Archive for the ‘Study’ Category
Tights Fall Down…..
January 2nd, 2009 | 
Author: Yep that is right, stalactites fall down.. and stalagmites crawl up.
When I was in senior school I remeber weeks of our geography lessons being spent discussing these things, and it was sooo boring! Last week the kids at CLAS had great fun playing with them, and asking questions and taking photographs of them.
I hope to take Asha tomorrow to the river to look at ice a bit more, but in the mean time, some information for you on ICE, Stalactites and Stalagmites.
Popularity: 30% [?]
L196 – beginners welsh
Wow!
What a fantastic course this looks like! Its 44 weeks long and has two courrse books in all, wih two practice books as well. 6 TMA’s!!! But at least I should enjoy it. The materials seem well organised and clear to use.
The use of on line conferencing and activites will make it really good fun.
Popularity: 17% [?]
Jack and Jill
The nursery rhyme has an interesting history of its development linguistically and socially over the years.
Over the next few weeks I shall develop this post.
Jack and Jill went up the hill
to fetch a pail of water:
Jack fell down and broke his crown
and jill came tumbling after
Then up Jack got and home did trot
As fast as he could caper;
And went to bed, to mend his head
With vinegar and brown paper.
That third verse
Then Jill came in,
And she did grin,
To see Jack’s paper plaster;
Her mother whipt her,
Across her knee
For Laughing at Jack’s disaster
taken from a chap book printed by James Kendrew c1820
The oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes edited by Iona and Peter opie.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Biometric ID – some ramblings.
Source BBC NEWS – 20th july 08
The DfT said from 2009, new biometric ID cards would be introduced for people who work airside in the country’s airports, “allowing an individual to be linked more securely to their own true identity, helping protect against crime, illegal immigration and terrorism”.
source BBC news- 20th july 08
Prison chiefs have dismissed renewed claims that a biometric identity system at a Scottish jail failed so badly it let inmates have a free run.
The issue was raised in a House of Lords exchange on biometric ID cards.
[Source: BBC News- 20th July 08 ]
The government has already spent £32m preparing for its ID card scheme even before it becomes law.
That means spending rose from £25,000 to £63,000 a day in the last six months of 2005, the Home Office said.
And now for the scarey stuff!
According to no2id,
To begin with you need to get them to come to you.
The government’s solution to that problem is to make
people report themselves when they get a passport.
As part of the creeping move to state identity control in Britain, ID interrogation centres are being set up all around the UK . To begin with there will be 69, on top of the existing Passport Offices. A company called Mapeley, which owns the offices of HM Revenue and Customs
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2263208.stm The Inland Revenue has confirmed that it sold its estate of more than 600 buildings to a company based in a tax haven, and admits it wrongly announced the properties were sold to a UK firm. ………..All are part of Bermuda-based Mapeley Holdings Limited, a company ultimately owned by George Soros and US group Fortress Investment)
(HMRC), was given the job of setting them up. Planning applications were mostly in by the end of 2006. Operations started tentatively in 2007, and by the beginning of 2008 over 50 centres were open.
from 2007 onwards when people as young as 16 apply for their first adult passport, they will* have to attend their nearest interrogation centre. There they will be subject to background checks, questioning to test their story against official records, photographs, and, before long, fingerprinting. Registration on the national ID database(s) – the ‘National Identity Register’ or NIR – will follow.
[Source: http://www.no2id.net/ Accessed July 2008]
Now consider this factor.
GP – medical records on database…
Social services records on data base
HMRC records on database.
Banking records on database.
Shopping records on database – tescos, clubcards
Some shops ask for postcodes when purchasing goods – pc world for vat recipts, Brantamo, for shoes. for example.
Leisure cards ownership = on database.
Library cards = on database.
Every book you purchase from a high street store, with credit cards, can be checked back.
If who you are becomes a problem, then so does your ID.
Popularity: 17% [?]
Barefootbooks.
After a few year of consideration I have finally decided to start acting as a “stall holder” as they are a great publisher and I love there illustrations and subjects.
I hope you enjoy them as much as Asha and I do!
Go on, have a look.
Vicki xx
Popularity: 30% [?]
Quiet day learning at home….
So apart from learning not to touch mummys sun burn… well its a learning outcome 
and mummy trying to find out a simple explanation on sunburn – given up for now… What have we done today?
Asha watched Just so stories this morning.. We then did a few audio books, with her “reading along” to herself. she enjoys pinoccio this way. I phoned mum, as I am sure some of the books to go with some of the tapes are down there still.
After I had done a trip to tescos for some after sun, Asha did some glueing. I had bought her a cheap funky felts set, which was meant to be used to make a neckless, but the needle wont go through the felt easily, and Asha was getting upset, so I suggested we got some glue out and she made a picture. She has done this, and now wants to send it to granny..
Asha is now outside again, playing with the neighbours children, and I need to get that chicken in the oven!
Asha is definatly on the way to reading on her own though. Its wonderfull to see.
Popularity: 22% [?]
Error….
What is an error mummy?
So mummy is now a theasurus, as well, I had forgotten about this side of life off late…
So we did, I made a mistake, is the same as I did an error, which is similar to that was not right, or was wrong…
so.. what other words mean.. mistake or by accident mummy?…. I am now going to dictionary . com, to find out 
http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/mistake
Popularity: 16% [?]
Noswaith dda
Dwi ‘n ddiwethaf yn cael at chraffau ag hon!
(I am finally getting my head around this!)
Popularity: 14% [?]
Volcanoes
Following on from our fantastic experiments at CLAS, I have been wondering if there was any mountains in britain which were currently volcanic, or which could in theory erupt?
In answer to this quest I came across this:
The variation in Ordovician volcanic rocks of Wales and the Lake District imply convergent plate boundary with subduction occurring to the north of these areas, southwards under the Lake District and Wales. There was a lot of volcanic activity in Wales. Many of the lavas erupted were erupted under the sea and mixed with the sediments on the sea floor, as did the large flows of volcanic subaerial ash, known today as nuées ardentes.
The convergent plates, subduction and volcanic activity resulted in the formation of the Caledonian mountain chain that runs from Wales up through Scotland and into Scandinavia. What we see now is the eroded core of these mountains.
The main centres of volcanic activity were Snowdonia, the Arenigs, (just south of Snowdonia) Cader Idris (just south of the Arenigs) and Prescelly (near the southern bit of Cardigan bay).
Other evidence for associated volcanic activity comes form the southern uplands of Scotland and Ireland.
link Accessed March 08
The Ordovician period is the second of the six periods of the Paleozoic era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago (ICS, 2004)[1].
It follows the Cambrian period and is followed by the Silurian period. The Ordovician, named after the Welsh tribe of the Ordovices, was defined by Charles Lapworth in 1879, to resolve a dispute between followers of Adam Sedgwick and Roderick Murchison, who were placing the same rock beds in northern Wales into the Cambrian and Silurian periods respectively. Lapworth, recognizing that the fossil fauna in the disputed strata were different from those of either the Cambrian or the Silurian periods, realized that they should be placed in a period of their own.
While recognition of the distinct Ordovician period was slow in the United Kingdom, other areas of the world accepted it quickly. It received international sanction in 1906, when it was adopted as an official period of the Paleozoic era by the International Geological Congress.
Lava is molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption. When first expelled from a volcanic vent, it is a liquid at temperatures from 700 °C to 1,200 °C (1,300 °F to 2,200 °F). Although lava is quite viscous, with about 100,000 times the viscosity of water, it can flow great distances before cooling and solidifying, because of its thixotropic and shear thinning properties
Interesting!!
Popularity: 31% [?]
Oxford – our way.
Go on, how would you travel from Gwynedd to Oxford :d
Anyway,, as i didnt want to travel back on the motor way we went for a fun journey. I am sure if it had been a week day it would be murder, but on the last sunday before Easter, it was great.
Here goes .
A43- banbury
m40 – redditch (redditch became best know for its needle making. by the 19th Century it lead the field in needle making)
a422 – stratford upon avon (Shakespear land.)
Kidderminster
History of Kidderminster
The town is best known for its manufacture of carpets from about 1735, though much reduced recently. The carpet industry developed as a diversification within a well established cloth industry
The earliest written form of the name Kidderminster is in Domesday Book of 1086. It was a large manor held by King William with 16 outlying settlements
The place name indicates a much earlier existence. ‘Minster’ is a Saxon word for a monastery or large church. Scholars now believe that a charter of the year 736, whereby King Aethelbald of Mercia granted land for the creation of a monastery, referred to the Kidderminster area.
Kidderminster History Society.
A442 up to Bridgenorth
Carry on up to Telford, (Telford, named after Thomas Telford the renowned civil engineer, )then a41, and a55 home.
Well, how would you do it.. and dont say on motorway – thats boring!
Popularity: 20% [?]
Communication in wildlife.
The spectacular colours of coral reef fishes represent a ‘language’ that has been around for at least 50 million years – to which humans have lost the key.
Colour in fish is most probably a highly developed form of communication, some of which we can interpret, but much of which remains cryptic says Professor David Bellwood of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University.
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20082102-16929.html
Now I know something seem obvious, and I can cope with Sign Language… Semiphore,
Elephant communication is fantastic – if anyone has chance to read “SILENT THUNDER: In the Presence of Elephants” By Katy Payne. Did you know that elephants communicate with sounds that are below the range of human hearing? Similar to whales, they can speak over long distance with each other using infrasound.
But what other forms of communication are there out there.. Are we really that smart the human race? I think not.
Popularity: 21% [?]
Stem Cell Research.
O.k. not quite the normal content for Familytreehouse, but as someone posted this on to a forum I regully use, I thought I would share it some more with the world.
Yep, breast milk contains stem cells
The Perth scientist who made the world-first discovery that human breast milk contains stem cells is confident that within five years scientists will be harvesting them to research treatment for conditions as far-reaching as spinal injuries, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
But what Dr Mark Cregan is excited about right now is the promise that his discovery could be the start of many more exciting revelations about the potency of breast milk.
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20081102-16879.html
Popularity: 12% [?]
Questions?
Do ladybirds have teeth, and if not why not?
Why can we see the moon in the day time?
Why does it go dark at night?
How do bees make honey out of nectar and spit?
Why do some people need more sleep than others?
Why do people shout?
Why do peopls spit?
Why are flames sometimes blue?
Why do we get fog?
Why does the small hand on a clock never move when I am watching it mummy?
I am sure Steve will add to this list, but these are some of Asha’s questions for this week. If anyone fancies trying to answer them for me, all help appreciated!
Popularity: 21% [?]
Ideas for study resources.
I just remebered saying to someone yesterday that the OU is now doing free resources for people returning to study etc… So I thought I would do a little post on resources for Study!
I have always found Mind Maps a usefull tool for revision or keeping planning under some kind of structure..- something I love about the automonous approache to education
I dont use a free version I have Inspiration, which is a fantastic peice of software, but Tony Buzan books on mind mapping are a great place to start! His Brain child book also makes an curious read
The other thing I do loads when faced with verbal exercises – eg oral exams, is to use a tape recorder and play it back.. read a block of a book out, and listen to it.. That way you can tell if you can hear your own mistakes. I used to find role play really boring, so I would try to be the newsreporter instead!
Popularity: 17% [?]
Penrhyn Castle – near Bangor.
We went there today, with a few people from Woodfolk, to see the snowdrops and Daffodils.
Although only the gardens and tea rooms were open, it was a well spent afternoon, dispite the high winds, and rain at the end of the day, and I really recomend going to them if you have the chance.
The three small ponds had snails and interesting plants in, and Asha got to see Matting toads, and frogspawn. She also saw water snails, lillies and other wildlife.
It was great getting to go around with P, as he works there, he was able to direct us and tell us all about so many of the trees, the beech, redwood, and laurel, are three trees I have learnt more about today.
We also discussed the tree which queen elizabeth planted.. but I cant remeber what it is.
Asha got to look closely at snow drops, daffodils, crocus, Primrose, and other plants. We also looked at a tree heather, which I am intrigued about.
Loads of walking, and If Asha was asleep I would be asleep now.. but a great afternoon.
Popularity: 21% [?]
Fee Fie Foe Fum
Since I sat and enjoyed the presentation last Saturday off Jack and The Beanstalk I have been trying to find out more about this great classic.
Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!
I smell the blood of an Englishman.
Be he ‘live, or be he dead,
I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.
I am interested in knowing where its from, and so far I know its either of German origin or possibly british… (note british… dont know where in britain)
The earliest printed edition which I have found is the 1807 book The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk, printed by Benjamin Tabart, There is also a burlesque of the story entitled The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean was included in the 1734 second edition of Round About Our Coal-Fire.
Since researching it I have discovered the migration of the celts and Germans.. but little about Jack!
Isnt research fantastic!
Popularity: 21% [?]
Exhaustion
I have bowed out of a forum, tonight as I am fed up of constantly battling to read one posters post.
It is a busy and active forum, and said person posts on it a lot. I then cant just click through the posts but have to highlight all her posts inorder to change font, so I can read it. Its time consuming, and not why I go there.. Easiest option? Walk away.
This morning , I didnt get up untill nearly this afternoon. I had planned on getting to bed early however after getting ready for bed early… only for Asha to decide actually she needed me untill midnight, and then could i get to sleep? No.
Anyway, I am about to finish my TMA.
Referencing :/
Popularity: 13% [?]
Sleepless Leonardo.
Its 2.15 in the morning. I have an awful lot to do tomorrow – and I need to go to Bangor, as Steve dropped his mobile there today by accident.
I should be in bed, sleeping but this assignment on Leonardo is driving me insane. I have decided on the areas, but dont understand the question. I dont follow how they want it referencing, but understand how I would like to reference.
I keep on spelling “Sforza” wrong, and there are more additions to Ludovicio than there are fries in macdonald take aways in the whole of the US and Britain added together.
Why is it so important???? Why am I trying to work at 2 am? Why why why????
Night all…
Popularity: 12% [?]
