Precious Moments

I love being back at school! I know I always say this, but our family is a much happier family when we are occupied. We all thoroughly enjoy the idea of a break, and we always enjoy the first week or so, but any longer and we all start to slowly go mad…

So back to school is good.

Especially as this year we are doing things slightly differently.

Okay, well not that differently, but I do enjoy changing it up a bit to suit my students.

Obviously, first things first, and mother (that would be me) must have at least two cups of coffee inside her before anything vaguely inteligible comes out of her mouth!

After two caffeine hits I am raring to go. By this point, my two remaining students have got up, had breakfast and done their chores. Abigail is unwaveringly sat snuggled up on the sofa reading her latest book, whilst Becca is snuggled up with various animals (any that she can get her hands on) and drifting off to sleep again.

Am thinking coffee might be a plan for her too…

I announce it’s morning meeting time, at which point they begin to cheer and clap as I find my way to the sofa amidst a pile of morning meeting books.

Well, maybe cheering and clapping is a slight exaggeration. There is movement. Sometimes.

Actually reading aloud to my girls is one of our favourite times of the day. Becca can listen and snooze at the same time, whilst Abigail can get her daily influx of knowledge she so craves. Our time is punctuated by yawns from Becca and gasps of excitement from Abs. She does like to learn new things. Literally any new thing 😇

The books we are using this term are shown above. We have almost finished Mystery of History, are half way through Anatomy and Physiology and Who is God? and are just beginning Black Ships before Troy, Men of Greece and Pocketful of Pinecones (which is Becca’s absolute favourite). Morning meeting takes about an hour and it ticks off some essentials.

The girls then do their maths and English. They are using Conquer Maths this term because I needed something that was marked immediately and didn’t require me to do the marking. Ahem. Yes, now I’m doing a Master’s I am lacking in that good ol’ commodity called Time. So I am having to find alternative methods of schooling which ensure a good job is jobbed. Conquer Maths fits the bill nicely!

Abs does English with Wolsey Hall, which she enjoys, but has asked I go back to teaching her next year. It has been handy discovering where she is at and her strengths and weaknesses. She also does Spanish with them, which she absolutely loves. I cannot speak a word of Spanish and she has always been interested, so I think we will continue with Wolsey Hall next year for Spanish.

Becca is using workbooks at the moment for her English, and her spelling is finally showing signs of improving. Poor thing – she finds it so very hard. She is the only one of my children who does not LOVE to read, although she may be a late bloomer like her sister. Abigail didn’t enjoy reading up to about a year ago, and now you can’t drag her away from her books.

She has read nine so far this year:

One thing Becca does enjoy is maths. We do maths together using Conquer Maths, and the short video teamed with the fact that I sit next to her, means that she is thriving. We keep it short and sweet, doing two lessons a day. Happy sigh.

Whilst Abs is doing her Spanish independently, Becca is working her way through Module Two of her Level One Textiles qualification. This week she has been doing a design board for three themed and cohesive Christmas cards:

She will then design and make one of them combining her design skills and her embroidery skills.

Becs has also been learning about Henri Rousseau as this term’s artist study:

One of her Christmas presents was a subscription to Scribbler. An art box full of goodies comes through each month. As a thank you for signing up for a year, Scribbler gave her an extra three boxes from last year’s left over stock. Each couple of weeks she will be exploring a box, learning about their chosen artist as well as learning the techniques to achieve their kind of art work:

This week she has been learning about grown-up scribble art:

Meanwhile, Abigail has completed her module on Energy and the Environment in her IGCSE in Environmental Management and continued with a module on Rivers in her IGCSE in Geography. She carried out a MEL Science experiment on Chemistry and Electricity and made her own battery which buzzed a buzzer and turned on a light:

It was a great go along with her energy module:

She is also completing two other science curricula: Key Stage three Science and Apologia’s Physics and Chemistry. This week she learnt about Matter, made some notes and jotted down what she needed for next week’s experiments.

I mentioned I changed something. That something was to give the girls two hours in the afternoon to follow their dreams and interests. Although, I have stipulated that those dreams and interests can’t be screen based ones 🥲. I did wonder whether to instil that but I am pleased I did. Becca has been at her sewing machine, making herb pillows for the CSF (Christian Savers Foundation): a group they and their friends and cousins have set up to save endangered wildlife:

Cute, yes?

And she has been making cookies. First she made cinnamon tree cookies, which were delicious:

And some shortbread biscuits using her granny’s recipe:

Which she brought to me on a beautifully made up tray:

I feel very blessed ❤️

Abigail, meanwhile, has been using those two hours to bath (and read) and, well read some more…

Literally, it is like having a Charlotte all over again!

Speaking of which, Charlotte has published another book called ‘Old Gods Don’t Die’. It is a fictional poetry book reimagining the Greek gods if they were alive today. I got my copy yesterday and I was blown away! I couldn’t put it down, and read it to the very end

Charlotte has also started a book club with her youngest sisters. They’ve called themselves ‘The Book Worms’ and have planned out what they will do each week:

This week she took them to the pub! I’m not sure if Pride and Prejudice is going to be too hard for my youngest…I guess time will tell! Here they are at the pub:

And, just in case you do not feel I have included enough photos 😉 I have included a few of the family. Becca and Thomas enjoying a cuddle:

Charlotte and Ads:

The kittikat peering from the curtains:

Gary had his annual Christmas Party at work and as Lillie works at the same place as him now, as a waitress, they all went up together. It was fancy dress. Gary went as a king (?) not sure which one, but Charlotte bought him a crown and so he was forced to wear it whether he wanted to or not! Charlotte went as Cruella De Vil (though Ads thought she looked more like Margaret Thatcher!) and Lillie went as Loki from Marvel:

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how well Charlotte is looking now? It really does feel like she has turned a corner health wise. She is off today to join a gym! That wouldn’t even have been a possibility a year or so ago.

And last but not least, a roast dinner to finish off:

All in all, an excellent start to our term ❤️