Jolly Phonics and Math u see

Well I've brought Jolly Phonics and we are enjoying it. Our daughter was trying so hard to make scene of letters and sound that I really thought it would be a good idea to get some sort of system.

Its hard to keep up with her some times she really wants to race through it all so fast. "Inky and Snake work...come on Mum"

Now I'm trying to find the equal to Jolly Phonics...is it Math u see? Not sure it does not look as fun as in Jolly phonics....we might just have to see.

Science activity

Our daughter is really getting into her questions.

First we did an activity called "Balloon Heads" which you fill up a balloon with flour and add a little water then tie up and squish.

She did this well...then wanted to mix flour then water then flour then water to see what would happen...all done with her hands...then tip it out on the bench and smear it round....write her name in it and stamp patterns. Her brother didn't really want any part of them messy side but love the balloon balls.

Next today was Erosion Activity (oh goodness sand inside as its wet and cold outside). So our daughter sorted it all out in her head. Fill up a cube box with sand so she can make a mini landscape then pour water over it.

Both kids played really well together my son (left her alone long enough to complete her activity).

"Wow it all changed (shape)" "and the water has gone (soaked) into the sand"

Now we've moved onto playing the Ukulele strumming along with Jack Johnson ;-)

Oh goodness....we've done so much...and wow its sounding pretty cool for a first time 5 year old.

Documentary Hungry

Our daughter has loved the BBC walking with Dinosaurs to the point we've had it every morning over breakfast for about 3 weeks.

We do not have TV. So how do we keep a ready supply of good viewing? I've been hunting...and Dave found a few good sites.

http://freeonlinedocumentary.com/

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/

We watched one of the nature ones yesterday on the four winged Dinosaur...keeping with in the theme ;-)

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/

This was the first documentary site we visited a few years ago...Dave and I watched a program about Bee hive collapse...Think I see a new Unit Study coming up.

Unschooling the swimming lessons

Both my children have had swimming lessons. My daughter has had a few terms now my son only one.

My son had a really bad experience with his lessons with the whole putting the head under part...all the rest was fine. On his last lesson he was really put off as the teacher took him from me, trying to be fun and light...zoom zoom and under the water and pop up in front of Mummy...tears shaking and very very upset.

I asked him if he want to do the next seasons lessons once he'd had a few weeks off and it was a very loud "NO".

So my daughter had lessons on her own. She did really well...until the last lesson where she was accidentally knocked in the pool by her friend and she was quite hurt. We didn't make a fuss...it was an accident.

But she didn't want to go back to lessons.

I let her cool over the term holidays. I said that I would be booking her next lot of swimming lessons...and was told. "No Mum, its too cold to swim in winter".

So that was the end of lessons.

But not the end of learning and not the end of swimming.

We do not go to the pools on cold days cause it really is just too cold and the kids go blue...but we go once a week if we can.

Their swimming has come along in leaps and bounds. My daughter is pushing herself constantly. I've had to buy 'treasure' which I throw out into the pool and she swims and dives for it. Loving every minute.

My son who was really scared of putting his head under the water is now letting go of me walking around the baby pool and slowly dunking his own head under the water...and coming up smiling.

Painting group

Our painting group is going along really well.
I asked our group to paint a colour wheel. This was something I did on one of my first lessons in collage...took our class a whole hour back then...and it took the kids today about 25mins.

Some of them didn't get it at first putting the primary colours out first then mixing the colours and putting them in the gaps...but hey nothing learnt if a few mistakes are not made.

Our groups numbers are growing but we always seem to have a few missing due to holidays or ill health.

One of the many reasons why we are learning from home is that our daughter does not do so well at the moment with large crowds of people...and I've just working out her limit...about 7-8 people. Sadly today she was very over whelmed and wanted to spend most of her time hiding in her room or going out to see her chickens.

I kept the children working so the noise level was low and I had back ground music playing today which seemed to help a great deal too...but as soon as the noise went up our daughter wanted to rush off.

Painting is coming along really well. Experimenting with colours has been great. Learning the different ways to make them has been really exciting for some. Green seems to be the favorite one at the moment.

I find it amazing how much children remember. I warned them that the use of black when mixed into another colour can be very over powering my words were "you can really kill a colour with too much black"...my choice of words. They were parroted back this week when the black was dished out.

Well we'll see how we go next week... I think it might be the last week that we're running it but I'm sure I'll dream up of something new.

Solar System painting

Our daughter is going through a phase of painting her hands...then splatting the paper with the paint from her hands.

I've decided to work this into something.

Giving her only colours which are the planet colours I then started to cut out some planet shapes. At first this was not a great exercise then she really got into it.

We've done about 7 planets so far and the sun this morning.

"I want to make some rocks" I questioned her about what she meant...oh meteors...she's been watching BBC walking with Dinosaurs and the movie Dinosaurs too.

"I want to make a space ship"

Goodness a lot to do...just taking it slow though

Finger maths

I've just been wondering if there was a maths out there like Jolly Phonics? and I came across finger maths.

I've tried it and it does work...but is it more difficult to remember this rather than just use your memory.

I don't know my times tables...so is this a way?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZs1MFhF9i8&feature=related

Up date

I take that back....WOW

I lay there at night playing round with this. Once I understood it amazing!!

Crazy Frog

Dave said the other day..."Oh we'll have to get rid of that little rebounder"

"What...they use it everyday"

Yes things take up room but...well its winter

Chicken Care

This is a bit of an up date from the post Money responsibility trust and chickens. My daughter is just so in love with her chicks. We have given her a rooster of her own "Reddie" and she's just itching to have a hug with him too...but we've been explaining about the claws of a rooster.

This is the first day that they will be living full time out in the cage.

She's very worried that they will get too cold...I'm worried myself but have had ENOUGH of chick's in the garage.

So she rushing round to get enough dry plant material to put in the little hutch and find another few tarps to put over top of their house.

Poor Reddie has been booted out of his cage and moved into the little dome which she and I built for all her chooks in the future.

So wish us luck for the night and with hope they will all still be there in the morning.

Finger paint at Playcentre

This activity was being set up for the parents to do as part of the course requirements for C1. My daughter saw the CSW getting it all ready in the kitchen and just pulled up a chair ready to begin.

She was not going to let all the parents have the fun.

I read out the recipe and we looking at the equipment available and off we went. She was the only one who did this and the parents had to be prodded along an hour later ;-)

She measured and mixed.

The CSW suggested that she put her hands in to see what it felt like...ohhh yahoo messy play. My daughter really questioned why the mixture was hard and liquid at the same time.

"oh its like mud"

The CSW wanted to take away the mixture to pour in the hot water but I assured her the my daughter was a very good listener and a cook, understanding the dangers. So she got to see the change of the mixture which was very exciting.

We used a few drops of paint to colour our paint....and then had to WAIT.

Oh goodness

The parents had to make the rest of the paint...and then we had to let it cool down. This was a very hard lesson as my daughter was really worried that some one else could come and take her hard work (seems to be a bit of an issue at Playcentre on a few things...may have to work on this)

Finally the paper was set out and both she and her brother rushed to sit down.

She did not want any one else's paint but her own.

Once she got it onto her paper she was so happy...she wanted all the other children to share in her experience and couldn't understand why some children did not want to get their hands 'dirty'. She was a little worried that it might be her paint that they might not like but I assured her that it was just in general.

Both kids really enjoyed it when the CSW brought out the other colours and they started to mix them.

As they were both still recovering from their flu...they pretty much bombed after this and wanted to go back home to bed.

What a great morning

Making a Mobile

Flicking through Di Hodges book my daughter found an activity she really had to do NOW.

She rush away and got all the things which were needed.

I don't know who is short of a coat hanger in their room but oh well.

My cotton from my sewing kit.

The fruit bag that Granny brought up in the afternoon (without the fruit)

The book marker which came in the book (Di Hodges) we brought second hand.

Scissors

And a Daddy to help with the knots

This was all being done just before bath time.

"What should I cut out Mum?" I didn't really get to answer as a triangle started to be worked on...she needed a little help with the circle and got the square out on her own.

The cotton was really hard to threat through the mesh.

It all came together and then she had to take photos of it. A few were taken up against the window but you couldn't see anything as the flash blew it all away with the night outside. She finally got the hang of it.

Its now hanging up in her room

A new torch

I brought a torch for my son for his birthday. He's been using our battery operated ones and leaving them on...no good when we really need them.

So I brought a dynamo which he can keep charged with the handle.

Yahoo

Then my very patient little girl (who had a torch but was broken by her little brother) didn't say a word for weeks and just watched her little brother with this torch....helping him keep the charge.

I really wanted us all to have a torch before winter really struck (which it did the other night and we lost the power).

So I brought her her own torch.

I had my whole living room taken a part to create two houses (little brother was not aloud in her one to start off with).

It had to be dark.

The blankets would not stretch enough and would often fall on the ground. (In the past this would of lead to tantrums if she could not get it to work).

Slowly things good moved closer together, weights of pillows were used to keep things into place.

Then the curtains pulled...and it was dark enough to use the new torch.

We couldn't wait till bed time.

Little brother was finally aloud in and made a bed "Top and Tail Mum" and they talked together playing with their torches...Shining them in their hands to see the colour change.

Then it was all over and the torches are put in their pockets and under their pillows - taken out at night just before bed....and very early in the morning.