That little bit more freedom.

A very unusual occurence happened this morning - I was up before both of the girls!  We had agreed yesterday that we needed to go to the library, to return an overdue book, and since the library shuts on Wednesday afternoons, that meant we needed to go in the morning. 

Since the library has reopened, we've started using it quite differently from before.  When they were younger, we used to go to borrow and return books, but also for me to read picture books to them.  Until the renovation and reopening, we would go frequently still to borrow, reserve (free on a child's ticket) and return books, but not hang around very often.  Now we have started using it a place to go and do what we refer to, for some bizarre reason that I can't quite recall, as Horace Time.  Horace Time is generally either some quiet reading, when the girls read a chapter or two and tell me about it afterwards, or they might choose to do some of one of their workbooks or a worksheet I've come up with, or it's one of the rare occasions when I 'teach' them something, usually something maths or English related.

On the way to the library, M & I were walking on our own, as K had forgotten something and had nipped back home to get it, so I asked her if she could remember what the two types of apostrophe were.  She wasn't willing to talk about it, but when I asked Puffy, her toy puffin, she was willing to whisper the answer to him and then he told me!  She seemed to explain both sorts to Puffy quite well, as he evidently understood them and explained and gave an example of each type.  K had caught up by the time we reached the library as we stopped to look at two ducks we spotted in the park, not a common sight as there's no water there!

They took off and headed back in the direction of the river moments later.

And we paused to enjoy the short-lived but very beautiful magnolia blossom.

Once at the library K & M settled down with the books they'd brought with them, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for K and The Stray for M, a book she borrowed a while back from her friend C.  M had also taken a backpack with, among other things, a notebook and pen, and when she had finished a couple of chapters, she decided to start writing a story.  She took her inspiration from the SIM ride we went on twice at the Space Centre and it is about K, M & me going to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.  From the correct use of possessive apostrophes, she obviously had taken in what we'd talked about on the way there!  I think that M's mind goes faster than her hand can keep up with when writing, as it's quite tricky to decipher much of the time, and I do always remind her to leave slightly bigger spaces between words.  The spelling is quite wobbly in places, and generally I tend to point out a couple of mistakes, but always try to mention good attempts at tricky words.

K was still reading by the time M had read a couple of chapters and started her story, but by this time M was itching to get going.  So we left K in the library, while we popped to the shops.  We had talked about having a bit more freedom before we left, so when M asked if she could go to a particular shop on her own, I let her go there while I picked up a prescription.  We had agreed that I would then join her, but she came back and found me as there was a bit of a queue.  This did necessitate a conversation about sticking to what we agree beforehand, as it would have been quite easy to miss each other with the layout of somewhere like Boots, where I was.  The reason she's particularly wanted to go to the shop on her own, was to buy A and I a bar of chocolate to share and then because she didn't want K to feel left out, she bought one for herself and K to share too.  Then, after picking K up from the library and a brief panic when M realised she must have left her puffin in one of the shops (the second one she checked fortunately!), K & M went to the park together while I picked up a few bits of shopping.  M really did seem much more relaxed having had that little bit of freedom and it worked really well.  I think we will do it this way reasonably frequently, as I think it will fulfill M's need, without me leaving my comfort zone too much.

This afternoon, K & M finished tidying their rooms, a protracted process that on M's part in particular involves an awful lot of moaning, and K hoovered hers, M emptied the dishwasher while I hoovered hers for her.  We have an agreement that they tidy their rooms once a month, so that they can be hoovered.  They would both much rather not be able to see the floor, so this is a compromise to keeping it tidy all the time.  I do point out every month it would be much quicker and easier if they kept them a *little* bit tidier, but it rarely lasts longer than a couple of days.  M also finished off her space story and started another one!

Freedom and independence within limits

I have been having quite regular conversations lately with M, who's 8 in just over a month, about her need for some independence and freedom.  She is very clear that she feels the needs to be allowed 'out' on her own (or with K), but I have been wary of allowing this, even though I think she is ready for a bit more freedom in this way.  Much of my reluctance stems from the possibility of the girls being confronted as to why they're not at school, and although I do trust that they're sensible and articulate enough to tell people that they are home educated, I don't necessarily trust other people's reactions to that information.  M has got very upset at my point of view, to the point that I have sought other people's thoughts on the subject, as well as discussing it with A of course!  It is true that M is now the same age that K was when she first popped to the Co-op on her own to get a missing ingredient when I was in the middle of cooking, although I am aware that K does look much older as she's really tall for her age. 

We, A & I have come to the conclusion that occasional trips out on their own, for a specific purpose, whether that is a play in the park, a trip to the library or the shops is okay.  We will first have a conversation about responsibilities coming with rights and there will be strictly enforced limits (and watches are going to have to be worn!), but then we'll gradually ease up a bit on allowing some more freedom.  Eeek!

In other news, K & I worked through the second part of my first 'Punctuation!' worksheet, with another short paragraph from The Chamber of Secrets to punctuate.  This time there were some commas missing and I realised that my grasp of when commas should be used is actually pretty poor.  I think I generally write reasonably well and probably use commas correctly most of the time, but my use is mostly instinctive, so I'm finding it really rather interesting to find out the reasons commas belong where I put them.  K has also been reading our punctuation book with great interest, although, since it was during tea, it was rather frustrating to me, as K eats very slowly at the best of times and it was korfball this evening, and M was very annoyed because I don't generally allow reading during mealtimes.  While K & I were going through the worksheet, M had a go on Timez Attack and also wrote a thank you email to the friends who gave K & M Destination Hogwarts.  She has also been writing me more little notes and this afternoon she got her old copies of Puffin Post magazines out to read all the jokes to me.

Little things.

We've been doing quite a bit of arithmetic over the past few days, mostly because Destination Hogwarts involves adding up house points at the end of the game!  They had a game, just the two or them, this morning which ended in a draw, which is a first.  M has also been writing lots of messages, although she would deny this, as the letters I've been receiving, which have been delivered by owl post, have been from her toys.  They've been scrawled on very small pieces of paper and rather difficult to read, but she's been open to me asking her to tell the particular toy who wrote the message how to spell particular words correctly!

We've also spent quite a lot of time in the garden today, including having a game of 'years'.  Years is a game that M has been talking about occasionally for some time now, it's played between giraffes (she has 2 cuddly ones).  The rules seemed to develop as we played, but some of the key points are as follows:

• one team is the bats and the other catches for the whole game
• you decide which by the most inexperienced player from each time drawing something from a hat
• spectators can join in at any time if they want to for as long as they want to
• you don't have to stick to one team
• batters get points by hitting the ball through the door of the playhouse into a hoop
• catchers get points by catching the ball or getting them into various items such as a dustpan or plant pot
• you are allowed to stand or run with the ball, but not walk
• the game starts and finishes when M says 'Boom'
• towards the end of the game M starts humming, increasingly loudly as a warning that she is going to say 'Boom' soon

Finally I thought I would share a couple of pictures the girls have done of 'their' Harry Potter characters.

M's Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody

K's Nymphadora Tonks

More Potter and More Punctuation!

During our meet up with friends at Chatsworth House the weekend before last, we were asked if we had the game Destination Hogwarts.  We didn't and as a result, K & M were given it as a very early (birthdays are October and June respectively!) joint birthday present, so that we could take it with us on holiday next month.  It arrived yesterday, we managed to wait until this morning before having a first play.  We played it 4 times today, three times during the day and once with Daddy this evening, so I think it's fair to say that it's a hit! There was one slight problem though, one of the 'hazard' cards says: You have been caught with a copy of the Quibbler.  You are expelled.  The game ends for you now.  Or words to that effect.  This caused some distress, but K & M decided that there had to be a hearing (as Harry has in The Order of the Phoenix) and M, who'd drawn the card, returned to the game a while later.  The next game I drew the card pretty early on, but after that we decided to remove the card from the deck before playing.

K & M spent most of the afternoon (with a break for a game of Destination Hogwarts), making potions.  They made Felix Felicis, also known as Liquid Luck, M informed me that a four-leaved clover was the most important ingredient, but they hadn't managed to find one, so they'd used a normal clover with an extra leaf.  They also made Polyjuice Potion and an antidote (to what I don't know, but they are important for Aurors). 

While they were in the garden I was preparing another punctuation worksheet for K, as she was quite keen when I offered yesterday evening.  The girls came in while I was preparing it and M was looking over my shoulder at what I was doing.  So I brought up the worksheet that K and I had started on Thursday and I asked her if she knew was punctuation was for and starting with Let's eat Granny/Let's eat, Granny, which she thought was very funny, we worked through the question that K & I did at the library.  We talked about capital letters, full stops and apostrophes as we worked through it and she did a good job of telling me what needed to be changed. 

A trip and a "home" day.

Yesterday we went, along with a number of other families, to The Space Centre.  It's somewhere we've been meaning to go for ages and indeed got as far as going with some schooly friends a while back, but found it shut when we got there, not having thought to check it was open first - don't go on a Monday!

We had a good look around and K & M were unanimous that the best bit was the SIM ride in the Tranquility Base section.  As we were on a education group ticket the SIM cost an extra pound, which I paid for the first time, but K & M both liked it so much that they paid for a second go themselves.  We mostly enjoyed the Planetarium show, although K shut her eyes and blocked her ears for the part about the many different ways going into space can kill you!  One of the interactive screens had multiple choice questions about how things react differently in space, including one which tied in nicely with the video we watched earlier this week about wringing out a wet flannel in zero gravity.

M & Christopher (her dog).

K in a mock up of an early manned space capsule.

We all liked 'Baked Bean Challenge', trying to left a can of baked beans as they would be on different planets (and the sun!) and therefore with different gravitational pull acting on them.

K in particular was very interested in finding out that most of the moons of Uranus are named after Shakespeare characters.  Altogether we spent about 5 hours there, which we all felt was plenty!

Today was rather different, I say it was a "home" day, but we were actually out for most of the morning, although only locally with nothing planned on.  After a trip to the dentist, we went to the library and had just settled down in the children's section when a big school party of 4-5 year olds arrived.  M had settled into a comfy spot with a book, so she stayed there to read, while K & I took our work upstairs where it was quieter.  I had mentioned to K that the writing she'd done for the Harry Potter sale on Monday was very accurate in terms of the spelling, but she hadn't used any punctuation and I'd wondered if we could have a look at some.  She seemed willing, so last night I decided to make a worksheet using something that I knew would engage her interest: Harry Potter!  I picked a straight forward short paragraph from The Chamber of Secrets and took out all of the capital letters and punctuation.  We talked about the point of punctuation and without any prompting she remembered the example, Let's eat Granny! compared to Let's eat, Granny!  Then I read her the paragraph as I was written on the sheet I'd done, with no punctuation.  I let her know that it was three sentences in the book and asked her where she thought each sentence started and ended, which she identified pretty quickly and she added the full stops.  Then we talked about capitals, so she added those to the beginning of the sentences and found the proper nouns.  Next we moved on to apostrophes and used Punctuation - The Write Stuff, which we both found entertaining and it clearly explained the differences between the contraction and possession apostrophes.  She found the missing apostrophe (a possession one) and added that.  Finally we moved on to commas, looking first at The Comma Crew chapter of the book, talking about lists, clauses and more.  K identified some places to add them to the paragraph and finished it off.  When we got home I checked it against the original and apart from one extra comma that we had added it matched perfectly.  There is another paragraph to do on the sheet, but that one was plenty for one sitting.

It's a very recent development that K has consented to do this sort of thing with me.  Any previous attempts, particularly if I have pushed her to do 'sit down learny stuff' as we call it, have resulted in upset all round.  Now she seems ready for it, she's grasping things really quickly and is willing to have a go, probably because she sees the point!

After the library we went to the park for a while and bumped into friends that we'd seen yesterday at the Space Centre.  Then we had a relaxed afternoon, unusually for a Thursday, as gymnastics wasn't on as L, the teacher, is on holiday.  So K & M watched the Just William dvd one last time before we posted it back to lovefilm.  Swimming was on, so they had half an hour of that to go with the running, jumping, swinging and climbing at the park as their exercise for the day.  They finished off with some 'foxing' (a particularly type of bedtime activity they have with Daddy involving Mr Fox, a puppet who takes on many different roles in their playing including Dr Fox and Captain Fox among many others).  Today he has started yet another job, French Teacher Fox and set them some homework, A informed me, of finding out the French for fox.  As I was a modern language teacher BC (before children), they have a very easy option, but I'll present them with a French/English dictionary and see if they go for that first.  K has been using a dictionary quite a lot lately, today it was to look up 'brig' as Captain Fox had used it to mean a prison on a boat and I had expressed doubts that this was the right word and she wanted to check.

Bits and bobs.

There were a few extra bits that happened over the past couple of days that I forgot to mention in my mammoth post yesterday.  The first was a piece of writing that K did, with a bit of help from M as I understand it, for the stall with regard to the chocolate frog cards, I only saw it when it was already completed and printed out.

I found the dictionary on the computer desk and asked what they'd been looking up and was told that they were looking for 'whole' but couldn't find it, so rather than misspell the word they found a different way of saying what they wanted to (M's idea, as K told me this morning).  When I said that 'whole' was a tricky word to look for in a dictionary, K exclaimed that she'd just remembered that it started with a 'w'.

Yesterday after Asfordby, K & M had a schooly friend, I, round for play and tea before Brownies.  They had a great time together all playing Harry Potter, with a bit of Romeo and Juliet thrown in for good measure.  On their way out into the garden, where they spent most of the time making the most of the good weather, K informed me about how they'd been playing the balcony scene and that she knew which page it was on in our copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare.  I certainly haven't ever found it for her, so she must have done so herself at some point!

Following on from the fractions work K has been doing, I had another look in Maths for Mums & Dads and found an exercise that I thought both K & M would have no problem with, but decided to check.  I showed them this list of numbers in the book and asked them to put them into order from the largest to the smallest.

901     1,001    910    99    109    190    999

Both girls were confident in their answers, so we looked at the example of an answer given by a child who hadn't yet grasped place value and talked about what she might have been thinking.

Today M and I played another game from this book; Race to 100.  You need a die, paper and pen.  The aim is to score exactly 100 before your opponent.  You take it in turns to roll the die and you can either take the score shown or ten times that value, you keep a running total of your score and the first person to reach 100 exactly is the winner, but over 100 is bust.  We had half a dozen or so games of this, although she did get extremely cross with me for peeking at her piece of paper.  As is often the case in games of chance like this it ended up with me winning most of the time (and the only time I didn't we both went bust!), it is something of a curse when you want to play this sort of thing with children. 

It often seems to be the case that we talk about something and decide to 'find out more about it later', but then later doesn't quite happen because we forget or the interest has gone by the time we're in a position to do so.  However today we did actually find out some more about how glow sticks work.  I read this link to them while they were having their tea and I'm happy to say that my answer to K's original question was pretty much right (if very basic).  Still on a scientific theme, but rather different we watched this rather fascinating video that someone posted on Facebook, about what happens when you wring out a very wet flannel in space.

I mentioned yesterday that I'd put the dried peas to soak to make peas pottage for lunch today.  It was a mash up of following the instructions on the box of dried peas and adding what they'd talked about at Mary Arden's Farm, onion, garlic, bacon and some herbs (I went for mint and parsley).  In the end neither K nor M were particularly interested in helping, but they had a look and in K's case a stir.  It was fairly clear that M was not going to like it from her complaining about the smell!  To be fair she doesn't like peas, so it was always a long shot, but she did try it, as did K.  I thought it was rather good, but K & M had a ham sandwich each instead.

Finally, we went out to the shops this afternoon and while out the girls took the charity cut of their takings from yesterday and put it all in the box on the counter in the Oxfam bookshop and we had a bit of a chat to the man there about what they'd done to raise the money. 





The big reveal of the plotting and planning.

Today was the day that the thing that K & M have been preparing and planning for over a month finally happened.  They had wanted to hold it at home, but I suggested that the Asfordby group would be a better place, since they do a lot of Harry Potter-ing with friends there and they agreed after a bit of persuasion.

A month or so ago, K & M started making lots and lots of pink and purple quick and easy pompoms (they do it round a piece of card and cut first, but the same idea).  Then I kept finding smallish squares of paper all over the house and told K & M I'd throw them away if I found any more, they kept them tidier after that!  As you may know, if you've been following my blog for a while, we've made quite a lot of wands.  A couple of weeks ago, K & M pooled some of their money and bought some chocolate that you can mould from our local toy shop, like this.  They also made some paper plate owls.  The result was a Harry Potter sale!

They added stickers for eyes to make Pygmy Puffs.

With the chocolate, they made chocolate frogs and I bought a mould and made some more to go with them.  The squares of paper I'd found lying all over the place were chocolate frog cards that they'd been making to go with the chocolate frogs.

The wands and the price list K made.

With the merchandise prepared, there was quite a lot of debate about the prices and eventually they agreed with spare chocolate frog card at 3 knuts up to 1 galleon, 2 sickles and 10 knuts for a wand.  We decided on an exchange rate of £1 to a galleon, 20p to a sickle and 1p to a knut.  M wrote out a list of everything we had and I wrote on the prices, then K typed it up to make a poster.

Finally they decided that they wanted some sort of decoration, so they decided on a scene from The Chamber of Secrets. 

K did the writing and M & I added some 'drips'.

We set this up with some help from K's Tabby Kitten, who played the part of the petrified Mrs Norris.

M went along with her magical eye and added some scars to her face (red felt tip) to be Mad-Eye Moody and their friend, C, went dressed up as her usual character Bellatrix Lestrange.

All of this has been planned by K & M and it went really well.  I had talked to K & M about the idea of a float for change and they dealt with most of the money by themselves.  I'd warned folks to bring their wizard money and some had even made some to use!  Before taking into account what K & M spent (the biggest thing was the moulding chocolate - everything else was crafty things we have in the house except the wand making materials which I don't mind having paid for), they have made over £15, which they are planning on splitting three ways and giving the third share to charity.

Although the theme for Asfordby was originally James & the Giant Peach, as quite a number of those who go had also been to see it at the theatre, E, who runs it was quite happy for it to be Harry Potter too.  As she put it 'you might as well go with the flow', since most of the children over about 6 and some younger all play Harry Potter for much of the time we're there anyway!  And C had prepared a Harry Potter quiz, which K & M brought home to do.  There were also various James and the Giant Peach themed activities, including a bug sudoku, which K did when she saw me sitting down having a go, making glow worms (mini glow sticks in balloons - we're planning on finding out how glow sticks work tomorrow), a ladybird life cycle activity and making 'hot noodles made with poodles' (quote from the Centipede's song) pictures on paper plates using cooked spaghetti covered in paint!

In other news, this afternoon we talked about prime numbers and with just a little bit of prompting K worked out what a prime is and we also talked about how it's very easy to rule lots of numbers out of being prime (even numbers, when the digits add up to a multiple of three).  We also related this back to fractions and how it can be useful when simplifying them, for example if there are prime number top and bottom you definitely can't simplify.

Yesterday, quite randomly when M wanted to watch even more Tom & Jerry, I suggested we do something else and when she couldn't think of anything I suggested I could give her some dictation, like in Anne of Green Gables and was quite surprised when she agreed.  I dictated a simple story about Mr Fox, a favourite puppet toy who the girls play with with Daddy and was pretty impressed how well she did, spelling 'friend' correctly for example.  None of the mistakes were such that you would not have been able to understand the word and when we went through it she was able to correct the majority of them herself.

Finally, we've got some dried peas soaking overnight in readiness for making Peas Pottage like we saw at Mary Arden's Farm recently.