Home Ed Looks Like This World Wildlife 6 Day I S S U E 8 M a R C H 2 0 1 9 Your Article 10 Submissions Your Monthly Photos Inside Pancake Tues- 11 Day the Book 14

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Calendar 2

#Insight Cloth- 3 ing Your Stories 4 Home ed looks like this World Wildlife 6 Day I S S U E 8 M A R C H 2 0 1 9 Your Article 10 Submissions Your monthly photos inside Pancake Tues- 11 day The Book 14

World Book 16 PI Day Birthdays 17 International 18 Womans Day

PI Day 20 Cackling 23

French 26 Language Day Home Ed & 34 Half Term

World Poetry 36 Wildlife Scavenger Day History of Mothers Day Epic Guide To Minecraft World Theatre 40 Day

Rare Disease 43 Day

Mario Kart 44

Minecraft 46 Mothers Day 48

Scouts 53 Trans Visibility 54

Love H.E 56 Don’t forget to check out our Parent Article 58 March 31st is the Transgender day of visibil- Submissions 66 #Insight Clothing ity. Check out Willows article and her and accessories Contact Us 68 Interview in this months issue. P A G E 2 Schedule of Events

 1st March– Zero Discrimination day March 2019  3rd March– World Wildlife Day

Mo Tu We Th Fri Sat Su  5th March– Pancake/ Shrove Tuesday  7th March– World Book Day 1 2 3  8th March– International Woman’s Day  10th March– Mario Kart Day/ HIV awareness day for Women and Girls 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  14th March– Pi Day  20th March– French Language Day/ World Oral Health Day 11 12 13 14 15 16 17  21st March- World Elimination of Racial discrimination Day  21st March– World Downs Syndrome day/ Internation- al day of Forests/ World Poetry day./ Human Rights 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Day in South Africa  22nd March– World Water Day  25th March– International Remembrance Day for Vic- 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 tims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade  25th March– Tolkien Reading Day  27th march– World Theatre Day  30th march– World Bipolar Day Global Observations  31st– Mothers Day

FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT 2019 DR SEUSS DAY BRITISH SCIENCE WEEK Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 Dr Seuss Day, is a yearly ob- 8th– 17th March 2019 Fairtrade Fortnight 2019 will run servance in the USA inaugurat- from 25 February until 10 March. ed by the NEA (National Educa- A 10 day celebration of Fairtrade Fortnight is an action- tion Association). It is held on Science. packed highlight of the year, the school day that is nearest when campaigners, businesses, to 2 March, Dr Seuss birthday. Tag us in or send us pho- schools and places of worship Theodor Seuss Geisel was an to’s of your science activi- show their support for the farm- American artist, book publish- ties during this week. ers and workers who grow our er, animator, poet, a political food in developing countries. cartoonist as well as an author.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 3 We Are Insight– Home Education Clothing Thank you to everyone who has purchased our lovely ‘HOME ED LOOKS LIKE THIS’ tees and polo necks. They looks absolutely fantastic and we are grateful for all your support. Not only can you order T-shirts but there is also a baby/ toddler range, bags and accessories available. The idea is to support the #WEAREINSIGHT and #EDUCATIONALFREEDOM movement in the UK in response to the recent claims and misinformation about Home Education in the UK by Channel 4 and Anne Longfield the Children’s Commission whilst supporting our teen reporters. We are hoping the clothing range will help highlight just how often home educated children are seen out and about and that they are not invisible in the slightest.

Layla looks fabulous in her t-shirt Hannah Baguely sent in this photo Rowan, aged 14, looks really smart in his t-shirt of her children looking great in

their t-shirts.

Head over to Etsy to order yours today at ‘Pips Bear Boutique UK’

Amanda Trotman have put their bag to good use P A G E 4

YOUR STORY SUBMISSIONS

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 5

To send us your stories email: homeedlooks- [email protected]

A huge thank you to Libby, aged 10, who sent in her space adventure. P A G E 6 World Wildlife Day This March, it is annual World Wildlife Day! Because of the growing rates of extinction and environmental change, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) teamed up with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to create this world-wide awareness day back in 2013. Now on Sunday the 3rd, people and families all over the globe will be celebrating the wondrous animals and fascinating plants around us, this year’s theme being “Life below the water: people and planet”.

DISCOVER WILDLIFE tures to choose from, it’s almost impossible!

The next time you go to the beach, have fun exploring in rock pools. What do you

notice about it? Is the water quite shal- low, or is it deep? Are there any living things hiding in there? Are there any colourful seashells you could bring home? If you find any animals, always remem- What is wildlife, and what comes under ber to let them go again if you decide to the category of it? Well, all wild animals catch them and study them further! (fauna) and all wild plants (flora) com-

munally are known as wildlife. This year we are focusing on ocean creatures, as well as any other living things that dwell in water. If you watch Blue Planet, then you’ll know tons about the world’s seas and

who it is home to. There is between 700,000 and 1 million different species roaming beneath the waves, from ginor- If you can’t reach the beach, don’t worry, mous blue whales to minuscule single- there are loads of other places to look celled green algae reaching just 5 mi- for creatures that live in the water. Try crometres in size. your back garden pond, look in your lo- Have a think about what your favourite cal pet shop for their aquarium fish sea animal is. Is it the giddy dolphins, (even if you’re not buying anything!) or the tropical fish, or the slithering eels? go to a nearby lake, a park pond or wa- Could it be the calm manta rays, the ter fountain. Wherever you choose to in- predatory killer whales or small seahors- vestigate for wildlife, there’s bound to be es? There are so many different crea- something living there, even if you can’t see it!

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 7

See if you can spot any of the things from the image above. Where did you find them, were they hiding or having a swim? How hard was it to notice them? What season is it, and do you think this will affect when you can spot them?

Be Kind It is so fascinating to discover all the different

aspects of wildlife, and it is so important that we’re being good to the living beings, including plants. This means we should care for nature, look after it and make sure that we’re not helping to cause the extinction of a species. Out and About One of the worst things happening at the mi- nute is sea pollution. Tons and tons of our plas- Encourage younger children to use tic waste is getting dumped in the place that many creatures call home, and although we their hands to explore the textures of are starting to realise that and change our ac- nature. Rub your hand on the bark tions, hundreds of animals’ habitats are still of one tree and compared it to a dif- getting disturbed making them extremely un- ferent looking tree. happy and ill. To give you a better idea of how much plastic is in the oceans, there is between Take part in our Scavenger hunt 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes entering the A small magnifying glass is always waves each year. popular So remember to recycle, use re-usable shopping bags, put your litter in a bin or take it home with you, and our planet will be happy, What do you get up to on a Nature healthy and thriving! Hike? Let us know!

Freya Turton, 13 P A G E 8

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS

I S S U E 8 P A G E 9

Share your Sharecolouringprofile your on Facebook our P A G E 10

Artificial Intelligence Can Help Save The World I know you have heard of Artificial In- 2.41 million tons of plastic just in the telligence (AI). What comes to mind if great Pacific garbage patch! AI will be I say AI? I’ll give you a sec... What do used to create a ranking table of the poor you think? Maybe your influenced by and helpless animals most likely to be af- films such as The Terminator, or Ul- fected or even killed by our garbage. It is tron from Marvel, or maybe even the horrible the level of death from just a little bad guys from Transformers. This is plastic. Above and below are some pic- all just the media's impression of AI, tures of what I mean. How can you help? but it doesn't have to be yours! It’s simple! Make sure people know AI is- n’t all bad and does a great deal of good and use plastic wisely. Also, don't use single-use plastic and don't forget to recycle! You are their only hope, help them now!

What if I told you that AI isn’t all bad it can actually do a lot of good and you see AI every day in things like Alexa, Siri and Cortana. That's not all AI can be used for, have you heard of

the AI 4 good foundation? Probably Sent in by Rowan Leighton, aged 14 not it’s this amazing foundation! That uses AI for, well, good. Currently they are doing loads of awesome projects that are helping to solve some of the world's biggest problems. One of which is where they use AI to predict the movement of plastic and garbage Send your article submissions to around the California coastline using

a heat map. The AI for Good foundation is also using AI to predict how [email protected] marine animals migrate so they can stop collisions between plastic and animals. Did you know plastic debris outweighs zooplankton by a ratio of 36-to-1! And there are nearly 1.15 to

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 11 Pancake Tuesday

Pancake Tuesday falls on the 5th March this year. It falls on the Tuesday immediately before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the 40 days of lent. The pancake tradition dates back to the 16th Century. It is celebrated in English-speaking countries like the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada. In France, the USA and other countries, it is called 'Mardi Gras' or 'Fat Tuesday'. In others like Spain, Italy or Brazil.

He tradition of cooking pancakes began be- If they went on Callop Monday, they cause it used up left over store ingredients would instead sing; prior to the religious fasting..

‘Once, twice, thrice, In Christian tradition the 40 days before East- I give thee warning, er are known as Lent. They are symbolic for the days that Jesus spent wandering the de- Please to make some pancakes sert. Before they began their fast they would ‘Gin tomorrow morning’ use up all their stores. Some children would throw lightweight items at those who refused to share any The Monday before Pancake Tuesday is food. Another tradition on Pancake Day in known as ‘Callop Monday’, a Callop is a thin the UK is pancake racing. People run in a slice of meat. Then on the Tuesday they race with a pancake in a pan. As they run, would eat the remains of eggs, butter and they have to toss the pancake (throw the fats. pancake in the air and catch it in the pan) several times. In some pancake races Traditionally the Monday and Tuesday before people dress up in fancy dress costumes. lent were times of great festivity. Children The most famous pancake race takes would go ‘Shoving’ or ‘Lent-Crocking’ on place in a town called Olney, in the mid- Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday). dle of England. People say that Olney has been celebrating pancake races since Shroving is where the children would knock 1445! on their neighbours doors and sing

Like Easter, Shrove Tuesday – now better ‘We be come a’Shroving known as Pancake Day – occurs on a different date each year because it is calcu- For a piece of pancake, lated by the cycles of the moon. Or a bite of bacon, While it’s already a little confusing, in the Or a little truckle of cheese early days of Christianity in Britain it was Of your own making,’ far worse. P A G E 12

was to be consumed over two meals,

although from Easter to September

monks were allowed a third meal dur-

ing the evening.

They were not allowed to eat any meat from any animal with 4 legs. Whitby Abbey is were the Synod of Whitby decided The first Monday after Lent, most how the date of Easter was to be calculated. monasteries observed a total fast. From the second week of Lent some Both used the lunar calendar, but monastic orders decreed that only had two different methods of calcu- raw vegetables and bread could be lation. This meant that the Roman eaten. By the 12th century things had and Celtic Easters fell on entirely become more lenient. It had been de- different dates, which caused confu- cided that the rule about eating meat sion for early Christians. In 664 didn’t include birds, so things like the Synod of Whitby declared that chicken could be eaten. Even bacon the Roman method would be used and offal could be on the monks’ to establish the date for Easter, and menu – they weren’t regarded as is still used by the Church of Eng- ‘real’ meat. land today. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon of Lent didn't just decide what foods you spring. could eat. They were also expected to stop dancing, singing, and playing Meat and dairy were actually games like football. They treated the banned during lent however, Chris- 4 days prior to shrove Tuesday as a tians could feast upon fish, bread celebration. The pancake race be- and Vegetables. The Lenten diet became an avid activity. came pretty gruelling as it lasted for 40 days. Pancakes over 30,000 years ago dur- Due to ‘Rule of Benedict’, those in ing the Stone Age. Researchers have religious orders had a rather restrict- found pancakes in the stomach of Ot- ed diet anyway. These rules were zi the Iceman, human remains dating used to govern Monks. back 5,300 years. In ancient Greece and Rome, pancakes were made from wheat flour, olive oil, honey, and Walter Daniel, a 12th-century monk curdled milk. Pancakes have been from Rievaulx Abbey, described the mentioned regularly throughout histo- monks’ regular diet as a pound of ry, and even made it into literary clas- bread and a pint of beans daily. This sics. Shakespeare has even men-

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 13 tioned them in his works and Ancient each culture has its own unique take on Greeks mentioned pancakes in their Poetry. them. They are served for breakfast, lunch, During the English Renaissance pancakes and dinner all over the globe. A few exam- were flavoured with spices, rosewater, sher- ples of this multi-cultural food are: Crepes, ry, and apples. potato latkes, Irish boxty, Russian blini, Welsh crampog, Indian poori, Hungarian

palacsinta, and Dutch pannenkoeken. Pan- The name “pancake” started during the 15th cakes come in many different shapes, sizes century but became a regular comfort food and flavours. They can be sweet, savoury, in 19th century America. Previously, they thick, thin, small or large, but they are all were called Indian cakes, hoe cakes, Johnny delicious! cakes, journey cakes, buckwheat cakes, buckwheat's and griddle cakes. Early Ameri- can pancakes were made with buckwheat or cornmeal. Thomas Jefferson loved them so much he sent a special recipe to his home town from the White House.

You may be surprised to find that pancakes exist all over the world and it seems that

Pancake Art Challenge This year our teens have decided to host a pancake art competition, it doesn't have to be anything over fancy, it is all about having fun. Even a face made out of the toppings counts!

Our t-shirt supplier had a spare apron as she was just testing the design out and has offered it up as a raok for this months challenge. Unfortunately there is only one available.

To take part tag us in your photo’s or email them to [email protected]

Tyler Wilcox. 15 P A G E 14

I like to think as march as a transitional period- between seasons, yes, but also between reading tastes. It’s time to try something new: maybe delve into a genre you’ve never tried, or support an author that you’ve always wanted to support. Thankfully, I’m here to make all your reading decisions a lot easier with recommendations that celebrate international women’s day, World poetry day and of course- Tolkien reading day!

FOR ALL AGES mend you read. “But it’s boring!” you might have whined. “I would much rather watch The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien: the movie than read a long, complicated book!”. I am here to knock some sense Synopsis: Bilbo Bag- into you because you are very wrong. Also, gins is a hobbit who please don’t watch the movie before read- enjoys a comfortable, ing the book- that’s a crime we don’t sup- unambitious life, rarely port. Whilst The entire Lord of The Rings traveling further than series is quite dense and might take a lot the pantry of his hobbit of time to complete, the experience is very -hole in Bag End. But much worth it. You get to delve into a his contentment is dis- world filled with dragons, elves and wiz- turbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a ards at the expense of having to google a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on couple of words- a very small price to pay, I his doorstep one day to whisk him away think. Besides, you could start reading the on an unexpected journey ‘there and series on the 25th of march, Tolkien read- back again’. They have a plot to raid the ing day! What better time to discover the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnifi- characters that will drag you off on an ad- cent, a large and very dangerous drag- venture you’ll never forget?! on.

This is a classic High fantasy series that your parents have undoubtably recom-

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 15

The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding of men. Ever since the set- Synopsis: Set in 1790's Cov- tlers were infected with the ent Garden this book whisks Noise germ, Todd can hear you back to a bygone era, everything the men think, and to embark on an adven- and they hear everything he ture about one hidden treas- thinks. Todd is just a month ure, two bareknuckle boxers, away from becoming a man, three enemies, and four hun- but in the midst of the ca- dred and thirty-eight rioters. cophony, he knows that the Summon the Bookdragon It town is hiding something from him -- some- is the tale of Cat Royal, an orphan, four foot thing so awful Todd is forced to flee with only four with long red hair and not a penny to call his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears her own. She lives in the Theatre Royal on Dru- too. With hostile men from the town in pur- ry Lane, a place filled with dramatic charac- suit, the two stumble upon a strange and eeri- ters, theatrical spectacles, and now, a secret ly silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why was- treasure--which Cat has been asked to protect. n't she killed by the germ like all the females Her new friend Pedro, a former slave and gift- on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty nar- ed violinist, is eager to help, and so is the thea- ration, readers are in for a white-knuckle jour- tre prompter, Jonathan, who is hiding secrets ney in which a boy on the cusp of manhood of his own. But when the ruthless gang leader must unlearn everything he knows in order to Billy Shepherd learns about the treasure, Cat figure out who he truly is. thinks she's going to lose it for sure. She still To honour international Women’s day, I give doesn't know what the treasure is, so how can you the masterpiece that changed my life. she keep it safe from Billy and his gang? Fol- This book is different to anything I have ever low Cat into the streets of London, as she fac- read. Not only is it formatted in a way that al- es danger and adventure, racing to be the first lows you to perfectly capture the settings, but to discover the diamond of Drury Lane! To cel- it explores themes of equality through the ebrate world theatre day (one of my favourites eyes of someone who never knew the concept of the year), I give you the book that made me existed. The way this book is written- with in- love theatre even more that I already did. tentional spelling errors and stylised calligra- Featuring a smart and witty protagonist, an phy- can be an immediate turn-off for some outcast boy and a beautiful theatre, this is the readers, but you need to trust me when I tell perfect read for anyone looking for amazing you that the discomfort you may feel at the characters going on amazing adventures. It is beginning is temporary. Soon, you will be fast paced, never a dull moment and plot cheering Todd and his illiterate- self on as he twists so memorable than even now, years af- runs away from the human form of misogyny ter finishing the series, I smile remembering and crying as you do so. Crying a lot. Like, a them. lot.

Life of Pi Young Adult Synopsis: When sixteen-year-old Pi Patel finds The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness himself stranded in a lifeboat in the middle of Synopsis: Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town the Pacific Ocean with only a menacing 450- P A G E 16

pound Bengal tiger ocean. for company, he This incredibly popular book I have de- quickly realizes that cided to feature because of Pi day, on the only way to sur- the 14th of march! vive is to make sure It is an emotional, impactful and beauti- the tiger is more ful story that is about survival and dis- afraid of him than he covery and could discuss it forever. But is of it. Finding for your sake I won’t. Because of the strength within him- nature of this specific book, I suggest self, he draws upon all of his you start reading with as little infor- knowledge and cunning, battling for mation as possible- it will make it that food and shelter, overcoming storms much more powerful. So sit down, relax, and disasters, and, in the end, making because by the end you will be begging a peace of sorts with both tiger and your parents for a pet tiger. Jenna Al-Adnani, 16 World Book Day ‘National Book Tokens’ and unites the UK and Ireland’s bookselling and publishing In the UK and Ireland World Book Day is industries in a fun collaboration. on Thursday 7 March 2019. In other countries World Book and Copyright Day takes You can also find an online version of the place on 23 April. The day was set up by packs on the WBD website which you are free to download. The main objective for UNESCO and Celebrations take place all World Book Day is to have fun and enjoy over the world to recognize the magical reading and sharing books together. power of books. UNESCO state that World Home Educators should send in a stamp- Book Day provides ‘a link between the addressed envelope to receive tokens. The past and the future, a bridge be- outer and inner return envelopes must have valid stamps for the correct val- tween generations and across cul- ue. The outer envelope should be ad- tures. By championing books and copy- dressed to: EdCo – World Book Day SAE right, UNESCO stands up for creativi- PO Box 105, Rochester, ME2 4BE ty, diversity and equal access to knowledge…’ It is celebrated in over 100 Please write the number of tokens you countries. require in the top right-hand corner of your return envelope. If you do not enter a value we will only send you 1 token. You must fix the correct value, 1st or 2nd class World Book Day is the world’s biggest lit- stamp to both the outer and your return erary campaign to provide every child and envelope. young person with a book of their own. A registered charity, World Book Day works Don’t forget to send your photos in to us in collaboration with their sponsors at [email protected]

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 17

Birthday Shout Outs Teen Reporter Freya Turton is 14 on the Happy Birthday to 20th March. Ilan Paradnyy Who is 7 on the 23rd HAPPY BIRTHDAY FREYA March From all the Team xxxx

George Cooper is 13 on the 11th March

Happy Birthday George

Erin is 13 on 22nd March Logan Chapman is 11 on the 5th March

Happy 13th Birthday, Jelly, Happy Birthday Logan Lots of love, From mum, dad, Alex, Kiera, Poppy and Roux xxx

Ozzy Martell is 9 on the 26th March

Happy 9th Birthday Ozzy Love mum x

We would like to wish a big Happy Birthday to all our March born readers P A G E 18 International Woman’s Day

International Women’s day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year and is the focal point for the women’s rights movement. It is a day where women are recognized for their achievements. This day is aimed to help nations worldwide encourage gender equality.

The first international women's day was One women I learnt about in this book in New York on Feb 28th 1909 and in was Empress Jingu. She was a Japanese 1910 the international socialists wom- ruler who started ruling in the year 201. en's conference suggested making it an She wasn’t just any old Empress, Jingu annual event. In 1917 March 8th be- fought in wars and battles with the help came the official date for international of dreams. Most of the time, she won. women's day. Today as a public holiday it is celebrated in many countries but The community thought Jingu had magi- sadly still ignored in others. In some cal powers because her strength was places is it a day of protest and marches unreal. She was a heroic warrior and and it others is a day of celebration. always fought with passion. She was Over 100 years on from the very first born in 169 AD and died in 269 AD. In international women's day women are 1881, Empress Jingu became the first still unfortunately having to fight for woman to be featured on a Japanese equal rights. That is why this day is so banknote. According to the Nihon Shoki, important. she led an army in an invasion of a promised land and returned to Japan If you would like to get involved with in- victorious after three years. Her hus- ternational women's day there are plen- band wanted to start war, which Jingu ty of events globally going on throughout did not agree to. March. Here in Liverpool there is lots going on for international women's day He attended the battle and lost, which from marches, celebrations, fairs, talks, led him to death. At the time Jingu was workshops and much more. It's easy to expecting a child, she kept her hus- get involved. band's death a secret. People say that her son, Ojin, stayed in her womb for A great book that i recommend if you three whole years, which gave Jingu want to learn about all the amazing time to invade Korea and return home women throughout history is ‘Goodnight safely, which is when she gave birth. stories for rebel girls’. I recommended this book because it teaches you all about different Women from the past and today that are making a difference and have achieved amazing things. There are also loads of goodnight tales podcasts that you can listen to.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 19

I think international women's day is important because women are treated differ- ently just because they are female. I think it is very wrong that women get paid less to do the same job as a man and that women have less opportunities sometimes or are resected less sometimes. I think men and women should be treated equally because we are all the same. Here is a poem i wrote last year for a home ed project about international women's day.

Willow Fife, 14. P A G E 20 WORLD PI DAY

On the Thursday the 14th of one and everyone at the Exploratorium. March, it is Pi Day. Celebrated all It soon became recognised as a national holiday! around the world, many mathematics enthusiasts will be having What is pi and how do we use it? fun discussing, debating and Pi is a number, a special number (or learning about the many different otherwise known as a constant), that is uses of Pi. It is also widely known written using the Greek letter “π”. The to actually eat, bake and share actual number is usually referred to as the food form of pie on this day! 3.14159, however, π is a number that will go on for infinity, called an irrational As an annual celebration, the number. This means that the numbers event was first organized by Larry after the decimal point won’t ever stop, Shaw in 1988—an American phys- and that is why it is special and symbol- icist, curator and artist. He worked ized. at the San Francisco Exploratori- um for 33 years and was often the one presenting any functions for the museum. Then one sunny afternoon, when Larry was on a staff holiday, he was talking to his co-workers of the mysteries behind all numbers. He then went on to link the date 3/14 (which is the American way of writing it, aka March 14th) to pi, because the first three significant numbers of Originally, π was used to calculate the pi are 3.14. Just him and the staff ratio of a circle’s circumference to its celebrated it for the first time by diameter. Now it is used in many formu- enjoying some pie, and the follow- las, like the formula for finding the area ing year they celebrated with any- of a circle (A=π × r²). Most of these for- mulas, however, are to do with circles and geometry. “Imagine drawing a pencil line across a circle so that it cuts the circle in half. Now imagine cutting a string the length of that line across the circle, or its di-

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 21 ameter. If you took that string and tried to relating to the area of a circle using wrap it around the outer edge of the circle, pi as (16/9)²≈3.1605. or its circumference, you would find the The Babylonians also had a rough string went a little less than a third of the idea of π, they estimated it to be way around. around 25/8 = 3.125, and there is a No matter how big or little your circle is, clay tablet dating back to 1900 BC the ratio, or fraction, of the circle’s circum- stating their theory. ference to its diameter is a little more Then in around 250 BC, a Greek than three. The exact ratio, however, is ir- mathematician named Archimedes rational. It can’t be written exactly as a used a polygonal algorithm (or for- fraction or decimal number, and we call mula) to try and figure out the value this ratio pi (π) (π).” — Kimberlee Davison, of pi, and this is the first method we Study.com. know of where someone has roughly estimated its value. Many people believed this scheme for over 1,000 years, and that is why π is sometimes also known as Archimedes’

constant.

“Archimedes computed upper and lower bounds of π by drawing a regular hexagon inside and outside a circle, and successively doubling the number of sides until he reached a 96-sided regular polygon. By calcu- lating the perimeters of these poly- Where did π come from? gons, he proved that 223/71 < π < 22/7 (that is 3.1408 < π < 3.1429). Well, pi didn’t come from anywhere, the Archimedes' upper bound of 22/7 ratio between a circle’s circumference and may have led to a widespread popu- its diameter has always been there within lar belief that π is equal to 22/7.” — nature. No one invented it, so who first Wikipedia.. came across this peculiar number? The use of the Greek letter for pi Some say the ancient Egyptians were first wasn’t adopted until the 18th century aware of it as early as 2550 BC, or were however. The letter was first used aware that every circle has the same ratio alone as an abbreviation of the of circumference to diameter. Egyptolo- Greek word periphery (περιφέρεια), gists have said that ancient Egyptians had meaning circumference. William figured π as about 22/7, and in the Rhind Jones, a Welsh mathematician, was Papyrus (1650 BC but copied from a docu- the first we know of using π relating ment dated 1850 BC) there is a formula to the constant. In 1706, William’s P A G E 22

work “Synopsis Palmariorum You could get messy making a pie! Matheseos” (aka a New Introduc- Cherry pie, chicken pie, whatever suits tion to the Mathematics) he uses pi you, just remember to add a little in the phrase “1/2 Periphery (π)” maths resemblance to it. when referring to a circle with a ra- Go outside and do star jumps for 3 dius of 1. minutes and 14 seconds, or do a 3.14 What can you do this Pi Day? mile run if you’re feeling super strong! Try painting the pi symbol with rainbow Why don’t you study geometry, cir- colours or get really creative by writing cles and try using pi? There are a story, what would happen if pi was plenty of online resources to help alive?! There are tons of ways to have you on your way, such as BBC fun on Pi Day, with competitive games Bitesize https://www.bbc.com/ or crafty colours, whatever you choose bitesize/guides/zc9wxnb/ to do, make sure you don’t forget revision/1 . where π came from and why we use it!

By Freya Turton (13)

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 23 The Cackling Kitchen March is a month full of activities from Pi day and Pancake day to World Book day. We decided to make our kitchen slightly different to other food blogs out there and have chosen to celebrate French culture in honour of French Language Day on the 20th March.

Macarons Recipe Ingredients:

• 125g/4½oz icing sugar

• 125g/4½oz ground almonds

• 90g/3½oz free-range egg whites

• 2 tbsp water

• 110g/4oz caster sugar

• food colouring (optional) the mixture becomes stiff and shiny. For col- oured macaroons, add a few drops of food col- • desiccated coconut, for sprinkling (optional) ouring. Tip this meringue mixture into the al- mond paste mixture and stir gently until it be- • 150ml/5fl oz double or whipped comes stiff and shiny again. cream, whipped Spoon into the piping bag. Pipe a little mixture Method under each corner of the baking paper to stop it sliding around. With the bag held vertically, Preheat the oven to 170/C/325F/Gas 3. pipe 4cm/1½in flat circles onto the lined tray, Line a large baking tray with baking paper. about 2cm/¾in apart, twisting the bag after Put the icing sugar, ground almonds and each one. The mixture should be quite loose to 40g (1 1/2 oz) egg whites together in a large give a smooth finish. The piping will leave a bowl and mix to a paste. small ‘tip’ on each circle so, when they’re all piped, give the tray 2–3 slams on a flat surface Put the water and caster sugar in a small to flatten them. At this stage, sprinkle with des- pan, heat gently to melt the sugar, then turn iccated coconut if you want. up the heat and boil until the mixture starts to go syrupy and thickens - I don’t use a ther- Leave to stand for 30 minutes to form a skin mometer but if you prefer to use one, it then bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes with should read 115C/239F at this stage. the door slightly ajar until firm. Remove from the oven, lift the paper off the baking tray and Whisk the remaining 50g/2oz egg whites in leave the macaroons to cool on the paper. a small bowl until medium-stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl, When cool, sandwich the macaroons together then pour in the sugar syrup, whisking until with whipped cream. P A G E

Classic Crêpes Method: Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a medi- Ingredients: um-size bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix the milk and 100ml of water together. • 140g plain flour Break the eggs into the well and start whisking slowly. Add the milk and water in a • 200ml whole milk steady stream, whisking constantly and • 2 eggs gradually incorporating the flour as you do so. • 25g unsalted butter, melted, plus a little extra for Whisk until the batter is smooth and all the flour has been incorporated. Set the batter greasing aside to rest for 30 mins, then whisk the melted butter into the batter. Heat the pan over a medium heat. Very lightly grease the pan with melted butter. Using a ladle, pour roughly 2 tbsp of batter into the pan and swirl it around so the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. You want to use just enough batter to make a delicate, lacy pancake. Cook the pancake for about 45 secs on one side until golden and then using a palette knife or fish slice, flip the pancake over and cook the other side for about 30 secs until it freckles. Slide the pancake out of the pan and either serve immediately or stack on a plate with baking parchment in between. Continue until all the batter is used up.

Check out our Pancake Challenge in honour of Pancake Tuesday.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 25 Croissants Method: Ingredients: Put the flour, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. • 500g strong white flour, plus extra Measure 300ml cold water into a jug, add the for dusting yeast and stir. Make a well in the flour and pour in the liquid. Mix, then knead on your work sur- • 1½ tsp salt face for 10 mins. Shape into a ball, put in a • 50g sugar lightly oiled bowl, cover and chill for at least 2 hrs. • 2 x 7g sachets fast-action dried yeast Put the butter between 2 sheets of baking • oil, for greasing parchment. Using a rolling pin, bash and roll it • 300g butter, at room temperature into a rectangle about 20 x 15cm. Leave • 1 egg, beaten wrapped in the baking parchment and chill. Transfer the chilled dough to a floured surface and roll into a 40 x 20cm rectangle. Place the unwrapped slab of butter in the centre of the dough, so that it covers the middle third. Fold one side of the dough up and halfway over the butter. Fold the other side of the dough up and over the butter in the same way, so that the two edges of the dough meet in the centre of the butter. Starting at the base of each triangle, begin to Fold the dough in half so that the point where gently roll into a croissant, being careful not to the ends of the dough meet becomes the seam. crush the dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 mins. Continue rolling, making sure the tip of each Repeat the rolling, folding and chilling process triangle ends up tucked under the croissant to (steps 3-6) twice more in exactly the same way hold in place. If adding any fillings (see tips, – rolling the pastry while it’s still folded – with- below), place across the widest part of the tri- out adding more butter. Wrap and chill over- angle before rolling up. night. Bend the ends of the croissants inwards, then The next day, roll the dough out on a floured transfer to baking trays lined with baking surface into a large rectangle, measuring about parchment, spaced well apart. Cover with 60 x 30cm. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise for 2 trim the edges to neaten. hrs, or until doubled in size. Cut the dough in half lengthways so that you Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix the have 2 long strips, then cut each strip into 6 or beaten egg with a pinch of salt and use to 7 triangles with 2 equal sides. generously glaze the croissants. Bake for 15- Take each triangle in turn and pull the two cor- 18 mins until risen and golden brown, then ners at the base to stretch and widen it. cool on wire racks. Freya Turton, 13, Tyler Wilcox, 15. P A G E 26 French Language Day

All around the world, the human race speak French all day. Here are some exam- communicates in numerous different lan- ples of simple French words you could say to guages. The United Nations is celebrating your friends or relatives. French language on the 20th of March as part of the initiative to raise awareness Celebrating French language day provides and respect for the history, culture and the perfect opportunity to experience French achievements of each of the six official culture whilst igniting children’s passion to languages of the world today. This in- learn other languages in a fun and informal cludes Arabic, Chinese, English, French, fashion. Spanish and Russian, and each of these Take a look at our recipe pages for further will be honoured individually with their inspiration. own day. French language day was first established in 2010. This day was chosen We have included some resources you can to coincide with the 40th anniversary of use around your home this year. the international organization of “La Fran- cophonie”, a group whose members all Our Teen Reporter suggestions: speak French and want to promote the • Dress in the colours of the French flag French language worldwide. The French • Dress up as your favourite French per- language was developed from Latin be- son/character tween the 5th and 8th centuries. People • Watch les Misérables together say that French is the most romantic lan- • French Food Tasting, you could work guage. together to turn your home into the perfect French Bistro, little ones love de- It’s easy to forget that the world is filled signing their own menu’s with many diverse cultures that are differ- • Play French music ent from ours. Celebrating French lan- • Try placing your food orders in French guage day gives us an opportunity to and having some educational role play learn something new and celebrate a • Discuss regional traditions beautiful language. French is spoken in • Research French idols and landmarks more than 29 countries and is the only such as the Eiffel Tower other language apart from English that is • Learn about Marcel Marceau and the taught in every single country of the techniques behind silent drama and world. You might be surprised to know mime. You could also get some face that more than 45% of English words paints, dress up and perform your own have a French origin. mimes. • Write a letter to a French pen pal If you would like to get involved with UN • Play French Bingo French Language Day then you could try • Research a famous French scientist or to learn the language using apps like Du- inventor (Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, olingo or YouTube videos. You could Montgolfier brothers) spread the word by telling your friends • Research French Wildlife and family about French language day, or • Make models using craft supplies of the even post on social media in French on Eiffel Tower or another landmark the 20th of March! You could also try to • Research a French Artist and create a project using the same medium/style

Willow Fife, 14 HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 27 Learning through music

Les Saisons En automne, il fait du vent Et les feuilles tourbillonnent.

Et hiver, il fait froid Et la neige tombe.

Au printemps, il pleut souvent Et les fleurs poussent en haut.

En ete, il fait beau Et puis il fait tres chaud.

The Seasons In autumn, it is windy And the leaves tumble round.

In winter, it is cold, And the snow falls down.

In spring, it rains a lot And the flowers push on high.

In summer it is pretty And then its very hot.

Younger children could learn a simple French lullaby (une berceuse) or a simple nursery rhyme (une comptine) such as Frères Jacques https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC6rvbxdywg. Slightly older children could learn a French finger rhyme (jeu de doigts) or an action rhyme (comptine à gestes) such as Un petit pouce qui dansehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=- x5Gx06Vn-I or another popular nursery rhyme such as Un éléphant qui se balançaithttps:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_GqzWecDZg.

UKS2 children could learn a traditional French song (une chanson traditionnelle) such as Sur le pont d’Avignon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJKfxtYAt0s or Alouettehttps:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_hFw_cWg9U.

There are lots of famous French musicians and singers such as Claude Debussy and Edith Piaf. Older children could do a project on the musician that appeals to them the most.

P A G E 28

sol

lesalon

l’escalier

lacuisine

lebureau

legrenier

lesous

la salle àmanger salle la

la salle de bain(s) sallede la

la chambre à coucher à lachambre

Les Pièces Les Maison la de

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 29 Art Research

Organise a project where each child learns about a different famous French artist (Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Georges- Pierre Seurat, Robert Delaunay, Henri Rousseau, Marc Chagall, Auguste Herbin, Françoise Nielly, Paul Signac, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Fernand Léger). Try to create some of your own art work in a similar style, for example, Seurat and pointillism using cotton buds or Matisse and cut paper collages or decoupage.

Go on a virtual tour of the Louvre museum in Paris http:// www.louvre.fr/

Using household materials and craft supplies older chil- STEM/STEAM dren can be challenged to work together or independently to engineer a French Landmark. Lego bricks can also make a fabulous Eiffel Tower. Don’t forget to share your creations with us to be featured in next months issue.

This can be a great physics lesson as they have to think outside the box. Some great resources are Gustave Eiffel's Spectacular Idea to learn the story behind how the tower was built or DKfindout! Engineering for learning about engineering concepts including those used to build the Eiffel Tower. Did you know?

The Eiffel Tower, the most famous city landmark in Paris, was designed by Gustave Eiffel and erected (1887-9) in the Champs-de-Mars for the Paris Exhibition of 1889. The tower consists of an open-lattice framework supporting three tiered platforms. It is 300 m (984 ft.) high. It was the tallest structure in the world until 1930 when the Empire State Building was completed. It is of interest that Gustave Eiffel also designed the steel framework of the Statue of Liberty. P A G E Literacy

There are lots of famous French Authors and sources of French Literature.

Many books we have all read to our children, and grew up with ourselves, were written by a French Author such as Charles Perrault’s Mother Goose Ta- les: Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss In Boots and Cinderella.

Older children could read an extract from an English translation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s ‘Le Petit Prince’, Victor Hugo’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ or Jules Verne’s ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’.

You can find a link to the trailer for the movie ‘Around the world in 80 days’ here.

Make a French dictionary to teach younger pupils some French words. Learn a simple French poem and recite it. Organise a French poetry reciting competition!

History French revolution Watch a clip of Les Misérables https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=88Y7in-04Ng Older children will likely enjoy watching the entire musical. Discover how French people celebrate Bastille Day today? Make some French revolution rosette cockade pin (Tricolore cockade) using cupcake casings. Find out about the Lascaux Caves further on in this issue, you will be able to find further information here http:// www.lascaux.culture.fr/?lng=en#/fr/00.xml Why not make your own stone-age Lascaux paintings.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 31 Geography

You can visit France and other French-speaking countries around the world using Google Earth. You could plan and record a virtual tour of French cities, such as Paris, and take children to places of interest. Older children may enjoy planning their own virtual tour, creating their own powerpoint, then discuss everything they learnt as a family presentation. Voici la tour Eiffel, or Voici Antananarivo .

You can also plot the ‘Tour de France’ route whilst learning a few facts about each of the places/ landmarks along the way.

Games Le facteur (the postman). Best played during a home ed meet up or a party. Children sit in a circle, with one child (le facteur) holding a handkerchief and walking around the outside of the circle. While the song is sung:

Le facteur n’est pas passé

Il ne passera jamais,

Lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi, dimanche.

Fermez les yeux...... Ouvrez les yeux! At the end of the song, while the other children have their eyes closed, the postman drops a handkerchief behind someone's back. Then he or she says "ouvrez les yeux!" and all sitting children look behind to see who's got the handkerchief. The child who has the handkerchief jumps up and attempts to run around the outside of the circle chasing the postman to sit back down before the postman sits in their empty place. If the postman is caught, he or she continues for the next round. If not, the child whose place in the circle has been taken becomes the postman. This is an enjoyable way to learn the days of the week!

There are also lots of YouTube videos that show examples of the games being played P A G E 32 Create your own French Bistro

madambirtwistle If you don’t fancy creating your own café you can still partake in some French Food Tasting,

For others we have a few tips to help your Bistro be the best French Bistro going.

Little ones absolutely love designing their own menu’s, and older ones can always write their menus in French. To set the mood you could decorate the room in the colours of the French flag, play some French music and discuss various regional dietary traditions whilst following our recipe ideas,

For the more confident children you can always try placing your food orders in French and having some educational role play.

Rehearse a simple French conversation about ordering food in preparation for the visit to your French cafe. Don’t forget to tag us in your photos!

KEY WORDS

Hello / Good Morning = Bonjour Hi = Salut Goodbye = Au revoir Good Evening = Bonsoir Good Night = Bonne nuit Thank you = Merci Yes = Oui No = Non

Answers at the back.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 33 Printable

les mois janvier février mars avril mai juin juillet août septembre octobre novembre décembre P A G E 34

For the Greenland family half term is business as usual A Home Ed Half Term

Sheanne Fisher sent us these photos of her adorable son looking very colourful. “We just follow my sons lead an so far he’s wanted to con- Alicia Mellor wrote We just tinue working, Today carry on as usual, i try to he’s been painting add a couple of exciting flags” trips when its school holi- Maxine Swift days but everything is edu- wrote that it was business Jenna Dye as usual. We carry on as usual, I just let Libby take the lead, some museum trips this week I think. Our topic is Scotland and we are going to stay in a wee castle shortly & will visit Jenny Wadsworth wrote that it de- Robert Burns Centre & pends whether activities run or not. house whilst there Maths and English was off but Forest School, Sociology and French are on

Jacqui Futers wrote We break, gives me time to review what Lisa Joseph sent us this he's doing next. So, this evening I took photo of her daughter enjoying Rye and a friend to her science worksheets so the cinema to see much she was happy to Legoland 2 and then continue when given the choice pizza hut.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 35 Kate Yoko replied We asked our readers if they took a We have a break. My kids usually go to break for half term or continued as their dad's for half terms so they can spend normal better quality time. Willow is doing the odd bit of work over the half term like working on her articles for the newsletter.

Kasia Czar wrote We have been to Edin- Leanne Woodall burgh last week and con- We went girlie camping as hub- tinue the topic of Scotland. by had broke his leg, son stayed We are doing loads of art to keep him company. We visit- and music this week, ed waterfalls, walked 40 miles, watching documentaries, climbed 700m in height, still Mandy Sheridan sent in this reading books, playing in done some reading eggs and photo of them bouldering the garden. We also plant- English but more outdoor ed our first seeds this year. activities Nessa Cursons They want to see friends but we still do some work books. I tell them it's only half term for them if they do school Elizabeth Wilcox hours, which they don't. We are away with family and visited Powis castle today. Its been great fun. As a family we love history and nature so despite being on holiday and having fun we all learn to- Charis Porter gether too. Everyday is fairly laid back for us so it doesn't make much difference. Today we made biscuits, traced some words and went to the playground P A G E 36 World Poetry Day

world poetry day is on the 21st march ‘linguistic diversity through poetic expres- and is intended to encourage reading, sion and to offer endangered languages writing and the publishing of Poetry the opportunity to be heard within their worldwide. communities’. It is a return to the oral tradition of poetry The original UNESCO declaration stated recitals, promotes the teaching of poetry, restores a dialogue between poetry and "give fresh recognition and impetus to the other arts such as theatre, dance, mu- national, regional and international poet- sic and painting, and supports small pub- ry movements" lishers whilst creating an attractive image of poetry in the media, so that the art of It was traditionally celebrated in October, poetry will no longer be considered an but in the latter part of the 20th century outdated form of art, but one which ena- the world community moved it to the bles society as a whole to regain and as- 15th, the birthday of Virgil, the Ro- sert its identity’. man epic poet and poet laureate under Augustus. The tradition to keep an Poetry predates the written word, and was October date for national or international a long standing tradition within many an- poetry day celebrations still holds in cient cultures. Many scholars, particularly many countries. The UK generally uses those researching the Homeric traditions the first Thursday in October. and the oral epics of the Balkans, suggest that early writing shows clear traces of Poetry helps to unite people usually di- older oral traditions. These older tradi- vided by differences by showing us that tions didn't have the written word to individuals, everywhere in the world, prompt them and help them memorise share the same questions and feelings their writing, instead they relied upon the troubles and complications. Poetry is an use of repeated phrases as building age old oral tradition and, over centuries, can communicate the innermost values blocks especially when reciting larger po- of diverse cultures. Historically speaking etic units. poetry has allowed historians and other A rhythmic poem with lots of repetition scholars to piece together long forgotten would make a long story easier to remem- facts. ber and retell. Many ancient works, from In celebrating World Poetry Day, March the Vedas (1700 - 1200 BC) to 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique abil- the Odyssey (800 - 675 BC), appear to ity of poetry to capture the creative spirit have been composed in poetic form to aid of the human mind, body and spirit memorization and oral transmission, in whilst helping to keep the tradition alive. prehistoric and ancient societies. Poetry UNESCO states the event is to support appears among the earliest records of

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 37 most literate cultures, with poetic fragments The earliest written poetry is considered to be found on early monoliths and runestones. the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ written in cuneiform; The earliest poetry examples exist in the form of however, it is most likely that ‘The Tale of the hymns (such as the work Shipwrecked Sailor’, written in 2500 of Sumerian priestess Enheduanna), and other B.C.E predates Gilgamesh by half a millenni- types of song such as chants, recorded prayer, um. The oldest epic poetry besides the Epic of stories, religious tales and cultural mythology. Gilgamesh are the Greek epics ‘Illiad’ and As mentioned above they also include historical ‘Odyssey’ and the Indian Sanskrit epics accounts, instructions for everyday activities and ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’. Some schol- love songs. ars believe that either the Mahabharata or Nothing quite beats sitting round a blazing fire, the Tibetan ‘Epic of King Gesar’ is the longest sharing poetry and telling handed down stories example of epic poetry in history. just as our ancestors did. Poetry dates back to prehistoric times, especially in countries such as Africa where recitals of hunting poetry, and panegyric and elegiac court poetry were developed extensively throughout the history of the empires of the Nile, Niger and Volta river valleys. Some of the earliest form of Calliope, written poetry can be found in the Pyramid texts the muse of poetry written during the 25th century BC. while the Epic of Sundiata is one of the most well- known examples of griot court poetry.

Performance poetry is traditionally a part of the- atrics, which was present in all aspects of pre- colonial African life and their theatrical ceremo- THE EISTEDDFOD nies had many different functions, including po- In Welsh culture, poetry was performed during litical, educative, spiritual and entertainment. their traditional ‘Eisteddfod ‘ celebrations. In Poetics were an element of theatrical perfor- recent years there has been a resurgence and mances of local oral artists, linguists and histori- the Eisteddfod is yet again a regular occur- ans, accompanied by local instruments belong- rence in Wales. It dates back to the 12th cen- ing to the tribe/community, such as the kora, tury, although many consider it to have been the xalam, the mbira and the djembe drum. much older, when a festival of poetry and mu- Drumming for accompaniment is not to be con- sic was held by (Lord) ‘Rhys ap fused with performances of the talking drum, Gruffydd’ of Deheubarth at his court which is a literature of its own, since it is a dis- in Cardigan in 1176, Bards travelled from tinct method of communication that depends on across Wales to perform, and a chair at the conveying meaning through non-musical gram- Lord's table was awarded to the best poet and matical, tonal and rhythmic rules imitating musician,; a tradition that prevails in the mod- speech. Although, these performances could be ern day National Eisteddfod. The Eisteddfod is included in those of griots. a celebration of poetry, music, literature and P A G E 38

dance amongst other performances. It made contributions to Welsh Culture, lan- was considered a sacred bardic art guage and traditions. These names are form and boards for the judging of po- however announced in May. The final cer- etry existed in Wales from at least the emony of the week is held in the after- early 12th century. These judging noon, this is when the winner of the Ei- boards had probably derived from an- steddfod chair gets announced. cient Celtic bardic traditions and are Traditionally a competition-based festival, tied in with the Gorsedd Ceremonial attracting over 6,000 competitors every traditions. Six Gorsedd ceremonies are year, the festival has developed and held throughout the current Welsh Ei- evolved over recent years, and whilst the steddfod, this is a ceremony led by an competitions form the central focus for Archdruid, who later declares the Ei- the week, the Maes (site) itself has grown steddfod winner and crowns the bard. and developed into a vibrant festival with There are strict protocols to follow for hundreds of events and activities for the the Gorsedd, such as the ‘proclamation whole family. If you can get to an Eistedd- ceremony’ which is held to announce fod it is a fun and educational experience the eisteddfod a year and a day in ad- for all the family. vance, usually within an ancient stone circle, replica stones are used for the circle if there is not a local circle near KEY WORDS by. The national Eisteddfod, held the Panegyric poetry has links to An- first week in August, tends to last an entire week with various Gorsedd cere- cient Greece and is tied in to tradi- monies held through the week. The tions of eulogy and the well known winners are only announced during the ode. These tend to be poems based Gorsedds and kept secret until re- around praise and success. vealed during the ceremony. Elegiac poetry however tend to be The first Gorsedd, held on the first day, more emotional poetry, these po- honours new and old members. Later that afternoon the crowning ceremony ems are used to express feelings takes place on the pavilion stage. The rather than tell a story. ceremony is led by the Archdruid and is A Sonnet is a poem with 14 lines in honour of a Welsh leading poet. and 10 syllables to each line. The They also tend to welcome guests with word comes from the Italian word Celtic origins from other countries during this ceremony. The next Gorsedd is ‘Sonetto’ which means little song. held on the third day of the event, and EISTEDDFOD is a traditional cele- honours the best prose writer. The fol- bration of the arts held in Wales. lowing ceremonies then occur on the last day of the event. The morning ceremony tends to be an open air event. This ceremony honours those who have William Wilcox, 14

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 39 Poetry Challenge

12-16 Years Old

The aim is to encourage children to express themselves through the bardic art of Poetry.

The theme for this months Challenge is ‘Being Green’

Can you write a poem that advocates for the Planet? What would you do to make the Earth a better place? Can you use poetry to educate those in your community on how to be kind to our planet?

5-12 Years Old

This month we are looking at wildlife with Freya Turton, can you write a poem about your favourite animal species? What animals do you see around you each day? How can we help protect our animal friends?

Extinct species of animal can also be included.

You don’t have to stick to the suggestions above, this is your poem.

Send your poems to

[email protected] P A G E 40

Wednesday the 27th of march one of my favourite days of the year. Since 1962, these 24 hours have been dedicated to celebrate the ancestor cinema- the mother of entertainment- the original blockbuster: theatre.

So…What is theatre? to introduce you to the most relevant Theatre is an art form in which one or types of theatre productions that you many people tell a story in front of a might have never heard of! live audience. The people who tell the Greek theatre story are called actors and the story it- This is where it all began. Greek theatre self is called a play. There are hundreds consisted of a chorus who narrated the of ways to put on a play: it can be done story and one (maybe even two) actor with music, with dance or just by having who stood on stage, moved around and the actors sit down and talk. Some- said a few lines. times, the actors don’t even talk- they tell the story through movement. A play is not to be mistaken for a concert, where people exclusively sing or dance- no. Theatre is a melange of the different arts, served on a stage with an audi- These plays were either comic or tragic ence that is expected to follow through and to be a good Greek citizen, you the entire narrative. would have to sit through hours of both. I Types of Theatre know- it doesn’t sound very amusing at There are hundreds of productions all! When you think about it, however, types I could mention off the top of my this was one of the only forms of enter- head and hundreds more that I have tainment that the Greek had, and it was never learned about. But we’re not go- completely free for everyone (slaves not ing to waste our time going through included, of course). each and every one- instead, I am going People would have the time of their lives

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 41

sitting outdoors on slabs of rock to watch diences for generations. The first farces were hours of theatre and then discuss it after- short comic sketches to pad the short breaks wards. Today old Amphitheatres have opened in long, often very sombre plays – a welcome up and people attend once more to watch respite from five hours of serious drama. performances. These farces were usually performances of Musical theatre Skipping many years ahead one act in length but towards the end of the to the 20th century, musical theatre has been 18th century, any piece that closed a play bill immensely popular as of late with shows like was labelled as farce and soon the definition Hamilton and Wicked even going as far as of this comic genre became blurred until ac- winning GRAMMY awards. And it’s very unsur- tor manager, David Garrick began to revolu- prising- it’s the type of theatre that brings all tionise farce on stage. of the best things about performance togeth- Improvisation er into one colourful melting pot: music, Now here we have one of my personal favour- dance and speech are the World theatre Day ites: improvisational theatre. This form of the- three things that are combined in musical atre is not always liked by actors because of theatre and it’s the most magical experience. how difficult it can be, especially under the Farce stress of the audience. To put it simply, there Because everyone already knows about the is no script in improvisation. You are given a infamous comedy genre, I wanted to delve situation (often a very vague one) and you are deeper into its sub-genres and farce is what I meant to act it out on the spot with or without found! The aim of farce is to make the audi- partners. Coming up with a story as you are ence laugh by showing them situations that on stage is such a difficult task, which is why are highly exaggerated and sometimes al- improvisation is now rarely done in front of a most impossible. An example would be a live audience, but is instead a very popular character tripping over a pie then landing in a exercises done by actors. During rehearsals, a cauldron of hot soup and being stuck in there cast can improvise a scene to help, amongst until rescued by policeman who just recently other things, familiarise themselves with each ripped his trousers. These plays often focus other and the play they are doing. on physical humour, chaos and absurdity, meaning that there are not always words in Recommendations the script- just actions. To wrap things up, I’m going to be recom-

mending some plays that you just have to read (or maybe even act!) if you want an intro- duction into theatre or if, like me, you love it already!

Stemming from the French word meaning Macbeth by Shakespeare: ‘stuffing,’ or ‘padding’, farce has been a We are starting with a Shakespearian classic source of theatrical comedy entertaining au- that is one of his shortest and easiest to di- P A G E 42

gest. It has witches, war and queen bit of an older audience, I find. It is very gone mad! All my sons by Arthur Mil- funny, but also sad as it unveils the truth ler: Another story about a tragic hero about colonialism and the way that prison- who is a sort of villain that you cannot ers and women were treated. help with sympathise with. It explores Much ado about nothing by Shakespeare: themes of the American dream, the To conclude, I give you my personal favour- morality of the business world and ite Shakespearian masterpiece! It is a story family. It’s one of those that I never about a strong women, dashing men and a expected to fall so in love with. villain who betrays his own brother out of Our Country’s Good by Timberlake jealousy! It had this beautiful mix of being Wertenbaker: comic, romantic and maybe a touch of This recent discovery of mine is for a tragic.

Much Ado About Nothing Cast

Jenna Al-Adnani, 16.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 43 Show Your Rare– Rare Disease Day 2019– Your Photo’s

My son Dexter, 8, he’s not home educated but his sister is, Dexter has ‘15q11.2 microdele- tion syndrome’, when he was diagnosed he was the 136th person to be diagnosed with it in the world and although many more have since been diagnosed it’s still rare and classed as such, he also has ‘right ventricular cardiomyopathy’ its also classed as a rare disease and has ‘perthes disease’ also classed as a rare condition, he has many other medical needs diagnosed as well, he is currently in a school setting but finding him a high school is proving to be difficult so I may end up home educating him, he’s now having his genomes tested as professionals think there is more, his sister is diagnosed with autism, adhd and other issues that also relate to 15q11.2 so she’s currently undergoing testing to see if she has the same as Dexter or something different Jodie Murray

#rarediseaseday2019 #showyourrare #show you care

My 10 year old son, Oscar, has a genetic condition called ‘congenital adrenal Hyperplasia’

Sarah Bailey P A G E 44 International Mario Day

International Mario Day is observed each HOW TO OBSERVE year on March 10th and honours the character Mario from the popular Nintendo Have some fun with friends playing vid- game. eo games. You can also do something special for or with all people named Mar-

io! Use #NationalMarioDay to post on This gamer holiday is celebrated on March social media. 10 because of the way the date appears, when abbreviated (Mar.10). It looks just HISTORY like the name Mario. Our research has found that this day Mario, the Italian plumber, first appeared was started by video gamers and Mar. in Donkey Kong in 1981 10 was chosen because of how the In 1983 Mario got his own game with his name appears. However, we were una- brother Luigi. Mario is known for being the ble to find the names of the original cre- most famous video game character ever ators of National Mario Day. created.

Over 210 million copies of the Mario game series have been sold.

helped create a new sub-genre of racing The History Of Mario Kart games. Instead of focusing entirely on Mario is an amazing game about cartoon skill, Mario Kart added items to the mix. and racing. The player could use homing shells, ba- nana peels, and invincibility stars to gain 1992 Super Mario Kart- an advantage. Even if you were stuck in It’s hard to believe that the kart-racing last place, there was always hope you’d genre wasn’t always around, but it really get some good items and make a big got its start with Super Mario Kart. The comeback. Keeping true to Nintendo’s Super Nintendo classic enabled two play- philosophy, it was fun for everyone, and ers to race against each other as different Super Mario Kart established one of the characters in the Mario franchise on col- company’s most enduring series. ourful courses. You could also fight your friend in Battle Mode, where each player 1997 Mario Kart 64bit- had to eliminate the other by using weapons. Super Mario Kart’s first sequel was a The roster included Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, huge title on the Nintendo 64. Mario Kart Princess Peach, Bowser, Toad, Koopa 64 enabled up to four players to race and battle simultaneously. While the Troopa, and Donkey Kong Jr. hardware limitations of the Super Nin- tendo forced all tracks to remain flat, Super Mario Kart was one of the Super Nintendo’s most popular releases, and it

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 45 levels in Mario Kart 64 featured changes in ble, but only if you were playing single-cart elevation, pits, and other obstacles. multiplayer.

The roster remained largely the same from the 2011 Mario Kart 7- previous game although Wario replaced the Koopa Troopa. Donkey Kong Jr. got upgraded Of course, Mario Kart 7 took advantage of the to the new version of Donkey Kong that debut- 3DS’s ability to display games in glasses-less ed in 1994’s Donkey Kong Country. 3D, but it also added gliders that enabled you to slowly descend to the ground after big 2003 Mario Kart: double dash- jumps. You could also customize your karts by selecting different bodies, gliders, and Double Dash is the black sheep of the Mario wheels for your vehicle. Kart franchise. It featured a big gameplay change that never returned in any of the se- The roster went down to 17 characters, but quels. Each kart actually supported two char- Nintendo added new faces like Metal Mario, acters, and you could switch between them Honey Queen, Wiggler, and Lakitu. You could whenever you wanted. While one raced, the also play as your Mii avatar. other would throw items. Each character also had a special weapon that only he could use. 2013 Mario Kart GP DX- For example, Mario could shoot fireballs, and Toad could use an unlimited amount of mush- GP DX was the third arcade Mario Kart devel- room boosts for a limited time. Two players oped by Namco Bandai. It featured 13 racers, could even play on the same kart. but some characters had different palette swaps. For instance, you could race as Mario It was a fun, quirky addition, and LAN support in his fire-flower color scheme. actually enabled 16 players to play simultaneously (if you had the extra GameCubes). Also, The only new racer to the series was Don- Double Dash greatly increased the roster size chan, the mascot for Namco’s Taiko: Drum to 20. New racers included Diddy Kong, Daisy, Master series of rhythm games. Birdo, Waluigi, Bowser Jr., Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Toadette, Petey Piranha, and King Boo. You could also choose between 21 different karts.

2005 Mario Kart DS- Mario Kart DS took advantage of the porta- ble’s dual displays by showing a large map of the course on the bottom screen. Players could also race online for the first time thanks to the DS’s Wi-Fi abilities. After some of Dou- ble Dash’s experiments, Mario Kart DS was more of a return to tradition. Only one character would race on each kart.

The roster also got a little smaller although it featured the racing debuts of Dry Bones and R.O.B. the robot. The Shy Guy was also playa-

William Wilcox, 14 P A G E 46

EPIC GUIDE TO MINECRAFT Who am I? Hi, I’m Max aka Gilded Ginger432. I’m 9 years old and have been home educated since last year. I’m an expert Minecrafter; my main area of expertise is Redstone. I’m so excited to contribute to this newsletter! I’ll be showcasing loads of blocks, tips, tricks and information about everything Minecraft. Look out for some cool challenges and mini-builds too! XD En- joy! GG432

GILDED CHALLENGE Eh?

Learn how to rename Mobs and see what happens! Survival Mode: The original game mode where players have to collect resources, build, battle https://www.planetminecraft.com/blog/5- mobs and manage hunger in order to survive. name-tag-tips-amp-tricks-that-you-might-not- Creative: No surviving! Just a lot of creating! know /

Block of the month Obsidian

Where to find it Where flowing water and lava source blocks meet! How to Mine it Can only be mined with a Diamond Pickaxe.

Blast Resistance Resistant. Use it to build explosion resistant structures!

Nether Portal Obsidian can be used to create a Nether. Portal Frame to transport you to The Nether. IRL Obsidian is an igneous rock that’s glass-like and fragile.

See It https://youtu.be/8ZGgk0xpMBg

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 47

Mobtastic Mobs’ are living, moving game characters. The term ‘mob’ is short for ‘mobile’. They can be passive, neutral or hostile. Zombie Pig Man Find them in The Nether. They’re usually harmless, but will attack if you hurt them, (either deliberately or accidentally). Defeat one and they may drop flesh, gold nuggets, gold ingots or even a sword!

EPIC MINECRAFT BUILDS

Check out these amazing Minecraft Science Experiments posted by Rob Schwarz!

You’ll never guess what gets smashed together in the recreation of the Large Had- ron Collider! https://www.strangerdimensions.com/2013/05/05/top-5-minecraft-science- experiments/

GILDED FACT In 2013, a Swedish School made headlines after introducing compulsory Minecraft lessons for 13 year old learners. Students at the ‘Viktor Rydberg school’ in Stockholm, took part in a national school competition called ‘Future City’, where classes around Sweden were invited to submit proposals on how to make cities work better in the future. Students enjoyed the unconventional teaching method so much that the school made Minecraft compulsory! Read a news article from Swedish Newsletter ‘The Local’ here:

https://www.thelocal.se/20130109/45514

HA HA Got a question? Email [email protected] FAO Max Or you can contact us via our Social Media Platforms How do Steve & Alex keep fit?

Answer on Back Page

Max T, 9 P A G E 48 Mother’s Day The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1959 edition) (Mother's Day): "A festival derived from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Formal mother worship, with ceremonies to Cybele, or Rhea, the Great Mother of the Gods, were performed on the Ides of March throughout Asia Minor."

The UK still follows tradition and Moth- er of the Gods . Similarly, evidence of a er’s Day moves depending upon when three-day Roman festival in Mid-March the last Sunday of Lent is. This year it is called Hilaria, to honour the Roman god- on the 31st March. The second Sunday dess Magna Mater, or Great Mother, dates in May is Mother's Day not only in the back to 250 BCE. In the British Isles and United States, but also in other coun- Celtic Europe, the goddess Brigid was tries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, honoured Turkey, Australia and Belgium. In Mother's Day is traditionally a spring cele- Spain, Mother's Day is December 8, on bration and is celebrated around the the Feast of the Immaculate Concep- world. Many cultures managed to hold tion, so that not only mothers in one's true to their traditional roots and continue family are honoured, but also Mary, to celebrate Mother's Day in a distinctive mother of Jesus. In France, Mother's way that involves worship to Mother Na- Day is on the last Sunday of May. A spe- ture/ Mother Earth/ Goddesses. cial cake resembling a bouquet of flowers is presented to mothers at a family dinner. In Ethiopia, where families gath- er each fall to sing songs and eat a

large feast as part of Antrosht, a multi- day celebration honouring motherhood. In Thailand Mother’s Day is always celebrated in August on the birthday of the

current queen, Sirikit.

Mother’s Day dates back to ancient cultures in Greece and Rome. In both cul- Four Mother Goddesses of Roman Britain. Museum tures, mother goddesses, were wor- of London shipped during the springtime with reli- The concept of Mother Earth arose centu- gious festivals. The ancient Greeks paid ries earlier in Greece. In the 7th century tribute to the powerful goddess Rhea, BCE, the poet Hesiod gave the Earth Moth- the wife of Cronus, known as the Moth- er the name Gaea, she who "gave birth"

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 49 to the sky, sea, and mountains, as well as the of the Lent, the children were given one day ruling gods called the Titans. A few centuries off to visit their 'Mother Church' and worship later, Gaea's daughter Rhea, was honoured the Virgin Mary at special masses which each year with festivals called "Hilaria". The would be held in honour of Mary, the Mother festivities lasted for three days and by all ac- of Christ. After visiting the Mother Church or counts were great family entertainment, with Cathedral of their hometown, these children revellers bringing food, drink and gifts for the visited their mothers and presented them occasion. with flowers they picked along the way and a cake known as Simnel, usually a fruit filled As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the pastry. Today, it’s modernized much in the celebration of the “Mother Church” replaced same way as it is in the U.S. with flowers, the pagan tradition of honouring pagan god- gifts and special meals. desses. The fourth Sunday in Lent, a 40-day fasting period before Easter, became known as Julia Ward Howe unsuccessfully tried to es- Mothering Sunday. To show appreciation for tablish a Mother's Day in America. Howe be- their mothers, they often brought gifts of a came well-known during and after the Ameri- “mothering cake” (Jeremiah 7:18) and over can Civil War as the author of the words to time, it began to coincide with the celebration the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," but was horrified by the carnage of the Civil War and of the Mother Church. the Franco-Prussian War. In 1870, she tried Similarly, in the Celtic countries and the British to issue a manifesto for peace at internation- Isles, the powerful goddess Brigit was trans- al peace conferences in London and Paris (it formed into her Christian successor, St. Brigid. was much like the later Mother's Day Peace Brigit's sacred day, which was connected with Proclamation). She was a pacifist, suffragist. the ewes coming into milk, became St. Brigid's She proposed an annual event called Moth- Day. Though the ancient tradition of mother er's Day, but the idea received little support. worship was never truly eliminated in the Brit- She organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore ish Isles, by the 17th century Mother's Day had the loss of human life more harshly than any- been almost completely evolved into Mother- one else. In 1872, she began promoting the ing Day. Not surprisingly, with the disappear- idea of a "Mother's Day for Peace" to be cele- ance of a female deity, the devotion to Mary, brated on Mother of Jesus, would soon emerge as the June 2, catholic ‘goddess’ figure. honouring In victory, the patriarchal Roman Catholic peace, mother- Church welcomed called itself ''Mother hood and Church.'' A new variation of Mother's Day, was woman- put in place, this time in honour of the church hood. In itself. On the fourth Sunday in Lent, people 1873, brought gifts to the church where they had women in been baptized. 18 cities in America This custom changed during late Medieval held a times when children from poor families were Mother's Day for Pace gathering. Boston cele- sent to work as domestic servants and appren- brated the Mother's Day for Peace for at least tices in rich homes. Once a year, in the middle 10 years. However as the funds dried up so P A G E 50

establishment of Mother's Day, by Ne- did the peace protest. She didn't give braska Senator Elmer Burkett, at the re- up but instead turned her energy else- quest of the Young Men's Christian Asso- where to find other ways to fight for ciation. The proposal was voted down by peace. A stamp was issued in honour of 33-14. By 1909 Mother's Day services Julia Ward Howe in 1988 were held in 46 states plus Canada and In the United States, Mother's Day origi- Mexico. Anna quit her job in order to focus nated nearly 150 years ago, when Anna her efforts. She was eventually able to Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, or- enlist the World's Sunday School Associa- ganized a "Mother's Work Day" to raise tion in the lobbying campaign, a key suc- awareness of poor economic and cess factor in convincing legislators in health conditions affecting the children states and in the U.S. Congress to support in her community, a cause she believed the holiday. In 1912 West Virginia be- would be best advocated by mothers. came the first state to adopt an official Mother's Day. In 1914, the U.S. Congress When Anna Jarvis died in 1905, her passed a Joint Resolution, and President daughter (also named Anna) wished to Woodrow Wilson signed it, establish- create a memorial to her mother's work ing Mother's Day, emphasizing women's and began a campaign to institute an role in the family (not as activists in the official holiday to honour mothers. The public arena, as Howe's intention for first Mother's Day observance was a Mother's Day had been). As time went on church service honouring Anna's moth- Anna Jarvis became increasingly con- er and all mothers that Anna arranged. cerned over the commercialization of She supplied the decorations for the Mother's Day: "I wanted it to be a day of service -- white carnations, her mother's sentiment, not profit." She opposed the favourite flowers, chosen because they selling of flowers and also the use of represent sweetness, purity, and endur- greeting cards stating they were "a poor ance. In 1907 she passed out 500 excuse for the letter you are too lazy to white carnations at her mother's write." Anna Jarvis filed a lawsuit in 1923 church, St. Andrew's Methodist Episco- against New York Governor Al Smith, over pal Church in Grafton, West Virginia— a Mother's Day celebration; when a court one for each mother in the congrega- threw the suit out, she began a public pro- tion. Today the white flowers signify test and was arrested for disturbing the that one's mother has died and red car- peace. As the industry publica- nations in time became the symbol of a tion, Florists' Review, put it, "This was a living mother. May 10, 1908: the first holiday that could be exploited." In one church, St. Andrew's in Grafton, West press release criticizing the floral industry, Virginia, responded to her request for a Anna Jarvis wrote "What will you do to Sunday service honouring mothers. route charlatans, bandits, pirates, racket- John Wanamaker, a Philadelphia mer- eers, kidnappers and other termites that chant, joined the campaign for Moth- would undermine with their greed one of er's Day following the service. Later the finest, noblest and truest movements that year the first bill was presented in and celebrations?" Jarvis even disrupted a the U.S. Senate proposing the official meeting of the American War Mothers in

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 51 the 1930s, protesting their sale of white carna- the UK. In England, “Mothering Buns” were at tions for Mother's Day, and was removed by one time made. Children would help to make the police. these sweet buns and gift them to their Moth- ers. They were topped with pink or white icing Anna Jarvis never had children of her own. She and would have sprinkles on top. In Northern died in 1948, blind and penniless, and was England and Scotland some preferred buried next to her mother in a cemetery in the “carlings” which are pancakes made of Philadelphia area. She had spent her final steeped peas fried in butter. Simnel years confined to a nursing home, that was cake (fruit stuffed cakes or a fruitcake) is also paid for by the Florists Exchange without Anna a traditional confection associated with both knowing . Mothering Sunday and Easter.

By the 1920s the custom of keeping Mothering The Women's International League for Peace Sunday had tended to lapse in Europe. In and Freedom, the Women's Action for Nucle- 1914, inspired by Anna Jarvis's efforts in the ar Disarmament, the League of Women Vot- United States, Constance Penswick- ers and other organizations still organize pro- Smith created the Mothering Sunday Move- tests on Mother's Day: The Million Mom ment, and in 1921 she wrote a book advocat- March and protests at nuclear weapons sites ing the revival of the festival. Constance was for example. In 1968 Coretta Scott King, wife the daughter of the vicar of Coddington, Not- of Martin Luthor King Jnr, used Mother’s Day tinghamshire, and there is a memorial in Cod- to host a march in support of underprivileged dington's church in her honour. women and children.

Tyler Wilcox, 15

Did you know? More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as UK-based merchants saw the commercial op- much as 37 percent. portunity in the holiday and relentlessly pro- moted it in the UK. By the 1950s, Mothers Day as we know it today, was celebrated across all P A G E 52 With love on Mother’s day

Happy mothers day mum, you Happy mother's day Mum! have done so much for all us Thank you for everything you do kids. We love you to the moon for me and my siblings, from and back!!! taking us on awesome adven- Lots of love Tyler, William, tures to just being the kindest Anthony, Nimueh XXXXXX mother in the world. We love you so much and always will, Happy Mother’s day mum lots of love Freya, Rosie, Skyla, A big thanks for everything you Leo & Penelope xxxx do for us all. You have given up so much. Liz xxx Hi Mum, I really don’t show it but I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, have a wonderful mothers day, from Rowan xoxo

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 53 Founders Day– Scouting

Kasia Czar sent in this photo of her children in their Max has been Scouting for almost scouting uniform a year. He was just made a Sec- onder. This is him camping over- night for the first time. Kelly Tasker

Liz Herrero posted this message and photo of her child with their scouting troop. ‘Full disclosure... I had forgotten it was the Halloween party that day (in my defence I was poorly). my poor child is the only one who didn’t have a costume!!! But the guys were great and let him borrow bits of theirs!’ P A G E 54 International Transgender Day Of Visibility

International transgender day of visi- the gender that they identify as. They can bility is an event on the 31st of March do this simply by changing the way they which is a time to celebrate and ap- dress, changing their hair or changing preciate people who are transgender their name and pronouns or they can med- and make people realise that people ically transition which would mean having who are transgender are no different injections and/or surgery to change their than anyone else and should be treat- body to match the gender that they are ed the exact same. The first ever In- inside. I think it is wrong that some people ternational Transgender Day of Visibil- discriminate against trans people, try to ity was held on March 31st, 2009. take away their rights and are hateful or This event was founded by US-based violent towards trans people. Trans people transgender activist, Rachel Crandall. are just like you and me.

In San Francisco there is something My mum’s boyfriend, Ruben is called “Trans March” where people transgender and he is just like anybody group together to have fun and cele- else. I have decided to interview Ruben for brate. It started in San Francisco in this article. 2004 however these happen anywhere around the world. It is the larg- Why do you think it's important to have a est trans pride event in the United transgender day of visibility? States and gathers around 10,000 people each year. Here in the UK Its very important, for a number of rea- there is lots going on too for sons. To raise awareness for people who Transgender day of visibility. Here in may have never heard about trans people, Liverpool there will be a Trans Pride and march on the 31st. If you want to for younger kids who may be struggling or know how you can get involved or questioning their own identities to be able want to go show support then make to see information being shared and be sure you find out what is going on in able to ask questions to those who are vis- your area. ible within the trans community. And also a lot of trans people are pretty isolated If you don’t know what Transgender from the world so it's a good way to bring means basically it means that some- people together and for them to not feel one identifies as a gender different to the one they were assigned at birth. so alone.

They have to then change their gender so that they can live their life as

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 55

How has transitioning changed your life?

Transitioning saved my life, if I hadn't of finally admitted it and started the journey to medically transition I wouldn't be here today, It was my last hope.

What do you wish people knew about trans people?

I wish people knew it wasn't a choice, yes we as trans people have to make an active deci- sion to seek help in order to transition. But Nobody chooses to feel so lost inside their own bodies. Nobody would willingly chose to undergo extensive surgery or a lifetime of

needles. We are people, human beings who When did you know that you were trans? had to do the unthinkable just to feel like who we are. It’s hard to answer because we didn't have the word "transgender” when i was growing up but some of my earliest memories are of feeling "wrong' or trapped in the wrong body. At age 4 or 5 when I found out girls and boys have different bodies was when I really knew something was different about me. But it was- n't until I was about 18 I heard the term transgender and gender dysphoria and real- ized medical transition was possible. I still couldn't admit that i was transgender to myself or the world until I was 22. I guess I If you are a kid that thinks they might be thought i would get “better” or I could ignore trans or a parent of a kid that might be how I felt, until i really i couldn't deny the trans or even just someone that wants to ed- truth anymore. ucate themselves and learn more about gender and transgender people i recommend this How did your friends and family react? book by trans writer Juno Dawson. It is full

of helpful information about gender identi- I was very lucky to have such understanding ties and being transgender. and supportive friends, who never made me feel weird for it. My family are amazing also, they are very supportive but it did affect them a lot. My mum was very sad and confused at first, they felt like they lost their daughter but at the same time they had gained a son. So it bittersweet i guess.

Willow Fife, 14 P A G E 56

Leanne_home_ed ‘My favourite thing about We asked our readers home education is freedom. Very typical I am sure but be- Why do you love Home Education? ing able to do Math at 9pm knowing that is the time that Teachingmumanddad works best for my son to lern. We love the freedom and calmness. We love the Not worrying about the stress fact that you can learn about food from Germany of the school run in the morn- by tasting it and learn about the mythical city of ing. It’s been the most amaz- El Dorado by building it. You can go to outer space in a rocket you built and paint like famous artists and not realise you learnt so much, from catblountstories Maths and Science to reading and writing. All Why do I love schooling at from the imagination of your child. home? Let me count the ways. So many awesome reasons! Lets say that I love it and all the beauty that comes with it. Elizabeth Wilcox I love home education because it has allowed my children to start healing. I hadn't Operation_homeschool_bubby realised how long it had been since I heard I love home education because it al- my son’s laughter until about two months lows my son the opportunity to ex- into home educating. I had to walk out the plore every question, in depth with- room because I started to cry and didn't out having to usher him on. Instead want to draw attention to why. My son was of rushing him to the next subject we traumatised and is diagnosed with PTSD, can go head on and find the materi- school failed to safeguard him and ensure als and expand to even bigger ques- his wellbeing. He was attacked with a knife tions. The one on one and realizing in school. Not only can I now ensure his that not only do I get the pleasure of wellbeing myself but I got to watch each watching him grow physically, I get one of them fall in love with learning all to see him blossom mentally and over again. My teens set this newsletter up academically. in order to support other home educated children and provide a platform they can Amanda Trotman use to reach out and connect with others Because my kids deserve a child- safely. Home education has been our own hood as well as an education little miracle. I am an ex teacher and I was surprised how many teachers home edu-

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 57

Jenna Dye Toria Reed My 11 year old daughter has the freedom to move in be- I love Home Ed because tween working on things (movement breaks really help), she has a new found passion for actually learning. I love helping My son has re-discovered that learn- her & having the time & patience to make sure that what ing is enjoyable we are learning is sticking. He has learned that he isn't a failure We love having the freedom to do lots of educational trips & but he can go his own pace and not visits, cooking, baking, have lunch together (not rushing). We love the group's that we attend & all of the new friends think he is incorrect or failing because we have both made & all the wonderful ideas we all share one prescriptive method doesn't work with each other. for him We love learning about things together & having fun while He has discovered resilience - learning we do & having as much time to spend on each topic as we that just because he hasn't achieved like to make sure we have covered all of what we want to something first try then it's ok to take know, also that we can come back to any topic as time goes THAT as a learning experience and on if certain things become more appropriate (by age etc). work from there/revisit We choose what we want to learn about at any given time, along with the basics, Maths, English & Science. We have do things in our own time We love that on a beautiful sunny day my daughter does not our own way have to be stuck sitting in a hot stuffy classroom, we can take our art supplies & yoga mats & find a spot in a field or on the beach with our wee dog & enjoy the sunshine, same His mental and emotional health have when it snows, we get to enjoy all weather's. soared. We have freedom - freedom There is so much more to Home Ed than just not going to to learn in PJ's on the couch, study school, there is a whole big world out there & it's ours to the night sky and not worry about get- enjoy & learning just naturally happens along the way..... ting up early to be somewhere in the morning, we can go visit family or That's why we love Home Education friends, we can go on a visit on the spur of the moment, we have freedom of what we learn and how we Caroline Angela Cuell learn it The freedom it gives us to just roll with it!

Belle M Sebastian Because my daughter can be a child, not forced into an adult enforced world of testing and tedious, soul destroying work! I can take my daughter where I want when I want offering her a varied and enjoyable education. This week we are off to Rome, a learning experience in the extreme! P A G E Parent Article Submission– The failing school system

In 2013 Prince Charles openly chas- tised the UK schooling system for failing to teach not just valuable but cru- cial life skills, whilst many parents in- “Formal learning can correctly assume that the education teach you a great deal, their children receives is going to pro- but many of the essential vide them with the necessary skills for adulthood. The Prince of Wales told skills in life are the ones business contacts that he felt you have to develop on ‘Children are not being taught the your own.” character they need in life’. Despite it hitting the front page of most newspa- pers and resulting in some public out- cry, it died down pretty quickly and therefore nothing was ever done to Lee Iacocca improve on those issues or even re- spond to them. the education authority stayed rather quiet on the matter. The importance of an education is irrefu- table. However, there are many life The Prince gave the speech after visit- skills that adults tend to feel they didn’t ing a project in North London aimed learn enough about in school. Once you at helping unemployed young people open that dialogue you quickly realise turn their lives around and access the that most adults reel off the exact same workplace. “Most school leavers are topics. When compared to the educa- not even taught how to look people in tional system in other countries, such as the eye” he said, “and alongside their Finland and even some aspects of the academic studies they need to learn American system, the UK is left strag- how to cope outside of education if gling behind, and it shows. they hope to find work”. We have generations of young adults Speaking at a lunch at St James’ Pal- without any life skills such as money ace the heir to the throne said: “Life management, budgeting, taxes, politics, skills, which consist of developing self voting, banking– various accounts and esteem, self-confidence...- all these an understanding of the jargon, stocks, things are not taught in schools or negotiation and debating skills, human hardly at all. rights, the pro’s and con’s of loans/ credit and the legal/application process- What it seems we're lacking is that es including the credit scoring system, element in educational process of mortgages and all the associated jar- character, character education along- gon, insurance, wills and probate, well- side all the other bits and pieces being and mental health support and which are of course important but, if understanding, how to look after your at the end of the day you can't actual- own wellbeing and coping mechanisms ly cope with the world out there, the for stress, household maintenance D.I.Y kind of interaction that's required of skills, cooking skills (many schools people, it is impossible it seems to me dropped this several years ago due to to manage, let alone to be employa- funding cuts), sewing/ dressmaking ble." (again funding cuts), time management,

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 59 outdoor safety/ bush craft, first aid, navigation and doesn't ignite their passion to learn, in- skills and how to cope with failure. stead they become disillusioned and many even hate the idea of learning. We need to Will Smith stated “You have to fail early, you refocus our curriculum and develop one that have to fail often, and you have to fail forward” . caters to the many not the few. We need a There’s an interview with Will Smith I watched curriculum that sets their passions alive and briefly where he talks about how “fear kills cre- has them excited to learn. Educationalists ativity.” I witnessed this myself with my eldest call this ‘teaching to the test’. It’s the pro- son. As soon as he felt isolated, alone and cess in the school system where the curricu- scared in school his grades and interest in lum is delivered so that only or largely what learning began to rapidly decline and not is necessary to pass the test is taught. The enough strategies, skills, and programs are im- intention behind the process of testing, to plemented in our schools to teach our youth determine whether the child has understood about failure being a part of life, how to react the curriculum in its totality, is lost. when it happens, and how to build on our fail- Unlike schools home education is able to ures. You can watch his interview on YouTube. meet their academic needs whilst ensuring “I’ve missed more than 9000 our children receive the life learning neces- shots in my career. I’ve lost al- sary to become confident and capable most 300 games. 26 times, I’ve adults. been trusted to take the game School also doesn't tend to teach adequate winning shot and missed. I’ve researching skills or even critical and analyt- failed over and over and over ical thinking, the latter can even appear somewhat frowned upon. It has grown into again in my life. And that is why I an archaic system at best that no longer succeed.” works for the majority of children. Yet re- ~ Michael Jordan~ peatedly the people with the ability to do something about it choose to ignore these “Accountability systems” – Ofsted inspections, issues and deflect the attention and blame government tables and targets – have all creat- elsewhere. ed a “culture of fear” in schools when it comes League tables and budget cuts have stifled to mistakes and failure, according to a recent creativity and critical thinking in schools. Its report (pdf) by the National Association of Head about hitting targets and not the individual Teachers union. It highlights the pressure on child. Problems arise when the governments headteachers to get good results on pain of be- try to micromanage the child's best inter- ing forced out, and how the emphasis on test ests as governments necessarily balance results has narrowed the curriculum and made the best interests of the child within a con- “drilling” for exams common. The curriculum text of what they feel society needs that skims over so many topics in the hopes the chil- child to grow into. Economics, national secu- dren will recall this basic information for their rity, business, and other issues all compete exams, however, for many children it has the for a place in the school system and the gov- opposite effect as skimming doesn't allow ernments aims of what education should be them to follow their natural thought process P A G E 60 and the true needs of the individual school system, amongst a variety of oth- children are lost. They also have to er reasons. There are various philoso- base their judgements on the average phies within home education and no two child, what children on average need home educators will have the same ‘in their best interests’ to become ac- style. This may be viewed as a negative tive members of society and good em- by those looking in from the outside, ployees that possess the basic skills however its actually a positive because businesses require in their work- it ensures the philosophy/learning styles force. In doing that however they end adopted at home are personalised to up failing the majority of children who that individual child’s needs, strengths are not that ‘average child’. One size and weaknesses. It is a completely be- never fits all and as we have seen in spoke learning experience. countries that have changed their ap- A book published by academics at the proach, such as Norway and their Institute of Education, University of Lon- ‘Phenomenal learning’, they are able don, argues that home education is a to cater to more learning preferences, viable alternative to school up to the therefore engaging more children and age of 14. keeping their passions alive. Mean- Alan Thomas, from the institute's de- while OFSTED expects all children to excel at everything offered, regardless partment of psychology and human de- of preference and regardless of ability, velopment, and Harriet Pattison, a re- aptitude or Special need whilst contin- search associate, conclude that informal ually increasing the pressures they learning at home is an "astonishingly face. efficient way to learn, as good if not better than school for many children”. Much of the public is misinformed The book called How Children learn at home states "The ease, naturalness and immense intellectual potential of informal learning up to the age of middle secondary school means they can learn certainly as much if not more". They liken the method of informal learning to the process that leads to scientific about home education and the bene- breakthroughs, the early stages of craft- fits it can provide whilst Critics of ing a novel, coming up with a solution to home education dismiss it as a hippy a technical problem, or the act of com- option that disadvantages children posing music. socially and educationally for the rest "In some ways, it may be an advantage of their lives. because, rather than presenting The methods employed by parents knowledge in neat packages, the infor- vary, some choose to home educate mal curriculum forces learners to be- from day one, others remove their come actively engaged with their infor- children due to the failings of the

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 61 mation - to work with it, move it around, juggle tion had occurred within the home educa- ideas and resolve contradictions... It is not a tion community, thus exposing the fallacy static thing contained in a series of educational that home education is a risk to national folders. It is alive and dynamic." security.

“Home education is just an extension of good There are currently several attempts being parenting”, Thomas and Pattison argue. "School itself necessarily curtails such parental contri- made by the government to regulate home bution." Why, they ask, do we as a society as- education. These are variously based on the sume that formal learning needs to take over idea that parents cannot offer an education beyond the age of five? There is no develop- that is the equivalent of a school. The Chil- mental or educational logic behind the radical dren’s Commissioner has even gone so far change in pedagogy from informal to formal as to say that however bad school is, home when children start school". education is not the answer. The current dia- Contrary to expectations, the home-educated logue from the government and regulatory children had no difficulty entering formal edu- bodies (DfE, Children’s Commissioner and cation, the authors state. The informal curricu- Lord Solely) is that all children should be in lum is "as good a preparation as any for col- school, seen by a professional and an as- lege, university or academic correspondence sessment made of their education in the courses”, they say. "The young people had the same way as school children are assessed, personal skills to make the transition with ap- regardless of their mental, physical and parent ease." emotional needs. The government is now seeking to tighten and It is proposed that home educated children, change the regulations for home education. who suffered trauma whilst in school lead- Proposals include a mandatory register of ing to mental health concerns, are to be vis- home-educated children, along with increased ited by the very institutions which enabled monitoring from local authorities. the harm in the first place with the intention of assessing their parent’s ability to educate “The government doesn’t want to admit the rea- them. The irony of this has not escaped our son that home-education numbers are rising is community and we refuse to be scapegoats not to do with radicalisation,” says Chris McGov- for the failings of an archaic school system. ern, a retired headteacher and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education. “That is a Flexible home education that allows the concern, but it is a far greater problem in state child to take responsibility for their learning schools than in home-schooling. It’s because with the support and facilitation of their lov- schools are failing ever greater numbers of chil- ing family, often recover from school and go dren.” on to highly successful futures. Statistics prove that home educated children perform New research (PDF) by the charity, Personalised Education Now, failed to find any evidence of better in FE and the workplace than their radicalisation in the home education communi- schooled peers. ty. The research, conducted over a protracted With the Children’s commissioner’s pro- period, included sending FOI's to the UK Govern- ment and Local Government, Interpol's data- nouncement that school is always better base and searching new agency reports and the than home it is clear to see that she has to- internet generally. Not one method found any tally ignored all the cries for help from des- evidence supporting the claim that radicalisa- perate parents. Children considering ex- P A G E 62 treme actions that would devastate the right to be free from degradation, any parent in response to the extreme article 6– the right to a fair trial, which violence and bullying that is rife within includes innocent until proven guilty, ar- schools, the desperate parents reach- ticle 8– the right to enjoyment of private ing out for help for their child's SENs and family life, article 9– the right to waiting years for a diagnosis and their freedom of religion and belief, which cries falling on deaf ears, yet at the includes philosophical beliefs, and final- same time budgeting cuts to funding ly article 14– freedom from discrimina- means the support they do manage to tion. I suppose the plan to scrap our hu- get in place is then shared between man rights completely will navigate multiple children with SEN instead of around these loopholes perfectly. being the one on one support they The police for example need a warrant were promised. Parents of children to enter a known/suspected criminals with chronic medical conditions being home, yet thousands of law abiding persecuted for poor attendance de- home educators are expected to open spite having an open dialogue with their homes to intrusive unwarranted the school and making them aware of visits from the state. The proposals put the child's needs before they regis- forward are based on false assump- tered them. tions, lack evidence, misinterpretations Sadly this is not just a fight for home of data and could not be implemented educating parents. It isn't just a home without a massive breach of our human education bill, the Lord Solely bill is rights and those of our children. Those the bill for the entire educational sys- monitoring are unlikely to understand tem and implements several changes each child's situation, needs, learning to our parental rights. The rights of all preferences, strengths and weaknesses. parents will be affected not just home How are they planning on assessing educators, we are just the scape goats this? What is the protocol they will use? the government are using to incite Will it take health and wellbeing into fear and concern amongst the public account? Will involve rigorous testing so they willingly line up to give away thusly turning the safe home environ- their rights. In addition there are sev- ment that is conducive to that child's eral other bills and changes to our le- learning effectively into a state school at gal system that each have amend- home? ments to our parental rights, when Louise Engels released this statement in added up, our children will effectively response to the Dispatches Episode on be children of the state in our care, Skipping School until they deem otherwise. The current law in place is not only adequate but “Having watched the skipping school when implemented by the LEA works documentary I have my suspicions as to effectively. why Dispatches didn't want me to contact the media directly. I feel we were We are yet to receive an answer as to manipulated and put in a very vulnera- how they will justify breaching our ble position. Anne didn't tell our whole basic human rights under article 3-

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 63 story but it felt like she used us for her own was so traumatised he was not able to pro- agenda. Her conclusions even contradict her cess information, not able to make eye con- own report into how well elective home educa- tact nor communicate with adults and was tors provide for their children and how badly the referred by his Rheumatologist for an Au- education system lets far too many children tism assessment. down. The evidence of the power of home educa- It was good to meet with Anne and for the boys tion was caught on film. Leo is now healthy, to be able to share their experiences and opin- happy and gradually had become more able ions with her. However Anne seemed to come to learn. Anne calls for monitoring and then across as patronising, at times rude to my chil- disputed report of our lovely LA local home dren, undermining me as a mum. Anne was education officer who monitored us the asked by a 9 year old boy not to show the part week before her visit. Does she believe her where she invaded his space and upset him. He own opinions are more valid than the experi- has PTSD from school and she triggered that ence trained home ed officer, Leo’s consult- live on tv. ants, dyslexia assessor and his play thera- Dispatches and the media can edit stories how- pist? ever they like– but the truth is the truth. You Anne said that children are safer in school can’t control that. Through social media and even though she knew school caused my decent other media outlets, the truth can al- middle sons health to decline too. He is still ways be told. I will ensure that I get my right to at mainstream school with an EHCP that I reply. had to fight to get and still needs appealing. I have fought to defend my family from abuse The education system is still failing him. by a head teacher, social services and now Sadly Anne then refused to address the is- Anne Longfield. I expected better from the Chil- sue of the highest performing academy in dren’s Commissioner and Dispatches. This Leicestershire pushing my brilliant, intelli- could have been such a good documentary and gent eldest son out by refusing to follow gov- used to pave the way for real change. Our NOT ernment policy for ill children. She told him FINE in school children are always being let he has a bright future ahead of him– despite down and no one seems willing to ask why and being denied an education beyond GCSE’s. to ensure they hace their SEND and health It’s a shame she is not investing the schools needs met so they can access education and failing my boys. achieve their potential. Perhaps it was too Do you think social Services helped to pro- much to cover in one programme. tect my boys? Schools? Or the local educa- Why is Anne insisting that school is the best tion authority who have been stripped of all place for a boy with school trauma– a place powers to monitor schools. What is Anne where he was neglected and abused? He was actually proposing to make schools account- off rolled from the same South Leicestershire able? Primary School that his brothers had attended. Our only real support has come from kind, A school that now has a huge proportion of mid helpful, well educated, informative mem- term transfers. Anne seemed to miss the point bers of the local and national home ed com- that prior to being home educated Leo was not munity who took us in and taught us a kind- fit for school for more than an hour a day and er way to educate. Parents who love, nurture P A G E 64 thirst for knowledge, in the right environ- and educate their lovely articulate ment, and for many that is home, that children became my mentors and thirst intensified, whereas whilst at friends. We have now chosen to follow school these children felt disillusioned a gentler approach to education than and began to resent all learning experi- schools ever can and for us this is ences. throughout the day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year with a mixture of When I first started home educating the formal and informal learning across a first thing that surprised me most was broad curriculum. Now the whole com- the fact that I wasn't the only teacher. In munity are at risk of harm from the our home ed community (a large city) level of monitoring being proposed, by there's a huge percentage of teachers those, like Anne, who may not see the choosing to home educate due to the big picture of how successful home failings of the school system. Personally, education and alternative provision we would never have opted for home can be. education had the school not let us down so tragically and failed to safe- Baileys mum is providing an educa- guard my child. Under the current OF- tion to her son despite the lack of sup- STED regime schools are not conducive port. She’s doing an amazing job un- learning environments, the focus is no der difficult circumstances. You could longer on quality of learning and absorp- of highlighted that instead of focus- tion of information. I was dedicated to sing on her difficulties. Lilly is bright my learners, I went above and beyond, I and articulate despite schools failing lived and breathed SEN having an autis- her. tic child myself, yet even in my class- I add my complaint to the many oth- room with my experience, it was impos- ers from parents of children who sible to cater to every single learner. struggle to attend school and home Staff rooms were filled with teachers educators who deserve better than complaining about the lack of re- this”. sources, the overwhelming class sizes Louise Engels. and most importantly how they focus on the A star students as they were the ones they felt were worth the extra ef- Anne makes the assumption that ex- fort. No one is more dedicated to their aminations are more important than a child's success than a loving parent. We child's wellbeing. You can catch up on have such a high statistic of children GCSE’s at any time but regaining posi- with mental, emotional and physical tive mental and emotional wellbeing, needs these days yet the school system as we have found, is much more diffi- hasn't evolved to cater for them. cult. A child who is in a loving and se- Bravo for noticing a problem however cure environment will always find it your attention is focused in the wrong conducive to learning and will natural- direction. These children are the victims ly seek out varied experiences. We are and the cause is the archaic not fit for an inquisitive species with an innate purpose educational system.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 65 The 1996 education act places a legal duty on parents to ensure their children receive an education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, taking into account any SEN they may have, through school or otherwise. This implies that if the schools available to the family have continually failed over a period of years to provide an education fit for purpose that caters to the child's ability, aptitude and or needs, then there is still a legal duty for the parent to provide it instead, and their only other option is ‘otherwise’, i.e.– home education. Par- ents are doing exactly what the law requires of them by removing their children from a failing school system to ensure their needs are met.

John Stevens. Proud Home Educator of 4 children.

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WHAT DID YOU NOT LEARN DURING YOUR SCHOOL YEARS, THAT YOU NOW MAKE SURE TO TEACH YOUR OWN CHILDREN?

Anything to do with How to get an electricity provider. When I looking after finances moved into my first flat it was a month before I even realised I had to find one. Leah Jay Budgeting would have been good. Charis Porter

Daily exercise. I don’t mean like sports which require Budgeting rules, competition etc. I just mean purely for health. I Faye Whates suppose many schools now do ‘daily mile’ which they never did at school and I think is really good. I think things like tai chi/yoga etc are also great to do daily. Self care, creativity, Proper cooking with ingredients. I remember having a critical thinking, double cookery lesson where we made a sandwich. healthy relationships/ boundaries. Charlotte J Fowles Maxine Swift

Whatever our daughter asks Real life cooking. My grandmothers taught me, about. they never used pre made stuff, it was all from Moomin George scratch, and good food. In school I remember making cakes, and the odd apple pie!! Can’t survive on those! We have ‘Life Skills’ lessons General care of the house- cleaning and every week, these vary be- maintenance. tween handling money, mak- Gardening and veg growing. ing a shopping list, learning Everything Maxine said above... the washing machine, how I don’t think I actually learnt much at school to work the cooker and our that has actually helped me in real life! next one will be planning a Liz Herrero route.

HOME ED LOOKS LIKE T HIS I S S U E 8 P A G E 67

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO HOME EDUCATE?

Jessjensenwonders replied ‘We began home schooling because one of my daughters had leukaemia at age 2 and big sister was 5. fast forward several years and we kept doing it because we saw how it could meet the unique needs my children had because of emotional and physical scars. Fast forward again and it had just become our lifestyle and we had no interest in going to school’

Kayleigh Whitehead emailed us their journey so far; ‘I would like to share our story. We home educate our son, who is 8 years old because school were not meeting his needs. They seemed unwilling to even attempt to accommodate him. We persisted for three and a half years before removing him from the environment that had frankly become toxic for him. We have three other sons, all of whom are still in the school system and quite happy. Although home education seemed our only option at the time, we are really enjoying it and have done from the beginning. I love the confident little boy I now have. His new found thirst for knowledge is contagious. I enjoy being such a big part of his education, and having the freedom to cater that education to his needs. Being able to squeeze all of the essential, but boring, subjects into topics or projects that catch his attention is a huge advantage. I have a picture that I have attached. A little change of scenery, and certainly not invisible.’ Click here to Join our fb group to join in each month

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