Some autumn development..

A trip to a local forest/ nature centre gave us insight into which animals might be lurking in the woods. Here we examine tracks and faeces (assumed to be models). We managed to spot some real fox poo, red hairs and all stuck in.






and of course the beauty of the autumn trees, the fine weather recently has really been showing their full glory.


Back home and grandmother unpacks a multisensory stock of spices from Pakistan....

H decides to write down his verdict on Hz's behaviour..

is there not an electrical appliance that can escape his interest? (he'd made some steps out of the drawers he had managed to pull out, mashaAllah)

Some bits from the surface..

Some (almost) instant gratification autumn decoration making, inspired by Itto's blog. MashAllah one not to miss for lifting the iman, creative homeschooling, and seeing how it is to live a world away but have so much in common....
These poor little rosehips were at the receiving end of a post-argument, pre-menstrual needle, and even had a bit of a tangle with Hz's interested paws...


The new place for schoolbags, coordinated nicely doncha think?


and the wires fascination continues.



The new map of the world has been holding some interest, esp populaton density figures!

There's a lot more on my mind but so much to do depite MIL being here, so hope for some time to air it inshaAllah.

Swine flu Vaccination

We've had permission slips and appointments sent home for the children to be vaccinated against swine flu. S wants to have it as he doesn't like the idea of having flu (who does?), H and M don't want to have the 2 jabs. I haven't been following the latest news about Swine flu for a while so am quite unsure how safe the vaccine is, and if it's really necessary. What's your opinion?

From Summer to Autumn..

Is it just me or has blogger just got more annoying? I try to delete photos I've posted erroneously and it doesn't let me by just clicking on it and pressing delete. I try to write text for the photos and it comes out blue and underlined. I try to move photos around the post, it doesn't let me. I then enter the unknown of 'Edit HTML' which does the job but somehow seems a step backward.
Anyway! as I sit here, in my cold living room, with the rain and blustery wind pelting the windows, I take this opportunity of procrastinated photo-uploading, to appreciate the change of seasons. Feet adorned with fluffy socks, I accept theat summer is OVER. It is time for ferreting around in the cellar cupboards for winter clobber and trips to the shops (groan) for new jackets etc where hand me downs just aren't going to do the job.
So here are some snapshots from my phone (Allah knows best where the proper pics are on my computer).


At the end of August we went to Stockholm, hurray, out of Skåne. Here is our 'little red house' about which Biryani makes regular requests to return to and 'climb out the windows' which is how the kids decided was the way in and out of the cabin (Dukes of Hazard eat your heart out).


We only went for 2 nights, but I had to wash Biryani's clothes as the wait at reception was too long for her poor bladder (it had been over a 6 hour drive).



There is a lake in the distance which M was v keen to swim in, and so DH was also obliged to enjoy a freezing dip. This is a ski resort in the Winter.

Stockholm old town, just before it poured with rain.

and back home, Hz catching a late afternoon sunbeam.


The 'flower mountain' on the way to one of the favourite parks in our area.



Biryani

with umbrella, now deceased, partly due to blustery outing we had today.


Some autumn colour at the zoo, it's full glory not shown by the picture, I just couldn't stop looking at those red leaves..

5.58 a.m.

is when my eyes were first open today and they are willing me to let them shut. I had a 7 a.m. washing slot and I wanted to get it in before the little ones woke up. So after Fajr prayers and getting the boys up for school I raced down to the cellar. It was probably a little before 7 a.m. when the machines got going but I hope the neighbours will forgive me.... Why? you might ask, would you want to do washing at this mad time, but the heating is being fixed in our block and I don't have a tumble drier so have to use downstairs, and I think everyone else is doing the same so there's no decent slots and and oh I'm getting bored....enough of Swedish laundry room talk...
These blog posts are getting fewer and further between, and I spend much brainpower trying to work out how I can make more efficient use of time. It seems increasingly hard to come by. What is the reason?one word: Hz
Today he manged to climb into his high chair via the stool and sit himself in it quite nicely. The other day he managed to tip the IKEA high chair down, which thankfully I was near enough by to catch it, and it hadn't been one of my lax days where I'd not bothered with the belt. He does this thing of rocking back and forward in it, and often falls asleep this way (sounds a bit Russian orphanage, but really, he likes it). So he rocked so violently that the whole thing fell forward, despite the legs being designed to give stability and trip up unsuspecting adults as a side effect.
He also manages to pull himself round the kitchen whilst in the chair to check out things like the knives in the sink.
First proper 'emergency' trip to the doctor's last week (inevitable (he's a male)) was when he'd pulled the stone attachment to the barbeque on to his finger and cut it, breaking the top bit of his fingernail off. In the end the nurse wasn't too concerned and now I've given up with the plasters as he just pulls/ bites them off.

Things I can't do when he's awake (without major stress)
go on computer
cook
sew
fold washing
tidy up
wash floor
make phone calls
and it goes on


Things I can do, unharrassed, when Hz is awake:
wash up
hoover (though he gets scared of the noise)
play with him

yes in an ideal, romantic, totally unrealistic world, playing with him should be what we are mostly doing. My trip to the park was in hope of some play and a safer environment than the kitchen appliance laden home, but ended in a trip to the doctor's .
I know it's a phase, I know it's no fault of his and it's normal and it's a test of patience, but the words NERVOUS, BREAKDOWN, no , no, no,
but S replied to one of my (joking) statements:I paraphrase 'But the orphanage won't cope with this behaviour'

Hz, I love you and that's why I'm still sane..

Eid Mubarak!

So much to write, so little time! It was prayers, pressies and funfair for Eid day, and a trip to the Animal Park on Monday.

A bear, yes they have them in Sweden. This zoo has mainly animals native to Sweden.
M was a bit cold maybe?!

Biryani appreciated this outing the most I think...

Still here..

just we have all been ill (not swine flu alhamdulillah) but with coughs and colds and general dizziness.
I wake in the morning and think summer has ended and then it brightens up. I think the children are getting fed up with me insisting on wearing their jumpers to school as they get hot later, oh well better than the other way round...
Biryani(and the boys) have had a social training weekend (sorry, I am getting messages from the Home ed forum from Sweden and it has not been only me who's been refused permission for this reason). It's the first time she's really interacted fully with other girls. Normally she's happy to run around giggling with her brother's friends but it was nice to see her having some proper play time with other girls. She also said a short phrase in Swedish which she must have just picked up from them. Otherwise it was lots of giggles and over acting to compensate for the language barrier....

Not much more to say at the mo'

Umar said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say when breaking his fast:

"Dhahaba al-zama' wa abtalat al-'urooq wa thabata al-ajr in sha Allaah

(Thirst is gone, the veins are moistened and the reward is certain if Allaah wills)."




Narrated by Abu Dawood, 2357; al-Daaraqutni, 25. Ibn Hajar said in al-Talkhees al-Habeer (2/202): al-Daaraqutni said, its isnaad is saheeh

Summer is going on just a bit longer...

A quick post just before Ramadhan and some random pictures from the summer (which is reappearing, much to my tomato and chilli plants delight!)

This is why there are v few safe places to put things inthe kitchen!

A fine harvest(!?) if you consider the plants were practically dried up sticks that somehow managed to come back to life. There are more to come if Hz doesn't get to them first...

Ramadhan Mubarak, may it be beneficial to you all amin!

The Outings!

Foteviken Viking museum: with our Viking guide

Inside the reconstructed Viking houses, partaking in a little pretend feasting...

The boys seemed to want to remove the teeth from these jaw bones, they were unsuccessful.(which was fortunate, see later)

M and Biryani marvel at the sight and feel of fox hides. I couldn't bear to touch them! It was a very hands-on museum.

Viking weapons which you can imagine were highly popular!

Battering some 'silver' left over from coin making.

Teaspoon, desertspoon or just plain greedyspoon?

Some more manly viking activities, chopping wood.

and then a chance to make it in to something, Viking style.

Making flour, a fellow tourist from Ghana said they still use the same equipment there.

Did you notice how many of the pictures involved the kids touching things? Well, I have calmed down now, but the friendly guide told us we can touch as try anything in the museum as long as we don't take it home with us. One other member of staff decided otherwise, and basically made one of my kids cry and I had tears welling, as 'This isn't a playground'. We had moved a few items, shut a few doors, nothing broken, nothing destroyed. Ok, so I'd had to call them down from the roof of a house and advise not to wave swords like a real battle, but here was no harm done. I ended up not saying anything except trying to calmly explain that we'd been told they could touch things. I really felt like having a go after my kid's tears appeared as did DH, but we didn't want to be chucked out as the kids had been enjoying it so much.

And now from wood to plastic as we enter Legoland Billund

only these photos as DH took them and most had the kids in, I stayed behind with the little'uns.

Now it's been back to school, with all 3 big ones in the same school! The season of timetables, homework and routines!

A surprise of sorts..

Probably not a frequent activity amongst home educators, but those of us with schoolkids have to be on the lookout for slips of paper sent home from teachers. Well, I have been relying maybe too heavily on them being delivered into my hands, and so yesterday I needed to use one of the kids' rucksack and what did I find? The school note informing us that school starts the day after tommorrow!! Normally their school goes back a week after the mainstream in the early 20s of August but not this year apparently. This summer holidays has been characterised by the first half trying to get the car sorted and therefore doing things close to home. In between has been hub going off here and there in Europe with plane related things, swimming school, and a final flurry to use to do those activities for which I had free entrance tickets etc. I still have 2 activities planned but they will now have to be postponed to a weekend I suppose, alhamdilillah, But I am hoping that I can go somewhere more than half and hours drive away from home before Winter hits, just to check out the rest of the world is still there...



So here are some close-to-home snippets:







M conquering the climbing wall




Biryani playing with the neighbour's grandchildren's bubbles (always a hit with 3 year olds!)

Hz's favourite area of our park to wander about without being told 'Nooo!' and a big flagpole to try to shake down....

An egg H found (isn't it the wrong time of year, it was too small and round for a chicken's egg).

and the hunters stalk their prey...

The prey

A snippet of conventional education stuff..

I've been doing a bit of English work with the boys: S doing spellings along with word meanings when they come up. I take words from the series of Unforunate events books he's been reading. Last year or maybe it was the year before, these were recommended to me, but he found them too wordy. Now they're about right for him. We've been doing words like 'mischief' 'orphan' 'assume'. M seems to have the greatest difficulty spelling dipthong vowels (like many children I expect) and their various spelling, e.g. 'ow' 'ay'. This ends up being a difficulty with homophones e.g plane, plain.
H is really needing to practice his writing, and I can see the effect that left handedness has on it (ie makes it harder) He's never been keen on putting pen to paper, drawing etc. Funny, he' s just asked me if he can do some drawing, did he read what I was writing from across the room?
Today H has just asked me how cement is made and can we make some! After looking it up, it seems little chance of this being possible as we need a stone crusher, and an oven that goes above 1000C (mine only does 250C) so maybe we'll head out to the sandpit and make some pretend cement.

Just back from the beach..

Today's been a hot one after a long batch of 'showery' weather. So we went down to the local beach this evening. Fun was had flinging stones into the water, a dolly was lost and found and we saw what turned out to be not too serious ambulance and fire engine episode.