Hello! Thank you for visiting my blog!
Who are you?
I am Hannah, I live in the rural northern countryside and blog here about my adventures in trying to live a simple, nourishing, beautiful and creative life with my son, Cameron.
What is the blog about?
I started the blog in 2008 to document our journey through home education but it has grown and evolved since then. I now write mainly about my adventures in crafting, cooking, living seasonally and growing and preserving food from our allotment. I also touch on parenting as a single parent, home education, living with Asperger Syndrome, foraging, thrifting for vintage items, books that inspire me and my insatiable obsession with Christmas!
I am passionate about sharing information about living a less commercial lifestyle – cooking from scratch, making home-made items and enriching family life. I hope to inspire people to try the things they are interested in – but perhaps procrastinating about for whatever reason – and show that most things are achievable on a low budget and without specialist skills.
This blog is not a full account of our daily lives, merely snippets that we choose to share.
Why home educate?
In a nutshell, the school environment did not suit Cameron's needs and he had a miserable time there. Since we chose home education I feel like I've got my son back and that he has reclaimed his childhood. We have had a blast and both learnt so much about so many things. We are both delighted with, and grateful for, our current situation, it works really well for us.
Do you use a curriculum?
Our approach falls under the unschooling or autonomous education umbrella. We are Waldorf inspired in our lifestyle but Cameron remains in control of what he learns and when. Sometimes that means we follow a curriculum he has chosen for himself, sometimes it means that he appears to be doing nothing very much at all. More often than not it falls somewhere in between and there is rarely a time from morning until night when what Cameron is up to could not be deemed educational in some way.
I am a firm believer that there is no "one size fits all" approach to education - we are following the path that works for us at any given time.
Which one of you has aspergers syndrome?
Both of us! I have blogged a bit about our journey through diagnosis towards the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009.
What is the 101 things project?
In May 2008 I made a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. The idea being that I'd have a list of things to keep me busy with a little added accountability by sharing it on my blog and with having the deadline. You can read the introductory post here which has my full list and a link to the main project page.
How come you advertise on your blog?
I am trying to make a living which enables me to meet mine and my son's needs. I know that blog advertising isn't ideal for blog readers but I try to strike the right balance between putting food on the table and making the blog interesting to read without overwhelming advertisements.
I have signed up to the amazon affiliates programme, mainly so that I can share our current reads and books that I use regularly and recommend. If you follow a link to amazon from my blog I earn a very small commission on anything you buy during that visit and I will only link when it is relevant.
I write and link to posts from other sites from time to time and earn commission from any sales made through those visits.
Occasionally I may also write here about other products when I think readers will be interested.
My policy on blogging with integrity -
*I will always disclose if I have received free products in return for a review or mention on the blog.
*I will always give my/our honest opinion about the products in line with the way we live our lives from day to day.
*Products advertised or reviewed on the blog will only be products we have actually used ourselves.
I am currently looking into advertising banners for something that is as non-invasive as possible.
Any money made through the above means helps us to make ends meet as a family and I continue to do my best to make sure that this does not become and overtly commercial space.
If you would like me to review your product or services or write a guest post/feature for your site then you are welcome to contact me.
How can I contact you?
You are welcome to email me. My email address is homebakedonline at gmail dot com. I read all messages and I'll do my best to answer as soon as I can.
I am also regularly on Twitter: @HomeBakedOnline
