Hello friends! It's been a while since I last checked in with you all. I hope you're well and have had a happy August. My plans for an August newsletter, and a series of Math-themed posts for September, have all been flung out of the window because our builder has surprised us at the very last minute, and we are having our extension built! The builders start next week! As you can imagine, everything has been a bit chaotic here, as we work on clearing the spaces, negotiating with our neighbours, lining up all the paperwork etc. It's exciting, but my working life is having to take a back seat for a little while.
Yesterday, we celebrated the beginning of the new school year with a few special family traditions. You can read all about how these came to be in this blog post, which I wrote last September. As you know, we home educate all day, every day. We do not follow school terms or hours. We do, however, like to take opportunities to celebrate, and all is explained in the blog post linked above.
In Bean's 'Back to School' basket this year, she had some books:
Born to Dance - I've already shared this book on my social media feeds, so you can read a short review of it in this post. Needless to say, Bean loves it, and spent much of the morning poring over it. I'm looking forward to spending some quality time together exploring the QR codes, and attempting to create some photos like this of our own.
My Jacqueline Wilson Treasury - This was a TKMaxx find (was £3.99). Bean is a big Jacqueline Wilson fan, and this collection of short stories, quizzes, infographics etc. is just right for her to read independently.
Mental Maths Games for Clever Kids - This is one of a series, and are really budget friendly (I think it was £2.00). No materials are necessary (although a pencil and paper may sometimes be helpful). They're great to have in your bag when you're on the bus, waiting at the dentist etc. or to weave into your morning/math time.
Some art and craft supplies:
Marble Pouring Abstract Art Set - I found this one on sale in The Entertainer (was £4.00 I think), but the one I have linked is similar. We've never tried this technique before, and I'm keen for Bean to try it out before I invest in supplies. Pretty sure she'll love it though.
Scratch and Draw Patterns - This was another TKMaxx find (was £2.99 I think). The link I've shared is also heavily reduced. I like to have a good bank of resources such as these to pull out for read aloud time.
Usborne Owl Embroidery Kit - Bean has already had a go with the Llama version of this, and really enjoyed it. The design is already printed onto the fabric, with the embroidery forming the detail, so it looks effective even if left unfinished (which is often the case in our house).
Some games:
Fluff Dice Game - I don't know anything about this game, but I found it in a charity shop, brand new and unopened for £2.00, and I'm always on the lookout for interesting new games. The reviews look good.
Pop It Game - Bean, like most children her age, is obsessed with fidget toys. This game didn't come with any instructions, but we spent 15 minutes playing with it yesterday morning and came up with three different ways to play ourselves. I think this one will be popular.
100 Pics Riddles - This is one of a series, and I was keen to try them out. Card games are so compact and portable. I'll keep you posted on this one.
And a couple of random extras:
A skater tshirt - I found this in the Boys section in Morrisons. It's got a skateboarder on the front, and I knew Bean would love it. I sized down, as boys clothes tend to be more generous on the sizing. I went for age 8-9, and it fits my slim 10 year old perfectly.
PlusPlus+ Base Boards - We've only recently discovered PlusPlus, and Bean loves them. I'm hoping that these will extend her play further.
Chocolate Brownie Baking Kit - These were on sale in B&M (was £4.00 I think). We ended up cooking this for our breakfast yesterday morning and it was such an indulgent treat. The cast iron skillet will be going in our mud kitchen.
After exploring the contents of her basket, Bean hand rolled and decorated some candles for our autumn morning time sessions, and I made a new autumn window wreath. I'll take some photos today and share them on my feed tomorrow. Then, we headed out for a long afternoon of play with friends, followed by Bean's weekly gymnastics class.
I'm not going to make any promises with writing blog posts over the coming weeks, as I have a lot on my plate here with the building project, but I'll see how things pan out. I hope to at least attempt my monthly newsletter. There are still a couple of days left to purchase digital play and learning guides in my 25% off sale. You can have a browse here.
Take care, and speak soon!
Rowan x
This blog post contains affiliate links. If you do click through, Bean and I will receive a small amount of commission which will contribute to new books and resources for her home education. You can, however, find all of these resources elsewhere, including other online retailers, second hand selling pages and your local library.