Book Launch

We met up with lots of home educators when we went to a fellow home educators book launch for walking with witches last week. It's a story based in Newcastle, set in 1600's about witches being burnt on the town moor.

We highly recommend the book not only because it's a good read (and written by a friend), but also because my youngest daughter is a character in it, along with lots of other home educated children.

Decisions, Decisions

After careful thought and consideration we have decided to stop using the Sonlight schedule. It just isn't us, we jump around too much for that :o) We love the books and are continuing to read them but at our pace. We all feel much happier about our home educating since we came to this decision.

Recently we have been studying the Tudors. Since we already have a lapbook here my youngest decided to make a costume instead, along with wax letter seals and a marzipan Tudor Rose. We've been reading from SOTW and Our Island Story, as well as a Tudor craft book below.

We have been studying Microbes in Science for the past two weeks which has involved lots of experiments - mainly leaving lots of food to rot in the kitchen...

We are continuing with Maths2XL and workbooks for English and each week we will be studying a different artist; last week was Botticelli, week before that was Duccio and Giotto, and Michaelangelo is this week.

One more thing: I'm going to try and write in here on a weekly basis. I thought if I put that in then I might achieve it :o)

Egyptians Lapbook

Youngest daughter finished her Egyptian mummies lapbook from Hands of a Child.

She used water colour pencils to add a little colour, and made mummy masks using Barbie's head as the model.

The Normans Lapbook

Well, my youngest finished this lapbook during the school hols (I think), but it's taken a while for me to upload them. I see this as a good start to October, long may it continue!!

I love the front of this one, as it is so colourful, but the photo just hasn't done it justice so you'll have to take my word for it.

This page focussed on the Battle of Hastings and vocabulary to learn.

This was about the various castles around during the Norman period and how best to attack them. I got the sheet from a history site on the internet.

A fold out booklet on the Feudal system.

There is a little writing about the three sons under each flap with a picture of King William in the centre.

Day Out

Finally uploaded piccies from our day out a few weeks ago. Unfortunately we couldn't eat any of the cooked food for health and safety reasons, even though the Medieval people ate it all the time!

New 'School' Year

Finally sorted the problems out and can now get back in and post, well that's not strictly true, hubby to the rescue... and now I can finally post!

The new 'school' year has started rather slowly, what with an LA meeting in the first week back and hubby on his hols from work the second and third weeks, we haven't really got down to work at all. We are supposed to be giving Sonlight a 'go' but I'm having trouble implementing a schedule and sticking to it; life just keeps getting in the way!

We've been to the Life Museum though, which was lots of fun as they have a healthy bodies section where you give yourself an overall health check and watched the summer sky, stars and planets in the Dome, this went very well with daughter's Astronomy lapbook she's doing at the moment.

We've been to the beach a few times too, yes there has been a few days without rain during September :o)

We visited a living archeology day during the Heritage Open Days based on the medieval time period. We learnt how to make tallow candles and watched a short play on Saint George and the Dragon. This was really good fun for all the family.

I'll upload the piccies when they are off the camera.

We've also been helping our eldest daughter set up her business and visiting the grandparents (which was lovely as we don't get to see them very often) but with all this going on, I wonder just when I'm supposed to start the new curriculum!

Have been a way for a while to Holy Island, Delemere Forest and the East Coast to aid our Medieval studies so lapbooking has been to a minimum but I will post up the piccies when I have more time.

In the mean time my son has been working on another digi-lapbook. He's also developed an application that allows other children to make digi-lapbooks (like his) on their own.
Please take a look at his digi-lapbook example which he made using the application.
The flash is high quality at the moment so it may be slow. My son says he will sort it out later this evening so that it's faster but I couldn't wait to show it off :o)

http://www.rkwebcreations.co.uk/digi/v&e/volcanoes%20and%20earthquakes.html