Abi's Adventures

My home education journey

  • Talyllyn Steam Railway & the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum

    During our camping weekend in Tywyn, we visited the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Tywyn Wharf station. I love all things to do with steam trains, so I enjoyed looking at all the displays and playing with the wooden railway in the play area.

    We also took a trip on the steam engine, I love steam trains and the driver invited me onto the engine and the guard let me wave the green flag.

    I learnt that railways have three different coloured flags and they all mean something different. The guard waves the appropriate flag to send information to the driver.

    • green flag = it is safe for the train to move
    • red flag = the train must stop
    • yellow flag = the train should proceed with caution

    The guard waves the green flag to tell the driver that the train is ready to leave the station.

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  • Dyfi Osprey Project

    Today I visited the Dyfi Osprey Project.

    Things Learnt:

    • Ospreys live near water as they have to catch fish everyday as it is the only thing they eat.
    • Bird ringing, there were different bird rings samples on display. The attendant explained:
      • Ospreys rings have white letters on a blue background
      • Birds ringed in Scotland have the ring put on the left leg
      • Birds ringed in England and Wales have the ring put on the right leg
      • Each bird has a unique code of numbers or letters and these are recorded on a database. I learnt that a database is computer software that stores lots of information.
    • We watched the Ospreys live on the webcams and through the telescopes. The male had caught a fish and was eating it on the post, while the female sat incubating their three eggs in the nest.
    • Ospreys are really big, their wing span is taller than me.
    • I am a bit bigger than a sparrowhawks wingspan.

  • My first drama show

    I was in the Doyles Drama Academy Show, I had four different lines to say on my own, and two songs and a poem to sing and recite with the rest of my group. There was also lots of dancing. I loved dressing up and being on the stage.

  • Telling the time

    I am learning to tell the time:

    • it’s something o’clock when the big hand is at the 12
    • it’s quarter past something when the big hand is at the 3
    • it’s half past something when the big hand is at the 6
    • on a digital clock the first number is the hours, then there is are two dots, called a colon, then it shows the minutes
    • there are 60 seconds in a minute
    • there are 60 minutes in an hour
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  • Pottery

    This week at Plant Dewi group we had a potter come to give us a lesson.

    I made a carrot, a fairy, a butterfly and a bowl. I decorated them with leaves, sticks and flowers.

  • Exploring Brecon

    We spent the day exploring Brecon and had a great time in the Y Gaer Museum and Art Gallery.

    Learning Opportunities:

    • taxidermy, I learnt what this is and we identified lots of british birds that they had in their display including:
      • kestrel
      • raven
      • goldfinch
      • great spotted woodpecker
    • there is an Assize Court inside the museum and I learnt about what they do and where all the different people sit.
      • judge
      • magistrate
      • defendant
      • prosecution
      • barrister
      • jury
      • accused
      • public gallery

    After wandering around the shops and having some lunch we had a walk in the park and along the river. I also got to feed some tame ducks that came over to our campervan. I already knew these were Mallard and which one was the male (drake) and which one was the female (hen).

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  • Mastering the monkey bars

    I did it, I finally did it. I can now do monkey bars and I’m so pleased with myself.

  • Wellington Country Park

    Whilst visiting our family in Hampshire, we spent one night camping at the Wellington Country Park.

    Anyone staying on the campsite is allowed entry to the country park after the park has closed. This meant I had the adventure playgrounds all to myself, so I could burn off lots of energy.

    We also walked around the lake, explored the enchanted forest and the dinosaur trail.

    We spent the next day at the park and I had great fun:

    • on the jumping pillows
    • in the splash park
    • in the sandy play area
    • riding the miniature railway
    • playing in the playgrounds

    We timed our visit really well as there was lots of baby geese around, these are called goslings.

    We bought some food from the centre and I was able to hand feed a family of Egyptian Geese and a family of Greylag Geese. I also found a really cool big black beetle. When we got home we researched the beetle and learnt that it is a Typhaeus typhoeus (minotaur beetle), a member of the dung beetle family. It is named after Typhon, a giant of Greek mythology.

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  • Visiting Family in Hampshire

    This weekend we had our first night sleeping in Rockstar, our campervan.

    We drove to Hampshire on Friday and had a family meal for my grandad’s birthday.

    On Saturday we visited one of my mummys school friends and then had a BBQ at my uncles house with all my cousins.

    On Sunday we went 10 pin bowling with a different uncle and his family.

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  • Allotment Adventures

    This week the Plant Dewi group I go to had an outing to an allotment. We did some weeding, planted some seeds and even made a tasty vegetable soup over an open fire.

    I’ve also been helping Daddy with garden maintenance recently. I’ve been helping bring up logs for our wood burner and I’ve had a lesson on the ride on mower. We talked about all the risks and dangers and Daddy showed me what all the buttons and controls do.

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