RachelSwirl

#LivingArrows – Fun In The Sun 21/52 (2020)

#LivingArrows – Fun In The Sun 21/52 (2020)

To celebrate J’s eleventh birthday, the sunshine very kindly offered to make a guest appearance. We made the most of the good weather by blowing and filling up the paddling pool, slinging on the kids’ swimming gear, and turning up the tunes.

Despite being in lockdown, J had a brilliant birthday and it was mostly due to the good weather as we were able to get out into the garden and to have fun in the sun. The kids enjoyed shooting hoops in J’s brand new basketball net and splashing about in the paddling pool, whilst shooting each other with water guns and doing what kids do best – causing chaos.…

View Post

#LivingArrows – Working & Walking 20/52 (2020)

#LivingArrows – Working & Walking 20/52 (2020)

When it comes to our homeschool routine, my husband I and I tend to split the days in terms of leadership. Paul (and the kids of course) usually start the day by having a workout with Joe Wicks from which they then cool down with drinks, snacks, and the latest episode of Newsround.

I then step in by leading the literacy, spelling, handwriting, reading, and numeracy whilst Paul’s locked in the office busy working from home.

Smiles for Spelling

Once work is out of the way, we then have some lunch followed by a break during which the children usually play outside in the garden unless it’s pouring down like today for example, in which case they’ll go on their ‘tech’ or watch some television.…

View Post

#LivingArrows – Potty About Plants 19/52 (2020)

#LivingArrows – Potty About Plants 19/52 (2020)

With E learning all about the lifecycle of plants, we decided to set up some outdoor shelving for pot plants. It’s been two years since we dismantled and removed our rickety, old greenhouse and though I certainly do not miss the eyesore that it was – the kids have really missed planting and growing seeds.

Since Paul put together and painted these shelves, we’ve since added a range of outdoor pot plants and both E & J have really enjoyed planting seeds, watering the pots each day, and watching the plants as they grow. Our kids have a real appreciation and love for nature – it’s so lovely to see!…

View Post

#LivingArrows – Plant Pot Painting 18/52 (2020)

#LivingArrows – Plant Pot Painting 18/52 (2020)

It’s been busy, busy, busy here at ‘HomeSchool Headquarters’. Though we tend not to start quite on the dot when it comes to a typical school day, we certainly pack plenty into our days.

Each week I put together a schedule of schoolwork and activities for the kids to complete, though I sometimes tweak the timetable, it seems to serve us well:

We start each day with a daily dose of Joe (AKA Mr Wicks) followed by Newsround, Phonics, Spellings, Handwriting, Grammar, Arithmetic and Mathematics before a well-deserved break. 

After lunch, we tend to turn to foundation-topic-based work, which is a little more enjoyable, though still very much educational.…

View Post

#LivingArrows – Loving Learning & Lighthouse Awards 17/52 2020

#LivingArrows – Loving Learning & Lighthouse Awards 17/52 2020

Touch wood, homeschooling seems to be going really well of late! The kids have been working really hard, so well in fact that our little lady has been awarded with the Lighthouse Award!

This meant that we had to create some sort of lighthouse for E to hold for photographic purposes. Having worked our socks off all week long, I decided that rather than crafting a lighthouse from Lego, loo rolls or whatever else, I’d save us all the effort and instead, take a sneaky snapshot whilst down the beach.

I’m so proud of our little Princess, she is finding it really tough at the moment as she misses her family and friends and despite being at home with her brother, it’s just not the same… We’ve had tears and the odd tantrum but she understands why we are in lockdown and does her best to get by.…

View Post