Vale of Aylesbury, it is in a very exposed position. Whenever we go we either burn, freeze or drown. On Thursday we needed hot chocolate and hot chips, so you can guess which of the three we suffered from.

The sun did come out briefly, just long enough for us to catch these sun-worshipping lemurs taking advantage of it. (I can never see these without longing to take one home as a pet.)

Here are Windsor and Wellington waiting for lunch. We were very impressed by the delicacy with which they could split open an orange, eat the flesh and leave the peel.

We loved these baby mongoose - I'm not sure whether you can distinguish them in this mongoose muddle.
A particularly charming pig (or red river hog, to give him his proper name)

We were lucky enough to spot the elephants out for a stroll. The younger of the two babies was tiny, and had her trunk loosely tied to mum's tail.

Star took Little Cherub for a ride on another elephant ...

Note for any fans of My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell's first zoo experience was as a keeper at Whipsnade.

Countryside and Cloister

I am re-reading Countryside and Cloister by Marie Litchfield, a lovely autobiography of a Carmelite nun who grew up in Somerset during World War II. She and her younger brothers and sisters were educated at home on a shoestring for most of their school years. This is her description of her education ...

My parents obtained permission to teach us at home, for which they were well qualified; and so began the 'Litchfield School' as we liked to call it. It was wonderful - we had occasional lessons, perhaps a whole morning of algebra - but did lots of reading on our own and had plenty of play. ... Father taught us mathematics, Latin and French - or tried to, I should say. Mother's lessons were the more practical ones; needlework and hand-work of various kinds; cookery, and, of course, music. I realise now that we must have been very trying, for she longed for us to play well and enjoy it. I did enjoy it secretly, but there is something about being told - or even asked - to practise that instantly puts some chidren off. I'm afraid that we were a bit uncooperative. It was Mother who guided all our reading, too, and she was brilliant at this. She knew exactly what books we were nearly ready for and kept us just a bit ahead of our capacity, so that reading became for us a continuing joy and a big part of our lives.

So that explains it!

"The trouble is," says Star, "that I think of something to do and then I do it. Then I think about whether or not I should have done it. Then I realise I shouldn't have done it ... but I have."

That would explain why in the course of one day trip to the zoo she:
- threw a (mercifully small) pinecone she was holding at an ostrich.
- pressed a button on a drinks machine that told it she didn't want a cup. Her hot chocolate then dispensed itself down the drain.
- threw the camera bag over my head instead of passing it to me. (No, the camera wasn't in it at the time, but I wouldn't want to bet that would have stopped her.)
- blew into a drink bottle, splattering her face with Pepsi.

Weight Watchers

Two weeks ago I went back to Weight Watchers with my neighbour - time to lose those extra baby pounds (and, I must admit, a few pre-baby) I reasoned.

Today I sent her this text message (cell phone text messaging is cheap and ubiquitous here) ...

At zoo. Cold. Bought chips*. Am giving up Weight Watchers. Too hungry and not motivated.

Well, it was a choice of eating those chips with or without guilt. I chose without guilt. I've decided that Weight Watching while nursing is not for me.

*[Chips = fries]

Thursday Thirteen #10: Decluttering and organising

I'm still in FlyLady mode - maybe more FlyBaby than FlyLady, but baby steps! - so here is a list of things I plan to declutter and organise over the summer.

1. Clear out desk drawers and cupboard (graveyard of ancient stationery, papers and computer bits)
2. Replace clutter in understairs cupboard with one of these, and use it to organise craft materials currently scattered in several places.
3. Freecycle the mountain of stuff in the garage (some ours, some cleared out from my Mum's house at the beginning of the year).
4. File contents of the girls' homeschooling notebook folders in box files, therefore leaving space to ...
5. Move reference books from unit in sitting room to bookcase, leaving space to set up Montessori-ish baskets and toys for Little Cherub.
6. Clear junk in bottoms of wardrobes in our bedroom - mainly duvets, shoes and bags - making space for neat storage boxes.
7. Empty boxes of unused clothes hidden under our bed, and use for storing out of season clothing.
8. Sort "early learning" resources - books, games, manipulatives and so on - into subject specific storage boxes, and find a clear space (!) to store them.
9. Empty out, defrost and reorganise freezers.
10. Declutter disaster zone on top of fridge.
11. Clear out and reorganise plastic drawers in garage, containing mix of old craft stuff (mostly unused for years) and bits and bobs for science experiments.
12. Sort bookshelves. Ruthlessly. Get rid of anything (books or curriculum) I am unlikely to use.
13. Organise cupboards in dining room dresser. Use for dining room related items instead of random craft stuff (see 2 and 11).

Clearing out and reorganising toy storage baskets in Star's room would have been on the list, but I did that yesterday - proving that decluttering is at least possible. If I get through half this list I will be happy. If I get through all of it, I'll be ecstatic. And so will Tevye!

I killed Henry

I killed Henry the hoover :(. Henry the virtually indestructible hoover. Something went wrong with his on/off switch. It wouldn't stay down unless it was held down. So I took him to pieces. I mean, how hard can an on/off switch be? Surely I would be able to find something to tweak. No luck. And when I put him back together he didn't work at all.

Poor Henry is dead, and I murdered him.

And our carpets are sorely in need of a vacuum.

School shopping list

Lest anyone should be under any illusions that school is an economical option, this is my shopping list for September. Per child.

• Two pairs black trousers (or one pair and one black skirt)
• Three white shirts (minimum)
• One clip-on tie (tie-on ties are apparently no longer allowed in case children who can't do them up get teased. How long a clip-on tie will remain clipped onto Star is anyone's guess. I would give it about ten minutes.)
• One maroon jumper (sweater) with school badge
• White socks (Star will appreciate this one. She will normally only wear socks that are both fluffy and stripey). Also black tights if they opt for a skirt.
  
• Black shoes (good quality as they will have a half-hour walk each way)
• Blue sports shirt
• Navy shorts
• Navy track pants (Star already has a pair)
• Trainers (both have these, which will hopefully still fit)
• Football socks
• Football boots
• Shin pads
• Sweatshirt or fleece
• Swimsuit (only for Star, as Angel's year don't do swimming)
  
• School bag
• Sports bag
  
• Shoe bag
• Lunch bag / box
  
• Umbrella
  

Just think of all the books and homeschooling stuff I could have bought!

Homeschooling Top Tens

This thread at the 4Real Learning boards got me thinking. I can never resist a good list (or four), so here are some of my homeschooling favourites.

Top 10 Homeschooling Resources
(not including books or specific curricula)

• Library
• Internet access
• Printer / scanner / copier
• World map and globe
• Handheld microscope
• Plenty of crayons, feltpens and colouring pencils
  
• Gluesticks and scissors (lots of both. They walk.)
  
• Storage (it is all very well having lots of stuff, but you need to be able to find it!)
• CD player
• Educational games
  

Top of my wishlist is a laminator - I want to make Montessori materials for Little Cherub, and I can see myself getting a lot of use out of one.

Now for books and other specific resources, for different age groups ...

Top 10 Early Years Resources (Age 3 to 6)

• Ladybird Key Words books (both old and new series)
• The Lion First Bible
• Catholic Mosaic by Cay Gibson (I'm looking forward to using this with Little Cherub)
• How Children Lived: a First Book of History by Chris and Melanie Rice
  
• Oxford First Book of Animals by Barbara Taylor
  
• Usborne Book of the Seasons
• I is for India and other "alphabet" geography books published by Frances Lincoln
• The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole and other books in the same series (I originally put these in the age 6 to 9 list, but ran out of space!)
• I Spy an Alphabet in Art by Lucy Micklethwait, and other books in the same series. Her Child's Book of Art also looks good.)
• Usborne Big Book of Playtime Activities
  

Top 10 Primary Resources (Age 6 to 9)

• Singapore My Pals Are Here maths
• Saint Patrick's Summer: a Children's Adventure Catechism by Marigold Hunt
  
• The Children's Book of Saints by Hugh Ross Williamson
• Artists Workshop series by Penny King
  
• Children Just Like Me by Barnabas and Annabel Kindersley
• Usborne Time Traveller
• Our Island Story by H.E.Marshall
• Usborne Science Activities (published in 3 volumes, each including 3 separate books)
  
• Home Science Adventures
• Skoldo French (good for beginners, but not enough grammar in the later books)

Top 10 Middle School Resources (Age 9 to 13)

• So You Really Want to Learn English from Galore Park
• Latin Prep, also from Galore Park
• So You Really Want to Learn French. Yes, Galore Park again. Can you tell I like Galore Park's texts?
  
• Conquer Maths
  
• Young Oxford History of Britain and Ireland
• St.Therese and the Roses by Helen Walker Homan, and other biographies of saints in the Vision book series
  
• Artistic Pursuits
• The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker
  
• Blood and Guts by Linda Allison
  
• Inventing the Future by John and Mary Gribbins (History of science. I never got to use this one either - maybe with Little Cherub?)

Lesson learned

Lesson learned from Little Cherub's smash earlier this week. Little Cherub now has her very own kitchen cupboard to explore ...

... and we now have new, dotty crockery from Asda (the UK subsidiary of Walmart). Note rapidly acquired pasta sauce stain on new tablecloth!

First Communion prayers

Please say a prayer for Star's best friend F, who will be receiving her First Holy Communion today.

The euphonium bit me!

Nobody warned me brass instruments could bite. This evening one of the valves on the euphonium stuck as I was playing. I tapped it smartly several times with my finger to try to unjam it ... then caught my finger when it sprang up just as I was tapping (or maybe bashing) it back down. Ouch! I now have a lovely bruise on the tip of my right index finger.

If you are wondering how it is going ... fair to middling, at best. I was getting on quite well - or so I thought - until we went on holiday. Since taking a three week break from playing it is making horrible noises and I keep getting the pitch all wrong.

I don't think it likes me.

There's a cockroach in my kitchen

There's a cockroach in my kitchen, a severed thumb in my sugar bowl, an eyeball in my drink, and bullet holes in my car windscreen.

Star bought a Joke Box.

Ugh!

Thursday Thirteen #9: Google Hits

According to My Blog Log in the last couple of weeks I have received hits from people searching for the following ...

1. hilaire belloc drink before the reformation
2. salt dough, chemistry set
3. elizabeth goudge blog
4. damerosehay (spot the connection?)
5. where did the word kalamari originate
6. bookworm rules (you bet!)
7. world issues badge
8. toaster tweezers
9. st gregory
10. jewish father legacy of love
11. liturgical year notebook
12. facts about life begins at 40
And last but not least ...
13. why is it good to be a bookworm

Little Cherub's smashing time

Little Cherub had a smashing time this morning while Angel, Star and I were distracted checking out the contents of this week's fruit and veg box. All my Portmeirion dinner plates, and all but one of my medium sized plates.

Fortunately, being a part-Jewish household we have two sets of plates (one for meat dishes, one for dairy), and the meat plates are in a higher cupboard so we are not completely plateless. Also our collection was already rather depleted after I had a smashing time of my own a year or so ago (overtired ... slipped ... dropped ...). At least we still have most of a tea set - minus a few plates that were among my breakages.

Moral: Just because a baby is not yet quite ... technically ... a toddler, do not assume you can put off toddler proofing your kitchen. Particularly when you have put most of your crockery in low cupboards so small-to-middling-sized children can easily reach it. And when you have seen your not-quite-toddler stand herself up, open the cupboard and peer into it with interest.

To do list: (1) Buy new, cheap, dinner plates. (2) Reorganise kitchen.

Pedanticism

It sounds as though Karen E's Ramona is heading in the same direction as my literal Angel, who takes pedanticism (is there such a word? the state of being pedantic?) to impressive heights. Surveying the CD on which she had recorded the music she is dancing to for a choreography competition next week she let out a cry of alarm.

"Oh no! I have written 1 minute 15 seconds on it and this is the 1 minute 13 second version!"

"Is that a problem?"

"Miss L says we have to put the time on the CD ..."

Days Out

As the time we have left to go places while everyone else is in school is limited we are taking full advantage of it over the next few weeks. We had a pile of supermarket clubcard vouchers, so cashed them in for free tickets to Chessington World of Adventures, Whipsnade Zoo, Cadbury World and Wicksteed Park.

Today we went to Chessington - all five of us, as Tevye took the day off from work and came too. For him it was a trip down memory lane, as a trip to Chessington with an East End Children's Synagogue was an annual childhood treat. Since then it has changed beyond recognition. (As we are talking 35 years or more since his last visit this is not exactly surprising!) Last time he went it was a zoo with a fairground and circus; now it is a theme park with a small zoo section.

Angel, Star and I are all rollercoaster fans, so the highlight of our day was the Dragon's Fury, a rollercoaster with spinning cars. Star was delighted that she managed to stretch herself just tall enough to get onto Rameses Revenge, which spins the riders through a few full turns before tipping them upside down and squirting water at them. Tevye thought we were mad to go for that one! Little Cherub rode on a pink elephant, a boat, and a vintage car ride, but didn't seem overly impressed by any of them. We were lucky with the weather, which for once did exactly what the forecast predicted - rain in the morning, dry in the afternoon. We got there just as the rain was finishing. Just as well as I was in incompetent parent mode and left the raincover for Little Cherub's pushchair at home. How we are going to miss being able to go to theme parks when they are quiet and have no queues! The only downside to the day was an hour stuck in a traffic jam on the M25 (London's orbital motorway, which teeters permanently on the edge of gridlock).

No photos, I'm afraid, as I was too busy riding on things and Tevye hasn't yet mastered the digital camera.

Chesterton on Education

Random quotes from What's Wrong With the World ...

"The main fact about education is that there is no such thing. It does not exist, as theology or soldiering exist. Theology is a word like geology, soldiering is a word like soldering; these sciences may be healthy or no as hobbies; but they deal with stones and kettles, with definite things. But education is not a word like geology or kettles. Education is a word like 'transmission' or 'inheritance'; it is not an object, but a method. It must mean the conveying of certain facts, views, or qualities to the last baby born. They might be the most trivial facts, or the most preposterous views, or the most offensive qualities; but if they are handed on from one generation to another they are education."

"It is quaint that people talk of separating dogma from education. Dogma is actually the only thing that cannot be separated from education. It is education. A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply a teacher who is not teaching."

"There are no uneducated people. Everybody in England is educated; only most people are educated wrong."

I'm FLYing

Or at least, I'm just about airborne. This week's housewifery has been noticeably less hopeless, though as Tevye puts it, I do sudden bursts of housework at random and bizarre times. I have managed to get through all the basic cleaning, toilets and sinks are all getting regularly swished, laundry is up to date, and I filled one small bag of stuff to take to a charity shop. I didn't make it as far as this week's zone or any full scale flinging, but baby steps! baby steps!

I'm glad to hear I am not the only person who has a problem with remembering to switch things on (or maybe not glad exactly ... just relieved!). On the whole I'm good with putting things in the right place. My problem is getting there. I suffer from a bad case of On The Way Syndrome. The house is littered with items in odd places. Tevye asks about them, only to be told "oh, that's on the way to ...".

As you can probably tell from all this FLYing and LOAFing and Weight Watching, I'm making a major attempt to get various aspects of my life in order this summer.

LOAFing Update #2

Our organic fruit and vegetable box is working out well enough that I'm committing myself to a regular order. We are managing to use everything, though I made a slightly odd looking aubergine dip and forgot to eat it. Nobody liked the smell of the fennel so I smuggled some into a Weight Watchers vegetable rosti recipe. The rosti came out as a heap of smushed grated vegetables, but tasted better than it looked. Angel is already an enthusiast for organic fruit, which she says tastes a lot better than the ordinary kind. This week I bought more, which seemed to be better value than the small bag I bought last week.

The price works out a lot less than buying organic from the supermarket - fifty percent according to my rough calculation for the first box - and only about ten percent more than the equivalent non-organic produce (higher for the fruit, I think, though I didn't check that). I have learned that early June is a bad time for British grown produce. I was surprised that half the contents of the box were imported, but apparently most of the local crops are not ready to start picking until the second half of June. The farm company use their own and their partners produce wherever possible, but during spring they buy in more to fill the boxes and give variety. Nothing is airfreighted, so it doesn't go too far against the L in LOAF (locally produced).

Fair trade? I have added sultanas to my coffee and cookies. A small start, but a start. Organic meat is still largely outside my budget and I haven't yet made a trip to the local butcher - maybe tomorrow? - but I highly recommend Waitrose organic beefburgers.