RSPB, workbooks, 5 Tibetans

This was an unseasonally warm day today… lovely. Visited the RSPB nature reserve at the Loch of Strathbeg. Saw lots of different insects and birds. Two of the hides are located in a Ministry of Defence base which was quite an experience, driving through a barren wasteland of radars and old runways to get there. Charlotte said she was waiting to see a tumbleweed go by! Then all of a sudden there we were in an enchanted woodland walking to the lochside. More surreality was created by the close presence of the stock car racing track at Crimond – we had to drive through the pits and dodge mechanics lying down in the road (out from under cars, not in protest). Davie and me actually met at that racing track 17 years ago (makes me feel so old).

A couple of resource sites: Tarquin Books have some really great looking maths stuff – resisting the urge to go mad there, we really do have enough to be going on with but I think I will go back in the future. CGP Books – much more schooly, everything you could want for National Curriculum study at both primary and secondary – not tempted just now.

Starting a morning regime here – feel better with a bit of organisation, makes sure we do certain things. I get up before eveyone else and do the 5 Tibetans in total peace (also called the Tibetan Rejuvenation Rites – very energising). Once everyone else is up we do a short meditation on CD – very calming and centering. Then we do some yoga – either the kids tape, the warm up from my advanced ashtanga DVD or just my own freestyle made up combination. Somewhere in the middle of this there’s the Waldorf style mental maths games. I’m getting the kids to make their own breakfasts just now with the specification that fruit should be involved. After breakfast we tidy up – kids do their own rooms – and get dressed etc. Things are completely varied after this as diary shows. We do some maths and English workbook stuff, all still enjoying it (well Daniel might not actually have chosen maths if left to his own devices but he seemed fairly happy with it). We listened to a vivisection debate between two scientists on Radio 4 with our lunch (playing with new digital radio proves educational). Attempted to play Sorcerers Cave but it was so unbelievably complicated, not to mention musty smelling that we gave up and went onto Hagrid’s Challenge from the Harry Potter set. Charlotte has been doing puzzles of dinosaurs and French/German months, days and seasons. Daniel has been researching cryptozoology on the internet, his current favourite subject. Then we all went for a long walk with Toby in the nearby woods.

Another really good portal site for all sorts of subjects is Usborne Quicklinks – the virtual keyboard listed under music is sweet!

Related posts: