March 2018

A little late this month (where does the time go!), what we got up to in March.

So after no decent snow for about 7 years, we got a huge second lot! Whilst fun and beautiful at first I soon tired of the constant welly puddles and picking up of dripping coats... Owen was worried it might not come again for another 7 years so has put a large bag of snow in my freezer, he will of course never forget doing this - therefore the bag is doomed to remain there indefinitely!

As part of British Science Week, we visited The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth for a special "Just Add H20" home ed. event. This was another fantastic day; we explored with submersible vehicles and learnt about the physics of moving around underwater, we were lucky to test out a new virtual reality headset (the first of it's kind) and explored a three-dimensional world full of weird and wonderful creatures in the deep. There was a fun show and talk about the impact that humans have on the ocean (especially with plastics) and what we can do to help. We were also able to watch divers hand feeding the fish and learnt about the sign language they use to communicate. The educational experience and benefits of visits like these, done in quiet term time and in small groups is amazing. Before home ed we had only visited in school holidays and after struggling to park, queuing for ages and then barely getting close to the tanks through the crowds - this is such a difference!

There are some really good, and free, downloadable science resources here:
British Science Week Activity Packs

You may have already seen these amazing videos, they both really highlight so much that is wrong with our own education system - but just in case you haven't, do watch them they are brilliant:

Prince Ea: Before you go to school - watch this...

Finland: The best education system in the world

We visited Kents Cavern, prehistoric caves and home of ancient humans in Torquay (one of the most important Stone Age sites in Europe), as part of a home ed. group trip. Our knowledgeable guide led us through the caves, telling us how the rocks were formed, about stalagmites and stalactites, the caves history and inhabitants and showing us bones and teeth of ancient Ice Age people and animals. There was also a fun stone age activity trail outside and the opportunity to touch some objects from their display cases. Their website has some great free educational resources that you can download too.

Did you know the Devonian limestone that makes up Kents Cavern is over 385 million years old? In 1927 a group of excavators unearthed a jaw fragment and three teeth, it was radio-carbon dated at 41,000-44,000 years old making it the oldest human fossil found in North-West Europe.

A group we go to had organised a visit from the Devon Bird of Prey Centre, the ladies displaying these beautiful birds were fantastic and taught Owen (and I) lots.

Once again here in Devon there has been so much rain (big sigh, I'm sick of it now!), a few of our planned Dartmoor trips have been rescheduled but we have still been very busy. At home we have been trying to de-clutter, which is difficult as children never want to get rid of anything! All our accumulated little chalk stubs created a fun diversion, crushed up and turned into paints with a little water - it kept Owen (and even his 17 year old brother) amused for ages.

Much excitement was generated from the arrival through the door of Letterbox Lab, science kits for kids that provide activities, experiments (with everything you need inside) and creative projects. I thought we would give it a try. This one explored rainbows, light and colour. Owen loved making his own Rainbow Glasses and Rainbow Spinners. We extended the theme by watching some science videos on rainbows. The box was a big hit and we both enjoyed it a lot - he is already asking when the next one will come!

As for regular indoor activities: All of us are Lego obsessed (the cat too!), here's my 3 boys, covering the floor - again...

Everyone, including kitty, loves Lego

Owen loves his iPad (even though it is such an old one that it can't update anymore). Minecraft is still his favourite, the things he creates are phenomenal! Look at his Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings! There is so much of educational value to minecraft: Reading, writing, typing skills, problem solving, design, creativity, patience, resource management, following instructions - the list goes on and on...

After trying (and wasting money on) lots of maths programs and apps (and Owen not liking any of them), we have discovered a fun (and free, hurrah!) app called Prodigy Maths, he really enjoys playing it - result! I've found something that is actually teaching him whilst he battles monsters (I'm very careful not to use words like 'teaching' or 'educational' around him though, it might put him off!).

Being new to home ed. (and still needing to 'de-school' myself) I have been guilty of impulse buying/joining/downloading WAAAY too much stuff, I think its all part of my own adjustment process and worrying that we need to follow certain curriculum learning goals (which we probably don't!). I'm thinking of writing a separate post based on all the resources we have tried, and more importantly, if they were a waste of money or a sound investment (please comment if you think it's a good idea). It may help me (and maybe help inform others) keep track of all the sites I have joined and how useful they are (or are not), I'm feeling overwhelmed by the number of online bookmarks I have saved - de-cluttering is definitely needed.

Another thing I'm guilty of as a newbie is booking us up for too many things. Events pop up constantly on the Facebook feed from home ed. groups I've joined, I'll think "that sounds great!" and sign us down. In an attempt to try everything (and there is a ton of homeschooling related things going on) and find what suits Owen best we have been very busy / tired out. The ultimate goal is to whittle it all down to a few regular weekly favourites and a couple of special events a month - for example, every day minus weekends is filled on my April calendar for the next 2 weeks, crazy...

Well that was a taste of March (we did squeeze in some forest adventures and a music lesson too), aside from leftover Easter chocolate binging, April's calendar includes; a myths & legends walk on Dartmoor, a farm visit, a tour of the Bone Cave in Buckfastleigh, the first session of a science club, workshops at RHS Rosemoor's educational centre - and my eldest son turns 20 (OMG, how old?!). 

Note to bad weather: It would be very much appreciated, if some dry and sunny Spring days started now, thanks.

Yum... babyccino, so sophisticated!

Take the path less travelled - be happy... xx

February 2018: Climbing, Cats and Snow at last!

The first big snow here for 6 years!

Looking back over the last month it's hard to think of anything but the UK 'Snowmageddon' !!! - people from cold countries must think us Brits are hilarious! The last time we had 'proper' snow where we live, Owen was only a few months old, so this was his first real experience of the chilly white stuff and he LOVED it!

I love you snow!

Pre-snowpocalypse we'd had a fairly laid back month and a lot of at home time (it had been sodding freezing). I must admit to having days where I worry that we are not doing enough 'learning' but then remind myself that everything is a learning experience and happiness and good mental health are more important than good grades. He is still only 6 after all and it seems I'm the one who is needing the time to 'unschool' my way of thinking not him! 

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I was reading a worrying article researching children's mental health, did you know that:
1 in 5 children have mental health problems
There has been a 43% increase in ADHD
A 37% increase in teen depression
A 100% increase in the suicide rate of kids 10-14 years old?

There is very thought provoking blog post here with parenting tips that I wanted to share: What are we doing to our children?

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Lots more slime has been made and maybe my talk of the science behind it and how polymers work is sinking in! Here is our never fail recipe:

Stretchy Slime

250ml PVA glue
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Poster paint or food colouring
1 tbsp eyewash (it must contain boric acid and sodium borate to work)

Mix the first 3 ingredients together, then add the eyewash, once it gets stringy and comes away from the edges of the bowl squish it together with your hands.

We use Optrex eyewash and kid's poster paint (just a squirt and it works way better than food colouring), glitter is great added too. While the slime is still fresh and super stretchy, try blowing it up with a straw - it looks amazing!

Another cool experiment was a 'Tornado in a bottle', even if it did end up leaking all over the kitchen!

Thanks to Eco Kids Planet magazine for how to do it.

Pancakes were of course made for Shrove Tuesday, with help from Owen. As usual, even though I seemed to cook a few hundred of them, with three sons around these quickly disappeared and I only had a mere 1 to eat.

nom, nom, nom...

We learned a lot about cats in February, not just because we have a cat 'Wompa' (named after the creature from Hoth in Star Wars) though also known by 'Mr Bitey' and 'Azog the pale defiler'. We paid a home ed. group visit to the Cat's Protection League and a guided tour of the facility, saw behind the scenes, learnt kitty facts and history and of course got to see a LOT of cats! The people there do a really wonderful and admirable job.

Owen decided our cat would like a house, so designed and built a rather impressive two story home, worthy of Grand Designs - I only helped with the cutting. Wompa loves it (thank goodness), on the negative side I now have an enormous bloody box in my front room that I can't throw out and no cellotape left!

Another crafty discovery has been chalk pens, they have really encouraged Owen to write and draw more as it probably feels like graffiti to him! In fact the whole family has taken to drawing on the windows, here's Owen using them to practice his letter writing and in the background is some window 'art'!

For the spring we want to try some nature topics and plant growing. Before the snow we planned out a mini pond project that we can observe through the year, using an old plastic box from the garage. Once the freeze is over we will add a couple of small pond plants to oxygenate the water and wait for the wildlife to hopefully arrive!

Pond project

Making fire & toasting marshmallows with his big brother

We took a very atmospheric walk on Dartmoor, a small home ed. group met for a scramble over Hookney Tor. We managed despite thick fog to make it to Grimspound, an impressive Bronze Age settlement with the remains of 24 stone roundhouses, all within a massive boundary wall. I plan to go back on a clear day as the views are probably amazing.

In a Grimspound roundhouse

Owen with his 19 year old brother on foggy Hookney Tor

A first for us was indoor climbing, we were quite nervous at first but really enjoyed it. We went to Exeter's Clip'n'Climb at the Quay, even I had a go too (I discovered I'm fine at going up but lousy at coming down again!). We went for a bracing, icy walk along the Quayside afterwards and rewarded ourselves with chips and pulled pork in Samuel Jones.

That's about it for February, when the snow has gone we hope to get out on more walks and adventures. Plans for a few Dartmoor walks, an Aquarium trip and a RHS garden visit are booked, as is Owen's first guitar lesson!

Take the path less travelled - be happy... xx


January's Blog

December's Blog

January 2018: Busy despite the rain.

Owen with his model of Willy Wonka's Factory!

January seems like it has rained EVERY darn day... so with the cold, crummy weather, we have spent a lot of time indoors - hurry up Spring! Owen doesn’t mind, he would happily spend every day in pyjamas, reading books and making Lego creations, so a lot of January has been just that - though my house is now literally covered in bricks. The important thing for me is that he is happy, which then makes me happy too. I had thought we'd had a quiet month but writing this it seems we still did plenty!

Owen has been obsessed with Greek Mythology this month

It's been fascinating to see the books that Owen has chosen to read himself, nothing like the type of reading books he had at school! As the youngest of 3, Owen is lucky to have a huge amount to choose from, a lot of them 'fact' type titles. I had vastly underestimated the level of his reading ability (probably due to the 'band' system I was used to him being put in at school, they so like to pigeonhole children), he is reading very complex words and sentences with apparent ease! He discovered his big brothers books on Greek Mythology and has been reading them obsessively - but now won't stop talking about the Minotaur!

What I have learned myself is that given the chance, children will learn independently when they can choose and follow their own interests. I try to supply resources or info that can extend that interest, and it has to be said that Google is bloody amazing - thank you internet! If Owen asks me a question (it was randomly about Mantis Shrimps yesterday!) I will look it up for him. In our previous stressful, rushed after school days I would often have not done it. For example: Owen - "How big is the sun mummy?", Me - "I don't know darling, fudging huge".

If you would like the actual answer, according to Space.com: 

"The mean radius of the sun is 432,450 miles (696,000 km), which makes its diameter about 864,938 miles (1.392 million km). You could line up 109 Earths across the face of the sun. The sun's circumference is about 2,713,406 miles (4,366,813 km)."

So as you can see, my first answer was essentially correct!

Owen's Treebeard Lego model

Another current obsession is Lord of the Rings, we've worked our way through all the LOTR and Hobbit movies (the extended versions no less!), which is fine by me as I absolutely love them and popcorn and movie watching suits the bad weather. Owen recreated some characters from Lego and his model of the Ent 'Treebeard' was fantastic.

Drawing Anime style and tasting Japanese snacks

We attended a home ed screening at The Exeter Picturehouse of  'The Tale of Princess Kaguya', we are huge fans of everything Studio Ghibli, Owen's first ever cuddly toy was a Totoro! There were craft activities set up, Japanese snacks / sweets and even Green Matcha tea to taste (Owen thought it was disgusting haha!). After the movie we stayed on and shared a big pizza in their cafe bar (delightfully deserted because it was school term time), a lovely treat. We also popped into The Works on the High Street to get some maths workbooks, getting Owen to look at them though is a challenge (bribery for getting gadget time may be needed). He said after being shown a book on times tables - "arrrgghhh, you are killing my mind!" (the cursed, lying book cover had promised me the opposite effect "extend your child's learning!" blah, blah, blah). Needless to say, we put them away for now and will try again another time!

Weighing ingredients for cake making

A regular Exeter meet up we go to was having a cake competition so Owen helped me with baking. Measuring out ingredients for cake is the kind of 'maths' that he enjoys most! The finished honey & cinnamon cake was super delicious, but silly mummy left in sat in the darn kitchen (I realised half way across Exeter), we had hurried out to give my 16 year old a lift to college, at least I had remembered Owen!

Trying out the drums

It suits him... playing electric guitar

The following week (I baked another cake and remembered to take it this time!), a home ed family had brought in musical instruments. The children so loved it, it was a very noisy afternoon! Owen tried drumming and electric guitar, he really enjoyed both and is now pestering me for his own guitar! Unusually for his age, his favourite music is Hawkwind's 'Hall of the Mountain Grill' album, I do have a vast and eclectic music collection though and BBC's 6 Music plays on our radio all day.

Right at the end of January we had our first visit from the LEA (local education authority) home education team. Legally, you are under no obligation to accept an offer of a home-visit. You can meet elsewhere (with or without your child) or not meet at all and keep any contact in writing. You never have to provide 'samples of work', produce a time-table or a lesson plan. This area though is another example of a 'postcode lottery' as opinions on the Local Authorities seem to differ wildly across the country. I had researched my local team (Babcock for Devon County Council) and heard good reports, hence accepting a visit. The lady who visited us was absolutely lovely, she stressed that her role was purely to offer support and information - if we needed it. She left us some links to free online educational resources and a little card that proves Owen is home educated (this can be handy for getting discounts).

Looking back at our month, even a dull and wet January, it strikes me how interesting and diverse a time he has had - once again I feel totally assured of our choice to home school. One wonderful part of homeschooling is the freedom it gives you, you are totally in control and set the pace, wearing pj's and baking one day, heading off to the woods another. You can do as much, or little, as you choose. I was asked by another parent if home ed was expensive, you can spend as much or as little as you choose really. I've met working mums who use private tutors and all day forest schools and others who spend next to nothing. We no longer have to pay for school related stuff like uniform, p.e kits, coats & bags, school trips, last minute fancy dress, enforced fundraisers / hand-in-pocket for stalls etc. and the saving for taking trips away in term time is massive. There are many free or cheap activities / resources available. Huge discounts can be found for home ed families, there are HE Facebook groups just for sharing these, one (among many) we signed up for was an online maths app, usual price £45 a year, for only £6. Most of our activities are low or no cost, being together and connecting with nature = free and priceless.

Come back at the beginning of March to find out what we got up to in February! (we already have pony club, a forest adventure and indoor rock climbing on the calendar - and Owen's big brother turns 17!).

Take the path less travelled - be happy... xx


I have added some more links to our last post, so why not give it another read!
*** Our first blog post ***

December 2017: Here we go...

Owen & I with his 16 year old brother

Our first post!

After a year of angst ridden deliberation, I decided to home educate my 6 year old son Owen. He was anxious, unhappy, hating school, having meltdowns over the slightest thing and stressed - children should not be stressed! Nothing dramatic 'happened', our small rural Primary School was lovely - the issue was the system itself and an accumulation of factors. Dropping Owen off each morning was awful, whilst sobbing he would beg me to take him home, which then would make me cry... It just seemed wrong, him miserable shut in school for 6 hours a day, life is short - so I resolved to get the happy back in his life and mine.



The UK school system fails our children with it's obsession for testing, assessment, literacy & numeracy skills and the 'right kind' of behaviour (sit still, be quiet etc.). It is set to get worse too, the government has future plans for compulsory baseline tests of literacy, numeracy and behaviour in the first six weeks of primary school life (testing 4 year olds... really?!!).

Do we want to make all our children the same? Do we all 'learn' the same way? Do we just accept that it's the 'right' way because the majority do it? Are we sacrificing our children's happiness and uniqueness in order to conform?

The UK education system could learn a lot from countries like Finland and Sweden where children learn through play, 'formal' schooling doesn't even begin until the age of 7 (unlike the UK where they start school at only 4, even though the actual CSA is meant to be 5). Did you know that the English system was introduced in 1870 in order to get women back into work quicker? (rather than on the basis of any educational benefit to children!). 

The idea of children not learning to read until they're 7 scares some parents, but the research consistently shows that they do catch up. Those extra years of play may help children in ways that academia cannot. A recent study by Stanford University discovered that kids who started school older showed significantly lower levels of inattention and hyperactivity. The difference in development between age five and age eight is significant. Starting formal schooling later has been proven to produce better long term academic achievement, happiness and child well-being. 

Here is a very informative read on the evidence:
New Scientist - Too Much Too Young


Although an education is compulsory in the UK for children between the ages of 5 and 16, school itself is not. Many families prefer to home educate their children and it is their right under UK law to do so. Home educating families do not have to follow the National Curriculum and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Home ed 'styles' vary from unschooling / autonomous child-led learning, to a national curriculum based 'school at home' approach - I think we will be somewhere in between the two. There is a huge support network out there and a very big home ed. community (especially in Devon), most of my knowledge has been gained from helpful home education Facebook groups.

This fantastic website has a wealth of information on home education:
Educational Freedom

This Guardian article sums up some great key home ed. plus points: 
10 Good Reasons to Home Educate


But back to us!

Only 1 week into our home ed journey and my son was a different boy and most importantly, happy again, it was like flicking a switch - amazing! A whole new world had opened up to us which filled me with optimism and joy. We attended many different home ed groups and activities in the lead up to Christmas, mainly trying to find our feet and meeting other homeschooling families. Owen still meets up with school friends and sees the village children at Beavers (young Cub Scouts). The socialisation question comes up a lot but it is a complete non issue - Owen has met and mixed with so many other children (and adults) of all ages and diverse lifestyles, and they have all been so friendly and welcoming. Here's just a small sample of things he did in December...

Owen riding for the very first time at a home ed. pony club

Art appreciation!

Forest School & reconnecting with nature

Doing science! Making stretchy slime at a home ed group

A home ed event at Plymouth Aquarium

Santa even visited and dived with the fish!

Attending a Christmas play at Exeter Library

...And some of the best things? Owen hasn't been ill once since leaving school (touch wood). No stressful and manic school run mornings. Spending time together, it's a cliche to say they grow up fast - but it's very true (I have 2 teenage sons as well, so speak from experience). And, visiting places in term time is blinking fantastic; quiet, easy to park, no queues, bliss!... Here's to 2018!

Take the path less travelled - be happy... xx