I always find August a strange month; it’s when we tend to take a break, of sorts, but not our main break, and it is also, ALWAYS, a month I find hard. It’s a month that I find drags and I never feel is terribly productive. But, it’s over and we can move into the new academic year refreshed and ready!
Core Subjects
Our main core focus has been working with H on his reading; it’s definitely getting there and with some more disciplined and regular reading practice he’ll be away over the next few months; it’s all about building that confidence for him now and I am sure there is a lot of developmental stuff going on with him. The tell-tale signs of being very tired and having emotional blow ups suggests that something is afoot for him and I strongly suspect it is his reading ability.
We have been looking at handwriting with D and then keeping on top of general maths and English with all three of them. We did have the start of the month off on this but have picked up again with regular work on maths and English. I think I can probably get H through his first Maths no Problem book by the October half term as it isn’t a challenge at the moment for him, and I think I can probably get D through much of his current book too by the end of 2021. Em is only just onto her new book but probably a little ahead of where I had hoped she would be so all good there and I am sure she’ll progress fine through the coming months.
Project Work
I wrote last month about the work we had been doing on our Japan project and this continued into the start of August as we finished it all off and met with friends to have a go at making sushi and trying some different Japanese foods – I am eternally grateful to have a friend who enjoys cooking (and is very good at it!) and is always willing to try her hand at different dishes for us to try.
We also did a short butterfly lap book study over a few days as this was something Em has asked to do and we have started our Ancient Egypt study which will take us through much of September too. So far the children have had a go at making papyrus paper and have made salt dough cartouches. We are going to create death masks next and have been planning those.
Regular Groups
Groups have been off for the summer, and whilst I do enjoy the groups the children go to, it has been a welcome break to not have something to head to all the time. We do have Spanish, swimming, and scouting groups to re-start in September.
Days Out
We had a fair few days out in August, mostly when we were away on holiday for a week. We went to West Wales and had a lovely time away. It was nice to get away to some place else and the children had a great time, although they’ll say their best bit was when a cow was loose in the road! Not the stream train we went on, the castles we explored, or the dolphins and seals that we saw in the sea. A cow was their highlight!
We have also had a walk with friends, did a frog quiz hunt in a local park and of course, we headed to Blackburn to do the Brickosaurs trail which was excellent.
Other Bits and Pieces
August has been quiet in terms of formal work, but we have been doing lots of bits and pieces and I hope that this sees us ready and raring to go as we move to September and with it a new school year. I have some different ideas of things to do in the coming weeks and I’m looking forward to the structure of swimming lessons and other bits and pieces to bring back some normality.
When I sat with the children at the weekend Harry brought his book and read to me without prompting. Very impressive. Lots of hard work hone on again and looking forward to hearing what you do in September.