Week Two - Still on Target

We have managed another week of following our semi structured Home Ed plan for J - it doesn't always go exactly to plan, but we did cover most of the activities planned.

English and Maths - from workbooks and printable sheets.

Science
Experiment - Food Colouring  and Oil, Density.   Mix equal parts oil and water and then adding a drop of food colouring. The water-based drop remains intact until it sinks through the oil and contacts the water, at which point the colour at last disperses. The oil remains separate from the water because it lacks polarity  and floats because it’s less dense.
Workbook - Living and non living things and naming parts of animals and plants.

Also taking part in the Garden Bird Watch for the RSPB this weekend.

History 
Egyptians - We didn't look inside a virtual Pyramid as planned but instead performed a virtual mummification, which was quite gruesome but J enjoyed it.

Coloured in a sarcophagus

Mummified Action Man.

That was the end of History for that morning as J then went and mummified all his action man and had a mass battle.

Geography

Rocks and Minerals- watched The Magic School Bus on you tube, all about this subject obvs.  Read this book

Also found a magazine at Tesco,  first issue focusing on Gold.  It was 99p, but of course the price will go up,and then I wont be able to find the rest of the issues without paying a fortune for it which is what often happens with these kinds of educational magazines, but this issue was quite useful and has lots of photos of various rocks and minerals with descriptions.

The soil experiment is being saved for today when we go to the allotment to collect the main ingredient.

B is continuing to study for her exams to be taken this year, and this week submitted an application form for our local college to study A levels in English, English Literature, RE and Politics.

D also continue to study for his exams to be taken next year, which includes, English, Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Physics.  

Now making plans for J's activities for next week :)

First week of the new term 2015

Home Ed this week

First week of  our "workbox" theme and J has completed  the activities set out for him, apart from trips to the park because of bad weather.

First part of the week was taken up with English and Maths, then Wednesday he was so into his action man game all day so we carried the activities over to Thursday and were all caught up by Friday.

I don't like strict schedules for learning at this age, but I as I have only organised a few activities I would like to try and get the few I have organised done each day if possible.

So Thursday and today the activities have been Science, History and Geography based.

Science - Workbook, covering animal classification and healthy eating. Science Experiments were "What dissolves in Water"

We used five jars and rice, salt, sugar, coffee and honey

(should have been ground coffee as well as this wouldn't have dissolved but I only had instant)


 Also "Do soluble substances evaporate with the water?"

No result as yet, have to wait a day or so for the salt crystals to form.

History - Egypt, which we will be following this month.

Read a story involving Egyptian animals in the dessert, Egyptian mazes, colouring and making an Egyptian neck torque and headdress

Geography was my favourite, Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks, along with the Earths Crust and Tectonic Plates, explained in Primary age form of course, and also using chocolate and pink marshmallow wafer biscuits:

 Sedimentary Rock

 Igneous

Metamorphic rock was explained by bashing a curly wurly (no photo as it got eaten straight away by J) around in a sandwich bag, then sitting on it, explaining how heat and pressure can change igneous and sedimentary rocks into metamorphic rocks.

 A Mars bar representing a tectonic plate and how it forms a mountain

The Earth, aka a cream egg, showing the earth's crust, mantle and core.

So all subjects covered this week, now to start planning for next week :)