We’ve continued to do no structured learning this month. The girls have mostly entertained themselves whilst us parents have been working, planning, sorting out life admin and all the things you do when you take a “break”. The girls have spent far too long on their computers but they’re still alive and are now apparently multi-millionaires from running their own theme parks!
Planning
I’ve spent most of this month planning everything for 2024/25 which we start in August. There has been a huge number of things to get my head round so it’s far from been a month “off” for me but I do enjoy putting a plan together. I’m super excited about most of the subjects we’re doing (can anyone get excited about physics though?!) and have worked hard at coming up with ideas of how to bring our learning to life. I’m also very proud of our super organised and tidy home ed cupboard which is all set for the next two years.
As I did last year, I’ve summarised what subjects we’re doing in a Venn Diagram (like you do!) as this helps me bring everything together on one page.
There is quite a shift for us this year as we move to do most subjects over two years rather than one, and pretty much everything will lead towards a GCSE. We are taking a family gap year from July 2026 to July 2027 to go travelling worldwide full-time and we’re aiming to do no structured learning whilst we’re away. This will be Aggie’s year 11 and Peggy’s year 10. We’re therefore aiming for Aggie to complete all of her GCSEs before we leave so she’s got two years to do that; on our return she will start college in September 2027 to do A Levels. Peggy will complete most of her GCSEs before July 2026 but will have an additional year when we return – her year 11 – so will do some more then.
End of era
This month saw Aggie go to her final home ed forest school session which marks the end of a wonderful four years of fun and adventures in the forest for her. From September, she’ll be doing an anatomy course with Dreaming Spires on a Friday afternoon so she can’t be in two places at once! I’ll continue to go with Peggy though so it’s not goodbye for us two.
The forest school leader Polly put together a fantastic photobook showcasing the last four years in photos. We may have cried a little. This is such a wonderful keepsake which I know will be greatly cherished. You can have a peek at what’s included in the photobook on this post here – so many happy memories!
We have been so lucky to have this forest school in our lives. It was the first home ed group we ever went to back in September 2020 and it’s remained a core part of our week ever since. Other groups have come and gone and interests have changed as the girls became tweens, but this group has always been a constant.
The girls look a little bigger than they did four years ago!
Craft Projects
Peggy has been busy making her usual messes but creating some lovely things in the process. She’s crocheted a fantastic frog called Victor from a crochet pattern in a new book she bought. After sharing it on our social media accounts, she’s been commissioned to make another one for a friend’s birthday so she’s really chuffed about that.
Bizarrely, she’s also been making a giant mushroom hat out of papier mache. We’re not entirely sure what made her come up with that, but she’s been diligently working on it and really enjoying the process. Whether it’ll ever be properly finished or not….. we’ll have to wait and see!
Music
The girls both went to St Ives for a week with their youth brass band. They’ve had a fantastic week spending time performing at various concerts, doing lots of swimming and surfing in the sea and generally hanging out with friends. It’s been very strange having a week with no children at home, and I’ve definitely missed them, but I think it’s been the most productive week I’ve had since Aggie was born!
Sports
Aggie competed in an external gymnastics competition this month which involved lots of girls from many different clubs. She overcame a couple of challenges: her music randomly stopped part way through her floor routine and the vault was too close for comfort to the wall so she had to change her vault choice. In true Aggie style though, she just got on with it and was rewarded with 3rd place on vault and 6th place overall in her age category. Considering she only trains for 1.75 hours a week, this was a fantastic achievement and she was so proud of herself (just look at that smile!).
Volunteering
We’ve added a new activity into our regular commitments from this month. We’re going to help out twice a month at a community group for the older members of society to help combat isolation and loneliness. We went three times in July since we had more free time than usual and really enjoyed each week. We were put to work straight away with serving drinks and food, helping out with activities and washing up and tidying away. We’re getting to know the regulars now and the girls are enjoying listening to their stories and sharing our home ed adventures too; both sides are getting a lot out of it.
Day Trips and One-off activities
We enjoyed a visit to a horse rescue sanctuary to meet their rescue donkeys. I saw an advert on a local home ed Facebook group for a meet-and-greet in return for a donation to the centre so we jumped at the chance. We all love donkeys, especially Dom. We spent a lovely hour feeding, grooming and generally hanging out with them and finding out about their distinct personalities. We all ended up with a different favourite!
Trips Away
We spent a relaxing five days away in Prestatyn, Wales, at the start of the month. We stayed in a caravan owned by a home ed Mum who lets it out during the week for just £200; I saw her advertising in various home ed groups on Facebook (Jane’s Jolly Holidays). It was on the Haven site right by the beach and it was a brilliant home for a chill-out week; the weather was incredibly kind to us too. We went to a different place each day but also did lots of mooching, reading and watching Wimbledon; the perfect week really!
We enjoyed visiting Bodnant Garden which is a National Trust site with the most beautiful gardens. We enjoyed strolling round and the girls loved all the many dogs being walked that day. We also befriended a cat called Mozzie which is what this visit will now be remembered for!
We visited Conwy Castle which is a seriously impressive castle. You can walk round all of the high walls and go up and down the turrets. You can clearly see the full city walls from the top in which everyone would have lived and worked. It took just four years to build back in 1283; that makes it even more impressive!
So that was July!
We managed to fit a lot into July considering we were supposed to be having a quiet month! We’ve had a nice long break from academic work but we’re definitely ready to get back to our “normal”. We’re excited about starting new subjects and courses and seeing what adventures they lead us on to next. Bring on August!
