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Archive for the ‘Home Ed’ Category

Enjoy!

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O.k. When your 5 and a half year old asks you to do “real science” as the subject for the month.. what do you do?

Well Steve armed with two ballons, one for him and one for Asha.. supervised filling them up with water, measuring around the circumfrances writing the length down and popped them in the freezer.

A few hours later, the little scientist, got frozen items out of freezer, measured them.. and noticed with glee they had grown 2 cm each! WOW..

She then asked for a big jug of warm water, and defrosted the balls of ice, stating that it was interesting how they both ended up with holes in them, and this allowed the warm water to defrost them faster as both sides of the ice had warm water on them!

My daughter is far too scientific for me!

She then got her doll and some kitchen roll, and proceded to wash her doll with the water from the jug.. saying she was being a mummy like in india…:D

We also did a fair amount of sums today. We did a good review of the 2x table, and i was pleased to see she can still do it. We discussed adding and subtraction again, and hopefully tomorrow morning when i get up, she will have done some of that too.

We also had another look at the difference between, Whooper swans, mute swans and bewick swans, as its been a few months since we have seen any around. So wanted to get these clues back into the brain, before the weekend.

Had a lovely day at home with Steve and Asha, and we even managed a good go on the violins today… It was brilliant.

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On Monday we went to portmerion, with one of Asha’s little friends, X and her Mum.
It was LOVELY as the sun was out, for most of the day and the two girls played well all afternoon, though by the end the tiredness did start to show!

I remembered to take bird food with us this time, so the girls both dropped loads in the play area, and we all enjoyed sitting outside in the sunlight to eat our lunch.. Yes in JANUARY! Must be a first!

We dropped into the shops on the way home and I bought some of that jussroll pastry. So we could bung a top on some vegetables and have veggie pie for dinner.. Yummy!

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that there are powers and energies out there which we have no control over.. Have you ever tried to catch a wave??

So for me, instead of using the word Lord i use energy…

I give this to all my friends who are finding life tough right now.

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

The LORD replied, my precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.

Carolyn Carty, 1963

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2010 Is happening in August / September this year.

http://www.walesenvironmentalhomeeducationcamp.com/

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Since Christmas we have not really been doing much on the formal side of education.

We have done very little sit down and read or write.. and maths has been largely neglected. Probably not too worrying, as Asha can count well enough and understands all the concepts i feel she needs to right now.

Anyway, its the RSPB bird watch this weekend, and last week we bought a new bird book, so tonight we sat and wrote a list of the birds we know are found in the garden, and had a look at them in the book. We then had a look at the gulls and wrote a list of the ones we often see.

The garden list went like this:

Blue tit
Great tit
Coal tit
Robin
Tree pipit.
Song Thrush
Starling
Nuthatch.
Blackbird, Male and Female
Magpie.

The seagull one went like this:

Yellow Legged Gull… has yellow legs.. there is a surprise!
Herring Gull – pink legs
Common Gull – no red on bill and greenish legs
Kittiwake – black shortish legs.

Right so next time we are in town, and are watching the gulls, we might know which is which.. Yes??

I have also sat and gone over the parts of a plant, and hopefully tomorrow morning Asha will have cut out her plant puzzle, coloured it in and glued it onto a peice of paper…

I also hope to find the play room tomorrow and thus the education on the PC can start again, as i shall be able to reach it to help her with it!!

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So what is a “normal” day in our home?

I guess today could be counted as such.

Steve wakes up, and Asha comes to join us in bed, with her teddybear, blanket and half her bookcase. After some time Steve gets up, and Asha and steve head downstairs.

Asha will either go straight into play mode, or will demand breakfast and will sit, eat breakfast and do what ever “task” i have left for her at the table. This morning it was decorate a robin, using peices of paper and materials I had cut up for her last night. This is related to the RSPB bird watch in a couple of weeks.

Asha will either listen to an audio book whilst playing, do some reading or if tired ask for some TV. (videos) and if its video day, she will get something like Muzzy , Ray mears, or a wildlife programme. Morning TV is definatly not Daffy Duck time!

If I am very bad, she will come and join me in bed around 11, and we will sit and listen to an audio tape in bed together, or she will read to me.. Or will talk about what ever she wants to talk about. Sometimes its the imaginative world of Asha, other times its questions about absolutly anything!!

Once we have all got up and dressed, we then will either do some jobs, be it shopping, tidy play room or make clothes. We will also ensure Violin Practice, and some maths / english have been done. On arrival back home, we will sort the table out, eat dinner then its pj’s story and bed…

Inbetween this, steve and i find time to do facebook, write music, sew, read books and wash dishes… How long is our day exactly someone????

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For some time, I have been looking for something which would help me to understand the moons cycles.

I then came across a link on a friends web site, for a diary, which claimed to do such a thing.

Inspired, last week, I asked Steve to get me one. £10 felt an awful lot for a diary, so i was naturally rather worried about it. This morning my diary arrived. Its wonderful. I cannot explain to you the satisfaction of having the different calendars at ones fingertips. Knowing what celebrations are coming up for all my friends, and myself.. and the lunar cycle explained so well.

http://www.moonwise.co.uk/diary.php

Its a limited edition, but well worth still trying to get as well, i only bought mine last week!

I wish we had enough for the calendar as well, but we dont need it this year, but for any of my OU friends who are studing astronomy I can only recommend you take a look at it.

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One of the things that Asha got involved in was an animated video, with some of her friends.

We recently were informed of the result..

Wonderful stuff!

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Since December I have been really very sloppy in keeping note of what “education” we have done.

This is partly because of the christmas spirit, and partly because Asha has had a snuffly cold for a while, so were still not onto “written work”

However she now has full command of the following three works of literature :

Little Women – Louise Alcott.. to the extent that yesterday, when I asked her which was her favourite book, she informed me that ” little women is, because Joe is like you and me mummy” Slightly abashed I asked her what she meant by this” she has a tempor which rises up and we both try and control it.. but fail misserably” Well there you go…

She also asked why daddies cant always be around, and what the war was in the story. She seems to empathise a lot with the girls when they are sad..

The secret Garden – Frances Hodges Burnett. She has loved this title for some time now, and I am seriously starting to tire of it. But her games have gone from Colin;s nautyness to being an Animal Charmer.. She is no longer wanting to be like Mary Lennox, recognising that Mary has a terrible temper, which Asha says isnt like a princess… It has also encouraged a great amount of interest in india, and if anyone has any recommendations for indian literature suitable for a 5 year old i would like to hear them!!

The Little Princess, also Frances Hodges Burnett.
This is interesting as it is encouraging her good behaviour and her love of literature and her sympathetic nature. Its also bought up questions about mineing, death, quarrying.. and slavery / maids… Wonderful stuff!

She also has some command of the following works.

The Hobbit. – daddy is currently re-reading it to her.
Winnie the poo.
Hiawatha.. All these have developed a lot since November and I am pleased with these outcomes.

In December we went to a violin concert in liverpool held by the Liverpool Suzuki group, it was wonderful. Asha had a lovely evening, though she was fidgetty, after a long day in birkenhead and liverpool, visiting such wonderful places as Woodside, Birkehead, etc..

Her violin practice has been slow this month, but hopefully we will get back on track once her snuffle has gone.

Currently Asha is not interested in reading or writing. Were encouraging these skills by ensuring she always has access to pens, paper and reading fodder… I am not worried about these skills, as last time I worked on them with her, she was well within her age group needs… and well.. there is more to education!

Her fascination with local birds is continuing.. we feed them every day, and she watches them every day.. often for hours at a time.. I plan on doing more work with bird life, once I have found some more resources on it.. We certainly seem to enjoy talking about there shapes, feet, wings etc….

Crafts, before Christmas we made loads of decorations.. snowmen, candles for on the wall, birds to hang up.. all sorts, since christmas we have done some painting, some drawing and talked about the chemical reaction needed to make a crystal snow tree.

Asha has contined to spend much time doing skateboarding, walking and enjoying time outside. We have also enjoyed a trip to portmerion…

I am generally more than happy with Asha’s level of education. She is a sociable, happy child.. what else can I want?

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Up on their brooms the Witches stream,
Crooked and black in the crescent’s gleam;
One foot high, and one foot low,
Bearded, cloaked, and cowled, they go,
‘Neath Charlie’s Wain they twitter and tweet,
And away they swarm ‘neath the Dragon’s feet,
With a whoop and a flutter they swing and sway,
And surge pell-mell down the Milky Way.
Betwixt the legs of the glittering Chair
They hover and squeak in the empty air.
Then round they swoop past the glimmering Lion
To where Sirius barks behind huge Orion;
Up, then, and over to wheel amain,
Under the silver, and home again.

Walter de la mer.

Asha now also knows witch witchWitch, Witch

Witch witch, where do you fly?
Under the clouds and over the sky.

Witch, witch, what do you eat?
Little black apples from Hurricane Street.

Witch, witch, what do you drink?
Vinegar and good red ink.

Witch, witch, where do you sleep?
Up in the clouds where the pillows are cheap.

And the french one… C’est une sorciere

which i will type the words in sometime to…

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Bats are nice
Bats are fat

I like Bats, I like Bats.

I dont know why nobody seems to like bats.
I think bats are nice.

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“Schools are an utter waste of young life.

By the way, if either Simon Schama or David Starkey are reading this, they should cover their eyes now. “I am not a historian. I am a children’s author,” Deary says. “I’ve got no qualifications in history. And that’s a massive advantage in reaching my audience. Because historians like Simon Schama and David Starkey just stand on television and lecture you. And when they write books, they’ve got the same lecturing voice. But mine is more: ‘You’ll never guess what I’ve found out! It’s shocking!’”

More than this, though, Deary is profoundly opposed to schools. That is, to the institution of school itself – to the extent that he will never accept an invitation to give a talk in one.

“I get 200 requests a year and the answer is no,” he says. “I detest schools with a passion. I’d rather cut off my left arm and eat it with Marmite than go into a school. And I don’t even like Marmite.

“Schools are an utter waste of young life. Learning things that will never be any use to you. The only reason they are there is to keep kids off the street. They were a Victorian invention. The Industrial Revolution took kids from their families and made the parents work in factories long hours. Then they said, ‘we can’t have these little kids working here.’ So what do we do? Lock them all up in the same room all day and we’ll call it school. I spent hours learning trigonometry, physics, none of which prepared me for life. Relationships, talking to people, managing money, planning your career, how to help someone who has cut their leg open. I have had to learn these things by default.

Terry Deary, the creator of the Horrible Histories

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6120942/Horrible-Histories.html

Oh soooo true!

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The BFI did a top 50 films all kids must see….and it went like this…

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz/William Keighley, 1938, USA)
2.Au revoir les enfants (Louis Malle, 1987, France/W.Germany)
3.Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985, USA)
4.Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale/Kirk Wise, 1991, USA)
5.Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948, Italy)
6.Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry, 2000, UK/France)
7.A Day at the Races (Sam Wood, 1937, USA)
8. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982, USA)
9.Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990, USA)
10.Etre et Avoir (Nicolas Philibert, 2002, France)
11.Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton/Lee Unkrich, 2003, USA)
12. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946, USA)
13.Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963, UK/USA)
14.Kes (Ken Loach, 1969, UK)
15.The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921, USA)
16. King Kong (Merian C.Cooper/Ernest B.Schoedsack, 1933, USA)
17.Kirikou et la sorcière (Michel Ocelot, 1998, France/Belgium/Luxembourg)
18.La Belle et la bête (Jean Cocteau, 1946, France / Luxembourg)
19.Le Voyage dans la lune (Georges Melies, 1902, France)

20.Les Quatre cents coups (Francois Truffaut, 1959, France)
21.Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953, France)
22.My Life as a Dog (Lasse Halstrom, 1985, Sweden)
23.My Neighbour Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988, Japan/USA)
24. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955, USA)
25.Oliver Twist (David Lean, 1948, UK)
26.The Outsiders (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983, USA)
27.Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955, India)
28.Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967, France/Italy)
29.The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987, USA)
30.Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce, 2002, Australia)
31.Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981, USA)
32.The Railway Children (Lionel Jeffries, 1970, UK)
33.The Red Balloon (Albert Lamorisse, 1956, France)
34.Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrman, 1996, USA)
35.The Secret Garden (Agnieszka Holland, 1993, UK/USA)
36.Show Me Love (Lukas Moodysson, 1998, Sweden/Denmark)
37. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly, 1952, USA)
38. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney, 1937, USA)
39. Some Like it Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959, USA)
40.The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice, 1973, Spain)
41.Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001, Japan)
42. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977, USA)
43. To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962, USA)
44.Toy Story (John Lasseter, 1995, USA)
45.Walkabout (Nicholas Roeg, 1971, UK)
46.Whale Rider (Niki Caro, 2002, New Zealand)
47.Where is the Friend’s House? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987, Iran)
48.Whistle Down the Wind (Bryan Forbes, 1961, UK)
49.The White Balloon (Jafar Panahi, 1995, Iran)
50. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939, USA)

What are your top 10 films for children (under 14)

1. Watership down.
2. Kes
3. The Secret Garden
4. Never Ending Story
5. The Railway Children
6. Narnia
7. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
8. The Hobbit
9. Midsummer Nights Dream
10. Raiders of the lost Ark.

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I was flicking through a copy of Rise Up Singing, last night, and came across this song.

I think it is such a wonderful song, that i felt inspired to add it to the collection on here.. Enjoy the words.

Everything Possible

We have cleared off the table, the leftovers saved,
Washed the dishes and put them away
I have told you a story and tucked you in tight
At the end of your knockabout day
As the moon sets its sails to carry you to sleep
Over the midnight sea
I will sing you a song no one sang to me
May it keep you good company.

CHORUS:
You can be anybody you want to be,
You can love whomever you will
You can travel any country where your heart leads
And know I will love you still
You can live by yourself, you can gather friends around,
You can choose one special one
And the only measure of your words and your deeds
Will be the love you leave behind when you’re done.

There are girls who grow up strong and bold
There are boys quiet and kind
Some race on ahead, some follow behind
Some go in their own way and time
Some women love women, some men love men
Some raise children, some never do
You can dream all the day never reaching the end
Of everything possible for you.

Don’t be rattled by names, by taunts, by games
But seek out spirits true
If you give your friends the best part of yourself
They will give the same back to you.

CHORUS

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Been in bed for best part of four weeks. Asha’s education is continuing, but daddy is currently holding the reigns..

Hoping my energy will return in time.. Asha is happy, and is still meeting with friends, and getting to her group. Just without mummy.

Life goes on..

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targetted for lack of education, lack of provision, lack of safety nets for possible abuse the goverment is using unqualified assistants to educate children, in schools.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7462691.stm

I am copy and posting the whole thread here, because i think it needs it!

The use of teaching assistants in schools should be subject to much tighter controls, a union has said.

Unison says assistants are being used for cheap teaching across the UK.

Christine McAnea, of Unison, said the practice was “endemic” as it cost less to use support staff to cover teacher absence than to buy supply teachers.

England schools Minister Jim Knight said teaching assistants eased the burden on teachers, but should not lead classes “for more than a short period”.

It costs about £150 a day to employ a supply teacher, but about £50 to pay support staff.

They’re being used as cut-price teachers
Rosemary Plummer
Unison

Rosemary Plummer, a Unison representative, said in the last few months more than 40 teaching assistants from a small area of London had told her they felt they were being asked to do more than they were qualified for.

“They’re delivering maths, they’re delivering literacy and marking work – that’s a teacher’s job… they’re being used as cut-price teachers,” she said.

On covering teacher absences, she added: “It’s very easy to use teaching assistants on lower rates of pay – it would cost an awful lot to bring in a supply teacher.”

Ms McAnea, Unison’s head of education, said schools were often “putting people in front of children who may not have the right qualifications or experience to do this”.

The practice had to be much more tightly regulated, she said.

‘Not interchangeable’

In the last decade the number of teachers in England has risen by around 10% – from 399,000 in 1998 to 440,000 now.

The number of teaching assistants, however, has risen by almost 200% over the same period, from 61,000 to 177,000.

Unions are working closely with schools and the government to update the job descriptions of support staff in an effort to prevent the exploitation of assistants.

The government and teaching unions agree that teaching assistants are crucial to the smooth running of schools.

Their role was initially outlined as being to help and support the classroom teacher, and they were expected to be adept at working one-on-one with pupils or small groups.

But the guidelines on the exact role of teaching assistants are vague, and much of the role they do is at the discretion of their headteacher.

However, the government is clear that support staff should not be teaching classrooms of children unsupervised.

Mr Knight said teaching assistants are doing an incredibly good job, but should not be seen as “interchangeable with qualified teachers”.

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers union, said: “We have grave concerns about the number of teaching assistants being asked to do more than they are paid to do or feel comfortable doing.

“It is unfair on them and unfair to pupils. Heads are breaking the terms of the national agreement between unions, employers and the government if they are using teaching assistants to teach a class of pupils when a teacher is absent.

“Teaching assistants play an important role supporting teachers, but they should not be taken advantage of by schools.”

Your comments:

I’m working as a teaching assistant through a teaching agency. I’m frequently asked to act as a ‘class room assistant’ (jargon for an unqualified teacher). I have to act on my own in a classroom of children, which means essentially assuming the role of a teacher. Crucially I’m paid just £10 more, still less than half the rate of a supply teacher.
Richard, UK

I’m a teaching assistant in a secondary school and completely understand this situation. Above my role as a TA, I’m often asked to mark work and cover lessons. It’s a difficult situation – on the one hand we’re not trained nor paid enough to take lessons, but we know the classes, the students and the work they’re doing.
Mazzas, Oxford

I’m a teaching assistant and work in a secondary school with year nine pupils. Because I have looked after my class of 12 children for the last two years, I often get left to do what I want with them when the teacher has things to sort out or is off sick. When they were doing their Sats I was with them during every exam and lesson afterwards, without any teacher. I never say anything about this because I’m happy that the kids are with someone they know rather than a supply teacher.
Lesley, Cheshire

I work in a school and would say that in some weeks a teaching assistant is covering classes all day for four out of five days.
Jennifer, Essex

I am a teaching assistant working with students with behavioural difficulties. My colleagues and I are working with some of the most difficult students in the school but are the lowest paid teaching staff. I feel it’s about time teaching assistants were given the respect and recognition they deserve for the work they do with the most difficult students.
Anon, Derbyshire

As a retired head teacher I was very supportive of the changing role of the teaching assistant in the classroom. Good TAs know the pupils and are aware of the curriculum. They will be there to support the class teacher and are in the best position to take over should the need arise on a short term basis. This contrasts with the often poor standard of supply teachers who are put into unfamiliar situations at a moments notice and in turn do little for the pupils. TAs often have specialist skills and may actually be better able or even qualified to teach the class.
Charles Wells, Rotherham

I am a teaching assistant working in a mainstream school. I work with children who have social, emotional and behavioural problems. I plan lessons and deliver them, in one lesson I can teach as many as five subjects. I deal with many challenges during the day and often have to find a place for children who teachers are unable to cope with. I do all of this for a third of the money that many teachers get. It is frustrating and ultimately leads to me feeling undervalued and unappreciated.
JG, Exeter

I am a teaching assistant and cover supervisor. I am paid a £1 extra to take classes, unsupervised. I help plan lessons and create resources for less able students. Whilst I enjoy doing this, I do feel, that sometimes support staff are cheap labour in our school.
Caroline, York

At last the situation has been recognised! When I started teaching in 1970, it was the sole job of the teacher to deliver the curriculum. Assistants were used to help ONLY with the non teaching tasks. I am a mother of five and was horrified when my children were taught to read by assistants who had no qualifications to do so.
Joyce Morgan, Liverpool

My son who is in his GCSE year had a teaching assistant take one of his science lessons, who knew very little of the subject! His school has employed teaching assistants to take lessons in the absence of teaching staff. How can we make these major cuts in our children’s education? They are not being educated to the high standard which they should be entitled.
Michele, Worcestershire

My wife is a teacher in a primary school where teaching assistants are employed as unqualified teachers because they are cheap. In her opinion it fails to give the children the best start in their education. These unqualified teachers are not adequately trained to deal with challenging pupils, or those with additional needs.
Anon, Kent

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We have been going to the fun days at Penrhyn Castle, with a friend who is a child minder, who is also home schooling.

This week the fun day was Knights and Princesses. Being slightly insane, we decided to challenge each other to wear a dress. I decided to wear my wedding dress, and D found a lovely purple dress to wear.

At Penrhyn Castle Fun Day

Not perfect enough for my little girl, she also got picked out to help Bimbamboozle to do his magic, which even tonight – she is talking about, and saying how wonderful he is, and how funny it was when he changed a nappy… so yet another picture coming up..

Them knots

We also went around the castle, and looked at the play room, and spent some time looking at the big trains in the old stable blocks..

Great fun.

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Whilst I cant claim to be an avid fan of the politics behind the National Trust as an organisation, I am a definate fan of there FUN days.

Today was Alice in Wonderland at Penrhyn Castle. Along with Chris, from the Harlequin Puppet Theater The oldest purpose built puppet theater in britain , at Ros on Sea – Well worth a visit!!

Asha loves the national trust fun days, as she gets time to do some crafty project – todays was decorating a fairy cake,

and making a plate rabbit. Also today she planted some seeds, in little pots. As well as this there was the colouring in competition, and the trail – with a prize for everyone who did it..

she also enjoyed having a go at lawn crochet, and hoop playing..

Added onto this, about three hours of Bimbamboozle,and time to play in the large grounds, fun play area and if you want visit the castle, or stable areas where there are displays such as the steam trains, old dolls etc etc..

Anyway, today we had agreed to meet some friends there, who did the fancy dress parade, as well. We didnt do it this week, but are going to endevour too for next week.

Having fun doing all mad stuff at the moment but I fall asleep as soon as I get home at night, exhausted!!

(Photograph of Chris, and Asha, kindly provided for by Debbie Pritchards Proffesional Child Minding Service )

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