I keep meaning to update this blog - but when?
We continue to plod on in much the same fashion, struggling to juggle work and home ed, never feeling there is sufficient time to do either properly, until something makes us look back and realise that both are going well.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Becoming a Gran!
On 7th October 2011, I became a Gran. My daughter Kate gave birth to this little bundle.
A very cuddly little boy. I am happy and proud. Auntie Emily is too.
A very cuddly little boy. I am happy and proud. Auntie Emily is too.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Holiday!
We have spent the last week in Cornwall, on a holiday won by our fabulous big daughter Kate. The farm we stayed on had an indoor pool, hot tub, sauna and steam room which were no less than wonderful. It was amazing to have a pool all to ourselves.
Saturday night we took a trip to the local beaches of Portreath and Portowan. The sunset was amazing.
Sunday we tried to visit Newquay - but it was full. Not a parking space anywhere - so we cheered ourselves up with a visit to Callestick farm. These people make the best ice cream ever.
Monday started out a bit grey and overcast, so we visited the National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek. Although by lunch time we were searching out the shade. We saw the rescued baby seals in the hospital and videos on how the sanctuary works and we learnt what to do if we find a seal on the beach.
Tuesday and Wednesday we went to the beach at Gwithian, and spent both of the entire days there. If the tide is wrong at Gwithian, there's no chance of leaving the beach as the steps get cut off by the tide. No worries - move up the beach and wait it out. Rich, Emily and I all had fun body-boarding, although Kate was a bit restricted by her now rapidly growing bump. We used to take James and Kate to this beach when they were little, so it was amazing to be able to go back and do it again with Emily.
Thursday we finally made it to Newquay for a trip to the Blue Reef Aquarium and a browse around the shops. We watched the staff feed the Giant Turtle and heard about how he was rescued and how he manages to find his food as he is blind. Then we watched the Caimen Crocodiles being feed, they are trained to bite a big red ball on a stick and when they do so they are rewarded with food, this is so they can be coaxed into a box fro transportation as they will leave the water to touch the ball. They live in a large aquarium with turtles and fish, and we were interested to learn that they do not eat the other occupants as they are regularly fed, this is how the centre manages to keep sharks in the same tank as other fish too. The staff member compared these predators to humans, who could easily go and kill there own food - but we don't bother as it's easier to go to the supermarket!
They have only been at the centre a few months and already have a nest full of eggs, so we'll be watching the website in a few weeks time to see if they have hatched.
By Friday some of us were a bit sun-scorched (not me), so we opted to avoid the beach. Instead we went for a boat trip in Falmouth up the river Fal. It was amazing scenery and a very interesting trip, although the gigantic tankers that are "parked" up the river waiting for work made it all a little surreal. Emily and Rich went crabbing from the pier and then later in the day from the rocks by the castle.
Time to come home on Saturday, but still time to "pop" into Boscastle and admire the beauty of the place. We saw how high the flood in 2004 had reached up the still standing buildings, and learned about their new flood defences. Emily wanted to visit the Witchcraft museum, and found it fascinating.
We are all well rested, and feeling a bit glum to be home. Well, all apart from Emily who is looking forward to Badger Camp next week!
Saturday night we took a trip to the local beaches of Portreath and Portowan. The sunset was amazing.
Sunday we tried to visit Newquay - but it was full. Not a parking space anywhere - so we cheered ourselves up with a visit to Callestick farm. These people make the best ice cream ever.
Monday started out a bit grey and overcast, so we visited the National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek. Although by lunch time we were searching out the shade. We saw the rescued baby seals in the hospital and videos on how the sanctuary works and we learnt what to do if we find a seal on the beach.
Tuesday and Wednesday we went to the beach at Gwithian, and spent both of the entire days there. If the tide is wrong at Gwithian, there's no chance of leaving the beach as the steps get cut off by the tide. No worries - move up the beach and wait it out. Rich, Emily and I all had fun body-boarding, although Kate was a bit restricted by her now rapidly growing bump. We used to take James and Kate to this beach when they were little, so it was amazing to be able to go back and do it again with Emily.
Thursday we finally made it to Newquay for a trip to the Blue Reef Aquarium and a browse around the shops. We watched the staff feed the Giant Turtle and heard about how he was rescued and how he manages to find his food as he is blind. Then we watched the Caimen Crocodiles being feed, they are trained to bite a big red ball on a stick and when they do so they are rewarded with food, this is so they can be coaxed into a box fro transportation as they will leave the water to touch the ball. They live in a large aquarium with turtles and fish, and we were interested to learn that they do not eat the other occupants as they are regularly fed, this is how the centre manages to keep sharks in the same tank as other fish too. The staff member compared these predators to humans, who could easily go and kill there own food - but we don't bother as it's easier to go to the supermarket!
They have only been at the centre a few months and already have a nest full of eggs, so we'll be watching the website in a few weeks time to see if they have hatched.
By Friday some of us were a bit sun-scorched (not me), so we opted to avoid the beach. Instead we went for a boat trip in Falmouth up the river Fal. It was amazing scenery and a very interesting trip, although the gigantic tankers that are "parked" up the river waiting for work made it all a little surreal. Emily and Rich went crabbing from the pier and then later in the day from the rocks by the castle.
Time to come home on Saturday, but still time to "pop" into Boscastle and admire the beauty of the place. We saw how high the flood in 2004 had reached up the still standing buildings, and learned about their new flood defences. Emily wanted to visit the Witchcraft museum, and found it fascinating.
We are all well rested, and feeling a bit glum to be home. Well, all apart from Emily who is looking forward to Badger Camp next week!
Monday, 18 July 2011
Planning for next year.
Because Rich is a teacher, we tend to work our home education around the school terms simply so we can take our holidays with him. So at the moment, we're having a break until September. Well, when I say "we", obviously I mean Emily, not me. I'm still working, the NHS doesn't give me the summer off unfortunately, and I'm planning the educational activities for next year.
We do work to a loose schedule, we have a certain amount of topics we hope to get covered each term. It's not that we are organised folk, or think that autonomous education doesn't work (it does), but simply because with both of us working full time, we have to be organised to be able to do this.
So far the loosely arranged plan is:
English- We will continue to follow the structure of Study Ladder, although it will be year 4 work not 3. Emily has already covered the year 3 work, so our plan is to take the year 4 work slowly and supplement the topics they have with other activities.
Maths - Again we will use study ladder (year 3), supplemented by other activities.
Science - we will be using the free science curriculum from MrQ, along with our chemistry set.
History - continue our wander along the timeline. We will start next term with the Norman invasion
Geography - 3 separate projects - 1 each term. Rocks, Rivers and something undecided as yet...
PE - 1x swimming lesson & 1 free swim each week. Gymnastics weekly and starting karate.
I will plump this up further during the summer, with suitable visits and games.
We do work to a loose schedule, we have a certain amount of topics we hope to get covered each term. It's not that we are organised folk, or think that autonomous education doesn't work (it does), but simply because with both of us working full time, we have to be organised to be able to do this.
So far the loosely arranged plan is:
English- We will continue to follow the structure of Study Ladder, although it will be year 4 work not 3. Emily has already covered the year 3 work, so our plan is to take the year 4 work slowly and supplement the topics they have with other activities.
Maths - Again we will use study ladder (year 3), supplemented by other activities.
Science - we will be using the free science curriculum from MrQ, along with our chemistry set.
History - continue our wander along the timeline. We will start next term with the Norman invasion
Geography - 3 separate projects - 1 each term. Rocks, Rivers and something undecided as yet...
PE - 1x swimming lesson & 1 free swim each week. Gymnastics weekly and starting karate.
I will plump this up further during the summer, with suitable visits and games.
Friday, 27 May 2011
May? Already?
Oh no - time is flying by - where did May go?
OK so it's catch up time again - not unusual for this blog I know.
So May...
Well, as Pagans, May is a big deal. We celebrated Beltaine as usual with our friends in Charnwood Grove.
We also attended a May Fair at Beacon Hill. It was a beautiful Spring day, with Maypole dancing, a May Queen, Storytelling, and lots and lots of ribbons.
A few days later it was Emilys 7th Birthday. We celebrated as a family, with James coming home from Uni to join us. We hadn't seen him since the beginning of January so that was lovely. (I will add the photos when I have uploaded them to the computer)
Then the following week, Emily had her party at Oak Farm Park. She had a great time, despite being a little under the weather.
Kate has been spending a lot of time with Emily over the past few weeks as I struggle to catch up with my Uni course. They've have started and completed the personal safety section on Study Ladder. We have also continued looking at the Vikings (so now I know where the blonde hair comes from - my daughters are Vikings!), and linked this to Geography.
Emily has finished the year 2 Maths on Study Ladder, she just needs to complete the exams, which I think we are both putting off! They have little relevance to us - we know she knows her stuff and we are taking a break before starting the year 3 work. We have also returned a little to Mathletics (although it's still not a favourite). Emily has also started using Dance Mat Typing, to improve her skills.
Yesterday, we spent the day at Plantasia with a group of local Home Edders. Unfortunately we didn'tmake it all the way round all of the mazes, so we're sending Emily and her Dad back later to try harder! It was a lovely day, despite the rain, with the wonderful kind of company you only get in Home Ed groups.
OK so it's catch up time again - not unusual for this blog I know.
So May...
Well, as Pagans, May is a big deal. We celebrated Beltaine as usual with our friends in Charnwood Grove.
We also attended a May Fair at Beacon Hill. It was a beautiful Spring day, with Maypole dancing, a May Queen, Storytelling, and lots and lots of ribbons.
A few days later it was Emilys 7th Birthday. We celebrated as a family, with James coming home from Uni to join us. We hadn't seen him since the beginning of January so that was lovely. (I will add the photos when I have uploaded them to the computer)
Then the following week, Emily had her party at Oak Farm Park. She had a great time, despite being a little under the weather.
Emily has finished the year 2 Maths on Study Ladder, she just needs to complete the exams, which I think we are both putting off! They have little relevance to us - we know she knows her stuff and we are taking a break before starting the year 3 work. We have also returned a little to Mathletics (although it's still not a favourite). Emily has also started using Dance Mat Typing, to improve her skills.
Yesterday, we spent the day at Plantasia with a group of local Home Edders. Unfortunately we didn'tmake it all the way round all of the mazes, so we're sending Emily and her Dad back later to try harder! It was a lovely day, despite the rain, with the wonderful kind of company you only get in Home Ed groups.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Vikings
We have finally finished the Viking settlement. The image below right shows the whole thing including the trading long ship while the image on the left is focused on the boatyard.
Below is Milly's favourite part. That's the man on the toilet. I gave us a good chance to talk about Viking plumbing (or lack thereof).
Friday, 22 April 2011
Growing Beans
The bean on the left is confused. It has too much light and it can't find up or down. We've covered it with a sleeve (on the right). Let's see if it grow up towards the light now.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Crafty History
The first four buildings of our Viking Settlement. We now need a quick Jorvik Centre visit.
Swimming
Level 3 done. That's 10 meters on the front and back and a lot of water skill stuff. Milly is very pleased with herself. Now she has a green hat!
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Celts, Romans and Treasure
Today Emily is doing the blog. Hi
Yesterday I went to the museum with my friends.
Ha ha I am a celt! cool!
I wore some SILLY HELMETS!
I made a silver coin.
I swept in the sand pit to get some treasure and I found a tile with 2000 year old dog foot prints. I wrote about it.
INVADERS!
I made a helmet.
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