A lot of snot

So today we made snot.

Not a sentence I get to say on a regular basis!

We met up with some friends and got the kids doing a 'making snot' experiment. Now kids love an experiment right? Hell yes! ....so when its combined with snot it gets even better.

Here in the UK it can get a bit tricky to find borax but you can order it online. There are loads of experiments to do using it so it won't go to waste. You'll use a really small amount for this activity so a small box is a good idea.

They played at the kitchen table for quite a while noticing how the gloop was changing consistency the more it was played with. The smaller ones enjoyed mixing glitter into it and this showed how coughs and colds spread. We talked about the glitter being like the germs and spreading around if you don't keep handwashing, and even handwashing isn't that effective as the glitter was all over the place. Even by the time we got home I still had glittery snot on my trousers and a small amount of glitter on my phone. Amazing how it gets around. No wonder flu is so prevelant during winter. 

Here are some extra supplies we needed to make bacteria and viruses. We learnt how viruses work and how snot is one of our first defenses in the fight against the nasties!

Wedgwood field trip



We are very lucky to live about a ten minute walk from the Wedgwood Museum in Barlaston. I've visited there throughout my childhood. My mum used to work in the refreshment area so I have happy memories of rushing there to see her after school and sneaking a look around the demonstration area. The trade shows that were held there every year used to really inspire me. I remember seeing a pattern there and knowing that was the dinner set I wanted when I got my own house. Of course tastes change and after I moved in I didn't really like the set as much as I thought I did all those years before....after my mum had collected it for many years *blush* sorry mum!

So on our day together we weren't sure where to go. Many of the local museums have exhibitions on, but none of them were exciting enough for my big girl. When I mentioned this on my facebook page I had loads of replies, one of which was my friend Emma. She works in the education department in the Wedgwood museum and was thrilled that we were to visit them the next day. She arranged for us to be met at the main desk and had sorted out a trail for us to do around the museum. We felt like royalty! It was a Tuesday too which meant we had pretty much the whole place to ourselves.

The first thing we did was get ourselves comfy in the front row of the cinema. There was only us there so we could freely chat over the film. It was all about Josiah Wedgwood and how he set up his famous factory. Right from his very beginnings until they aquired the site at Barlaston. It also talked about local history and what part the local mills and canals played in his grand scheme. It was really interesting and although a lot of it came flooding back to me after a while, my big girl was seeing it through fresh eyes and that was great :)

After that was a spot of lunch and cake....

Then we went into the museum. We spent a good couple of hours going around and looking at the exhibition. There were some really old pieces from the 1800's which were amazing to see. Its something special that they can be kept together and put on display. I know that funding has been an issue for the museum in the past so I hope they get to hold onto these important pieces of history for a few years yet. We did the trail, which asked lots of questions about Josiahs family and the history of the factory. There were family portraits to look at and all kind of names to find out. Some were a little tricky but we did our best. There was even a chance to have a digital portrait done in the style of a cameo. You can download these online but I'm having a few issues accessing them. I'll try and edit this once its sorted.



Then we went into the demonstration area. She'd been itching to have a go at throwing a pot since we arrived there. This was her big chance and she did really well. The look of concentration on her face says it all! The potter helped her to get the clay centred first. Then he showed how you manipulate the clay into a cylindrical shape before pinching the top into a vase shape. Once its been fired it'll be put in the post. We should recieve it in a couple of weeks where it will take pride of place in our living room.

Another great 'day off' with my biggest girl. Great fun at a top museum (Oh and free entry for home edders *shhh*!) 





Technology at home



Technology in our house is abundant! I noticed that our littlest girl had picked up my tablet, taken it to the dining table and begun playing on it. She has a few games on there that she likes, but so far hasn't been able to navigate by herself. Well this time she's managed to unlock it and open up a jigsaw game. She sat there for ages playing by herself. Is that any different to going into the playroom, opening a bag of jigsaws and getting them out? Well not really, is it?

The littlies have lots of apps and games on my tablet. They're always stealing it so they can play. So much so that for the kids Christmas presents they had tablets of their own. The littlest hasn't, I think thats a bit extreme as she's not two yet! My sunshine had a tablet that came free with my phone upgrade at the carphone warehouse. This tablet is pretty good for his needs. It has all the usual games that he likes and access to the internet. I watch what he's upto on it but mostly he enjoys watching youtube clips of 'fireman sam' and the like. Some of his apps are sneaky learning games although he doesn't know he learning! Angry birds teaches him about trajectory. Reading eggs is his favourite word recognition game (and he's doing well on it I might add). He also has a lego builder on there so we don't have to take bucket loads of lego around with us all the time!

My biggest girl had a Kindle Fire which is brilliant! She has internet access which we watch over, but built into the device is a parental settings button which I love. It prevents her from going onto the internet without us knowing, it stops her from purchasing content from amazon too. All password protected. Genius! She has games on there including 'Minecraft'. Lots of our home educating friends play this. So many in fact that theres a new 'minecraft' group in the offing. Another excuse for that all important socialising that everyone keeps going on about *rolls eyes*. She also has books on it. meaning that she can dip into any of her books wherever we are. She's always been a bookworm so this is perfect. Since she left school she's not done as much reading but I'm thinking she's having a period of deschooling (which I'll do my best to post about another day). So she's being given every opportunity to read when she has her tablet around. Bedtime reading is a favourite for her so having her kindle at bedtime is working out just great.

We, along with the vast population of households, also have our fingers in the iPie. In that we have lots of tech with an 'i' in front of it. My husband has an iPad, iPhone and an iPod. He loves his tech too! It means we can get hold of him whilst he's at work. My big girl has learnt to send and receive emails on her Kindle (more than a lot of folks of a certain age can do!). So now she can email her dad when we have wifi access. Its great when she gets an email. Its like the postman knocking on with a parcel throughout the day. She only has four emails to send to but I'm hoping some more people will want her address so we can have a penpal type thing going on. Its improving her spelling and writing skills and those all important social skills ;)

Technology in the home under these circumstances can be great. We're loving it and its all so accessible nowadays. I just need to convince Grandad to sort out his router and then they'll have wifi there too. Maybe Grandparents can learn alongside them too....

Our fairy walk and talk.

Tuesdays used to be my day off. I pack the littlies off to Grandma and Grandads for the day and head out or stay in or fill out those annoying forms that sit in your in-tray. You know the ones? The ones you can't fill in with a littlie hanging off your leg or boob. Or the ones that you have to call a number....press one for customer inquiries....press fifteen if you've forgotten what option one was.....
Anyway, days off are gone for now. My eldest has finished school. Her deregistration letter went in just before they finished for the Christmas holidays. We knew quite some time back that it was time to go. If we didn't try home education out, at least for a little while, we'd have had some regrets. It wasn't the fault of the school, I'm not anti-school at all, it was just the right time to leave. We'd explored the avenue of flexi schooling with the head teacher but she wasn't keen. It seemed like a lot of paperwork so we decided against it. Not long after that meeting my daughter decided that she wanted to be home schooled with the other two. We let her truly make up her mind before the Christmas holidays and then when she was certain we handed in the letter.

It was a pretty emotional time for us. Leaving the school behind was hard for me too. I was active within the PTA, helped out whenever I could and had lots of playground mums as friends. I'm continuing the friendships obviously, but its different when you don't see everyone quite as often. The headteacher was great. She said we needed to do what was in our hearts and what was best for Penny. She wished us well and said that Penny was welcome back at any time if she chose to return.

So since we've 'started' at the beginning of January so much has happened.

We're learning without even realising. Everything they do is learning. Even if we're out shopping they interact with people of all ages. The supermarket isn't so much of a chore when it becomes a learning environment. There are numbers everywhere and so that presents maths opportunities. Labels on things are great for word recognition....Apples, pears, cakes....ahem :)

We obviously don't want to be in the supermarket everyday so we've done lots of other things.

We have an annual pass for Trentham Gardens Its quite close to us so we go quite often as a family. On my 'day off' My biggest girl and I took a stroll around the lake there. There's a fairy hunt on at the moment. The sculptures there are amazing. We took looooaaaadds of photos!

 

Whilst we walked we chatted about the seasons changing. The last time we went there was in the autumn. We had a great time picking blackberries and popping the himalayan balsam seeds. Now everythings changed. The blackberries are all withered and gone. The himalayan balsam is nowhere to be seen, although I suspect its invasive growth isn't too far away.

There were all kinds of fungus amongst the damp branches lying all around. We took photos of those too. Although I need to learn what kinds they are. Its a learning curve for me too. I really need google in my pocket...

So I'm quite enjoying my days off. They're still days off you see, I just spend them with my girl instead and we learn together :)

Drop. Drop. Drop.

A salt picture. Quick, awesome art.

Last night a drew some swirls on a large piece of paper with pva glue. I sprinkled it with regular table salt and let it dry. Putting it up on the wall before bed, I crossed my fingers and hoped my biggest girl would enquire as to what it was.
The next morning she did. By chance some pipettes I'd ordered from ebay dropped through the letter box. We were ready to go!
It really couldn't be simpler. Just dropping coloured water onto the salt they merge to create rainbow patterns.
She's inspired. Currently she's dropping the water onto paper towel sheets to get different effects. Next its black card instead of boring white. Whatever next? Important thinking colour wheels, tie dye, rainbows, light...steady mum...dropping colours onto paper is fine for now ;-)