Castles and Princesses

We recently joined the National Trust for Scotland. It's a bargain at only £5.50 a month! We get free parking and entry to all their properties. The kids of course have been wanting to take full advantage of this. So on any nice days lately we've been off to castles to explore and learn.

First we went to Fyvie castle. We went there on a day that Daddy was off work, though sadly Daddy wasn't feeling too good! We took a picnic in our handy dandy American style cooler, and as we arrived it started pouring with rain. We hid out in the car for about ten minutes and it passed, then the sun came out thankfully so we resumed picnicking.

The kids in front of Fyvie Castle.


Sadly this is the only real picture I have from Fyvie, because you're not allowed to photograph inside it. We had our own personal tour guide though and the kids loved seeing all the different rooms, all the guns and armour, and hearing stories (particularly about the Lairds racing their horses up the massive stone spiral staircase!). Cora's favourite was the bedrooms and the accompanying tales of princesses sleeping in the four poster beds.

When we got home that evening, Maia promptly went and built Fyvie castle out of duplo blocks. She keeps asking to go to more castles, she loved it!

That Saturday Cora was off to Edinburgh Zoo with Brownies, so we had planned a family day out. Unfortunately Aaron wasn't well enough to come with us, so it was just Calvin, Maia and I. We went to the cinema to see the £1 showing of Cars 2 which we all loved, followed by shopping at Costco. Before we left I looked up on my phone where the nearest NTS property was, as Costco is about an hour from our house so I thought maybe there would be somewhere nearby to go that we normally wouldn't drive to. Success! I found that we were only 15 minutes from Castle Fraser, where I had been once or twice before but never inside. It was a gorgeous sunny day so off we went.

Calvin and Maia at the side of Castle Fraser.


The view of the Castle you see when you walk down from the car park.


Inside the court yard.


We went to the shop to get our tickets and headed into the Castle. There was a wedding so part of it was closed off unfortunately. But we got to just wander around by ourselves. We went up one of the towers and it was up a series of very steep spiral staircases.

In front of an exhibit at the top room of the tower.


Another exhibit at the top of the tower.


Calvin was interested to learn that the children here were home schooled. Their teacher lived off the library in her own room and every day the 14 children that last lived here had to learn lots of subjects like Latin and Greek.

After the tour we headed back to the gardens and there was a Woodland Secrets Play Area. Much fun was had here! There are all sorts of fun things for the kids to do.

Climbing on rocks in the stone circle.






Then there was the big Wigwam, which the kids decided we could camp out in if only they would let us!

I spy with my little eye, two monkies!


Inside the wigwam.




Maia reading the map to tell us where to go next.



Inside a wooden hut.



Climbing and playing!





I was amazed that she managed to get up here by herself!



A cool tunnel provided much entertainment.






Calvin really wanted to know why this was here. He thought it was very cool but just wanted to know why it was in the middle of the play area!





Inside what will be a tree playhouse I think, all the trees have been planted to grow into a dome shape, but they're young so not much coverage yet.



The magical blue tree!





We never did figure out what exactly this was for!



And last but definitely not least, their favourite thing in the garden! 

I expect our membership is going to be money very well spent.

Pleasant Surprises

One of my absolute favourite things about home educating is when my children's knowledge surprises me. What I especially mean is those times when I realise they know something that I didn't teach them consciously. I notice this most with Maia since she's the youngest, but with the other two as well. Sometimes I just wonder how on earth they know it! It's only recently that they're starting to read, so it's not from books, and we don't have TV either, so who taught them these things?

Before I home educated, I really had no idea how much children absorb when they learn naturally. It should be obvious when you think about how much they learn before school age, but it's not something I paid a lot of attention to before. Sometimes they teach me new things!

Maia and I did word puzzles the other day.

She knew almost every letter. I couldn't quite believe it at first! She's not quite three yet and the others weren't recognising letters at this age. The thing is I know in the end this all balances out - her being an early reader may be a possibility, and although that's fab, it doesn't mean she's better or smarter than Cora who is just now grasping reading at 8 years old. All children learn in their own time, and the amazing thing to me is just how much daily life really does teach them. The more time goes on the more I believe in unschooling, not following a set curriculum, letting them follow their interests and learn as they go about life. 

I've often wondered if Cora and Calvin would secretly like to go to school. I know they do feel they miss out in the sense of not seeing their friends every day. On April Fool's Day I told them they were going back to school. I thought they would laugh and know I was joking, but they both instantly burst into tears! I felt terrible, but on the bright side, my husband remarked that at least now we know for sure how they truly feel about it. And as for me?

I love watching my children learn. :)

Instagram

I realise I have been quiet lately, I don't even know when I last posted. I've been playing with Instagram lately, here's a couple of my favourites. :-)

Gorgeous Weather

We've been so lucky lately, here in NE Scotland at least. The weather has been gorgeous, lots of sun, relative warmth, and lots of playing outside!





We're lucky enough to have a brand new park here. Unlike many parks, it has something for all ages. All of the kids really enjoy it there.





I'm not entirely sure about the flooring choice though... we had wood chip at the park outside our last house, and pretty quickly with the elements of wind and children, it was everywhere! In gardens, on the street, basically everywhere but the park. It ended up having to be replaced. As this park is in a fairly windy spot I just don't think it's a great idea, but at least it's not going to end up in my garden this time. :)




Maia loves to climb, she has no fear at all! She will just drop down from her perch here on this rope ladder, and drop to the ground. She also climbs up to the big slide, which is no mean feat for a 2 year old.




Here they are, ready to go to the park! All on their bikes. Cora and Calvin keep asking if Daddy and I can get bikes. We'd both like to, but the problem is Maia - we're not sure what we would do with her as she's not old enough to keep up with us on a bike. Will have to think more about that dilemma!





Here they are at the top of the big slide, waving down at me! Why do kids always love being taller than us? :)





My sweet 'baby' enjoying a rocking toy. I just love this little blonde haired blue eyed girl!

Deer Abbey

This is a favourite place for my kids. They can climb and explore. This visit is the first time they've been interested really in what all the rooms of the Abbey were for. Unfortunately our visit was cut short by the biting wind but I know we will be back here later in the year, it's the perfect picnic spot.

My Little Tomboy

She got this outfit that used to belong to her big brother. She absolutely loves it! It's odd to me, having a tomboy, because Cora has always been so girly. At barely turned one year old we got a bag of clothes given to us for her, I still remember her joy at all the pretty dresses inside. She started stripping off to try everything on. Maia dotes on her big brother though. They both love her but Calvin is the one who looks out for her. I love watching the various relationships between them all.

Satrosphere

A few weeks ago we had a home ed meet at the local science centre, Satrosphere. It's small, but fun, the kids certainly enjoyed themselves and we spent a good few hours there.

Here's a few pictures:

Calvin and a friend enjoying the shadow screen. You press a button and strike a pose, a bright flash captures your shadow on the screen for 10-15 seconds. This provided much entertainment!

My friend's little girl cuddling up in the soft play area. She made herself a bed!

Cora playing with the recycling plant emulator. You have to put in the right things to balance the emissions.

Cora blowing huge bubbles inside the tube to the right.

More of the recycling - sorry for the order of photos, I swear I uploaded them in order but Blogger's mobile app has a weird way of arranging things!

Cora helping her little friend blow bubbles.

Maia watching a video about life in the future.

Cora and her friend watching the videos of the future.

There are lots more things I didn't get pictures of. A firm favourite was the skeleton bike - you ride it and the skeleton's movements shadow your own! For anyone local, Satrosphere has a home educator's rate, you just need to say you HE and adults get in free with their children.