The perils of buying cardboard model-making sets.

You'd think I'd have learnt from the James Watt Steam Engine that took us weeks to make, and the numerous cardboard model-making sets still unused on the bookcase. And the Trojan Horse model that I ordered from Amazon and immediately regretted. But no. I went and bought a telescope-making kit. It was cheap. In fact I thought it might have been mispriced.


Then I realised, as ds2 progressed, that the part labels were written in German. And that at least one of them was incorrectly labelled. We haven't got any further, but it's possible that more is mis-labelled.

So by the time we've interpreted what it is we're meant to do (each little stage requires gluing and drying before progressing to the next stage) it could be a couple of months before we are viewing the stars through our cardboard telescope.

And then we have a Trojan Horse to make. Sometime this year.

Still, we are plodding along at Ancient Greece. Not on Ancient Greece. Not in or with Ancient Greece. But at Ancient Greece. That proactive word 'at'.

I'm trying to make it as interesting and painless for the kids as possible. Ds1 and ds2 are making lapbooks/folders. We are covering small topics. Small painless topics. So far: Athens; The Parthenon; Sparta; City States/Government; Food; homes. For each we make a little booklet to stick into the folder, sometimes photocopying pictures, sometimes printing out words, sometimes doing a bit of colouring. So very painless. Theoretically.

Next I think it'll be Greek Gods (we've been listening to the first of two CDs of Greek myths) and perhaps something about architecture and writing.

Below you can see the kids importing clip art into the wordprocessing package (some of which they'd downloaded from the internet). I gave them the task of getting pictures of a list of foods that the ancient Greeks would have eaten.

And now to the very different subject. The subject of socks.

I've been very naughty and visited a wool shop. Frugal went out the window. In came greed. Not only did I buy self-patterning camouflage 4ply sock wool to make ds1 some socks, but I also bought a pattern and some cheap wool for chunky socks. Here's the first one finished, modelled on ds1's foot (he's been wearing it all afternoon). :

They dont look quite as wholesome and natural as the wool that was used in the pattern, but that wool was expensive and rather too girly (pinks and pastels) for the boys. This is courtelle yarn, which is basically a nice chunky and soft acrylic. It's really easy and quick to knit with, though it does have a mean habit of splitting into its individual strands if you're not careful.

I was a bit worried it might have really lumpy seams as it's knitted on 2 needles (makes it even quicker!) with the seam sewn up afterwards. However ds1 hasn't complained so far.

I don't know what they'd be like inside shoes, but they make great slipper socks (if a bit slippy).

Maybe I'll be able to use up some of the other chunky-thickness wools in the loft now I've got the hang of it.

Now I need to knit the second sock before he wears this one out.

Knit knit knitting along...

I feel like I should be posting up lots of pictures like usual, but to be honest we haven't done much that requires journalistic comment.

Ancient Greece is still ticking along. The kids have been listening to a CD on Ancient Greek stories - a sort of whistle-stop tour of the Greek Gods and how mean and vile they were. Those ancient Greeks were a bloodthirsty bunch weren't they? I mean Gods eating their own children, just to prevent some prophecy coming true..?! I might try that on my bunch next time they complain about having to write a sentence.!

Yesterday we had a home ed knitty day. A CHILD-FREE knitty day, for parents ONLY. A knitty day out in the country in a wonderful -if chilly - little building on an organic smallholding (I think that would be the right word?) of one of the home educating families.

I'm progressing on one of my many unfinished craft projects (currently a cotton blanket, about 7 squares in and a long long way to go). I still have 1 1/2 fingerless gloves to be completed, a tank top for me (well 1 1/2 tank top), the weird body of a crocheted loopy dog, a finished tank top which doesn't really fit and I don't know what to do with it, and some unidentified Tamagotchi (er no, Amigurumi or whatever) pink body parts (I think they may have been intended to be an easter rabbit - last Easter).

And I've just sent for some sock wool off Ebay for ds1, who has finally agreed that I can knit him something. It's a slightly horrible self-striping combination of browns and creams, but it's the one he chose and who am I to argue with a 11-yr-old? He wants socks. I wonder if a visit to a certain home -ed family may have swung his decision? He did want a camouflage-patterned complete balaclava (with just small eye and mouth holes), so I'm quite relieved that he's decided on socks instead. I just need to remember how to knit socks...

Groovy Greeks and DIY

Well it's been a slow day here. Apart from a visit to the Ancient Greeks this morning (lapbooking the Mycenaeans to be precise), the day has just drifted. I was sceptical about the lapbook approach, thinking it all seemed rather contrived, but it is a good way of presenting information in small bite-sized chunks. Ds1 is more reluctant to participate, but it seems an effective - and painless - way of learning for ds2. (Dd was keen to do one on dogs, but her attention lapsed after colouring in the first picture lol. ). And I'm learning too: if we did anything on Greeks at school it must have completely bypassed me.

We have a box set of cheap DVDs on Ancient Greece and played the first one in the set last week. They're not the most exciting documentaries (I think we've been spoiled by some good BBC ones), but from the things that ds2 has been mentioning today he's taken on snippets of the information. We always find this with DVDs and tv documentaries, how much the kids take on and how much they remember. Far more than me most of the time! I confess that I bite my tongue when parents say that they don't let their kids watch dvds or access the computer. I know it's a personal preference, but if you have children who struggle to access information in books, or who learn in a very visual or auditory way then DVDs/tv documentaries/the web can be such a wonderful resource. It's a shame to dismiss them completely.

[Thinking of this, Ds1 answered a question on the programme 'Eggheads' a few days ago. It was about a particular dynasty. When he answered correctly I asked him how he knew. 'Oh don't you remember, we did all about that when we did China last year.' Erhum. Let's just say he has a better memory than me.]

Over the weekend we were busy doing some house things.

Dh trimmed a shelf we found in the garage and then translated a dog template that I'd made into a wooden bookend.

Here the kids are helping to put up the brackets.

And here's the MDF scottie dog after his second coat of paint.

And the finished result (the wire going underneath are dd's Christmas lights that stay up all year round):
In the meantime I was solving the dog overcrowding situation and making one of these:

Which allowed for some rehoming: