Basketball, Autumn walk, rocky days, friends, sound science and biology.

Both boys were up in the night , despite lashings of fresh air yesterday. Even so they didn't sleep in too late, Sam was up first.

'Maths please Mum!'.

He did extra work because they threw in a Roman Numerals section and he loves doing those.

Owen burst in half way through an announced he was 'Starving!' , so toasted himself some crumpets.

When Sam had finished Owen did RM Maths too.

As it was a nice morning we decided to do a scavenger hunt.

Sam is correcting my grammar here...

Owen looked like he was going camping..he needed to bring 'all the things' !

Both talking at once...

We noticed the basketball court and skatepark was open..so decided to take a break from our hunt and shoot some hoops ..Owen had a ball in his backpack. I suppose it's like Hermiones bag!

We spotted the 'Sorting Hat' 

Climbing

Mum! Get an action shot of me please!

We then finished our nature hunt and as we were all now very hungry from running around, we headed home for some lunch.

In the afternoon the children persued their own interests and I got on with some chores. Later they head out with their friends to the park.

Sam is very angry today. ..for long and complicated reasons who I won't bore you. It's a matter of personal safety and I had to put measures in place that he doesn't agree with. I have tried many times to work with him on this but he won't meet me even half way. At the moment he's gone into full demand avoidance of all things and won't leave his room...other than to shout at me and Owen. I have explained that until he calms down, we cannot discuss a way forward. 

So Inbetween all the random outbursts, Owen and I worked on maths first.

As we worked we discussed Sam's issues and Owen tried to help solve the problem for Sam. I am grateful that Owen understands why Blokey and I had to implement the changes and he is happy to keep within the perimeters we have agreed on. He is really hating the shouting and fallout as Sam rages through this.

Owen worked on a drawing next. He loved this design, so set about doing his own version.

Afterwards he came outside with me and helped me collect the fallen leaves in the garden.

Sam comes down and says he wants to work now...I manage to get a drink and a snack inside him ( he refused breakfast) , and his medication done..then he flew into another rage. I abandoned all hope of moving forward this morning, so I got up and walked away. Staying calm in the face of his meltdown is not easy. 

However, later in the day he requests I work with him and happily trundles through some new maths problems.

Afterwards he asks if we can talk about what's happened and we manage to come to some resolution. At one point he could never do this..so it's a new and big thing. Sadly, after all the earlier shouting, Owen suddenly feels overwhelmed and blows. So we have a little chat about how our behaviour can impact on others in the family.

And breathe....

We managed a quiet , peaceful hour or two before jujitsu class but we were all feeling emotionally drained. I find myself making my way to bed at 7:30.

The next day I give the boys a free play period in the morning. They need some peaceful time following their own passions and I need time to plan new home ed activities. Both children have requested a weekly overview of what I plan to do with them. Previously we had to stop doing this, as the list caused them so much anxiety and demand avoidance kicked in big time. It was very distressing. However, for now they would like a plan. I try and keep it loose and just tie it to mornings and afternoons, putting specific times down still wouldn't work.

I enjoy having time to plan, and feel more settled in myself that *I* can see how the week will unfold..I will be interested to see how the children fair, but the fact it's their idea usually helps things.

After lunch we head out to visit friends for the afternoon. They have a lovely play , there are 3 families today and Sam unwittingly helps his younger friend enjoy a great game they made up. It's lovely to watch, as a number of the children present, have also had tough weeks and to see them happily letting off steam in the garden is delightful. I reflect on how far they have all come in the last few years.

Back home the boys play basketball at the park with their local friends , we eat and wind down with a film before bedtime.

Thursday morning Sam is first to start his maths..he's a right giddy kipper, so it takes a while to get him settled into his work.

I have a science projectalready laid out, so we can explore sound.

I know it will take a while to settle Sam into it because the Balloons will need playing with first.

*ahem* *chuckles*

First we talk about sound waves and how they can vary.

We also use the balloons as amplifiers by holding them to our ears. I explain that by forcing the air into the balloon, we have pressed all the molecules together and that's why the sound is made louder etc.

Next, we use various sized metal objects and string to demonstrate how sound travels and reverberates.

This is Sam's favourite activity of the three.

His face lights up as the noise from the different shaped utensils, travels from the metal, up the string, to his ears.

I show him, if the metal is touching his body, his body absorbs the sound too.

Next Owen does the same experiments. He also plays with the balloons and has a drumming session before settling into his project .

He decided to add water to one of the vessels to see if the waters moves and if it alters the noise the vessel makes. Apparently it makes him gurn too.

Due to his processing difficulties , it takes quite a few attempts for me to explain how he needs to hold the string.

After trying all the different metal utensils, this is his favourite sounding one . He lengthens and shortens the string to see if it makes different sounds.

Here are some links it you want to know more:

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/balloonspeakers.html

http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/14753/teaching-kids-how-sound-is-made

This was our favourite.

http://www.kcedventures.com/blog/the-science-of-sound-waves-an-awesome-experiment-for-kids

Afterwards Owen works on his maths. Both boys reach a new level in the curriculum today.

They can both work out the number machine quicker than I do and Owen takes time to explain how it works to me.

One of Sam and Owens friends called for them after school, so they all went off to play basketball at the park. I was really feeling off colour with a migraine and cluster headaches, so Blokey kindly brought us fish and chips for our evening meal.

There was lots of moaning and groaning this morning from the boys, so I had to deal with them squabbling between themselves before we could make a start. They both decided to work on their maths alone, so I got on with my exercises. 

Hmmmm looking at Owen's progress, I think he may have been pulling a fast one..lol! There nothing on there for today.

Sam worked hard.

Sam went on to do a couple of drawings but he wasn't happy with them, so didn't want me to take photos. 

Owen played on Newton.

Sam helped Blokey on the camper van and Owen sorted out some games and played on his iPad/downloaded music.

I cleared out the resources cupboard and rearranged the living room, then mopped all the floors. Afterwards the children went to play at the park with their friends.

Today is the much awaited 2nd Science day at Stoke University. We went last year and had a ball, so the boys were really excited to go again.

As the day went on, this young lady was being turned into a lizard.

We coloured in and found out about bacteria, viruses and DNA .

Looked at bones and teeth.

Also organs..with the biggest game of operation ever.

Looked at exotic insects under the microscopes.

Tried honey out of a hive and talked a great deal about bees.

A red masonry bees larva and eggs. The lecturer explained to Sam about how to place his bee hotel better to help the bees.

Checked out the skulls .

Even the teeny mole and hedgehog ones.

Sam showed off his knowledge about endangered species in the 'match the picture to the information ' game.

Owen and he won masks, but only Owen was interested in wearing one.

We had a fascinating chat to the two men from the Staffordshire Fungus society, who helped us identify a mushroom we have in our garden which we had previous been unable to name.

The boys are interested on going on fungus foraging walks, so I grabbed the information.

We spent quite a bit of time with the people from the Royal Microscopic Society and looked at the many different slides they had on show.

Another favourite stand was 'Wings and Things' .

Owen took the opportunity to chat about his African snail with Simon. Orel had a mite infestation, which we seem to have got on top of..but we are worried Orel's shell isn't as healthy as it should be. SImon gave us some help with advice about Orel's care.

Many interesting facts were eagerly absorbed about the animals Simon had in his care.

Sam impressed Simon with his knowledge about birds of prey and they chatted at length about the Harris Hawk.

Next we popped into the forensic lab and worked through the crime scene to find the villain.

Checking out the suspects hair samples.

How bugs help with forensics. *blergh*

working through the clues and twanging our gloves with malice.

The killer is found on the right....Jessica is apprehended .

When we got home the boys called for their friends and went to play basketball. Their friends dad went too and they all had a great time.

The next day the children watch a film together whilst it rained outside, then as the sun made an appearance they headed off to find their friends.

Blokey worked on the camper and I made covers for the seating. We all stopped for lunch and then the boys asked for bin bags because they wanted to collect the rubbish at the park and tidy it up. Someone spotted what they were doing and took some sweets out for them.

Seating.

Our double bed in the camper.