Home Educating our way.

Home Educating J is going mainly the same way as the eldest two, very much child led.  I make sure I have lots of materials ready, subjects with topics in mind, and then we probably sit down for about 30 minutes a day depending on his interest and what else he is doing.

Week before last we listened to The Mitten online for our story of the week, made a tornado in a jar (which we still have and everyone shakes the jar when they walk past it) made fog in a jar as well, which kind of worked but was not as spectacular as the tornado.

We finished up on the rock project as I think J was getting a bit bored with it and finished up  looking at The Egyptians - looking up his name in hieroglyphics, printing the letters out for him to colour in. Also made Pyramids out of paper mache.

We didn't go to the museum as some kind of bug swept through the house, starting with J so we spent quite a few days cooped up in the living room watching films.

J said for the next week he wanted to learn more about WW2 so last week we started by looking at the Spywatch series (learn and read) on you tube which he really enjoyed, despite it being filmed in the eighties.

We also found a monster reading website which he likes to play and we have been watching alpha blocks and numberjacks.

We didnt get around to doing the science experiment last week or have a look at animals around the world (would like to get a world map for that) apart from watching the Polar Bears on the San Diego Zoo web cam.

For most of last week  he has been mainly playing with action men and lego.

I am absolutely fine with this, I truly believe that children learn so much through play, and while he is thoroughly enjoying playing I am not going to stop him to make him sit down to learn History, Geography etc.

I do however make sure that I have enough resources and ideas to hand that will interest him, and that we do try and sit down a few times a week to read, watch or play an online game that involves learning to read.  This apparently makes me not unschooled or autonomous, and my method of "teaching" seems to not fit into the semi structured category either, as I have seen some of the semi-structured methods that people use (from as early as two years old!!!) and I am not sure what the "semi" stands for in most cases.

There is enough going on around us inside the house and out for J to be able to learn through life itself.

Last week I also had to speak to the college about B's interview date, which should be coming up in March, and D played against his old team today in the U15 rugby match and won!

(also have to mention that England beat Wales at The Millennium Stadium in the first game of the Six Nations)

Anyway, onto next week, I still have plenty of WW2 resources to look at, a visit to the  museum  to look at the Egyptians and WW2 section and possibly have at look at different types of rock.

We will try and watch the rest of the Spywatch series, and maybe have a go at making Patriotic Pudding.
Also try last weeks science experiment, look at more animals that live in the Arctic and watch the first episode of Alaska, Earths Frozen Kingdom.

B will be continuing to study, but D is starting half term week as he has two important rugby training sessions this week, one with the Devon School of Rugby and the day after a training session with the RFU England U16's coaches.  This will be followed by County trials at the weekend where he will be away for three days. So I think he has enough to focus on without having to worry about studying.

Hope its a bit warmer next week - this week it was just so cold we hardly went out of the house!