manga universe,maths tests and music

Woops...time has been flying once again and I am being dragged behind its coattails screaming...and after that strange introduction,welcome to some more insights into the Peanuts schooling. Firstly,we are back to recapping fractions in the form of the 10 minute test book. Peanut pouts,sulks and grumbles her way through a test every day before being allowed to go do something more interesting.Grumble she may,but she can do the tests a hell of a lot faster than she could and it is a quick and relatively painless way to recap a subject. We went from 'But I cant remember ANYTHING and I hate fractions mumble mumble...' to 'Done it,checked it,got them all right,now can I PLEASE go?!' At which point she stomps off to read the Manga guide to the Universe .(ISBN:978-1-59327-267-8) We have several of the Manga guide to... series. There is one for molecular biology,one for physics,another with a guide to the planets and the universe and so on. They are basically science textbooks interspersed with manga style comic strips which explain the salient points and also tell a side story of their own. The Peanut,needless to say,is a HUGE fan and as such we are hoping to complete the set.Granted,it is pitched a few years above the Peanut in some cases,but its scary what has already been digested,and if she doesnt understand the rest yet,she probably will at some point. Its the educational equivalent of buying the clothes 2 sizes too big with the thought that 'you'll grow into it'. We are still somewhere in between the universe and Darwin in science,alternating as the Peanut brain prefers. In english,we are still looking at Of Mice and Men,but I have an eye on 'I know why the caged bird sings' by Maya Angelou so Im sure we will get a start on that as soon as I can track down a copy. We made flapjacks yesterday at the Peanuts request,and judging from the vast spew of craft books on the floor I believe a creative project of some kind may well be in the offing. In other news,it was so good to get outside again. Feels like we have been cooped up forever lately,high time to get some exercise! Cant wait for planting season to begin,and we can go back to our herbalism course full tilt. Beyond that, it has been fairly quiet round these parts. We are starting the process of buying a house and also looking into a return trip to Canada,two things which are both wonderful and terrifying depending on whether you are looking at the end result or the bank balance... O and I have also got stupidly addicted to the tv show 'Friday Night Lights'. As it centres around american high school football,I am blaming him entirely for this...Only two seasons are available here in the uk,of the 5 that were made.Really hoping that season 2 doesnt end on a cliffhanger-who am I kidding?! Of course it will-and that somehow we can find out how it all ends.

Icy Imbolc and planetary polystyrene...

Well,there went January... seems it vanished in a haze of Darwin and coolmaths,something the peanut has taken to gleefully. As far as inspection went,seems a bit of an anticlimax,didnt need a single gun and we are signed,certified for another year. We bludgeoned the inspector with Peanuts current reading list,blinded her with science games and proceeded to lecture her on the wonders of modern history. Once it was obvious she was not some shrinking,pale and trembling child but socially well adjusted and by all definitions,NOT abused,neglected or unloved and mentally understimulated we were pretty much there.In fact,the inspector was taking notes and exclaiming that she could use things we were doing with other children and it wasnt so much a lesson for us as a lesson by us...
Peanut is currently reading 'The voyage of the Beagle' and numerous astronomy texts. We are still looking at Darwin,and are planning on watching 'Creation' at some point,however a sudden urge of the Peanut brain to learn about astronomy and the solar system,brought about by a chance encounter with the CGP physics curriculum,means we are temporarily hurtling off on a tangent. This tangent has involved making and painting planets made of polystyrene balls and making then playing with top trumps planet cards. Incidentally,please,no more Uranus jokes. A house full of oversized children have run that joke reeeeaaallly thin...
We have started GCSE maths now,but are only doing proper lessons twice a week,slightly longer than the previous ones. The rest of our maths hours are taken up with math and logic puzzle websites.
Now,we have,for a good few years totally ignored religious studies,beyond satisfying basic Peanut curiosity. However,she will be 13 soon,the age when traditionally a wiccan would start on the pagan path. This is something that greatly interests the Peanut,however I fear I would be a poor teacher,focussed as I am more on the nitty gritty basics of life than on the fripperies of which colour candle calls up which goddess when the moon is seven times in the fifth house or whatever. Im not sure if that makes me a sloppy pagan or if I am travelling a path entirely different,but I do believe we all find God,who or whatever that is in our own way,and we need to follow our own paths in that regard. Still,I have given her books,explanations,the run of my box of pagan stuff and left her to her own devices. Like handing matches and a flamethrower to a pyromaniac? Possibly,but what doesnt burn us to a small blackened crisp gives us a healthy respect for fire...
At this precise moment in time,the Peanut is playing with top trump cards while attempting to fart the theme tune to neighbours. Top trumps indeed. The attention span is somewhat limited at the moment and I am vastly grateful that the serious schooling is over for the day.