Category Archives: geography

quick blog

as so much else to do.

Umm, SB listened to little toe a lot today. We did quite a bit of reading together – loads of the usborne children’s encyclopaedia, a picturepaedia about dinosaurs and a scholastic book about constellations as well as lots of reading books and fairy tales. She didn’t do any explode the code today, having excelled an done 7 pages yesterday. She did do some singapore maths 1A, and is getting the hang of adding and crossing over a ten [and similarly subtracting] – though the occasional 7-1 is 5 and stuck to rigidly is a bit head-banging!

The key thing she wanted to do was some electricity experiments. Before xmas, [aka before budget!] I did a brghtminds order including one of those brainbox jkits, which we decided to keep until next xmas. We changed our minds and did it today. She very quickly got good at circuits, loved the flying disc fan, and understood in a basic way about electricity and current, the way it flowed around the circuit – enough to realise that the light emiting diode didn’t work as it was put in the wrong way round [it has an arrow] So lots of fun there.

Whilst finishing the maths in the garden, BB and I had a romp and play. ruined by the most eniormous hideous poo ever – as she was nappy free it fell on the grass, but i did then have to carry her, emergency wipe down and then emergency sink bath! At least it wasn’t indoors, as she had been nappy free all day. Other than that, BB and I also read books, we did a lot of run and chase. She’s getting good at drawing too – well, in a reliable pen to paper kind of way rather than a monet! We were trying copying shapes, and she had a stab at a circle before wild scribbling took over. She was desperate to do electric circuits too. She has done lots of climbing up and over everyhting she can. Lots of fun with balloons as well.

All in all, lots of fun today – though BB has been quite grizzley on and off, and the yukky orange poo persuaded me that perhaps she had some virus or other, so she got some nurofen. SB doesn’t like to be left out, so the odd wail there too, but quickly sorted. She has done some lovely playing with BB, even when pinched and hit – and BB gave her a lovely slimy mouth open kiss in return!

will add photos

our ‘typical home-ed day’ Photo Meme 2006

somewhat late, and I didn’t get started with the camera quite at the begining, but hey ho, that is probably what my typical day is! Obviously, this wasn’t entirely a typical day, as it was bank hols and both parents at home. Full photos on flickr.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Little Nanny!
Started with SB and BB playing with the happy street at too early o clock, and then by the eime I got up, SB had moved onto Sindy’s and BB was rarring about. I fed her and she settled down to playing with the bricks.

So, 10:00 and SB starts with explode the code – 4 pages. SHe’s quite good at doing this mostly on her own. I did need to remind her that there is a double l at the end of words such as sell and spell etc. Also, it took a while to convince her that there was a st sound and how it was made.

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So that was 10 mintues – I happen to know because thats when she decided to play nursery with BB, who was being the baby in the baby room. BB took it all in good part, and I do like seeing SB playing games specifically with BB, rather than just moaning when BB ruins things.

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11 -ish, and we did some maths. SB chose to do some from the miquon book – something that I find more dificult, as I have to sit there with the instructors guide to work out what we are supposed to be doing. mostly counting and adding, as we do it so rarely she is on ‘easy’ pages.

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12-ish BB had an early lunch and fell asleep. Chris and SB looked at rocks and minerals with enchanted learning, moving on to the cretaceous period – and quite a bit of discussion on extinction and then to continental drift on the ‘puter. SB then looked at the new webland.I went out and did a spot of gardening, coming in for lunch – by which time BB had woken up and had a second lunch! 13-ish!

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14:00 I read to BB, and SB did lots of dot to dotting – going up to 50, and then looked at a thomas the tank book. She then disappeared to her bedroom to play some more with sindy’s

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15:30 We all got ready and went out to the park and stayed there until nearly 17:00. SB loves the park, and clambered happily about. BB did lots of climbing practice – antother Know No Fear daughter! So we took lots of pictures of BB, as its the first time she has had all this fun. Although heart in my mouth, was proud of her climbing skills!

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when we got back, SB played with the ballerina candleholders and various kinder egg bits for a while. TBH, I have no idea what we did then! BB drew on herself.

18:00 ish teatime -in which SB was trying to remember all the countries she had heard of – second one was indonesia!, then tidyup and pyjamas on 19:00 we watched the deep on DVD and the 20:00 bedtime stories and finally sleep!

Other photo-meme days for this year can be found here, here, here, here and here [so far!]

Help -we’re trapped!

After Helen’s exhaust falling off episode last week, I had to take the car off to Kwik fit for a new one. My mum came round to look after the kids to save them being dragged around with me.. I had an ok time – off to the garage, had a bit of wait – once I would have been ‘grr!’ now UI just enjoy the chance to sit and read the paper for 45 minutes uninteruppted – i was quite sad when the chap said it was done ;-)

Went off to do a bit of shoppign as well, a little while alter there was phone call from my mum, they were all shut in the playroom! The handle came off the outside of the door a week or so ago. I was waiting to get some new screws since it didn’t seem to have any, other the one I could find – coincidentally I had just got some when my mum rang me. THe metal rod that goes through the door, ahd of course come out and was sitting in the playroom. Of course my mum shut the door….. soemtie later they tried to open it and were trapped – so I had to cut short my shopping.

Whiel I was out they seemd to have fun. SB and Nanna did some more patterns on a couple of T shirts wuith her ‘Puff up paints’, BB did some ‘drawing’, some general playing, some reading etc. more playing after I’d freed them and we had lunch etc. SB did read one of here Red Nose Readers to Nanna, – other than couple of odd words she can pretty much do these now. We played a game where SB was apost man and briought lots of presents, seem to eb an excuse to empty out BB’s toy box….

Whilst I took Nanna home, she did some maths of some sort – ordinal numbers apparently from singapore maths 1a thinking skills. She also did some drawing of farm animals from a how to draw farm animals books, and also spent some time looking for OS symbols on some maps. Before bed whilst palyiong on the floor with SB and BB I managed to hit SB’s head on the door whilst ‘messing her about’- got a nice egg. Didn’t stop her coming back for more though after about 5 minutes. BB is so funny, we were on the floor playing about, she comes trotting across the room, shouting and then flops down on top of you. When she does it to SB she looks like a minature Big Daddy doing a ‘belly splash’ :-)

SB is getting into the Little Toe Radio Show on a whim, as the laptop was on the table (not having DAB radio or dig TV – anyway – listening when you want is much easier), I put it on last Thursday while we had dinner, she sat listening too it silenty almost for the whole hour. So we have been listening to that a bit which she is enjoying. She listend to bit this afternoon, what was funny was that becuase she wasn’t doing anything else she sat on the chair in front of the computer and looked up at the screen, even though it wans’t really doing anything.

Tired and still migrainous

We had a rather poor night. Not quite sure what was up with BB as she was twitchy and unsettled most of the time and permanently latched on – sigh.

So today, we started with SB playing story games with Sindy’s in her bedroom fro a vast amount of the morning, and I played with BB. We did book reading, fun blox, shape sorters and dollies mostly, with a little bit of scribbling for good measure. She and i sang to each other – she does seem to have a musical ear [as far as you can tell these things].

When SB came down, she got stuck in to some explode the codswallop and we also read a fair bit more from the usborne children’s encyclopaedia - formation of earth, tectonic drift, volcanos and earthquakes, the moon and its phases, formation of stars and government and politics – she chooses! We had lunch and I potted up some toms and peppers.

As BB fell asleep SB did some thinking skills singapore maths - a bit of an easy revision on subtraction under 10 in record time. i then offered her choice as to waht she wanted us to do together. First we painted her second ring box [from the tesco kit she got for her birthday], the we went to discuss ‘the carrot problem‘ [ie the rows are so overgrown in weeds we have no idea whether any carrot seedlings there] – we decided to sow some into eggboxes to see what we are looking for. Whilst out, we re-enacted a long fairy tale about a traveller princess with a pet lion who rescues a prince, marries him, and takes his money to give to her parents [well, its hard to make these things up!]We then went on to read the usborne book about healthy eating, and repeated the taste experiment – we did it last year for meme day! Sb was quite knowledgeable about why we should eat healthily.

BB woke up, and we finished tidying the playroom [Chris had started it] and hoovered, and then got out things for all of us to play together. We first listened to holsts the planets and discussed the fact he only knew about 8, and their roman names and atrributes. SB and BB did a rather good interpretative dance! When we get to vote on a new national anthem, I think I will go for I vow to thee my country! We followed on with the free horrible history romans CD, which we all blithely ignored whils arguing over fun blox, stacking cups and which of the girls should have prime lap/arm position!

We had an early tea to watch Jason and the Argonauts. SB enjoyed it. She was much put out that the story wasn’t entirely the same as in her book! We discussed the oral tradition and poetic licence, but she wasn’t impressed! She even moaned that their constumes were different. To give her credit, she knew it was a hydra, and it doesn’t come in this story, as well as most of the characters and monsters. She was also put out by the advert breaks!

We finished with bedtime stories of ‘great grandfather abraham’ and the cruxifiction and resurrection of Christ from her children’s bible. Discussing as honestly as possible [for an agnostic] the meanings behind things!

I think perhaps I should have chose today as meme day – though took very few photos – as we have covered pretty much the whole curriculum in one form or another. AND only the singapore maths and explode the code were suggested [2 pages of each], the rest entirely autonomous – though I think of us as child led.

hmmm, maybe i will see what photos I can russle up!

Sunny Saturday – photos to follow

It was nice getting home from the conference. It was a good conference in Norwich, I listened, learnt, talked and networked. I even ate a rather dismal meal cooked by St Delia’s krew at Norwich City [i think the non-veg may have been better]

Unfortunately, although resolutely teatotal, had horrendous migraine for drive home, and to cap it all, exhaust half fell off car on way back! Rescue man came and said best thing was to finish the job, so slithered under the car and wrestled it off, somewhat in the manor of crocodile dundee!

So to today. staggered out of bed, suitably drugged. SB was watching cbeebies and then went onto some Dora DVD’s temporarily borrowed from Merry – thanks. so we say hola and vamanos all day [? spelling??] We really should get into gear as we have some spanish and german resources. SB finished her hama star, and BB danced and sang along to all the Dora music [very cute] and played with dolls and fun blox.

SB sowed some seeds for me, and BB pulled apart a tom – good thing we have plenty! SB also did some of the ‘learn to draw…’ pictures. yesterday she did a fantastic car and tractor, and then worked put herself a very detailed bike, with person and chain and pedals. I was impressed.

When BB fell asleep after lunch we went outside. We did some tidying up of the pond. Only 3 of the fish seem to have made it. SB was interested in the pond/roots/seeds etc visible, and went so far as to strip off and stand in it. She hated the slimy bottom so immediately got out!

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We then went into the veg patch to weed and hoe and she did some singapore maths 1A – subtracting across 10. We got there in the end! Bit of use of seeds as props. Chris took over the digging though – result! SB then helped and between them they trampled over 1/4 row of carrots – mind you, I couldn’t actually see them for the weeds – rofl!

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BB woke up, so we mostly then played in the garden, on the climbing frame and toys, and SB put on a show – swinging about making my hair even whiter!!

We seem to have loads of ladybirds in the garden, so SB and BB were looking at them. SB quite confidently remembered they would have 6 legs as insects and named various other body parts. They were 6 spots. We also looked at some ants and other creepy crawlies. So she asked why woodlice aren’t insects. i was a bit stumped, but thanks to google, I now know they are crustacea – amazing!

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BB was getting too interested in the water fountain and eating ladybirds, so we went in, and looked up woodlice. We have NASA astronomy picture of the day as our homepage and it was a series of photos showing the apparently retrograde motion of Mars – so another difficult question to work out how to answer!!

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SB ‘styled’ the pizza for tea whilst BB played run across the room and jump into my arms. I read BB some books – in particular my little pony and a squeezy truck one. SB did some explode the code 2

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We finished the day watching 1 and a half episodes of the blue planet – which SB really enjoyed, and was mostly ver attentive. Well, actually, BB is STILL awake and dancing to the chart show when not trying to retype my messages. She loves doing patacake and clapping, as well as high 5′s. She is also ‘singing’ along. Has made writing this blog somewhat dificult. SB’s last dificult question of the day was to ask me to prove cats had belly buttons…

Although at the moment, I really could do with BB being asleep, i love both my girls dearly and we have had a lovely day.

I have 4 friends moving in the next 10 days at various times, so hoping it is all going smoothly for you!

So i am 37

yes, I know I said it in the last blog, but it is taking a while to sink in!

Dreadful night, Shaula gave me some chocs, chris some books, SB some home made monsters – must take photo to add. Practical presents from the rest of my family!

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More reading, playing games etc has been the order of the day. After shaula left, SB did some singapore maths – rather easily, adding between 10 and 20. We read about ‘medicine’ in usbornes childrens encyclopaedia, and hippopotamuses in the DK one, and a book on why ships float. So after all a very good HE day!
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BB was particularly taken by the wacky wigglers again today when they were got out, and had a rather good go at trying to sort it out. Actually she has been totally gorgeous, chuntering and pretalking, and being quite a pickle!

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What a lucky – if totally knackered – mummy i am. SB now making imaginative games with her paper dollies, oh and watched a programme about south america, that really grabbed her imagination too.

Sweetcorn Saturday

OMG, I am 37! How time flies.

SO to the weekend, well my friend Shaula was visiting, but not due till the early afternoon, and then she missed her train, so in fact we had most of the day as ‘normal’. Sb did her explode the code 2 without a murmur, and even went on to do an extra page as ‘a surprise’ – so it can’t be that bad! We played a fair few games – snakes and ladders, uno etc. She chose some books for me to read – and I sunk into the loveliness of snuggling and reading. We did some more Greek myths and legends and some bits out of her DK family encyclopaedia – greece and giraffes!

During this time, BB had sole play with the ideal blox – and was getting rather good at manipulating them. She was also blowing the noisy things and dancing in her own wobbly style.

SB and I then went on to do her ‘sweetcorn experiment’. We sowed half direct, and are chitting half. they have all gone inot the propagator to see what happens. SB is enjoying being proprietal about lots of the seeds and their germination. I would defininately like to set her up a square foot garden in our patch – prob not this year at this rate though!

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Once BB was asleep we did some face painting. It was supposed to be egyptian, but after we had flicked through various egyptian books, SB changed her mind, and announced we weren’t going to have an Egyptian Afternoon after all. So I painted hers a sky with a rainbow as requested, and she painted mine a sea with fish.

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Wasn’t I beautiful! Chris set off to collect Shaula, and BB awoke, so we played with the coupe car we sprung from Merry’s garage.

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I think it confirmed to Shaula this was a madhouse! Shaula got to read copious books, and play pretty much every game we have. We did have wine though!

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I went to uni with Shaula, and allthough we don’t see each oither much – as both working – she remains one of my closest friends. Perfect really! Shame the girls gave us such an execrable night.

Calm before the storm…

well, for me anyway.

Lovely day today. Sun shining and all is well with the world. Sb happily did her Singapore maths 1A – we are still in term one allegedly, though doing this for some time. Not in a hurry. SHe’s confident enough to do the subtraction on her own, and was getting grumpy ‘cos it was all under 10 answers. So time to jump ahead! She then did a bit of a jolly phonics workbook – but said it was too easy. So after that mostly played with the dolls house and snappit donkey until lunchtime. sometimes with BB, and sometimes most definitely not.

After lunch she wanted to use the egg shells to grow cress in – no cress, so they now have basil. I didn’t supervise/help at all, and she quite happily got it all done, watered and ready for the propagator. i potted up a couple of the toms. She said she wanted to take a ‘window picture’ so here is one by her.
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She then fancied going to the park, so we all got dressed, and she cycled there with the stabilisers on, got to the field, they came off and have stayed off. BB stayed for ages in the swing – SB hated swings at this age, but BB loves them. SHe was also particularly thrilled with the slide. She clinbed up with chris’s supervision, and I made sure she didn’t fly off too fast – well, i took a puiicture once and she did…

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they both seesawed, and then Sb had a great treasure hunt game, and we lefted righted and walked 6 ‘places’ etc to find the fruit snacks. BB had a whale of a time running about and trying to climb up.
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SB was grumbly at home, and BB asleep, so some book reading went on, and another snack. We then decided to cook for tea, and she chose aztec tortillas. Like a good HE Mum, i went to find various books with Aztec bits in them, so she read the romans pages! [ok extrapolated from pictures!], while I got the stew going – beans, corn squash and pepper. When she started doing the tortillas, I the read various Aztec facts to her, and she remembered a few to tell Chris. DInner was a resounding success anyway!

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We have finished the day watching the planet earth on video, and it was a great one, all about caves. I was lucky enough to study in borneo for 3 months of my training, and have seen the bats exit and swifts ingress into the caves. We did race all the way back to the hut in the dark absolutely terrified though [4 girls without guide!]Now i know that bloody huge wierd thing was a giant centipede! luckilly didn’t have to climb the guano mountain, though did have to throw away a daypack, as never got the guano stains out of it… Confirmed my belief that even if I was thin, I could never be a caver.

Now going to watched a videod Apprentice [I fell asleep with SB...]

Oh and this having more than one blog business is a nightmare!

Just another manic monday

I will let chris add in the morning as he and the girls went to the local[ish] home ed group for an egyptians session.

Your wish……

Good start to the day, BB slept through which is the first for a while – but of little benefit to us since we didn’t got to bed until 2am…. First thing SB wanted to do was finisish of the last bit of the end of the book ‘test’ in the Explode the Code book 1. So she sat and finished that and had breakfast. could cope perfectly well with the sentences they finished with. she was pleased and wanted sticker becuase she was such a good girl :-)

Then it was quick scurry round, getting dressed and ready to go out, we wer wout by 9.30, as we had to go via Tesco for some sugar cubes, for making sugar cube pyramids. Of course i forget that it is ginormous Tesco extra and so of course buying half a dozen items require a mile walk or somesuch. so were were about 10 -15 mins late to the hall. But all got set up, pyramid building was popular, even if some were more of ruined sort – authentic I guess. Unfortunately BB nor totally perky as she has had nasty cold and wanted a carry much of the time, which when you are trying to keep and eye on what SB is doing, help out what the pyramid builders are doing, chat to soem other parents etc. was bit tiring. Sb also made a hippopotamus out of dough, and a mummy/cask mask. All good fun, and a nice ‘potluck’ Eyptian (very -ish) lunch to finish. A few photos, not brilliant as I was more often than not distracted by something else.

On the way out we bought a sort of Triops Aquapolis from an US family who are moving back home and getting rid of various bits?

While the girls went home with Helen, I went via a couple of shops. I bought soem clocks in Argos. A couple of basic ones for downstairs and Disney Princess one for SB’s room. Relaised we didn’t really have any proper dial clocks around now, and so it’s bit harder for SB to actually learn to tell the time so easily. The two downstairs clocks are both ‘radio controlled’ – they set their time by the rugby time signal or whatever it is. Rather spooky, turning them on and then watching the hands turn to the right time. It wasn’t a feature I’d gone looking for, but the chips must now be very cheap, to find in in the mechanisms of cheap Argos clocks.

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This was the Hippo

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I had a fairly crappy work morning and then hurried to join them as BB very grumbly, not at all well and ravenous for a feed, so I said hello to everyone cleaning up as i gave sustenance. It is only 5 mins from where I work on Mon, so convenient for emergency feeds. Anyway, nice to see SB in the middle of a gaggle of children having great fun, playing all sorts of games together.

In fact I fed BB all afteroon, or she slept in my arms. SB a good lass though, and we played some games, read 3 different books about egypt and ancient egyptians. She also started explode the code 2 – woohoo! I read some of ulysses, and she then nick juniored.

I had a brief respite from permafeeding and sowed cauliflower autumn giant, and sweetcorn.

We finished the evening with chips from the chippy, and watched the planet.

BB has come alive a bit now – little hope for a good night!!

Short blog

last night execrable, so why am I still up?? Mostly book balancing as there is a strong suggestion our pay will be cut by approx 350 net – no reduction in hours! So rejigging budgets madly and thinking on wild schemes.

But today good. We went for a chill day. Though peversely SB did more explode the code in one day than she’s ever done before – desperate to finish book 1!

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So she cbeebied, and liked the idea of bug food on tikabilla, so everything she has eaten today has been shaped – spider, octopus, butterfly, lion and finally for tea, ladybird! She watched some TV – scooby doo!. We played lots of games – dinosaur ludo, uno and set. Also she helped Chris build the propagator whilst I potted up the aubergines and artichokes.

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lots of book reading too – 3 of the Just So stories – we particularly liked he armadillo, a ladybird book about the earth and various library books – she got another spongebob one – yuk! She helped me put smilies on various posts I made today.

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BB has been considerably under the weather still and mostly been feeding – and how! She did play a bit with the noahs ark that SB brought down for her, and is always very interested in the keyboard – she has gathered the spacebar and left click are the best buttons to go for!

So, work for me tomorrow, and home ed group for the other beans. We will start a gardening blog I think.

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