This post http://www.bambinogoodies.co.uk/bayard-books/ has just reminded me to renew E’s lapsed subscription for Adventure Box.
And I think I’ll get T the Story Box too.
E loves her ones so much that she sleeps with them under her pillow! When going to bed, or on waking in the morning she often settles down with one of them and reads it to herself. She is really missing the excitment of having her magazine fall through the letter box and having us read her the latest chapter story right through as soon as possible.
http://www.storyboxbooks.com/
All posts by Katherine
Informal learning – a new (old) approach that works!
Informal Learning: An Interview With Dr Alan Thomas MSc, PhD, FBPsS
Children learn whatever they experience in the world around them. As Dr Thomas says “all you have to do to learn in a culture, is live in that culture”.
Parks in Hertfordshire
This google map shows Parks and sites of interest in Hertfordshire.
Please leave others to be added in comments.
Not back to school picnic news stories
Families protest against proposed changes to home schooling
Stroud News and Journal
By David Wiles » FAMILIES staged a protest in Stratford Park, Stroud against proposed Government reforms which they fear would make home education too …
Home schooling: Hey, teachers, leave us kids alone
As protesters gather in London today to campaign against tighter restrictions on home schooling, our writer, educated in a council house with her seven siblings, gives a learned riposte to those who doubt its benefits
Parents protest over tougher restrictions on home schooling
This is London.
They say the rules will reduce the risk of home education being used as a cover for child abuse. But campaigners argue the move will restrict parents’ …
BBC coverage
(39 minutes into the programme)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00mq5xg
Not back to school picnic
With the shops full of ‘back to school’ bargains, Home Educating families in Hertfordshire are joining together for a ‘Not Back to School’ picnic in St. Albans.
Across the country picnics are being organised for families to meet with old friends and make new ones, dispelling the myth that home educated children do not get a chance to socialise. This will also be a chance for families new to home education to find out about the many activities that run in the county. As well as various one off events, regular groups give children the chance to take part in sports, music, art, craft, science, history as well as making new friends. Getting together with other home educating families also gives parents the chance to network and share tips and ideas.
Hundreds of children in the county are educated ‘otherwise than at school’ be it in a structured school at home setting, or a more ‘free-range’ autonomous approach.
The gatherings also are hoping to show that Home Educating families are part of the wider community, we would welcome anybody wishing to find out more about Home Education to come along and join in the fun.
The St. Albans picnic will take place in Verulamium Park on Tuesday 15th September between 12:30pm and 3pm.
To show solidarity with similar events across the country that week, there will be a mass bubble-blowing at 2pm, as a peaceful protest against the new restrictions on Home Education proposed in the Badman report recently presented to the government.
Making flowers
http://www.docrafts.co.uk/asp/projects/project.asp?id=2172
A nice simple way to make flowers out of pipe cleaners from docrafts.co.uk
This is what I am scared of …
This article shows just what I am scared of with respect to the Government’s proposed changes to home education.
What is to stop them using home education as a reason for taking my children away? What happens when an LA official doesn’t like my education methods, or doesn’t like that I don’t accept their methods of education.
They have an incredible potential power over us already – even now when the legal situation supports parent’s choices over education. How much worse will it be when the law doesn’t protect our freedom to educate in a way that works for our children, but only in a state approved way!
Intensive farming good for forests
This story in the New Scientist highlights how intensive farming and trees go hand in hand. Despite the scepticism in the comments, a large number of species, including trees is necessary for successful, sustainable, intensive farming.
In many parts of the world the traditional agriculture is very intensive, what we in the west would now call Permaculture. Forest gardens are a good example. In these situations there is a diverse number of species, all providing different foods, useful products and maintaining the system.
Our conventional monocultures, are different in that they produce alot of very few crops – but are actually less intensive, in that the total output is less.
We often fail to recognise very intensive agriculture, such as that practiced in pre-colombian Amazon, because of its sheer diversity.
New Scientist 25th August Intensive farming good for forests.
The Secret War Against Breastfeeding
Your breasts are in the middle of a battle. An expert tells you why.
Well thought out look at why breastfeeding, which should be so natural, can be so difficult to achieve.
Family finger puppets
As featured in the autumn 09 issue of Small magazine, step by step instructions for making a simple card finger puppet family from Beeb Design. I also particularly like the peg dolls.