When I called my young artists to the table for their art time, they were just a little bit excited. I mean, who wouldn't be when you are just about to start painting with your very own home-made paint! Painting time!! And so they should have been! We had made some home-made paints during our…
Category: Homeschooling
Spring Pond Water Study {Pond Study: Week 7}
In week seven of our one year pond study we will be doing a spring pond water study. The pond seemed so quiet this week, there weren't many photos to be had. Nesting perhaps? There was the odd duck having a sleep, our beautiful Mandarin duck and some lovely reflections: In week 5 we rescued…
Marco Polo and the Silk Road
This week was all about preparing for our trip across the silk road. Yes, I know, week three and we haven't even left Venice yet! I did say it was taking us a little longer than anticipated! This week we will be learning about Marco Polo and the Silk Road. Marco Polo and the Silk…
Preschool and Tot School Routine
Welcome to my preschool and tot school routine post! You may have noticed a plethora of preschool posts over the Easter break. This is because I have wanted to nudge the little ones into a routine and I needed to work on finding some activities which were easy for them to do by themselves. We have…
Ancient Greece Social Structure Homeschool Lesson
Ancient Greece social structure was a rigid, patriarchal hierarchy primarily divided into Male Citizens, Women, Foreigners (Metics), and Slaves. Status determined by birth, gender, and freedom. Male citizens, the elite, were further divided by wealth and land ownership into aristocrats, poorer farmers, and a middle class of artisans. Women, metics (free but non-citizen residents), and slaves occupied lower statuses, with women…
Encouraging Independent Learners
One of my goals of home schooling is to end up with independent learners. I LOVE working and learning along side my children. It is one of my greatest pleasures. And it is one I am loath to give up. However, I do want to move the children one more step towards independence. I have been…
Pond Ecosystem {Pond Study: Week 6}
Welcome to week 6 of our one year pond study when we will be studying the pond ecosystem. But first, I think this has to be one of my most favourite photos I've ever taken. Isn't he a beauty? Read More! If you'd like to read a bit more about how we came to the…
Coloured Foam Art for Preschoolers
When my two little girls were even littler I used to put shaving foam in a zip lock bag for them to play with. It never held their attention for a huge amount of time. But then I had never thought to put food colouring along side it. It was this which gave me a seed of…
Marco Polo and the Mongolians
This week we have taken an unplanned detour. We neglected to cover the Mongolians during our ancient history studies and I wondered where it might naturally fit in. Marco Polo and the Mongolians is the answer! As we are reading Polo's memoirs the 'Tartars' are the one people we have no knowledge of. They played such…
Mr Men Adventure Box
On a Friday we have a time when all five children are doing school together. I use the term school loosely due to the age differences, however the older one’s are still learning. They learn their needs come secondary to their little sisters and learn to put aside their wishes for a couple of hours…
Soda Bread Science {Incr-Edible Science}
In this continuation of our Incr-Edible Science Curriculum, we shall be applying the knowledge we learnt from our last lesson on acids and bases in the kitchen. This week we will be focusing on soda bread science. Check out our earlier posts: The Science of Lemonade and Perfecting Lemonade We left our last lesson making hypotheses concerning substitutes…
Preschool Messy Art
A few weeks ago I created a preschool science nook. We used this for one hour on a Monday encouraging my two younger daughters to play at being scientists. Well, during these one hour slots, my two-year old was utterly absorbed. Prior to this, I'm not sure she had done anything, apart from cry, for…
Pond Study: Helping an Injured Duck {Week 5}
Our goal this week was to concentrate on pond ecosystems. At least that is what I had planned. All the great plans of mice and men.... What we actually ending up doing was helping an injured duck get some help from the RSPCA. It was dark, cold and windy this week at our pond. But…
Who is Marco Polo? {Medieval Explorer}
It seems Marco Polo will be taking us longer than first thought (ahem, how very unusual for us!). His travels are a much larger, not to mention interesting, subject than I first thought. Fortunately, the freedom of home-school allows us to chop and change as often as we like, so I'm just going with it!…
Acid and Base Kitchen Science {Incr-Edible Science}
The whole point of this home-made Incr-Edible science curriculum is that Lillie learns the why of cooking, as opposed to the simple how. I want her to be able to take knowledge about one set of ingredients and apply the same principles to another set. I want her to understand substitutions and suggest some of…