This is the last week of our six week term and we are all biting at the bit for a break. This term has felt hard work, but not in a good way. I’m still trying to rebalance my life after learning to sleep for the first time in forty years. All you people out there who home school, blog and keep house in addition to sleeping, could you give me some tips on how to fit it all in? I’ve lost six hours a day and I’m struggling to do all I need to!
We did manage to visit our pond this week, with camera in hand. It was good to be back and we were all excited to see some gorgeous fluffy Mallard chicks:
School is ticking along. We are thoroughly enjoying our science this term and I am wondering why I didn’t think of doing science this way before. We learnt about bacteria this week and are currently growing some very suspicious looking cultures:
We are coming to the end of our project based plague unit. I am beginning to realise that everything we do is a learning experience, even when it fails. Whilst the children’s projects haven’t exactly been a failure, the experience of the past six weeks feels somewhat like one. Don’t get me wrong, we are still adoring project work. PBL fits us like a glove, however I have learnt that I need to ensure the children are getting topics which have enough depth in them to keep their attention. The fact is, the black death could have been covered equally thoroughly in three weeks rather than six. I can see the children dragging their feet and all three have a waning interest. Believe it or not, I have had to press them to finish, even T12 ran out of steam at the end:
A5 had something very exciting happen this week, when she lost her very first tooth. She was over the moon. I was somewhat sad. My girls are growing up fast and furiously. It made me determined to enjoy every moment of their childhood. I’m not sure the older girls could be said to be going through childhood anymore. They are growing into gorgeous young ladies, with their own personalities and their own style. I snapped the picture of L11 doing the washing up because I was struck by how beautiful she was and what a lovely individual style she has developed. I gave her the dress she is wearing and she teamed it with a material scarf which she turned into a belt and a gypsy blouse from a charity shop and head scarf:
Although I haven’t got round to actually posting about it, we are still doing Mr Men school and the little ones are still thriving. Each time I plan for the following week, I am struck by just how much educational content there is in each book:
The little ones are also doing their bug school whenever the fancy takes them. To be honest, it happens incidentally more often than not and is usually associated with good weather. My children are fair-weather entomologists! A5 is showing me the ladybird she found, whilst B2 went hunting for caterpillars on Granny’s rose bushes. I’m not sure why she’s giving me a thumbs up as she didn’t actually find any! I also found some unused bug and butterfly kits which I had kept from the older one’s school, hoping they would one day come in handy. They have posters, stickers, a lampshade (?) and an information booklet. I intend to ‘strew’ these next week and see if they come up with any fun ideas how to use them:
I also have been planning our two weeks off, which we are all excited about. The children will be learning about Chaucer, Fibonacci, loom jewellery, and T will be teaching himself about animation. Busy, busy but should be great fun as well as giving us a break from our normal routine. And you know what they say…a change is as good as a rest!
We’ve got so much to look forward to next week with friends visiting, good books to read, new skills to teach ourselves and a school room to complete. Feeling very thankful for this life of mine. I hope everyone else has an equally lovely week filled with lots of love, fun and family!
