Just Playing

Continuing off-shedule. On Thursday we had a lovely day out with friends. The rest of the time I've been doing lots of gardening, the girls have been playing and the boys have had the chance to go swimming and get some football practice. More of the same today, inshAllah.

Off shedule

We are "off shedule" at the moment, apart from Ia's Quran lessons. Yesterday was sunny and pleasant so we all spent lots of time in the garden maashAllah. The cold winter has killed off a few plants, so I dug some of them up and replaced them with some cuttings given by H's friend. I suspect a couple of other plants have died too, including one cistus bush which has previously been the star of the summer garden with its continuous supply of purple flowers. I'm just giving it a little longer to be sure, as there is a little green on some of it. I don't know much about plants really, it is all a bit hit and miss! This morning there is light rain, so maybe I won't be continuing the garden work today.
The boys have been playing on Roblox, playing outside and visiting their friend. The girls have also been out visiting, playing with soft toys and reading.

Another Roblox game

J has also been working on a game. Both boys plan to add more to their games in time, inshAllah.
I've been forging a ton of hidden bases on ROBLOX

Roblox game

R has been building a game on Roblox. It is an obstacle course type game.

Roblox lets you build and script your own games (in his words).

The link takes you R'sprofile, where you can see his game, which is called "The Greatest Obby in Roblox"
Take a look at my witty profile in the crazy virtual world ROBLOX
from R

Usborne lift the flap

When I come across a non-fiction book I really like at the library it is very often published by Usborne. They seem to have got it just right in terms of delivering information in an interesting way.

In the photo are two books we currently have on loan, which are just right for Ia at the moment, maashAllah. The Planet Earth one is a lift the flap book. Each page is a full illustration, with lots of little flaps to lift and information usually printed on both sides of the flap.

Looking for a project? Why not make one of these yourself? Not a whole book of course, maybe just a double page,like a greetings card. Double up the card pages, so that you can cut a flap in the top layer and read on the layer underneath. Oh! I just thought of that now as I typed. What shall we make one about???? Magnets maybe, hmm tricky to illustrate....ok, come back to that later, inshAllah.

The book on the right is filled with double page spreads on animals in different habitats. Around the outside are pictures and information about each animal and you have to search for their pictures in the very busy, cluttered page. I hope no child gets the impression from this that in the real wild all these creatures live so crowded together. It looks more like a crowded urban street at peak hours (except with animals!) But, nevertheless, it is fun searching for all those creatures and grouping them by habitat.

Both these books are part of series, and I think they are great for young readers to dip in and out of, reading as much as they want at any time, without having to read the whole thing in sequence.

Look out for them at the library, inshAllah!

Home ed fitness training (non-physical)

In the course of home eddding I find myself reading a lot of books. For example I've just finished reading aloud a chapter of "The House at Pooh Corner". (Some evenings ago the boys overheard me reading AA Milne to the girls and they couldn't help laughing. Now they are old enough to get the jokes, maashAllah.)

Then I read aloud various picture library books to U, I read aloud to the boys and during the boys Islamic Studies sessions I'm reading from books written for adults and I simplify where necessary.

I also try to read some of the non-fiction library books I get for the boys, although they read them by themselves. Why am I reading those books? Because I need to refresh my knowledge and keep a little ahead. At the moment we have an interesting book from the library called "Chemicals in action: Metals". This book is written in a simple (thankfully) but informative way. I find myself trying to memorise facts such as: when metal reacts with acid hydrogen and a salt are formed. I don't NEED to know this now, but the last time I studied chemistry I was 16 and the parts of my brain that dealt with those things have long rusted over. Not that a metal oxide has formed on my brain (see p 28 ), but you know what I mean. To take this idea further......I need to undergo a thorough polish and galvanisation.

Get myself ready for study, be in the right learning zone myself. Otherwise how can I expect my children to be in learning mode??? Surely I need to set the right example.

You get the picture.

And then there is the book in the picture at the top of the post. It is a fun read, readable in short chunks, which is handy considering all theinterruptions a mother has to contend with. It covers all sorts of language, including (briefly) the obscene, so be aware of that before letting kids dip into it. But a gentle way for a busy adult to keep on learning and flexing her brain!

A little refresh

We've been working quite hard here recently, lots of learning going on, alhamdulillah. Also lots of thinking about what is being learnt and how, and thinking about how to take that forward. Add to that the seasonal changes and how this impacts on some of our regular activities. The move from the football to the cricket season for example. (Not that it isn't still very cold of course!)
We also need to do some work around the house, so now seems like the right time to take a little break from the structured work. This coincides with the school holidays too of course, and maybe there'll be some activities to take advantage of, inshAllah.
Today we finished off an English book chapter and got to a point in the French book where we can take a break and come back to a quick revision. Same with the science topics.
And to give this blog a little sense of freshness and moving forward I went out and took these photos this morning, before the cloud came over and the rain poured!