flynn011

In April (2013), our history co-op arranged a workshop with a local National Trust property called Upton House . The remit was to discuss a number of their medieval paintings, learning to de-code their symbolism, and also appreciate what was medieval about them. Upton House A National Trust property near Banbury Upton House is a great place to do this kind of in-depth study of art because: it offers its educational workshops when the house is closed, so we can have the place to ourselves; its education department is very good with young people, and handles any behavioural issues like Asperger's very well. its works of art are deliberately displayed without glass in their frames, at eye height, and without ropes to prevent getting close, so that people can best appreciate them; its art collection is extensive and of high quality, including works by painters like El Greco, Hieronymous Bosch, Tintoretto, and others (later painters include Hogarth, Canaletto, and Gainsborough). For 1 1...

A mum who is "working hard" and "getting on", the family way! Give us our due, Mr Cameron -- respect!!!! I'm afraid I'm at my wit's end on this one. For years, I've been trying to get my MP -- who is the Prime Minister, David Cameron -- to understand that some people believe it's best to stay home and raise our children rather than going out to work and letting others raise them for us. This is not a diatribe against those families who choose that option. It's a diatribe against a Government that once claimed to stand for family values, and at every turn, is aiming to reduce families to a simple numbers game in terms of tax revenue. Please hear me, Mr Dave -- people "work hard" and "want to get on" in a myriad ways that your narrow definition doesn't even begin to touch. I work very, very hard, and I want to "get on" in terms of influencing my children to love their studies, to be independent in their educati...

Rocky is just now 8, and though she should be in the 2nd grade (year 3) if she went to school, she's in the 3rd grade (Year 4) Shillermath book. Rocky, the (not always) model student! Some of you may be thinking: "Oh, that's all right for you!  She obviously has the genes/the talent/the instruction/(insert explanation here", but let me tell you, this is the most free-wheeling, doll-playing, coloring-book-addicted child I've ever seen. Yet, somehow, she picks things up. (I've just deleted the phrase "just by listening", because I'm not sure she even does it by listening -- when we do our read-alouds, she can rarely muster up a decent narration beyond "There was this guy ... and he rode his chariot to this other guy ... and he shot him in the head or something" -- Rocky's version of 2 Kings 9 where Jehu shoots Joram in the back with an arrow. Kudos to her -- there WERE two guys, and there WAS a chariot, and someone did some shooting.)...

Recently, I read the most amazing book for homeschoolers by Barbara Rockett called  Homeschooling at the Speed of Life .  She had many excellent points, but the main one that stuck with me was that people are more important than things, and if things are getting in the way of your relationships, then you really must do something about the things! So, convicted deeply, I decided step one would be to sort out the very first room in my house: the porch.  With four children and a husband who never gets rid of shoes, regardless how hole-y they are, I had a serious clutter problem there. These aren't actually my shoes, but it gives you the idea! We were using the tall Trofast buckets you get at Ikea, one for each child, and a row of 4 hooks for their jackets.  However, as the children grew bigger and bigger, their jackets draped over the youngest one's shoe bucket, thus covering it up.  To get to his shoes, he would toss the jackets on the floor. They would get trampl...

Here is a page from this year's scrapbook we're making to go along with our study of Our Island Story up until the end of the Tudors. (In previous years, we tried to do the whole book in one year, but felt we missed out on so much fantastic stuff, we slowed our progress this year). Scrapbook Page on Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine There are four items that make up the double-page spread, though true to form, Phoenix has added some cartoons and labels that weren't exactly in the plan for everyone. The items are: Map of Europe showing the Angevin empire under Henry II's control and how he had more of France than did the King of France at the time. The link is here:  http://tinyurl.com/ceufo39 A cross-shaped book which, above, is labeled "Turmoil". Inside are some quick facts about Henry II. With the cross-shaped flaps open, the topics are Henry's castle-building, the "acquisition" of Ireland, and his burial in France. A booklet of the story of Th...

An on-line forum I belong to (OxonHE on Yahoo!) brought up a very helpful reminder today of the important legislation for HE-ers in England.  I thought I would review it here. First and foremost, we parents are the educators of our children, and we MAY -- should we choose to -- delegate this responsibility to schools. If educating at home is so flexible and fun, why would anyone want to delegate it??? Therefore, we must never let the Local Authorities forget that they aren't ALLOWING us to home educate -- that right is ours from the beginning. Here are the salient points of law: 2.4 - Parents are not required to register or seek approval from the local authority to educate their children at home....local authorities are encouraged to provide support where resources permit 2.5 - The DCSF recommends that each local authority provides written information about elective home education that is clear, accurate and sets out the legal position, roles and responsibilities of both the local ...

Is that ...? Is that ...? It IS!!! Baldrick from Black Adder (not that my mommy ever lets me watch that show!) Through the Oxfordshire Home-Ed grapevine, we heard that the actor, Tony Robinson, was going to be giving a talk to primary-aged students in Oxford, sponsored by Blackwells, the local publisher and book shop. Perhaps you know Tony Robinson as Blackadder's sidekick, Baldrick, or more recently, as the front-man for the documentary series about archeology, Time Team. Tony Robinson explaining why we started a half-hour late: it was a broken train! Robinson has recently embarked on writing a series of Horrible-Histories-style books about the empires of Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Great Britain, and is soon to release two books about the World Wars. Although we have read the one about the Romans before and thought it was so-so (the highest marks went to the translation of "There's a banana in my ear" into Latin), we didn't want to miss a chance to hear an author t...