Pond dipping

This week, we made nets for pond dipping.  They were very easy to make, although did require a bit of sewing.  They were made with bamboo sticks, net curtains (from a charity shop) and metal coat hangers.  We attached the coat hangers to the sticks, and sewed a piece of net curtain to the coat hanger.

After our session at the hall, we went to a Fyne Court, where they have a little pond perfect for pond dipping.  The children had lots of fun dipping in the pond, and then trying to identify their finds!  Pictures below! 

More fun in the park, and some paper plate creations

This week, we made paper plate creations, using coloured paper plates, split pins, feathers, glue and other bits and pieces.  There were dragons, birds, flowers and some paper plates just cut into lots of little pieces.

We went to the park before and after, as it was such a beautiful sunny day and after all the rain from the previous week, we definitely needed to be out in the sun!

Bubble wands

This week, (as well as the usual puzzles, toys and games on offer) we made bubble wands.  Between us we made lots of different kinds of bubble wands.  Ones made of garden wire and beads, string and straws, wooden sticks and pipe cleaners and straws taped together!  After lunch, we took them all outside, with some bubble solution (homemade with water and washing-up liquid) and made lots of bubbles.  You can see some of them in the pictures below!  If you want to make better bubbles, add a bit of glycerin to your solution (recipes here: http://bubbleblowers.com/homemade.html).

Have a look at this wonderful giant bubbles video: http://lifehacker.com/5618447/create-enormous-bubbles-with-a-super+size-diy-bubble-wand

A couple of us went for an incredibly foggy walk at Fyne Court afterwards, it was quite spooky, as you could hardly see anything!

This week, we welcomed some more new families to our group - it's always lovely to meet other home-educating families, so please do get in touch with us if you would like any more information about our group - tauntonhomeeducation@yahoo.com

Dens, daffodils and discussing guidelines

Today was a beautiful spring day, so we spent the first part of the group in the lovely little park next door to the hall.  When we went into the hall, the children made dens using the chairs, and sheets, which they had great fun playing and hiding in.

We also spent time sitting down with the children, to get them to come up with some guidelines for our group, now that we are starting to grow a little.  The children had some good ideas about what they would like, to make the group safe and welcoming for everybody - biggest to smallest, and we will be able to publish them on our blog when they have been typed up.

It was a very busy week, as we finished off by making some lovely paper daffodils (inspired by the ones blooming all around!), using green straws, crepe paper and tissue paper.