Half term hotchpotch

Sam decided he wanted to go on a walking adventure with me. We plotted a route together.

You can see my eye closing up here. My head was killing me, but I didn't want to let him down. He was so happy exploring. 

Just before we headed back I showed him Wrekin View.

He wants to do more, so I suggest walking boots maybe more appropriate. 

Nearly home and he is still smiling despite achy legs.

Owen stayed in bed and then both he and Blokey enjoyed a quiet breakfast and played some games. Sam was very quiet (have I found a way to tire him out!) and I enjoyed a soak in the bath when I got back.

It's school half term, so I expect things will be hit and miss. I like to give the children the opportunity to catch up with their local friends. We mainly stick to our routines to help with stress levels. In the morning we read from Nurse Matilda and Sam practices his writing. 

Owen chose to do some Speeke Spanish whilst I worked with Sam. Neither boy is enjoying the Spanish anymore, so I think I will cancel it.

Next Owen and I work on his maths.

As does Sam.

I take them up to the park at the other side of the village, they catch up with their friends and then all come back to our house to play.

In the evening we take the boys to their asthma review. Owen is managing well off all his medications now. Sam is remaining stable on his, so it was an easy consultation. Afterwards we take them for their jujitsu lesson. We put two very tired and slightly weepy boys to bed later on.

It's a beautiful day on Wednesday, so I arrange to meet up with some of our home ed friends. 

In the morning Sam and Owen work on their maths. We look at Prime and Composite numbers.

Then do some more work based in the book Nurse Matilda.

 Then I worked with Owen

We meet our home ed friends at the park..afterwards the boys are keen to have their local friends round to work in their animation project.

Next morning it's maths again.

Factor trees are a bit muddling.

Then the children invite their friends round for the rest of the day. Some times they lay at the park, others they work at our house in their animations.

On Saturday Sam and I walk and plan routes using OS maps.

Wild orchids were spotted.

The 'blue' walk near Swynnerton.

New walking boots.

On Sunday we went to the Soapbox rally in Hanley

Then in for lunch at the pub.

Sadly the racing didn't actually start till 4pm, as we had arrived at 11 am it was too long to hang around. Next year the boys fancy entering a cart themselves with Blokey! Should be fun.

More time with family and friends.

Well I foolishly thought we had got off Scotfree until 7pm last night and Owen went in to a critical meltdown. Obviously the busy weekend catching up on us. He still got up early the next day and I was once again fooled into thinking we had this cracked, there he was, sitting and eating his breakfast. There he sat one minute ,eating the ham toastie he had made himself...then *boom* ...

We managed some maths once he had calmed down but he had forgotten ( or feared he had forgotten) all the work he did so easily.

So it was hard going and I just let him do what he needed whilst keeping a check on his frustration.

We then went on to read some more of the Jungle Book together, again he couldn't focus on his work and barely took anything in.

We did a bit of writing and it showed that he was having communication issues, this happens when he's overwhelmed, it tips him to being 'more autistic'.  Know that may sound odd to the uninitiated, but there has to be a certain level of calmness to be able to progress. Owen clearly had a lot on his mind and it over shadowed his thoughts and communication. So in the end we don't get much done, but that's ok and one of the many reasons we home ed.

Sam was much the same and I gave some extra time for his meds to kick in, but he was still not communicating clearly with me and getting frustrated. He did a lot of maths on his own. I found I could set both boys tasks of Conquer Maths and we agreed that if they completed them all ( over the course of 5 days) then that was it for the week. Sam nearly finished all of his in one morning. I think even if he does, he will continue to do extra because he enjoys maths so much...watch this space.

Despite having very 'Antsy Pants' Sam works well on his comprehension and is very interested in the passages from the Jungle Book. He makes notes as I read to him and is keen to copy the unusual names.

The next day we carry on looking at the order of operations in Maths.

And look at landslides in Mystery Science. We all find these lessons really interesting. Sometimes the children want to do the activities, other times not.

Some of our home ed friends offered to take us to Flipout, so we enjoyed an afternoon bouncing around with them.

Owen Blockhead.

We had a look at the emerging wildlife.

Sam completed the Mystery science section Owen and I did the other day.

Owen and I looked at how sound travels.

He even completed the practical activity at the end .

More complex maths was looked at and they played at the park with the local children after school most afternoons. Sam is still working hard in his animation projects and Owen is reading his body weight in books as usual.

A misty walk near the house in the morning.

More maths, Owen is getting the hang of the order of operations.

We read some Pippi Longstockings. The boys enjoyed it as much as I had as a child ( shh I still do..I related to the character so much) .

We did some comprehension and writing practice.

The next day the children went for a sleep over at Blokeys parents. So we had a rare night out and saw Rich Hall in Stafford. I was very excited to meet him after the show. He was a really lovely guy and a easier to talk to.

We collected the children the next day and all seemed well. They in laws and kids had a really nice time, so we are hoping they can do it again in the future.

Sam and I went for a walk early the next morning.

We also took the boys out for a lunch to a new place. They were a bit stressed at being somewhere new but we had strategies in place and once settled in they relaxed. We had a lovely meal and will go back again.

Sam and I played word games as we waited for our food.

Back home the dogs chilled out and the children played at the park with their friends until it was time for dinner. We all watched Dr Who together before bedtime.