where would I be?
‘cos I can’t find it. I don’t need it to renew my insurance, regular readers will know that I did that three weeks ago. But I need the renewal sheet as it has evidence of my no claims bonus on it, and my new company needs that evidence. And can I find it? 🙁
In other news, despite a small wibble while getting ready, Big has gone off with her Grandma and Grandad for the weekend at my sister’s in Wales. Small was very upset about this – he didn’t want to go without me (and I’m not ready to let him go that far away without me either), but he didn’t want Big to go without him. He’s being very cuddly and just a tiny bit pathetic -it’s rather sweet. We’ve done painting and puter time, and now he’s watching Something Special – we do like that.
And I’ve been pondering a thread on early years he about childhood – I’ve long thought that childhood as we have it now is a rather recent invention, mainly limited to the privileged west. Which is not to say that I think we *ought* to be sending children up chimneys or down mines, far from it. But I also don’t think we should be pretending they are utterly useless and have no abilities. In fact, I’d love to have time to devise a home education curriculum that is based around crafts – I think you can learn an awful lot of what you need to (where need to is talking about useful skills that get you through the day, rather than any abstract set defined by a central authority) that way. Mix and match it with a literature based study like Muddlepuddle reading year and I think you’d have pretty much all the bases covered. Assuming that cooking can be thought of as a craft 😉
Comments
24 responses to “If I were an insurance renewal paper”
How cool Jax – a discussion link!
I’ve been afforded more time today to write today – than I have been in 3 years. I am so absolutely fascinated by this thread. But – maybe I’ll lurk about hoping for illumination.
Andrea ran a craft supplies store for about 5 years. The children had access to a wide variety of materials. They are definitely a useful learning tool. And, I also think providing them with real stuff to work with helps develop their creativity.
That’s the other part of my theory, that we should always have our children work with real things, rather than cut down children’s versions that don’t work properly. It’s the not working properly rather than the cut down that is particularly the problem I think – I wouldn’t be particularly encouraged to finish a project if I was working with poor tools.
I’ve had insurance companies who won’t accept the renewal sheet as proof no claims. Just ring them, they should send you a proper statement of ncb in the post pretty quickly.
A craft-based curriculum would have been my idea of a nightmare. I hate crafts.
There’s an awful lot of crafts you know 😉 Quite a lot of them I’m not very fond of either, but I thought it might be an interesting starting point.
Yes, I’ll give them a ring, both sets of them. I was looking for the renewal ‘cos that was what they said they wanted. I’ll try them tomorrow on the off chance that they have some kind of call centre going – otherwise it’ll have to wait til Tues.
Are there any crafts that don’t involve using your hands though? I prefer things more abstract than hands on.
Doubt it – but then again, I’m not claiming one size fits all. I said that I thought the curriculum would cover all needed skills, not necessarily that all children would take to it. Although in my (admittedly limited) experience, children seem to quite like getting hands on with a variety of stuff – perhaps they are put off when they are given bad tools and unrealistic, unnecessary targets?
Do you remember whether you ever liked crafts?
I would consider photography a craft – you’re rather good at that aspect of hands on-ness 😉
Hmmmmm, not sure photography is really a craft. You’ll be telling me blogging is too in a minute.
No, never liked craft ever. I was rather good at Graphic Communication (which I think was more like Technical Drawing than Art). It was the source of my only proud moment as a schoolkid (apart from a mathematics report that said that I had got the best score in the exams in the year which was ‘somewhat suprising as Christopher appears to make no effort in lessons ands spends most of his time distracting others’. We had to draw a projection of our house. The teacher thought mine was simply excellent – his words not mine. Which suprised me as I thought it was shit.
Crafts are for girls.
Cooking?
Crafts are for girls?
Bricklaying is a craft. Thatching is a craft. Ploughing is a craft. Welding is a craft. Carpentry is a craft.
Suggest you go into a few of your local pubs on a Friday night and shout “bricklayers are girlies”.
Let us know how you get on. 🙂
All of which would be done better by girls.
Very true.
I dunno, first time I post a discussion link, and do any of you use it???
I can lay bricks, plough, weld and also, lay hedges. 🙂 And I’m a girly. Honest.
Don’t forget to add gardening to that – it’s a craft all of its own and needs a place in your curriculum, Jax. 🙂
you are very right, but I think it could run a curriculum all of its own. 😀
My dad was a welder. Don’t think he was a girly though. He’s a geordie.
Kris. Who is Hedges?
‘Very right’,’very right’!!!!!
Surely Tim that is on your list of pet hates. It is up there with ‘very unique’ for me.
I think I said very true. I agree that ‘very unique’ is a no-no, because something is either unique or it isn’t. But truth is not an absolute, so I don’t see the problem.
But Iwas referring to Jax saying very right not your very true. Is right absoloute?
I was referring to ‘very right’ as it goes.
I suspect you will say that rightness is not an absolute either, but you would be very wrong to do so.
You were in moderation Chris, which is why you’re here twice now.
Apparently Tim is very wrong then.
I’m staying out of it. 😀
Keep it real, guys.
Really real.
Ignore the insurance renewal, just phone the insurance company direct and go through the form filling nonsense again. My renewal was for £279 – for some reason, when I forgot to renew and had to go through the new business channel again, my premium dropped to £266. ??? But still 😀