WILDWOOD HOME EDUCATION TRIP

Hi all

Early start for us this morning, well 7.45am anyway which is hardly an early start, but early enough for us!

Up and dressed, lunch boxes packed, breakfast eaten, flask of tea made and then off to Wildwood with Lorraine and Amy and some other home ed families.

An excellent, but busy day. Glorious sunshine throughout, but as there was lots of trees (clues in the name really) plenty of shade when needed.

We all met up outside and then ventured in for a quick cuppa before meeting up with Laura our ranger for the day.

First up was a brief tour around the park itself visiting a few animals on the way in a bit more detail.

First up the Fallow Deer:


Next up were the Konik wild horses:

Then Eagle Owl, Red Fox and Wolves:


The wolves were brilliant. Two females, both hand reared (there were others too, but these came up close to the fence when Laura went in, so we could get a close up view). One was particularly 'cute' if that is a word you can describe a wolf with, as she loved having a bit of a fuss through the fence and rolled over onto her back just as our dog, Draco, would do.

Next it was onto the Red Squirrels, past the elusive otters and back to the start.

We then met Gimli the owl who was lovely but very nervous with all of us standing around staring at her. Callum was a little bit shy in going forward, so I had to manoeuvre him into a position where he could see. I went and sat down as my hip was starting to hurt, but he stayed and listened to what was being said.

After lunch and a play in the play area, it was off to meet the bison. They were huge and we were told that, surprisingly, they can run at 40mpm! Wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of those. They did look lovely and warm with their shaggy hair though.


All in all it was a very good day - thanks Chrissie for organising and thanks Lorraine for driving us there. Would like to have seen a lot more of the park, so I think we will have to do another visit without being in a group, just to wander around at our own pace. There were lots that we didn't get chance to see. Must have been a good day as Amy and Callum fell asleep in the car on the way home. hehe

Anyway, cya

A CHILLED OUT DAY

Hiya

Today Callum had a chilled out day! I had a friend round this morning for tea and a catch up chat. Haven't seen her for ages properly, so thanks Michelle for popping round.

Callum did do his maths and literacy sheets though and he did two lots as he didn't do them yesterday. Didn't like to mention that he wouldn't be able to do them tomorrow as we are out on a home ed trip, so theoretically he should have done 3 lots, hehe. I was just very pleased that he'd made sure he'd caught up.

He spent most of the rest of the day on the computer playing, you've guessed it, Command and Conquer, Generals! I'm amazed that the fascination for this game has lasted as long as it has, but then it is very Dune like and he's loved that game for years!

Off for the family shop tonight. We went along for a change as there were a couple of items that I desperately needed and didn't want to write a huge list. So Phil went off doing the normal everyday bits and I went off looking for the gluten free bits and the extras I wanted to flavour the veggie food I'm now cooking. Callum flipped between the two of us, ensuring he got a few goodies put in the trolley (he was pushing it); some for packed lunch tomorrow and some for just whenever. Back home and it was dinner, shower and a little chat about tomorrow's trip. He's a little apprehensive, as he always is, but he knows in his heart he will be fine.

Anyway, we are out tomorrow, so might have something a little more interesting to write about.

Cya

AN UNEXPECTED STROLL

Hiya

Today was yet another glorious Autumn day, but it did start foggy. Love a bit of fog to walk in; like the idea of walking in a cloud.

We started a little early as we had to change our trampolining lesson to 9am as we were off to a party this afternoon. We arrived just as they were opening up, but our teacher was a little late as her lift to work didn't turn up, so she had to walk in a rush. Callum did really well again doing lots of moves that involved one move to a half or full twist and into another move, eg, front drop straight to half twist straight to front drop in opposite direction. He worked hard and enjoyed the last few minutes launching himself into the foam pit!

We'd taken his kite along with us as he fancied another session of flying it. Off we went to the lower part of the Great Lines, but there really wasn't enough breeze, so we wandered off to the upper part of the Lines in the hope that there would be more wind. Passed a couple of Community Officers on the way who just looked at us, said 'good morning' and walked on. Never ceases to amaze me that we are never asked why Callum isn't at school, but I'm not complaining.

Got to the top part of the Lines, but still no consistent breeze. But by this point we were talking about wildlife and pathways, both man-made and natural. I mentioned that the upper part of the Lines used to be all longer grass, but now they have only kept about half of it as there are birds that nest on the ground. Just as I said it one flew up which was quite cool. We then talked about the war memorial and Fort Amhurst. Callum spotted a train in the distance and wanted to know how it got from Chatham to Gillingham. I mentioned that it went under the Lines and he wanted to see where it went in, so we strolled right over the Lines almost to Chatham so he could see the entrance to the tunnel. Just as we got there a train appeared from underneath and went on its way to Chatham. We then walked back home dropping into the library to change some books. Both rather shattered to be honest, but it was a lovely unexpected stroll.

We dropped into Subway for some lunch and then it was home, drop off library books, pick up present and card, check dog and off we went again to catch bus back to Chatham and then onto Borstal. Popped into Arriva shop to pick up new timetables and D&A toys for an emergency pastel colouring pack just in case we can't get the mosaic kit before next Tuesday when we are supposed to be showing his sister something arty to go towards his Arts Award.

At the hall it was Lauren's 12th birthday party, so lots of running around, music, sweets, food, pass the parcel and general party noise of happy kids. Sun was glorious, so a lot of the time was spent outside. After much munching and singing happy birthday, gathering party bag and balloons and leftover biscuits we just managed to catch the bus home. He is now flaked out on the sofa going through his goodies and drinking a cuppa. I don't think he'll be doing much else today apart from the computer!

So, no maths, no literacy and no science today, just lots of fresh air, general chatter about geography and history and a nice social afternoon. I love home ed!!

Cya

THE WEEK BEGINS

Hi all

Just a brief one today. Monday morning arrived bright and sunny and at 9.30am for Callum!!!!! I decided to leave him to it this morning as we've been busy again over the weekend and had 2 early starts at the end of last week, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so late. Oh well, beauty of home ed is that there is no school run to do or school to get to, so lessons start when we are ready.

10am he was curled up on sofa wading through his daily maths and literacy sheets while I was checking post (which arrived early today) and making us a cuppa. A shriek of "yay" went up and I looked up from perusing The Book People's catalogue to find that he was excited because of a fraction sheet! Yes, I did say fractions. Strange boy. Apparently circles divided into sections and shaded is his favourite way of doing fractions. He remembers doing them before and really liked them, so am rather glad I've used them to start fractions all over again.

Next was Science - Physics this week and we are looking at Energy. So big discussion on fossil fuels verses renewable fuels; looking at different forms of energy; water shortage(?) and how we would be able to 'clean' sea water for use (again ?) and then he came up with an idea for a self charging fan! Home ed does tend to wander off topic, hence the water shortage discussion, but then we went round in a circle and came back onto it. Callum strongly thinks that we should be using solar panels, wind turbines and renewable sources of energy which is a good thing and he wants us to have solar panels on the house (have explained that its rather an expensive outlay and although I would love to do it, we just can't afford to at the moment).

Anyway back to the self charging fan. He came up with the idea that if a fan used rechargable batteries to work and you put a smaller fan in front of the larger fan, facing it, then there was no reason that, after the batteries initially being fully charged, that the big fan blowing air into the smaller fan, which would spin, would be able to recharge the batteries which powered the big fan which blew air into the smaller fan making it spin which would charge the batteries, etc, etc, etc (hope that makes sense). Good idea in principle, but we did discuss that we would need to check that the smaller fan would produce enough energy in the batteries to continuously 'fuel' the bigger fan. Might have to find some inventor/engineering home ed friends and see if we can build one. Anyway A+ for the idea definitely.

After lunch and some damson jam making we had a visit from Terri, his sister, and her dad, Dave. Dave came bearing gifts from America which, of course, went down a treat with Callum.

After that he decided he would go out with dad and Draco the dog when dad got home so he could fly his kite again. Nice, as it gave me a bit of empty house time. Back home and it was back on computer. He's still obsessed with Command and Conquer Generals!

So that's it for today.
Cya later

A WEEKEND SPENT OUTDOORS

Hiya

Another busy weekend for us, but want to make the most of the September sunshine. Love this time of year! Days are normally sunny, but not too hot and being outside watching the leaves change colour and the air being fresh instead of humid is wonderful.

So...Saturday morning we took ourselves off to Capstone park to forage Sloes, Damsons and the last of the Elderberries. We took the dog with us, so he had a great run round. Breakfast was wild apples and blackberries picked along the way - yum!! Callum managed to find us another superb Sloe bush; lots of berries and not so overgrown so much easier to pick without getting thorns stuck in your fingers and as the bush was more open the sloes had had the sun on them more, so there were a lot of them.

Back, after a round walk, we stopped for a coffee and Callum undid his 'healthy' breakfast by having a huge piece of black forest cake (homemade by the people at the cafe). Must admit it did look good, haha.

The afternoon was spent with Phil setting up the Sloe Gin, Callum running about in the garden and then on the computer and me picking sunflower heads, removing seeds, shelling said seeds (easier than you think, but quite time consuming) and then dry frying sunflower and pumpkin seeds for use in topping salads etc. Must admit, Callum and myself did devour a few, so probably only one lunch salad topping left, haha.

Today, we picked up his best mate Callum D and headed off to Riverside for Kite Making. The boys had a fab time making their kites and really took their time making them look gorgeous.

Then outside we went to give them a go at flying. The weather was just perfect...sunny with enough wind to lift them into the air. Callum D was an expert and got his up first - well done. My Callum took a bit longer, but got the hang of it pretty soon afterwards.


Lots of people were flying their kites, so we moved into the other field and ended up being the only ones in there. Perfect for flying and they only managed to tangle them once. Well done boys!!!!




Back home this afternoon and Callum dived onto the computer again, while I destoned 3lb of Damsons ready for jam making tomorrow afternoon. Still have 3lb left so think I'll be buying some cheap vodka ready for Damson Vodka.

We are all knackered now after so much fresh air, so another night of monging in front of TV beckons.

Cya later

END OF WEEK CATCH UP

Hiya

Well, as you can see the daily blog hasn't exactly been daily this week! We've been quite busy and I think I've been getting the start of the hibernation season tiredness. All I want to do in the evening is curl up in front of crap telly and mong out, haha. So as Callum has his best mate around this afternoon, I'm going to use that time to do this and catch up with emails, etc. So, here goes:

Wednesday was another day at home, so it was the usual ritual of maths and literacy worksheets and then a quick review of acids and alkalines. We wrote up our experiment and then did a worksheet and comprehension sheet. Callum has never done comprehension sheets before but I thought it was a good time to start. Luckily the book I use by Letts contains a Key Words Exercise, a Comprehension Exercise, Testing Understanding section and a Skills Practice sheet for each section of work, so I'm not having to find and create worksheets. It also has an answer section...phew!!! ;-) The comprehension bit is just a few small paragraphs to read with about 1/2 dozen questions so nothing really difficult as all the answers are given in the paragraphs. Callum answered the questions and wrote out his answers (wow!), but didn't want to do one of them as he couldn't answer it as thoroughly as he wanted to without writing loads!! After he'd finished the rest of the questions I went over it with him with the answers given in the book and he realised that the amount he was writing wasn't really necessary. He still isn't happy about it all, but I think he's understood the point about being concise.

Wednesday afternoon was cooking as we were out all day on Thursday so we needed lunch. Broccoli soup for me with sage and onion rolls, some shortbread and some apple and blackberry muffins for breakfast just in case we didn't get up in time to eat and they were something we could eat in the car.

Thursday, we were up at 7am and being picked up at 8.30am. Off to a home education trip to natural pathways and a bushcraft day. We learnt about knots and how to put up bashas, Callum didn't want to help put up a basha as such but made sure everyone had ropes, tent pegs and helped out explaining some of the knots (evidence that he'd retained something from him being shown). We also did a sensory awareness exercise where some people were blindfolded and others helped lead (in case they walked into trees or tripped over brambles or roots). You had to listen for the sound of the drum and aim towards it using your hearing and personal space awareness. Callum didn't want to actually do the exercise, but he was quite happy to do the drumming!

Callum in our Basha

Toasting marshmallows around the fire

After lunch we learnt about animal skulls, skats (poo), pellets and tracks and went off on a walk to see what we could find. Callum was very comfortable by this point and I lost him off with the rest of the children while us adults trailed behind having a chat. Actually we really did get lost, one minute the kids and guide were in front of us and the next minute they'd disappeared into the trees. We did find them though. All in all it was a fabulous fun and informative day, 19 of us (parents and children)in all and the weather stayed lovely.

Animal skulls

Today I was giving a talk about home education to the local MAGIC group.

Callum went off and played with a boy called Ben on their XBox which again shows how much his confidence has improved. And this afternoon he has his best mate round to play.

So, there you go, another catch up done.

Cya later

THE WEEKEND AND BEYOND

Hi all

Sorry, have had a busy weekend and just not got round to being on computer. So am going to have to combine a few days here.

So, firstly Saturday...Autumn Food Walk today at Capstone Park. Lovely two hour walk around the park (it is vast) looking at berries and nuts and some greens that we could eat now. Lots about at the moment including elderberry, damson, sloes, apples, pears, rose hips and wild carrot. Weather kind of held out although we did get some short downpours it wasn't anything that soaked us completely.

Spent the afternoon in the garden cutting back herbs, and clearing up. Used our washing machine drum fire pit for the first time, which Callum loved. He even got brave enough to pop some bits in. Rosemary and sage wood smelt beautiful when burnt but obviously smoked a lot as it was green. Luckily no-one had washing out on the line.

Sunday I was out all day with a couple of friends at Faversham and Belmont House for their Country Fair. Callum had a day with his dad. They dug over a corner of the garden where I want to put trees and then made a start of some models that Callum bought at the Model Show at RE Museum. They are quite small, but are the ideal size for his tanks and soldiers that he has upstairs. Will post some photos when they are finished.

Monday, back to school. Although we were both pretty shattered after all the fresh air of the weekend. Concentrated on Science. We're doing Acids and Alkalines this week. Was nice to just curl up on sofa and have a big talk rather than doing loads of worksheets. Rest of day was spent in kitchen cooking. Cauliflower moussaka. Callum wanted some of it too for dinner, so I cooked extra + a portion for freezing. Then baked apples dish style. I've got some apples that I'm not sure of the insides, so we wedged them and then layered them with dried fruit, brown sugar, crystallised ginger and knobs of butter and baked them. Was lovely!!! Yum!

Today, more science, but actually testing for acids and alkalines in household stuff and back to some maths and literacy.
This afternoon was off to the hall for a meet up and for Harry's 7th birthday party. Had a great time and although Callum didn't join in the games (he rarely does), he enjoyed himself and that's what counts. Thanks Harry for the invite.

Anyway, quick catch up, but its done now, so will catch ya later.

Cya