Well its ended up being a while since I have been here again. We have done some fabulous things and been to some fabulous places and met some fabulous fellow home edders, I have just been so short on time keeping up with this blog.
But as the twins will be official come September (wow where has the time gone) this blog will have more content as I will be using it as a bit of a planning tool as well as a record of what we get up to.
I have found some great resources to use next year to help me plan some activities and give me ideas of what direction things will take for the twins.
At the moment we do what the twins want to do, for example if they are interested in Egyptians then we do stories and activities containing Egyptians, they very much direct their own learning at the minute, but I always like to be prepared and ahead of the game, so I have collected many many resources for a just in case scenario, and to be quite honest I am so pleased I started out like that, as those books on Saxons, and Egyptians and Vikings that I bought when they where a few months old have all come to good use already and are being well used.
Olivia and Oliver are both doing fabulous and are both coming on at a rapid pace, just a few months ago I wrote in this bog how Oliver had struggled with recognising letters but wow what a transformation, he is now spelling full words, both Oliva and Oliver are both spelling words and Olivia has read one book completely on her own from start to finish with no help at all, she is also writing her name very keenly.
Oliver is a reluctant writer so I will be concentrating on making writing fun for him over the next year, he loves books and he loves learning and he loves using the computer but when it comes to using a pen he just turns to jelly.
Neither Oliver or Olivia are drawers, they rarely draw anything although Olivia spends a lot of time walking round with a pen and paper in her hand.
Oliver is more of a maths guy, he loves maths, he spends a lot of time preferring to do maths seeds on the computer, whereas Olivia likes to put pen to paper and is doing very well with maths. At the moment I write maths questions on a piece of paper which Olivia loves to do, and she enjoys the challenge but I think I will introduce some maths books over the next year, they both have their own maths folder and Oliver never gets his out and is just not bothered about it. Oliver just goes to the computer for maths but Olivia takes great pride in her maths folder, I think the only maths Oliver likes that is not on the computer is the Multi Links that I purchase, he actually loves those but he uses them like lego and takes great pride in making his constructions so more multi link actvities will be forthcoming for him, but measurements is something Oliver likes, he often refers to things in metres.
History is one of their favourite subjects which we cover quite extensively at the moment, we have acquired the History of the world curriculum book and it is amazing, full of stores which we expand on with activities, other books, videos and outings. I love this book as it is stories that follow on from one era to the next which is really engaging for the twins who listen and ask lots of questions. It is a great bedtime book which gets them thinking.
It has been an interesting journey so far despite it not being a compulsory thing until September, it has become a way of life for us now and the twins are well conditioned for learning in a way that suits them without pressure or a have to attitude.
They have fitted well into the home ed community and there is an abundance of things to do. The last few years of planning for home ed are coming to an end and the start of the journey will become official in September, I am still anxious and excited and wondering what the next few years will bring for the twins education, but so far I have exceeded my own expectations easily and I am really looking forwards to September to really get my teeth stuck in and see what we can achieve over the next year.
If anyone is reading this and you are also starting out in September I would love for you to post your blog or comment on your own experience below in the comments, seeing how others do it would give me a huge boost and possibly some ideas could use myself..
