Castle View Academy

Free Home Education Resources in the UK

Over the past 5 years that we've been homeschooling we've come across a variety of great resources. The internet is an amazing place to find information! As I've been organising my notebooks and consolidating my notes and bookmarks I thought I'd share these free home education resources with you to have in one handy place. As we find more sites we love we'll add to this list. If you have any great resources that you'd like to share, we'd love to hear about them. Leave a comment below and ... read more

Teru Teru Bozu: a Japanese Good Weather Doll

Teru Teru Bozu Japanese Doll Craft For Sunny Weather

June in Japan is known as the rainy season, and I can attest first-hand that it is true. The rain in June was incessant and it honestly seemed to rain 24 hours a day, which when mixed with warm to hot temperatures day and night, led to such high humidity that it was a difficult month for me...the warning of a possible typhoon approaching should have been bad; but for me the increased winds meant a reprieve of the heat. But one can't control the weather...or can they...? With a Teru teru bōzu ... read more

Winnie’s Picks Paint By Number Is As Easy As 1-2-3

What can you do when you have extra time on your hands, or to relieve stress? I've been working on a Winnie's Picks Paint By Number over the past few months when I need to take a little time out and put the rest of life on hold temporarily. Choosing a Kit Thank you to Winnie's Picks for sending me a paint by number kit to try out and review in exchange for my honest review. It's really been a fun project to do. Let me state that I have run into some roadblocks and disasters ... read more

How Do I Know My kids Are Learning?

I was my children's first teacher from the moment they were born, even though I didn't feel like it when Tristan was in the NICU after his premature birth and others were essential for keeping him alive. However, ever since the moment he came home, Phil and I have been involved in his home education, but when speaking with others over the years, the question has come up about how do I know my kids are learning? I've watched my children grow and learn on their own from 11 weeks and 4 ... read more

Modern Japanese Short Stories

I began to read Modern Japanese Short Stories a wee while ago, but as life tends to do, I became busy and the holidays came and went, but now I am beginning to get things better organised and am finding a little time once again to set aside for my own personal reading - yay! I've really missed reading for pleasure, and I'm slowly but surely working my way through my stack of books in my bedside shelves. I'm sure I've already read more this year than the previous year (or more). That makes me a ... read more

Keyboarding Without Tears For K-5

Keyboarding without tears Review by Castle View Academy homeschool

Typing isn't just a skill needed for the secretary pool anymore, it's an essential everyday skill in today's computer-saturated world. Some of us may have taken a typing class in high school as an elective course because it might come in handy someday, and those of us who didn't that use the hunt and peck method of typing. Obviously, touch-typing is the more efficient way to type and the sooner one learns it, the faster it can be applied and other tasks will become quicker as well. Today we're ... read more