New Heinemann Maths Books – Review

In common with many home educators, my approach has become less structured over the years.  The children benefit so much from time to play, read, write, create and get wet and muddy outdoors, and I don’t want to interfere with that too much.  I haven’t quite gone down the autonomous route, though I think that’s more about me than the children.  I like a bit of structure, a bit of visible progress, but I’m well aware that the real learning happens mainly elsewhere.  So I try to strike a balance, and the children have plenty of freedom, but we do tend to do a bit of formal Maths and English (among other subjects) several days a week.

There are many ways to learn and practise Maths, and using workbooks is only one of them.  It’s probably not a good idea to get too hung up on them, but they have their place, and there are some really good ones among the droves of mediocre versions.  A lot of the most commonly available workbooks are too busy and cluttered looking, with very little content and generally a waste of money, so I was really pleased to be offered the chance to review these ones from the excellent New Heinemann Maths series instead.  They were sent to us by Junior Scholars – more about them to follow as we have since been to a lovely bloggers event at their shop in Watford.  But for now, back to the Maths books…

nhm maths books

Owl was sent the assessment book for (the end of) Year 5, which is the school year he would have just started, and he has completed the first few pages easily.  I rarely seek to compare their work with school levels, as I don’t think it matters in the long run, and it is much better for children to learn at their own pace.  However it is obviously nice to discover by chance that he seems to be well ahead!

nhm assessment bk 5

Monkey received the Year 3 assessment book.  Although he is not as confident as Owl, with a little encouragement he completed a couple of pages – he needed hardly any help, although he thought he did!  So I’m pleased with what he can do, and I just need to find some ways to help him believe in his ability.

nhm assessment bk 3

Rabbit has been given five year 1 activity books, and she chose to start working on one about Shape, Measure and Data Handling.  She completed the first section about 3D shapes easily and confidently.

nhm shapes

We had fun assembling a collection of 3D shapes from around the house too!

3D shapes

I am really pleased with the New Heinemann Maths series because they are simple, clear and easy to use, while covering a lot of detail.  Highly recommended 🙂

We were sent the workbooks by Junior Scholars free for the purpose of this review.

 

Saturday Snippets 12th October 2013

{driving} to Watford, slowly on the M25 with a 40mph speed limit

{chatting} to bloggers at the Junior Scholars event this morning, while the children tried out some great toys and educational resources

{missing} the chance to meet up with Jax and feeling a little disappointed about that

{relaxing} with our cousins in the afternoon, playing in the park, foraging for more berries and then nipping back into town to visit the Lego shop, and Junior Scholars again

{arriving} home at half past nine and managing to do day 12 of the 30 day shred after 10pm – it was hard to get started but I felt amazing afterwards!

shoelaces

 

{snapshots} Owl can tie his own shoelaces, Monkey can wash his own hair, Rabbit can read more words than I realised and Tiddler can count to 22!

Haw Berries, Chestnuts and Freedom

On the last two Wednesday afternoons we have been out with our Home Education group.  We have been enjoying the good weather, the fresh air and the freedom to explore and learn outdoors.

haw berry picking

The week before last, we went haw berry picking at the local smallholdings where some of our home educating friends live.  We had a lovely time, and got a small but reasonable harvest of berries.  Owl was particularly keen and he really stuck at it to make sure we collected enough.  We used the berries to make haw sauce, which Owl, Daddy and I liked very much – the younger children weren’t so sure, but really I thought it was rather similar to tomato ketchup!  It lasted a mere two days, so we need to go and pick some more berries before it is too late.

Chestnut picking

This week’s activity was chestnut picking in our local park.  The same friend who took us haw picking taught us how to do it.  For the uninitiated, you hit the chestnuts with a stick to get them down and then stamp on them to remove them from their cases – so all in all, a very child-friendly exercise!

chestnut picking and conker collecting

After a bit of tree-climbing and conker collecting, we returned home with our haul.  We haven’t decided yet whether to roast the chestnuts or make soup with them.  We are finding it difficult to choose so we will just have to go back to collect some more!

I love Autumn, it’s my favourite season, and there is so much fun to be had outdoors.  We always collect leaves and conkers, but this year we are all really enjoying learning more about foraging for food.  I think that the freedom to do this kind of thing together is one of the things I like most about home education.  I am grateful to my friends for sharing their knowledge and skills with us – it seems far more valuable to me than a lot of what goes on in school.  I wish teachers had the freedom to take children out of the classroom and spend time outdoors doing things like this.

The weather has changed now, so it might not be so idyllic but we are planning to carry on making the most of the Autumn bounty for as long as possible.  Closer to home, we have plenty of apples and a few pears in our garden, as well as some pumpkins which we will be picking soon.  This evening I went out in the dark and rain to pick some apples, feeling somewhat heroic, and Suburban Dad is now making chutney at nearly midnight.  It might be a bit crazy, but there’s a great deal of satisfaction to be found in using free sources of food.  The brambles might be over for this year, but we are not done with foraging yet!

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat – Review

The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat

Written by Coral Rumble and illustrated by Charlotte Cooke

Published by Parragon, £5.99

owl pussycat 1

We received this book last week as part of the Parragon book buddy scheme, and it has been an immediate hit.  The older children read it themselves straight away, and then I read it to all of them together.  We enjoyed the imaginative illustrations and the simply, beautifully written rhyming text.

“The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea

In a box on the living room floor,

They sailed away for a year and a day

And these are the things that they saw…”

So begins the adventure of two curious children whose cardboard box boat takes them out to sea where they meet a “wiggly, squiggly eel”, a ” cheerful seal”, a “swordfish in a fight/ With a pirate late at night” and many other characters.  Eventually they arrive at a “cave on the shore/ With a green seaweed door…” before sailing home again where they fall asleep “by the light of the moon.”

It was bedtime when I read the story to the children, but it sparked off such an imaginative game that I let them stay up far too late.  It was the kind of deeply involved play that you just can’t interrupt!

owl pussycat 2

Two armchairs became a boat, a blue blanket the sea, and another blanket draped over chairs formed a cave.  Provisions and teddies (and cuddly broccoli!) were packed, and they set sail.

owl pussycat 3

After eating a picnic or two en route, they arrived at their destination and explored the cave, where they found a treasure box.  They carefully loaded it into the boat and sailed back home, fending off a pirate ship on the way.

owl pussycat 4

The little ones then spent some time playing with the treasure, while Monkey re-read the book, and then it really was time for bed.  We all gathered together to listen to Daddy reading the original version of The Owl and the Pussy-cat, by Edward Lear, which was a lovely way to finish off what had turned out to be a rather special evening.

We were sent the book free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Poo! What IS That Smell? – Review

We’ve been sent another great book to review by Macmillan – Poo! What is that Smell, written by Glenn Murphy and illustrated by Laura Murphy.  In fact, I’ll be honest, we were sent it a little while ago.  We started reading it, then lost it, then found it just as I was starting to panic and think I would have to get on and buy myself another copy.  Anyway, after that false start we are loving it.  The title is perfect for catching children’s attention, and the book doesn’t disappoint.  It is full of really detailed Scientific information, but very readable and entertaining.

Poo! What is that smell

The book has a chapter on each of the five senses, and so far we have been reading the first chapter which is about Sight.  I asked the children to recall one fact that they had found interesting from the chapter and draw a picture.  Owl and Monkey both chose to illustrate the reason why zebras have black-and-white stripes.  “It’s so they can hide among each other.  A herd of stripey zebras presents a confusing optical illusion to lions and hyenas.  The stripes disguise the outline of each animal in the herd, making it hard to tell where one zebra ends and another one begins, or which way they might be facing.  This makes it especially difficult for their predators to select a target, let alone predict which way they might run once the chase begins.”

Animal drawing 1

Don’t ask me why there are rabbits flying overhead, and animals holding up umbrellas to protect themselves from their droppings.  All I can say is that the boys found it very amusing, and I hope it helps them to remember this Science fact!

animal drawing 2

Rabbit was interested in the fact that some animals can see different colours, or types of light, because they have more types of cone cells in their eyes.  “Many birds, for example, can see ultraviolet (UV) light.  This lets them see patterns of light on flowers, trees and grassy hillsides that are invisible to humans.  Snakes, meanwhile, have extra cone cells that can detect invisible, infrared (IR) light given off by warm objects.  With this special, snakey , super-vision, a pit viper can pick out the warm body of a quivering mouse in complete darkness.  Good news for the snake; bad news for mousey…”

animal drawing 3

I am really enjoying reading this book to the children, and I’m learning a lot too!

We were sent the book free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Saturday Snippets 5th October 2013

{recovering} from a busy week with a much needed lie-in this morning

{feeling} a bit more positive after a day of housework – the mess was getting me down

{managing} to complete 5 days of the 30 day shred so far

{drinking} Gin and Tonic – haven’t had one for ages, and I really enjoyed it!

{eating} a rather good bacon and bean stew (and wishing I’d made enough to have leftovers) followed by stewed apple with cinnamon and raisins, and custard

{reading} The Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat (review to follow)

making plastic

{snapshots} Owl made plastic yesterday, using milk and vinegar.  He wants to try it again, with food colouring next time.  Monkey, Rabbit and Tiddler played a very imaginative game this evening, inspired by the Owl and the Pussycat book.  They made a boat out of two chairs, a blanket sea, an island of cushions and a cave out of more chairs and another blanket.  They sailed to the island, encountering a pirate ship on the way and found some treasure in the cave.  This all took a very long time, so they were rather late to bed!

 

An afternoon at Box Hill

On Tuesday afternoon we went to Box Hill with our friends from 3 Kids and a Gluestick.  We arrived after them, and they had already finished their picnic, so we took our packed lunches with us and set off along the Natural Play Trail.

box hill 1

The children were very happy that there were lots of things to climb on – Rabbit in particular was in her element!

box hill 2

The children ate their lunch in the largest of several dens, and then explored some of the others.

box hill 3

We really enjoyed exploring the play trail, and could have spent even longer there if we had had time.  Owl managed to catch a falling leaf (one of the 50 things) and Monkey spent a long time trying to do the same.  Luckily he succeeded at last.  Rabbit and Tiddler didn’t manage it this time, but they had fun trying!

box hill 4

We found out, from our friends, that you can eat the flesh of yew berries as long as you remove the black seed first (be very careful if you try this at home.)  And Rabbit learned that it’s probably not a very good idea to go for a walk in the Autumn in your plimsolls!

box hill 5

The children had fun on the rope swings and it was particularly hard to get them to move on from this part of the trail…

box hill 6

…especially as there were more things to climb on too.

box hill 7

The children played trolls with their friends on the “trip-trap” bridges, while I took rather a lot of photos of fungi!

box hill 8

We even managed to collect a few brambles.  There were not many left, but enough to take home and cook with some apples from the garden – the perfect pudding after a quick supper of boiled eggs and toast because we were so late home.

box hill 9

Box Hill is so near to us and I don’t know why we’ve never been there before.  Monkey says it is his favourite National Trust place and keeps asking when we can go back, so I think we will be visiting again soon.

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Shredtober

I blame that Hollybobbs lass, she started it.  A couple of nights ago, I was lying in bed idly scrolling through my twitter timeline, when I saw her tweet asking if anyone wanted to join her in doing the 30 Day Shred in October.  I have the DVD, I haven’t used it in ages and I’ve never done 30 consecutive days, so I said I’d have a go.  As did about 70 other people, so it’s a bit hard to back out now.

A couple of years ago I lost 3 and a half stone, but recently a little bit has crept back on (well, 11lbs to be precise) and the size 10 jeans are feeling a bit snug.  I can’t afford to buy any more, so I need to lose a few pounds quickly.  I’m hoping the shred will help – we’ll see.

before

This is my before photograph.  I’m okay with my shape though it’s a bit lumpy!  But I wouldn’t be okay with being any bigger, so this is about reversing the trend.

Starting Weight: 10st 13lbs

Waist: 30 inches

Hips: 38 inches

BMI: 23.27

Watch this space!