Spring Pond and Tree Study

Spring time means revisiting our chosen tree and pond for our seasonal studies. We went to Clifton Park where there is a big conker tree we're looking at, and their pond in the gardens up near the cafe.

We've been doing this since before we started our 'official' home ed studies and check out our chosen places each season to look for the signs and changes. Check out previous post for our autumn and winter results for this set.

We started with a picnic under the tree and Bear was really good at being able to explain how we knew it was spring just by looking at the tree. We discussed the blossom and how it preceded the conkers, and he talked about the really bright green leaves.

The boys took their magnifying glasses to look at the blossom, which we decided looked a lot like tissue paper close up, and they tried to measure how far it was around the trunk, which was bigger than their two measuring tapes put together...

Bear took some photos and The Cub had a close-up look at the bark with his handheld microscope. 

Then we moved on to the pond where we had a new gadget to use. I'd bought them a thermometer attached to a rubber duck so they could find out the temperature of the water. They both thought this was great and the water showed 14°c which wasn't bad bearing in mind it was frozen over last time we were there! 

Bear caught some litter and removed it and then spent ages making ripples with a little pipette, trying to see how far he could get them across the water.

We will be making journal pages for both and recording the data we took this time, and then after we've done our summer study too, we go back and look at the four different stages to see the changes side by side.

Last year, we did the tree study on a Sycamore tree near our house, but this is the first pond we've done, so we will possibly also compare the two trees to see their differences in each season.

I've found this to be a lovely way of teaching the boys about how the seasons affect the world around them, and because they are both naturally so inquisitive, they are forever asking questions off the back of what I tell them, meaning that they are forever learning new facts.

Do you do a nature study of any kind?

I'd love to hear about it and what you get up to.

Mama Bear x

Library visits

We visited our local library a couple of weeks ago to renew the boys' library cards and look into their collection of age-appropriate reading books for Bear. Both boys have always loved the library and we used to borrow books alongside our visits to their weekly Rhyme Time sessions.

As Bear grew up we stopped going to Rhyme Time and therefore stopped going to the library much at all. We have so many books at home due to my own love of reading, and working in a bookshop, that I didn't feel the need to be borrowing them too.

However, now Bear is learning to read, we need books that are at an appropriate level, and I don't feel like they're the kind of books I need to buy and keep. So, we headed to the library ready to check them out.

They didn't have a very big selection in the right level, but we were able to pick up a few in pink and red band which are the first two levels in the series we found. Bear has spent the last couple of weeks practicing his phonics and reading his books and he has blown me away with how well he's done!

We visited the library again this week to return the books we'd read and borrow some new ones. The Cub enjoyed picking some out too and he even found a little cosy book nook under the shelving to start reading.

Whilst there we did some colouring and I spoke to the librarians about ordering in other titles once we make it through the ones they have on their shelves. I also taught them both how to use the check out/return screen so that they could be involved in the whole process.

The main thing is that the boys love the trip there, and they are both loving reading their books! Bear has been choosing a non-fiction title for us to look through as well as the reading books as he has always loved learning new facts. The Cub chose a reading book, a numbers book and we picked up a beautiful picture book about bears too.

Do you use any specific reading books to learn to read? We have ended up mainly with Reading Champion and Maverick Early Readers as they were what there was most of on shelf in the library.

I'd love to hear other series' that are good to use.

Mama Bear x

Mummy and Me Journal

Recently, we've adapted bedtime at our house because Bear is not necessarily tired at the time we had, but The Cub is more than ready. Generally, I'm still solo parenting at bedtime, so for them to have separate bedtimes isn't really doable. However, we've found a little groove that works for us, it also means that Bear gets a little one on one time with me, or sometimes Daddy of he's back in time.

To add to this one to one time, I decided to introduce the idea of a Mummy and me journal for me and Bear to do a few times a week. Nights we haven't been too busy and he isn't too tired so that it doesn't lead to frustration... I want it to be pretty chill and fun, but to include some skills practice like his reading, writing and spelling, and to give some opportunities to get Bear talking about his emotions etc. A safe place to bring stuff up that maybe doesn't get the time it deserves during the day!

I will plan some stuff into this, but I'd like to keep it quite open so that conversation can flow and it can be a space for him to bring up anything he wants to talk about.

We went shopping this week and Bear chose us a hardback A4 journal after I discussed what we were going to use it for. He picked a beautiful star constellations print, which to be honest, would have been the one I'd have picked up too!

I got his pens out, as normally he would write in pencil, but we love out collection of Legami erasable pens which we buy from Waterstones, and I found an awesome "Cheat Sheet" that I printed, laminated and stuck in the front of the book for Bear to use as a reference point for his writing and spelling.

I introduced this one to one journaling time with Bear this evening after putting The Cub to bed. The beginning of this week has been a solo parenting few days with Daddy away with work, so Bear was very patient reading some books while I dealt with his brother, then very excited to see what I'd prepared for him today.

He made himself comfy and we did a front page where Bear wrote "Bear and Mummy journal" in different colours, and then I'd made up an "All About Me" sheet which I stuck on the first page for us to do tonight. We talked about Bear's favourite things to do, places to go, things to eat, toys to play with and he has done a mix of drawing and writing, even sounding out some of the words himself to spell them out, and doing really well with it too - this is not something we do much of yet. He is learning to read, so sounding out words he can see, but not really had much practice sounding out words he can say/hear. His attempts tonight were amazing!

His new kitty soft toy got involved at one bit as he wanted to draw her in one of the boxes, and we talked lots about his favourite things, and some of mine while he was drawing.

It really was lovely to spend a little time with him like this as we don't really get that while home educating. The three of us are always together, which, don't get me wrong, I love and is what I wanted for them. But for their sakes, I think finding the time for them to have one to one time with us is going to be a game changer for as they get older, giving them the space away from each other, and the quality time with either/both of us parents.

Journal nights won't be every night, partly because I don't want to be committing to the time every night, partly because there will be nights that I know that Bear will be too tired for it, and because I also like having time with him to read too! I'm aiming for a couple of times a week so that it doesn't get too much, and to keep the activities different so that it doesn't become a chore or boring for Bear.

Is this something you do with your children? I'd love to hear about some of the activities you've tried, or things you've incorporated into your journal...

Mama Bear x

Waterstones Children's Book Prize Winner

We couldn't not buy the winner of this year's Waterstones Children's Book Prize - so on our last trip to the bookshop, we picked up The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please which was the winner of the picture book catagory and Overall Winner!

Rene's dreams have finally come true! She's opened a café beside an enchanted wood, and with the help of a newfound waiter, Glumfoot, she is ready to serve the finest cuisine! But the locals seem to favour a most peculiar palette, requesting all sorts of disgusting things.

Can Glumfoot's quick-thinking save the day?

Join Rene and Glumfoot in this incredible other-worldly story full of magical humour, mythical creatures and culinary curiosities.

*synopsis taken from waterstones.com - no copyright intended*

It was our bedtime story that night and Bear loved it! He liked Glumfoot the best, and since then he has asked for it reading several times.

The other category winners were Rune, A Tale of a Thousand Faces by Carlos Sanchez for younger readers and King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore for older readers.

Have you picked any of these up?

I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

Mama Bear x