We had a very successful first ever try at studying the life cycle of cabbage whites. I think our "butterfly jar" will be in use for many years to come :)
Some bath-time spelling of their favourite comic book characters....
Papaya even chose to make a wire sculpture of Calvin....
My parents discovered Calvin and Hobbes when my brother and I were still small. My brother then became a huge fan, identifying with Calvin and his deep thinking. Now my own boy has been a fan for a few years.
The whole comic strip is a message of praising the individual over society's expectations and for that reason I have recently discovered it is much loved by home educators too! I think these examples give you an idea why ;)
On Tuesday the children and their aunt and I visited the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. Baby Superdragon was cared for by my mum to give her mum a moment off.
The Cutty Sark is an English Clipper ship first builty in 1869 and used to transport tea and wool and other cargot before a brief life as a cadet ship. In 1954 she was first put on display at Greenwich in a dry dock. She's undergone significant conservation work (during which time there was a dreadful damaging fire in 2007) before re-opening to the public this year.
I have a vague memory of visiting the ship before the more recent conservation work, but not enough of a memory to compare really. I know there have been some objections to the raising of the ship and of enclosing it in glass, but I personally liked the effect of the glass, as if it is riding on waves, and loved being able to look underneath the ship.
The whole exhibition surrounding the ship is very well done, with a lot of information about her history as a clipper and wonderful details such as interactive sailing games, tilting benches to give the feel of being at sea, and even the smell of tea!
Papaya's favourite part was on the top deck where they had recreated the accommodation (she decided the Fist Mate's room was nicest!) and all other aspects of life aboard the ship.
The Cutty Sark is off course named for her figurehead, "Nannie", who wears the ill-fitting "Cutty Sark", an old Scots name for a petticoat or undergarment.
Nannie herself was taken from a Robert Burn poem called Tam O'shanter in which she is a witch chasing the drunken eponymous anti-hero. The lines are here.....
Her cutty-sark, o' Paisley harn That while a lassie she had worn, In longitude tho' sorely scanty, It was her best, and she was vauntie,- Ah! little ken'd thy reverend grannie, That sark she coft for he wee Nannie, Wi' twa pund Scots, ('twas a' her riches), Wad ever grac'd a dance of witches! But here my Muse her wing maun cour; Sic flights are far beyond her pow'r; To sing how Nannie lap and flang, (A souple jade she was, and strang), And how Tam stood, like ane bewitch'd, And thought his very een enrich'd; Even Satan glowr'd, and fidg'd fu' fain, And hotch'd and blew wi' might and main; Till first ae caper, syne anither, Tam tint his reason ' thegither, And roars out, "Weel done, Cutty-sark!"
It needs the Scots accent to appreciate it fully though, so I found a wonderful version of the poem (complete with images) on Youtube I also wanted to share....
We enjoyed ourselves and learnt a lot.We plan to head to London every other week from now on to take advantage of visiting all the museums and other educational venues.
5 so far, and 3 caterpillars left to turn. The one that turned first has already turned a darker brown colour, so I suspect that another week may even see them ready to emerge. Very exciting!
Whilst all the schools were starting back we studied History and Geography taking a trip under the Greenwich foot tunnel first opened in 1902.
The Olympics Opening Ceremony made Papaya and Povey very interested in Isambard Kingdom Brunel so we were able to compare with and imagine the Thames Tunnel (now no longer a foot tunnel and used for trains) built by him with his father.
Thought I should also share this video, which was made in the interests of raising awareness of Home Education; this is what it looks like for other families....http://snack.to/pztjl1db
Today is the day my children would be going back if they'd stayed at their school.
I can't help but feel a bit sad that it's all carrying on without us. I'm enjoying our home ed, but I loved the school and the people there and will miss them. Obviously we've stayed in touch with them (so far) but today it really does feel like they're taking steps without us. Plus today is the "no turning back" day. Until now the children have just been on Summer hols really, now they are officially, properly being home educated.
Yesterday was a full -on day; travelled on tube and train back from London, walked from station with wheelie bag in tow to Home Ed group, after home ed group got bus back home, washed clothes from trip away, cleaned kitchen, made two types of stock and tomato chutney, had tea, helped children play on Grid Club etc. so if I'm honest I'm shattered, but I decided to make today count.
I had hoped they would lay in so it really didn't feel like a school day but Papaya has a new bike and was so excited by that she was up and dressed by 7.00am! At least the boy laid in until 8.00am, and it was wonderful not to have to leave the house and face the traffic. We took a lazy morning, then did some shopping, went to the library, packed lunches and headed to Alice Holt with some friends to enjoy the sunshine and test out the bike! No photos though as my iPhone is dead and in the process of being replaced. Then they flopped with home-made cheesy chips and Horrible Histories before bed. It felt like a good use of the day to me ;)
Next Friday the children start at Inwoods and will be there for a term every Friday. That is when our home ed routine will really get into swing I think, for now it just feels like we're still on holiday for the summer.
