Fun Fridays

For the most part of my career as a HE mum, I have employed Fun Friday!! 

Its a day of cooking, [Crumbs TV on YouTube is a very basic good food blog] experiments, art & crafts, board games, DVD or YouTube clips [educational of course :) ] You get the picture. Unschooling is maybe the word some would use.
Any child with work outstanding from during the week may have to finish up first before joining in.  I could add in there play dates or bike rides, nature walks and diaries, trips to the library, but that would go on throughout the week parallel to our curriculum any case for us.

Have fun and enjoy your children's day alongside them. 

A New Home School Year

When new magazines plop through the door

The most exciting time of year is upon us! Planning subject matter and time-tables, brand new additional topics may be called for, scheduling in sport and social days... and buying new stationery. How satisfying! I  can almost smell the freshly sharpened pencils just thinking about it :)

Throughout the year I keep a diary of topics covered,  and yet to be covered.  Interests or places to visit that have cropped up but we didn't have the time to delve into very thoroughly. This is my starting point when forming [a very lose] plan for the new term. But all subjects will be based on the children's own enthusiasms. 
There are many children' educational magazines that make good reading material. Societies like the RSPB or Bat Conservation Trust for example or Aquila, National Geographic Kids or Answers in Genesis Kids to name a few. 

We don't jump into the school year with both feet [I have tried various approaches over the years and that strategy made for unhappy children and mum] We slip in there gently with a couple of weeks worth of fun projects.   [Currclick has very inexpensive or free short topics/lapbooks if you need a little inspiration.] It would usually be a topic which has caught the kiddos' interest over the break, so its a natural progression.   

Looking at a duck egg embryo

Most of all don't stress, take comfort knowing that HE is flexible and it may take a few own-goals before you hit on the right track for your child for that season.  Help is out-there in the HE community. They are a very co-operative bunch, everyone is supportive and loves to talk about what worked for them.

Lessons from the Seaside

Luckily in England, we are never too far from the coast.  

After googling events around Britain for National Marine-life Week, we hit upon an area that was convenient for us.

Biology: The children did their research beforehand, to become familiar with names of shells, seaweeds, starfish and molluscs native to that shoreline, chatting to the curators at the local natural history centre, and looking at examples of crab and squid in the aquarium. There are lots of worksheets and spotter sheets available for free from many web sites. 

We went for a chat with Dennis the Coastguard about his job

Art:They painted 'dolphin v porpoise' pictures and made notes of their differences.  They also took along their watercolours and pads and with seawater, painted some of the stunning views. Photography tips from dad [a professional] were also on the curriculum.  

Dolphin watching

English language: The children kept a nature diary of their finds, complete with sketches.  The children read both fact and fictional books relevant to the seaside.

Some useful books:

Kids-Travel-Journal-Trip-Cornwall

                                                                                                                                                           Cornwall With Kids

Geography: The girls improved their map reading skills and brushed up on the use of an OS map.

Maths: Lots of uses here; distances travelled, money/costs, length of shells, crabs etc, 

Sport: The kids learned to bodyboard & canoe. Plenty of Surf-schools to be found on the coast.

We popped by a coastguard's station and had a chat with the coastguard there, and had a chance to board a lifeboat. 

It is very interesting to hang around the quayside for a few minutes and watch the process of the fishermen as they bring back their various catch.

Taking binoculars was a real boost as we were fortunate enough to see a colony of seals and a pod of dolphins. 

Who knew there were so many fun ways to learn on a Summer break??