Passing On Frugal Thinking

We as a family have just finished watching the BBC documentary ‘The Men Who Made Us Spend‘. If you haven’t seen it, it’s definitely worth having a look at, as it documents many of the PR tricks of the trade that encourage or trick people into buying and spending.

This is something we have been aware of for a long time through reading consumer advocacy magazines like CHOICE or watching comedy shows like ‘The Checkout‘. For us, they were a great ways to raise our awareness of the psychological enticements and tricks used by almost all businesses.

And that got me to thinking about the ways I have trained my brain to try and reduce the influence of these techniques. This is something that was taught to me by my mum, and it is knowledge that I try as much as possible to pass on to my children.
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Cotton Wool or Common Sense

Have you read any “When I was a kid …” memes lately? I have. And I must admit, I get a little annoyed at them. The ones that basically state, ‘When I was X, we did Y and came out OK’.

These memes tap deeply into the idea that people, particularly this generation of children, are a ‘cotton wool’ generation – too protected for their own good. In many ways, I think it’s also a deep reaction against what is seen as too much protection, too much worry, and an overemphasis on safety. 

So I thought I’d have a more detailed look at the whole idea. Continue reading “Cotton Wool or Common Sense”

Musings on Tertiary Options

Musings on Tertiary Options, yellowreadis.com Image: Duplo and wooden blocks

I wasn’t sure what to write for the blog-hop on ‘homeschooling gifted/2e kids into their teens’. I mean, C is almost 7, J is 2.5. They’re not exactly galloping towards teenager-hood at this time. But then I asked for some advice, and had a good think, and realised – I do have something to say. Because I have thought about some of the problems we’re sure to encounter. Continue reading “Musings on Tertiary Options”

Modern Maths to Do With Your Primary Schoolers: Fractals

Modern Maths to Do WIth Your Primary Schoolers: Fractals

As I talked about previously, I don’t feel that modern maths really enters into the classroom, or general maths curriculum very often. But that doesn’t mean it can’t! In fact, some of this maths is so easy, you can start learning and playing and thinking about it with your preschooler or primary-school aged children.

Here’s some cool maths ideas we’ve done at home.
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