Barefoot Bliss And Books

The Story of Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night

Bonfire night, or Guy Fawkes Night, on 5 November each year, is celebrated in England, Scotland and Wales but not in Northern Ireland, so children in Northern Ireland may not know what Bonfire Night is about.

On the evening of 5th November each year, bonfires are lit and fireworks set off. Very often a “guy”, a stuffed dummy, is burnt on the bonfire. It’s a great celebration and children look forward to it for days beforehand. The bonfires may be lit by individual families in their gardens and there may also be organised celebrations in many areas, with firework displays. These are much safer, as every year, people are injured and sometimes even killed by fireworks. Bonfires can also be dangerous and have set houses on fire. The Fire Brigade and hospitals are always on alert on Bonfire Night.

Bonfire night celebrates the foiling of a plot to blow up Parliament with barrels of gunpowder in England in 1605. The “guy” or stuffed dummy that is burnt on the bonfire is named after Guy Fawkes, who was the man caught below Parliament with the barrels of gunpowder and a match, ready to light the fuse.

The video below, gives a good explanation of what happened in 1605, over 400 years ago.
A poem was also written about it and there are several versions. Only the first verse is given here:
Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

Mixing Colours

We are doing a unit on colours today, using home made play dough, coloured with food colouring.

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Recipe For Home Made Playdough

2 cups of plain flour.
3/4 cup salt.
4 teaspoons cream of tartar.
2 cups lukewarm water.
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
Food colouring, optional

Primary Colours

I made the playdough last night and added the food colouring this morning, to make three large balls of play dough, one each of red, blue and yellow that I shared out between the girls. These are the primary colours.

Secondary Colours

They then mixed the playdough to create the secondary colours, orange, green and purple.

Colour Wheel

This is a video about the primary and secondary colours and creating a colour wheel:

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I downloaded a free book on colours. You can get this free, printable colour theory book for kids by visiting this Pinterest link and clicking on the picture. This will take you to a site, where you enter your name and address and get a free download of a colour theory book. The picture below shows the secondary colours made, along with a copy of the downloadable book that we used.

We also watched some useful videos on colour.

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A song about mixing colours and the new colours that are made.

A video song about the colours of the rainbow.

Writing Work

Our writing work was “My Favourite Colour”.

Squirrels Savagely Stealing Nuts

Harvest Moon

A ceremony about harvest time in Africa.

Not all films about harvest time are factual, occasionally there is a spoof film. This is a classic April Fool’s Joke by the BBC, showing the spaghetti harvest on the borders of Italy and Switzerland.

Moon

The moon looks large at times, especially when rising or when there is a supermoon but what if the other planets in the Solar System were in the sky instead of the moon? What would our sky look like then? Watch this video to find out

This next video is music-only, with captions showing the sizes of our moon and planets. It then goes out into the rest of the cosmos to see even bigger planets and stars to show that our moon is really tiny and then even further out to see the Milky Way Galaxy and then the known universe. The end of the video shows how far light travels in a day, a week, a year.

The final video is a factual narrated presentation of the moon and its craters by NASA and shows the marks left by the last space ship to land there and marks left by the astronauts.

Wolves

Wolves are carnivores. They eat meat. In order to eat meat, they must catch it. Sometimes, they find it hard to get enough food to feed the pack when they live in the far North. Sometimes, all they can catch is a hare.

When wolves are chasing large animals, they have to hunt together as a pack in order to get a meal. Sometimes, they get lucky.

Wolves are wild animals, they won’t let you forget it and they can and will bite if they are nervous. They can communicate over long distances by howling.

Migrations: Big Animal Trips

Many animals migrate from one area of the world to another, as the seasons change and as food becomes scarcer or the environment more inhospitable. They then come back again as the seasons change once more.

The first video is an introduction to animal migration, covering land, air and water migration.

Geese Migrating From Western France To Greenland

A short video with no words, flying among the geese as they migrate North in the Spring.

Swallows in Deadly Oasis In The Sahara Desert

Swallows migrate from the UK in Autumn and travel to Africa for the winter. It is warmer there with plenty of insects to eat. But there are also deadly dangers when looking for water.

Hibernation

This is an American cartoon, so you may not know all the animals shown. It covers hibernation and a little on Aestivation (summer hibernation).

Winter hibernation – Winter’s Tale – BBC

A very short video about a few animals that hibernate in winter in the UK.

Getting Ready For Hibernation

An introductory video to animal hibernation, including feeding up in the autumn and resting away in a safe place until spring.

Hibernating Tortoise Unboxing

Tortoises do not hibernate when they are in their usual habitat which is warm all year round. But in countries where the winters are cold, tortoises hibernate, go to sleep and wake again in the spring. This video looks at a tortoise coming out of its hibernation.

How Does Hibernation Work

This is a more advanced video on hibernation that asks if what we learn from hibernating animals could be applied to humans travelling through space for many years. It contains many interesting items on hibernation.

Is Human Hibernation Possible

This video looks at whether the sci fi idea of hibernating humans is possible. A more advanced video that could stimulate thoughts and ideas.

How to make a home for a hedgehog to hibernate in

A short simple video on building a hibernation station for a hedgehog.

You can buy a hedgehog hibernation station here if you don’t want to build one.

Hibernation Station

An illustrated, spoken trailer for the book, “Hibernation Station” with a poem about the different animals starting to hibernate for the winter.

You can buy the book “Hibernation Station” and other books on hibernation below.

School vs Homeschool: Which Student Does Better?

This video is partly an advertisement however, the advert comes only at the end and the information on homeschooling is detailed and interesting.

A TV Interview with two American mothers who are homeschooling. One mother has 5 children and is homeschooling one of them because he did not get on well in school. Her younger child joins in with this child’s schooling and is progressing rapidly. The other mother has 7 children and homeschools all of them. Good tip on doing maths, adding and subtracting using dice.

Benefits Of Homeschooling Your Kids

Day In The Life Of A Mom With 4 Kids | Homeschool Routine SAHM

What a homeschool day is like if you have 4 kids. Two of the kids are too young for school, so she has a babysitter. The other two are different ages, so the lessons have to be suitable for their different age groups. She also gives them tests to see how they are progressing. And I am glad to see that her house is as messy as mine!

Seed Dispersal – Exploding

One way in which plants spread their seeds, ready to grow a new plant at a distance from the parent is by exploding the seed pod. Watch the “touch-me-not” seed pods exploding here.

An illustrated talk by an academic, showing three different kinds of seed dispersal – wind, animal and fire.

Watch the seed pods of Himalayan Balsam explode and send seeds travelling at 95Km/hr for a distance of up to 6 metres.

Seed Germination

When a seed starts to grow into a plant, it is called “germination”. This video shows how germination happens.

This is a very quickly spoken video on germination. The process, the pictures and the spoken word are accurate but the text captions in the video are hilariously wrong at times.

This is a time lapse video of lima bean seeds germinating. Sometimes germination can seem very slow but with time lapse, you can see 6 days of growth take place in a few minutes.

The Tiny Seed

Two video stories about seeds.

The first is an Eric Carle story about a tiny seed. The story is about a wind dispersed seed and its journey to a new home where it grows and produces new seed that is then dispersed by the wind.

The second story is about Sid, a seed who wants to stay in his warm cosy hole underground, with his friends Pip the spider and Kim the caterpillar. But Pip and Kim have to grow and move on and Sid realises he must grow and change too. This is not a realistic seed germination film, more a tale about trying new things.

Homeschooling Ideas And Lessons

Home School Or Not

www.barefootblissandbooks.com Many people have home schooled their children over the years. There is a LOT of knowledge, innovation, creativity and real fun learning out there that we can plug into whether you home school your children or not. After all, children are home with you each evening and all weekends and being able to play along with them, giving them fun things to do that are also educational is a great way to bond with your children, as well as keep them occupied.

Why Homeschool

This lady home schooled her four children because they were not making progress in school and the school had not even let her know. She was able to improve her children’s understanding and learning by focusing on areas of weakness and making learning fun and relevant. She also points out that children who are being bullied in school may benefit from home schooling and that they do not need to suffer from lack of social interactivity. Read her take on home schooling here.

Making An Exploding Mini Book

This is a great tutorial not only for home schooled children but for anyone who likes crafts, including journalling. It shows you how to make a mini folding book that folds flat enough to be placed inside another book, such as a diary or journal. The folds create a number of small areas or boxes in which you can write or draw something. Examples of mini books that others have created are shown. You can visit the tutorial for the exploding mini book here. The same author also has articles on making an Ancient Egypt lapbook, a salt dough map and a shoe box diorama. So lots of projects here. She has also included many links to other resources. Here is another of her pages, showing lots of different kinds of mini books and one showing how to make wheel books and another on making matchbooks.

Making The Simplest Lap Book

This tutorial shows how to make a hot dog lap book and many others and how to add them into the simplest lap book. It has videos and other resources.

Lesson Plans

Telling The Time

Teaching children to tell the time can be hard work. This article shows how a mother with two children with Down Syndrome taught them to tell the time. The principles would work for any child.

Sense Of Touch

Great ideas here for showing children the sense of touch.

Art

A great many resources here for teaching art, using the artist Monet.

Science Notebooks

How to keep science notebooks that are interesting and show what you have learned.

Flies

Great article here about the Old Black Fly with lots of ideas and information. There is also a great video with no words. It is funny and allows children to make up their own story and write it down.

Summary

There are a great many ideas, lessons and hints available for creating lessons that suit your child’s needs. The above links are just a few of what is available online.

Want To School Your Kids At Home? Keep Reading!

You’ve tried all of the options available and your kids still aren’t learning anything. Does this sound familiar? If so, then you may need to try a different learning approach, like homeschooling. Homeschooling can be a good way for your kids to learn, and you can use it with the help of the following tips.

Think carefully about the place in your home where you will carry out homeschooling. You need to make this a place where your children can concentrate on their studies. It should be spacious enough to facilitate skits and building projects, while also having tables and chairs. Kids should also be in a centrally located area where you can easily monitor them.

Treat homeschooling like a job. You’re a teacher now, and that means you also have to seek out more education. Professional teachers take “PA” days to attend conferences and training, so you should, too! Find homeschooling events near you or even attend one as a vacation. You’ll find they teach you not only specific topics you might not know a lot about, but also how to be a better teacher and how to plan out homeschooling lessons like a pro.

Always do your research if you’re considering homeschooling. You’ll find a ton of information on the Internet to help you make your decision. Always make sure that you have enough energy, time, and finances to ensure that your kids get a quality education.

Find a homeschooling support group. While homeschooling might be very appealing, it can also be very lonely for both you and your child. Check community bulletin boards or the internet to find other families in your area that are homeschooling. Parents can get together to discuss methods that are successful and offer each other support. Children will benefit from group activities such as local field trips or projects.

Wednesdays can be hard as they’re stuck in the middle of the week, so why not make them a special event? Include fun hands-on activities on this day or excursions around town. Make it something they look forward to and your kids will have an easier time making it through the week.

Make contact with your area’s Homeschool Association to gain a good grasp of the specific laws, regulations and practices that they want you to follow. Regulations vary in different areas: some require formal registration, while others just require certain testing procedures. Make sure you know about local truancy laws and how to avoid charges.

Remember to spend time with your family outside of the classroom. You might believe that all the time you spend together in the classroom is enough, but it really is not. Family nights are an opportunity for the family to get together without the pressures of the classroom, and bring you all closer together.

Don’t fret if you can’t think of any other way for your kids to get an education. Remember, you have homeschooling as an option if you need it. Homeschooling can be one of the best ways to teach children if used correctly. Just use the tips given in the above article and your kids reap all of the benefits of homeschooling.

Homeschooling Tips That Every Parent Can Use

When you choose to homeschool, you’re seeking a better education for your children. You want them to learn as much as they can without the negative distractions of public school. This article has all the tips, tricks and advice you need to meet your goals for their educational needs.

If you home school your children, it is important that they still get play time. Just because they are getting schooled at home does not mean they need to be inside all of the time. Once they are done with their daily schooling and work, allow them to go outside and play for a little while.

Keep a journal of your activities. You can track the techniques that you have used. You can then look back to find the techniques that had worked well for your children and what did not. It will help you come up with a homeschooling regimen that works well for your family without trying the same things over and over.

When you go on vacation, take your lesson plan with you. Include your vacation in your home classroom so that your kids can truly enjoy their schooling. Have them keep a scrapbook of the event, or take a video which they turn into an amazing family adventure later. Take them to cultural locations and teach them about the area, then have them reenact wars or important historical situations. There is so much to learn around the world, don’t let it pass them by!

As you teach the kids, get them involved with hands-on experiences. For example, cook a meal with them that reflects the culture of the countries you teach them about. If you are learning about WWII you can make German or Japanese foods. These activities will be fun and help your child understand different cultures and how cultures adapt to the resources available to them.

Don’t forget the ‘social’ side of school. A child gains much more from school than simply academics. Make sure that your child is involved in activities that a school offers such as sports and music. This can be achieved by meeting other homeschool parents and organizing extra curricular activities at the end of the school day or the weekend.

So many parents would love to homeschool, but are too afraid to begin. With what you’ve read here, you should have enough knowledge to overcome this fear and instead move forward with bettering your child’s education. With a little bravery and drive, you’ll become a homeschooling master in no time!

Homeschooling Tips That Will Lessen The Burden

Homeschooling can be a good way for your children to learn, but if they don’t have a good teacher, then your homeschooling efforts will be worthless. A good teacher is one of the most important aspects of homeschooling. If you need help being a better home school teacher, then read the following article for some homeschooling tips.

If you plan to home school your child or children, always remember that books and the chosen curricula are just the basics. The best learning experience within the home is one that incorporates materials and concepts from outside the home and the curriculum. If you cannot find a single curricula that meets your needs, don’t be afraid to use multiple sources.

Teach your kids how to follow instructions by giving them a recipe which fits their capabilities and have them follow it on their own. They should start by creating a list for the grocery, then pay for it and understand the change they get through a little math lesson (you can even throw in tax information) and then create and enjoy their masterpiece in the end.

If you are homeschooling your child, always include reading in your daily curriculum. Depending on the age of the child, this should include reading aloud and allowing him or her a quiet time to read alone. With a younger child, begin with the alphabet, sight words and phonics, progressing to simple books. Older children will enjoy a variety of mediums, including newspapers and textbooks.

Parents who home school their children are always looking for new ideas on how to get their children interested in the work. So, why not take them outside to learn? For instance, if they are working on earth science, bring them outside to identify different trees and plants. This will allow you to really grab and hold their attention.

You don’t have to homeschool for your child’s entire education. You can do it for one year to correct shortcomings and behavioral issues. You could do it until middle school or high school. If you wish, they can be homeschooled right until college. The best part is that it’s totally up to you!

Always take advantage of back to school sales just as if your child was going to regular school. You cannot disregard the cost savings of supplies during these sales. Children love to get new school supplies and you can stock up for the entire year easily as long as you have storage room.

Remember, without a good teacher, no amount of homeschooling will help your children learn. The driving force behind homeschooling is you and your teaching abilities, so if you need to become a better teacher, then don’t hesitate to use these tips. You’ll feel good knowing that you can be the best home school teacher that your kids can have.

How To Make Homeschooling Fun And Effective

It isn’t as hard as you think to homeschool. Homeschooling allows for an education you can be sure of, and will keep them from being distracted by unsafe things found in public school systems due to other children. Keep reading to learn more about homeschooling and get an idea of what you need to do before you get started.

You don’t have to be perfect! Even teachers make mistakes, and it’s all a part of the learning process for yourself and your children. Take your time, relax and know that you can teach your kids a lot when you do flub. The more mistakes you make, the better a teacher you will become.

Homeschooling has the advantage of letting your kid learn in a way that is best for them. If your child needs to learn in a hands on way, you can make sure to incorporate a lot of that into your lesson plans. Doing so helps to foster success.

Find a support group of other homeschool parents. When you teach your child at home, sometimes you may feel isolated. The support group can help you deal with problems and issues that are complex. You can benefit from the sharing of different perspectives and approaches, and you can apply these to your own curriculum.

The goals you set for your homeschool classroom need to be easy to measure. Write down exactly what you want your child to know at the end of each day, week, month and lesson plan. For example, “I would like John to be able to multiply up to ten” is a great short-term goal. “I would like John to know all about World War II” is a long-term goal. Both should come with positive reinforcement when achieved.

Some areas are stricter about home schooling than others. Some may only require that your child complete certain standardized tests. You may need to notifythe education authorities and file certain paperwork with them if you intend to homeschool.

Remember that when you are homeschooling you do not need to follow a classroom set up. The learning environment can be a lot more flexible, and you can tailor it to fit your and the child’s needs. If your child has a hard time rising in the morning, instead of trying to teach them chemistry at 7am, start their classes a little later in the morning or later in the afternoon.

You should have greater confidence now that you’ve read some information about homeschooling. Having you as their teacher will benefit your children. Give your you and kids the education they deserve. After all, would you really want them to have anything less than the best?

What To Do In Order To Home school Your Kids Efficiently

The decision to homeschool your children is one of the most momentous choices you may ever make. The key to successfully undertaking a homeschooling adventure is to acquire as much knowledge as possible before you begin. Read the tips that follow, and you will have the foundation you need to get things started.

Sit down as a family each Sunday and discuss the upcoming week. This allows everyone to know what is expected of them during the week and how each person can help make the week more successful. Planning also gives everyone the opportunity to take part in field trips and projects.

When you are teaching preschoolers at the same time as older children, set aside some individual time for both. This area should be geared for their fun, with toys and games on site. Ask the older kids to play with the younger ones. They will both learn more, and the older child will feel useful and confident in their skills.

Many parents are nervous and insecure about their ability to effectively home-school their children. To bolster your confidence, think about how much you have already taught the child you plan to home school. Chances are; they have learned everything they know from you, including important educational fundamentals like vocabulary.

Remember that when you are homeschooling you do not need to follow a classroom set up. The learning environment can be a lot more flexible, and you can tailor it to fit you and the child’s needs. If your child has a hard time rising in the morning, instead of trying to teach them chemistry at 7am, start their classes a little later in the morning or later in the afternoon.

Be sure that you learn what your area’s requirements are in regard to homeschooling. This will ensures you to remain in compliance in the grade level that you are teaching and fulfill the number of hours that you must teach. When you are not in compliance, you risk your child’s ability to get accepted into college.

Read a variety of titles to ensure that your child receives a well-rounded education. How-to articles can give you a variety of hands-on activities to do with your child. Before you child begins studying a specific subject such as World History, visit your local library and check out a children’s history book along with an age appropriate book. Use the children’s history book to give you a broad overview of the information that should be taught, and use the other book for specific information to include in your lesson plan.

Research the resources available in your area. Certain establishments may have special classes or activities designed particularly for homeschooled children. You may also get discounts on cultural events in the area. Also, do not forget about the Internet. There is a wealth of knowledge on different forums and websites that is easy to access.

Homeschooling is something that brings both tremendous challenges and remarkable rewards. In order to ensure that your homeschooling experience is both beneficial and enjoyable, a thorough understanding of homeschool precepts and techniques is critical. Keep the above information close at hand, and you will be prepared to thrive in your new role as teacher.