A bee at the Honeycomb

Tiny Town at The Honeycomb Hub.  What shall we "Let's pretend" today? ‘Let’s pretend we’re teenagers and we’re going to visit each other at our houses.” “And let’s pretend that I’ve broken my leg and we have to bandage it” “yes, let’s make the vets a Doctors now” “or we could pretend that we’re both Jaguars and you’re the Doctor Jaguar” Let’s pretend – wonderful, magical words that are used so easily by youngsters yet as we grow, responsibility seems to shrink those words out of us. Our tongues forget how to form their shape and we lose access to the magical worlds they create. “Play keeps us vital and alive. It gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good”  - Lucia Capocchione      I feel so fortunate that I get to hear those words so often here at the Honeycomb Hub. The traditional ‘Let’s pretend’ inspired by the rooms of Tiny Town as children become parents looking after their babie...

At The Honeycomb Hub we are very fortunate to work in a place filled with lovely people, varied days and tasty cake - thank goodness for the fitness classes! Sharing reccommendations at our books exchange.  Just like Maria in the Sound of Music, we have an ever growing list of favourite things at the Hub, though perhaps not quite so lyrically put. -Fitness classes and the feeling of achievement, virtuousness (and occasionally relief after a tough one) when you complete one; Future chefs in the making! -Chatting with the visitors who come both new and returning – we always have time  for a tea and chat! -Being honoured to host birthday parties and making the day extra special for birthday boys and girls; -The smell of freshly brewed filter coffee (especially our vanilla one in the mornings); -Hearing those magical words ‘let’s pretend’ over the walls of Tiny Town; -Getting to don the story wizard’s hat and read stories at 11am each day … I could go on ...

Small activities you do at home could be the beginning of homeschooling! Teaching your children from home has a variety of names - home schooling, un-schooling, free range learning. It can also be done in different ways -whether by you, by a tutor, following a scheme or creating your own curriculum. The one thing they all have in common is teaching children outside a formal school setting. There are a growing number of parents choosing this route. I have been a teacher for over 12 years and have so much admiration for parents who do home school – give me a classroom of 30 and I’m fine, however just my own 2 boys and I’m not sure I would be so effective! Over the years I have got to teach topics I was confident in (poetry, Tudors, times tables to name a few favourites) but there are always those topics where I was not so experienced and confident in teaching. Then you have to re-teach yourself how to do it before you are able to teach the students. The most memorable of the...