Odendaal baby #4

CJ joined our family on the 26th of September 00:01am or actually just before but they recorded the time as this so he's not stuck in the gap between 23:59:59 on 25/09/2013 and 00:01:00 26/09/2013
hope that makes sense

CJ is a extremely happy and placid baby hes a big boy with 9lb 15 1/2 oz as recorded birthweight which is 4.520 kg,
We had a great home water birth and all went smoothly, we did end up in hospital on the night of the 28th due to an ABOHDN which caused Jaundice just the same as we had with NJ though his was picked up sooner. CJ only needed a 2 night hospital stay though with the light therapy and we were home Monday afternoon.
CJ learnt to smile by 3 weeks old and has been smiling just about all the time hes awake since. hes a chatty boy with lots of noises to make and fits in well with the family.
Big brothers NJ, EJ and AJ adore him and always want to help out and take care of him though AJ wanting to help by making sure his baby brother has his pacifier whilst actually sleeping isnt always the most helpful option but he does try and often is trying to drop hints that himself or CJ might need a nappy change or food /drink and bringing me the right things.

My parents are here for the holidays with my brother and youngest sister J and L in tow though currently as I write this they are in Ireland taking a explore around the area that my family originates from. They will be back on Saturday for Christmas and New Year then off to Paris to see the sights before coming back for a final few days before they fly out back to Australia.

Re-starting schooling

Well after the summer we have restarted school for NJ, EJ has gone off to nursery and AJ is always keeping busy getting his little fingers into things he shouldn't be getting into lol.

Mostly at the moment we are working on handwriting through Basic English books and his Reading through Phonics and math work getting reading the time sorted  and all those other subjects like Money that come under the Math umbrella in the early years since he knows what he needs to know for now in the base of Addition and Subtraction.

Home-Education

Ok , For most of this school year we have taken things at a rather relaxed pace there hasn't been daily work done at least not daily academic work for the boys. I try to get some time reading to them each day and encourage them to write/draw/count in some form, mostly It has been practical hands on work helping Mummy around the house and learning numbers and letters and their sounds as we do the housework or prepare meals.

I believe Education is a lifelong experience and encompasses all parts of our lives not just the book based work done in schools and a young person with a well rounded education can function in the society they are in being literate and articulate, able to think for themselves finding out information when they need it and is always hungry to learn new things. endless hours in a classroom from my own experience and in my opinion doesn't achieve these ends.

I have been putting together some worksheets for the boys to do as they are progressing with their literacy skills at their own level and it will be a handy benchmark for me to see where they are at so I can provide them with the opportunity to discover new skills that are appropriate to where they are at in their learning journeys.

Now to get back on with guiding my children through this world encouraging learning experiences for them.