We hate workbooks...

...or perhaps not?? Hermione has never been keen on workbooks. I think she might have been had I not made the mistake of calling them workbooks. I think she finds the name off putting. However, more of our stuff came out of storage the other day and in one box was a huge pile of workbooks which Lynn had kindly given us not long before we moved. Well, I'm amazed at the enthusiasm both Hermione and Lily have had for them. They both sat at the table engrossed in them for over an hour this morning. So, when enthusiasm wanes, which I have no doubt it will, perhaps I should just hide them away and then casually produce the box a few months down the line. Workbooks make a change round here if nothing else!


Yesterday we read Leonardo and the Flying Boy by Laurence Anholt. I really like his books. We have his books about Monet, Van Gogh and Degas too. Although we had read this one before it was a long time ago and it was good to revisit it and see the different level of interest and understanding. We had a close look at the Mona Lisa and then we all drew portraits and self portraits.


We have done a few 'normals' over the last couple of days. I made a dice with letter blends and sounds which we used to play a sort of lotto/bingo type game. We have also spent quite a while with a 100 grid, mainly filing in blank number squares. The word board made a reappearance today. Apparently the word are 'too easy' - time to get some new ones! We also had a game of Junior Scrabble which was OK but not fantastic.





Hermione and Nana have finished reading Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan McDonald. Hermione had been reluctant to start this one at first but soon got into it. 'Where would the world be without Judy Moody? Her class is learning about the environment, and Judy is startled to learn about the destruction of the rain forest and the endangered species in her own back yard - not to mention her own families crummy recycling habits. So, never one to take things lying down, Judy Moody gets on the case!' Nana thinks Hermione has learned quite a lot from the story. She pointed out that perhaps I should do more to support the Judy Moody principle and try to be more careful about the vast amounts of paper we seem to use around here - I agree we use a lot - mainly because I'm always wary of stifling their creativity, but perhaps we ought to have a scrap box and insist on using both sides also. Inspired by Judy Moody I believe, Hermione made her own eco warrior style mini book, 'Heal the World'. They have now started on a Famous Five.





Today we listened to two pieces of music and observed how different we felt upon hearing each one. The girls drew pictures of how each piece made them feel. The first was Less than a Pearl by Enya and the second was Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield.


We also attempted to write a letter using invisible ink today but it didn't work. I read on another home ed blog about using lemon juice and then placing the paper is a warm place at which time the juice should go brown. There was no colour change. Nothing happened at all other than the paper became a bit crusty. I should have checked that it worked first.


Nana has constructed the bean wig wams and planted a further four rows of potatos. I went to Houghall today and bought some leeks. We will try to get them in to the garden over the weekend.


Off to start preparing for A Pair of Red Clogs now.