Petits Haricots

thursday I was lucky to get 2 valentines a card and an origami swan from BB, and some home made pink chocolates from SB. I am a very lucky mummy . Also a very lucky wife as i know DH will have played his part in getting this done

although i got home from work way way way later than planned on friday i was very happy to find my parents at home . actually, that sounds like they were unexpected! however they were expected and anticipated . we ate curry, played 7 wonders [which by some miracle dad won by miles!] and stayed up too late nattering . we had a lovely chilled weekend. didn’t go out and do anything [tho prob should have made the effort...] but mum took both girls through various bits on prisoner of zelda, dad took sb through a bit of golf. we played board and card games . SB and I made a delicious leek, mushroom and sweetcorn quiche, and she made jam tarts and curd also [known as trats and cruds for my uncle robert] SB also made a red white and blue cake for my dad. i think that was most of the weekend .

DH has been ‘40 bags in 40 days‘ -ing, in which he is trying to declutter a bag of unwanted clutter [crap] every day. so far the fruit bed looks way better [divested of over a bag of weeds] and the room of doom is far less doomy [tho still a bit of shelf divestment to go and a clean]. getting rid of unused for years playdough is a bit of a wrench, and a reminder how much older our girls are getting . however sorting the room of doom properly into craft resources we will actually use should make it a room of delights . the kitchen has also undergone a tidy and declutter. I am wondering which room next. girls room, ‘dressing room’ and pantry all are hot contenders.

my parents i thought looked a bit stressed when they first ccame, and were looking far more relaxed when they left. I do wish we were closer tho. lovely weekend . we also had a bit of a henna tattoing, and mum also allowed sb to decorate her – dad not overly impressed

as zoe’s elder dauhter had a fantastic poetry opportunity, wodensmeet this time was at merry’s. unfortunately em was with lurgy and her car kaput. consequently wodensmeet v much quieter than anticipated! however, f and a off school for half term, and i haven’t seen f fo so long that it was fab

we started with tea, chatting, girls playing and reaquainting before going into science. i recapped on starch and sugar tests for the benefit of those that had missed the previous experiments and then we launched into the amylase experiments. i think when we get to the end of these foody tests i might write them all in a blog of their own as a resource. i would recommend to other home educators as these are fairly fool proof and fun. tho you do need to mix your own benedicts solution!
anyway, this test was v cool . we had 4 test tubes with starch solution, first 2 with iodine to test for starch, second 2 with benedicts to test for monosaccharides. then put amylase into the middle 2. it made that fab pic and shew that starch is removed/disappears after adding amylase, and that a monosaccharide is made/appears. how cool is that . we then added amylase solution to a starch solution at different temperatures to show that amylase worked best at warm temperatures.

we had a bit more of a break and then merry went through shakespeare’s twelfth night usbourne version of the story, we had a think about it and translated some of the flowery phrases into more straightforward english. the older girls then wrote a diary entry for the day in the eyes of one of the characters, which was an interesting exercise suggested by ams, who got groaned at by all the others .

other than that it was mostly playing, lego for BB and J, who knows for the others and merry and i cooed over the delectable B and got in a good natter. It was a lovely day. even if i did then have to drive home in the snow!

until i get round to blogging this weeks wodensmeet, please gasp with amazement at this pretty elegant biology experiment

every year we have a second christmas in january with dh’s mothers family. it was quite late this year! in preparation we made presents. I made millionaires shortbread, DH made s clements curd, SB made biscotti and BB made choc cookies. we thought we had made lovely hampers

Of course, the night before SB wanted me to alter a dress to fit her so i did . was v happy to be being a good momma . she does look beautiful, and very ‘cusp’ x x SB <3

i think it worked out really well

we had a great time, sb played some games with cousin A all loved their presents. BB got a bit tired towards the end.

other than that, this weekend bb has done 2 piano and one cello practice and v pleased that she can see progress. she has also done LOADS of minecraft and roblox. SB has been happily working her way through the hitch hikers guide to the galaxy series and we have played survive a couple of times. we have also completed her application for en famille together. this is a BIG DEAL as it would mean leaving us to live with another family for 6 months. TBH, I am not sure i can bear to be parted from her for that long. but, she is really really keen. i have seen other families do it without huge trauma! and part of home educating is to allow our children decision making skills and then enact them. eek.

we started off by making bread rolls and bread to have a lunchtime. all the girls are very good kneaders, so the rolls and bread worked beautifully . Luckilly, unlike the poor pudding lane, my oven and house did not catch fire

in preparing for history this week I saw a really great picture of the fire of London, so we used it as inspiration for our pictures, using oil pastels, cut out silhouettes, fine detailing all on a poster paint bottom layer. 8 very different pictures all looking fabulous whilst they did this, I took them through the fire of london, timelines, how it happened, the problems etc etc. we also talked about the civil war. I was really pleased with this, as it seemed to suit all our diverse age ranges

afish had a play with our puffy paints . a number of the children made roundhead or cavalier tokens, and talked about how the civil war began. they also got into small groups to make fire of london games, a matching game a sort of snakes and ladders, a minecraft version [yes bb!] and a running about game.

katy got them to dress up as louis XIV and talked about the riches of the time and the fashion.

I think everyone had a great day

DH takes the girls fortnightly to a pottery group run by a home-educating potter. Both girls are really enjoying it, and are trying different techniques with different clay types. Not that they can remember to tell me . However, it was pottery this tuesday, and they came back with some ‘look what we have made’ items for me to admire

also this week has been ballet and gym for SB and swimming for both girls. Both are doing well with their new laminated ticksheets – BB is so far enjoying choosing things, and has done 17!!! this includes a piano and cello practice with no tears. I am just going to have to keep my cool here! also conquer maths from both girls, which bb insists on caling cwonker maths, as it has a q!!

SB having been enthused by week 1 of new ticksheet [yep, i do know the rules of home ed, so looking forwards to next week ] decided to look for some fun experiments for BB to do. She found a website and chose the puff paints that have their own blog below for saturday. Today we maid sherbert. we have citric acid, bicarb, icing sugar in the pantry. we made it, we did the science of it fizzing, and it tasted disgusting i would recommend instead 1 tbs bicarb 1 tbs citric acid and 3 tbs icing sugar as a better ratio! or even do it in teaspoons so good for a taste but with not so much to get rid of! however we did add a tsp to lemons to make lemonade, and that worked ok . lovely big sister to be looking for experiments . although they argue and squabble, and i really wish they wouldn’t, they do make good sisters. And SB is particularly wonderful with a good and loving heart x

we have also made natron to mummify an apple with

music has happened, a practice each day with BB , and one with SB. Practicing with them has a clear improvement. SB and I having a go at some jazz grade 3 pieces, which have extemporising in them. I am trying to work out how to ‘teach’ extemporising – do you think teachers just make it up for the kids? we did have fun. I must do it more often. Practicing together is especially needed with BB. she has got it into her head she can’t play an instrument as she is useless. all her friends play one – she says. the reason she doesn’t is because i thought battling over practicing one battle too many, and she didn’t *need* to play an instrument. clearly i was wrong. i was also wrong to try a cello practice as she was too tired, got in a tizz about all the above again for nearly 2 hours. exactly why i stopped practicing with her before. not sure of the right path, or even the least wrong path. anyway. happy piano pics

lots of minecraft has happened – which has reduced BB’s ability to think about anything else. she is really grabbed by minecraft, would do it and only it all day. when she’s not doing it she is looking on youtube for ‘how to’ videos. another reason to limit her time on it really. however it does have advantages. she has to plan ahead, think what she wants to do, recover from mistakes etc.

SB has done a fair bit of gardening – cleared her veg bed, helped DH clear the fruit bed and both girls have decided what they wish to grow this year. I am hoping to do better as not quite so much kentwell sewing to do. SB mostly flowers, and BB mostly things she thinks alfie will eat

Alfie himself is v perky, and had a good wander about today, as he often does. tortoises are fast wanderers

BB and I read some books together as we were snuggling together following the cello fall out. both are beautiful books, great to read out loud and with lovely pictures. Peace and calm restored.

we finished the day watching jumanji and then bedtime stories.