flying time and rising tide...

Yikes! Has it really been that long since I updated?! Time is indeed flying. We are still chugging along,and I am pleased to say KS3 maths is NO MORE! We finished the other day,lock stock and protractor...I could be really mean and insist on starting GCSE right away and plunge right in by going back over fractions then adding on from there the extra gcse bits,but its nearly xmas,and the Peanut has done so well and worked so hard I am inclined to be a soft touch and proclaim from now until xmas maths games and puzzles every day instead. English is flying along nicely,Peanut romped through animal farm and then dived headlong into 'Of Mice and Men' which she finished in about 3 hours.This leads nicely into GCSE modern history,so we are going into some detail about the 20s and 30s both here and in America. Science wise,chemistry will be concluded by the end of term,when we move on to physics and then on to GCSE. I have faithfully promised that we WILL be doing Darwin again next term as well. We are also going back to experimenting with our teaching methods. Having read much of the brilliant Grits Day blog,I became interested in the idea of looking at what I would normally teach over the course of the week,and then giving Peanut a list of assignments. She has Monday to ask for any help she may need understanding them,and working through any problems,and the rest of the week she is left to organise her own time as she sees fit. My only proviso is that by the end of the week the work is done and then checked by me on Friday. It is actually proving surprisingly effective,Peanut gets to organise her own time and study schedule,without the need for me sitting 'breathing down her neck' and I have more time for such luxuries as mopping 8 bathtowels and 2 buckets full of water from our kitchen floor where we appear to have something of a mains leak which has so far baffled 2 sets of plumbers...yay...

half term and half measures

Well,there goes another half term,we are now officially in the downhill terror slide towards xmas...fortunately,I have got 90% of my presents and am feeling slightly smug (hey come on,its allowed once in a while!) that I will not be one of the vast hordes shopping in december...Ill be serving them instead-darn it,knew there was a flaw somewhere!
School continues,although since we have only one module left before leaving KS3 maths behind,I have left the easiest till last.We are currently doing Graphs and Charts. Chemistry continues with 'metals and non metals'-we will be on KS3 science for a while yet...english, To Kill a Mockingbird' and study guide went down so well we are going to give animal farm a shot.History,well,Im expecting a certain amount of discussion on communism after animal farm,so I guess we will be looking at Russia and possibly China. The project on 1930s america kind of ground to a halt,so we will be trying to pick that up a bit as well.This term is traditionally an easy one for both primary and secondary schools everywhere,exams are finished,there are more extra curricular activities to worry about,and trying to keep the attention of a room full of kids who can sense xmas is pointless. We are following suit with our own more relaxed curriculum at the mo,although of course,as critics will be quick to point out as homeschoolers,we hardly do anything worthwhile anyway...*coughfinishks3ayearearly*cough*
In other news,we learnt how to make carrot oil using the baby carrots we grew this year.Next stop is to find a balm for dermatitis,please,before I scratch myself to death! So far,beeswax and almond oil seems to be doing it better than anything else,but time will tell.
The Peanut is now obsessed with a new show-thank gods as 'Scrubs' was starting to get to me. This new one was a happy accident,they have started to show reruns of 'Due South' on tv,and I found it while channel surfing. I used to LOVE it as a kid,the first 2 seasons anyway...never did get into the new Ray K thing,and I was wallowing in nostalgia when Peanut came in and took an interest.She is now hooked. I managed to buy season 2 cheap,but season 1 is SIXTY bloody quid at work,and fifty online. Even with discount,ouch. So we are working through season 2,and I bought the pilot episode for a bargain. Finally,something we can both watch with no arguement,even the boys dont mind watching this-a temporary ceasefire in the Sky Remote War is always welcomed.Peanut is incidentally following the crowd by confessing a crush on the mountie.It says a lot about me that MY huge crush was always Ray Vecchio,and I have to admit,I can still see the attraction. What can I say? Ive always been a little unconventional...