A Month In The Life of Home Educators - September 2024

Another month gone already, this one seems to have passed by pretty fast, probably because we’ve been so busy! It was the eldest’s 13th birthday half-way through the month. So of course there were the usual preparations and celebrations for him. We went out to Go Ape at Aberfoyle for his birthday treat. Which is always fun! It’s definitely been a busy month in the life of home educators!

We also spent one night away in the Lake District on a car-free adventure and another week in Greece on the little island of Lipsi. Plus all the usual shenanigans!

Table of Contents

History

Of course the kids have listed to their usual history podcasts, which they enjoy. History still remains their favourite subject, with Ancient Greek mythology being the best topic in history! The eldest is also working his way through the Percy Jackson series, so adding in more to his interest of Greek mythology.

Whilst the youngest was busy I spent one Sunday at Blackness Castle with the eldest. It was their Siege on the Forth event, so we had fun watching some fighting, demonstrating weapons and listening to the Glasgow Science centre talk about castles. Of course we had a good look around the castle itself too.

A day out with my mum and the kids took us to Tyndrum to try gold panning. You need to buy a panning licence online. There are boards up at the nearby car park telling you about the history of gold mining in the area, although we don’t think we found any! We also learned the tail of the lost sword at the Lochan of the Lost Sword. Apparently Robert the Bruce threw his sword away here when escaping from the English!

In the Lake District we learnt the history of the Derwent pencil factory. Including some interesting information about war time pencils that hid maps and compasses! We also walked along the Keswick to Threlkeld railway trail. Learning about the history of the old railway.

In Greece there was less history, however we did find out about why there were so many blue and white chapels across the island! They are owned by families to feel closer to god and are created to celebrate a family members success or getting over illness etc.

Geography

With various trips around the country and Europe, the kids are always used to maps. I’m not sure if they know exactly where we are all the time. But I do point things out to them whenever I can interest them!

Both children could easily find Lipsi on this map of the Dodecanese islands here. This was a map on the ferry and was great for a quick discussion of the islands that we passed.

In the Lake District we caught the bus to our various destinations along with the train. So we had plenty of time to discuss where we were on Google maps or using the maps at bus stops.

We also learnt a bit more about tourism and how it affects the Lake District and also looked at the river formations. Other discussions throughout the month have included weather, climate change, oceans and coastal erosion.

Science

Science fits in with so many topics, it’s hard to separate from Geography, maths and English! However, we have listed to science podcasts as per usual and had many discussions about ‘how things work’.

I’ve also included a photo of the cure to a weeverfish sting on my eldest. The fish are found all over Europe (including UK) and can cause a very bad debilitating sting that makes the body part swell. The 13 year old was stung on his finger, so we quickly drove back to the apartment and put his hand in the hottest water he could stand (boiling water with cold water added) until the swelling went down. It can be quite serious if you leave it and VERY painful, leading to nausea and dizziness as the poison spreads through the body. So it’s important to treat ASAP. But that’s a useful bit of science for them! Hot water neutralising the toxin!

We also met many fish whilst in Greece, the kids loved watching them! Both kids built lots of Lego, including some new sets for the eldest’s birthday. We visited the safari park and met lots of animals, including the lemurs.

Feeding ducks and geese in the Lake District was interesting and useful to learn about their habits and how humans can change their natural behaviour. Plus searching for gold was interesting and a good discussion on how gold gets into the water.

Finally we learnt about the horses and goats on Lipsi and had a tour of a winery where we learnt about wine alchemy and how they make wine!

English

The kids did a fair bit of writing filling in the information for the quiz at Derwent Pencils. The eldest decided he would rather fill in the adult quiz, so had even more writing to complete. Which was fine with me!

He has also read at least 2 books a week recently, getting through 3 different series. He’s reading through the Percy Jackson books, the Alex Neptune series and Skandar series. He has to change between them whilst waiting for the books to arrive at the library!

The youngest has read 2 books this month, he’s a slower reader. But is getting much quicker over time. They’ve also both been reading signs etc. when we’re out and about too. Not so impressed by the reading of graffiti though!

Maths – Month in The Life of Home Educators

Both children have been completing the lessons on the Beast Academy website. Although they aren’t that enthused by the site, I do want them to try it a bit longer. They said they enjoyed it, so I paid for a year subscription and then they didn’t want to do it! Unfortunately for them it’s paid for now, so I don’t want to waste that money!

We’ve also had plenty of maths learning through card and board games. Chess is very good for logic and they played this a LOT on Lipsi with the giant chess pieces. The youngest also played Zeus on the Loose with me a lot on Greece. It’s great for quickly adding and subtracting numbers.

Clubs and Groups

The children have had their usual clubs and groups this month. The youngest stayed away for a weekend at Scout camp, the eldest didn’t want to stay overnight and so just went for the day. Both had a fantastic time!

The eldest also had his usual scouts, Lego club and dodgeball. Whereas the youngest has scouts, gymnastics, drama, Lego club, choir and dancing.

Socialisation – A Month in The Life of Home Educators

Socialisation includes the various clubs and scout camp, but also days out with friends. We visited Blairdrummond safari park with friends and various afternoons at the park with friends too. We see their friends most days in a typical week, whether they are home ed or school friends after school is finished.

They also met many people whilst travelling to Greece and staying on Lipsi. Socialising includes adults too!

Art and Music

The children made some fantastic deco patch dogs whilst at Rheged in the Lake District. I was impressed with how keen they were to complete the craft!

In Greece we admired the gourds that had been dried out and painted. We even saw some still growing on the plant and loved the use of natural materials in the decoration of some of the restaurants. We also built some stone structures with large flat pebbles at the beach.

One evening there was an orchestra and singers set up in the square on Lipsi island, so we enjoyed the music for a little while before heading to bed!

Physical Education – A Month in The Life of Home Educators

There is always plenty of physical education each month. The kids are always running about playing with their friends, climbing trees and play fighting. But this month we had some other fun too!

We went horse riding on Lipsi, plenty of swimming in the sea (and jumping in!), exploring the high ropes at Go Ape and playing in the loch with a giant log.

There have also been plenty of walks around the Lake District and at home, plus cycling at home too. So, yes, physical education is not something we have to worry about!