This morning started with finding tricky words in rice.

X and A both really enjoyed this activity even though the words were a bit easy for X but it’s good to recap what we already know and to help A learn. They both loved the sensory element of it and enjoyed putting their hands in the rice.

After that it was time for some spelling practice as we didnt get it done last week. This time we used alphabet stamps to make it more fun.

X and A both enjoyed this too. Its really great how enthusiastic they are.

After the stamps X did his spellings on the computer and A did some phonics revision. While they were doing this F played with the squigz A got for Christmas. Now i know it says on the box 3+ but under supervison i dont see any problem with F playing with these. Infact they are great for her teething as they are hard rubber.

We would highly recommend these as a construction toy, they are great fun.

Can you tell mummy was having fun with them too?

A then moved on to shape recognition.

With a little bit of maths too. Mummy made these from some card. You suck the answer with the straw and place it next to the sum.

After dinner X and A did a maths seeds level and a reading eggs level each.

Then they had a play with one of the offcuts from daddys bonsai and practiced their cutting skills with his scissors!

X actually used some bonsai wire to wire up a branch then addded some ribbon for decoration. It is always great to see him using his imagination.

X and A then moved on to a bit of science. They used a hot wire set X got for Christmas to create some circuits. A made one that lit up a bulb then X made one that made a buzzer go off and another that fired something in to the air. After our work day had finished (we usually call it a day about 3pm like schools do, although obviously with home ed this is flexible) X still continued to make circuits following the guide booklet from the box.

This was a good Christmas gift.

Then it was time for A’s weekly football session. Before the session started X, F and daddy joined her on the pitch for a warm up. This is unusual for X but he seemed to really enjoy it. They played a game where one person kicks it against the wall then the other person has to stop it on the bounce back and also kick it against the wall.

When it was time for A’s football session as well as having fun playing all the games she had to hold the ball between her legs and jump with it. This was the new skill she mastered this week.

This morning we went swimming.

We go to the same swimming baths each time as its got a nice shallow area for X, A and now F too. They also have waves come on and some water spray type things.

F loves swimming, well she loves water. She was shouting her little heart out. A has always loved water too and is the one who always asks to go swimming.

X is usually unsure when we first get there but comes around by midway through.

This time at swimming F was starting to get a bit tired after an hour so daddy went to take her out. As daddy left X and A started pulling each other around on their rubber rings. It was lovely to see as X has never been very playful or confident in the water. He was letting A pull him along.

After we all got changed we sat in the viewing area waiting for daddy and X. A never misses a chance to be creative and went straight for the lego. F enjoyed eating it!

X and A always get a chocolate treat after swimming. Its great now they can do it for themselves.

X and A have always been very good at being safe around roads and car parks. From a very young age we made them aware of the dangers and how to cross safely.

At home F enjoyed some fun playtime with daddy. She really loves rough play.

Talking of rough play this weekend has been a real eye opener. For the first time ever X has been play fighting with A. He has always played wrestling and play fighting with daddy but never with anyone else. Its been so great to see and makes mummy and daddy smile. X doesnt like being ‘got’ so he gets A all the time. She said she doesnt mind though as X is play fighting with her!

Also today F enjoyed saying ‘g’ to her book a lot.

Even though we dont do any ‘work’ as such on a weekend X and A are always really interested in learning.

This morning A used ezee beads to create her own design of a butterfly while X practiced his chopping skills with a wooden cutting set. They then moved on to board games before drawing.

Today was a day for playing. X and A were play fighting together which for X is a huge deal as he usually wont play fight.

On the evening we watched willow. X and A were both worried thinking that the evil lady was going to cut the baby up but she just cut off some of its hair, phew!

Nip punch its the first of the month!

This morning X and A did some maths and English work before continuing with their project work on nintendo games consoles.

F played with some duplo while X and A were getting on. Mummy lined up the alphabet for her.

X, A and F all then had a play on the trampoline.

Then it was time for forest school. A forgot her wellies so had to wear her trainers eek!

A new boy came along to forest school today. As it was his first time X and A showed him around. X was particularly in to this. He took him to all the different areas and showed concern for him when he went high up a bank side. It was really nice to watch.

Daddy came down with F in her carrier which was good as F loves to be around the trees.

X found a tree that had been cut down. We had a good discussion about the inside of the tree and counted 62 rings!

We continued to work towards the john muir award by making a bird box.

A enjoyed trying some bread made on the campfire she said it was really soft and tasty.

A also toasted some marshmallows.

X and A were having lots of fun pretending sticks were bow and arrows.

We all had a lovely afternoon.

When we got home X and A decided to build with the duplo mummy had out earlier for F.

X build a giant car and A a house.

We started our day with A helping mummy to get a bit of shopping (always a learning experience).

Today we started our new topic. Initially it was going to be computer games systems starting with the history of them but my word there is A LOT of them! So we narrowed it down to Nintendo then we had to narrow it down again to just the main consoles not hand held as we would be doing the topic for five years!

X and A along with daddy researched all of the consoles. They found out when they were released, how popular they were, how much they cost and what games were avaliable on them.

We decided to do a huge 1 metre long timeline of when they were released. To do this X and A did a title of the console then drew pictures of the games avaliable on the console.

Planning out the timeline was a big job. They then did another console each using images collected from the computer.

While X and A were hard at work F was doing some work of her own. She practiced her crawling pose by having tummy time, talked about shapes and colours with mummy, made towers with the bricks with mummy and of course destroyed it all. As always the box was more interesting than mummy or the blocks!

Mummy talked through some tricky words with A while daddy and X were doing the timeline.

After dinner A read a book to F. Each time she said a word ‘dog’ etc F made a noise back as if she was repeating the word.

Later on in the evening we went to a local learning hub to a ‘maker club’. X was very unsure and wanted to leave straight away but we stayed to see what it was like.

X and A were given their own led bulb, a tub of playdoh and a battery pack with two leads along with a sheet of instructions to make a circuit.

One end of the led bulb wire is longer than the other this is the positive side and the short side is the negative. Mummy had no idea!

Both X and A followed the instructions, listened to the ladies running it and whizzed on with making circuits. They were realky interested and engaged the whole time. A was very eager and was the first in the class to finish her circuits every time.

First they made a simple circuit then they made one with more components.

Then they made one with a ‘button’ to switch the light on and off.

After that they made a whale game with fish inside from the playdoh. It was like the game operation. If you touched the outside of the circle tummy it beeped. X loved the beeping noise and kept doing it without it even being his go.

They then built their own creations and lit them up with leds. They both really enjoyed themselves at the session, they didnt want it to end.

When they got home they had a little go on pigbys fair again.

Also today the guinea pigs have had to come back inside but in their new run instead of the hutch as its so cold outside. X and A have both liked watching them run around.

This morning it was back to a local college for a family learning session. Before mummy went in A asked for a lotto type ‘find the green car’ game so mummy quickly jotted one down for her on some old paper.

Daddy said she enjoyed it on the way home and they even drove past Asda to try and find a van!

In the college X was unsure as it was a new tutor and a new room. The new tutor was nice and understanding though.

The new topic for the next five weeks is excel. Mummy didnt do computing at school so doesnt know all the ins and outs of excel so some of this will be new to her too.

First X learnt about cells, rows and columns. Then it was on to using excel in a project.

In the project X had to input a sum in the formula bar and transfer data from one cell to another. He worked really hard considering he hadn’t ever used excel before and was engaged in the learning.

There was a short tea break within the session where X sat on a table with two friends T and I having a giggle and a laugh. This was incredible to see considering where he was socially only a year ago.

While X was at the college with mummy A was at home doing a lesson on maths seeds and one on reading eggs.

On the way home we stopped off to grab some dinner. Mummy was impressed that A could read the packet (learning is everywhere!).

As the weather was lovely dinner was in the garden again.

When mummy and X came back X then did his lesson on maths seeds while A did her worksheets that went alongside the lessons.

The beauty of home ed is that learning doesnt have to be sat inside at a desk.

We all then had some time in the lovely sunshine outside.

X and F found a worm outside and were really excited.

X was being cheeky standing on daddys hose pipe when he was trying to water his plants.

And F was having some fun of her own on the trampoline with A and playing with the plastic letters again.

Also today Bobby went upstairs in the hutch for the first time followed by Heidi. We were all very excited.

On the evening daddy showed X and A a new computer program he has downloaded for them to create their own games. An then of course they had a little go on pigbys fair again.

Today it was time for our lego club. Unfortunately not many people turned up again. This didn’t mean it was any less fun for X and A though. X found it difficult again today. A made a model of an arcade with a man playing on a machine.

She then went off to do some colouring with her friend M.

They were so cute sharing a chair. Her friend S had come along to lego club too. It was lovely seeing them all play so nicely together.

After lego club and dinner S came round to play. Unfortunately her, her mum and her sister all got a bit lost finding our house (everyone does) which meant they didnt have much time to play before they had to leave. This resulted in both girls crying. But the promise of another day to play the following week helped bring A around.

After S and her family had left A played in the garden with F.

But there was a bit of a breakage, luckiliy daddy can fix it!

X and A then played some board games outside.

They then moved on to playing their own game with the tranpoline and slide. They were quite loud. So loud a neighbours son heard and came across to play.

J (our neighbour) was very interested in heidi and bobby.

Him and A fed them some broccoli.

J’s mum went to pick up his sister from an after school club while he stayed with us to do some crafts (he came with his own bag full).

They all had fun creating junk models.

After J left we all went out in the garden for a bit longer. Daddy showed us how his bonsais now all have buds on them.

Its really good daddy being so interested in bonsai as it encourages X and A to grow and look after their own trees too (they each have two bonsais). F loves the junipers and frequently tries to pull off the branches! She wont do it with any other kind though.

After tea time we looked at a new app recommended by natwest bank called pigbys fair. It teaches children about managing money, saving and reinvesting to buy more stock.

Back to it, back to our work.

We started with spellings. X and A both did their spellings on the reading eggs app then wrote them in their spelling books.

They then had a break to learn a life skill. Making mummy and daddy cups of tea!

Then they went on a really good free program called teach your monster to read. Its fun and educational.

After all that hard english work we decided to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted.

X and A decided to bring the lego outside. A created a house and X created a boat.

F enjoyed playing with some upper case plastic letter molds we got a while back. Each time she pulled one out of the tub A said ‘b is for baby’ etc which was great to watch. F also loved playing with daddys watering can. She really loves being outside on our fake grass and in the fresh air.

On the evening it was time for A’s weekly football session. She had a lovely time and daddy spotted her using a new technique to keep control of the ball. Its great to see her progressing in skills and confidence.

This morning A got out a fingerpainting book she had got for Xmas. It has a row of ink pads attached to it. X didnt have a set so he decided to make his own. He got a piece of cardboard then some water and some felt tip pens. Mummy and daddy were really impressed at his creative solution. It worked a bit but didnt have the bright colours of A’s ink pads so X asked for our stamping set out.

On the afternoon it was time for X and A’s friends 6th birthday party. It was at a centre with a bouncy castle and soft play.

When we got there both X and A hadn’t put on any socks so A had mummys on. X on the other hand wouldnt wear daddys (as they had been worn) so mummy ran out to the car where daddy had a pair of brand new trampoline socks he hadnt worn, yey! Saved.

A ran off with her friends straight away playing a game where they were all dogs (the barking was noisy!). While daddy and F explored along with X. It helped X having F there to look after and play with. Large parties like this are usually hard for X.

F was absolutely loving the whole thing. Especially the bouncy castle and the balls.

A was having so much fun running around that she was dripping with sweat!

When it was food time X sat away from the table as all the people can be a bit much for him. Our friends had remembered the problems X has when he goes to get food at parties (he is a very picky eater) and had gotten all the things that X likes to eat which was lovely and very thoughtful. X enjoyed this and kept asking if he could go back to the table and get himself some more!

At the party there was also these leho chocolates which everyone thought were great.

Today X and A have done a lot of playing.

We popped to a shop to get the guinea pigs some more hay, some carpet for the ramp in their run and some chicken wire to go around their run as they tried to escspe lsst time!

After daddy put the chicken wire on we set up the guinea pigs new run in the garden.

The weather has been so lovely we had dinner outside with them.

They seem super happy with tgeir extension.

X has been particularly interest in seeing them up close.

F has been practicing her walking with daddy today.

She loves to be out and about.