This week has not been one of our academic successes. We often get weeks when one or other of us have absolutely no desire to work. This is normal and with the help of the others, the lethargic one is buoyed into action and the week remains fairly productive even for the reluctant child/adult. Very occasionally, we have weeks when not one of us wants to do anything pertaining to study. This was one of those weeks. We did bits, but to be honest it was a little pitiful. That said, much learning occurred without any intention at all. I’m learning to relax into this home school lark, knowing that the peaks and troughs of life can almost seem magnified in our home school. And even in a learning trough, the hours of the day still tick by, being occupied in a variety of ways.
I always say, if in doubt, blame it on the weather. I’m British. The weather traditionally has a great deal to answer for over here. It has been really quite lovely weather which, after the intense wet of the last six months, is a welcome reprieve. This type of weather isn’t conducive to being cooped up inside studying, especially if being cooped up has become the norm of late. So the children rebelled this week and spent most of it outside. And this is why absolutely nothing academic was accomplished this week. Y’see? The weather.
- T12 has become consumed by a new passion – building his own go-cart. I hadn’t really taken any of his ramblings about pressure and velocity equations terribly seriously until, a couple of nights ago, I went outside to move the rubbish bin and there was his go-cart. I was so impressed. Here he is standing next to it atop a couple of logs to enable him to work off the floor.
- A5 was so enamoured by her brothers attempts she too began to build her own go cart. Here, she is sitting on it.
- Couldn’t resist. My gorgeous three year old!
- Sisters having fun on our hammock. They use it as a swing rather than a sleeping base. They’ve rigged another rope hanging from the plum tree, which they pull to get them started.
- We are still plugging away at our school room. Here Father and son are working together to hang one of our old pine doors (obtained from freecycle) on the home school cupboard door way.
- Oscar, our golden lab
- George and Lucy keeping warm, snuggled up together
- B3 on her way up to her favourite place in the world – bed.
- L11 has been in the kitchen again, attempting to recreate some medieval magic for her presentation. This time she was making meringues in the shape of swans. These will be white (obviously) representing the white rose and they will swim in a red raspberry coulis to represent the red rose of the war of the roses. You can see the whipped egg whites on her nose, smeared there by her very mature mother.
- Once all the swans had been piped onto baking sheets, she called her siblings to scrape out the bowl. Never have I seen two children move so swiftly.
- Mr Bump, I mean, B3!
- A5 doing some Mr Men school.
- I have plans to create a writing nook in our new home school room and had been looking out for an old type writer to go in it. I didn’t want to spend too much on it though and any I looked at were quite expensive. We wandered into the charity shop on Saturday, where for every bag of stuff you take in you get £2 to spend in the shop. We had accumulated £42 worth of vouchers over the past six months or so, which meant when we saw this type write for £14.50 we were able to buy it with our vouchers.
- The children have played on the typewriter for hours upon hours this week, setting up travel agencies, banks, writing newspapers and thank you letters. It has been a really good purchase and I am very excited about putting it in my writing nook, when (or in deed if) we finish our school room.
- ‘Mummy, look at me! Photograph me please!’ B3 had just done her hair all by herself and obviously wanted me to capture the momentous occasion on camera!
- I’m hoping to post about our science nook next week. It has been up and running for a few days and A5 can’t keep her hands off the microscope and has spent hours this week looking at various slides under it.
There you have it. Our week in collage. I hope everyone has a blessed week-end with friends, family and lots and lots of fun!
