Science & Growing Potatoes

So, how's everyone enjoying the start of Spring? 

We've been back in to our routine today :-) 'Table Time' this morning - including reading, English comprehension, spellings (for DS) and some new science workbooks I bought at our local pound shop! 

I bought 2 copies of the age 7 book, as although DD is 8 1/2 and can work at a much higher level, I thought it might be fun for the kids to do something together as we tend to work separately in the same space.  It was :-)  They really enjoyed working on the same thing together and DD enjoyed reading the questions to DS and it spurred him on to want to take turns of reading the questions too! So we got some inadvertent reading practice in too :-) 

We also planted out our potatoes that we have been chitting.....

If you don't already know about this scheme,  see  Grow Your Own Potatoes.  Registration has closed for this year, but bear it in mind for 2017 :-)  

We are a little late in starting, but we got them planted out today and DD noted the weather on our progress chart - so let the growing begin!   DD is on Team Rocket and DS is Team Rudolph (these are the varieties of seed potatoes we were sent). 

I'll let you know how we get on :-) 

Letting go a bit

Hi!

Sorry I've not been around for a little while.  Computer issues, car issues, life issues!  

How is every one? :-)

I've been trying really hard today to get the kids to crack on with some 'Table Work', as we are severely out of routine at the moment, but it's just not happening!  DD has sat and drawn animals and painted water colours and DS has played both acoustic & rock guitar and just generally played.  

I did get to the point of deep frustration but I removed myself to the kitchen, made a cup of tea (the British cure-all) and took some deep breaths!  And, do you know what, I think it's kinda ok now :-)

Sure, I wanted us to do Maths & English today.  I wanted DS especially to do reading (no worries there with DD!!) and I wanted to feel like we had 'achieved something'.   But then I realised, we have.   The kids are not fighting, we've had a lovely breakfast together of home made pancakes and fresh fruit while we've chatted and hung out, we're all washed, dressed & the right way up :-)  and the kids have found their inner peace.  They haven't got up, hung around my shirt tails making eyes at me and be-moaning "I'm bored".  In fact, I honestly cannot remember the last time I heard either of them use that phrase.  Because they are not bored, ever!  That's a huge claim to make and a massive achievement.  They have learnt how to fill their time, with pursuits they enjoy, rather than waiting to be 'told' and 'directed' all the time.  How many of us as adults can even claim that?  I'm not saying it's all sunshine and rainbows, and of course there are times they need structured routine, and other times they need a bit of nudging and guidance to come up with ideas of what they want to do.  But other times it is entirely self led.

They both worked super hard last week collating all their stuff for their Arts Award - all their projects, evidence and research and presenting it all in a large A3 book each.  At the end of the week they did a special presentation to a family friend on all they have learned and I was so proud of their confidence, competence and enthusiasm.   Between them they have done:- 


For DD - Marble painting, pottery painting, still life drawing event at a museum, theatre production, 2 pantomimes, a variety of Christmas art activities, textiles (making her own shoes, learning to knit & sewing finger puppets), an art from literature activity, water colour paintings, a creative writing course on poetry and an animation studio activity! And researched and learnt about Picasso and Susan Williams-Ellis and a smattering of Alphonse Mucha & Edgar Artis (who does the drawings of women that he completes with flowers or other natural objects).

And DS has done Christmas mice, making his own play dough to build with, review of a theatre production, papier mache project, attending the Primary Proms, making instruments & taking guitar lessons as a result, pottery painting, Warhammer figures, film review as part of the Into Film festival, Imagination Station at South Bank as part of the London Design Festival, an interactive Christmas play he went to, a bird house he built, newspaper printing & making, Hex Bug & remote control car drawing!! And for his research he has done poet James Carter.

Phew!  A massive, massive achievement for both of them.

So, we were going to plant out the potatoes we've chitted today. So it'll probably rain the rest of the week and we'll have to wait until next week, or beyond.  So, we're behind on the project chart that says we should've planted them on 8th March.  You know what, I'll live with that.

Instead I'm going to make a packed lunch & take them out to the park. Because, after all, isn't that why we chose this Alternative Life in the first place?

Have a happy day xxxxxx

Arts Award & Hail Storms

Feeling absolutely shattered today. DH has unexpectedly just arrived home early and taken both the kids to Beavers, on his bike, in the rain - Top Husband Marks :-)  

So I thought I would sit down and do a little blog update and I'm just thinking about what we've done today and why I'm so shattered.  Apart from the fact I was awake half the night (you know how it is!).  

So far today I've changed all the beds, done 4 loads of washing, changed all the cushion covers in the lounge, ensured all the pets got done, done a weekly grocery shop (without the car!), unpacked it all and put it away and STILL we found time for lots of lovely work on the kids Arts Award presentation books:-

Above is DS's effort, he did 4 pages in all! I am sooooo pleased and proud of this. He did the write ups himself, which is MASSIVE for him as he is still huuuuugely reluctant to write anything he feels he 'has' to. He is still so afraid of being judged, it not being 'good enough' or 'right' but his confidence with this is growing and I love the fact that by the second one he had gained confidence and branched out and used different colours for each word.  Not only writing, but having fun with it. Hurray! :-)

As DD was off reading one of our new Choose Your Own adventure books - the Geography Range (love, love, love these books! They are so fun the kids don't even realise they are learning :-) ) - I had some more 1-2-1 time with DS.  He'd had enough of writing, so we did some reading together.  Getting DS to read aloud is alot like wrestling a greased pig (I imagine!) :-) :-)  It is SO hard to get him to stay focused. His mind is SO BUSY, whirring at a hundred miles an hour and making connections left, right, forwards, backwards, sideways, that it is really, really difficult to get him to stay on track.  It is a question of continuously drawing him back to the words on the page, away from the minute detail of the pictures and every other tangent he then goes off on.  It takes an average of 45 minutes to read with DS (the amount of reading that would be a simple 5 minute reading task for a neuro typical child of his age).  He has the ability to read, it's a case of trying to pause the washing machine cycle in his brain to allow the words through.  It's a real labour of love, but he is coming on leaps and bounds and his confidence with it :-)

This was then enough Table Time so I suggested he had some Golden Time (play time basically) while I worked 1-2-1 with his sister, so she could assemble some of her Arts Award file - 

She did about 7 pages in all, so we are on target to have them ready before the Easter holidays for assessment :-)  

It was then time for lunch, and afterwards I spent some time playing Lego towers and Nerf guns with DS, as DD wanted some time on her own.  (I think she is creating something for Mothers Day, bless her little heart).

The kids then played and hung out together while I SAT DOWN!! Honestly, I don't know how I managed to fit that in today lol :-)   And then they went out to play in the crazy hail storm!

It's great being a kid, isn't it?  What could be more exciting and fun than tiny bits of ice falling from the sky? :-)