Halloween 2012

Glass Blowing Workshop - Pumpkins

Making Felt Minecraft Creepers

Sewing and making characters that kids are interested in encourages them more.  Sewing is also great for developing fine motors skills required to improve handwriting.

Tom Gates & Reading

Anya's reading has really progressed since she started reading the Tom Gates books.  We do not impose any learning on our children.  I have noticed that this approach really allows the children to become passionate about what they do rather than do things because they have to.  Anya loves reading now and reads to me every night. 

Camping in Romney

Planet Earth Song

Incredible Egg Geode - Sick Science!

Science Club - Incredible Egg Geode

Another experiment from my favourite Science experiment website - Steve Spangler.

The World is Erupting (Save the Planet Song)

Painting Minecraft Endermen

HESFES 2012

Anya's Polymer Clay Figures

More Sewing - Upcycling Old Jeans

Studying Dead Insects

We found a dead dragon fly which gave us the chance to look close up at its beautiful body.

Balloon Powered Cars

Can Freedom Can Cure?

At A S Neill’s Summerhill School there were always students who came from public schools that would not tolerate their behaviour anymore. The experience that Neill gained from living with these students led him to believe that when a child is cruel it is because of the lack of love. Here he was highly influenced by the remarkable work of Homer Lane at the Commonwealth School (1913) for delinquent youth (I recently acquired a copy of his work through Abe Books). This school was self-governed and abolished all fear, punishment, and external discipline. The ethos was to trust children to grow in their own way without any pressure from outside. As a boy who did not do well in school, Neill was often punished by his own father by being whipped with a strap for not being a good enough student: “often he was cruel to me and I acquired a definite fear of him” .

Homer Lane showed A S Neill that freedom can cure a problem child. He always looked for the hidden motive in any delinquent act, convinced that behind every crime was a wish that originally had been a good one. He found that talking to children was useless and that only action counted. He held that in order to rid a child of a bad social trait one should let the child live out his desires.

Alice Miller looks at how we rationalise conventional child rearing as being for the child’s own good.  Miller explores the sources of violence within us and how these are created by strict child rearing practises.  The cost of this punishment and coercion is the compassion and humanity in later life both in private and public.  Her message is “people whose integrity has not been damaged in childhood... will feel no need to harm another person or themselves”.

Raising A Mensch - A Human Being

"I’m not opposed to a child being polite or neat or learned. The crucial question for me is: What methods have been used to accomplish these ends? If the methods used are insults, attacks, and threats, then we can be very sure that we have also taught this child to insult, to attack, to threaten, and to comply when threatened.

“If, on the other hand, we use methods that are humane, then we’ve taught something much more important than series of isolated virtues. We’ve shown the child how to be a person – a mensch, a human being who can conduct his life with strength and dignity.”…

“Liberated Parents, Liberated Children – Your Guide to a Happier Family” by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

Anya's Weekly Recording Session

Rocket Propelled by Cola and Mentos

An Example of Autonomous Self Directed Learning

So you might be reading our blog and thinking that a child wouldn’t learn anything unless they are made to in lesson? I thought like that too until we started to home educate and my children demonstrated to me that if I allow them to follow their interest (and facilitate their learning), then they can and will learn with a passion.

Here is one example of self directed autonomous learning.

Owen asked me “do animals have feelings?”. We looked up this topic on the internet and read about research into primate feelings, elephants who recognize the bones of their relatives and appear to grieve over the bones. We discussed the emotions of our pets. This led to a discussion on animal rights and conservation of animals. After this discussion Owen decided to adopt a Snow Leopard with £1 from his pocket money each week. After receiving this pack he went on to research endangered birds in the UK, red pandas, animals bought back from the brink of extinction and the categorization of endangered species. The discussion on red pandas also sparked a conversation about Fire Fox, internet browsers and internet politics including censorship of the internet in China.  All from one question!
 

How To Make a Water Rocket

Mallorca & Menorca 2012

Borox Crystal Snowflakes

You will need:
 

• string
• large jar
• pipe cleaners
• food coloring (optional)
• boiling water 
• borax (available from Ebay)
• pencil

Directions:
Cut a white pipe cleaner into 3 equal sections. Twist the sections together in the center so that you have a "six-sided" star shape. If your points are not even, trim the pipe-cleaner sections to the same length. Now attach string to one of the star 'arms' and tie the other end to a pencil (this is to hang it from). Fill a  jar with boiling water. Mix borax into the water one tablespoon at a time. Use 3 tablespoons of borax per cup of water. Stir until the Boroax is  dissolved but don't worry if there is powder settling on the bottom of the jar. If you want you can add a little blue food coloring now to give the snowflake a bluish hue. Insert your pipe cleaner snowflake into the jar so that the pencil is resting on the lip of the jar and the snowflake is freely suspended in the borax solution. Wait overnight and by morning the snowflake will be covered with shiny crystals. 

Our took much longer than a day to form and were not perfect crystals!

 

Liberating Language

The way we use language can liberate parenting. The right kind of language can build self esteem, inspire confidence and encourage responsibility. I discovered that by modifying my language to deal with mishaps, 'misbehaviour' (a word I despise) and feelings resulted in dramatic changes in the reactions from my children. Here are some examples from Liberated Parents, Liberated Children:

 "the milk spilled, we need a sponge" instead of "now look what you did"

 "walls are not for writing on. Paper is for writing on" instead of "bad boy! No more crayons for you"

 "a scratch can hurt" instead of "stop crying. It's only a scratch"

 " I see a purple house, a red sun and a stripy sky" instead of "that painting is beautiful, you're a great artist". Praise is wonderful but where can a child go from 'beautiful' and 'great'. Words that evaluate hinder a child.

Self Esteem - Who Are You?

A poem is a good way to discover who you are.  We used the following resource from Kid's Health to write a poem:

Just fill in the blanks on the one below, and you will have done it. Poetry does not have to rhyme you know, but see if you can make a pattern with the beats.

1	(Name) [Beats ]	Sa - rah 1 1 [2]
2	(adjectives - describing words) [Beats]	brown haired, friend-ly, chee-ky, small 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 [7]
3	(Brother/sister of) [Beats]	no-one 1 1 [2]
4	[Beats]	[7]

Line 4 will have 7 beats - and so you go on.
You can have a pattern of three lines or four, or however many you like, so long as there is a pattern.

<><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </> <><><><><><> </><><><><><><> </>

Name	......................
4 adjectives (describing words)	......................
Brother/sister of	......................
Who loves	......................
Who feels	......................
Who finds happiness in	......................
Who needs	......................
Who gives	......................
Who fears	......................
Who would like to see	......................
Who enjoys	......................
Who likes to	......................
Who lives	......................
Who would like to be	......................

Here's Owen's poem:

Saxons Workshop - Orpington Museum

Building Self Esteem - Things To Look Forward To

Recently, we have been engaging in a number of activities focusing on building self esteem.   Today, we have compiled a list of things to look forward to.  We plan to update the lists each week.

Japanese Anime - Reading From Sub Titles

Owen is not keen on reading books.  However, he watches a great deal of Japanese Manga with English subtitles.  As a result he is becoming a competent and fast reader.

Easter Egg Hunt 2012

Mud Bath Fun

The Naked Egg

• a few eggs
• white vinegar
•a container big enough to hold all your eggs and a cover for the container
• a big spoon Here’s how you dissolve the shell from your eggs: 1. Place your eggs in the container so that they are not touching. 2. Add enough vinegar to cover the eggs. Notice that bubbles form on the eggs. Cover the container, put it in the refrigerator, and let the eggs sit in the vinegar for 48 hours. 3. Use your big spoon to scoop the eggs out of the vinegar. Be careful—since the eggshell has been dissolving, the egg membrane may be the only thing holding the egg together. The membrane is not as durable as the shell. 4. Carefully dump out the vinegar. Put the eggs back in the container and cover them with fresh vinegar. Leave the eggs in the refrigerator for another 24 hours. 5. Scoop the eggs out again and rinse them carefully. If any of the membranes have broken, letting the egg ooze out, throw those eggs away. 6. When you’re done, you’ll have an egg without a shell. It looks like an egg, but it’s translucent—and the membrane flexes when you squeeze it. Very cool! When you submerge an egg in vinegar, the shell dissolves. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which breaks apart the solid calcium carbonate crystals that make up the eggshell into their calcium and carbonate parts. The calcium ions float free (calcium ions are atoms that are missing electrons), while the carbonate goes to make carbon dioxide—the bubbles that you see.

How To Make a Trebuchet Catapult

Self Portraits

Owen's Self Portrait

Anya's Self Portrait

Owen's Chocolate Easter Nests

Ingredients

• 1 normal-size box of Shredded Wheat (16 large biscuits or 500g bitesize biscuits)
• 400g milk chocolate, supermarket own-brand is fine
• 2 100g bags of Mini Eggs
• Bun cases

Method

Crush the Shredded Wheat biscuits into a bowl using your hands or a food mixer

1. Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a microwave on a low heat, stirring every 30 seconds
2. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl and mix with the crushed Shredded Wheat
3. When mixed and all the Shredded Wheat is covered with chocolate, spoon the mixture into bun cases and press down in the middle of each to create a place for the eggs
4. Press two or three Mini Eggs into each nest
5. Leave to set for at least 2 hours (or less if refrigerated)

Trampoline Fun - March 2012

Building Self Esteem Using Photography

Photographs have the ability to capture an emotion in just a moment. A photograph also has the ability to capture a moment that someone might not be aware of, showing his or her true personality. Owen and I have created a display of a selection of photos taken in environments that best express Owen’s personality including favorite places, favorite activities, his friends and his pets.

Take Your Chances by Anya

Pond Investigation

Fish

Frogs

Pond Skaters