Just Humans Being...

We have cleaned 12 properties in the last week & occasionally have worked into the evening. We seem to have been out lots too & so we ended up shelving No Impact Week because we really didn't have time to think about it - let alone do it! So as well as clean... We visited St Ives Guildhall... And saw  Mark Thomas Who was a brilliant storyteller... We ran the home education meeting & fought off a church cafe - who had taken over our space during the Summer & who announced that the kids were no longer allowed to play in the music room. The place is a teenage centre which we get to use during the day, we use it because it is perfect for teenagers - a fully equipped music studio in the attic, a kitchen - where we can support the kids to dish up some lunch & it also has a basement for chilling out in. So a battle began... Sime & the kids decided to continue with their usual racket & yesterday, we heard that the church group want to swap their day - phew!

One day soon , we'll have time to do so much more... Like do a post about Shugborough Hall, think about the No Impact experiment, finish off our living room, make the house look presentable, have friends round for meals & grow things... This is our one & only vegetable this year - grown accidentally from our own compost! It had fallen from the plant when we arrived home from work & it was delicious! We are now off out to St Ives to see Mark Thomas - looking forward to it, but we'll suffer for it tomorrow... We'll be running the teens home ed group & will no doubt be a bit tired! Nevermind, it's all good fun! Kay :)

I hate uniforms, always have done. When I was at high school, I did all I could to put my own stamp on it - especially in the last two years & was always getting into trouble for wearing my red socks or a t-shirt instead of the school blouse & my extra large men's chunky sweaters, instead of the grey v-neck... A year before moving to Cornwall, I changed my job & worked for a housing association as a community visitor - which unfortunately, had a hideous navy & grey uniform. I thought it looked great with my red baseball boots & it actually thrilled the old folks I visited! When I started work down here for Social Services, I was back to wearing my own rags. Then one day I had a phone call from the boss of my department, she said she had seen me out & about with a client & she was horrified at my clothes! She said that I should be wearing slacks & a smart top & not the "left-wing, socialist, hippy outfit" she saw me in & that she had

 We've had a week of hassle, cock-ups & frustrating times with our work... Folks wanting to turn up early at holiday lets (in one case - a day early), owners wanting to re-arrange plans at the last minute, guests getting lost en route to their holiday properties, a one-off job that got cancelled due to the keyholder forgetting to give us the key & yesterday we discovered a family were waiting at a house we hadn't even prepared!  After a full day's work, when we felt we could do no more - we were thrown into disarray & had to greet the poor family who had travelled over 300 miles, arriving in Cornwall to house that wasn't ready - Whoops! This is the first time we've ever let anyone down & were convinced that it was the agency who had neglected to tell us, but on return home - we found an email sent several weeks ago... We take care of 2 properties with that agency & they sent the info on one mail, we only saw the bookings for the first house &

On Wednesday, Hugo went to an animation workshop with the CAT group (Cornwall Alternative Teens).  It was held at Truro Library, so Sime & I decided we would have a mooch around the city ... We arrived early so we could get cheap parking. Then the three of us went for breakfast at another good veggie cafe called:  Archie Brown's .  We don't have a TV or buy newspapers, so the guys took the opportunity to read! Sime & Hugo opted for some unusual breakfast time drinks! The cafe make their own sourdough, which was delicious with some local eggs! After breakfast, Hugo went off to his workshop - where he decided to concentrate on making music for the animation... The CAT group made 2 videos with the help of Liz, who ran the workshop.          The kids really enjoyed themselves.  Next week they are having an  Adventure Day , so Hugo's really looking forward to that! It was a lovely day...  The guy in the yellow jacket is known as 'Banjo Man' although he

Our first session at the home ed group this year, so was lovely to catch up with everyone! While we were in France, some of the kids had a go at making a stop-motion video, so we heard all about it today - here is their first attempt: The group has received some funding & the kids have decided to have a formal training session in animation, so next month they'll be attending a workshop. They've also done lots of research & were keen to show us some amazing stop-motion videos they have found inspiring. This is my favourite: I wonder how many days that woman spent on the bed! The Animation Workbench. Computer Zone. Sime is usually upstairs in the music room, but he was on drying up duty after lunch! The centre we use for the group is in the centre of Truro, which is the capital (very small) city of Cornwall. Most of the kids are able to come by train - which is great! All the volunteers have had to have police checks - which have finally all come through, so we&#

The youngest member of the Smith Tribe turned 14 yesterday! Where have the years gone? Before Hugo was born, the only boys we knew were those that the girls were at school with... Sime really hoped we'd have another girl! I didn't mind & knew that if we did have a boy - he'd be our boy, so felt confident he'd turn out just fine! He was completely different to the girls - slept less, ate more & got into a lot more mischief as a toddler, he was also much more competitive than the rest of us (& still is really)! Saying all that - he's caring & generous, sociable & always grateful, a big animal  lover & great fun to be with (unless he's tired)! He's never been to school or had any formal teaching, choosing to pretty much educate himself, with a bit of input from Mum, Dad & Sissies. He read his first book at the age of 8 (Harry Potter/Half Blood Prince) & has been a massive reader ever since... He seems to know far more than we

We've received an email from a very nice lady who has read our blog about the kids and is concerned in particular about our son's education. I've (hopefully) reassured her that although we don't do any formal teaching, he still is learning... From our experience, children who are home educated are eager to learn and be naturally creative. They are used to seeking answers for themselves and enjoy sharing what they find. We have a shelf with "work" books that the kids have dipped into over the years, but of course - the internet now does most of the educating. When we started out, over 10 years ago - we relied on the library to provide us with information on any topics the kids were interested in. They've all learnt basic maths, but none of them have been overly keen and if ever they want to brush up on their sums as they get older - there's always adult education classes! Our daughters decided to attend college and both managed to get on courses whi

We've had many comments over the years about how close we are as a family & how respectful we are of each other. It's also been suggested to us that we write a book about how we've raised our kids, but the problem with that is - we have no idea what we have done that's so different to other families... Sal is our eldest, born in a hospital in Cheshire (because the consultant insisted I was too young to have a home birth), but she was at the home births of her siblings! She's a life vegetarian, was home educated from 11 - 17, is very independent, motivated & organised, gets stroppy when she's hungry, left home when she was 19 (to live with her boyfriend), takes great photographs, likes growing vegetables & wears colourful clothes. Rose is our second born, arrived at home to the tune of "Happy Birthday" (which her big sis loved)! She was at the birth of her brother & is also a life veggie, home educated from 9 - 17, she's a thinker