Autumn Season starts

The fresh but sunny weather coupled with the smell of woodsmoke in the air definitely tells us we have started our Autumn season here!

Leo has started his Vikings topic - with mum yesterday, he started to read a book by Rosemary Sutcliffe 'A Wayside Tavern' which covers the period around the last of the Romans leaving Britain, to give him a good sense of the time around the coming of the Vikings and Saxons. They did a review on what they've read so far, Leo always takes it in and remembers so much. Jealous of his good memory!

Today was brilliant, he worked with me so enthusiastically he was a joy to be with. We started with a bit of fun, he coloured in a Viking helmet for us to start our Viking display on the wall with; though he did already know that the helmet was historically incorrect, and told me that the helmets did not have the horns that we usually think of when we think of Vikings.

We found a recipe that the Vikings used - baked apples. All ingredients that would have been available to them - apples, dried fruits, oats and honey. Leo did all the work himself so it really was a learning experience. Our recipe was larger than we needed, so he used his maths to halve all the quantities, which he did fine. We set the timer and he was really impressed with his efforts, though he wasn't mad keen on the taste - we discussed how much sweeter foods are today as compared to this...

We also found Viking runes and wrote lots of family names down - later on in the topic we will make gifts for people using their rune names.

Lastly he did some piano practice - not much, but he practiced the tune from Lesson 1, and became more secure on it and better at 'one finger at a time' so it sounded better. And he was so enthusiastic which is so lovely to see!

oh and as a little aside we put stars on the solar fabric that he had left from before, and have now used up all the fabric, so his project for tomorrow at Nan's is to take the fabric and sew it into bags which will be Christmas gift bags.

It was a fab day where he got so much done and clearly enjoyed doing it. I compare it with what he was learning at school before he left - which was nothing, because he was so anxious and unhappy! It's heartwarming to see how rich his education is at home and how much he's able to do.

Anyone for Tennis?

Ok.......sooooo, after that summer break :-)
To summarise.....
We've played tennis at the free local courts.
We've picnicked at the palace again.
We've all (me, Andy, Leo) had a birthday. Leo is now 11.
We've seen cousins, grandparents, and schoolfriends.
We've been allotmenteers and have harvested peas, runner beans, potatoes, courgettes, blackberries.
We've been out on our bikes.
Leo has grown a couple of inches in a matter of weeks.
Which means he needs a new bike.....sigh
Leo has had lego set after lego set and has got great at reading the instructions and building them (though he would still rather other people did it for him)...
Leo has designed board games with Gran and collaborated on the latest 'Ned Littlebed' story.
Leo did an archery course with the Home Ed group - each Friday, with about ten other kids. He did really, really well, picked it up quickly - and ended up getting numerous bullseyes! He enjoyed being the only left hander in the group. He doesn't want to pursue it as a hobby, but he did really well. I was proud of him not only for doing so well, but also for speaking up, answering questions, and generally taking part, from the first week onwards!

Basically we enjoyed the summer and the hot weather.

Leo decided he doesn't want to have Home Ed 'terms' as that is too school-y, but he wants Home Ed 'Seasons' which is brilliant, because it means we can use the natural framework of the seasons to give our work some shape, which is something I've always been keen to do, based on the Steiner model. There will always be seasonal related projects and activities we can do.

For the autumn season, we are just starting to plan. Today was our own 'not back to school' picnic at the Palace (again!) where we found a new spot just for us - a lovely picnic table under a big tree...Tomorrow is the first day of the autumn home ed season, and starting as we mean to go on, our planning will involve Leo from the start, and we'll sit down together and plan projects and subjects from the list I've prepared. Also, first new thing of the season is music - Leo wants to learn an instrument and we've decided that I will teach him.

He's still pretty allergic to the whole idea of teachers.....but that's fine. It will have it's place in time, for now I am able to start him off.

For me, I'm so, so, so glad that he is not starting Bay House in a couple of days. He is so, completely unready for secondary at barely 11. Being the youngest in the year at school coupled with his dyslexia and hypermobility has always meant that he has not been ready for what faced him and it's brilliant to have been able to remove that dynamic from his life. I started secondary at 12, not 11, because that was the way it was done then.....suddenly now it's at 11, which is too young in my opinion and for Leo, way too young. I am feeling so happy that we can give him what he needs, and continue a more primary approach for as long as he needs it.

The imminence of what would be his secondary school start date, is making me VERY grateful that he is able to be educated at home.

So tomorrow - planning, and piano :-)