May has been a quieter month, less productive in some ways, but a needed rest for us all as other life things took over. We had hoped for better weather during May but it was rather wet and miserable so we didn’t get out on trips further afield as we might have liked. May was a month of relative quiet for us and I hope that June sees better weather and trips further afield – we already have some things planned in which is nice.
Core Subjects
We have continued with Maths and English as we always do. H is making fine progress with reading and maths and has almost finished a few workbooks he likes to look through. D and E area also doing well. We have slowed a bit with the maths no problem work, instead focussing on other bits for now to consolidate their learning. Both the older two have finished up a few books and I have noticed a real change in E’s spelling and both D and E with the written work. It’s nice (and reassuring!) to see our approach paying off.
I’m sure we will pick with Maths no Problem in June and develop new skills there.
Project Work
We had our Speaking & Listening group this month with a theme of food glorious food. D learned about Maple Syrup, Em did the food that Fairies Eat, and H did what do monkeys eat. These were small projects for us this month but looking forward to getting stuck into the next ones in early June.
Our biggest project this month was our rivers project. This included looking at the water cycle and it’s heartening to see that H can explain the water cycle. We have also put the learning into practice with some riverside walks in the last few weeks. This project was interesting in a lot of ways. D already knew much of what the basics were but we touched on a wide range of issues including water conservation, changes in law to support the environment and it also linked with our World Otter Day work too. All in all, it was a nice project to cover with them and one that I think all three children took something different from.
Our Artist themed studies continued this month with Paul Klee and Faith Ringgold and another that a friend ran about Van Gogh. Paul Klee wasn’t successful with any of the children but Faith Ringgold was slightly better received. We are still enjoying this series of sessions and look forward to the ones lined up for June. Even when the children don’t enjoy or like the work of a particular artist there’s still learning to take away from this and that was the case with Paul Klee.
Regular Groups
Beavers and Cubs for the older two have continued and both are working hard on their badges and skills. Hopefully, they’ll go back face to face soon but I think it’s more likely to be after the summer now for this.
Spanish classes continued and the children are ever more proficient with their Spanish and enjoying this class.
Days Out
We haven’t had many days out in May with friends, I think things got busy and May is a bumper month of birthdays in our friendship group and people had time booked away, etc and of course, enjoying the freedoms and time to meet with their own extended families. We did have some time out whilst Damian was on leave from work, mostly staying local but we did have a drive over to Carsington Water which was nice and the weather was lovely.
We have been enjoying the canal walks and watching the new goslings and ducklings. Em in particular has really enjoyed this and has spotted a number of nests complete with eggs or chicks. It’s lovely seeing the complete awe and wonder through her eyes.
Other Bits and Pieces
We have had fair few sessions this month on a range of topics including, Cinco De Mayo, the Local Elections, Ramadan, World Otter Day and we also attended a session with the Horrible Histories illustrator.
I’ve enjoyed having a relatively quiet month; it’s been needed and means that we can approach the next two months refreshed and ready to go.
