I know, I know...

My posts are getting even fewer and further between [if that is possible] but life and no home education going on leaves me with little outside of the mundane to write about.  I may have to change the main topic of the blog to cover life as a parent in general or something similar.

Progress since the last blog...  a very lovely, caring and wonderful sister had, despite my attempt at feigning normality, noticed that I was still functioning at well below par even though I only had Scout at home and made it possible for him to attend an Islamic school too mashaAllah; may Allah ta'ala reward her with success in this life and the next, ameen.  And then my wonderful sister offered to help out financially on a monthy basis so that he could continue his studies at the school - subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, the power of Allah never ceases to amaze me; He can make anything possible.  This is extra fantastic because although Scout is very intelligent mashaAllah I knew he wouldn't cope with the teaching methods used in the school that the other children attend.  He is much more of a visual, spacial learner and needs the freedom to explore subjects in his own way and, alhamdulillah, the school he attends is based on the Montessori approach [which you may remember I did explore myself a while back] which suits him down to the ground and he is loving it.  A few of his friends are there too which also helps ;)

It's a long shot from Montessori's vision of a Farm School for Adolescents but he is given encouragement and space to manage his own learning outside of the classroom and they have independant learning time too.  Unusually for a small school they also have lab space and they seem to do quite a few experiments, which he really enjoys.  All students have access to online tutoring and lessons and a Wikipage dedicated to Biology lessons - they are sitting their Biology GCSE in May inshaAllah.  There have been a few issues but all in all I am really pleased with the way that he is developing, he has only been there for 2 weeks so he still needs to settle into the management of the learning he has to do at home but that will come inshaAllah.

So, what am I doing with all this free time?  Well, I don't get that much free time - about 3 hours a day - but I do get to the women only swim on a Wednesday, madressa and a weekly majlis alhamdulillah!  And you would be surprised how much that 3 hours can do for your health and state of mind mashaAllah.  The house is also a lot tidier mashaAllah and I may be able to get some extra space once I sort throught the home ed. resources I no longer need.  But mostly I'm concentrating on getting better and back to good health so that I can at least get my 3 little ones back to home educating inshaAllah.

Strange things happen at sea....

and on land too! For the last 6 months or so I have been feeling really tired, physically and mentally. It's mostly because of all the running around I have to do and my hypothyroidism; I am apparently, still supposed to be taking it easy but after being almost house bound for more years than I care to remember I can't seem to be able to slow down. It feels like defeat. Or a step backwards. Apart from that with 4 children (5 including my husband) it's difficult to slow down isn't it? Anyway, during Ramadan, having at least acknowledged an issue with my health and the impact it had on the family, especially the children's education and my deen, I made lots of dua (supplication) asking for help in this particular area. I was thinking along the lines of more energy, more time, a house move, some inspiration to be able to organise myself  Fly Lady style and remain healthy too.  I wasn't sure what I wanted or needed; only Allah ta'ala would be aware of that so I left it in His hands.

Then, out of the blue, the children got a place in a new local Islamic School on a flexi-school basis.  The school is managed by the children's old tutor.  Knowing about my health issues she phoned to let me know about their new venture as she thought it might be beneficial for us.  At the same time Allah ta'ala made the finances available for the kids to go.  How could I refuse?  I nearly did? I really, really dislike everything about school, even Islamic ones, but a friend pointed out that it would take the stress of educating the children away (apart from Lego who still studies at home with me as he is too old to go) and give me some time to rest.  So, two weeks after the phone call they have completed a week and so far are really enjoying it mashaAllah.  They go for 4 days a week from 8.45am-1.30pm; they start and finish the day with dhikr and pray the mid day prayer together before coming home.  They do Math, English, Science and ICT daily for the first 3 days and then on the last day, instead of Science and ICT they do PE and either Art & Craft, History or Geography.

Sprite is a 50/50 about going but I feel that's because of his dyslexia; the other two are loving it.  I am still a little uneasy about sending them and my heart drops every time I see worksheets in their bags.  However, at least this way I can continue doing what I want to do with them without stressing so much about it all. I can also rest much more. It also means that I can concentrate more on helping Sprite with the issues around his dyslexia God willing.  It means, inshaAllah, that I can have more time to focus on them when they are at home.

This week I have really missed my children being around. I have missed being a part of their learning. I miss seeing that little sparkle they get in their eye when they 'get' something, or have done something that they really enjoyed. I miss watching them discover. But this isn't about me, it's about them.  So while they are enjoying it I shall stand back and let them continue.  I do, however, harbour a hope that I will be able to take them out and home educate them completely again soon.  We will have to wait and see.