Home Education Journey

 Surface pattern is a huge part of the design world - used in wallpapers, furnishings, product design.  Research can be pulled from a huge range of areas - fabric shops, pinterest and the V&A museum has some excellent resources. We have a house move this week so combined with interior design, Niamh has been working on some designs - on her tablet rather than hand drawing/painting. The aim of this is a final project of actual fabric design - something small scale (likely a cushion) to add to her new room.  These are a couple of her designs - some more work required but inspiration can be taken from anywhere. 

 I finally got around to printing all the photos out that need to go in Niamh's workbooks - what a task!  I mark each piece of written work with a note to say which pictures need to be added and this will take around two days in total to do but I find it easier than doing it weekly (I also think it saves a LOT of time).  Niamh is realising just how much practical work we've done and I've chosen to do it all now so that we can refine any work, make sure nothing is missed out and start planning for Summer! Niamh will be home educated throughout Summer but in a more relaxed manner. Niamh will be completing her core subject assessments to make sure that she understands everything she's learnt, but we're planning some super fun activities. Niamh's list of activities she wants to do are: Climb a mountain Lots of beach days Lots of climbing Camping Run a 5k.  I love her goals - and we're really looking forward to ending this academic year on a high note. 

 The subject for today was our child sponsorship - I wanted Niamh to consider why we do this and why it's important to care for others - Niamh has bucket loads of empathy and compassion and these are qualities that should be fostered.  Children around the world don't have access to the things we westerners take for granted at times, and it's imperative that kids learn about different people and different cultures. 

 Yesterday was so full on that today I though Niamh could do something fun - the coke and mentos experiment. We donned unwashed clothes out of the laundry basket (I'm not washing clothes twice - that's absurd) and got started.  Super fun and now Niamh is learning about the chemical reaction. When she's completed, and the core subjects have been attacked, we're relaxing for the day with a nature walk, possible swim depending on water levels and movement, and then Niamh shall be learning how to cook a ham because it's her favourite food.  One of my awesome friends suggested the Marmite experiment, and this is the explanation from www.sciencefocus.com Marmite looks dark because any light entering it is likely to be absorbed by molecules of the stuff, and thus prevented from escaping again. Stirring it introduces air-filled cavities that increase the chances of the light avoiding absorption and managing to escape. Whipped Marmite can generate so many bubbles that it tur...

 I initially began home educating, following on from Covid homeschooling. I definitely wanted to do more practical learning with Niamh but I immediately tried to continue with the core subjects - maths, English and science. This was a huge mistake early in our journey, and I did realise early on that it was causing a lot of stress and anxiety in my perfectionist child. I also (thankfully) realised that she had a gap when it came to number value and while deschooling, we spent short (ten minutes max) bursts of very slowly and calmly recapping.  I realised that in a school environment all the children are expected to learn at exactly the same rate and teachers in the UK are pushed for results - rather than how well the children are retaining the knowledge. For me - this is a government issue rather than the fault of teachers, but it saddens me greatly, because I'm very aware of how limiting this can be to further understanding of a subject. Number value is imperative to developi...

  Another recommendation - we started watching the planets series on BBC and I'm ridiculously glad we did. Professor Brian Cox hosts this series and his passion for physics and the world we live in is plain to see. The language he uses is plain and while I would say that some of it was more complex than Niamh is used to, she could follow it and we discussed anything that she questioned.  This is such a wonderful introduction to chemistry and the periodic table and is an excellent way to demonstrate how the planets within our universe are connected and influenced by each other.  It's taken 5 weeks to go through these, I've been using each episode as a reward/way to wind down after Niamh has completed work that she finds difficult and it's been such a lovely way to bond.  From a teaching point of view - my own science knowledge is primarily focused on biology, so this has been a wonderful way to have teaching from someone with a lot more knowledge in these areas. ...

 This is something that we've been holding off until the weather improved. I used to run regularly but my mental health/busy work life/commute and various injuries put a stop to it. Niamh was game to give the NHS couch to 5K a go and she's done super well on day 1. I'm hoping that over the next few weeks, she can reflect on this day and see improvement and progress.  I know how much running helps me to manage my emotions and I'm excited to share this with Niamh so she can reap the benefits. 

 I'm recommending this book - Usborne lift the flap Periodic Table - because I've found it absolutely invaluable in teaching Niamh the basics of the periodic table.  The national curriculum for year 5 doesn't focus hugely on the periodic table but I really think learning about different elements is essential for understanding other subjects such as geography for the carbon cycle and for further studies.  Niamh loves factual books and will happily read this because it's fun to read, interesting and it's so useful for any home educator. 

I always found geography quite dull at school and it's one of the reasons why I love home educating - it doesn't have to be taught in a rote learning manner. Practical application is so important for kids to grasp the fundamentals and the carbon cycle is one that, while it may seem quite abstract, can be witnessed if created on a small scale.  We made two - a woodland biome and an aquatic ecosystem using materials from a local pond to recreate the temperate deciduous forest biome of the UK. If you have any pets that are adapted to a different biome, they can also be used for this purpose as any reptile owner will tell you the importance of substrates, temperature and humidity - we have a pet spotted python and Niamh has previously demonstrated her knowledge of his environment by providing an online lesson for a decent year old.  I'll be honest about our results with the biomes - the woodland version worked spectacularly well - water could be seen condensing on the sealed va...