This is not a commercial for home education

But if you like what you see...   :)


Contrary to rumours I have not spent the past three weeks taking trips to the sauna and getting my nails done while reading copies of Hello. Actually we've been doing stuff. And to prove it, this is a taster of what we've been doing.

worm anatomy

Gardening (in pink slippers)

dd writes seed labels for the first time (handy that we are growing leeks and not pelargoniums)

Digging up the decomposed baby birds buried by ds1 under the lawn last autumn

Bird-brain! (and other bones) Currently exhibiting in a tupperware tub in my kitchen.

dd has a sudden and very rare urge to do a project. It takes about 5 minutes. Then she goes off the idea. Baby steps.

A teen's gotta do what a teen's gotta do (when he needs headspace)

Making a 'worm farm' part 1

Making a 'worm farm' part 2

A visit to Butser Ancient Farm Museum

Roman Villa at Butser Farm

Inside a roundhouse at Butser Farm

You get the gist...

Ye olde thatching stolen by ye younge girle

Apparently ancient people liked animal skulls. Well, I know at least one teen who would have fitted in nicely.

The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair 2012

Tech boy finds joy in a gadget or two at The Big Bang

Ds2 makes Lilly of the Valley cake decorations. Which goes to prove that you should never make assumptions about what you think a boy might enjoy doing. Boys are built for surprise.

Our Egyptian model of the Nile grows. (By the look of that river, I think they should instigate a hosepipe ban)

Making miniature Easter-themed gardens

Ds2 tries to teach his sister chess. She went off the idea in about the timespan it took me to take the photo.

Ds2 decides to make a radio transmitter with my kitchen radio and the 20,00000 billion googleplex-in-one electronics kit that has been lurking in the depths of his bedroom for a millenium. Yes it was worth putting up with the deafening screeching and white noise for the Home Ed Mother Satisfaction of a bargain-buy finally being put to good use.

Visit to local museum to see the dinosaur and the horsetail. (Not disimilar to my allotment last summer.)

But guys, we could look at Google Earth at home you know. Guys..? Isn't anyone going to look round the museum with me? You could come and dress up in a silly hat...

Go on...humour me...It'll look good on the blog...Gottcha!

Making a bird feeder for bluetits. Remarkably good at attracting every overweight feral pigeon for miles around.

Trying to think laterally about improving the spelling of a certain child. We go tactile with plasticine...

...and water powered with words.

Movie making. No. I have no idea what it was about, either.

Gambling on roulette. It lasted fractionally longer than the chess game before all hell broke loose.

Recreating the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Ancient History project). You might just recognise this structure from our water cycle project many moons ago! There's such a warm fuzzy smugness about finding a second use for a resource.

Owl pellet found in field while out with friends. Yet to be dissected.

A trip to the Botanic Gardens. Inspired, we decide to buy ginger root and grow it at home. Currently growing very well among the apples in my veg basket.

Sketching at the botanic gardens. Not plants, of course. That would be far too logical. Instead they draw furniture (?!)

Getting my slaves to do the dirty work (making eggy bread)