Abi's Adventures

My home education journey

  • Inside Pen y Garreg Dam

    We started the new year with an adventure. We visited the Elan Valley and took a tour inside the Pen Y Garreg Dam.

    It was really just a long dark tunnel that was a bit wet. There were some windows to let light in but that was about all. In the middle of the long corridor there was a spiral staircase that we went up. When we reached the top we were actually in the middle of the reservoir.

    There were some information boards giving these facts and figures about the dam:

    • the dam is 36m high, 161m long, and 36m thick at the base!
    • the capacity of the reservoir is 6055 megalitres and the reservoir covers 50 hectares.
    • an average of 300 million litres of water a day can be extracted from the Elan Valley to supply Birmingham.

    The way the dam works is extremely basic, when we get enough rainfall, the water level in the reservoir rises and then it flows over the top of the dam. If the water company decide they need to lower the level of the dam, then they can use the pump house to pump water through a huge tunnel at the bottom of the dam.

    On the way home we stopped at Hafod Arc. It was built in 1810 to mark the Golden Jubilee of King George III and the road used to run through it. It was a bit cold and late in the day to walk the trails but we’ll probably return another time.

  • Garden bird identification

    I have been putting bird food out and seeing which species come to our feeders.

    I have been crossing off the birds I have seen in my garden bird book.

    I’ve seen and identified:

    • pied wagtail
    • blackbird
    • robin
    • song thrush
    • magpie
    • starling
    • blue tit
    • nuthatch
    • great spotted woodpecker
    • house sparrow

  • Recent Exercise

    • swimming with Maisie
    • cycle ride with daddy
    • playing on the dance mat I got for Christmas
    • ice skating with Betsan – we went on real ice at a temporary rink in Llanelli.
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  • Beaty & The Beast Panto

    I went to see another panto, this time with my friend Betsan.

    We saw Beauty & The Beast in the Mwldan Theatre in Cardigan.

    My favourite part was the song at the end where the main characters all sing and dance about what they would do if they weren’t in panto.

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  • Boiling Eggs in the Pressure Cooker

    Today I learnt how to make hard boiled eggs using our pressure cooker. I used the 5 – 5 – 5 method:

    First I put 1.5 cups of water in the pressure cooker

    • Next I inserted the trivet and put the eggs on it
    • I closed the lid and set the pressure cooker for 5 minutes.
    • Once the pressure cooker is up to temperature, there is a silver button that pops up. This means that the lid is now locked on and the counter begins.
    • After 5 minutes the timer went off and we left the eggs for another 5 minutes before pressing the button to release the pressure valve.
    • Finally we moved the boiled eggs into a bowl of cold water and left them for another 5 minutes.

    Mummy told me which buttons to press and I had to read them to make sure I pressed the right one each time.

  • Zootropolis 2

    Mummy and I went to the Vue Cinema in Carmarthen to see Zootroplis 2. It was a great movie about a fox and a rabbit that saved Zootropolis from the evil Lynx’s that had evicted all the reptiles.

    My favourite character was the snake, Gary De Snake.

    Things Learnt:

    • Slothes move very slow
    • Snakes can swim
    • Hippos can swim
    • Lynxs are a type of big cat
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  • Making Christmas Shortbread biscuits.

    My nanny and grandad have arrived for Christmas so I made them some shortbread. Mummy and I had a competition to see who could decorate the best biscuit. The judges (my aunty & uncle) both choose my Christmas tree as the best decorated biscuit (it’s the bottom right one).

    I used this recipe: https://abisadventures.blog/2025/12/01/baking-biscuits/

  • Helping at my Aunty’s Farm

    We visited my Aunty and I helped out with the animals on her farm.

    She has sheep, chickens, horses, dogs and owls.

    Three of her sheep need to be keep away from the rest of the flock as they need a special diet which I helped hand feed them.

    I also helped feed the chickens and I made a big fuss of Dave the border collie.

    I also helped get hay for the horses and checked for chicken eggs.

  • Powis Castle

    This evening mummy & I visited Powis Castle for the Christmas Light display.

    Christmas scenes are projected onto the castle walls.

    The inside of the castle had been throughly decorated in traditional Christmas style.

    One of the rooms had an actual tiger skin rug. I think it’s mean to kill animals to make a rug. This one still had its claws.

    The castle was built in the 13th century, that means it’s 800 years old.

  • Magic of Life Butterfly House

    Today I visited the Magic of Life Butterfly House near Aberystwyth.

    It was amazing, you are actually encouraged to hold the butterflies! There are lots of pots of nectar that you dip your finger in and then hold it in front of the butterfly and it will climb on to you.

    They also had a large incubator full of chrysalis at different stages of development.

    There were also lots of different caterpillars on various plants too.

    In another area they had other creatures including tarantulas, giant land snails, tropical fish and praying mantis.

    One of the members of staff showed us how the scorpion turns blue when you shine an ultraviolet light on it. When the light isn’t on it’s pure black.