endings and beginnings......

this is a REALLY LONG post......

just sayin'.....

Today is the end of an era.....
it's been a long time coming and yet feels like it is here in a heartbeat....
it's Isaac's last day at school today and that just feels extremely odd.....
it makes me feel quite old and nostalgic if I am honest.....

 over the next four weeks he has his final school exams to take
and a Leavers Ball to enjoy but there will be no more classes and no more homework....
hopefully there will be some revision though!

When Isaac was tiny we decided that we would be home educating him; we saw no need for him to 'go to school' when we could provide everything needed at home for him to learn, grow and develop. We came to learn that it was a tricky concept for most people to come to terms with - this 'home education' lark prompted so many questions - most of which centred around that fact that a lot of people believed that somehow our children would be socially disadvantaged because they had not spent 7 hours a day in a classroom with a large group of children the same age as them.  I quickly realised that this was the most frequent question I would get asked for the next 12 years or so and actually still get asked today when people find out that Isaac {and Evie} were home educated for most of their lives to this point.  

For those who may read this who do not home educate, or have never thought of home education as a viable option for them, let me assuage your concerns and tell you that, from my experience, children will not become socially inept because they are educated 'at home'.  I put the words 'at home' in quotation marks because much of our education did not happen in our home. We spent many hours with friends in outdoor spaces, on days out to various local museums, parks, libraries, play spaces, National Trust properties, mountains, local community colleges, theatres...... let's just say that we had to make sure we scheduled in time to be at home as there were so many opportunities for us to be elsewhere.

And since when has education been limited to a time or place?  In my humble opinion it can, and does, happen anywhere and at any time!  I started to read to Isaac in the first few months of his life and not a day would go by when we wouldn't read books together {I actually continued to read aloud to Isaac and Evie nearly every afternoon until they were pre-teens!}.  In the very early years, it was me reading aloud to him, finding favourite stories that we would read again and again {and again, until I was almost ready to 'loose' that book but could never bring myself to do so} and then, it seemed overnight, Isaac could read by himself and that opened up a whole new world for him....  he was an avid, voracious and expansive reader who would pick up anything and read it....... I loved that about him...... books were his 'thing'..... well, books and lego!  He spent hours reading and building and playing.  One of his favourite things to do was to spend time in the garden {we were blessed with, in inner city terms at least, a large garden and this was the most amazing learning space for our kids} where he would use the left over pipes and guttering {it was an older house that needed complete renovation when we moved in so there was always lots of building supplies lying around} and he was fascinating by moving water {he called it 'uddy water'}.  He would spend hours building the most intricate of water systems out of whatever he could find and then spend just as long pouring water into the top end and watching as it moved through the maze of pipes and gutters and came out at the bottom end.  We always thought he would end up being an engineer because he loved working out the way things worked and why they worked and how they worked...... 

Education is a lifelong journey..... it doesn't start at 8.50 and finish when the final bell of the day rings.  It is something that is organic and continuous..... happening at all times and in all places. There are very few periods in life where we are not learning something and Brian and I were truly convinced that, as long as we allowed his questions and explorations, he would thrive.

We did try taking him along to a nursery for two afternoon sessions a week but he was not a happy camper and really didn't want to stay.... he kept telling me that they wanted him to play but he wanted to read books, they wanted him to paint or do something messy and he didn't like to get messy..... a couple of years later I did take him, along with Evie, to a local community college where we all did pottery classes and, guess what?..... he still didn't enjoy getting messy {it's just 'not his thing'} but he did make some fantastic ceramic pieces which we still love to this day.  I completely get that pre-school or nursery need to have structures in place because of the logistics of having the amount of children who are in each class {and also because they are given Government targets to fulfil} but it just didn't suit us as a family and certainly didn't suit Isaac as an individual.  He wanted to be home with me and his little sister, exploring the garden, reading his books and having after lunch quiet time in his room {which continued for many years in our house!} and I was happy to facilitate this.  Some people may think that I was being dictated to by my 3/4 year old..... I certainly don't believe that I was..... I was listening to him, to what he enjoyed {and didn't enjoy} and I was trusting my own instincts that told me he would be happier at home and would thrive just the same - in all ways.  Brian and I were very comfortable to allow him to pursue the things he enjoyed and which seemed to be teaching him so much about the world around him.  He still interacted with other children {of all ages} at church, in the local cub scout group, at our home ed gatherings and within other friendship groups so he wasn't isolated in any way but he was able to join in when he wanted and to withdraw when he was 'full up' with being with others.  It's funny that Brian has worked in schools/education for Isaac's entire life and has often made the observation that children can be isolated at school or unhappy at school or disengaged at school - they are who they are regardless of where their education takes place.  Being home educated does not make them 'awkward' or 'introverted' - they would probably have those characteristics/personality traits wherever their education took place - school probably makes it more difficult for them to be 'who they really are'.  Going to school does not necessarily make you more 'social' or more 'well balanced', in fact I believe that it can have the opposite effect and being home educated does not make you an introvert or socially inept - again it can have the opposite effect.  Children's personalities are complex things and we can't have a 'one-size-fits-all' system and think that it is the right thing for everyone.  Now I'm not knocking school..... for some it is their only choice and for others, looking back, it was a blissful place of friendship and enjoyment but for many it is not the right 'fit'.   However, people don't feel they have a choice about the education of their child because they either are not aware of the choices or because they can't financially make a different choice.  School is, by default, the place that the majority of children end up and, if I am honest, I'm not sure it's always the right place.....

Isaac had his first taste of school when we made our first move to Australia.  Brian was appointed as head of faculty at a school in Ballarat, Victoria with the specific goal of introducing a qualification in Philosophy at VCE level {A level in the UK}.  Isaac was keen by this stage {he was 9 years old} to 'have a go' and see what school was like so we enrolled him into a grade 4 class and he began to attend school for the first time.  There were things he enjoyed - especially spending time with his class teacher who understood him in a way that many other teachers would not have.  He also enjoyed the classroom library and helping others with their maths problems!  It was, overall, a positive year but we knew that home education was a better option and he was happy to have had the experience of school but to be back home at the end of the year.  He was home educated again for the next 4 and a half years {two more in Australia and two and a half back in the UK} and then, on our return to Australia {this time to Perth on the west coast} he began attending school by his own choice again {he was nearly 15 at this point}.  He enjoyed 7 months in school in Perth and then had 9 more months at home {as we returned to the UK} before making the decision to attend school full time in the UK from September 2015 {as he turned 16}.  During his 9 months at home we decided together that he should take a couple of iGCSE exams as he knew he would be starting school in year 11 and would have just one year to complete a set of qualifications which he hadn't specifically studied for and which would normally be taken over 2 years.  So we prepared at home for English Language and Maths exams pulling in a little help from teacher friends so that he felt as prepared as possible for what were his very first exams..... ever!  He smashed them and began year 11 with eight more subjects to study, some of which he'd never studied before {Business & Economics, Design Technology and Religious Studies} and some he had enjoyed at home but had never studied the UK curriculum for {Information Computer Technology, Physics and Chemistry}.  He picked up Additional Maths and English Literature during this year too and just had to 'catch up' the bits he had missed..... the school were fab at giving him a specialised timetable so that he could prepare as much as possible and, for one subject {RS}, he just read the text book and asked Brian for help as he couldn't join a class for that one.  

He began sixth form on a level footing with the rest of his year - starting right at the beginning of the courses and has spent the last two years learning and pursuing his interests {and being a teenager which means spending more time on the computer and social media than this mum and dad would ideally have liked!!} but he is now nearly at the end of his time at school {but not nearly at the end of his education!}  He took one A level last year in Maths and over the next 4 weeks will continue his exams in Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry; will have a big end of year party with his cohort {known formally as the Leavers Ball} and will {officially} leave Dean Close School.

So what's next?  Well, he applied to a number of Universities along with the majority of the rest of his cohort and received offers from Bristol, Bath, Exeter and Cardiff to read Maths....... but he has decided that the full-time University route is not for him {much to the surprise of a number of his teachers!!}  

Last summer he arranged his own work experience at GE Aviation here in Cheltenham and loved it. Alongside his University applications he applied for apprenticeships with GE Aviation, the MOD in Bristol and Dyson - all engineering degree apprenticeships which would give him the opportunity to earn a degree {paid for by the company}, earn a wage and learn more about something which has always interested him {remember me saying that we always thought he would be an engineer??}  He went through a rigorous assessment and interview process and was offered a placement with GE Aviation beginning in September 2018 which he has accepted {he also got through to the MOD interview stage but knew that GE was really where he wanted to be so declined to proceed any further}.  He said to me yesterday that he is really excited about beginning his apprenticeship - that makes me so happy - he has followed his heart!

I'm so proud of my boy for pursuing his passion, for staying true to what he wanted to do even though most of those around him were trying to persuade him to go a different route and for being his own person...... it's what we raised him for.

summer holidaying.....

last week we went on a little summer road trip and we decided, this time round, 

that we would book to stay at a couple of farms en route.....

peace, quiet, lots of animals and some fab scenery to boot -

what's not to love.....

we drove south from Perth to a town on the coast called Denmark..... 

a few kilometres further along the south coast highway and 

we found ourselves at the first of our farm stay destinations.... 

we were met by a {rather huge} flock of sheep,

a mob of kangaroos,

a couple of alpacas,

a tiny pony,

a friendly lizard

and a sky full of birds.....

my favourite animal here had to be the baby kangaroos......

they are, like most baby animals, very cute indeed.....

this little fella decided to come and investigate who we were

{with his mum of course} when we arrived at the farm.....

 and this lizard was very bold, coming out of his leafy hiding spot 

{just off the veranda of the cottage} 

before following us around to the front door and coming inside for a visit......

there was so much space for us all to explore and enjoy......

Evie sped off with Brian to a make believe world in the woods

and Isaac, inspired by this man, decided to spend some

time trying his hand at stacking rocks.....

at one point he was bitten by an unknown something hiding under a stone

which was a bit unnerving but he kept at it..... 

this was his first stack.....

but I think this was my favourite stack.....

not the tallest one of our holiday but definitely has the 

'goodness-me-how-does-that-stay-up-then' 

factor for me.....

our first day out was filled with a driving tour around the local food-y businesses 

and this beautiful house was the first stop of the day......

Swiss Annie's Chocolate shop...... 

with it's beautiful wrap-around veranda where we sampled the chocolate

and had morning tea looking out onto the sublime gardens..... 

after we had been fortified by plenty of yumminess we headed off to a toffee making place

{which also provided us with some very scrummy samples}

and then on to a cheese factory

{where we made a little purchase for lunchtime}..... 

we drove past this idyllic country cottage and I had to take a photo..... 

it made me swoon at how delightful it looked.....

I love the weatherboard cottages here and I have very fond memories of our

time living in one in Ballarat, complete with its corrugated tin roof......

I especially loved the noise it made when it rained.....

we popped into a local berry farm and then headed back to town to 

grab a couple more bits and bobs to add to our picnic and then

went to sit by the river to eat lunch.....

as always happens when we find ourselves near water

Evie took the plunge and spent a happy half hour

{along with Brian, who can never resist his daughters

pleas to join her in some fun water exploits}..... 

you can just about make them both out in the photo below

floating around on their backs admiring that beautiful blue sky..... 

 the following day we popped down to a nearby beach {Ocean Beach}

but it was so windy that we got a bit sandblasted -

however there is always time for a bit of treasure hunting......

 next day was a bit overcast and we decided that we would take

the opportunity to go to the giant tingle tree forest and have a little

wander along the tree top walk...... 

 this is something that we have done before when we lived in Victoria but this

tree top walk was way more bouncy and that was quite off putting for

the male members of our family who don't really like the

whole 'walking-way-up-in-the-air-on-a-walkway-that-you-can-see-through' thing..... 

{Isaac is over there trying to rapidly get to the end of the walk.....}

 we also did an 'on-the-ground' exploration {far more pleasant for some}

and saw some GIANT trees which had obviously 

survived through some of the bush fires that happen so

regularly in the summer months here in WA...... 

 we had our obligatory stop at a beach on the way home

{my choice this time - Green Pools and Elephant Rocks}

Evie is in there having a bit of a snorkel {this is Green Pools} 

but unfortunately  because of the cloud cover the colours aren't 

quite as intensely blue and green as they would normally be..... 

 then we walked from here, along a  little coastal path, to see Elephant Rocks......

and, by jingo, I think it does look like there are a couple of elephants

sat down there on the beach..... 

the actual entrance to the beach is fab.....

a narrow gap between two enormous rocks leads you

onto a small but very beautiful beach..... 

 and the sun decided to put his hat on for a bit of a photo opportunity.....

we swam {Evie}, dug channels {Isaac}, climbed huge rocks {Brian} and paddled {me}

 and when we were all quite finished we climbed back up, 

took a last look back at the little bay and then headed home to the farm for our last 

evening in the lovely little town of Denmark...... 

  the next morning it was time to head off on the second leg of our holiday

driving from Denmark on the south coast around to Margaret River 

on the west coast which we had been told was a lovely little place to explore..... 

just look at the state of our poor car....

there really is no point trying to clean it when it is dry and hot

because the roads are so dusty and we had to drive on a number of unsealed 

roads which meant clouds of dust everywhere.....

 by lunch time we had arrived in beautiful Hamelin Bay

and after eating a quick picnic lunch 

{it was so hot by lunch time and we couldn't find any shade under which to 

sit so 'quick' was definitely what we all wanted lunch to be} 

we headed down to the beach just in time to

see some sting rays enjoying the warm shallow water in the bay......

after watching them for quite a while

{and taking about a 1000 photos cause I can't help myself} 

we continued on and got to our second farm stay cottage later on in the afternoon - 

just in time for a quick dip in the river to cool off before dinner....

here's Evie trying to decide if she should jump right in.....

or should she take her time?.....

oh, what the heck....... 

there was also a rope swing on the other side of the river that 

Evie and Brian had great fun playing on....... 

there was lots of screaming, especially when Evie got to that 

moment when she let go of the rope and there was no turning back.....

there were the most beautiful horses in the paddock on the way to and from the

river and Evie made sure that she spent a little while making friends with them.....

next morning it was back to the paddock for an early morning stroke before having another swim.......

a lazy day followed {with more exploring and swimming}

and then, for dinner, there was a trip to Colonial, a local brewery 

that makes delicious pizza and has a great Friday night vibe....

and then, as always happens, it was time to head home....

on our way we decided to stop in Busselton for an ice cream.....

Evie couldn't resist the look of the beautiful blue water at the end of the jetty......

so she partook in a little spot of jetty jumping.....

 what a fantastic holiday we had.....

time away making memories together which is what

all the best holidays are about....

a little bit of filling in.....

I started writing this blog when we found out that we were

going to be moving to Oz {for the first time} nearly 7 years ago now.....

I wanted to keep a record of things that we did and to be able to 

share it with family and friends whilst we were so far away from them.....

I actually really enjoy browsing through the old posts now and again,

reminding myself of the adventures and everyday happenings that have been

part of our family life over the last seven years and I am so glad 

that I have kept up posting, even though the posts are sometimes a little sparse.....

{like last year..... three posts for the whole year.....!}

it is like a family journal that we can dip into whenever we wish

 and we can remind ourselves of the journey we are {and have been} on.....

I don't like that I was so lax in recording events last year, so I 

have decided that over the next few weeks I will add in a few posts

about things we did and back date them so they fall in the right places

through the year......

I like to think that, when I am old and the children have left home

and perhaps have homes and families of their own,

that I will be able to sit down and enjoy an hour or two browsing through

this space, remembering the adventures we shared as they were growing up.....

and I look forward to so many more adventures with them in the years that lie ahead....

family days......

we had a little jaunt to Shoalwater Marine Park 

this afternoon, which is about a one hour

drive south of where we live, near the city of Rockingham......

Evie did her sea kayaking adventure here a few weeks ago

with the emergency service cadets from school, so I thought

we could go and have a little gander at where she had been....

the photo below was taken from the beach looking out towards Penguin Island.....

you can catch a ferry from the jetty over to the island but

we just stayed on the beach today as we didn't arrive until mid afternoon

and the ferries stop running fairly early.....

I wasn't up for getting stranded on the island for the night.....

Isaac decided to stay on the beach but Evie {as always} wanted to venture into

the water with her snorkel and mask and see if she could see

any interesting creatures in the sea grass

{that's what all the dark patches are that you can see in the water}.....

on the far right of the photo below is Seal Island

which was also part of Evie's kayaking adventure but which

you are not allowed to land on.....

apparently she saw a ton of seals there on the day she visited.....

Brian joined Evie for the expedition to the sea grasses

to see what they could see....

I, as always, took the photos and paddled.....

{the water was actually pretty warm as it is in a sheltered bay area}

we're off tomorrow on a holiday-away-from-home to the south coast of WA

and are looking forward to exploring that part of the state a little bit......

hopefully there will be lots of photos to share when we return.....

movie traditions.....

we have a tradition in our family that we go to the

cinema on Christmas Eve together....

we have been doing this since the children were quite young

and it's something we really look forward to.....

choosing the movie is a serious business in this house

as we have to all agree.....

the last two years we have been to see the Hobbit movies and

we knew that we were going to opt for the third movie this year....

the problem was that the release date for the Hobbit movie in 

Oz was Boxing day....... seriously??

after a bit of a chat together we decided that we would have to

postpone our Christmas eve ritual for a few days

and so on December 27th we made a date, pre-booked our tickets,

filled my bag with goodies to eat and drink and made our way to 

the super-screen at the local cinema to watch this.....

here is our slightly-dark-but-excited-to-be-finally-seeing-the-hobbit selfie.....

and just so that we felt completely indulgent this Christmas season,

 three days later we went to the Moonlight Cinema in King's Park 

to see an advance screening of The Imitation Game.....

this was our first trip to an outdoor cinema and we took our

picnic rug, insect repellent and lots of snacks.....

it was a fab movie and although Evie was not particularly looking

forward to seeing it she actually came away having really enjoyed it.....

here's a little screen shot from the beginning of the movie.....

it actually makes the screen look rather small, but it was actually HUGE.....

it was lovely to be under the sky watching this movie.....

looking up I could see the moon and stars and the trees 

swaying gently in the breeze that we had that evening.....

it was definitely an evening to remember.....

the beginning…..

first day of the holidays and we took a lovely jaunt into the city
on the train so that we could visit the water maze….

Evie got as wet as possible and Isaac navigated the maze whilst
remaining completely dry…… predictable?….. oh yes!



there was also a beautifully decorated Christmas tree.....
 though I can't seem to get my head round the Christmas decs in 35 degree heat....

chocolate and coffee...... yum, yum.....

today's post is brought to you by my camera and about a million words......

in the past month we've been busy, busy, busy......

we moved into our rental house

{though we are still waiting for our ship to come in so it is

a little 'sparse' and echo-y at the moment.....

we have been assured it will only be about 3 more weeks..... hmmmmm}

however, on the up-side, another container did arrive

 {via Sydney}

and that container made us all very happy......

yes, the boys are back in town......

and how homely they make the place feel......

Cyril's leg is much improved with a covering of {short} fur

and he is racing around and play fighting with Bertie again

which is all good fun.....

we also got a car a couple of weeks ago which has made getting out and about so much easier.....

it's not that we lacked a car before then, the problem was we had a hire car 

and we were limited to driving no more than 100kms a day.......

which sounds quite a fair distance, but in reality, by the time I had done two sets of drop offs,

run errands and picked up some shopping and done the two daily pick ups too

we had just about covered 100kms so we weren't able to just hit the road and see

where we ended up......

that was a little frustrating as one of the things we LOVE to do, 

especially at weekends, is being able to explore new places.....

we did manage to get to the beach a couple of times where it was impossible 

to keep these two out of the water.......

{Isaac and I enjoyed soaking up the sun whilst sitting on the sand..... 

or at least I sat, he dug holes and made mounds.....}

just after getting the car, Brian had a long weekend which meant a Friday

off school followed by a holiday Monday too....

the kids didn't get the Friday {just the Monday} so Brian and I decided

to do a little exploring on the Friday all by ourselves.....

it was fun......

and we had lunch out too.....

double fun.....

we ended up in a suburb called Guildford which had a ton of antique shops, 

a couple of nice looking places to eat and a book exchange too.....

I did end up buying a book here and was informed by the lovely lady

behind the counter that if I brought the book back for them to resell I would

get half the purchase price back to go towards buying something else in store....

what a fab idea, I shall be popping back here again no doubt, 

perhaps with a couple of kids in tow too.....

on our drive back from Guildford we passed this place.....

but decided that we would leave visiting until the weekend when we could 

bring Isaac and Evie with us......

wouldn't want them to miss out on the free chocolate tasting which was advertised.....

so on Sunday afternoon, we wended our way back to the Swan Valley

{home to lots of vineyards and wine tasting places}

which happens to be just a 20 minute drive for us and popped into

the Margaret River Chocolate Co.......

we were greeted by huge metal bowls of tasty chocolate morsels......

so we indulged....
{I've never been one to knock back a bit of chocolate.....
though I did resist the urge to bury my face in the chocolate 'tastings'
incase it caused offence or broke some health and safety rule.....}

behind the tasting bowls on the wooden shelves were bags of all sorts of different

flavours of chocolate covered goodness and you were invited to try the 

samples to see which one you liked best....... 

needless to say, I had to try a few before I found my favourite!!

there were also mountains of chocolate bars......

and giant chocolate freckles....

after we had had our fill of chocolate we were invited to a free 

wine and cheese tasting......

thanks, don't mind if we do.....

then it was on to the honey tasting.....

it amazes me how bees collecting pollen from different
flowers can give the honey a completely different taste....

and bubbly honey drinks too......
rather yum it has to be said......

 and finally it was a stop at the coffee tasting.....

yum, yum, yum.....

we positioned ourselves at the coffee bar where a friendly and knowledgeable 

barista made us the coffee of our choice from their rather huge list of speciality coffees....

it was so interesting to taste coffees in succession and see how very different they tasted......

I settled on my favourite and will definitely be stocking up on that in the future....

I was even treated to an iced coffee before I left

{this is one of those things that I thought I would hate and had always
resisted right up until last year when we visited the USA on holiday
and I found that actually I really liked it......

I mean, I really liked it......}

so, roll on the hot weather so I can start indulging my craving again.....

{to be honest, it kinda still feels like summer here at the moment 

as the temps are usually around the 18-24 degree mark..... 

and I keep having to remind myself that this time of year in Oz actually
equates to December in the UK.....}

and there we have it, a quick {ok, maybe not so quick}

rundown of what we have been up to for the past few weeks.....

hope to be able to add lots more 'fun days out' in the coming months.....