Muffin and Paws

The highlight of the aforementioned Half Term week (for the girls) was looking after Muffin and Paws (our neighbours' new pet rabbits) so that our neighbours could go on a trip to Lego land etc. In spite of our best efforts we've not yet managed a good photograph - the rabbits just keep hopping about and hiding in their play tunnel.

Carrot by A, 2cm x 8cm, hama beads

Bethan

Bethan is our puppy. She's about ten months old and came from a small rescue centre near Boston, Lincolnshire, called Mill Rescue. http://www.millrescue.co.uk/

Bethan in Saltfleetby, April 2009

Half Term

You might think that Half Term would have little meaning to home educators and their children. Of course I'd never thought about it until now, but there is a definite change of mood and pace, as the school-educated children socialize in between visits to grannies, theme parks, and swimming pools. Lots of activity outside this week, especially cycling, playing in the park, and trips to find an old den along a nearby woodland pathway. New friendships, developing friendships, and the usual squabbles along the way.

A New Cousin

Preparations are in progress for a ceremony to be held this weekend in honour of A New Cousin. She is ten months old now and very popular with friends and family. I am so pleased for my brother who is a father for the first time and for his partner who is a fantastic friend to us, and I gain a very special niece!

Both girls are very excited about the event as it will be a fun family gathering with various gift offerings being made for the special day, including poetry, music and visual presentations. A will play a little piece for piano by Barbara Kreader from which she's learning the basics of musical intervals. The words are fun too:

'Please, no bees! Please, no bees on my nose or neck or knees! Bring no sting! Bring no sting! Find a rose, not my nose! Ouch!'

I is busy making a cross-stitch of the letters of her new cousin's name with a decorative border.



'Minnie', cross stitch (detail), 12.5cm x 18.5cm

This is something I enjoys as it involves working out how to centre the design, making lines of symmetry with tacking cotton, choosing a typeface, colours and types of threads, and appropriate decorative motifs.

Basking Sharks Love Cornwall

We read an article in the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust magazine about Basking Sharks. The article included a map of sightings of Basking Sharks around the coast of Cornwall over the past few years and information about dangers to the future of the sharks' habitat, especially the injuries caused by fishing nets and boats.


Front cover of I's 6 page information leaflet

Some of the language in the article was technical and complicated. So we set a task: to design an information leaflet using the same context - Basking Sharks and Cornwall - that would be suitable as an introduction to the subject. The leaflet was to include basic information such as a description of the size, weight and lifestyle of a Basking Shark. Research used texts from books and the internet. The colours/style of the design layout was to reflect the Cornish context. I worked hard on this project which relates to one of her preferred learning styles - presentation, particularly re-packaging information to target audiences. Although she used a pre-set design, she chose the colours carefully, including the Cornish blue.

The Cat Sat on the Mat

The cat sat on the mat.
The fluffy cat sat on the pink mat.
The fluffy lazy cat sat on the pink royal mat.
The fluffy lazy silly cat sat on the pink royal soft mat.
The fluffy lazy silly funny cat sat on a pink royal soft flowery mat.
The fluffy lazy silly funny cat called Daisy sat on a pink royal soft flowery mat.
Daisy the fluffy lazy silly funny cat who sat on a pink royal soft flower mat... was bored!

In the afternoon, Daisy had a fantastic idea. She thought about her friends. They could all do gymnastics. Daisy wished she could do gymnastics too so she tried doing a back flip, she did an astonishing one... but she wasn't very impressed at the end because she landed on her head!

To be continued.... A

Tiger

A year ago today our cat Tiger died. We still miss her and talk about her a lot. Even though our new dog Bethan is now part of the family, Tiger had that certain independence that all cat lovers admire.


Tiger at home in Devon, 2007

She came to us from The Blue Cross in Spring 2007. We lived in Devon then and she enjoyed some happy days in the garden at our old house, climbing the apple trees and the outhouse roof, and walking up and down the hill. When we relocated in August 2007 she enjoyed the luxury of fitted carpet for the first time (the Devon house had floorboards) and perhaps her greatest adventure here was the day she climbed onto the roof of my neighbour's bungalow. I only wish we had taken a photograph! Tiger was still a young cat when she died and her passing brought back memories of other cats from days gone by, who are household names. Rest in peace Tiger. May you know the blessing of cool grassland in the summer time. We miss you.

Where's Toto?

Today we went to Gainsborough for the first time. The weather wasn't great but we'd planned the visit so we decided to go ahead. We visited The Old Hall, St Michael's church and the library. As we're just getting started on our Medieval project, I thought a visit to The Old Hall would be inspiring, which it certainly was and we hope to go again soon.
Where's Toto? by Elizabeth Laird

The highlight of the trip for the girls, however, was finding a little paperback book in the library, a French/English Reader - Where's Toto? Perhaps this is typical home education... I'm sure I remember this book (or at least something very similar) from my own school days. Anyway, it's a fun little book and we'll enjoy reading it all the way through tomorrow!

Mexican Crosses

Mexican Crosses
at Alfington, Devon

The onset of traditional flower festivals in the rural churches reminds me of the wonderful time we had a few years ago helping to create a flower festival for the parish church at Alfington in Devon. The theme was Crosses and our inspiration was one of my all time favourite books Mexican Churches by Eliot Porter and Ellen Auerbach. Our display was outside in the churchyard close to the church door.

Share the World

Share the World http://sharetheworld.org.uk has produced an excellent resources pack called Everyone Matters that encourages respect and compassion for animals. This morning the girls watched the dvd as part of their research into animal charities. This is a really fun resource pack that makes learning so much easier! Another dvd resource pack Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Enterprise Challenge http://dogshome.org gives insight into how the charity operates - including its history, funding, and the day to day working practices. Also some wonderful photographs of the animals. We're looking forward to using both of these resource packs in the days ahead.

A lovely sunny day today so we decided to prepare a picnic lunch and took it along to the park at the end of our road. Swings, climbing frames, a tree to climb, and our dog charging around. Afterwards we returned home for a quiet reading session followed by some sewing. Inspired by the book covers she made a couple of days ago, A decided to begin another book cover, this time using a crazy patchwork technique. Then out to play with a whole bunch of friends and a visit to a neighbour's new pet rabbits.

Fillingham Marriage Buns

Fillingham Marriage Buns, 2009


This afternoon we visited churches taking part in the Churches Festival 2009 http://churchesfestival.com At St Andrew's Fillingham we discovered the tradition of Marriage Buns. These are 'simple sponge buns clad in white sugar icing, for the sweetness of love and simplicity; and decorated with silver dragees, for fidelity and sterling worth'. The legend of the buns suggests that sometime during the nineteenth century buns were made as a cheaper alternative to the traditional wedding cake, leaving more funds for the bride and groom to spend on setting up home, whilst still ensuring some special food for the wedding feast.

Handmade Stitched Books

I's Holiday Journal, back and front, 10cm x 15.5cm (approx)

Young Embroiderers (Lincoln Bailgate Branch) met today. I and A went along for the first time. The concertina style books were made using fabric, ribbon, beads, buttons, and stitch. The inner pages are hand-dyed paper, with stitched pockets in which to insert special treasures. Thanks to Christine, Robyn, and the other helpers, the girls enjoyed the day and came back inspired not only to complete their holiday journals, but to make more books using the same techniques.

A's Holiday Journal, back and front, 10cm x 15.5cm (approx)

Blue Cross Tea Party

After lunch we went to a Blue Cross Tea Party at the home of one of our new friends. This was a good opportunity for I and A to think about their animal charities project. Sitting amongst a group of people interested in the welfare of animals we added a few more animal charities to our A-Z list. It was also an ideal way of showing the girls how charity fundraising works in an informal setting involving a small group of friends. What were the ingredients? A kind welcome, a cup of tea, some cakes and biscuits, a raffle, a comfy chair and a chat with some like-minded people and the job was done... although I did explain to the girls that planning, preparation, good publicity and the washing up afterwards are also part of the task! We're going to collect the publicity materials to see how this kind of event works as as national project.

http://www.bluecrossteaparty.org.uk

Rainbows

We had a good morning at home today. The weather was quite strange but also very interesting: lots of short sharp showers interspersed with bursts of brilliant sunshine. So inbetween the learning tasks there were quite a few sightings of rainbows.

A managed to work on the following: ballet practice, adding up sums using columns, a letter to a new penpal and finding out some information on polar bears and other endangered species. We looked at an atlas and found the equator, the tropics, the north and south poles, and climate maps.

Wildlife in Danger (Earth Watch Series) by Sally Watts

I continued with her maths project, which is all about speeding up in areas she is confident in and finding new challenges, particularly in geometry and presenting data. She also read the first pages of her new book.

Anne Frank. The Diary of a Young Girl

Stixwould

Today I went for a day out to meet some friends at Stixwould, near Woodhall Spa. It was fantastic! The sun was shining and the views were really stunning. I saw swans flying across the sky - the wind was almost 'stilling' them as they flew. Good company and very inspiring.

Animal Charities

One of our interests at the moment is animal charities. We're making an A-Z list of charities, beginning with the well-known ones, and then finding more obscure ones as we go along. Some are international, some national, some local. Our list so far is as follows:

Animal Rescue Centre
Blue Cross / Bransby Home of Rest for Horses
Cats Protection League
Dogs Trust / Donkey Sanctuary
E
F
Guinea Pig Rescue
Hedgehog Care
I
Jerry Green Rescue Centre
K
Lincoln Cat Care / Lincoln English Springer Spaniel Rescue / Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust /
Lincolnshire English Springer Spaniel Rescue
Man's Best Friend / Mill Rescue
Northcote Heavy Horse Centre
Old English Sheepdog Rescue and Welfare
PDSA / PETA
Q
Rat's World / Redwings Horse Sanctuary / Retired Greyhound Trust / RSPB / RSPCA
Seal Sanctuary / Silver Florin Equine Centre / Stray Dog Sanctuary
T
U
V
Weirfield Wildlife Hospital / Wildlife Trust
X
Y
Z

We're investigating how animal charities promote themselves, how funds are raised, and the principles on which individual animal charities are set up and run. Our aim is to make a sequence of presentations to explain something of the essence of selected animal charities from the list. In the meantime we're having lots of fun with our research!

Teapot

A made this teapot as her first project in clay. She began with a careful pencil drawing showing the dimensions she hoped to achieve. The teapot has a beautifully fitting lid, golden handle and spout and a pink flower decoration. It was fired and painted with acrylic paint. A was able to make this teapot thanks to local potter Andrew MacDonald of The Pot Shop, Lincoln, who allows people to use his workshop once a week.

Teapot by A (2009), clay with acrylic paint, 10.5cm x 17cm (approx)

Maypole

The history of the Maypole is fascinating. A tall tree trunk was decorated with flowers, branches, garlands and flags, and often painted with brightly coloured stripes, and the people danced around it in a circle. Sometimes the Maypole stayed in place and was used for other celebrations of late Spring, such as those associated with Whitsuntide.

At Welton, near Lincoln, the tradition of the Maypole is still celebrated under the direction of Mrs Susan Gaisford, a local ballet teacher. Rain or shine, the May Queen is crowned and the Green Man appears amongst the crowds alongside other traditions old and new. The Maypole retains its place at the centre of the celebrations and the children continue to dance.

Chambers Book of Days has more information about May Day traditions.

Cats

Cat by A (2007), 6cm x 8cm, pencil and coloured crayon

Photography

Photography is a favourite activity. Here is one of A's pictures taken at Gibraltar Point. We went there to look for birds. A was curious about the wildflowers along the pathway.

Suddenly I See

In February 2009 my daughters I (11) and A (8) asked if they could come out of school and be home educated. It seemed like the most interesting question I'd been asked in a while. Once the decision to say "YES" had been made, we've woken each day to fresh ideas and insights into what education means to these two young people. We look forward to seeing life in new ways each and every day that we spend together.