NOTE ON PICTURES: This shouldn't be necessary but I have, sadly, noticed growing cases. Please DO NOT link directly to pictures on this website - it steals my bandwidth and is BAD! I CAN trace you if you do and I will take action.
Archive : November 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
No more homeschool blog
I've decided to not blog homeschool stuff anymore. I'm really, really tired of it. I'm having monumental issues with homeschool at the moment as we are kind of suspended in a sort of twilight world between the National Curriculum and Waldorf (2 more contrasting styles of education you couldn't possibly meet!!) I'm going to introduce certain elements of Waldorf to bring more storytelling, gentleness and art into homeschooling (for example I'm making the gnomes so that April can use them when we're doing maths). On the whole though, I'm going to stick with what we were doing before. Been doing it too long to start making radical changes now and, to be honest, I'm too tired to.
The blog thing. Well, I've been blogging homeschooling for 5 years and I think it's just run it's natural course. Still going to write over on my day-to-day blog, just can't be bothered to document every bit of homeschool work we do any more.
Also, not going to be making any new materials (Montessori and general materials). I need to start organising my time better and I've realised that I spent an awful lot of time sitting in front of the computer making new things. I want to free up some time for better things (art, crafts, cooking, reading ....)
So, at least from here, this is the end. You can catch me over on the NOT homeschool blog if you want but it isn't always fluffy and cute like the homeschool blog, I don't write about homeschool, I do sometimes swear and get mega mad at things ...... if you're hyper sensitive and/or very religious you might want to not bother.
Be seeing ya.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Slowing down and taking a new direction
Really must get some nice wintery blog graphics for here I think :)
We've changed direction a fair bit with homeschool - we began to tire of all the workbooks and plastic manipulatives a lot and have moved into a more Waldorf approach. There are a few main reasons for this which I can't be bothered to write about (sorry, tired tonight!) but Rosie expressed an interest in doing more drawing/painting work and April was clearly bored of the workbooks.
Anyway, I'm still getting Rosie's work sorted ready to start but April did some letter work today with upper case "M". I have to say, we're not following Waldorf totally strictly and just having any rhyme or story that seems to fit - so today we acted out The Bear Went Over the Mountain (and got totally out of puff doing it!) Then we drew mountains (looking like capital M's) and wrote the letter M next to it.
Here's April working - love the bear marching up the mountain :)
We're going to bind all these letter pages together when she's finished to make a nice book
Also today she started making a theatre out of an old cardboard box. I cut it into shape for her and she got painting - will post the finished item tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Photos from today
I made the kids new science journals - nothing fancy, just plain paper, spiral bound with construction paper covers. For their first work in them, April is doing about the seasons and Rosie is studying cells and cell functions.
Here's April, doing a pasting activity (what activities would we do in different seasons):
Rosie made plant and animal cell models out of various craft bits and pieces - we didn't include ALL the cell parts, just the ones it says to cover in the Year 7 curriculum! Anyway, here she is working on her animal cell and then a picture of the finished models:
She also spent quite a long time viewing things under the microscope (we've got it out so we can prepare and view cheek and onion skin cells later on in the week). She found a nice sunny spot in front of the window and sprawled out there!
Oh, and April drew a rather cute alien :)
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Still here!
Still here, still working, still homeschooling - just not much to blog about, education-wise really! Sorry!
See archive index for other posts