Wednesday, 16 April 2014

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

Friday, 11 April 2014

Car Boot Sales & Maths

Anya and I have recently started selling vintage jewellery at car boot sales.  We have both invested in mixed lots of jewellery purchased at auctions.  Anya has purchased her own jewellery using her pocket money and savings.  Anya demonstrated a real ability to  communicate with the customers, maths and business skills at the car boot sale.  She was able to work out her own prices based on what she paid, upsell by offering customer discounts for bulk buys, work out the total costs on large sales,  check for fake notes and the correct change.



Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Thursday, 6 February 2014

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)

 

 

 

 

Thursday, 16 January 2014

Thursday, 2 January 2014

Monopoly: Cash Flow, Risk & Negotiation Skills

The kids were given an Adventure Time Monopoly game for Christmas.  Monopoly is such a great game for learning many Maths and Business skills.  When the kids were younger the game helped them with basic counting skills.  As they have grow older they have learnt  that cash flow is crucial to be successful in monopoly and if they spent too much money on property they are unable to pay rents.   The game is all about negotiating and making deals.  Using proper negotiation skills are vital in the game.  In the game you must take risks, if you don’t take risks you will not win. But some risks result in losing the game too.
 

 

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