"Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."

After our visit to RAF Cosford air museum, Opeie couldn't wait to get home and get the LEGO out. Part of the museum had an exhibit based around the Berlin wall and he had asked a lot of questions about it while we were there. He thought it was really interesting that a city was separated into two halves by a huge wall and was asking questions like "what if people in the east had friends and family in the west" it was really quite cute how concerned he was. When we got home he got those amazing bricks out and built his own berlin wall, with upset, angry looking people. He then broke down part of the wall letting in the happy people after we had watched a video on youtube of the wall being opened and how happy and relieved the german people were.

This is one of the things I really love about LEGO. It doesn't matter what it is we are covering, somehow it can be re-created by those amazing bricks.

"It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project."

 

These gloomy grey skies recently, make it really difficult to get motivated to get out and do stuff. It's wet and cold and would be so much easier to take the literal sense of Home-schooling and stay at home where it's warm and there is a steady flow of coffee and warm milk if needed. Sadly that doesn't fit into how we want Opeie to be educated so we've been going out as much as we can, braving the damp, bleak daytimes.  Over Christmas I watched a Youtube video made by a 13-year-old girl who was home schooled talking about her experience and how she felt it had benefited her. It was an awesome video and she was a very intelligent and well-spoken girl which was great to see as even now I still have my 'Is this really the best thing for Opeie?' moments.

One of the things that really stuck out for me was that there had been no structure to her home education by her parents and that she was left to her own devices as she got older. Her parent's roles were to simply keep her motivated and help with the things that she enjoyed doing. She also said that most of her home education was project based, projects that she chose herself and if she enjoyed them she continued with it and if not she moved on, giving her the flexibility to really get stuck into the things that interested her.

I loved this way of educating as it made me think of a project I did at school (a long, long time ago). I was probably around 8 and we started a project on dinosaurs, I remember thinking Wow! and I was hanging off every word the teacher was saying, it was fascinating, but... within a couple of weeks the project was over and we really hadn't covered much. I don't ever want Opeie to feel like that about something he is learning and both Mrs M and I will always do our best to get both of the boys the best resources that we can to things they are interested in.

So... projects! Opeie loves going to museums, I couldn't even tell you how many we have been to as there have been so many. We had a little chat and have decided to start a history project, which of course gives us the opportunity to go to even more museums and find out lots of interesting things about the past. On Seth's recommendation, Opeie has been watching horrible histories which he loves and it has been great for breaking into our project.

Today we decided to go to our first museum of the project which was the RAF Cosford Air museum. We've visited many times, but not in the last 2 years so it was clear that Opeie would take a lot more in now and ask lots more questions. I love the museum mainly because of the planes, so visually it is a great place to spend a couple of hours. If I'm honest I had not really taken the time to read much of the facts and information that is available during previous visits as Opeie was so young and excited just looking around, so this was a completely different kind of visit for me too.

As we walked about looking at the planes we talked about World War II and what it was all about. We talked about what life must have been like back then, compared to how different things are now and it was interesting listening to Opeie, really concerned about 'why people can't just be nice to each other'. At 5 he didn't really understand some of the things I was talking about and reading to him but what is great about museums like this is that between all the information available, there are lots of child-friendly things to do to break it up and make it more of an experience. We got to climb into a cockpit and play with all the buttons and switches, learn about altitude and how to measure wind speeds, fly a model plane and do some experiments around air pressure. One of Opeies favourite things there was learning about how ball bearings work.

We only stayed at the museum for 2 hours but as with all museum visits it was fascinating to see how much information was actually picked up, we talked about what we had seen all the way home and when we got home we printed out our pictures and Opeie wrote about it in his history project book. Today was a home education day at its best and this hands-on active learning is what really sticks with Opeie. I think it's going to be a busy few months making the most of the museums that interest us.

The Gifts from the Pirates LEGO London adventure.

Hi it's Seth and this is our London LEGO adventure.

"It' easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top."

I lived in Birmingham for most of my life but for many years prior to moving to Shropshire I just didn't feel comfortable there. With many family issues outside of Mrs M and the boys I just didn't really want to be in that city and environment anymore. When I moved to Shropshire I felt like a weight had been lifted and it was when my life really began moving forward, so it will always be a special place to me and in many ways this is the only time I've felt at home and part of something special.

I feel so lucky being here, since my life changed and I became a parent there's no need for the busyness of the big city, that side of socialising has become obsolete and I've traded all that in for beautiful scenery and people that I adore. For just getting out and about, Shropshire is perfect for long walks, It's full of greener attractions and has a really interesting history surrounding it, especially in and around the Ironbridge area.

Last weekend was odd, the weather was all over the place. Lots of rain and bleak looking skies but by Saturday afternoon although it was still very cold, the sun had come out and it gave us the motivation we needed to get out for a spot of exercise after a large but incredibly tasty lunch. We had planned to head over to our favourite farm for a wander but it was too wet and there is lots of long grass there so we found ourselves making our way towards the Wrekin.

The Wrekin is a fair and steep walk especially if you have children. Try multiplying that considerably if you are also carrying a tired and semi grumpy 3 year old (who is at the moment refusing to take naps) on your shoulders. Saying that though, I love him perched up there so although it was a slight struggle, it's always a pleasure being the 'daddy horse' as Opeie calls it. The further up the Wrekin you climb the more you are rewarded with beautiful views of the surrounding landscape. 

Mrs M told me how much it had changed since she was a little girl and how much of a shame it was to see the local area so built up and with even more building sites popping up.

While on our up hill climb Opeie spotted some giant footprints along the hill so he followed the trail to see where they would take him.

When I was a child I was fascinated by clouds and the top of the Wrekin was a great spot for cloud spotting, yes I guess that makes me a bit of a nerd.

As idilic as the Wrekin is, When you reach the top you are unfortunately greeted by this monstrosity which is a real shame as its not really in keeping with the aesthetics of the surrounding area...

...but you soon forget about that when you take in all the beautiful views around you. It was so windy at the top and I don't think Opeie was really enjoying it, luckily mommy had her ear muffs with her though which soon cheered him up.

After a little time taking in the view it was time for us to make our way back down the hill. It was a lot easier carrying Opeie back down to the car and we had loads of fun counting and messing around. It was great exercise and it really helped with that stir crazy feeling from being stuck in the house.

Shropshire is a beautiful place to live, made even better by the beautiful people I surround myself with.