What we did in 2017

Jan 2017: 01 – Tweaked our study and exams time-tables. T and L decided to study towards their first IGCSE paper this year so only about 6 or so months to cover the entire syllabus. Not sure this is feasible considering the need to study other subjects as well esp Maths and English whilst making time for several outings and holidays. Oh, and not forgetting that I have to factor in the time for work in order to finance the books, exams, outings and holidays. We went through the CIE Computer Science 2015 0478/01 specimen paper later in the day. 02 – Studied Art, Maths and Computer Science 03 – Discussed Pseudocodes and Flowcharts. Did more specimen papers and used the text and online resources to cover some topics on programming. Also did a NASA webinar “Don’t Count NASA Out of Your Math Classes: Mass vs Weight”. Contact Barbie Buckner, barbie.buckner@nasa.gov 05 – Mini break in Canary Wharf to study sky scrapers and lifts. 06 – Talk on ‘Gibbets and Gibbeting’ at the Museum of London plus a tour of all three floors. 09 – Set up Classroom Tracker on Code Academy to monitor individual progress on Python and other programming languages. Started the Python units on Code Academy. 10 – BFI Southbank for a full day workshop on Maths and the Movies. Afterwards, meal at Zizzi with friends and then at 7.30, a Limited Edition show (Smashed by Gandini – Juggling) at Peacocks Theatre, WC2A 2HT with fellow home edders. Brilliant day! 11 – A relaxing day indoors. Couple of hours on computer science. Did an hour of maths and discussed politics for a while. Later, Lyon moved on to spend time with his music, and Tiger did a stint on documentaries. 12 – Started ‘Spanish for Beginners 1’ with the fabulous Future Learn. W spent a long time repeating the following, taking turns… —¡Hola! —¡Hola! —Hola, Antonio. ¿Qué tal? —Hola, Marta, muy bien, ¿y tú? —Muy bien, muy bien… —Hola, buenos días. —Buenos días, señor González. —Hombre, Manolo, ¿cómo estás? —Hola, Lucía. Muy bien. ¿Y tú? In the evening, we had snow – a lot of it – so the kids went out to play. 13 – Watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2 and analysing costume design in readiness for the forthcoming Harry Potter studio visit and the ‘Costume Distressing’ workshop. 14 & 15 – Continuation of the Future Learn Spanish lessons: Did Meeting and Greeting

¡Hola! ¡Buenos días! (Hello! Good morning!)

¡Hola! ¡Buenos días! ¡Buenas tardes! (Good evening or Good afternoon!) ¡Hasta luego! (See you later!) Buenas noches.(Good night) ¡Chao! ¡Chaíto, pues! (Bye then!) …. —Buenos días, soy Tiger Debola. ¿Es usted la señora Debola? —Sí, soy Phoenix Debola. —Buenos días, señora Debola. 16 – All day at Warner Bros Studios for Harry Potter Tour and a KS3 workshop on Costumes Distressing.

17 – KS3 Maps workshop at the British Library 18 – HMRC Webinar on Capital Allowances and Motor Vehicles for Phoenix. Tigs and Ly did cookery and made another yummy chocolate cake. 19 – Full day of study at home – English (Fiction), Computer Science and Physics 20 – Full day of sudy – English (Fiction), Computer Science 21 – 31 jan 2017 – Home Study with a focus on Computer Science, Maths and English. Busy work week for me due to the self assessment tax submission deadline. 31 Jan 2017 – Kids studying WW2 using documentaries and the film, Goodnight, Mister Tom in preparation for the full day of workshop at BFI Southbank tomorrow. Incidentally, tomorrow is also Lyon’s birthday. FEBRUARY 2017 01 Feb – WWII workshop at BFI Southbank 02 Feb – Matthew Bourne’s Red Shoes at Woking Theatre 03 Feb – Boys decided to spend a lot of time with Geometry. It was a Maths Day with a bit of History thrown in. 04 Feb – Extended family day with Lyon to celebrate his 11th birthday. 05 Feb – Sunday but kids decided to have a bash at Areas of 2D shapes so we covered circles, sectors, triangles and irregular shapes. Later, we watched an episode of The Pyramid Code – It was recommended by a fellow Home Edder – Oh, I do love this community. 7.30pm Boys now doing English Comprehension/Literature so that they can have an extra hour on games tomorrow. 06 Feb – Rediscovered the amazing Interactive Maths book. 07 Feb – Hidden Figures Preview and Discussion at BFI Southbank. Feb 11 – Pirates of Penzance at The London Coliseum. Feb 13 – Indian Classical Music workshop at The Royal Albert Hall.

Feb 14 – Valentine’s Day! Boys made me cards and bought me flowers.

Feb 17 & 18 – Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre for ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Julius Ceasar’.

Feb 20 – Half Term Ends – Back to study and Work. HMRC Webinar on Expenses. Should be fun. Feb 22 – Visited The Horniman Museum. Feb 23 – Preparation for Romeo and Juliet Performance. Feb 24 – Romeo and Juliet at The National Theatre. MARCH 2017 01 Mar to 12 Mar – Educational trip to the Czech Republic, taking in a city – Prague – and the countryside – Ostruzna. Mar 13 – Visited the Orpington Public Library to set up new membership accounts, get new cards, obtain an home education privilege card for extended loans, and borrow 2 books by Alexandre Dumas – The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask. Mar 14 – Back to our studies incl a summary of our educational trip to the Czech Republic. Did Maths and History as well. Made payments towards an educational trip to see Les Miserables plus the backstage tour. Mar 16 – Science, Maths and then the rest of the day was spent analysing Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Mar 17 – Stage Show of The Taming of the Shrew at The Shakespeare’s Globe. Mar 20 – Studied the intricacies of centrifugal fans and mercury vapour lights – their decision as I know next to nothing about them. Mar 22 – Boys and I at Horniman Museum for the Robot Zoo. It was brilliant. Mar 23 – All-day Workshops and Exhibitions at the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. Mar 24 – Boys and I do the clients’ rounds. Mar 25 – Swimming Lesson at West Wickham Swimming pool. Mar 27 – Loads of science, mainly Biology, today. We focussed on hypotheses and tests. Boys also did a long stint on their music. Mar 28 – Siemens Crystal. Workshops and Tours plus zoo lab session. Mar 30 – Meditation and Yoga for tweens at Breeze Yoga, Beckenham. Mar 31 – Wallace Collection. Half day Landscape painting. APRIL 2017 April 3 – A day of fabulous nothingness in Bromley. Boys looked through all the gadget and electronic shops. We must have been at the ghastly Apple Store for an hour. Latee on, Tiger bought his first subway sandwich and Lyon bought his usual tub of gourmet jelly beans. When we finally returned home, they made me a cup of carrot and cucumber juice. What more could a mother ask for? April 4 – Tiger and Lyon started a course on Soils with Future Learn. It involved a lot of practical exercises but they seemed to enjoy the challenge. The course was for much older people. April 7 – Explored Bromley. Found Ripley Arts Centre. Beautiful gardens. Soul-less building. April 9 – Off to the Brighton Marathon and quick visits to the Royal Pavilion and Pier. April 19 – Officially started Yoga (for the young ones only). April 21 – Pinhole photography workshop (and a stint on the famous periodic table) at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. April 21 – Tillman’s exhibition at the Tate Modern, a date with The Orb at the Royal Festival Hall, and a little break at Cafe Nerro in the Oxo Tower. April 22 – Somerset House for the Sony World Photography Awards April 26 – Yoga at Breeze Yoga April 27 – School of Rock, New London Theatre, Drury Lane, London. MAY 2017 May 2 – Table Talk at SHSA, Woolwich Dockyard, London May 3 – Robots and Wonderlab at the Science Museum, London Then Yoga and Meditation at Breeze Yoga May 6 – Imperial College Festival Day, London. Best bit – Robotics. May 7 – Practical experience on property management, mortgages, business and rentals. May 8 – Royal Albert Dock for hands-on experience of property management May 9 – SHSA, Woolwich for Science, Table Talk and Politics May 10 – Victoria and Albert Museum for Investigating Patterns Workshop May 11 – Life skills practical half-day lesson – Kids took me clothes shopping and I watched them manage their time and money, using their bank cards and going without some items in order to get others. May 12 – Barbican/BBC Symphony Orchestra workshop and concert at the Barbican. “Sir Andrew Davis conducts Elgar’s evergreen Enigma Variations before the BBC SO is joined by the BBC Symphony Chorus and superb soloists for Bliss’s powerful cantata, The Beatitudes.” May 15 – Dungeness B Nulear Power Station May 16 – School of Arts, Woolwich Dockyard May 17 – Yoga and Meditation at The Breeze May 19 – Theatre Trip – Shaftesbury, London May 20 – Family Event at Royal Festival Hall, South Bank May 24 – Yoga Session May 26 – Shell’s Festival of Ideas, Stratford Olympic Park May 30 – Design Museum – Moscow Exhibition JUNE June 1 – Moved to London Docklands – New beginnings! June 3 – Pinhole Workshop June 7 – Yoga session for kids June 10 – UCL Archaeology Day June 11 – Concert at the O2 June 12 – London Zoo Workshop June 14 – Tower of London workshop June 23 – Workshop at Old Naval College, Cutty Sark June 27 – Science Museum Tune up, Tune in workshop JULY 2017 July 2 – London Museum of Water and Steam. One of our favourite places. Here to see a prebooked Alice in Wonderland promenade performance. July 4 – Beckton Library for After School Chess. Free sessions. July 6 – Group Trampoline session at Flip Out in East Ham. July 7 – BMX training session at Lee Valley Velo Park July 10 – Photography workshop at the V and A Museum PLUS Pink Floyd Exhibition. July 11 to July 19 – Construction and Design DIY workshops. July 20 – Boys start evening swimming lessons at Newham Leisure Centre. This is also the day we embark on new study timetables drawn up by both. July 21 – BMX training at the Velo Park. Then mountain biking sessions in the evening. Beach in-between. July 28 – Swimming at Newham Leisure Centre. July 30 – Gravesend Cyclopark for Mountain biking session. AUGUST Aug 3 – Swimming Lesson Aug 4 – British Museum for the Hokusai Exhibition. Aug 4 – Study sessiom at the Design Museum – focussing on ‘California: Designing Freedom’. Aug 5: O2 cinema, Greenwich for the film ‘Dunkirk’ to support WW2 study. Aug 7 – 11: Week-long London Youth Rowing at Royal Docks. Aug 15 – 25 Fossils, jet jewellery, coast explorations and race cars in Whitby. Aug 28 – Canal Educational Tour at the East London Waterways Festival. Aug 29 – Learning a new skill – Paddleboarding and waterboarding at Wakeup Docklands in East London. Sept 2 – Joined in the local park games of tennis and basketball. Sept 6 – Swimming lessons and future Wednesdays UFN Sept 7 – Chemistry workshop under the huge Painted Ceiling in the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Sept 8 – Bletchley Park family day Sept 13 – Learning about the use of Gym machines (call it PE) and swimming at Newham Leisure Centre. Sept 19 – Supercar spotting in London. The new passion of the boys. Did the whole if Knightsbridge and surrounding areas for what seemed like hours. Sept 20 – Les Miserables at Her Majesty’s theatre, Haymarket. Backstage tour and stage show. Brilliant seats too! Sept 21: Canary Wharf for a silent theatre, ‘Drawn In’. Sept 23: Turinglab at Imperial College – Coding class. First session. Sep 26: Science Museum to see Dream Big: Engineering Our World Sep 27: Swimming Lessons/Gym/PE Sep 28: New Scientist Live organsed by Learning begins in Wonder. Met some awesome astronauts like Helen Sharman, Tim Peake and Buzz Aldrin. Sept 30: Turinglab at Imperial College – Coding class. Second session. Science Museum. Knightsbridge for supercarspotting OCTOBER 2017 Oct 1: Called the V&A to book a school session for Opera: Passion, Power and Politics. Granted. Oct 2: Postal Museum. Workshop – Future of Mail. Organised by Helen H. Oct 3: Coding marathon – JavaScript and HTML. Then some fresh air and Nature Walk at Beckton District Park. Oct 4: Social group in Canning Town. Then, JavaScript and CSS and HTML. Oct 6: Cake show at the Excel Exhibition Centre and then ‘Queen’ Symphonic Rock concert at Royal Albert Hall. Oct 7: Architecture Club workshop at Sir John Soane’s Museum Oct 9: Javascript practice alongside normal lessons all day Oct 10: Open Evening at UTC Docklands Oct 11: Swimming lesson and Late evening swimming practice at Newham Leisure Centre Oct 12: Tate Modern for ‘Art of a Nation’ Exhibition and Hyundai Superflex Swings, then Knightsbridge for supercar spotting Oct 13: Javascript session all day Oct 14: Turinglab coding workshop – Imperial College Oct 18: HE social group at Terence Arc Oct 19: Salt workshops at Salters Hall, Moorgate. Oct 23: Tate Museum sessions Oct 24: Object Handling Session at King’s College Guy’s Campus, London Bridge. All about Teeth. Oct 25: Meeting old friends from France at The Crystal and O2. Science and engineering session at The Crystal. Oct 26: History session at Churchill War Rooms, Westminster. Oct 27: Musical session at O2 Arena. Gig with Nike Rodgers and Chaka Khan Oct 28: Supercar test driving session. Romford. Oct 30: Theatrical Make up Masterclass at Polka Dot Theatre with Artist Kate Oct 30: Glass blowing session at 62-66 Bermondsey Street, London Bridge. NOVEMBER 2017 Nov 2: Gene Jewellery Chemistry Workshop. Royal Institution, London. Later, Superflex at Tate Modern, London. Nov 4: Sir John Soane’s Museum for the boys’ Architecture Club. Nov 8: Greenwich Odeon for Into Film Show – ‘Playtime’ Nov 9: Victoria and Albert Museum Nov 11: Imperial College for JavaScript coding workshop. Nov 16: Colour Chemistry Lab session at Royal Institution, Mayfair, London Nov 18: Turing Lab coding workshop at Imperial College, London. Nov 21: Design Museum workshop and exhibition Nov 23: Phantom of the Opera Stage show, London. Nov 25: Turing Lab coding workshop at Imperial College London. Nov 28: Bruxelles for an auto history tour of Autoworld Museum. December 2017. 04 Dec: The Gorillaz Concert at the O2. Music Lesson and how to put up a performance, if you like. 08 Dec: Forest Lodge. Home Ed Social Group. Air Cadet recruitment evening. 09 Dec: Imperial College for Javascript coding. 11 Dec: Air Cadets first day for Tiger. 12 Dec: Full Day Introduction to Shakespeare Workshop at the BFI. Covered tragedies and comedies. 13 Dec: Team Swimming. Then Air Cadets RAF training late evening. 15 Dec: Air Cadets drilling, etc 18 Dec: Engineering at Siemens Crystal, Royal Docks. Nissan Innovation Station at the O2. Engineering/Motion at the Emirates Cable Car Terminal. History of the Docks – Cable Car broadcast. 19 Dec: Full Day Study – Core Sciences. Visit to the Crystal for Physics. 20 Dec: History workshop at the Museum of London. 24 Dec: Slava’s Snow Show. 27 Dec: Last study sessions this year!

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