Maths and Modelling

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I do love Mondays! 
As tradition dictates, we've had a lazy start to the morning with no expectation to leave the house... of course, if that was the case more than one day a week it would drive me slightly potty: I need to get out & enjoy the fresh air most days - but just one day a week of lazing indoors is kinda nice!
Today was a bit more work than I expected though, as I had to sort out issues with MathsWhizz.  Youngest now has his own account - he's only four (they say to start at age five), but he loved doing the test exercises on their site, so I thought I may as well sign him up and just see how far he gets at his own pace.  Well he loves it - not least because he gets to be like his big brothers.  Every morning he asks "can I do Maths today please?" You'd think it would be music to my ears, but I'm still getting over how weird it sounds!  Anyway, he loves it - so it didn't take us long to discover that is new account had been randonly deactivated (as had Middle's, though he wasn't as disappointed about it as his younger brother!)  So I've been phoning and emailing, and it's sorted again, to Youngest's relief!So other than MathsWhizz (eventually) Eldest and Middle have also been working on their lapbooks, and watching "Animals at Work" (recorded from CBBC), which they're really enjoying.
We wanted to do some arty stuff too, but I didn't have the energy for cleaning up afterwards, so painting was out - then I remembered something I'd pinned to my Pinterest board, from the Imagination Tree, inspired by Alberto Giacometti's sculptures.  We had a roll of kitchen foil handy, so had a quick look at Giacometti's work, and talked about how long and skinny they were - "like someone has been stretched to the size of a giant", said Youngest - and then we had a go.  We didn't have any modelling wire or wooden skewers to add stability, but it turned out fine, because we used plasticine to stick the models to the kitchen table, and then experimented with our figures until they stood up.  Some worked better than others, but it was a good 'hands-on' type lesson in proportions and balance etc.  So that was our day's highlights (we've also had housework to share and letters to write etc, but I'll spare you the details and leave you with our Giacometti-inspired artwork...

 

 

 Mummy's 'Handstand'

 

Eldest's 'Gorilla'

Middle's 'Ballet Frog'

 

Youngest's 'Cat'