Catch Up - Part One

Trying to catch up on some of the things we have been up to over the last few months...

 

Nathanael had his eighth birthday at the beginning of March. To celebrate, we had a fun day out together at Legoland Discovery Centre in Manchester.

 

 

We were blessed to have a few days away on the East coast of England in a caravan, which the children thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Do they look like they're ready to go to sleep?!

 

 

A highlight of the holiday was a day out in York, where we visited Jorvik Viking Centre. 

 

 

Particularly memorable was a ride that took us through the reconstructed village of Jorvik (York)  meeting different Viking model people as we travelled. The commentary gave a good overview of the Vikings and has fired an enthusiasm for the subject. Since returning home the children have begun a new project, researching further this period in history.

 

 

We also visited the York Castle museum which spanned several different periods in history. There they had a fantastic reconstructed Victorian street where we could enter the shops and buildings - a lovely hands on approach to learning.

 

Whilst we were away we viewed the Solar Eclipse which tied in nicely with our Space Project that we completed in January. We also spent some time learning Psalm 8 together which includes the words "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?

and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

The children enjoyed our Reptile Day. I think just spending a day on a theme can be a good introduction to a project and can spark interest to pursue a more detailed project in the future.

We spent time preparing for and participating in the home educator's Science Fair.

 

 As part of this preparation we revisited Quarry Bank Mill and the waterwheel.

  



 

My Mum taught an introductory lesson on electricity and the children made simple circuits.



 

They made clowns with noses that lit up!

 



 

A highlight of the Easter period was taking the older three children out one evening to an Easter Story Trail. Scenes from the Bible were recreated and the Easter story was told. It really brought Easter alive to the children.

 



 

 

In our Easter Bible times we looked at the week leading up to Jesus' death and resurrection and as a follow up we made an Easter wreath to help us all remember the events in the story.

 

The wreath halfway through the week.

Science Fair - Water Project

Today we have taken part in a home education Science Fair. In preparation for this we decided to revisit the water project that we completed over a year ago.

The children made their own water wheel following these instructions.
 

Last week we spent a fun afternoon visiting Quarry Bank Mill where there is a working water wheel. Following this visit, Nathanael made this short video about Hydro Power.

 



 

At the Science Fair there were lots of other interesting exhibits to explore and learn from.

 



 

It was an enjoyable morning and the children were thrilled with the medal they were awarded for their hard work.  

Life Lately - Christmas, Birthdays and Space Project

My updates are becoming less and less frequent, but I see that as a good thing, because life is very full and busy! I do however wish to keep a record of what we do as a family and our home education journey, so I am determined to keep posting whenever I get the chance.

 Before Christmas the children took part in our annual church nativity service.

Our baby turned two (she is still our baby!) and we celebrated with breakfast at Krispy Kreme 

doughnuts followed by a game of bowling.

A few days later our middle child Abigail turned 5!

Her birthday treat was a trip to the cinema to see the Paddington Movie followed by lunch at a family favourite, Pizza Hut!

In between birthdays we had a quiet family Christmas and kept our focus on Christ and His birth.

On New Years Eve Abigail was in hospital undergoing a Bronchoscopy under general anaesthetic to assess any changes in her airway restriction, caused by her double aortic arch.

We were really proud of how brave she was.

At Christmas we had a week off from formal lessons, but we were back the week after and have started a new project on Space. The children are thoroughly enjoying it and so am I.

Each day we set aside time to play puzzles and games. I found a lovely 3D Solar System jigsaw at the charity shop that ties in well with what we are studying.

For my Birthday (yes another one!), we had a family day at Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre. The children were very excited to see the Lovell telescope up close.

 Looking forward to another home schooling year in 2015!

Water Project - Final Part

For one of the final tasks of our science unit on water, the children made collages using leaflets and photos from our visit to the Sealife Centre in Manchester.

 

 

We also spent time discussing all the water references we could think of in the Bible.

 

 

Inspired by this post, we learned about onomatopoeias, and  

wrote down some water sounds on water droplet shapes.

 

 

 

Our next science unit is on Forces and I do hope we have as much fun as we have had on this project.

One

Today our baby turned one. Where has this year gone?

The older children opening Elisabeth's presents, while she enjoys playing with a balloon!

To celebrate her birthday, and Abigail's upcoming 4th birthday, we had a very special breakfast at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Can you spot who's got glasses?

 Then we went onto the Sea Life Centre in Manchester, a birthday present from Granny. We managed to book in advance and get a big reduction in ticket prices as we are home educators. 

We all thoroughly enjoyed  our time there and it linked in very well with our current science unit on water.

The children were especially fascinated with the jellyfish, after the project they had worked on earlier this year.

We then had a quick trip into the neighbouring Trafford Centre to enjoy the mock Ancient Egyptian architecture, to tie in with our current history topic.

And here is a short clip of the birthday girl walking.

Happy Birthday Bis, we are very blessed. 

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:

 and the fruit of the womb is his reward." Psalm 127:3