Solomon picked this project as it was the week of his birthday.
They learnt about how weapons had changed over time with a very detailed The Military History Book and some YouTube videos:
They built a working trebuchet using instructions from Historic Environment Scotland:
They learnt about the Gunpowder Plot with some Twinkl worksheets, and created their own firework scratch paper:
We finished the week with the children's first trip to laser tag, which they all enjoyed!
Next project: Drawing
As we wanted a project with a bit of an autumnal theme we decided to learn about hibernation.
Along with the usual Twinkl worksheets, they did a hibernation picture:
Built a bird box at a Ferry Meadows workshop:
And visited Lattersey Nature Reserve, which we hadn't visited before:
Next Project: Weapons
As we were all locked down for a second project with Covid-19, we decided to study the human body. With the help of a few books, Operation Ouch!, and a lot of Twinkl sheets we explored the main organs of the body, muscles and skeleton, and some of the systems of the body.
Along with other worksheets, they built a heart model:
And Solomon even made a Lego model with internal body parts:
Next Project: Hibernation
Unfortunately we returned from the North East with Covid-19, so we were necessarily confined to the house for the next project and just decided to read through Plundering Paradise by Geraldine McCaughrean (an author we have previously used for Project 115: Christmas and The Pilgrim's Progress, Project 125: World Book Day and 1,001 Nights, Project 157: Knights and Fantasy).
It's a story about pirates, morality, and the island of Madagascar. As well as reading the book they did various Twinkl worksheets on Madagascar and its wildlife, and recovered from Covid with the three Madagascar films:
Next project: The Human Body
As a trip to the North East was planned, we decided to learn about lighthouses with a visit to two: Roker Lighthouse, and Souter Lighthouse. While Roker Lighthouse can only be viewed from the outside, there was a guided tour around Souter Lighthouse which incorporates a museum.
Next project: Plundering Paradise
As Lidl were having an Iberian Peninsula event, we decided to do a project on Spain, overlapping with some of the previous projects (e.g., Project 94: Sir Francis Drake and Project 149: Don Quixote).
As well as trying some Spanish food (unsurprisingly churros were more popular than gazpacho!) and learning about Spain, they learned about the Spanish Armada, Christopher Columbus, and Salvador Dali using lots of worksheets and resources from Twinkl.
We also watched three films with a Spanish theme: Ferdinand, The Road to El Dorado, and the less well-known Spanish animation Donkey Xote:
We're always trying to find innovative ways of introducing programming concepts to the kids (see Project 190: Turing Tumble and Programming), and this week's project made use of Nintendo's Game Builder Garage, a way to create your own games on the Switch.
It's a 'blocks' programming language and as the eldest two (aged 7 and 8) are already programming in Python it might be considered a bit of a backwards step, but it nonetheless gave them the opportunity to solidify programming concepts and get a bit more creative. The main thing is, they all really enjoyed it.
Next project: Spain
Following on from the success of the previous week's fishing project we decided to continue with the riparian theme and have a project on rivers.
We went through a very comprehensive introduction to rivers book from the library, and did a Rivers reading comprehension from Twinkl. The book also included a number of activities to try, and we attempted to build a dam, although it turned out to be trickier than we imagined!
This week's project was selected because we had signed up for a fishing session from the Canal and Rivers Trust.
We started the week with a closer look at fish, reading, watching videos, and doing some Twinkl worksheets about parts of the fish.:
The first of two fishing trips this week was to a local stream where we could catch some minnows with nets:
The big event of the week, however was the children's first rod fishing experience, at one of the Hampton lakes:
As it was another week with lots of meet-ups we needed to have another focused project, so we picked the film Cats! as there were appropriate resources at Into Film.
Next Project: Fishing!
Little Lord Fauntleroy is a name that is often taken in vain, but was a story we didn't know. We picked a book project, as it was a very busy week with lots of meet-ups and trips planned, and we wanted to make sure we didn't pick a project that got overlooked.
It was a really enjoyable story, and Little Lord Fauntleroy is a much nicer character than you would expect.
Next project: Cats!
It was a bit of a left-field suggestion for this week's project, but Solomon suggested 'Magic' and we decided to go with it.
As their mother was away for the first half of the week (it was August - we're a bit behind with the blogposts!), the children were tasked with putting on a magic show for her return using an old magic set from the back of the cupboard.
This project was inspired by a moon installation and current activities at Peterborough Cathedral: One Small Step.
We started the week by reading about the moon, and the solar system more broadly, and learning about the phases of the moon with a Twinkl worksheet.
Next project: The Bible
Although three nature projects in a row was a bit over-the-top, the idea for a butterfly project coincided with the Big Butterfly Count and it was the right time of the year for releasing our own butterflies.
The kids learned about the life-cycle of a butterfly with a Twinkl worksheet and a BBC video, before going on their own butterfly hunt. They spotted four different butterflies altogether: small whites, ringlets, gatekeepers, and red admirals.
Sam has been wanting to do a project on owls since he first started home education, and with the ease in Covid restrictions, and the nice weather, it seemed a good opportunity to visit Baytree Owl & Wildlife Centre.
The only downside to the day was that it was a bit too hot and it was mainly all outside. Nonetheless the children all had a great time and learned lots about different owls and their habits. There were lots of other birds of prey there too, and they saw a falconry display, which was very engaging and informative.
We also bought an owl pellet for dissection, as owls regurgitate parts of their dinner that they cannot digest such as bones and fur. We extracted the rodent bones (which the children enjoyed trying to identify) so that we could rearrange them into a skeleton.
We watched the film Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, which the children all enjoyed, and Solomon is particularly keen on reading the series of books.
As always, we like to finish the week with a craft:
As we had a home education trip to Johnson's of Old Hurst organized, as well as a family trip to see Dippy at Norwich Cathedral, 'Reptiles' seemed to be an appropriate project to bring the two trips together.
Viewing Dippy itself didn't take that long, but there were a few other activities to do around the cathedral, and the children enjoyed it. There was also a dinosaur trail around Norwich:
Johnson's of Old Hurst is a bit of a local curiosity, combining a butchers and crocodile farm, alongside a shop, restaurant, woodland walk, play area and a selection of other animals. The children all enjoyed the opportunity to hold a tortoise and touch a snake, along with hearing a talk on meerkats and feeding the donkeys:
We finished the week with some reptile crafts:
Next project: Owls
With family members visiting we thought it'd be good to do a book project, as that ensures the project can't get totally overlooked. We chose The Indian in the Cupboard as it seemed a nice follow-up to the last book project we'd had (see Project 186: The Borrowers) with plenty of opportunity for additional activities.
In addition to reading the book, there was a suggested activity in the back of the book to create a native American style hand print artwork. We also got them to write their own stories, imagining one of their toys coming to life.
They went to see the local 'totem pole'.
And finally watched the film adaptation of the book.
Next project: Reptiles
As lockdown restrictions started to lift, and visitors started visiting, it was time for a (late) spring clean and to get the children more involved in helping out around the house with some cleaning, weeding, and more cooking.
As well as the usual cooking activities....
... we wanted the children to think more about the costs of things, and they were each given the task of coming up with a family meal with £10 at the local Lidl.
They also had to create their own menus.
Next project: The Indian in the Cupboard
Programming is one of those subjects the kids love when we do it, we always claim we are going to do more of it, but it inevitably gets pushed to one side. So after coming across Turning Tumble, an introduction to programming with ball bearings and switches, it seemed a good opportunity to revisit the topic.
