Treat days for all

Since treat day went so well for S the following week was J's turn. She wanted to go on a bike ride so I'm thinking I'm going to get very fit on these days!

This week has been an activity week in Sheffield to kind of follow on from the Olympics and keep the spirit of it going. All sorts of free events have been going off across the city and fortunately there was a biking event advertised for Saturday morning.

So I strapped our bikes to the car and set off for Graves leisure centre where the event was being held. As it turned out there were celebrity sport people there too!

J got to try out the circuit and hold an Olympic torch

After all this excitement we set off on our bike ride. The plan was to go through the woods at Jordanthorpe and head up to Coal Aston for tea at Grandma's....

Well we got off to a good start having a great time through the muddy woods. I really enjoyed it although my bike is a bit heavy and I struggled with it a bit on uphill climbs and the occasional style crossing!

We came across a perfect natural biking bowl in the woods and spent a while trying to ride down it and up the other side bravely!

 J is soooo determined after many attempts finally she made it to the other side. It looked very steep from on the bike peering over the edge of the bowl so it took some nerve to go cycling down into it but we both did it.

I should have had a compass with me as shortly after we were lost and I realised we had come round in one massive circle and were back down near Jordanthorpe again!!

We eventually found the right path but were really tired from the uphill struggle through the mud. I was so proud of J she has such a strong will and did such a lot of pedalling uphill when I had to get off my bike and push. Towards the end when we came out on a lane I recognised and I felt satisfied we were heading in the right direction we sat and finished our snacks and soaked up the sunshine talking about the epic journey we had done. Suddenly a horse and rider appeared a beautiful chestnut coloured horse called socks with a really friendly rider who stopped and chatted to us for quite a while. We now know never to pat horses only stroke as they think they are in trouble and also they love sweets!

We had an exhilarating free wheel down to Grandmas house arriving just in time to shower our muddy selves then sit down for a delicious tea. What a great day

Treat day

With more than one child finding ways of having some individual time with each child can be difficult. Its fairly easy to set up work time you can get one child to sit and write with you or do some reading but trying to get more fun things that they might want to do is tricky. I tried schedueling in 10 minutes each day with each child but it didn't work as 10 minutes might not be long enough and I could be sure at only 4yrs old little B would most definately need MUMMY!! in the middle of it.

Its took me a while but finally I think I've come up with the perfect solution. Saturdays normally we go to see my Mum & Dad for the day so I thought I could get them involved to help me. Luckily they are brilliant parents and were more than willing to help so we arranged for them to look after 2 children while I took the other off for a day out treat doing whatever that child wanted to do. As Lee is flexible with work if my parents can't do it for whatever reason Lee could take the day off and do the looking after so here goes...

S wanted to go to the countryside for her treat day, a walk with Mummy in the great outdoors. How wonderful. We chose to walk over Higger Tor in Derbyshire and across the Carls Wark.

It was a beautiful day

Higger Tor is a fabulous rock formation from the ice age and there are remnants of an old fort. It has an aura about the place as you climb over the huge boulders stacked up high on the hills.

 We both were very excited to go S has my passion for the countryside and I was quite impressed that she chose to do a walk for her treat. So with plenty of supplies we set off from the car park and played boulder hopping all the way up to the top of Higger Tor

 There are wonderful views all the way round and at this time of year the heather is becoming a deep purple, luckily I had thought ahead and put some pastels and artist pad in my rucksack for a stop and sketch break which she loved.

 On the way back up from the valley we sat watching rock climbers and had a go at some bouldering ourselves. Here is my spider monkey in action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmmMFP4oAy8&feature=share&list=ULOmmMFP4oAy8

We had a fab first treat day, it was a real success, I enjoyed myself so much spending time together like this, we walked 3 miles and went at our own pace it was great. S was really inspired by the climbers, they chatted to her and shared chalk with her and some tips for climbing so she wants to come back and climb on her next treat day.

Saw this on a home ed forum, excellent!....

 

Subject	Traditional Learning	Natural Learning
Child viewed as...	an empty vessel waiting to be filled, or to be trained like an animal	a sprouting seed on its way to becoming a tree
Adult viewed as...	a fount of knowledge, or an authority figure on which the child must depend	a model to imitate, a resource and helper
Learning is...	a result of teaching, or being shown or told	a process of satisfying the desire to know and be able to do, discovery
Learning occurs...	in a logical, orderly way, in graded increments	in subtle and complex recognition of patterns, unplanned and unordered
Everyday life and learning...	are separate in time and space	are integrated and interdependent
Ideal amount of learning...	is 13 years plus 4 or more optional years	begins at birth and lasts a lifetime
Focus of learning is...	on the learner's weaknesses, to bring them up to the level of strong areas (which tend to weaken through disuse)	on the learner's strong points, while weak areas tend to gradually improve as a matter of course
Curriculum is...	Pre-determined by the teacher or the school system, is limited in scope and expensive	determined by student and available experiences, broad or narrow depending on the interest and energy of the moment
Subjects to learn...	are separate and distinct from one another	are integrated and fluid
Textbooks & workbooks...	are the primary source of information, and generally no other questions are entertained	are seldom used, except as references (or for props in playing 'school'...)
The schedule is...	inflexible, by the clock	based on individual and family needs, subject to serendipity, as in the "learning moment"
Success is defined...	as conforming to society's expectations, or as completing 11,970 hours of sitting at a desk	as being able to transition into the adult world as a self-assured productive citizen
Failure to succeed is...	noted, punished, and can become a life sentence	accepted as part of life, and an opportunity to try again
Learning disabilities are...	special 'advantages' that provide entitlements, or flaws to be corrected or glossed over	recognized as different learning styles that require uncommon approaches to common skills
Authority is vested in...	the teacher, the institution, the society, or anyone who is bigger or stronger (through control and manipulation)	the individual, to be delegated to others as appropriate, through respect, consensus, and representation
Reading...	must be mastered at age 6 or 7, otherwise learning cannot progress	begins anytime between 3 and 13, and late readers have advantages such as the chance to experience the world more directly
Math is...	a series of facts and formulas to be learned for use in abstract problem solving	a way of relating patterns and relationships to the problems of everyday life so as to find useful and appropriate solutions