Friday 24 August 2012

Blood

We had a little planning meeting a week ago or so and one of the things that both George 1 and 2 wanted to look at was Blood. I did a bit of digging and found that you could make blood and then eat it! They thought this was wonderful. It incorporated some maths as well as there was a bit of weighing involved.

The ingeredients were:

Golden Syrup (plasma)
Silver balls (fat, amino acids, waste products)
Red sweets (Red blood cells)
Mini marshmallows (white blood cells) - there were just two in our mix but we talked about what infected blood would look like.

Once we'd made it they had a spoonful each but given the sugar intensity I drew the line at one spoonful!







Random Learning

It's been birthday season since I last wrote and I've only just got round to uploading the photos. George 3 turned 3 and then a week later George 1 turned 8. We had wonderful times with both of them but I've not done much else with the past 3 weeks.

The photos I've uploaded though have reminded me of what we have actually achieved and it's a surprising amount!

 George 1 and I investigated carbon dioxide one day. We made a solution of lime water and then Blew into it. When it goes cloudy, it shows that there is carbon dioxide present. This showed that there is carbon dioxide present when we breathe out. This led onto a conversation about the importance of plants and rain forests and photosynthesis.

On another day we went to my Brother In Law's home so that the older boys could have a go at being DJ's for the day. Oh how they loved it!
 

Lime water is made from Calcium Hydroxide and water.




One morning I woke up to find all 4 of my lovlies in a box! They had already been to Madagascar, Germany (where they spoke German), America and Scotland! That was one busy morning and all before breakfast
 One thing I love about home ed is that they have access to food and drink whenever they need it. One one their favourite morning snacks is hot chocolate with dipping biscuits. They make it themselves and one of them makes one for George 3. On this particular day though, the thing that really impressed me was that George 2 made a repeating pattern with his biscuits! Proud Mummy

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Industrialisation vs Agriculture with relation to schools

I have spent a lovely day with my sisters in law and a friend of theirs today. We were chatting a lot about home ed because their friend is very interested and is quite dissolusioned with the education system. It reminded me of a quote I read recently by Sir Ken Robinson about the principles that the current education system is based on. Whenever I write things like this it always seems to turn into a school vs home debate. I am NOT anti-school. If it's right for your children, if they're happy and developing well, then school is just fine. I however, do not feel that school is the right place for us and the following quote sums up one of the many reasons why I feel this way.

 
 
I truly never enjoyed a single minute of my children being in an environment so far removed from family life. There were some advantages yes, a tidy house, a bit of quiet for a few hours a day, but I never felt comfortable with them experiencing that specific type of experience. Over the past 10 months I have seen the flourish. I've been a part of every aspect of their lives. I enjoyed (almost) every minute and I have definitely been more relaxed and comfortable. My little seeds are growing!