Taunton Home Education Group

Chinese New Year celebrations

2012-02-17T16:29:00.001Z

This week it was Chinese New Year so we decided to celebrate! We all wore something red. A few of us found some amazing Chinese outfits!

We tried our hand at writing some Chinese symbols. Using gold paint and brushes we concentrated hard and made some beautiful words. We wrote "prosperity", "sun", "mountain", "love" "moon" and "banana"!

We also had some stories and made Chinese dragons and for lunch we made noodles and practiced using chopsticks. This was harder than it looked! After lunch we tried some new fruits, lychees and Chinese pears.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Oat Biscuits, puzzles and brooms

2012-02-08T14:50:00.004Z

It was a little more lively at the group this week compared to our quiet week last week. We drew pictures, did jigsaw puzzles, played games, made and ate oat biscuits, read stories together and finished with a ride on the broom after cleaning up at the end! We then went for a rather chilly walk at Fyne Court, a lovely free-to-visit National Trust place, visiting the resident pigs - of course.

Please do feel free to come along to one of our sessions, whether you already home-educate or are just considering doing so. You can get in touch with us at tauntonhomeeducation@yahoo.com

A quiet week!

2012-02-01T08:51:00.000Z

It was a very quiet week, this week, due to holidays, illness and possibly the cold weather!

We made snow pictures with black paper, white chalk, white paint and cotton wool, as it had snowed (if briefly) the day before!

We also made structures with modelling sticks (like cocktail sticks) and plasticine.

The group was finished with a trip to the park, but as it was only 2 or 3 degrees, some of us didn't stay very long at all!

Juggling

2012-01-20T20:57:00.000Z

This week we decided to make our own juggling balls and have a go at juggling.
So first we filled some sandwich bags with some old rice, tied and wrapped the bags around the rice balls several times. Then we cut the ends of a couple of balloons for each ball, and cut a few holes on the second balloon for a spotty effect. We wrapped the first one onto the rice ball and the second one in the opposite direction. It will make more sense if you have a look at this tutorial: http://indigo-blue-designs.blogspot.com/2011/03/balloon-juggle-bags.html.

Then a few of us had a go at juggling, well we all admired Naomi's skills while we tried to cope with one or two ball juggling! We also had some stilts and a hula hoop to play with.

The girls decided they wanted their face painted...

And we made good use of the park next door.

Paper mosaics and a muddy walk

2012-01-13T13:21:00.002Z

Lots of us have visited the new Museum of Somerset and seen the mosaic floor so this week Sarah shared her mosaic project with us. We all had squared paper and either drew our own designs or used some Sarah had made for us.

There were lots of little squares of colour paper to stick on and make the pictures into mosaics.

Some of us chose big squares and some chose tiny squares.

We had to really concentrate!

There were lots of games and toys to play with too.

Afterwards we went on a long walk in Fyne Court. There's a huge tree there we love to climb along. It had been raining in the night and the tree was really slippery!

We love to visit the pigs there. They have eaten nearly all the weeds in the walled garden and it's a bit smelly.

We had fun by the pond fishing for pond weeds.....

....and splashing in the mud and the stream. Some of us got our wellies full of water.

There's a brilliant new musical instrument in the woods for us to make music.

Happy New Year

2012-01-04T10:19:00.000Z

For our first meeting of the new year, we brought along a few games.

There were some travelling jigsaw puzzles, lots of secrets in the corridor...

some fun guessing games with animal cards,

& ball games

and finally a parachute & ball game and a lot of static hair!

Ah, don't they look peaceful! (it only lasted a few seconds!)

All in all a great start to 2012! May it be a great year for everybody :)

Christmas party

2011-12-20T19:03:00.001Z

This week (20th December) was our last session before Christmas and the last session of the year, so we had a Christmas Party to celebrate. We decorated balloons with stickers and drawings and made little mice out of walnut shell halves and felt for ears and tails. You put a marble underneath the shell and then the mouse will slide across the floor! (tutorial here)

We finished off with a bring and share Christmas lunch - which was yummy! Lots of lovely cakes (amongst all the healthy vegetables and hummus of course..) The only downside was we didn't get a chance to play Twister - maybe next year!

We will be meeting again on the 3rd January 2012 - please email us for details tauntonhomeeducation@yahoo.com And, in the meantime we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Making salt dough decorations

2011-12-14T18:10:00.000Z

It was a very festive feel this week (13th December), as we made salt dough Christmas decorations. To make them, you need 1cup of flour, 1 cup of salt, spices (if you want!) and approx 3/4 cup of water, mix it all together and add more water if needed. Knead for a few minutes before rolling out and cutting out your shapes. We made a big selection of shapes - gingerbread men, snowmen, stars, trees etc, and decorated some of them with cloves. Salt dough takes quite a long time to set (you can either air-dry them or cook in the oven at a very low temperature - it can take several hours), so we took them home at the end to decorate later.

A few of us braved a walk at Fyne Court afterwards - even though it was starting to sleet a little as we left!

Making cardboard gingerbread houses

2011-12-07T17:51:00.000Z

This week, 6th December, we made and decorated 'gingerbread' houses - unfortunately not made of gingerbread, but of cardboard instead - and we had our first dad at the group! The children decorated the little houses with stickers, cotton wool and other things, and then the mums (and dad!) glued them together with the hot glue gun. There was also some piano playing by the smallest 2 members of the group - see the photo! As always the group ended with a quick trip over to the little park by the hall.

Paper snowflakes and conker webs

2011-11-30T17:39:00.000Z

For our last meeting in November, we made lots of paper snowflakes, and some "conker webs" ( see tutorials here, here & here).

To make a conker web, you need a dry conker, in which you make several holes around with a sharp needle, and then push in some cocktail sticks.

Then you take a piece of wool and wrap it around the sticks, going round and round until you feel like changing colour. It's very easy and gives lovely results.

The children also enjoyed playing with bricks, listening to a very lively rendition of "We're going on a bear hunt" and helping with the sweeping.

Another autumn session

2011-11-16T12:22:00.002Z

This week was another lovely day, if a little on the chilly side. In the hall, we made some lovely folded garlands out of coloured paper. The children had lots of fun sticking them together, and they looked beautiful when they were finished. (The folded paper garland tutorial can be found here and don't forget to check out the other lovely tutorials on the same website.)

After lunch, we went back over to the little park next to the hall, where the children spent a lot of time running around and playing on the swings and slides.

Please do contact us at tauntonhomeeducation@yahoo.com if you would like more information about our group.

Gliders, Mister Wolf and Fyne Court.

2011-11-13T23:51:00.019Z

This week, the weather was nowhere near as nice as the previous week, so our session was spent indoors, although the children still managed a fair bit of running around.. I mean, exercise!!

We made gliders from jumbo straws, paper and tissue paper (if you ever want to make a straw glider, here is a nice tutorial to help you!), all of which worked really well. The children enjoyed a story before lunch and then a game of What's the Time Mister Wolf? after lunch!

Some of us went for an autumnal walk up at Fyne Court after the session. Running among the trees, playing the musical instrument and having a great time.

Look forward to seeing you all next time!

A Gorgeous Autumn Day

2011-11-03T11:03:00.002Z

This week's meeting was on the 1st day of November, but you wouldn't have known it by the weather! It was gloriously sunny (for the most part), so we all took advantage of the little play park next to the village hall again. The children spent hours playing on the slides, swings and climbing trees. We did manage to sit down for long enough in the hall to make some paper gliders, which involved folding, cutting, decorating, attaching a paper clip and then letting them float down to the ground (picture below). They worked really well! A quick stop for lunch and then back to the park to enjoy the autumn sunshine again.

We will be meeting again next Tuesday. Please do contact us at tauntonhomeeducation@yahoo.com if you would like to find out more.

Paper helicopter tutorial here, or if you follow this Nature Detectives link, you will find a template to print out.

Spooky Spiders & Perfect Pumpkins!

2011-10-26T09:45:00.002+01:00

It was a relatively quiet week at our Home Education group this week, partly due to holidays and partly due to some cold bugs doing the rounds, but we still had a lovely time.

This week, as it is Hallowe'en next week, the children made spiders out of pipe cleaners (some of them made out of black pipe-cleaners looked a little too realistic for me!) They also made 'pumpkin' tea-light holders from glass jars, orange tissue paper and lots and lots of glue. There was also plenty of time for outside play and apple-eating.

As the weather was so lovely and sunny we also went for a walk up at Fyne Court, where we looked at the ever-popular pigs, played the musical instrument and played hide & seek, making it back to the cars just before the rain started.

Autumn leaves

2011-10-24T09:21:00.003+01:00

Our meeting last week was a usual mixture of crafts, play and chatting.
We had a go at making leaf rubbings, leaf crowns and masks.
The children also enjoyed playing games with a parachute and ball, playing tag and making the most of the little park by the hall.
And as usual it was lovely being able to chat with other parents who have made the choice to educate their children outside of school. It can be a lonely path at times, and a group like this one really helps us feel part of a community!

Dancing with wands

2011-10-16T17:51:00.001+01:00

This week we welcomed some new members, the little village hall was quite busy! We had a session centered around music, and we made some wind wands with wooden rings and ribbons, and tin drums, with empty tins and ballons. There was a lot of dancing & running around, the children especially enjoyed the slippery wooden floor. They also played outside for quite a while as this hall has a nice big garden at the back.

Usual warm-up drawing

Making wind wands

Dancing with the wands

Making the most of the equipment available!

Acorns and conkers

2011-10-06T16:27:00.001+01:00

Our second meetingin a village hall had a definite autumnal feel to it. It was raining finely, andabout half the temperature of the previous day!

Armed with a gluegun, a drill and lots of acorns, conkers, beech nuts, pinecones, sycamore seeds, somegoogly eyes and a bit of glittery glue and golden paint, we set about makingsome little people/animals/fairies and necklaces.

If you have some leftover material and are unsure what to do with it all, check out this page full of great ideas.

A bit of warm-up drawing

Drilling with a smile ;-)

Concentrating

Smiling proudly

Beautiful princess, fairy and animals

Love the prickly shield, and the acorn hat toes Alex insisted on having for his conkers man to stand on

After the session, some of us went for a little walk in Fyne Court. We enjoyed playing this new natural instrument,

and said hello to the three resident pigs.

First autumn meeting

2011-10-03T22:01:00.003+01:00

The last Tuesday of September was our first meeting back in a village hall. The weather was gorgeous, and so we enjoyed the little park next to the hall.

Ruth and Ida had brought some apples from their garden and some raisins for us all to make baked apples. Mmmmmmm ...you can find a similar recipe here.

Afterwards the children enjoyed some crafty time with glittery bits and pieces as well as sticky butterflies, dragonflies and flowers. Thanks Naomi ;-)

Not Back to School Picnic

2011-09-22T09:49:00.001+01:00

This week we held our Not Back to School Picnic in Vivary Park, Taunton. This was an opportunity for us to celebrate home education together. We had to postpone the picnic by a day, as the original day (Tuesday) had a forecast of heavy rain! It was definately the right choice as the weather was so much better on Wednesday. Some of us even took our cardigans off!

We met two new families at the picnic, which was great as it is always lovely to meet new people. We set up for a picnic near the fountain, with our new Taunton Home Education banner to help bring awareness of our group to people in the park. The children collected acorns, spotted lots of squirrels, fed the ducks and generally had fun together.

We then moved over to the play area at the back of Vivary Park, where the children (and some of the adults!) enjoyed the play equipment. We also had a go at making giant bubbles, with slightly mixed success. Some worked really well, others were not so good. We will have another go at it later in the year.

Making giant bubbles

Bubble making

Playing together on the roundabout

Next week, we are having our first meeting in a village hall near Taunton. If you would like to come along, please email us at tauntonhomeeducation@yahoo.com for further information. Look forward to seeing you soon.

Tree Climbing at Fyne Court

2011-09-13T19:55:00.001+01:00

This week was our last official outdoor meeting. It was definately an autumnal feel today. Brief, but quite heavy showers and a definate chill in the air, meant our meeting was quite a bit shorter than usual! The children spent most of the time climbing on a huge log at Fyne Court. They have added some tree trunk steps since last week, which made it a bit easier for those with 'littler' legs! There was also quite a lot of blackberry eating as well, as evidenced by the red streaks around some of their mouths.. Unfortunately, as someone (ahem) forgot to charge their camera, we have no photos to share this week, but I'm sure there will be some next week.

Next Tuesday, we are meeting in Vivary Park, Taunton for our "Not Back To School Picnic". We will be meeting at the Fountain at 11.30am for a picnic, fun and games. The picnic is for anyone who is home educating or considering home educating regardless of whether you normally come to the Taunton group meetings or not.

From the following week (27th September) we will begin meeting in a hall near Taunton. Please email tauntonhomeeducation@yahoo.com for further details. Look forward to seeing you soon.

Not back to (or starting) school

2011-09-07T07:46:00.001+01:00

Today was our first meeting of September and we met again at Fyne Court, Broomfield. It was rather eerily quiet compared to previous weeks. Partly because it was raining, which probably put visitors off, but mainly because this week was the first week back at school, so the children from the Home Education Group were the only ones there. Some of us are entering our second (or more) year of home educating, some of us are just starting out with little ones who would have started school this week and some of us have just de-registered our children from school, but we are all looking forward to the 'non-school' year to come.

At Fyne Court, despite the rain, we still had 4 families meet up, which was a pretty good turn out considering the weather! We picked, and ate, a lot of blackberries and raspberries, slipped over in the mud (the children, not the adults!), played hide & seek, played giant snakes & ladders (improvising due to lack of a dice), snap and matching pairs. We even managed to have a (dryish!) picnic.

We're meeting at Fyne Court again next week (13th September) at 10.30am in the car park. Look forward to seeing you all then.

Sheltering from the rain.

Looking for blackberries

Playing in the den in the woods.

Giant Snakes & Ladders.

Last meeting of August

2011-08-30T23:24:00.003+01:00

Today we enjoyed another walk in Fyne Court.

We braved a field with no bull in sight, and spent a lot of time climbing spectacular trees. We very luckily avoided a wasp nest (which stung some other children later on :-((( we all hope they're ok now).

The children also loved swinging on a tree swing brought by Christina, and unfortunately... playing with (slightly too short) sticks and with ... (fresh) cow pat! (withheld photographic evidence ;-) )

Then, a little dip in the stream, and a picnic in the courtyard, with regular visits to "the secret garden". All rounded up with more tree climbing, and playing "mummy, daddy and their two babies" for quite a long time!

Looking forward to September now, with more meetings in Fyne Court, our first Not Back To School Picnic on the 20th and our first meeting back in a village hall on the 27th.

August fun

2011-08-24T00:18:00.004+01:00

In August, we've been back to Fyne Court a lot. Once more we've enjoyed walks around the woods and clearings, and there was more tree climbing involved, as well as paddling in the stream and building dams, meeting the new resident pigs, collecting leaves and picking blackberries, and playing with the giant games which visitors can borrow.

We also had a great family picnic in Longrun Meadow, Taunton.

June & July

2011-08-17T09:39:00.007+01:00

In June and July we met up a couple of times in Longrun Meadow, a newly developed green area in the North of Taunton. It's a lovely area accessible from town through French Weir Park. The Willow Cathedral is also well worth a "visit".

　

In June we had a couple of picnics at The Spinney in Kingston St Mary, where the children enjoyed playing in the stream, climbing in the trees and swinging on a tree swing.

We also had a couple of walks in Langford Heathfield, a Somerset Wildlife Trust nature reserve near Wellington. We all enjoyed meeting the mini Shetlands ponies which are kept there in the summer to graze a small area of the reserve. It's a beautiful reserve with wildflower meadows, boarded walks as well as woods with multiple paths where it's surprisingly easy to become lost!

In July we took part in the Big Butterfly Count, a survey organised by Butterfly Conservation
We decided to meet up at Thurlbear Quarrylands, one of the best sites in the area to see a good variety of butterflies. With our copies of the butterfly charts we were able to identify a few species: gatekeeper, meadow brown, ringlet, large skipper, peacock, marbled white, large white, red admiral, silver-washed fritillary ... The children also enjoyed looking for bugs and buildings dens under some trees.

A look back on the last few months

2011-08-15T23:44:00.010+01:00

Since the end of the winter, our group has met in various places in and around Taunton.

In March we went to plant some trees on a Forest School site near Langport. The young trees were donated by Monkton Elm Garden Centre. Here's an extract from an article you can find here: "Taunton Home Education Group has been awarded 50 young trees to help teach its students about nature. Group Co-ordinator, Bryony Medhurst explained: "Taunton Home Education Group is a non-profit organisation made up of parents wishing to educate their children alternatively. "We have a focus on nature and forest skills in our curriculum and believe giving our pupils a hands-on experience when it comes to the outdoors is highly beneficial. "We are extremely grateful for Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre’s sapling donation and will be planting them at Wilder Woods Forest School, a voluntary run community group which aims to increase involvement in forestry and conservation activities for all ages."

　

We've also been on several walks in Fyne Court, a beautiful National Trust property with woods, streams and meadows.

The children have enjoyed running free, climbing trees, paddling in the stream, searching for beetles, collecting leaves and picking blackberries.

In Swell Wood (RSPB nature reserve), we all enjoyed spotting the herons and egrets nesting high up in the trees, and had nice walks in the bluebell woods.

　

In the Willows and Wetlands visitor Centre the children loved playing in the living willow wigwams, visiting the museum, and we all enjoyed a walk around the moors.

A summary of our group so far

2011-08-03T00:01:00.004+01:00

Taunton Home Education group was first established in the summer of 2010. Until then there was a home education group in Oake near Wellington, a very busy and oversubscribed group in Chard, but nothing much else for people in and around Taunton.

A Yahoo discussion list and Facebook page were created for the group and a few people mentioned an interest in a regular group. Several meetings at the park ensued, and later on, the search for a suitable hall began.

Our weekly gatherings started at the beginning of 2011 based in a hall in the centre of Taunton and on alternate weeks at Fyne Court (a free National Trust Property at Broomfield). Most of the children in our group are young, so a lot of the sessions are based around free play, generally getting to know each other and starting to form friendships (both children and adults!).

The children have enjoyed art and crafts activities, planting pepper plants with a representative from Taunton in Bloom, planting some donated young trees at a Forest School site near Langport, and walks and picnics at Fyne Court.

Mid-spring, we decided to meet outdoors for the rest of the spring and the summer, meeting at different places for a couple of weeks each. We have visited a variety of places around the Taunton area: the RSPB reserve at West Sedgemoor, the Willows and Wetlands Centre, Longrun Meadow (near French Weir Park, Taunton), the Spinney Wood (Kingston St Mary), Langford Heathfield Nature Reserve, Thurlbear Woods and Quarrylands, and more of Fyne Court.

We've had many picnics (most of them dry!), we've built dens, got lost in the woods, played in a stream and under some lovely willow wigwams and searched for oil beetles. We've taken part in the Big Butterfly Count and learned to identify a few species of butterflies, we've had some great walks and have become familiar with more beautiful places in the area, and have generally been developing friendships while out in the fresh air!

We will resume our meetings in a hall from the end of September. Our main focus will be on lots more free play, along with some crafts activities and simple experiments, and anything else that parents wish to organise!