Ranting Along...

My younger three children are so lucky for so many reasons, one of them being that their big brother still believes in Santa Claus- for them. He is such a good boy our Tomas, he really does love his siblings. I remember when I was about 9 years old my older brother told me there was no such thing as Easter Bunny and no such thing as Santa Claus. It was a terrible feeling. With my children, these fictional characters are kept alive by the retail outlets (no surprises there) and from other children around them. We do not say to them that there is Santa, or Easter Bunny.. and I don't want to be held responsible for having kept something fictional alive and then ripping it away from them. No, I am not traumatised by it, I just didn't like that feeling. I also know that we all learn things in different ways and that as a parent, I am their cushion to fall back on when times are hard. Give them coping mehcanisms for when times get hard, but let them experience things for themselves too. No need to run off and purchase some "harden-up cement" for them then.
So, when they misbehave or get on my goat, I just say that gifts won't be left for children who aren't looking after each other. It works :)
The kids' school reports were very good, I am so pleased with them all for their hard work throughout the year. Some kids are not academic, they learn hands on. That describes my eldest and youngest children. They love to get out there and do things and learn well this way. It has got to be hard to sit in a classroom and have to get your head around words without being a MacGyver and actually doing the stuff for real at the time! I have learnt to supply them with reading material that interests them, and then they are more receptive to learning new things.
I await Mia to turn a learning curve and become a more independant reader, it seems to be taking quite some time. She blocks everything that she is not interested in, which makes it difficult. I have learnt not to push it, just edge towards it each time she appears ready for it.
I will be pre reading Tomas' Year 8 English novel this Summer. It is titled "The Heaven Shop". I found the plot for the novel via Wikipedia, wow, the internet is so amazing to me. It is about the effects that an HIV/AIDS death has on a family. The family is located in Malawi, the main character is a 13 year old girl whose father owns a coffin shop called "The Heaven Shop", hence the title of the book. Apparently all royalties from the sale of this book went to UNICEF. I will write a review of the book on my blog once I have read it.
I received a book "Eat Pray Love" as a gift from a friend for my birthday last weekend. I have not seen the flick either, and I prefer it that way.I like to read novels before I would sit through a movie of the same title. Books are always so much better! I did pre read "Once" by Morris Gleitzman for Tomas. Nicholas had it in his bookshelf, he received it as a gift for his 9th birthday. Wish I had pre read it before Nick had read it, the content is traumatic. Nick said he thought it was all "made up". No son, the Holocaust was real. So, my eldest two learned more about the atrocities of war. "War is still around Mum", Nick said. Yes, he is right. There will always be a war somewhere.
Enough of the real and depressing stuff... life is good, I love my family, I love my friends who are also my family, and it is high time people became a bit nicer to each other and maybe a little more tolerant.. meanwhile, I am playing real loud music through a bedroom window to upset my neighbours... because they have done this to us for the past two weekends until 3am! Hope they like classic rock! I think an hour of this is enough for a Sunday morning. Yes, I have tried to speak to them, but they think they own the court here. I wish I lived out in the country side right now.
I am off to the shops, have to restock these cupboards for hungry children over the school holiday time. My goodness they eat like they have hollow legs!