Happy New Year!

2010 sees the streets here with up to 30cm+ of snow. I can't actually remember now when the pavements were not covered in snow or ice. The snow is preferable as at least you can walk on parts of it, but in a few days after frosts every night it will again become difficult to walk. All the main roads here are kept clear but that is tricky if you can't get your car to access the main roads. Also on the news last night it appears the council here has 5 days of grit left and this weather is set to continue longer than that so it looks like a bad situation.
If we had snow like this yearly I think we could cope because we would have snow chains and snow gear. But because it is freakishly rare everything comes to a stand still. I have enjoyed all the phone calls this week cancelling the kids activities meaning we haven't had to leave the house in the evening. I don't mind attempting it in the day when things have thawed a bit. Although saying that at some traffic lights the other week, my brakes locked on ice and had there have been a car in front I would have crashed. It was scary but worse was I hate the feeling under your foot as it happens. I wasn't even driving fast but having no brakes there when I need to stop is not something I want to repeat.
I have had to head out daily to the shops to buy things like milk as I can't get my Mum's car out of our roads. Today's plan involves shovelling the snow in the hope the car may be able to be used again. Not least because I don't want my Mum walking to the shops. To get to the local shops you have to go up a hill then down a hill and subway, fine if you have a snowboard or skis mind!

Anyway we had a nice Christmas, marred by a virus we have all had. Symptoms ranging in severity but when I was ill with it I was worried it was swine flu and still don't know for sure it wasn't. I am on the mend now after over 2 weeks of cold, then awful cough, then high fever, aches, pains and shiver. J has had fever for his 3rd day now and M still has the choking cough but not much fever.


M actually did one day of school this week. She was excited about trying it out, I think thinking it would be like a holiday club. When I collected her she wasn't happy and I realised when I got her home, she had not eaten or drunk ANYTHING all day. The children have to leave lunch bags outside so her food and drink was too cold and left untouched. I think she will try school again but it has since been closed because of the snow, but I was keeping her off anyway as her cough is awful and exacerbated by the cold weather.
On the walk to the school we looked at some fab icicles I took a photo of, so we had done science before we even got there!

That brings me onto schools. I have a confession. I DON'T LIKE SCHOOLS.
I used to worry about saying that but now I don't. I know most people will never be able to understand my objections to it. I mean it is after all a lovely place for kids to be, where they are excited and learning all the time and socialising aren't they. Well NO actually they aren't, but my kids however, living in the REAL society with REAL opportunities are.
In fact whilst thinking about this the other day, an analogy came to mind.

If a seeing person was trying to describe colour to a person who has never had sight, although the blind person may have their idea of what colour is in their minds, they can never really truly understand what blue is, or red is. I have realised this also applies to home-educators and parents who don't. I can explain home-education and learning etc to a non home-educator, but unless they have actually experienced it for themselves they will never TRULY get home-education, they just won't.

This year is a powerful one for me. I have decided against tiptoeing around peoples feelings about me home-educating, namely my friends who don't. I am actually going to refuse to answer anymore prying questions about it as I don't pry into why they make their decisions that way yet because I do something different, somehow it is seen as okay to grill me. I also hate the awkward air feeling if you mention anything about home-education. Well I am fed up of it now and not going to play the game anymore. I am out and proud :-)