February Books

It was a bright and sunny morning. I hung the washing outside to dry for the first time since October. The season is beginning to turn, alhamdulillah.
This month I decided to make a list of the non-fiction books read by/with the boys, just so that I can remember what general knowledge topics we have been covering. The list includes books I read aloud to them in the mornings, and other books they read themselves. The list does not include their own fiction reading - I'm not going to attempt to track that! It also does not include other books which we are using to study from as part of Islamic Studies, for example.
So, this month:
Archeology Detectives, Simon Adams
Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia, Conservation and the Environment
Rich and Poor in Tudor Times, Dr Brian Knapp
The Danger Zone, Avoid being in Alexander the Great's army, J Morley
Stories of the Prophets (between Musa (as) and Dawud (as), Ibn Kathir
Usborne History of Britain series, Tudors and Stuarts
Mad Scientists, Gill Arbuthnott (potted-biographies)

Bit of a history theme this month!

Recently I came across a link to The Periodic Table of Videos. Today we watched some. Basically these are short videos each focussed on a particular element. They contain just the right balance of information to make them both interesting and accessible to the chemistry beginner, such as myself. Also I do like the Professor's periodic table mug. What a great idea for the full information surround effect. Shall I go search for a place that sells them?

Also today they all did Quran , French, maths etc, and the boys finished memorising one of the daily duas they had not known before.
Then off to the park!

Storage Issues

Just another day of reading, drawing and cutting out and playing with a friend, alhamdulillah.
Today U made a piece of artwork. A large, cardboard egg tray, covered with white stickers (like a scattering of feathers), with orange paper glue poured into various egg holding bits. I wonder how long I'll have to keep this rather large item on display. Will it have to go stacked between the two paper fish aquariums? It can't even go on the small art table, as that is currently occupied by the cardboard tube dolls and their ever expanding toy and book collections (the dolls' own personal collections of paper items).
Don't mention the loft. That is the slipperly slope I just can't go down.

Busy at Home

Ia is still playing the game that involves drawing and cutting out. I'm not sure what it is about, but it is a long, involved story. She has been doing some work too, mostly workbook stuff, reading and computer practice for Arabic letters and Quran. But she does not lose the flow of the game, because her work and play are all in the same room, so it is still fresh in her mind. It is such a blessing that she has this time, with minimal disruption to her creative flow, alhamdulillah.

The same goes for the boys' reading. Their current books are always there on the table or shelf, so they return to them throughout the day, in between other activities.

I remember hearing part of a phone in radio programme, a while ago now, about nursery provision. Someone called in to comment on how alarming she felt it was that some three year olds were at home, not attending nursery, and therefore not getting any stimulation!!! I really wonder what the homes of people who make such comments must be like. I guess they must be really boring places. Maybe they are just like dormitaries, where the occupants eat, sleep, watch TV and get ready to go out again.

I certainly don't feel like this about my home. My home seems like a busy place full of opportunities for interesting things to do. A place where we are all working and learning and then playing too, of course. Alhamdulillah.

Yesterday we managed a top up trip to the library. It happened to coincide with a storytime session, advertised for under 5s. In practice under 5s appeared to mean under 3s and U was absolutely not interested in listening in. After all, the rest of the audience were mere babies.

The boys have decided to write books, and they spent a while working on their creative writing today.

So, where was I?

After only only week away from routine I need to think hard to remember where we were! Good thing I left notes for myself in various folders telling me what to do next. For example: Plant lapbook folder, parts of plant info on flowers and fruit. Vocab cards for (lists vocab) and activity two. Alhamdulillah.
The girls threw themselves into a very long imaginative game which involved lots of paper cutting, drawing and sticking.

Tiny things were cut up and put into boxes (below), then these toys were played with for most of the day, on and off.

Next we have a picture of a jam jar with some cloudy stuff at the bottom. This is the result of the crystal growing experiment. In real life they are much more easily seen, you can really observe their shape. This experiment is so easy, here is how to do it:

You need Epsom salts (from the pharmacy) and a jam jar.

We did this experiment directly in the jam jar to avoid using any food preparation utensils in direct contact with the epsom salts.

Mix 60g of epsom salts with 60ml water in the jar. Place the jam jar in a saucepan with about 10cm depth of water in the pan. Heat gently on the stove, stirring until the epsom salts have dissloved. Put the jam jar in a safe, warm place and leave it for a few days until the crystals form. We put ours on top of the bookshelf.

The boys were rather underwhelmed actually. They must have been imagining something really spectacular!

I started a zakat project with Ia today. We have not finished the five pillars lapbook yet, but I decided to take a diversion and instead of just sticking a sentence or two in the lapbook and moving on I thought we should work on the topic of zakat, because Ia doesn't know about it at all. I shall be following the project outline the boys did at a similar age, inshAllah.

Finally, I found the clay work picture! I'm glad about that because since then some of these items have broken.

Is it nearly spring?

Home education is not complicated really. It is just what many other educationally oriented families do in between school, turned into a lifestyle.
Take for example this Sunday evening. Ia has taken a book from the shelf and has been reading it to herself. I observe this and see that she is taking steps towards independence in her reading. I mentally note this as a record of her progress, and consider it as part of the always learning pattern of home education. My school-going neice, who is the same age as Ia, may well have taken a similar book from the shelf this evening too, and read it to herself. Maybe my sister would take this as evidence of progress made at school.
My niece also enjoys arts and craft, just like Ia. Maybe today she also made a model from a cardboard tube, based on a picture in a library book, or something similar. For me that is evidence of learning, maybe for my sister it is a leisure activity.
Also this evening U decided to copy down some numbers displayed on the screen during a computer game she was playing. She hasn't tried to do that before, I was surprised at how well they came out! If she had been going to nursery I might have assumed that she had been writing them there, but I know that this isn't the case. I praised her for her efforts, and made a mental note that next time a suitable opportunity for trying out writing comes up I will remind her of how well she wrote those numbers, and encourage her through that. U is still not yet four, so I have not yet formally organised anything for her. She just learns informally, in her own way, as many other three year olds surely do.
The boys have been very busy this weekend with various sports activities.
And the feeling of spring is creeping into the day! Yesterday I was out in the garden for the first time in months. I also got the feeling for doing some spring cleaning, but then I came down with a cold and felt too tired to bother. Maybe next time the sun comes out!

Ending our activity week

I think they are finally tired! U certainly is.
Thursday saw us at our third museum in three days! The girls took part in an art activity while the boys went around with clipboards searching the museum for crossword clues.
For the last two days the boys have attended football activities, the girls have been to the park, had a friend over to play and, of course, Ia has done lots of clay work. I took a photo of all the clay things, but I cannot locate it on the camera, strangely.
It has been a different, busy week, alhamdulillah. Variety is refreshing.
And this morning the news reported that children in schools are not getting the breadth of curriculum they need.

Activities!

It has been a tiring couple of days, in a good way, alhamdulillah. Yesterday we met up with friends at the science museum. Of course it was really, really busy and the Launchpad was just too busy to visit, but we went to some of the other galleries we had not been to before, the boys found plenty to do in the energy gallery. Ia was more interested in the toddler of the family we visited with than she was with the museum. She loves making a fuss of babies, maashAllah.
I do find that museum really stuffy and hot. Everytime I visit I come out with a headache. I wonder why they don't keep it at a more comfortable temperature.
Today we were off again to a theme day at a local museum. The kids made clay pots. We arrived for the beginning of the activity and I could see that the boys were not feeling comfortable because most of the other children were younger girls. Thankfully another bigger boy then turned up too. It seems a shame that more boys, of any age, were not brought along. As well as the clay pots we could look at and handle various archeological finds, so not just a "girlie" activity.
After that we looked round the rest of the museum and the play area before heading home. On our way we passed by some charity shops where the boys found a football board game they wanted. We also went to ELC for some air dry clay for the girls, Ia having been inspired by the clay pot activity.
Once home the boys got the football game out, worked out the rules and played. (That is real life reading comprehension!) Ia got busy with the clay. U apparently made something with the clay too, but I thought they were just discarded blobs of clay so I put them back in the storage pot! She didn't seem too bothered though!

Change of Pace

This week is a school half term holiday and there are various activities for children going on locally. So, I decided to make this week an activity week for us, and take a break from "lessons".
This morning we began with me reading aloud some more of our current history book.
Then we went out for a walk to the library. It was really busy but the boys found more books of interest than usual, alhamdulillah. I also found a few interesting non-fiction books, to go on our reading list.
Back home they set about reading the books. Ia had chosen a few more early readers, which she wanted to read to me immediately, maashAllah. I've noticed her reading more of the words around her now, wherever they appear, so she is making the transition between learning to read and being a reader, alhamdulillah.
Later in the afternoon we started a crystal growing experiment from the chemistry set. The boys dissolved Epsom salts in water, which we heated using a pot-boiler method. Now to wait and see what happens!
A nice, calm start to our week of activities, inshAllah.

Catching Up

Ia finished her aquarium. She thought that decorating the insides of the box would take too long.

We continued working on Thursday. I finished the Musa (as) notebook project with the boys. The whole topic is not yet finished with, just the notebook section. Or, more accurately, it will be when they've typed up what they wrote on Thursday, inshAllah. They'll do that as a typing practice.

On Friday we got some French done in the morning, amongst one or two other short tasks. Then, for the afternoon we went out to visit friends. I decided not to bother with the bus, as they come so infrequently and cost a fortune, so we walked. It took 1hr 15mins, and U walked most of it, showing that she can when she wants to, alhamdulillah. I did think of using the bus for some of the return journey, but once we were outside walking again I thought "What's the point?", so we walked home as well. U did have to be carried quite a bit, but the others were fine, and it feels very satisfying to be able to get places under our own steam, alhamdulillah. A couple of years ago we were walking these distances regularly, but we became more lazy recently. Time to fix that, inshAllah.

Today's football fun was cancelled again due to snow still lying on the ground. Parts of our garden are still very icy too. To make up for this H took the boys out to buy cricket jumpers.

Wednesday is Chemistry day (for now)

I do like it when bloggers share the details of the HE resources they use. I think reading other blogs is my number one source of resources information! If I notice something interesting I'll immediately go check it out. This is how I came across the Gravitas Science books. I read about them on this blog.
I bought a Chemistry text and workbook set (available from Amazon), and the boys used it today. Last week I read the first chapter from the textbook to them, and I found that they had retained the information well this week. Better than me I have to say! I needed to go and check back in the text for info on atomic number and weight! Although the subject matter may be complex it is expressed in easy language. Excellent revision for me I have to add! What I especially like about it is how it explains what is going on in some of the experiments in our chemistry set, and also the classic "volcano" of vinegar and baking powder. It is so much more interesting to understand what is going on, what those bubbles are in the "erruption". So, inshAllah I hope to be using the book and set together for a while.
Also today maths was practical for the boys, building shapes with cubes, and they did some creative writing for English.
Ia worked quickly through her tasks today, getting everything on her list done before 12:30. Alhamdulillah.

Tuesday

Day 2 of the revised timetable.
The mornings seem to be getting a bit drawn out at the moment. The boys are taking ages over breakfast, but still we got everything done today, alhamdulillah.
In the morning I read the rest of the history book we began yesterday. The girls listened in too. U is willing to look at any book with pictures, and Ia is starting to take more of a general interest in things, maashAllah.
Maths for the boys was more on 3D shape from yesterday, and Ia did maths on finding the number 10 more than another number, and placing numbers in sequence. Ia has also been doing lots of the Education City maths without any input from me, I was surprised to notice today how much of it she has completed, alhamdulillah.
We went out briefly today, to the local shop, over slushy, slippery pavements. Much more hazardous when partly melted! R had earned another treat, as he has memorised Surah Teen. These completed surahs are getting done quickly at the moment, alhamdulllah. I am pleased with this. The method I'm using with them for their Quran is very slow, but "without tears". Basically I get them to go over and over the 30th Juz, reading from the book, using the computer. Again and again and again. So, that when they come to memorise a surah they are already so familiar with the look of the text, and the sound of the recitation, that it is much easier for them to learn.
A year ago R would say that he couldn't memorise anything, that it was too hard, now, maashAllah, he gets on with it confidently. And there is no rush. They can take as long as they like over a surah, the promise of the prize encourages them on. They do read from other parts of the Quran too, also using the computer. Their daily work comprises both these aspects of learning.
Similarly with Ia, I get her to go through the last 10 surahs everyday with the computer. The idea is that she will memorise without realising it!
The boys also did some typing practice today. We have been using an Excel based workbook since the autumn, and have reached about halfway through it. It is designed to cover Keystage 2, so I think that we can take a break from it now and finish the rest of it off next academic year. Typing practice should continue I think. We are using the typing course on Alison, and also today I asked them to type up some other written work they handwrote last week.
Tuesday is currently the day for a longer Islamic Studies lesson. At the moment we are studying "Knowing Allah" by Muhammad al-Jibaly. For now I'm reading the chapters aloud to them. I plan, inshAllah, to do some project work on the topic afterwards.
Ia is currently working on an "Under the Sea" colouring project. She has also asked me to read chapter books aloud to her, as I do with the boys. When looking through the book shelves last week she heard me mentioning how J had laughed and laughed out loud while reading "The Aardvark Who Wasn't Sure", by Jill Tomlinson. It was his first proper chapter book. She wanted me to read it to her, but hasn't yet seen what was so funny! I think they have very different senses of humour, alhamdulillah.

Another week, another timetable

No, no, I'm not really that bad. Just a few changes, inshAllah. A bit more involvement from R in terms of how things should be organised. J was asked too,but didn't have much to say.
So, what the boys did today:
I read half of a history book from the library to them. A certain amount of history is required for a good general knowledge I think, and this can be easily learned informally, by reading. History lessons were just like story lessons to me at school, which is why I liked them so much.
Next was maths. Moving on to geometric solids today. We used these links,
animated nets
3 dimensional figures
before going on to the textbook.
Then we did spelling. This will be a once a week thing now, inshAllah, testing 16 spellings at a time. (Taken from a book listing words by age group).
After lunch and zuhr they did their daily Quran work. After that we started a Hands of a Child lapbook on plants. Lastly they did 15 minutes each on the Rosetta Stone Pashto.
Ia kept to her usual timetable. We are still working on the 5 Pillars of Islam Lapbook. It is not really a long lapbook, but I am doing other work around the topic with her at the same time. I am going through the files of work done by R and J at this age and pulling out worksheets and booklets which I can reuse or copy for Ia. This week Ia is learning about the salaah.
U insisted that she should have a timetable of her own. The thing is that she has no intention of carrying it out, she just wants to see it stuck on the wall with her name on it.
Today I played a maths game with U. Ia joined in.The girls had to cover their eyes then listen to me drop cubes into a metal dish, and count how many I dropped in by counting the sounds. Then they could check by counting the cubes. U can easily do this counting, however she decided that she should be the one counting aloud and I should drop the cubes on her cue. When she found that the number of cubes in the dish did not match the number she had counted up to she was not impressed, saying that I had been playing the game wrongly!
U certainly has her own ideas, maashAllah, and HE with her is a new and different experience for me!
New post added yesterday to Always Learning Resources.

More snow

More snow today and the kids were keen to go out in it again, in fact today they spent a long time outside. I had thought to do some work today, but in the end, with H unable to go to work again, it just felt like a day off. So, it was. The three of them trudged off to the mosque for jummah.

In the afternoon I got some help with baking a chocolate cake, then went on to get the rest of the baking done.

I've been discussing timetabling again with the boys. R helped me come up with a reorganized plan for the week. It is now almost half way through this academic year, so a good time to look at what we've been doing.

Shall we call this reading week?

More fresh snow, but the novelty seems to have worn off and no one wanted to go out to play in it.

More reading and reading today. Other work got done, just about. Ia and U did lots of colouring in their make and colour books.

Reading, reading

This morning we set off over icy pavements, warm sun in our faces, to the library! The visit was well overdue. The boys have reread just about everything in the house on their reading level, and we needed the exercise! When we got there they all settled down to read in the library, in such a hurry they were to read new books! Ia chose some early reader type books for the first time. She was proud to be choosing books to read herself. U found a collection of Thomas the Tank Engine books. She does love a series of books. You can place a series in a neat stack, and then settle down to go through them one by one. Of course reading has been quite a feature of the rest of the day too.
After coming home and having lunch we spent a couple of hours on our daily HE work.
Also today was another newsagent treat day, as R has memorised Surah Bayyinah. J completed memorising it today too, so looks like more cash to be shelled out tomorrow. Alhamdulillah.
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Reading

The boys got a walk with H this morning, and play time in the garden again with Ia.
While they were out I worked with Ia. She is getting confident with her reading and writing now, maashAllah. She is trying to read her story books, rather than just readers, and although she often asks me for words she persists with it, so in time it should click, inshAllah. At the weekend she decided to write a letter to her cousin, and today she wanted to do her sentence writing without me looking, and she did well with it maashAllah.
Recently the boys have been rereading all their fiction books, but they've almost got through them all now, so we'll need to get something done about that!
U continues to be a keen reader, maashallah. (Of course she can't actually read!) She spends a couple of hours a day by herself reading piles of books. She prefers to be undisturbed during this time, as she likes to read aloud, with no one listening/interrrupting.
I did quite a bit of reading aloud to the boys today too,covering several subjects. I really should try to keep a note of what we are reading, at least the non-fiction and read aloud fiction. I couldn't keep up with the rest of it!

Still winter, still home!

J's foot is better, U has recovered from her weekend bug,alhamdulillah, but we are still home, because it snowed! Anyway, they all went out to enjoy it, and made snow castles with buckets and spades, charged about and threw snowballs.

But it was too cold to stay out for long, and back inside we continued our usual HE day, until feeling warm and ready enough to venture back outside.

The boys did English composition, and more fractions, Pashto, Quran and some science. Between me reading to them and them reading alone we also finished the archeology book.

Ia's was all routine work, plus we are getting back on with the five pillars lapbook now that the About Me is finished.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a little about timetable. The thing with me is that as soon as I devise a timetable I change it again. I tweak and adjust continually, so anything I blog about timetables will go slightly out of date very shortly. What continues is the existence of a timetable. I've been looking ahead recently too, into how other home educators approach secondary HE, and what I'm reading is bound to have an influence on the way I organise. I'm not suggesting it is time for me to shift style now, I just like to see what I may need to consider in future. As long as HE still remains an option in the UK, of course.

In the meantime, let them play in the snow!