Does anyone else feel useless

[needmorecoffee]

when reading how other home edders make volcanos and form bands and build space stations?
Even after 8 years I feel intimidated. My lot do bugger all except play computer games!

Me.
Everybody else does seem to have such a whirl of ideas and be out and about and 'doing things'.
I don't read blogs and things as much as I did when we first started as they did tend to make me feel inadequate as well as being inspirational for a beginner.
Now I try to focus more on what is okay for us. We do what we can with the resources we have. Whether that's time, money, ideas, availability of outings. Apart from the occassional wobble I absolutely believe that this is the best education for our children.
And there's a lot to be learned from computer games.

Hmmmm Space Station. Mine is besotted with a game called Eve at the moment. I keep on telling myself that its O.K. he is learning economics (they have to mine asteroids then sell the stuff to buy bigger ships more and better armament etc). I have all the time in the world to make volcanoes as I am a SAHM and carer to my DH who also shares the 'teaching'. So for me i have an abundance of time, i am envious of julienoshoes who has a local HE group nearby, and seems to go on allsorts of visits and festivals etc.

Mine have been playing computer games for 8 years! They've never really been interested in outside stuff. It got worse when dd2 was born 4 years ago. She requires 24 hour care so the others sort of have to muddle along. Our local group is aimed at under 10s so the boys don't want to go but we don't have a car and can't get dd's wheelchair on a bus.
One lad is playing 'World of warcraft', the other 'Command and Conquer'
We are trying to get a teen group going but again, no car and what to do with dd2 (who is 4, disabled and not really suited to teen things like laserquest!)
I do take ds2 to home education camps which are fun. We go on the train and lug all the stuff. Hesfes is fab. ds2 doesn't want to go to the other HE camps this year because there are groups of teens who drink (their parents think this is ok) and last year it got a bit noisy. I'm going to organise a May HE camp that is drink free and for under 14's. Got 15 families signed up if you want to come Discover?
ds2 is thinking of going back to school (he's 12) and I can't helping thinking that if dd2 wasn't brain damaged, this wouldn't happen.

Where are you thinking of having the camp? We are going on holiday in June so won't be able to afford much in the way of fee's or petrol expenses.

week before half term in May. Its about 40 quid camping fees. Near Chichester or possible Corfe castle

I think everyone talks about the good bits, yk?

Someone would be much more likely to write about the day they built a fort than the day they sat around and read books and then later they ran around at the park for a while. It's not quite so thrilling to read, but there's nothing to say that the one is more of a valuable learning experience for a child than the other.