2009
What I want to achieve in 2009:
This past years efforts in HE haven’t really been all that successful and certainly lately we’ve got ourselves into a bit of a rut. Just some rambly thoughts on how we might proceed.
Reading/Literacy etc
This is a tough one. I’m really not sure how to proceed here.
Alex, I think, is still too young at the moment to be pushing the reading. She tolerates Explode the Code and does it well so we’re going to keep up with that. I’m going to try and bring in some more comic books that she’ll like. The beano is very popular with her and I’ll keep looking out for others that will appeal. I’d like to see if she will be more receptive to listening to audio books, she’s always been a bit iffy with them before but as I think M has benefited from them a lot it would be good to try. Maybe I’ll try her at times other than bed time as she def doesn’t like that.
Marcus is reading now but really not much out of choice. I’m not sure how to encourage him to keep reading so he can get more fluent. I’m going to probably try and do as I am with Alex and encourage more comic and audio books and just keep throwing things at him that I think he’ll enjoy. I’m not sure he’ll ever be a kid who devours books but so long as I know he could if he wanted to then I suppose that’s ok.
Maths
This has recently fallen into M wanting to do a page of very easy things and declaring it as enough. I am ok with this sometimes as it’s building his confidence and it’s very easily knocked when doing maths. However we need to move on from just simple adding. I want to incorporate much more living math, games, books etc. We’ve started reading The Number Devil
which they like so far. I have lots of stuff to do, but need to be much more organised with it all really.
Charlotte Mason
I’m going to ease back into our Ambleside Online year 1 which we started ages ago. I like doing this and it eases my conscience when I think other people are thinking we do too little. I enjoy the composer and artist studies too so will get into those. Not much to orgo plan there, all done for me 
Science
I’d like to keep up with some nature diaries and study ala CM. I’ve also got the Real Science 4 kids Pre-Chemistry book coming and so we’ll be making a start on that. If it goes ok, we’ll move onto the Pre-Biology. The kids have their own ‘chemistry set’ which they can experiment with to their hearts content so I’ll be encouraging that and doing experiments from books too. They all love experiments so I should do more.
I’d like to do some reading of the lives of scientists and such like. I have a Marie Curie book here and will look out for some others.
Music
Violin has fallen by the wayside here. Alex didn’t like doing the lessons and she was getting frustrated at not being able to make nice sounds. She was starting to think she was rubbish and stupid for not being able to do it so for now we’ve switched to the recorder which is suiting her much better. She loves it and managed to do Jingle Bells for us all on Xmas day. I’d like to continue by maybe getting some music for some simple nursery rhymes (or writing it myself if I can) and going forward with that.
I’m not sure how to get M into anything. He doesn’t show much interest. I guess we’ll just see if he does. We have the composer study for exposure to different stuff at any rate. Actually I’m sure the history of music will be more up his street!
Foreign Language
Have done terribly with this. I’d like it to become something we could work on though. Hmmm. Maybe I need to look at the schools library. I’d like to do a little Latin too with our Minimus books we got.
Groups
Continue going to weekly HE group when we can as both really like it there. Monthly nature group too. There’s a soft play meet up which is really nice that we can go to while M is still 8 so will continue with that.
Alex wants to join brownies so I have some phoning round to do on that. She would also like to do Karate or some sort of self defence. Will be looking into that soon too. M doesn’t want to do anything. No surprises there then
Hmm, not sure what else. Might come back to this later 
Marcus may like Roddy Doyle’s The Giggler Treatment series. It’s a favourite here. She has the tape of the first one and then has read the others.
Comment by Michelle — January 2, 2009 @ 10:23 pm
Thanks Michelle, I’ll look out for it
Comment by Administrator — January 2, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
i got the number devil twice as a link, as i was wondering what the prescience book was all about.
mmm will look at ambleside online re composers and artists, sounds like something we might fancy!
Comment by HelenJ — January 3, 2009 @ 2:25 am
and having looked at ambleside online, i’m not sure how it works??
Comment by HelenJ — January 3, 2009 @ 2:34 am
Have fixed the link now
Comment by Administrator — January 3, 2009 @ 10:04 am
aaarghh kirsty. i should never follow your links…
Comment by HHaricot — January 3, 2009 @ 10:43 am
Kirsty when that Real Science book arrives could you review it please? Are they creation ’science’ books?
C & I spent a couple of months reading biographies (art/science/explorers) she really enjoyed it, I have to start again.
Comment by layla — January 3, 2009 @ 11:48 am
Layla - I don’t think they are creation centred. Certainly what I’ve seen so far isn’t. You can view the full text on the link if you like and see
Comment by Administrator — January 3, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
Helen - just getting you back
Comment by Administrator — January 3, 2009 @ 4:16 pm
layla, i had a flick through the chem one and it didn’t seem to be
Comment by HelenJ — January 4, 2009 @ 1:24 am
k, i haven’t bought, partly cos it won’t ship to me?
Comment by HelenJ — January 4, 2009 @ 1:28 am
and also because that is what i put chris in charge of - science!!
]
layla - lots more squirreling about, and its written by someone who belongs to an intelligent deisgn foundatin, though it is badged as a secular curriculum. can’t see how the 2 might collide in chemistry, but it is poss that later on, particularly with biology that there might be some ‘fluffing’ [sorry to all those believing in intelligent design out there, as this isn’t a critique of your beliefs, I am sticking with the theory of evolution until a better theory comes along - so this is written entirely from the premise of wanting a ‘pure’ [aargh] science book not written with a religious background. I know Kirsty has said before she is ambivalent about evolution, but I’m not, and I don’t think Layla is either, so this is written for us ‘evolutionsists’
Comment by HHaricot — January 4, 2009 @ 11:21 am
Helen - http://tinyurl.com/9ez3fl
You might have already read this. But says that ‘RS4K is not an evolution only, a creationism only, or an intelligent design only curriculum. Although I do have a personal bias and I do prefer one interpretative framework over another, RS4K is, and will continue to be (to the best of my ability), a practice of science only curriculum.’
Certainly what I’ve looked at so far seems to be ok.
I am trying to order from The Book Depository but it’s still awaiting to be despatched. Have just sent an e-mail pestering about where it is. I’ve only got the student text coming for now
Comment by Administrator — January 4, 2009 @ 7:01 pm
yeas, thanks kirsty. i had a look through the whole biol and chemistry pre k and liked them both. but i thought since layla had asked, i would answer what i had found. i think in some areas it may prove difficult to take the religion and science separately, and TBH, having done a degree primarily in evolutionary psychobiology, i think i have fairly nailed my colours to the mast their -
- so actually would be most careful at these chapters to maintain would i would want to see in scientific rigour [such a fusspot 
] but i can’t see them yet.
Comment by HelenJ — January 4, 2009 @ 11:16 pm
It is Darwin year this year.
Comment by Michelle — January 5, 2009 @ 10:52 pm
it is indeed michelle, and we have loads of darwin things, because i am biased!
Comment by HelenJ — January 6, 2009 @ 12:05 am