Looking at the inside - Elodie was incredulous and excited!

Separating the pumpkin seeds for use later

Dominique bagging up the pumpkin flesh

Bagging the pumpkin flesh

It's empty!

Our Jack O'Lantern - we carved a cross out of the other side

Pumpkin and seeds all bagged up ready for cooking / freezing

Making pumpkin muffins

Cleaning up while the muffins cook

Pumpkin muffins made by Elodie, Lucia and Dominique

Eating their pumpkin muffins :)

Various pumpkin soups and pumpkin muffins

Our Pumpkin Party table all set up

The Saints window display

This sort of project is always an inspiration. It was just as much for my benefit as for theirs and I am determined to remake the effort to read as many lives of the Saints as I can. Of all the aspects of my Faith this area is always there like a rock. These were real people, living real lives. I love it!

The photograph of St Therese of Lisieux, to whom our home-school is dedicated, was of huge interest to Elodie. Here was a real girl, about her age, with a similar temperament who tried so hard to be good. Lucia asked me to tell her story again and again. I often say to the children "do you think that is how St Therese would behave?" and now they understand what I mean!

Elodie did some work using her nun habit pack. She chose a habit and dressed her card nun and we then discussed the name of and reason for the order. She and Lucia then played 'nuns' for the rest of the day which was very sweet and, at times, very funny to watch.

Lucia's St Therese of Lisieux

Elodie's St Therese of Lisieux

Autumn window display

This is our second Autumn project and both times have been just as interesting. The conker hunt from our horse chestnut tree was a daily event and caused a lot of happy squealing. We did lots of autumnal worksheets (maths, words, letters, motor skills), lots of sorting (acorns, conkers, 'helicopters', etc), and lots of treks, leaf jumping and painting. We have a lovely Victoria Plum book about trees which we read and discussed. The girls chose their favourite trees and they did some fun squirrel activities. I also purchased a book called "The Listening Walk", which the children thoroughly enjoyed and remember on our daily walks.

Leaf mobile

We went on a nature walk and looked for natural living, natural non-living and man-made objects. We categorised them at home and made this collage.