Is Your Blackout Really Black ..."

... and have you drawn the curtains? 

Yes, we are following the events of the Second World War with particular emphasis on The Home Front.   In addition to our small store of books in the home we will be supplementing from the local library.  We have also been watching a really great school's programme that aired when I was a child, " How we used to live 1936 - 1953."  The programme brought back fond memories for me and Pip was riveted ;-)

Pip learned how to mend a pair of trousers and she wrote a step by step guide outlining what she had learned.  Nowadays we are enthusiastic about recycling or even upcycling but there is still a case to be had for mending an item.  When we mend we are giving that garment a second chance ;-)

 A patch for Dad' jeans.
(note from DH, the first resolution of these pictures for some Blogger reason is poor,
but if you click on them, they become much better)

After having watched a few episodes of " How we used to live," we took our learning into the kitchen and made an eggless ginger cake.  There was even a chance to learn some  science and watch the  bicarbonate of soda and vinegar, mimicking the raising agent of an egg.  Needless to say the cake was also gluten free and dairy free.  We found the recipe over on THE 1940'S EXPERIMENT


 

 Weighing and Measuring.

 Arial View.

 Rubbing the fat into the flour.

 Yummy served with dairy free custard. 

Round Up Time

We've had a busy week in the "school room" in the loft and Benedict has achieved quite a lot of work.

Monday 10th May -

 Benedict wrote the numbers and corresponding words from 40 - 60.  His handwriting is much improved and he has worked hard at keeping the letters neat and on the line.

He drew a small picture of a boat and accompanying sea creatures.

Read " The Victorian Adventure" from The Oxford Reading Tree Level 8.

Practical Life Skills: organised the recycling, swept the dining room floor and cleared the table after lunch.

Independent reading after lunch - Benedict chose a diabetes information book which is solely geared towards children with the condition.

Independent writing - Benedict wrote a letter home as an evacuee during The Second World War.  His writing deteriorated and concentration waned towards the end.  He was very tired both physically and mentally.

Benedict has worked incredibly hard today and I am very pleased with all his efforts.

Tuesday 11th May -

Peculiar BM's all day, swinging from one extreme to the other.  Despite this he did manage some work - he copied out the evacuee letter with correct grammar and spellings, practised this weeks spellings, read "The Surprise" from The Oxford Tree Scheme, constructed a complex marble run creation and made a picture scene with modelling clay.

Wednesday 12th May -

Drew a picture to accompany the evacuee letter.  In it he added barrage balloons, an anderson shelter, sandbags, gas masks and an incendiary bomb.  He was able to describe in detail the function of each item.

Mathematics - Tens and Units using cuisinaire rods.  We listened to the Times Tables soundtrack game.  He needed a lot of help from me but we had great fun!

Copied numbers 60 - 80 and their corresponding words whilst listening to "The Junior Jug Band - Songs to Sing".  The tape was sent to us from our friend in Canada and when he'd finished writing he did his own jive movements, the rhythm was quite infectious!

Using numbered cards as a visual prompt he counted in 2's, 5's and 10's.

Read "William's Mistake" from The Reading Scheme.

Thursday 13th May -

Today should have been our Home Ed Group meeting but due to a lack of numbers it was sadly cancelled.  The lady who runs it had put time and effort into organising a theme for the day and I felt for her that, only two of us had bothered to reply to her e-mail stating we wished to attend.  Benedict was very disappointed and asked could we do something "fun" rather than stay at home.  We had a treat lunch at our local "Frankie and Benny's" and then paid a visit to the shoe shop.  Pip was lucky she got a pair of slippers and shoes at less than the cost of her first pair!!  We couldn't find anything for Benedict so I think we'll have to look further afield.

All things considered it has been a good week!

Dig For Victory!

Finally the Anderson Shelter and Model Garden is complete.  In typical engineering style, Dave and Benedict expertly reinforced the base and apparently it can withstand the weight of an adult, sigh!  It's been a looong time finishing and with hindsight I'm wondering if too long as Benedict was running out of steam towards the end.  Still I'll give him 10 out of 10 for perseverance in times of apathy and boredom!  I think the finished result is pretty good even if I say so myself.  The dig for victory campaign has also sparked  a discussion on self sufficiency and its relevance today.  As a result we've been watching old episodes of The Good Life as well as  The Edible Garden currently showing on BBC Two.  Both programmes are providing much food for thought in addition to that in the garden!

A Late Round Up!

Despite whacky BM's Benedict actually achieved quite a lot of work last week, below is our resume of accomplished activities.



Monday 15th -



 Numeracy - Cuisenaire worksheets/number stories using the rods and counting in two's up to the value of 50.



Home Front - Cutting and gluing the base plate for the Anderson Shelter/Garden Model.  Benedict also watched the second instalment of The 1940's House entitled "Women at Work".  Since the Grandad in the programme was "away on important war work", the eldest boy Ben aged ten years, assumed the role of The Head of the House.  The war cabinet asked him to undertake the role of Fuel Warden, he had to calculate the family's fuel usage and reduce consumption as per the guidelines of the day.  The family were only allowed three bucketfuls of coal per day to run the boiler, all lights had to be turned off in rooms not used and each member was only allowed one bath per week of no more than five inches of water.  Benedict was especially keen to undertake such a role in this house, so watch this space!!



Gardening - Planted more seeds and watered the existing seedlings in the mini greenhouse.



Literacy - Benedict has just moved up a band to level seven of The Oxford Reading Scheme, he read the first three books in that series: Red Planet, Lost in the Jungle and The Lost Key.



Tuesday 16th -



Literacy - Read The Broken Roof from The Oxford Reading Scheme and when tested on his spellings knew them all apart from the word "said".



Numeracy - Cuisenaire worksheets on interchanging numerals and rods to make number stories.



Space Odyssey 2010 - We looked at The International Space Station (ISS), we discussed the similarities between the ISS and an ordinary home, what materials are used in the construction of the ISS and why and what work is being carried out on the station.  Using his Space book as a guide Benedict coloured in a printed sheet of the ISS.



Wednesday 17th-



Literacy - Spellings, knew them all apart from "are", read The Motorway from the Oxford Reading Scheme and practised handwriting using the rhyming word sheets.



Numeracy - Two times table using the clock face and printed cards and Cuisenaire worksheets for addition tables and number patterns.  Benedict found looking for a pattern really easy with the rods but found the addition table more challenging when using a number sequence.



Home Front - More work on the Anderson Shelter/Garden model.



Thursday 18th -



Science Meet with the Lancaster and Cumbria Home Ed groups.  Everyone met at the Maritime Museum and representatives from British Energy, Lancaster City Council Library Service and The Sea Life Centre led workshops on Electricity and its generation, Weather and The Solar System and Rock Pool Life.  The activites were enjoyed by all and it was good to meet with other local Home Ed families.



Friday 19th-



We spent the day with the Cumbria Otherwise Group.   After a bring your own lunch the kids and adults settled down to painting miniature canvasses.  We were blessed with lovely weather and Benedict had fun running around with newfound friends.  In fact he had a hypo as a result of all the extra activity!!



Below are sample pictures from the week:

Times Table Clock Face

Cards covering the clock face.

Using the rods in preparation for interchanging rods with numerals in addition tables.

Life in the rock pool.

Inner strengthening supports for the Anderson Shelter.

Using a CD Rom package to design your own car!

  

Sick Day

With help Benedict managed to plan his drawing of the Anderson Shelter and accompanying vegetable garden.  We talked about the importance of growing your own crops since  the ships were needed for carrying ammunitions and soldiers.  As a result the Dig for Victory campaign began and all householders were encouraged to do their bit for the war effort.  Benedict decided that in his "garden" he would grow, cabbages, carrots, potatoes, onions, swedes, leeks, tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber.

After lunch we had intended to put the plan into action and begin constructing the base plate for the model.   Unfortunately a combination of high blood readings as a result of the cold virus left him feeling quite unwell and he ended up in bed for the remainder of the afternoon.

Having the sleep made all the difference and he had brightened sufficiently to help make the currant scones for tea.  Once the evening pots had been cleared Benedict helped put fresh bed linen on his bed and then spent some time working on the Meccano Space Shuttle.  As I write he is now watching a documentary with Dad based on The Solar System.

Learning All The Time

We've had a busy couple of days.  On Friday we travelled "back home" to see Grandparents and Uncle Bernard.  As part of our trip we visited the Dock Museum and took plenty of pictures.  Benedict was enthralled by the exhibits and one set sparked a long term interest of mum's, the Home Front in the Second World War.  We came home and rooted out a selection of books aswell as the Channel Four recording of The 1940's House, I think we might have hit on our History topic for the next few weeks, Please God!  Here are our pictures of the day:

You can see the reflection of the photographer if you look hard!

Riveted by the riveting gang!!

" Hang out your washing on the Siegfried line!"

"Is your blackout really black?  Have you drawn the curtains?

Here's the warden on the track.

It's better to be certain.

Is your blackout really black?"

Peering inside a reconstructed Anderson shelter

Opposite view.

On Saturday Benedict followed his usual morning routine of watching EWTN kids Faith Factory, he loves The Friar and Hey Lucy!  It was then time for his tap dancing lesson, he's making steady improvements and his dance teacher is very understanding of the diabetes.  After lunch both him and Sara attended the Super Saturday workshop at our local museum.  Benedict learnt about Electromagnetism and produced his own electric current using a magnet and coil.  He received his own certificate signed by M. Farraday himself!!

Once home he helped Dad fill the indoor mini greenhouse with trays of seedlings, so far we have planted: lettuce, tomatoes, peas, peppers, butternut squash, celery and courgettes.

Mum and Benedict watering the seeds.

On Saturday evening we rounded off our day by watching two very informative documentaries, the first was a Chemistry programme looking at Phosphorous, what it is and it's uses, both good and bad.  The second was a social documentary on the Darjeeling Mountain Railway and the study of those relying on the railway for their livelihoods.  With gentle prompting Benedict was able to answer questions on what he had seen and also offered his own interpretation of the items covered in both programmes.