Can you believe it's September already! March seems like a distant 88 years ago since lockdown began and now we are hopefully getting back to some normality, because it is most definitely needed.
I actually prefer Autumn to Summer, with the crisp mornings and wooly jumpers, oh and pumpkin spice everywhere! I am definitely an Autumn girl, even though my birthday is in July. The boys like to get out and about in all weather and seasons but we find Autumn is just one of the best times to find those bugs that Elliot loves, leaf fighting, leaf chasing, Autumn art and cooking.
What's happening in September?
Education
September brings lots of change for us, as other kids are heading back to school to start a new year, we have decided to continue with home education. We are already well experienced with home education and in fact when we moved back to Sunderland the boys were only in school for a few weeks before lockdown happened. We feel home education is right for us, right now, and will continue with it until next year and then see where we are at.
We were supposed to be taking our mega travelling trip this year but, for obvious reasons, we couldn't, so we are hoping to do that once it is safe to do so.
Adam is 14 now and should be entering Year 10 and starting GCSEs. Now not all home ed parents choose to do GCSEs but, because of the chosen career paths the boys want to do, they will need GCSEs to gain access to the college and uni course. Adam will be starting college next week to start his GCSEs. This is only one day a week but he is really excited to start this next chapter of his life. (He is growing up way too quickly) Luckily the college he is attending also offer the course he is wanting to do once he is 16.
Last year we did quite a lot of autumn based learning and the boys really enjoyed this, so I think we will be doing this again. We recently started a new project - bridges, so we will be continuing with this topic for a while along with other subjects.
We have quite a fun September planned with lots of educational & fun day trips planned, we find places to be so much quieter once the schools have gone back therefore the boys can take their time in museums to read things and not feel rushed.
When we are out and about we usually get asked the question "If you are Home Educating, why are you not at home?" I just wanted to quickly throw this into the post because home education does not mean you have to be at home during school hours. We are a very outdoorsy family and nature is a huge part of our learning. Being home educated does not mean you miss out, in fact it is the opposite. If you have any questions at all regarding Home Education please feel free to email me kelly@northeastfamilyadventures.com
Some of the places we will be adventuring to include: Chillingham castle, Hull, York, various nature reserves, bat walk, dark sky nights, Norham Castle plus lots more.
Clubs and Meets
The boys are looking forward to getting back to their clubs and Home ed meets, which hopefully should be starting up soon. The clubs include tennis, athletics, swimming, karate, scouts, forest school. Clubs not only help with there education but it is also a chance for them to socialise with their friends and just let loose for a while.
Adam
Adam finally had his plaster cast removed as his elbow has now almost healed, this was a really scary time because we were told that if the break wasn't healing he would need surgery to fix it and that is the last thing we wanted for him, after his grueling 6 hour neck surgery a few years ago. Luckily he is fine and has physio for the next few months to get his arm working again. He was hoping to be back on his bike by now but I think he will be looking at closer to the end of the month before I even let him back on it.
You can read more on Adam's major surgery Here
New Books
I have actually been writing and planning a new cook book, which I hope to have finished for the start of the new year, or even before Christmas (we shall see) There has been lots of cooking and lots of tasting, which obviously the boys and Craig don't complain about. I have also written a children's book, I actually wrote this at the start of 2020 and then pushed it to one side although this one is ready to be published now.
Decorating
Whose idea was it to move into a huge old victorian house... Oh yeah mine! WOW decorating has been taking forever to complete. We have finally started on the kitchen, which I have some pretty big plans for including new units and floor. (Craig is busy painting it as I type this) The boys bedrooms are next on the list with a jungle theme for Elliot. He wants trees and the lot coming out of the wall! We are hoping to get the rest done before Christmas so we can spend our first proper Christmas in our shiny, freshly decorated home. We moved just before christmas last year and everything was so rushed that we didn't really enjoy christmas. We have the most amazing floors in here and I had the idea to sand the floor and then paint them...Honestly what a faff on.
The Blog
I wasn't sure whether to write anything for this bit, but I feel like it is important to share with my lovely readers what is going on. I have been letting the blog slip during August, with decorating and days out, by the time I got to sit down I was simply just too tired to blog. In all honesty it has been a blessing in disguise, because now I feel refreshed and as determined as ever, with a notebook full of blog posts ready to be typed up. We have some pretty exciting collaborations coming up and I have some fab Autumnal based posts planned throughout September. I will be taking on Blogtober again this year, even though I say every year I'm not doing it again it. I just love taking part in it. (I am also doing blogmass again too) We also have some tasty recipes to share with you all. I have been waiting all year just to make my pumpkin soup.
Food
Unfortunately we only got to experience a few places for the government's eat out to help out campaign due to money going on decorating, plus with all the cooking for the cookbook, there has been surplus food to go around. We are hoping to visit a few of the places we wanted to try this month, however I am so disappointed that Arabesque has closed down and been replaced! That was my absolute favourite place to eat. We are looking for somewhere to go for a Christmas lunch if anyone has any suggestions I would happily listen. (Traditional Christmas lunch we are looking for)
What do you love about Autumn?
Check out these posts
A healthy delicious lunch : My luxurious Slow Cooker Pumpkin soup ~ Perfect for Halloween! Blogtober