Plans for the coming year....

The start of a new year - a time of resolutions and plans for the coming year.

We don't usually make any resolutions but we do talk about the kind of things we want to achieve during the year.This year, amongst others, the same things cropped up that we talked about last year. To eat healthily, to exercise more - you know the same things that half the country makes resolutions about.

We actually did do more exercise during the last year and also continued to eat a healthier diet - stumbled at  around the end of September and found it hard going to keep on track for a while and then munched and enjoyed many, very unhealthy goodies ( with no guilt )
 through the Christmas period ;-))
Getting back on track already and see no reason why we shouldn't continue to eat fresh, home cooked healthy meals this year.
On the *education * front, I never make any plans for the year.
In the early months I had files full of things I thought she might like to do.I spent ages trawling the inter-net for educational sites and bought many books / educational activities that I thought we could do. I soon realised the futility of this and stopped :-)  I have no idea what Emily will be interested tomorrow, never mind in a few months time. Her *education* is in her hands and she follows her interests with me facilitating by finding things online,in the library, buying items that tie in with her interests.I also find things that might open up new interests for her,sometimes that works others it doesn't. Because we are together so much of the time and talk constantly I am very well aware of her growth and the knowledge she is acquiring.This is not someone else's idea of what she should know at any given time, it looks nothing like school - although, sitting at the dining room table for over an hour the other day whilst she asked me to give her a spelling test, certainly did ;-)
I will have wobbles periodically - this is a given because what we do is so far from the norm - they come, and I resist the temptation to do anything to change things whilst I am in wobbledom ;-)
I work through what it is that is causing the problem and carry on as before.

Milly will continue to do what she does and Alan and I will continue to allow her the freedom to do that.
I am passionate about Autonomous education and my belief is growing as, more and more, we see the evidence of how it works.

Three years ago we were given a Terramundi Jar by my Sister and her husband. Last year we talked about breaking in to it but as it was only 2/3 full decided to leave it for a while and keep filling it and then forgot about it.
On Boxing day we decided to break it open - last year we had estimated it was likely to hold around a couple of hundred pounds and had earmarked it to go towards a wii .
Totally amazed to count £450.00!!!!
To help with our aims to exercise more and add to the walking we already do, we now have a wii and wii fit :-)
Not only is it helping to keep us fit it is great fun:-)) So many giggles.

We were in the car going swimming yesterday and chatting about many things and got round to what we wanted for the coming Year.I asked if she wanted to change the way we do things and she said most definitely not ;-)
We talked about the fun we had been having keeping fit using the wii and how good it is that you can have  exercise and have fun at the same time.

As we were talking a word suddenly popped into my head ....Joy....

I said that I thought it would be a good idea this year to do things that fill us with Joy.
Having talked to Alan, we have decided that is a good word to focus on this year.

So in a nutshell, our plans for life and our new year resolution, is to seek out JOY, in any way we can ;-)