Abi's Adventures

My home education journey

  • Gardening Day

    This morning we took a trip to the Llandysul Gardening Show. Each child was given a free Sarracenia (North American Pitcher Plant) from Farmyard Nurseries. I also choose a Chrysanthemum Carmine Blush plant as I loved the pretty pink flowers on the label.

    After lunch we planted my new plants into some pots.

    We read the labels and discussed how hardy each plant was. We then decided that the Sarracenia should live in the greenhouse.

  • Easter Crafting

    Today I did Easter crafting with Mummy. I made some cute sheep and designed and made my own Easter Bonnet with a birds nest on top.

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  • Learning about the seasons

    Today we printed out sheets for each season along with a selection of items that represent each season.

    Then we had a walk around the garden looking for all the signs of spring.

    Skills:

    • using scissors + glue
    • learning about seasons
    • comparing evergreen and deciduous trees
    • collecting and studying the different types of buds and emerging leaves.

  • Gardening Preparation

    Having agreed an area of the garden which I can claim as my own, the next step is customising my planters.

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  • Chinese New Year

    2025 is the year of the Snake.

    The National Waterfront Museum in Swansea hosted a festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

    Activities including:

    • dressing up in traditional Chinese dress
    • watching shows featuring dragons
    • listening to traditional Chinese music
    • arts & crafts involding painting pandas and drawing Chinese characters
    • comparing Chinese characters with our alphabet
    • sampling Chinese food + tea, using chopsticks
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  • Cookery Lessons

    The Plant Dewi group I attend has just run a cookery course that lasted several weeks.

    Pizza Express also regularly run lessons for home educated children.

  • Llanelli WWT Centre

    I am as tall as the Caribbean Flamingos they have there.

    We talked to the keepers at feeding time and learnt about the different grains given to the different birds.

    We discussed why these Black Necked Swans have a red bit over their beaks. We learnt later that these are called a caruncle and that only the adults have them. It’s believed to be a way of attracting a mate, identifying each other and it’s vibrancy reflects the birds health.

    We learnt that a male swan is called a cob and a female swan is called a pen.

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  • Folly Farm

    Today I went with my friend Maisie to Folly Farm for the day.

    We had lots of fun going on rides and playing in the outdoor playground areas. We like to pretend we are pirates.

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  • Handmade Birthday Cards

    I enjoyed using mummy’s crafting supplies to make cards for my friends and family.

    Skills Learnt:

    • using die cutting machines
    • creativity in overall design, choosing fonts and colours
    • creating backgrounds
    • cutting and glueing
    • writing practice
    • empathy, making unique cards for the individual

  • Maspalomas, Gran Canaria

    My family took a week’s holiday in Maspalomas Gran Canaria. We visited Aqualand water park, the sand dunes and Wooland Fun Park.

    Learning Opportunities:

    • learning about the security measures at airports, watching the bag x-ray machines and the full body scan machines.
    • being able to understand the universal signs displayed at airports that tell you where to go by using different symbols.
    • practicing some Spanish words, like shouting Vamos when I set off from the top of the water slides.
    • reading Spanish words like Salida for Exit
    • lots and lots of swimming, including some with my mermaid tail on.
    • walking on water, one of the entertainment activities was to see who could run across the top of the swimming pool on a floating mat. I was the youngest to complete it successfully.
    • learning things about Denmark from my new Danish friend who is going to be my penpal.
    • experiencing a desert, climbing up the dunes and racing back down.
    • watching a glass maker in action
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