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.

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

Bermondsey Lamp-post Free School - 1974

Documentary Resource

Top Documentary Films you can find 1700+ (more to come) stunning, eyeopening and interesting documentaries.

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

Home School Resources

A fabulous list of resources that have been put together by the South London Home Educators.

Free Home Education Links

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.

Work with Wiggle - Kinesthetic Learning

Kinesthetic learners learn best by moving and touching. They are 'hands-on' learners need to experience what they are learning - not just read or hear a lecture about it. Sitting still is a huge hindrance to their learning. Kinesthetic children possess a "hands-on intelligence" that makes our world a better place to live.

Characteristics of Kinesthetic Learners
Here are a few clues that you may have a Kinesthetic child:
•Learns through first-hand experience
•Taps or doodles while listening
•Explores through touch and movement
•Is naturally skilled in physical activities such as sports or riding a bicycle
•Enjoys putting things together and taking them apart
•Uses fingers to figure out math problems
•Tracks with finger while reading
•Sits still for 5.2 seconds at a time!

Ideas I'm Testing Out

Trying resources that can be read aloud, uses manipulatives, or is experimental in nature.

Focusing on activities that include projects, simulations, and real-life applications.

Allowing Owen and Anya to sit on an exercise ball whilst listening or doing an activity.

When reading aloud I allowing my kids to move around the room, doodle, builds with clay or Lego.

Include dramatization, recipes, simulations, creating period art, or building models and games.

Using manipulatives and games for writing, spelling and grammar and maths.

Cook while learning fractions.

Use manipulatives and whole body movements to learn letter sounds.

Science is a great subject for hands-on learners. I will focus on resources that offer plenty of hands-on experiments (not just cut-and-paste activities).

Auditory Processing - Barnabys Burrow

Owen and Anya have auditory processing problems. Instructions get mixed up in their brain so they often forget part of the instructions or the order of the instructions. I have found this wonderful game for developing their listening skills and developing their ability to listen to questions or more complex instructions. We love playing the game too!

Barnaby’s Burrow has been created by a company called LinguiSystems. It provides practice for the auditory skills of memory, discrimination, closure, and synthesis. The auditory processing tasks and content within each deck of game cards are arranged at increasing levels of difficulty. The 310 game cards are organized into four decks. Within each deck, the items are numbered and arranged from easiest to most difficult:

Talking Circles, Talking Sticks & Children

I have decided to try an introduce a Native American Talking Circle to resolve problems and discuss family matters. The idea is we sit in a circle listening to the person who holds a talking stick. The person that hold the stick is allowed to speak for as long as they wish without being interrupted. (In native American culture is is rare that people talk for too long but due to my kids tendency to indulge in long monologues I am going to restrict there talking using an egg timer.) Once they are finished talking the stick will be passed to the next person. Hopefully, this will make the kids feel more secure that they will be listened to without someone butting in.

Deregistration

In England when you want to remove a child from the school roll in order to home educate you need to go through the deregistration process. This involves writing to the headteacher or proprietor of the school. The relevant regulations are The Pupil Registration Regulations (England) 2006.

We have now written to the school requesting them to remove our children from the register. Our letter was based on the following which is provided from Education Otherwise website:


Your address
The Date
Head teacher's Name

Dear Head Teacher's Name

Re: Your Child's Name (date of birth)

After careful consideration I/we have decided to withdraw my/our daughter from school in order to take personal responsibility for her education. Please delete her name from the register in accordance with Education (Pupil Registration) Regulation 8(1)(d) 2006, as she is now receiving education otherwise than at school.

Please will you confirm receipt of this letter and inform us of the date that our daughter’s name was removed from the register.

Yours sincerely etc.

Word Shark

Wordshark is a computer program which combines the fun and excitement of games with the serious task of learning to read and spell. The program allows children to begin with a very simply group of words. The exercises for each word group include spelling and reading tasks which are exciting and engaging. I decided to invest in Wordshark as both my kids have real problems with reading and spelling. The software cost £67.50 but the software arrived today and both Owen and Anya were keen to try it out. The concept seems very good and the exercises and games are very engaging.