Homeschoolingmama

We were kindly sent 'Meteorology activity book' to review.   Just like the geology book, we have thoroughly enjoyed the meteorology book. Both books are part of the 'STEM starters' and have covered each topic exceptionally well. If you haven't had a chance, have a read of our review of 'Geology activity book' here .  What is the Meteorology book about? 'Meteorology is the study of the weather.' 'Meteorology activity book' covers all areas of meteorology, and as with the geology book, the design, structure, layout and content are brilliant. They encapsulate the targeted audience, and offer lots of fun as well as facts.  What I've throughly enjoyed about these books, is the fact, that the factual information is there, but a lovely activity (be it word search, drawing, maze or colouring) for each sub topic makes learning so much more fun.  Within 'Meteorology activity book' we look at  instruments used for measur

We were kindly sent the 'Geology Activity book' to review. 'Geology activity book' is part of the STEM starters for kids, published by 'b small' publishers. Why we've enjoyed this book The first thing I noticed with this book, was not only the fact that the cover is so beautifully well designed, but I was happy to see an explanation to what geology is and what STEM is. The book intricately explains that 'Geology is the study of what makes up our planet, Earth, our natural landscapes and what is deep below us.' STEM is 'science, technology, engineering and maths' and the book gives a wonderful overview of how the two, geology and STEM are related. Little person has thoroughly enjoyed working through this activity book. He happily stated, 'this book is so much fun, it isn't full of too much writing , which can get boring sometimes'. 'Geology activity book' works through 13 topics, each topic comprising of two

We were kindly sent a copy of Scoop magazine to review. The magazine is aimed at 7+, and it is ' a feast of words and pictures for kids.'  First Impressions Upon opening up the magazine, we were positively surprised with the quality and quantity of content. There is enough content in the magazine to keep a child entertained and busy for a long while. The best thing about Scoop magazine is, the fact that there aren't any adverts. It is rather frustrating at times, when a children's magazine is full of adverts for days out or toys, not only does it feel like you've paid to see adverts, but they're a distraction and the space can be better used with quality content. The magazine, contents and structure Issue 20 of Scoop magazine is all about imagination. What an interesting topic, that is rarely thought or talked about in our house! I won't bore you with the finer details, but will outline some of the articles little person has enjoyed the most, a

We were sent the Explorertot science box for a review. First impressions When the box arrived, I was taken aback by the funky case, the kids were so excited and the postwoman looked like she wanted to join us to see what the ‘cool case’ was all about. Opening the box, we could see there was plenty for us to do, and it wouldn’t matter if it rained this weekend! What’s it all about? ‘Our exciting themed ExplorerBoxes provide hours of adventure, learning and together Tim e for families! They make unique children’s gifts or rainy day, weekend or holiday activities.’ There are three themed boxes, science box, space box and woodland box. We chose to review the science box, and have had a fun filled weekend! All the boxes encourage STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, maths), this is an important  concept when it comes to children’s activities, and most number one toys cover the STEAM spectrum. So it was great to see this! What’s included? The fabulous box come

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid - by Jeff Kinney My 7 year old son has been zooming through the 'Diary of a Wimpy kid' book set, he's laughed and loved reading these books. Now, normally, I wouldn't read any of the books he reads, however, when a fellow home ed mum asked what the books are like on instagram, it got me thinking....and reading!  Thus, having completed the first book, I felt it's time to share my thoughts. Book review 'Diary of a Wimpy kid' is a hilarious book, written as a diary by Greg (journal - Greg's mums idea for him to keep a record and write feelings down, but he is adamant it is a journal and not diary), following his adventures during the school year. It is full of embarrassing, crazy and funny moments for Greg, and his best friend Rowley. There are times when you feel a little irked with Greg’s decisions, but ultimately, you like the guy! Rowley is a great friend, and at times you do feel a little sorry for him. The pair m

When we first embarked on the home educating/schooling ship, it was a daunting prospect. I won't lie, I had a vague idea of what I needed to 'teach' and an even vaguer idea of where to find resources. Over the years I have subscribed to multiple sites, bought an excess of books and accumulated more educational toys than the local nursery. It has been and will continue to be a learning journey for all of us. Little person is 7, verging on 8 and I can finally say I have an online resource that I really like...so much so, I have made sure we have a lifetime subscription! I won't make a list of all those that we tried, but I will tell you, I have enjoyed using Education.com so much, it has been the winner in my books (hence the lengthy subscription).  Education.com - the winner You may wonder why I chose Education.com , and I will definitely explain my reasoning. There are a few things that really stood out for me, such as: Easy search tool - I never know w

We were sent the exciting Learning resources playfoam pals - Fantasy friends to try out and review. What are they? Learning resources Playfoam pals - Fantasy friends  come in a pod (clear), and are cute little collectable 'fantasy themed pals' placed within playfoam. To read more about Learning Resources Playfoam, click  here.   Little persons reaction My 7 year old son absolutely loved these. He was so excited about being able to open up a toy, that was hidden in the playfoam, that we had to video both 'unveilings'! To take a look at our videos, hop along to our instagram  -  homeedder . He stated that the opening of these toys was exciting and he felt like all those Youtubers, who open up toys like these!  There are 13 collectibles. They are cute, but not too small (9cm H), however recommended age is 5+ (due to potential choking hazard). The Playfoam is lovely three coloured sparkly Playfoam.  The great thing about these 'fantasy themed  pals'

We recently received  Learning resources Playfoam combo 8 pack to review. Kids could not wait to rip open the packaging and play, and I can honestly say I was impressed with the Playfoam.  What Is Playfoam? Playfoam is a great sensory toy. It encourages hours of creativity and really gets those imaginations rolling.  The Learning Resources Playfoam has been recommended by 'Good Toy Guide' 2018, which is great as it definitely means a toy well worth the money!  In simple terms, Playfoam is made from styrofoam, designed and manufactured to make each tiny bead stick together, but ensuring that the beads don't stick to hands, carpet or hair.  Importantly, in fact probably the most important feature is the fact that is non toxic, and therefore can be enjoyed by children as young as 3.  Our experience playing with Learning Resources playfoam combo 8 pack In the combo 8 pack, you receive 8 vibrant colours. Four of these are glittery, I was elated to learn t

I mentioned in my 'Cloud in a jar' post, how I'd recently made a list of exciting experiments to do, that required few items. After our successful 'cloud in a jar' we tried our very own lava lamp! This is such a simple experiment, I can imagine we have many lava lamps to come....so it's not quite a lamp but more like lava in a glass.  What you'll need Glass, we used a drinking glass (clear glass) Salt (approx 1tsp) Vegetable oil (to fill 1/4 of the glass) water (to fill approx 3/4 glass) Food dye (any colour - we used red) What to do Add 3/4 water to the glass, and add 4/5 drops of food dye (not too much as don't want a deep colour). Add the vegetable oil, which you will notice will float to the top (oil and water don't mix). Once all the oil as settled at the top, add about a teaspoon of salt.  You'll notice some of the oil clumping with the salt and sinking to the bottom of the glass. This oil will then rise

We received the 'green fingers' box along with the 'Bug hunting' one, and as the boxes are absolutely bursting with activities, we've taken our time to get through them. If you haven't had a chance, do read the review on the 'Bug hunting' box, to get a better idea about the fantastic Yippee adventures! First impressions for both boxes have been complete amazement. There is so much when you open the box, it really does take you by surprise with the amount of contents.  What is the 'Greenfingers' box? As the name implies, this box is all about sowing, planting and flowers. Yippee adventures are STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) boxes, so it's not surprising to find activities covering all those aspects.  There are several activities included, enough to work through during a week (I can't imagine anyone completing those in less time).  What's included? Seeds for basil, broad bean,

Little person loves carrying out science experiments at home. The issue is, sometimes the list of apparatus is long and extensive, meaning we need to go out and buy more than half the things....this also means we end up delaying the experiment and at times forgetting. Thus, I took time out and wrote a list of experiments we can carry out at home with very few items, or items we already have.  Today was all about making a cloud in a jar. This experiment will certainly entertain little ones, and they'll express their amazement a fair few (hundred) times!  Before the experiment I like the idea of helping little person get into the habit of how experiments are written and carried out. Once he's a little older, he'll need to ensure he can clearly and happily write out experiments. At the beginning of a write up there is an introduction. An introduction will include an explanation and hypothesis followed by apparatus, method, results and conclusion. Even though I don&#

BANANAGRAMS I can't explain how much excitement I feel when I find a resource, game or book that enables me to incorporate schooling whilst using it. I was thinking about word games that I could buy, thing is, there are so many websites and apps, but I really wanted something that would mean zero screen time whilst playing it. Whilst browsing through  Waterstones  website, a game called 'Bananagrams' caught my eye. I don't think I'd ever heard of it before, but it looked like it offered what I needed (and was cheaper than a few other games I had in mind). What is this banana mania all about? 'BANANAGRAMS is a labour of love, grown out of a passion for wit, wordplay and silliness...'  And that is what the game is in a nutshell...but I'm happy with that, as a wordplay game is what I needed. The game consists of 144 letter tiles. If you've played scrabble, the tiles are very similar (no score numbers on the tiles though, but these a