Happy Halloween

Today we had a very excited house, halloween!  It doesn't get much better than that. A fab excuse to have friends over for a party.

Jasmin helped me by making lots of decorations, whilst I made the pumpkin soup.  We then made some  cupcakes with pumpkin decorations on top. .

At the party we played some great games.  Pass the parcel, musical statues and bumps, pin the spider on the web, apple bobbing, (even mums joined in) and guess who was making the spooky noise. xxx

Beth looking super cool with her face painted.

playing sleeping skeletons

Rebecca showing mums can join in too.

Autumn stopping dancing v briefly

Coloured Coded Workshop - Sculptures.

Today Jasmin went to the Western Park Museum to take part in a sculpture workshop as part of the Colour Coded exhibition. This was run by Ella Robinson an artist whose exhibits are part of the Colour Coded exhibition. http://www.ellarobinson.com/gallery/index.html I really love her driftwood sculptures.

The children firstly got to choose from pebbles, stones or driftwood to paint and make different animals. Jasmin chose a stone and made a crab.

Afterwards they made different animals from melted milk bottle lids, pompoms etc. which was really good fun. Jasmin made an octopus and a butterfly.

Finally they made wind catches, using ribbons, shells, drift wood etc of their choice.

The afternoon flew by and was lovely to see all the different items finished. Jasmin had a smile on her face from start to finish.xxx

Jasmin with Ella Robinson

Another amazing Thursday!!

This morning Jasmin woke up really excited, she was going to Pizza Express to make her own pizza.  Even better she was going with her friend Isabelle.

The children went behind the scenes at the restaurant. They got to look in the store cupboards and even went into the big freezer!,

After rolling out and throwing the dough (Jasmin managed to catch hers) they tasted the sauce to make sure it was just right and chose their toppings.   Jasmin just added cheese and it must have been yummy as she ate it all.

To round up the children all got a certificate.

Next it was gymnastics. I met Jasmin there as she went straight from Pizza Express. It seemed very strange driving in the car without her.  I was greeted with the biggest smile and a cuddle which was lovely.

Gymnastics was fab as always.  It is great seeing all the children progress and make friendships there.  After the session the children are allowed to play before the other group started.  Jasmin, Isabelle, Safia, and Autumn spent time running in a long chain into the foam pit.  It was really sweet.

Then a v quick picnic in the car, (as we didn't have much time) we drove to Bek's house.  I can't believe I managed to get there.  I so wish I had got a sat nav years ago...

We had a lovely afternoon catching up and Jasmin played with Enzo and Louis.  Bek then showed us how to do rag rugging, which is just truly amazing and very addictive.

 Another amazing dayxxx

Finger Knitting and Painting

Our plan today was to go swimming and spend sometime in town at the library.  We had already been on a long dog walk and Jasmin was tired and not very inspired especially as it was pouring it down with rain.

One of the lovely things about home ed, is your day can change depending upon how your child is feeling. Nothing is set in stone.

We decided to do some knitting.  I carried on knitting Jasmin's cardigan and Jasmin did some finger knitting.  Finger knitting is amazing it grows so quickly and you can make so many things with it, pictures,  mats, bags, etc.

Jasmin wanted to start making mats for Christmas presents for her nan and grandma.
Once the knitting was the length Jasmin wanted, we cut out some felt and twirled the knitting into shape and stuck it on to the felt with fabric glue, (which dries clear).

 Still in a creative mood, Jasmin painted one of her Christmas sun catchers.

A fab rainy day.xxx

Athletics

On Monday Jasmin went to the English Institute of Sport to do athletics with some of the children from home education.

The athletics is  going to run for 7 weeks.

The children did running and ball games this week.

Next week they are in the main sports arena which will be fab.  It has the running track which the top athletes use.

Over the 7 weeks they will get to do high jump, long jump, sprint starts, hurdles, throwing, running.

Also an added bonus for Jasmin is Isobel one of her friends is also doing the athletics.

Postcrossing

Postcrossing is just fab.  The site enables you to send and receive postcards from all over the world.  It is a great way to explore geography, different cultures with your children.

We sent off our first post card to Russia, which took 18 days and have since received two postcards back.

Jasmin has looked at where the postcards have come from and tracked them on a map.

 One card was from Taiwan and the other was from Mount Jefferson, Central Oregon.  It is great getting snippets of peoples lives/cultures.  The stamps are also really good to look at too.

Tomorrow we are going into town to buy a scrap book in order that  Jasmin can keep her cards together.

The link to the website is www.postcrossing.com

Christmas Crackers

This afternoon we went to do craft with some of our home ed friends, we haven't been there for a couple of weeks as they have away.  Jasmin was really excited.

I know it is a bit early to be thinking of Christmas, but we wanted to have a go at making Christmas Crackers to see if they actually worked before we made some for the Christmas table. and they did.

We are now going to save up lots of empty toilet rolls and make small items and draw pictures to put in our next crackers.   It is amazing how little they cost to make and how special you can make them.

We are really looking forward to a homemade Christmas.xx

Room on The Broom

Jasmin was really excited Room on the Broom was on at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield.  Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson is one of our favourite books.

The show was really well put together with four actors/actresses performing the story.  It is nice to go and watch a show which stays true to the story.  "a witch who had a cat and a tall hat, with long ginger hair which she wore in a plait.  How the cat purred and how the witch grinned as they sat on their broomstick and flew threw the wind".

Also as Jasmin isn't in school we managed to get really good seats.  The only downside was she wanted to sit next to her friend Caleb but we unfortunately, couldn't swap seats.  She had to keep waving to him instead which was really sweet.


Afterwards we went to Waterstones Bookshop and found an activity book  Room on The Broom which Jasmin has loved doing.

Books we are reading September

September

We love books in our house. The feel, the colours of the pictures and covers all help bring the stories alive.

Jasmin looks at books both in paper form and on the computer.  My personal preference is in paper form.

Also a proud mummy moment Jasmin read her first real book"Pip and Posy" by Julia Donaldson.  She was very happy and read the book again to her nan and grandad.

We are looking at:

Night Animals one of the Usborne Beginners books as part of our Animals of the Night project.  It is a really well illustrated book, and has just the right amount of information to help keep Jasmin focused.

Percy The Park Keeper Stories, we love Percy the Park Keeper.  In the morning's we have been going up to the playhouse in the garden and having story time.

The big bible story book.
Mrs Pepperpot stories.