back to magnetism

T wanted to repeat the magnetism experiments of several months ago, so on his own he and W looked at how magnetic force can pull through glass and water and how magnets only attract iron, not glass (glass marbles were not drawn to magnet). T then described his experiment to me.

A month ago ben also made a game with boys demonstrating how magnetic force works through cardboard. They drew a racing track on strong cardboard and made paper cars with paperclips stuck to the bottom. A magnet applied to the paperclip from underneath the cardboard pulls the paper car around the track.

story-telling

We read a lot of books to the boys (fiction and non-fiction) and this translates into how they express themselves.

T was pulling up a runner root in the garden and W came up behind him, grabbed him by the waist and they narrated or 'fictionalised' their activity:

W: ...And they pulled, and they pulled and they pulled...
T: ...but it wouldn't budge!
Me: so then what happened?
W: And they pulled and they pulled and they pulled...
T: But it still wouldn't budge!
Me: then who came to help?
T: Mum!!! And they pulled and they pulled... [at this point the runner root snapped] ... And it broke right off!

Art exhibition

Last term T attended homeschool art classes and his favourite piece was put into an exhibition at the local eco-garden's annual festival. It was a great confidence-booster for him and a great encouragement for finishing art work that he has started.

Writing

I have not done much actual teaching of letters so far with T and W. T is not at all interested in workbooks and I think he is the type of learner who will 'get' it in his own time. Mostly we do a lot of reading together and both boys try to identify what sound different words start with. W has more success with this.

I plan to get some shaving cream to make letters on a mirror.

T can write his name with a bit of help. Being left handed he often writes from right to left.

Sickness

We have been plagued by sickness over the last three weeks in our family. W has been very unwell with a cough and runny nose and T has a croupy cough. So we have been in survival mode.