We have never really made a big deal about Valentine's Day. I find the idea of getting chocolates or flowers because it's an expectation incredibly unromantic really. And ice cream pink and tomato red together, what a terrible colour combination. https://www.etsy.com/listing/217284299/happy-consumer-driven-love-day-card?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=anti-valentines%20day%20cards&ref=sc_gallery_4&plkey=b2128eab4bc292478be382588cba61729e39958b:217284299 But I do love to feed the ones I... Continue reading

It's not every day you turn 55! Most years, I will commit to some New Year's resolutions, and when I invariably don't stick to them for even a week, I'll hold out for my birthday to "renew my commitments". I read a story a while back that struck a chord... Continue reading

The happiest time of the year, right? Yeah, nah, not in 2020. Fact is, my needs and feelings are directly linked to Joshua's. I can only be as relaxed and happy and at peace as he is. If Christmas was like it used to be when we were kids (yes,... Continue reading

This is another fantastic find on the New Zealand Made Products Facebook page. I love this book! I suppose we all have those trusted and tried recipes that are really quick to make with everyday ingredients you are likely to have on hand. So several of these recipes looked familiar... Continue reading

So Tuesday was Bastille Day! I am always fascinated by the fact that some of the biggest celebrations worldwide are to commemorate some form of violent uprising or event where people died at the hands of others in the most gruesome manner imaginable. And no, that's not a judgment or... Continue reading

Am I the only one who has so many plans and ideas and lists and intentions of doing stuff that the mere weight of all these things that I want to do to some gold standard I impose on myself, leaves me feeling totally overwhelmed and in the end progress... Continue reading

Back in the day, Peter and I used to watch the British version of Come Dine With Me from time to time. For those not familiar with the format, there are 5 dinner guests, and over the course of 5 nights, each one gets a turn to host a dinner... Continue reading

Man, it took me so long to create the cool image for this blog post that I now feel all my creative energy has been depleted. No great epiphany as far as the lockdown is concerned. But I wanted to start somewhere, and COVID-19 has had such a profound effect... Continue reading

As the days go by, I am becoming aware of the fact that life in our little bubble is carrying on more or less the same as it did the previous several years before Covid 19 forced people into quarantine, self isolation and lockdowns. I also saw several posts from... Continue reading

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/412602/teddy-bears-in-windows-to-cheer-up-kids-during-lockdown I haven't posted here in a while. I keep meaning to, but somehow something always comes up and it gets put on the back burner. But I felt that now would be a good time to get back into it on a regular basis - she says, as she's... Continue reading

Nothing really to it, and yet it's one of the most delicious and satisfying food combinations I can think of. We have restricted carb meals, which is difficult for us because bread and potatoes are SO good. So, when we do indulge, I try to make it a bit of... Continue reading

By that I mean, without ever preparing a lesson. It just ... happens! It's like magic. You need one essential ingredient though - curiosity. Last week I decided to give Joshua's bedroom a thorough decluttering and clean. Joshua loved the whole process and kept finding long forgotten treasures. Considering "long"... Continue reading

I got this lovely book for Joshua, to tie in with our "Our World" exploration. As the title page indicates, it's the story of You, the Universe, and Everything. Pretty lofty statement for a not very big book with mostly pictures. But you know what? It says everything that needs... Continue reading

Power cuts are a big deal in our household. We immediately go into "Special Alert" mode. We're just weird that way. This one was a scheduled power cut for an hour this afternoon. At least it wasn't at night time and unexpected, like the short one we had sometime last... Continue reading

Monday was a beautiful day. The air was crisp and fresh with a mild, cool breeze, but a warm, happy sun shining! And I thought to myself "Spring is almost here!" for two reasons really ... Firstly the spell of lovely weather we were having, and Secondly, I was telling... Continue reading

Joshua told me the other day, "I want to teleport to Chicago and visit the John Hancock Centre". I asked him if he knew where Chicago was. He said yes, in the state of Illinois, in the USA. Bear in mind, we don't live in Chicago. Or Illinois. Or the... Continue reading

Joshua’s Term 2, 2019 Newsletter This term we did things a little differently. I had been referring to what we do with Joshua’s education as “unschooling” and “self-directed learning” for the longest time, but the fact is that I had always steered it in the background. Not because I didn’t... Continue reading

Who'd have thought a Country and Western themed celebration pulled together at the last minute could be so fun and easy to organise? And now I know that it's about more than just baked beans (ugh). The food was delicious! I found so much inspiration online that I could probably... Continue reading

Mid-week birthdays pose a bit of a dilemma, especially in Winter. Joshua's birthday fell on a Tuesday, so we decided to have his birthday celebration on the following Sunday. But of course, there had to be cupcakes and presents on the day! So on the Tuesday of his birthday we... Continue reading

Well, I'm back on here. I will no longer be using the separate unschooling blog, since Joshua now has a dedicated "school-related" space for that, and the learning we do at home outside of that is just everyday stuff, which is a better fit here. So about The Cake ...... Continue reading

It's always great to stumble upon a site by accident and find it to be really, really awesome and useful on our education journey. I love it when I too get carried away by the options and opportunities to learn new stuff. Wonderopolis provides a new "Wonders of the Day"... Continue reading

At last I'm getting to the fun things we did these past months! And for that reason I'll explain the title of this post. Not really - well, kindasorta - but the real reason is that when I thought of a good title, it struck me that this is such... Continue reading

Joshua's more structured and formal school projects have found a new home on a page dedicated to the work he does with Katie and for Te Kura. This means that this page will revert to the kind of education which is really my passion: Directed by Joshua and his interests,... Continue reading

We have had the opportunity during the past several weeks to encounter learning opportunities about bears in many different ways. It's amazing how, once you make up your mind to learn about a subject, the topic just pops up everywhere! So it started with Tricia, Joshua's Te Kura learning adviser,... Continue reading

Joshua saw some really old Bart Simpson ads for Butter Fingers recently, and asked me to get him some. Well, perhaps they're still available in the United States, but not here. So we did the next best thing and scoured the internet to find a recipe to make our own!... Continue reading