Wednesday 20 November 2013

Making Stain Glass Baubels

We made out own stain glass baubles today.  It is amazing how much the kids can learn from an activity like this.  For example they have learnt to identify copper and lead and understand about the melting point of lead compared to copper and how the lead can be used to join other metals.  They have learnt about cleaning the metals to make good joining points and why we use flux.  They have improved their soldering skills and of course been able to be creative with glass and colours.




Thursday 31 October 2013

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Testing for Blood Groups

We purchased some blood testing kits from Ebay and tested our own blood to identify our blood groups.





Thursday 19 September 2013

Home Education Animation Workshop

Animation workshop attended by Owen and a group of locally home educated kids aged 11 to 16.

Learning About Mean & Averages

My kids do not have any scheduled Maths lessons.  When they want to learn something they ask me.  For example my daughter recently wanted to learn how to add a list of large numbers so I taught her long addition.  When they are keen and ready I find they are able to learn most things quickly.  But there is also a great deal of Maths in every day life.  For example I run a small business and my son often helps me book the post in.  To do this he needs to weight each bag and then work out the average weight of each item and select the right Royal Mail code depending on the size of the parcels.  As a result of this he is pretty confident with means and averages.

Saturday 31 August 2013

Painting & Decorating

A huge part of our unschooling is that the kids learn by taking part (if they wish) in normal day to day activities, jobs and routines.  We are currently decorating a room and Anya has learnt which paints to use on wall and wood, what types of brushes to use, how to clean them and without much instruction has learnt to paint really well by simply watching and trying.


Sunday 25 August 2013

Anya Looking After a Friends Dog

Anya loves dogs and asked if she could look after a friends dog whilst we were on holiday.  Although we have lots of animals (cats, chickens, ferrets and fish), caring for a dog required more time than our other pets.  She really took her responsibility seriously and walked the dog twice a day including cleaning the mess, fed the dog and slept with him on her bed every night.  She really enjoyed the experience but decided she didn't want her own dog as they needed more time and were less independent than her cats.


Thursday 22 August 2013

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Roblox: Understanding Profit & Loss

Owen and Anya love to play Roblox.  The game allows them to develop their own games.  In addition, they are able to buy virtual items such as hats and hair using a virtual currency called Roblux.  Some items that are sold become rare and limited items and if bought at the right price can be resold at high profits.  The kids regularly buy and trade limited items to earn Roblux which they can then use to buy other items or develop and market their own games.

Thursday 8 August 2013

Thursday 11 July 2013

Making Ginger Beer

For this, you will need screw-top, 2-litre plastic bottles, which you have cleaned thoroughly with boiling water."
Makes 2 litres

Ingredients

  • ¼ tsp brewer's yeast
  • 225g raw cane sugar
  • 1½-2 tbsp finely grated fresh root ginger
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 good tbsp honey

METHOD

  1. Add the yeast to the bottle* (see warning below). With a funnel, pour in the sugar.
  2. Mix the grated ginger with the lemon juice and honey.
  3. Pour the ginger mixture through the funnel into the bottle. Now fill the bottle about ¾ full with water, put the cap on and shake the bottle until all the sugar is dissolved.
  4. Top up the bottle with water, leaving a 2.5cm gap at the top, to allow for production of gas. Cap the bottle tightly, then place it somewhere warm. Leave it for about 48 hours. Once the bottle feels very hard and has no give in it, your beer should be ready.
  5. Place the bottle in the fridge for several hours to stop the yeast working. Once the beer is thoroughly chilled, pass it through a fine sieve and serve.

Warning

We advise you use plastic bottles rather than glass to avoid explosions. A really active mixture can produce lots of gas if left for longer than 48 hours, so do remember to let it off reguarly!


 


 

Saturday 29 June 2013

Wednesday 12 June 2013

Thursday 30 May 2013

Medieval Workshop Orpington Roman Villa



Owen attended a Medieval history workshop were he learnt to make brass rubbings.

Saturday 18 May 2013

Roman Villa Workshop

Owen attended a Roman Villa workshop at Orpington Roman Villa.  The workshop was run in a very schooley manner and Owen found it quite boring.  For example they created Roman mosaics but the kids had to copy a set pattern which did not inspire Owen to be creative or understand the creativity of the Romans.