Book Sharing Monday

Creepy Crawly Calypso.

This week we have chosen Creepy Crawly Calypso by Tony Langham as our book to share. We've chosen it because Hannah really enjoyed using it today and wanted to show everyone what a lovely book it is.

The book has a cd which accompanies it, and children can follow the cd using the book. The music is really lively and fun, and the book takes the reader through all the instruments in a Calypso band and a lot of the insects found in the Caribbean. At the back of the book there is information on each instrument and insect and the words and music to the song on the cd.

Learning, Dancing, Cooking

We've had a very productive day today, and it's been lots of fun. This morning we did our table learning - Hannah did reading practise, penmanship, a phonics lesson and a maths lesson from her Horizons curriculum, and some art work.

Then we got out our Creepy Crawly Calypso book and cd, (which is a lovely book - see today's book sharing) and learned about calypso music, steel bands and did lots of dancing and playing of our own instruments - Hannah also did a bit of dancing wearing my shoes which was very cute!

This afternoon Hannah also had her first ever real dancing lesson. She has been asking to dance for a while now, so we have signed her up for modern dancing once a week and she is having a trial ballet and tap lesson next week as well. This is her, all ready to start :-)

Tonight she asked to make dinner and then said she wanted to cook a curry!! Daddy helped her make this delicious biriyani. She very carefully chopped onions, mixed spices, fried onions, added the other ingredients and stirred it all up and then she even ate it too!!

Helping at Home

Hannah really enjoys helping out at home and often asks to wash dishes, polish furniture or make dinner. I let her help as often as possible because as well as her enjoying it, she is learning valuable life skills which is so important. 

Today she helped me wash the dishes, she had a bowl of soapy water on the counter and I used the sink and we shared the dishes, then later she made a lovely salad, very carefully and precisely using the sharp chopping knife, and then put potatoes in the oven to bake. She was very proud of the fact that she used the oven and explained several times why you had to be very careful with hot ovens. 

Saturday

Today Hannah and i were treated to a lovely lunch out by our friends Emma and Steve (thank you both very much- it was lovely), and then afterwards we took the children to the beach when Hannah and Ben built this fantastic sandcastle.

After Hannah was dried and dressed, we walked into the town centre via the beautiful Rose Gardens which were in full bloom and smelled amazing. I love roses, and it seems that Hannah does too, as she didn't want to leave and just kept walking around and around saying how beautiful they were.

Stonehenge and Avebury Stone Circle

Yesterday we went on a Home Education group field trip to Stonehenge. Hannah had never been before and was amazed at how big the stones were. She was very interested to hear that some of the stones came all the way from Wales where her grandparents live, and tried to imagine how ancient man could have transported them there. 

Stonehenge doesn't actually take that long to visit, so afterwards we, and a couple of other families that we are friends with, drove on to Avebury Stone Circle. The children loved it at Avebury, as they were able to touch the stones and investigate them properly. The circle is set around a village, amongst meadow grasses and sheep, and so perfect for 3 little girls and a little boy to play, explore and run around, and around, and around.

Sydney, Hannah and Tess at Stonehenge.
Stonehenge
An Ancient Burial Mound
Three little Girls at Avebury
Collecting Sheeps Wool
Walking the Circle
Collecting Snails
Brodie peeping through a hole in one of the stones.
Way up high
An Amazing group of trees we found.
Climbing up the root steps.
Hannah and Sydney found a seat in a stone.
Picking buttercups.
And playing.

Today we have..............

...............done SO much!! My plan was to have a quiet day at home as we've been really busy for the last few weeks,but it didn't really turn out that way! This morning Hannah started off with some simple, fun workbooks to practise her writing.

Then as the sun was shining she wanted to get outside so she planted up some new runner beans to replace the previous ones which were eaten by slugs..................

....and then made 'friends' with this snail which she played with for quite a long time before lunch. By now of course it was pouring with rain and she eventually came in dripping wet!

After lunch she did a maths lesson from her Horizons curriculum which was learning about units of 10, and then learnt about adaptability from her Devotions for Girls book..............

Next i read The Velveteen Rabbit to her from her Kindergarteners handbook, and we discussed the story (comprehension!!), 

After that we read two poems by Robert Louis Stevenson from my 38 year old 'A Childs Garden of Verses' and then we talked about the meaning of the poems and the different ways we can use language to create pictures and images.

Now Hannah is having a playtime, and i'm having a break from all that reading!!

Portsmouth Home Ed Group - Nigeria

Yesterday at our home ed group we continued with our theme of looking at different countries. This time the children had been looking at Africa with Nigeria as the basis, and had focused on Nigerian kings, games, stories and lanscapes among other things. Hannah took 3 African stories to share, 'Handa's Surprise', 'Beautiful Banana's', and 'We all Went on Safari', and one of the mum's brought some modelling clay so they all had a try at making some clay models. Another family brought some really interesting African games to play and the children all had a really good time and learnt a lot too.

I wish i could remember what this game is called -  here's a picture of it in action anyway!!

Colouring in scenes from one of the stories we heard.
Making a clay model.
Hannah working on her model.