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...

just for me...

Probably right...

Well,on to probability,which involved me buying a pack of playing cards-gambling AND home ed?! Shameful! What would the LEA say?! and giving Peanut quizzes on what the likelihood of one or other card turning up.This involves cards everywhere and the predictable ensuing chaos that results from such. As far as chemistry goes we are still happily playing with the periodic table. Sometimes literally. We have cards representing each of the elements,and the Peanuts current favourite game is to see how long it takes to reassemble them into table order from scratch and then try to beat her time. She is getting good at recognising the symbols too. Next challenge will be to learn how they combine. On the english front,Peanut has been reading the GCSE study guide to 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. For fun. Seriously,I caught her reading this on the loo AFTER school. Safe to say she is enjoying english. She has read about 2 books this week,one warrior cats and one other. History,we are buying the history of art guide from Ellen Mc Henry and working through that.It covers geography,art,history and a splash of politics.Thats been about it this week,although Peanut now has full mastery over her hair,and is happy to go into HMV with me for 2 hours a day this week whilst waiting for my flatmate to finish work and take her home. She has sat in the break room and chatted confidently to everyone.Comments range from 'oh,shes a mini you' and 'cute!!!' to 'Woah,shes smart! She read the Independent,Sun and Times then started chatting about them with me!' and also 'she is so bright its scary,she was reading the book for to kill a mockingbird,and I looked over her shoulder and didnt understand some of it,and I DID it for GCSE!' I dont know if that says more about her or the quality of people HMV employs,but considering the latter comment came from a phd student,I was quietly happy. Everyone agrees however that she is friendly,well adjusted and articulate,not to mention confident enought to talk to a room full of people older than her and strangers with ease. Guess the socialisation arguement is falling a little flat,hmmm?!
Incidentally,I do not drag the Peanut into work on a regular basis,this is brought on by desperation,as Mum is on honeymoon,Nan is away,Cais grandad is unavailable,her Dad is supposedly too sick to take her,(but turned up at work to buy a cd...)and my aunt is working. Bear is doing 12 hour days in wycombe,so hes up at 6am and returns at 9pm.That leaves Graah! who,bless him has swapped all his shifts so he can be on the early shift and finish at 5.I start at 2,so there is a three hour crossover in which she sits safely in the staffroom with the guys on lunch (giving her a rotating captive audience...) and then she goes home with Graah! to watch movies and eat copious amounts of popcorn. She is safe behind a staff only pincode protected door and there are always members of staff around,all of whom now know and like her. She is coming in on friday as well.She is thrilled,I am less so,and my boss will just be relieved when we go back to normal...the guys will miss having her around though. Ah well,theres always the traditional 2 hours on xmas eve...

light at the end of the trig tunnel...

Well,this week sees the final slog through trigonometry,and on too less taxing subjects...on the science front we are playing with the elements of the periodic table in playing card format,and timing ourselves putting them all in order. We are studying an online botany curriculum,and we are eyeing up an art history workshop. We have also been dipping toes into the world of local home ed groups...only to discover that most of the interesting events take place on a friday afternoon. I work. Bugger. We may need to work around this. Anyway,we are still on a soup rampage,the Peanut devouring soup at a faster rate that I can produce it...Basically,I throw everything in the fridge into a pot of stock and some ginger and garlic and a can of tinned tomatoes and some pasta.That is the basis of fridge emptying soup,and its a firm favourite Currently she is eating another mammoth bowl while we watch and discuss 'Botox Mums'. Besides that we have been recovering from a family wedding and starting the xmas shopping.Yes,I said xmas shopping. From now until November,every time I go into a shop (supermarkets notwithstanding) I buy what I came for,and also a present for someone. Laugh now,but in December when everyone is rushing around,and Im stuck all day in a hot sweaty shop being shouted at and jostled by panicking last minute shoppers I know I can just go straight home afterwards without having to join the hoards. Anyhow,onwards...I am making Peanut a card to carry which states that she is NOT truanting but a Home Ed student and that she is registered with the local LEA.On it will be her LEA number,my phone number and a signed statement on the back from me saying I am aware she is not in school,etc. Its a little worrying that I have to do this,but we have been stopped once already so better to be safe than let them swoop on the Peanut on a day she happens to be on the train on her own.

trig vanquished,chemistry calling

Well,we are on the final leg of trig now...its been...interesting. We finally solved the mystery of angle 0 -hint;it helps to press the RIGHT button on the calculator! and we are ok with the basics of sin,cos and tan. Chemistry,and we are examining the periodic table,in all its glory. In an attempt to lighten up what appears to be a heavy subject for the Peanut,I downloaded They Might Be Giants album, 'Here comes Science.' For those who havent had the pleasure,its on iTunes.Its awesome. Watch the videos while you are there. (And try not to hate me when you are at work singing the one about photosynthesis,ok?!) Peanut has finished "To kill a mockingbird' which means I now have to read it-fortunately,I can polish that off in an hour,speed reading to the rescue again...We are still working from GCSE maths and english books,and now also mixing GCSE with KS3 science. An hour a day on both science and maths seems to be the way forward,as Peanut will dive into literature quite freely,but is more reticent on any subject which may contain numbers.Tai Chi continues,we are STILL trying to find a class Peanut wants to take,and it looks like Rosetta Stone will be the way forward for french.Too bad they dont do a Finnish one,Im definately a little rusty these days. Looking back on the term so far,we seem to have accomplished a fair bit.Do wish I could get Peanut more excited about history,she loved the WW2 project the first term,but is decidedly less keen on ancient stuff as she puts it. Ah well,social history of 1930s america will have to come into Mockingbird discussions at some point,and she adores the British Museum,so I guess not all old stuff is boring,just the old one teaching it!

trigonometry,how we loathe thee

Well,since our last update we have finally got down to the nuts and bolts of trigonometry itself,SIN,COS and TAN.This is ok. We are slowly getting the hang of this. What is NOT ok is trying to answer a question in which you are not given the angle.We have tried,oh we have.We have studied textbooks,websites and worksheets.We have called everyone we know.STILL the answer eludes us.Ah well. The rest of it is going ok.(although melodramatic proclamations of how trig and I are conspiring to kill the poor,innocent Peanut are fairly common.We have decided that algebra was more fun...and I never thought I would say that...)
In science news,chemistry continues with the anatomy of an atom-say hello protons,neutrons and electrons-and the composition of mixtures,elements and compounds. Today,after the obligatory maths/torture session we are continuing with Peanuts herbal tome. We are about to go and purchase glass bottles and jars,beeswax and raw shea butter to make lotion and balm,and bottle some calendula flowers in oil.
English sees us deep into TKAM,which we will soon begin the joyous task of analysing.
The Peanut if now completing a tai chi segment every day buy one,and we are still walking everywhere,except on 2 days a week,when she catches the train 2 stops to her grandmas house alone.Yes,alone. I take her to the station,see her on the train and then let her go off alone,head stuck in the metro to grandmas,where she is met at the other end by said grandma. I call it gaining independence.Some people seem to think I may as well stake her to the floor,cover her in chocolate and feed her to the predators.Meh. She has a phone,an attitude,and only 2 stops to go. She is savvy enough to know what to say and do in an emergency and I think at 12 this is good life experience.
Not much to report in general news,Peanut still devouring horrible histories and warrior cats and has lately been reading 'the healers handbook' and asking questions about chakras that I am only barely equipped to answer. We are off to the library today to try and find some more answers,Its all a bit new age to me,Im more on the practical side of 'grow it,harvest it,turn it into a tincture/ointment etc,slap it on the affected area and watch it work. Beyond that I think my brain is too firmly rooted in science to start stuff like colour therapy. (Who knew blue could really be depressed?! )

museums,mummys and mockingbirds.

These last few days have consisted of yet more pre-trig in the form of Bearings, (GCSE CGP maths) continued particle work (CGP KS3 Science and GCSE chemistry) and,of course,To Kill a Mockingbird,which the Peanut seems to be rattling through at some speed. Yesterday,growing a little tired of routine-after all,what is the point of home schooling if we sit at home doing exactly what is being done at school?!-we took a trip to the British Museum. My,it has grown since I last went! All in all,it was pretty epic,making it to a close number 2 on Peanuts list of 'Awesome museums.' (Number one is the science museum,in case you were wondering.)The Mummy exhibit was a particular favourite,and I now have so many pictures of dead cats in various states of mummification on my phone I am expecting a visit from the RSPCA any minute. Sadly,we didnt get round to 'romans in Britain',so we are plotting a return visit very soon. One thing I will say however,is that the British Museum has to be without a doubt the most POORLY SIGNPOSTED museum I have EVER been to! The directions on the site tell you how to get to Russell square tube station-which is the bit I had no trouble with anyway-and then once you leave the station you are given one measly signpost,which gets you as far as the square itself,and then you are abandoned to try and figure out which one of the small,identical back roads you are supposed to go down. We found it.Eventually.After 20 minutes of muffled cursing and a twelve year old being the voice of reason to a crabby 32 year old who just wanted to find the museum before it closed,please! At one point we found ourselves on the UEL campus,at least,I think it was UEL-well,at least I can say Ive been 'on campus' now...That aside,a good day was had by all,and after a sleep which possibly qualifies as a coma,we are up and tackling some extra pythagoras questions,and making notes on trig.After this,we will attempt a little light science,after which I will take Peanut to her Dads,go to work,then slog back to his house to pick her up and resume the round trip back home. I will then feed,water and cheerfully shuffle Peanut off to bed before collapsing on the sofa,and commencing a 'day off' which involves several trips to the tip,tesco and town while also fitting in maths,science,tai chi and english with a possible side order of history and cookery. Suddenly,I feel a little tired...