It wasn't just a cold, Jigglepuff has got the flu. So the boys are having to look after themselves this week.
Today we sat on the sofa for half an hour and watched FACTOMANIA which was brilliant - it showed us how a car's combustion engine had 50 explosions per second, and how the explosions made the wheels go around. They told us about some seventeenth-century scientist who worked out the mass of the entire earth. Charizard pointed out how silly it would be to try to go to the sun to work out what it weighed. Then the programme also showed us how a golf ball would float in salty water rather than tap water, because the salt made the water denser. We went straight into the kitchen afterwards and tried the same experiment. It worked with salty water and pumpkin.
Then Charizard did the Pre-Test for the Khan Academy, which gave him 1000 points and his first Khan badge, well done Charizard! Meanwhile Chuggington, who is still off school with a poorly tummy, did some really good work on Spelling BigIQKids. Charizard is going to do some Time4Learning tonight.
Apparently Jigglepuff has spent some time reading the Horrible Histories annual.
Jigglepuff's favourite bit of the day was...being in bed.
Charizard's favourite bit of the day was...
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Sniffle snuffle cough
Charizard had an extra-short homeschooling day today because Jigglepuff is pretty poorly, and Chuggington was poorly too and off school.
We sat at the kitchen table and took a piece of paper. "Right," said Jigglepuff fervently, with all the determination of a homeschooling mum who knows that in twenty minutes she will probably need to go back to bed, "this is two lessons in one, history and maths." We looked at the difference between doubles (2 x 2, 3 x 4, 4 x 2) and squared numbers (2 x 2, 3 x 3, 4 x 4). Then we added in cubed numbers, (3 x 3 x 3 etc). "Got it?" Jigglepuff said. Charizard had. "Right, now those are the times tables you would have learnt in Ancient Babylon, you had to learn your squared and cubed tables all the way up to 59, because it was base 60 not base 10." Charizard and Jigglepuff agreed this would have been much harder. Then we drew a circle, and minutes in the hour, and worked out how the number of degrees in a circle and the number of minutes in an hour was also base 60, and how this came from the Babylonian era. "Cool," said Charizard.
"And this is why we're doing Babylon," said Jigglepuff faintly, "you were asking yesterday, it is the beginning of written maths and the beginning of writing, and also, oh goodness I have to go back to bed."
We sat at the kitchen table and took a piece of paper. "Right," said Jigglepuff fervently, with all the determination of a homeschooling mum who knows that in twenty minutes she will probably need to go back to bed, "this is two lessons in one, history and maths." We looked at the difference between doubles (2 x 2, 3 x 4, 4 x 2) and squared numbers (2 x 2, 3 x 3, 4 x 4). Then we added in cubed numbers, (3 x 3 x 3 etc). "Got it?" Jigglepuff said. Charizard had. "Right, now those are the times tables you would have learnt in Ancient Babylon, you had to learn your squared and cubed tables all the way up to 59, because it was base 60 not base 10." Charizard and Jigglepuff agreed this would have been much harder. Then we drew a circle, and minutes in the hour, and worked out how the number of degrees in a circle and the number of minutes in an hour was also base 60, and how this came from the Babylonian era. "Cool," said Charizard.
"And this is why we're doing Babylon," said Jigglepuff faintly, "you were asking yesterday, it is the beginning of written maths and the beginning of writing, and also, oh goodness I have to go back to bed."
Tuesday, 18 March 2014
Ziggaramids
This is the name Charizard gave to the Babylonian ziggarats, because they reminded us both of the Egyptian pyramids. This was this afternoon's activity: he coloured a picture of ziggarats in whilst listening to the story of Gilgamesh. Turned out that Charizard has never heard the story of the Tower of Babel, so that will be fun sometime!
After that Charizard had a go on the Language Arts section of Time4Learning, which had a great vocabulary-building game on probability. We both found it very calming!
That was after Jigglepuff's big treat of the day, which was a cup of coffee in the Birkenhead cafe that overlooks Auckland harbour - one of her favourite spots. Charizard and she read some exciting news in the newspaper there, apparently the scientists using the telescope in Antarctica (that she and Charizard saw a documentary about some time ago) have just discovered radiation going back to the dawn of time, just after the big Bang. Charizard pointed out that it couldn't have gone back any further because time didn't exist before the Big Bang.
In the morning we did Ko's Journey, before a meeting up in Albany, on the way there and back we listened to the Groovy Greeks. Jigglepuff is threatening to make homeschool a bit more like school in Sparta!
Jigglepuff's favourite bit of the day was...reading about the exciting scientific news from Antarctica.
Charizard's favourite bit of the day was...when Jigglepuff threatened to run a Sparta-type homeschool! We're halfway there already, Charizard already sleeps on the floor...
After that Charizard had a go on the Language Arts section of Time4Learning, which had a great vocabulary-building game on probability. We both found it very calming!
That was after Jigglepuff's big treat of the day, which was a cup of coffee in the Birkenhead cafe that overlooks Auckland harbour - one of her favourite spots. Charizard and she read some exciting news in the newspaper there, apparently the scientists using the telescope in Antarctica (that she and Charizard saw a documentary about some time ago) have just discovered radiation going back to the dawn of time, just after the big Bang. Charizard pointed out that it couldn't have gone back any further because time didn't exist before the Big Bang.
In the morning we did Ko's Journey, before a meeting up in Albany, on the way there and back we listened to the Groovy Greeks. Jigglepuff is threatening to make homeschool a bit more like school in Sparta!
Jigglepuff's favourite bit of the day was...reading about the exciting scientific news from Antarctica.
Charizard's favourite bit of the day was...when Jigglepuff threatened to run a Sparta-type homeschool! We're halfway there already, Charizard already sleeps on the floor...
Under the table
Today Charizard decided to do his maths...UNDER THE TABLE.
He was looking at improper fractions, which was tricky. We might try those again. It was great to see Charizard choosing to work hard on his own on some new challenges. We also did some long multiplication, which he struggled with initially but which then came right: what excellent learning.
For history we took out one of the new books we had bought. Jigglepuff asked Charizard to look and find three facts about the Babylonians. He found out that the Babylonians had fought the Assyrians, that then the king had died, and...oh dear. Jigglepuff has forgotten the third fact. She will have to ask Charizard again tomorrow.
After lunch we watched the first episode of COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey. Charizard pointed out how rogue planets - with their molten core, frozen seas and oceans in between - were very like Jupiter's moon Europa, about which we'd watched a documentary last year. Jigglepuff was very interested to learn about Bruno and his visions of the universe, she'd never heard of him before. We'll look forward to watching the next episode next week. It was Charizard who saw the advert and asked to watch it, thanks for suggesting it Charizard!
He was looking at improper fractions, which was tricky. We might try those again. It was great to see Charizard choosing to work hard on his own on some new challenges. We also did some long multiplication, which he struggled with initially but which then came right: what excellent learning.
For history we took out one of the new books we had bought. Jigglepuff asked Charizard to look and find three facts about the Babylonians. He found out that the Babylonians had fought the Assyrians, that then the king had died, and...oh dear. Jigglepuff has forgotten the third fact. She will have to ask Charizard again tomorrow.
After lunch we watched the first episode of COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey. Charizard pointed out how rogue planets - with their molten core, frozen seas and oceans in between - were very like Jupiter's moon Europa, about which we'd watched a documentary last year. Jigglepuff was very interested to learn about Bruno and his visions of the universe, she'd never heard of him before. We'll look forward to watching the next episode next week. It was Charizard who saw the advert and asked to watch it, thanks for suggesting it Charizard!
Sunday, 16 March 2014
Mangere Mountain Trip
This was NOT Jigglepuff's finest hour organisationally. She got the wrong day! The trip was meant to be last week! Nevertheless, she and Charizard had a wonderful walk/play/talk as we climbed one of the most beautiful sights in Auckland. Some of the things we talked about were...
how we might calculate our journey pace, like in Ko's Journey. Charizard made up his own sums.
how to treat dogs we met safely, not looking them directly in the eye, keeping calm and still, and most important, no screaming!
Why the Roman soldiers were called legions. This was because we were walking along a high ridge where we reckoned Maori soldiers had once stood guard, keeping watch for enemies. We talked about how the legions were made up of centuries and Jigglepuff later found a website - here - giving more information.
how Charizard and a friend had recently seen a cockroach giving birth. What had come out had been transparent. Jigglepuff thinks they saw an egg capsule, which contains 20-40 eggs. What good nature observation, Charizard. (When we read this, Charizard added "I'm gonna puke!")
what fun it would be to do an overnight trip at Ambury Park, down the road, and walk between there and the mountain.
Some of the things Charizard noticed/learnt were...
1. That people do make stuff in white so that in the future they can put images through it
2. That volcanoes can be formed in very strange ways.
3. I found out that the higher you go the less oxygen you can get, so crying is a really bad idea because it will exhaust the air surrounding you.
4. The lava. It was amazing. And I think that the Maori soldiers threw some of the solidified lava down to invaders. We found an arrowhead!
Something new that Jigglepuff learnt was...that Maori gardeners used to put scoria stones underneath and around their garden beds, to retain the sun's heat and extend the growing season by about six weeks.
After that we went for sausage rolls, cake and coffee at a nearby bakery where we ended up talking about how you can sell stuff at a loss by making it too cheap.
On the way there and back we listened to Michael Morpurgo's story of King Arthur, which so far is fantastic.
Hmm. We better not tell dad but on the way home we stopped at a bookshop...enough said...
Charizard's favourite bit of the day was going to the very very summit.
Jigglepuff liked buying books best!
how we might calculate our journey pace, like in Ko's Journey. Charizard made up his own sums.
how to treat dogs we met safely, not looking them directly in the eye, keeping calm and still, and most important, no screaming!
Why the Roman soldiers were called legions. This was because we were walking along a high ridge where we reckoned Maori soldiers had once stood guard, keeping watch for enemies. We talked about how the legions were made up of centuries and Jigglepuff later found a website - here - giving more information.
how Charizard and a friend had recently seen a cockroach giving birth. What had come out had been transparent. Jigglepuff thinks they saw an egg capsule, which contains 20-40 eggs. What good nature observation, Charizard. (When we read this, Charizard added "I'm gonna puke!")
what fun it would be to do an overnight trip at Ambury Park, down the road, and walk between there and the mountain.
Some of the things Charizard noticed/learnt were...
1. That people do make stuff in white so that in the future they can put images through it
2. That volcanoes can be formed in very strange ways.
3. I found out that the higher you go the less oxygen you can get, so crying is a really bad idea because it will exhaust the air surrounding you.
4. The lava. It was amazing. And I think that the Maori soldiers threw some of the solidified lava down to invaders. We found an arrowhead!
Something new that Jigglepuff learnt was...that Maori gardeners used to put scoria stones underneath and around their garden beds, to retain the sun's heat and extend the growing season by about six weeks.
After that we went for sausage rolls, cake and coffee at a nearby bakery where we ended up talking about how you can sell stuff at a loss by making it too cheap.
On the way there and back we listened to Michael Morpurgo's story of King Arthur, which so far is fantastic.
Hmm. We better not tell dad but on the way home we stopped at a bookshop...enough said...
Charizard's favourite bit of the day was going to the very very summit.
Jigglepuff liked buying books best!
Saturday, 15 March 2014
A bit of rain
We ended up at Ambury Regional Park Farm today, having dropped Dad into the office for a spot of weekend work. It started to rain, so we went and sheltered in the milking shed. There we learnt that a single cow can produce 80 glasses of milk a day! Charizard, Pikachu and Chuggington all looked at the farmer working out in the rain, and we agreed that a farmer needs to be able to work whatever the weather. We all went out for a bit - and learnt that kunekune means "fat" as well as pig in Maori - but the weather was bad, so we went back to the car.
There was a bit of an awkward moment between the brothers. Jigglepuff pointed out that sacrificing your brother to save yourself wasn't what the Bible suggested, and that the Psalms told us that a contrite heart was more to God's liking. We explained that contrite is when you are sorry and want to do better next time. The boys understood that beautifully. Then we went over to Mangere Bridge for hot chips and cake from a cafe. Yum!
On the way home Charizard wondered if there had been a cyclone because we had angered the wind god. Pikachu said that Tangaroa was the god of the sea and the boss of beaches, but he didn't know who the boss of volcanoes was. At home we asked our babysitter, who said it was Ruaumoko.
Tonight the plan - it's only a plan, it might not work - is for Jigglepuff and Charizard to try to make a bird feeder together.
There was a bit of an awkward moment between the brothers. Jigglepuff pointed out that sacrificing your brother to save yourself wasn't what the Bible suggested, and that the Psalms told us that a contrite heart was more to God's liking. We explained that contrite is when you are sorry and want to do better next time. The boys understood that beautifully. Then we went over to Mangere Bridge for hot chips and cake from a cafe. Yum!
On the way home Charizard wondered if there had been a cyclone because we had angered the wind god. Pikachu said that Tangaroa was the god of the sea and the boss of beaches, but he didn't know who the boss of volcanoes was. At home we asked our babysitter, who said it was Ruaumoko.
Tonight the plan - it's only a plan, it might not work - is for Jigglepuff and Charizard to try to make a bird feeder together.
Cyclone Fail
The cyclone wasn't very impressive in the end. We managed to get to the rugby league game, where Charizard decided to support the Dragons instead of his home team: twas the right decision as the Warriors lost in the second half AGAIN.
Earlier in the day, Jigglepuff decided to watch the LIVE broadcast from the International Space Station, which was phenomenal. Charizard came to watch some too, and he made Jigglepuff work out how many mph the space station travels - 17000 - and then asked how many sunsets and sunrises the Space Station sees every day (15 or 16). There was a seriously scary story about how a spacewalk went wrong! Afterwards Jigglepuff found that NASA has a really good educational website, so we might spend some time on it next week.
Not a work day, but there was still some interesting learning to be done. Pikachu was VERY surprised to learn that you couldn't just walk in space! And Chuggington learnt how water drops spin in space.
Earlier in the day, Jigglepuff decided to watch the LIVE broadcast from the International Space Station, which was phenomenal. Charizard came to watch some too, and he made Jigglepuff work out how many mph the space station travels - 17000 - and then asked how many sunsets and sunrises the Space Station sees every day (15 or 16). There was a seriously scary story about how a spacewalk went wrong! Afterwards Jigglepuff found that NASA has a really good educational website, so we might spend some time on it next week.
Not a work day, but there was still some interesting learning to be done. Pikachu was VERY surprised to learn that you couldn't just walk in space! And Chuggington learnt how water drops spin in space.
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