Book Review - Suzie Goes to the Hairdressers

When I found out about some new children's books which have an autistic child as the protagonist, I had to get my hand on one. I have never read a book like this before which promotes awareness of autism through the story of a little girl going to the hairdressers. I was thrilled when the author, Charlotte Olson, sent me a copy to review.

The book is about a little girl called Suzie who has autism. She is worried about going to the hairdressers to get her hair cut.

Trip to Marshfield Farm

We often go to special workshops and tours organised for home educated children. Last week we got the opportunity to go to Marshfield Farm where the famous Marshfield Farm ice cream is made. I had never been to this farm before, or heard much about it, but as soon as I knew they made ice cream I was in! 

The drive down to the farm did not take us too long and it made me feel lucky to have this amazing farm on our doorstep. The farm sits in around 1000 acres of land and is home to a few hundred cows.

Tips on How to Homeschool With a Toddler Around

When I tell people that I homeschool my children, I am often asked how I manage it. One of the biggest things people want to know is how can I possibly homeschool with younger children around. Do they cause too many distractions? How can I keep them occupied? How can we get anything done?

Well, it is not as hard as you may think. I see homeschooling as a family affair. We do as much as we can together and I always try to include my youngest as much as possible. In fact, he often wants to be involved. Here are some tips on how to home school with a toddler around. With some simple strategies, you can do it too.

Learning About the Brain

We have been learning about the human body at our weekly project group and this week we learnt about the brain. We started off by watching a few YouTube clips about the brain. This one was our favourite.

Learning Arabic on the Beach

We have just returned home after spending a long weekend at my parents caravan in Devon. The weather was glorious for the first few days and the children had lots of fun building sandcastles, rock pooling and playing in the sea. 

Bilingual Language Activity - My Family

When learning a foreign language, one of the first things you will want to learn is vocabulary to talk about yourself and your family. You will often need this vocabulary to use in conversations with new people you meet. It allows you to tell people about yourself and it also allows you to get to know others and form relationships with them. 

There are many ways to learn new vocabulary, but when teaching young children, it is best to use practical and/or visual techniques. These techniques will keep them interested in the task, provide them with appropriate context and aid memorisation. As my children love crafting, I often use craft activities for our language learning. 

Strawberry Picking and Scrumptious Recipes

Fruit picking is one of my favourite summertime activities. Berries are some of my favourite fruits but they seem quite expensive and often tasteless when you buy them out of season from the supermarket; it is always best to eat them fresh from the field. So far we have picked strawberries and I cannot wait until the raspberries are ready to harvest. Still have to wait a few more weeks for those.