My name is Alys. I’m nearly thirteen years old. I’ve been home educated since I was nine, but before I went to a Montessori school I was home educated.
Calling All (Reluctant) Bookworms
Em is a reader. A bookworm. She always has been, and always will be. Some people love to read, but some people don’t. Which are you? Maybe you are nagged by your parents and teachers for not reading enough. Perhaps reading is a chore, part of your homework assignment that you rush through, without enjoying because it has to be done. Would you like to learn to love reading? Em has some tips for you.
I really love reading. I mean, I really love reading. I learned to read when I was 4 years old, and I’ve never really stopped since. I used to amaze adults with my reading – I read classic Greek literature (translated, obviously) when I was 9 years old.
Tales From The Farm – Rosie’s New Lamb
Rosie wrote recently about her life on the farm, and said that there are times when she finds it difficult to live so far from friends. That is not the only challenge that life on a farm brings for children and teenagers.
Woolly Hugs
Sometimes sad things happen, and when that happens we need a hug.
Sometimes sad things happen to people we know, and we offer them a hug.
Sometimes sad things happen to people we don’t really know and we feel helpless. We want to offer comfort but don’t know how. We want to hug them, but they are too far away, or not really good enough friends so that we feel we can offer a hug.
CURIOUS CREATURES 2 – The Stag Beetle
The strangest creatures are, to me,
The ones I love the best.
The creepy, crawly and the odd
Are cooler than the rest…
These magnificent beasties are the armoured vehicles of the insect population and the largest terrestrial-dwelling beetles in the UK. Their common name is a reference – unsurprisingly – to their antler-shaped “mandibles” or jaws, which they use to fight over territory, but not, perhaps surprisingly, to win the respect of female Stag Beetles..!
These Curious Creatures have intrigued me ever since I found an expired female stag beetle (see below ) in a south-west France many years ago. I drew it next to a blackbird’s feather, captivated by the different tones of black, the textural contrasts and inky depths of colour. I found it – and still find them all as a species – fascinating and beautiful, particularly the males, with their extraordinary maroon-red mandibles.
