What I wish someone would have told me before my son started school…

First let me set the stage, because I realize that depending on where you live, the situation could be very different.  My son just started Prep in Queensland Australia…prep is what they call the year before grade 1 in Queensland.  The school year begins at the end of January and if your child will be turning 5 on or before June 30th of that year he or she can begin school.  My son turns 5 at the end of May so he began school this January at the age of about 4 1/2.  This was great because he was getting really bored at home and with two other younger children to look after, it was hard to keep him entertained with something besides the TV.

My expectation of his year at Prep was that he would be learning his ABC’s and 123’s with a lot of cutting and pasting in between and because he is a boy and has no interest in sitting down and learning anything of the sort at home, I’ve let him run around and climb trees and do whatever else strikes his fancy (except when he is roaring incessantly at his sisters)…turns out things have changed since I was in school…

Prep’s have to learn 100 words by the end of the year, and he’s got 12 words he is supposed to be able to read by the finish of this term (which is a week away).  They have to be able to recognize their numbers and begin to write words…

When I discovered all of this I was a touch overwhelmed to say the least.  I can’t imagine the pressure on the teachers trying to teach kids all this stuff, and because my son never went to preschool, he did not have any exposure to this stuff.  I’m not quite sure what the ‘policy makers’ think this is going to accomplish..
We are now working hard with him at home, trying to let him be the boy he is and get his play time, but also teach him to recognize all his letters and numbers and to read all at the same time!!!

I’m not posting this to get any sympathy.  Worst case scenario is that he will have to do his prep year over again, and that’s not all that bad.  But I have found as I have talked with parents of children who aren’t at school yet, they had no idea what was awaiting them.  If I had known this, we would have worked more with my son to recognize his letters and numbers before going to school so that there wasn’t so much pressure on him…

So I thought I would put it out into the universe of the internet for anyone who might benefit from having this knowledge when you can work on it without the time restraint of school.  If you are reading this and know someone who has young kids not yet in school, please give them the heads up!!

I’d also be curious to know if other parents have found a similar situation in other states in Australia as well as other countries??

If you are interested to know what strategies we are using to teach our Son the plethora of things he needs to know, while not making him completely bored out of his brain…leave a comment and I will put something together to post.  My younger two kids are girls, so I am expecting it to be easier teaching them as I have found girls take to this stuff quicker than boys.

Preaching

Well, it's been ages since I've posted, but not a whole lot is really happening except that I preached for the first time on Sunday.  If you are interested you can have a listen here

Maxi Skirt…everyone should have one (or five)

I recently posted a picture onto Pinterest.  It’s a Maxi skirt by Splendid.  I commented that I was going to make it, and had the most repins of anything I’ve ever put up.  My concern was that there were going to be some who thought it was a link to a tutorial…and it’s not.  But it is currently on sale for about $40…I’m too cheap for that.

BUT, maxi skirts have got to be close to the easiest things you can throw together so I thought I would put up my own tutorial.  I’ve made 2 so far and they took about a half hour each and 1-2 metres of material.
PLUS, it turns out I’ve got a baby growing in my belly, so these skirts are going to be my stylish, comfortable go-to skirt for the next several months.

This skirt is all about stretchy, so find yourself some nice stretch material…I got mine for $3/metre and it’s light and VERY stretchy
First, decide how big to make the waste (I wear mine around my hips, so that is where I took the measurements) .  It will depend on how stretchy your material is and how big your waste (hips) is.  You can just wrap some around your waste and stretch it a bit so it fits comfortably.  My hips are 39 inches and the waste of the skirt is 32 inches to give you an idea.

I made the waste panel first and decided I wanted it to be pretty long like in the Splendid skirt, and also because of being preggers.  So I cut it 18 inches (it’s going to be folded in half, so keep that in mind, cut yours as long or short as you like).


I cut mine 18 (long) x 32 (wide) – don’t forget to add seam allowance.  Make sure when you cut, the stretchiest direction (if there is one) is horizontal.  Then  fold so right sides are together (making the fabric 18x16) and stitch.  Then you can fold it in half the other way so wrong sides are together. 
I put it on at this point where I was going to wear it and measured from the bottom of the material to the floor to figure out how long to make the skirt panels.  Again, don’t forget seam allowance and hem if you intend on doing a hem (I didn’t do a hem).


Next I cut my panels for the skirt…you’ll need two


Make the top of the panel the same as your waist.  So because you have two panels, each panel will be half the measurement of your waist.  I also wanted the back panel to be more full so I cut it into more of an ‘A’ shape.

The front panel measured 16 inches at the top, 35 inches long and about 20 at the bottom, the back panel was 16 at the top and about 31 at the bottom…add as much or as little fullness as you want to the front and back (plus seam allowance).  Then put the two panels together right sides facing and stitch both sides.  
Now it’s time to finish it off.


Put the skirt panels inside the waste (right sides together).  In the above photo I have the waist unfolded, but you’ll want to have it folded (wrong sides together) and pin in place (lining up seams).  Make sure when you stitch this part you use a stretch stitch or at least a zigzag stitch…and stitch away.   YOUR DONE.  You can wear these skirts as a dress as well…my only problem with that is I’ve got very full hips, but a small bust so it’s a bit loose on top as a dress…


I made the pink top as well, it’s very simple as well…if you are interested in a tutorial let me know…or I might just do one anyways!
I would live in these skirts if it wasn’t so hot at the moment!!

The Latest

Ok, first of all we are moving…our lease is up as of the 23rd so we are outta here.  And secondly, if you know anything of our life, it seems to be that I am always pregnant when we are moving and it is no different this time.  New baby signals new life all around.  And so I find myself with a little beauty growing inside of me and no place to live (I don’t know why it happens that way).

We are not fully sure of where we are headed.  For now we will be staying with my in-laws (thank goodness for great in-laws).  Then there might be a major move coming up, but we are waiting to see if Matt gets the job so I’ll hold off on that announcement until we know it is happening. 

And that is the latest…more info to follow.

Refashion…

Casey over at Stellar Mother has given me an opportunity to share a love of mine (sewing).  She asked me to do a tutorial on making yoga shorts out of a t-shirt.  It has got to be one of the easiest projects I’ve done.  If you’re interested in that kind of thing go check it out.  She’s got heaps of other tutorials of her own as well.