7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol 180)
1
The new school year begins next week and stores are advertising Back to School sales. After completing the massive deep clutter and clean in the first couple of weeks after Bella’s birth I knew we didn’t need to purchase much in the way of stationary. Therefore yesterday we went ‘shopping in our cupboard’ and consequently spent barely anything for Back to School. Rather jubilant about this ‘clever idea’ and boasting to our children that it was a cheap way to ‘kit out’ for the year, they wisely pointed out I had a false idea of economy, we did after all purchase the stationary originally.
2
If you glance to the top right hand corner of this blog you may notice a difference….yes? Finally after 5 years I have updated my profile picture. I’m rarely in photos, I’m usually the one behind the lens, however Anna Maria happened to capture a photo of me last week and as a bonus one I was happy to share. I wonder if it will take me another 5 years to update.
3
Every now and then I re-read some of my childhood favourites, lately I’ve revisited a Nancy Drew and an Abbey Girls. Remember them? Loved these books as a young teen but now…. well Nancy Drew’s plots are so manipulated and unbelievable, no guessing left it’s all clearly ‘spelt out’…. and the Abbey Girls, for girls in their late teens and 20s they are very babyish and the characters are so sensitive and all that girl love, isn’t it time to love their man, he seems rather out in the cold.
4
Had a lovely day out shopping with my girls yesterday, part of our remit was to find a summer robe for Anna Maria. We walked into a specialised shop and tried to explain what we sought, I said, “We’re after a brunch coat, but they’re probably not called that anymore, what are they called now?” Apparently they are still called that, at least in the specialised shops. I recall my mum and grandmother calling summer dressing gowns brunch coats. What do you call them?
5
Spent a fair amount of time planning for the upcoming school year over the last fortnight. Reviews for last year are done, overview for this year and outcomes are done, specialised weekly plans for term 1 for our highschoolers are done, only have to plot weekly plan for our three primary children, which won’t take long. Such a relief to be on this side of it all, our plan is to start back next Tuesday. What I’m really hopeful about is our new ‘expectation’/weekly plans sheet, I’ve liberally borrowed my friend Jen‘s layout ideas. In my determination to not let the weeks slip by I’m planning to meet with each highschooler at the beginning of and the conclusion of each week, these sheets will help us in discussing and tracking. Feeling really hopeful this will work.
6
This is Jem’s first official school year and Einstein’s last, both ends of the spectrum. This morning I was thinking about how we never really did a great deal of pre-school work with Jem, nor really with Jack Jack, can’t say we did alot with Jelly Bean either….can’t even remember as far back as the others. Fact is I’m not so good at juggling highschoolers, primary and infants, and preschoolers. If anything has to be ‘dropped’ its pre-school work. We haven’t done craft in years, not much anyhow, nor pre-letter recognition nor maths formally and yet somehow Jem starts ‘Kindergarten’ next week able to count to 100 by 2s, 5s and 10s, he can read the hour and half hour on the clock, and he can…. he starts with a whole lot of skills not formally taught. Perhaps it’s time I tossed this particular guilt cloak away, permission given?
7
I purposely keep my blog reader around the 30 mark, this enables me to consciously ‘grow a community’ to have time to visit and comment. Periodically I add a few new blogs to my reader, I’ve found the best way to do this is to only add a couple at a time, this way I have time to ‘get to know’ the ‘new kids on the block blog’. Talking about finding new blogs it’s time for the Sheenazing Awards, I’m still stoked (yes, I just dated myself;) to be nominated as Best Blog By A Mum, be sure to head over and check out all those awesome blogs.
Visit Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes.
9 Comments
Chareen
congratulations on the nomination.
I agree with you it's so nice to build community. I love hearing from the regular readers from my blog. 🙂
I love the photo it's gorgeous. You should get in front of the lens more often.
Blessings
Laura Pearl
#4 I love the term "brunch coat"! I've never heard it (here, it would just be "summer robe"), but I'm going to use it from now on. And I'm going to splurge on a new brunch coat when winter finally ends (if it ever does).
#6 You can definitely let go of the guilt! Imagine how much knowledge your younger kids soak in just being around all of their older siblings. I'm not sure that any kids need formalized pre-school–but yours especially!
#7 I'm so happy your wonderful blog is being recognized! Congratulations!
mamazee
Awww.. i love #7 🙂 – and the idea of pruning the number of blogs i follow so i can be part of community more. Good thoughts. And 🙂 – #6 – i have Mimi in Kindergarten this year, and Wyatt in grade 12… it's a crazy year, no? Chockablock with every single stage of child and their need… One more year after this and then the headcount starts to diminish – don't know that that will beparticularly welcome to me either 🙂 might as well eat it up while i can 🙂
Cassie Williams
Bath robe?
Yes, throw that guilt away! I think with a large family that your little ones just are absorbing it all in! Forget preschool! I notice my youngest doing this. I teach him something that should be new to him, but he remembers when I taught the oldest three years before. It makes my work easier!
I've been trying very hard to cut back on the blogs and just pay attention to a few. There is a lot of good ones out there though and that makes it hard. I have around 12 that I visit a few times a week and then I have a larger group that I only visit when I have extra time to read online. Sometimes I move them around as my interest change or the bloggers writings change.
Congrats on the nomination and getting most of the school planning done!
Multi-tasking Mama
I have been reread some Enid Baton with the girls and it was definitely a shock. Some of those were horrific!
How funny we bought a new brunch coat this week for Miss 11. Found it still with tags in a second hand shop. She fell in love with it.
Multi-tasking Mama
Congrats on the award too. 🙂
Elena LaVictoire
Congratulations on the nomination, from another mother who prefers to be on the other side of the camera!
Karen @ Pieces of Contentment
Great update to your profile pic Erin. Children learn so much without being "taught" don't they, especially in a multi-age family.
Erin
Chareen
Too sweet{}
Laura
So have you tossed about the word brunch coat yet?
Mamazee
Do eat it up whilst you can, they are out the door way too fast
Cassie
I'd love you to email me the blogs you regularly read, daresay we have similar interests
MTM
you make me giggle, E Blyton is a shock though still a better writer than many others I read when a child
Eleana
Thank you:)
Karen
Yes learning is so much easier in a multi-age family