Anya's Lyrics - The Sun Is Shining

The Sun Is Shining

The Sun is shining upon your face

And the birds are singing like there's no mistake

Suddenly I see what's going on

With beauty the within

And all these little things time after time

And all these little memories time after time

 

The Sun is shining upon your face

And the birds are singing like there's no mistake

Suddenly I see what's going on

With beauty the within

And all these little things time after time

And all these little memories time after time

The Sun is shining, the Sun is shining

The Sun is shining, the Sun is shining

the Sun is shining upon your face

The Sun is shining, the sun is shining like there's no mistake

the Sun is shining upon your face

and the birds are singing like there's no mistake

The Shame - An Unschooled Drama Project

This is a play written and directed by Anya and her friend and interprets their feelings about bullying and cyber bulling. The film is also in the psychological horror genre, but Anya did not want to use the famous music from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film as it would detract from what they were creating.

Lyric Writing - Left to the Right

New song lyrics written by Anya:

Left To The Right

 Left to the right and right to the left

Cos I, left to the right and right to the left

Cos I  got a song in my mind and you know.

 

Left to the right and right to the left

Cos I, left to the right and right to the left

Cos I don't know if I can stand days goin' by

 

Left to the right and right to the left

Cos I , left to the right and right to the left

Cos I don't know if I can stand because I don't know.

 

Left to the right and right to the left

Cos I, tell me all the time there a day for us

and that something can work out

But you know what I am saying deep down in your head

 

Left to the right and right to the left

Cos I know where you're going

and I know where your goin'

and I know you're there for me in the shadows

and I am behind the darkness of the Sun

 

Left to the right

left to the right and right to the left

Cos I don't I know, I know

Oh I know, Left to the Right

Anya's Lyric Writing - One Step Further

One Step Further

Cuz im going one step further than I am willing,

and I got this thing my heart that won’t stop ringing,

so don’t let my issues bring you down,

cuz we all have feelings and its okay to feel down.

(oha x3)

 

(Chorus) and if your hearing out all thunder then just realise your living further.

So don’t let my issues bring you down,

and all this time i’ve been wishing and wishing,

and every time I look behind I see you in the way,

I can’t get over the truth.

 

(Chorus)

 

Cuz im going one step further than I am willing,

and i got this thing my heart that won’t stop ringing,

so don’t let my issues bring you down,

cuz we all have feelings and its okay to feel down.

(Oha 4x)

 

 

 

 

Anjin at Saddlers Wells

Owen's Review

A rough thundery sea swirled and hit the bow of the ship. Suddenly, the ship crashed against the rocks of a far of land called “Japan”.

Based on a true story, the samurai on patrol found William Adams and his crew ship wrecked on their land. At the time, Japan was part controlled by Christian Jesuits who were worried that Adams would affect their influence so they tried to get the entire crew crucified as pirates. The shogun, Layasu asked to see Adams because he was curious to hear about the other side of the world he was particularly interested in the Spanish and English weapons.

The first lord of Japan had died and his son who is only seven years old is now in charge. His mother, Yododono hates leyasu and supported by the Jesuit Christians, declares war on him. Whilst at war Adam’s skills with cannons and his special technique at firing two cannons at once wins Leyasu the battle and he is rewarded the title of Anjin, samurai.  Anjin marries a Japanese lady and abandons this wife in England.  

After fourteen years of peace a final battle is declared and lady yododano is defeated for the last time the new shogun becomes the new leader and sets a strict policy that no Christians are allowed in Japan.

When I watched the play I didn’t expect it to be a comedy. I expected it to be heroic plots and characters. However Anjin played by Steven Boxer was like a pantomime actor. I quite liked the priest played by Yuki Furukawa because he was very expressive. The mother played by Yoki Sadadana was a powerful actor because she was good at expressing emotion. The scenery was poor because it was a cliché representation of Japan. They even had cherry blossom trees inside the palace. The tickets were over priced at £60 for my mum and me (which included a discount).  This means the theatre is only accessible to the wealthy.   Over all, I was disappointed and would not recommend the play.

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. 

Mallorca & Menorca 2012

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.

Introducing Reading Eggspress!

Reading Eggs is an online reading programme aimed at 3 - 7 year olds. We found it unsuitable for Owen and Anya and the environment is too young for our kids. However, they have recently launched Reading Eggspress, which is a new website for 7 – 12 year olds! This brand new world, designed for older students, is full of motivating learning activities, rewards, great games and real time contests. With 650 e-books in the library and 200 comprehension lessons, Reading Eggspress is a complete English Skills program for middle and upper primary students. Anya has really enjoyed the new environment and found many books she has read on the site. She said she preferred reading on the screen as she didn't like the feel of paper. I wasn't even aware of this problem until now.

BrainPOP - Our Favourite Educational Site

Last year we subscribed to Brain Pop Jnr. This year I have decided to invest another $99 into Brain Pop which is aimed at older kids. The science provided by Brain Pop Jnr is a little basic for Owen but the science videos aimed at secondary student on Brain Pop will suit him better.

Naruto, Bleach and Manga Subtitles

This time last year, I could never have imagined my son would be able to watch Manga subtitled films. Many of the Bleach and Naruto episode are only available as subtitles. Owen's passion for Naruto and Bleach has encouraged him to watch the new subtitled episodes. My job is simply to provide him with the time to watch them! New Manga can be loaded from AnimePrivate.com

Anya's Reading Takes Off!

Anya's reading has also started to take off now.  Guess How?  By being provided the time to pursue her interests and chat to her friends online.  Anya's main interest at the moment is a game called Roblox.
Last year I spent a whole year offering Owen and Anya one to one learning.  The sessions included reading books matching reading level and age level day reading, playing spelling games, playing reading base board games and working through reading programmes aimed at kids with autism.  We did make some slow progress but the real progress has been made by the kids teaching themselves.  They often ask me how to spell a word when they are chatting to their friends online.  I have learnt to simply spell the word and not irritate them by trying to make their question into a lesson!

Roblox does market itself as an educational game with a belief that kids learn best by making things — by engaging in the creative and complex process of imagining, designing, and constructing.  Roblox provides them with a safe place to build, gives them the requisite tools and lets them play.  They say they are inspired by the educational theory pioneered by Seymour Papert of the MIT Media Lab. This theory — labeled "Constructionism" — holds not only that kids learn best when they are in the active roles of designer and builder, but that their learning is optimized when they're assuming these roles in a public forum.

Autonomous Self Regulated Learning - How Does it Work?

Autonomous education was one of the first words I was introduced to when we began our home education. My friend, who has been home educating her children for 6 years (now aged 8 and 12) explained that her children do not attend lesson, all their learning is self directed. Her children seemed bright, had great communication skills and seem very knowledgeable in a broad range of subjects. She said her children have learnt to read by being read to. She noticed that they both started to follow where she was on the page. They were not taught to read using phoenix but I suppose more by word recognition. I was skeptical about how a child could possibly learn anything without lesson styled learning.

At the time, I was sitting down with Owen and Anya for a few hours each day to cover English and Math. The lessons were informal and the kids didn’t seem to mind but didn’t seem to engage in the lessons with any passion. Both of them were barely reading and writing when they left school. They both refuse to read books even though I have tried hard to find books with an interest level at their age but a lower reading age. They both hate books which I suspect is a result of the atrociously boring books they were made to read at school. We used a specialist software application called Wordshark which is designed to help dyslexic children learn to spell. Both Owen and Anya tolerated 30 mins a day using this software but it didn’t seem to create any real interest or pride in reading or spelling. I noticed Owen had started watching Japanese Manga films with subtitles and seemed to be following the plot. Owen started to ask me how to spell words having shown no previous interest in spelling correctly. He was very interested in an online game called Roblox and was chatting with his online friends. I sat down with him to watch him play. He was typing at a tremendous speed with amazingly accurate spelling. So I decided to abandon the Wordshark and allow him to watch Manga subtitles for 30 minutes instead. His reading now seems pretty good (not brilliant but okay) and his spelling is very good. He still isn’t interested in reading books but is able to read whatever he needs to on his computer. He uses the internet to research and look up all sorts of information.

Free Audio Books

Books Should Be Free Free Audio Books from the public domain Download a free audio book in mp3, iPod, or iTunes format

Reading Eggs

I thought it would be worth mentioning Reading Eggs as some other home educators have recommended this reading program.  Owen and Anya’s reading has improved so much by simply been provided the time to pursue their interests that it is now below their level.  Anya had a look at Reading Eggs but found it too easy although she seemed to enjoyed playing the games for a while.  Personally, I found the program irritating and wouldn't recommend it for older children that are struggling with reading.  It is clearly aimed at younger kids with interest levels and age levels matched at school expectation.  This is rarely the case with dyslexia, ADD, ADHD and autistic kids.  My focus has always been to try and match older interest levels with younger reading levels.

More On Matching Interest and Reading Levels

A few months ago, I wrote a post on matching a childs interest level and their reading level.  I have found another range of books specialising in this:

Barrington Stokes Go! Dare or Danger Books

Fiction interest age 11+, reading age 6

Entry level fiction for struggling secondary students

 

• Great variety of stories to suit all tastes - from comedy to horror
• High quality, age appropriate illustrations throughout support the story
• Extensively trialled with students in the target age group

Go The Fuck To Sleep

After my vague success at the South Bank graffiti reading, I came across a book called Go The Fuck To Sleep.  I thought it was worth a mention!

Go the Fuck To Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don't always send a toddler sailing off to dreamland. Honest, profane, and affectionate, Adam Mansbach's verses and Ricardo Cortés' illustrations perfectly capture the familiar--and unspoken--tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night, and open up a conversation about parenting in the process. Beautiful, subversive, and pants-wettingly funny, Go the Fuck to Sleep is a perfect gift for parents new, old, or expectant. Here is a sample verse: The cats nestle close to their kittens now.
The lambs have laid down with the sheep.
You're cozy and warm in your bed, my dear
Please go the fuck to sleep.

the owl & the pussycat

Brain Pop Jnr - Educational Videos

Brain Pop Jnr was recommended to me by another home educator. It is my favourite educational site. Owen and Anya love the site and spend hours watching the videos. There are free videos but it is worth paying $85 for a years membership.

Finding Something to Inspire Reading

My kids hate reading.  They have never liked looking at books even before they were subjected to the torture of the schools reading books.  They enjoy being read to at bedtime and love books that are quirky and alternative.  But. they rarely want to look in a book on their own.  They will occasionally flick through the pages of a super hero comic or natural world book with striking illustrations but that's about it.

One of my friends (also a home educator) who has a mildly autistic child suggested that I just try and read the words that surround us in everyday life eg road signs, packaging, adverts etc.  I am sure that generally this is a good idea and would be an organic and natural part of a child reading development.  However, my kids simply refuse to read anything.  No matter how clever I try to be to 'trick' them to read something they always see through it!  However, they do take an interest of anything or of place or different to the norm so I took them to the South Bank to see if there were any words they could read in the graffiti.  They took great pleasure from reading the inappropriate words!  It’s a start...