Another month over and it’s definitely seeming like a normal summer for the kids. Less classes and groups are on as usual in the holidays. So we get to spend more time with friends and visiting places.
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Science – Homeschooling UK
We always start off with science, mainly as it tend to be a main part of the kids home ed. Although it has taken more of a back seat recently with history being a favourite topic.
This month science has mostly been listening to science podcasts. Wow in the World and Tumble are the kids go to’s for science podcasts. However, we’ve also recently started listening to the Mysteries of Science podcast from The Week Junior. I can also recommend Flip and Mozi’s How To Be An Earthling and Earth Rangers.
Both children have been spending time building Lego. The eldest is always much more interested in Lego building than the younger one. But both have built various space craft and bases together. The eldest has also made some new trains and train tracks too
A day out at Blairdrummond Safari Park was technically a science lesson in biology and ecology. The kids love watching the animals, with meerkats and lions being favourites. Although we also were excited to watch the leaf cutter ants, penguins and giraffes. The highlight this time was definitely watching the Bird of Prey display with some interesting facts about the birds on display.
The kids also enjoyed a visit to Conifox to meet dinosaurs. It may have been more of a ’fun’ thing, but they also got to see some ’live’ dinosaurs and fossils too! We also saw various dinosaurs at Blairdrummond Safari Parks dinosaur section.
History – Homeschooling UK
As I mentioned above, history is definitely the kids ’thing’ at the moment. Because they are so interested in history they actually have acquired some pretty good knowledge about it!
Their favourite time period is of course still the Ancient Greeks. They can’t wait until October when the next season of the Greeking Out podcast is on. But they also enjoy learning about Romans (youngest chose a book about Romans from the library this month), Egyptians, Vikings, medieval knights and castles. They know a good amount of Scottish history too, probably as we visit so many castles throughout the year. It seems everywhere Mary Queen of Scots had visited or Robert the Bruce has stayed too!
We’ve visited a variety of Scottish castles using out Historic Scotland card. From Stirling castle, Doune Castle and Brodick Castle (plus several more!). We have also had a walking tour of the Old Town of Stirling, learning about various occupants of graves, the different buildings and uses, plus where battles had taken place. On the same day we went into the Old Stirling Jail and enjoyed an interesting tour around the building there.
We also attended the jousting at Linlithgow Palace, which is always a fun event. The kids love watching the jousters fight and we can see the different re-enactors dressed up and showing how things used to be done. The kids also got a chance to be in a mini kids battle against the grown ups!
Aside our usual history podcasts (History Storytime, Who When Wow and Greeking Out) we’ve also been reading various history books. Both fiction and non-fiction.
Geography
With the amount of travelling we do the kids tend to be fairly good with geography. The eldest is normally better at knowing where the cities are, but the youngest knows a fair amount too.
Both children are used to staring at maps and globes, we do have a lot around! However, when we visited the Ocean Explorer Centre at Dunstaffnage, near Oban, they were very excited by the giant raised relief globe. It showed not just the mountains on the land, but also the mountains under the sea. It’s really good at showing that the sea is just as bumpy as the land and has deep trenches and mountains with islands.
English
The eldest spends a fair amount of time each day reading. He’s half way through book 6 of Harry Potter, although he’s given up for the moment. I think it may be getting a bit boring in places with all the romantic stuff going on in the book! I’m sure he will get back into it again soon. He’s also been spending a lot of time choosing recipes and making different bakes.
For the moment the youngest is still learning to read with use of Reading Eggs. He would really like to read, but isn’t so keen on the effort of learning at the moment. I’m hoping it will suddenly click soon like it did for his brother!
Maths – Homeschooling UK
The eldest is particularly enjoying baking from scratch. He’s attempted several recipes by himself and is getting quite good at measuring the correct amount and understanding conversions from cups to grams!
Both children have also been doing some more on Prodigy. Not as much as last month, but they still have completed a few more levels and are definitely improving their math skills on there. The eldest just needs a few reminders to write things down, rather than doing it in his head and getting the wrong answer.
1000 Hours Outdoors
It’s been a lovely summer here so far, a few wet days, but mostly sunny.. We also had 2 evenings in a yurt, with one being during a thunderstorm. It was quite fun to listen to the rain falling and thunder rolling whilst be cosy and safe in the yurt.
The kids have now completed 600 hours outside, only 400 more to complete their challenge. Outdoors has included plenty of walks, playing in the sea, swimming in the river and visits to Conifox Adventure park, Blairdrummond Safari Park and other outdoor areas.
Clubs and Groups – Homeschooling UK
Most of the kids classes and groups are off for the summer. However we’ve been meeting up with friends and family throughout the summer time instead.
The kids have still been doing their NICAS climbing lessons throughout the summer. It’s a lovely little home ed group of kids. It’s nice to see them supporting each other and surprising how good they are at tying knots after 6 weeks off! Our two are now onto their NICAS level 2, which is a bit more difficult as you need 25 climbs and belays to complete it rather than 10 like they did for level 1.
All Our Monthly Home Education Blog Diaries 2022
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