play, real life or just work?

Aren’t they all the same? Context: Last week she was waiting for a friend to arrive, due at 2pm and it’s 9am… long time right. She’s at a loss so I chuck “busy work” at her, in this case a maths book with questions and pictures that she can write in. We sit at the…

secret learning to read (30.10.18)

I have done no ‘active teaching’ in Helena’s learning to read. I was trying the theory that you can learn to read yourself as I was never convinced that the rituals at school teaching kids to read were what was doing it. It’s all the child. The ingredients for reading are: a child who wants…

a sick day (01.11.28)

Project one: armor Dunno why Project two: printing Ok, so I started this one as we had to finish another project which she lost interest in quickly (been going on too long) but then there was ink to use up, choice. Helena scratched the ink off with sticks, fingers, paintbrush and a paper towel. She…

the holiday programme was OK, just in case you were worried…

One of the things people worry about homeschooling is whether the kids will be socialised… double whammy for me having – oh no an ONLY child. Guess what.. they worry about kids socialisation skills at school too. I remember there were a couple of kids at school (I’m talking primary school here) who other teachers…

no.. no.. don’t take a photo (30.10.18)

  … it wasn’t working out and apparently going near it with the phone may have just ruined it… though there was a moment where I was allowed to offer some help to stop it falling over….. This is her first go with plasticine! Go no 1… No 2 – the revised model The final…

money money money… sea treasure! (weekend school)

Helena and her friend collected 185 sand dollars… independently while spending hours out on the sea on boogie boards while their adults watched from a considerable distance and let them do science. We counted them We watched them We talked about the small area they got them from, so how many are there… millions? We…

the card industry… (26.10.18)

Someone else’s ideas We got some paint colour samples on those little cards and I made the comment that Helena “better DO something with them”… a friend of mine said she used them to make cards. Helena leapt on this idea. These are all for sale…  I can get them for a special discount (the…

Thanks Mr Pound (21.10.18)

We visited the Wellington City Art Gallery and saw Patrick Pound’s On Reflection. Helena’s first response was “this is boring” I think brought on by thinking about the cafe later on and knowing about the drawing station that she has always liked visiting…. after a few drawings approach number two, this time maybe she was…

Nana’s steps

Helena and I have been meaning to “do” Nana’s steps for years… years! We did (painted a white line on the edge) our neighbor’s steps years ago having walked down her many steps in the dark and been a little afraid of missing a step, particularly scary if you are little. I think of us…

the weird stuff kids do (25.09.18)

These are called springs. You make them by folding, Helena can now do this extreeeemly quickly and with her eyes shut. There is now a basket of 80 of them “two more sets of 10 and there will be 100” sitting on her desk, as well as some cut card waiting for her to make…