Below are my blogs from 2011 when I was 8 and started this website and blogging. You can read my current blog on my “Home” page.

Hello! Welcome to my blog. My blog is about what recent projects I’m working on, and recent places I’ve been to that have inspired me. I hope to inspire you too! I’d love to receive your comments about my work, & if you have found my ideas useful and have tried them yourself! keep on visiting as I will add to it every month, or in between, with events, news and activities!

 

November – Bubbles

Thought you had just grown out of bubbles? well they have just got better! and BIGGER!

Our friend Sandra showed us how to make these amazing bubbles!

They can be big, and long as cars!

 

Here is a link to some fab photos of giant bubbles! click here and there are great films of giant bubbles on youtube!

 
If you would like the bubble mixture for these bubbles, please contact me through the contact page.

 

November - Agnieszka Holland

I have recently found out about a famous film maker Agnieszka Holland, She has directed films including EuropaEuropa, The Secret Garden, Copying Bheethoven, Oliver Oliver, Shot in the heart, the third miracle, To kill a priest, and Perfect crime, In Darkness (When In Darkness is released soon, I am going to watch it).

I have watched three of her films:Copying Beethoven, EuropaEuropa & The Secret Garden. The secret garden is wonderful. It is very different to the other film that I have seen of 'The Secret Garden', It is fast moving, cleverly shot, and it was fun watching people's characters change during the film. The characters were so believable it was well acted. The only characters that didn't change are Martha, and Dicken, they started off strong and kind and remained that way. All the characters all have difficulties at the start and just like the garden grows, their goodness grows, and kindness, they overcome what they thought where their limitations, by the end of the film. The lighting was beautiful, the shots were composed like paintings. The soundtrack captured my emotion and drew me in.It is universal, and I recommend it to all children 7+ even some teenagers will enjoy it, it is good family film.

EuropaEuropa is about 13 year old Solly, who is Jewish he  lives with his sister & brother. One day his house is attacked, and he escapes naked. after his friend finding him a Nazi uniform to wear, he goes back home, to find his sister lying on the table dead with a blood covered face. His father and Mother send him and his brother away, but soon they loose each other, and Solly, is taken to an orphanage. Nazis invade the orphange and some children escape including Solly.                                                                                                                                                   Traveling alone he gets tired, and soon he is tired, on a dusty road against a tree he falls asleep, to be woken up by the head Nazis of the labour camp, he hides his papers, and says he is pure bred German not a Jew.                                                                                           As he speaks Russian as well as German, they decide to keep him ,and the few head soldiers who found him get fond of him, and make him a soldiers of the German against Jewish people army.  They teach him how to shoot, and set fire to Jewish people's houses, and show him a dead Jewish girl hang by a piece of rope on the side of the house.               Frightened and bewildered Solly keeps up his fake identity still, against all the shooting and killing he has to do, as well as falling in love with a lady about his age, Solly can't keep up his pretend identity for long, and one day they will find out he is Jewish, will he ever be able to escape, and ever be with the one he loves? This film made me think a lot.

I rate both films 5/5. They are both fast moving, and VERY cleverly shot, good story, and Interesting they are my favorite films of their category, and Agnieszka Holland is my favorite film director.

November -  Britain In a Day

As well as onedayonearth there was also 'Britaininaday' on Saturday, which I also took part in I will be editing footage to put on YouTube, we filmed us walking to the woods in the fields near our house. (I like to walk to the woods by myself a lot, nearly 3 times a week or more, depending on what we are doing).

Late November - Chess

Did you know I love chess, and I am really good at it?

Here are some great chess apps I found for free, you can use them on ipads, iPod touch, and iphones.                                                                                                                                         Click here to look at chess.com or download it, they are great, one is called Chess with friends, and the other is Chess.com they are really good I rate Chess,com 5/5, and Chess with friends 4/5, as chess with friends the free version comes up with adverts and it is really a game, for do one chess move, next day you do another, choose how many moves a day to do each 1-8 moves, but I am the sort of person who likes to start the game and finish it, but it is quite good for if you go to school.

I highly recommend Chess.com, and if you don't have a iPod touch, iPad, or iPhone, on PC computers you have a free chess board game against the computer, it is called Flash Chess 3.

Click here to have a look. On mac computers already downloaded to your mac is a chess app, just search in finder 'chess' then drag & drop it to the bottom where all your other applications are.

November - 11.11.11

November - The Twisting Ducks

I have just come across this great theatre  company

Click here to go their YouTube channel and view their videos.                                                  Click here to view their website.

The Twisting Ducks theatre company uses their talents in drama, acting, singing, to teach us about issues that are important for us to know. The  company raises awareness about people with learning disabilities, and the rights they have and the challenges they face. All the actors have learning disabilities and all act together. I thought their films were lively with great sound.

Early November - National Dance Company of Wales

The National Dance Company of Wales came to our local theatre, and when they were rehearsing for their show in the evening, they invited sketchers, photographers, and film makers to come to the rehearsal and film, sketch, and take photos.                                                                  I went, and filmed it, (as well as taking photos, you weren't allowed flash incase you distracted them) and I am going to make a short film out of the footage and put it on YouTube, it will be on YouTube soon!

 

 

 

I also went to the evening performance and I thought it was clever how through dance they told the story just as well as a play, as if they were speaking.

Click here to go to their website.

2nd of November 2011 - Christmas Pudding

This time of year is perfect for making your Christmas Pudding, here is our recipe,we are writing a family cookbook of our recipes.

The most important thing about making your Christmas pudding is stirring in your wishes,everyone who comes to your home that day gets a chance to stir their wishes into the pudding. We stir wishes for ourselves,our family and friends and the world. Here is a photo of me with my sisters stirring in our wishes. Don't worry about the ingredients,you can put in whatever fruit and nuts you like,or whatever you have in the cupboard.

Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

4 oz flour
8 oz vegetarian suet
Half teaspoon of baking powder
1tsp of nutmeg
1tsp of cinnamon
12 oz raisins or sultanas
6 oz chopped figs
6 oz of cherries or Logan berries
2 oz flaked almonds
Grated rind of 2 lemons + juice
Grated rind of 2 oranges + juice
4 tablespoons of malt syrup
4 eggs whisked
1 grated apple
1 grated carrot 

1. Mix all the ingredients together & add enough brandy, guiness, or milk,
(or all three) to moisten the whole mixture.
2. Put into well buttered basins, cover with grease proof, then foil, use elastic band to secure.
3. Steam for 9 hours. This can keep for years, and the longer it stays & grows with age,
the more delicious it becomes.On Christmas day, it will be opened and 'skewered'& more brandy poured into
holes, & then stream for 4 hours.
4. When serving, warm some brandy and pour this over the pudding, place a bit of holly on top.
Light the pudding and serve with custard, yoghurt, or ice cream.

It is SO worth it! it tastes LOVELY, It is my favorite desert.
And if you're lucky you may find a silver coin or a lucky charm in your slice of pudding.
Get cooking!
Agnieszka x

31st of October 2011 - Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Later October -More YouTube videos!

I have made a new YouTube channel click here to go to it and please subscribe, you will then receive an email every time I get a new uploaded video on there.

Anna Jones (a AGNIESZKAPRODUCTIONS member) told me about this great app: Ladida! You can view her songs she made up using this app on YouTube here:

Bri and Yuu love song

Now the rain has gone

So I had a go at singing in this app, you can choose your accompaniment,  e.g. guitar, rap, piano...

click here to go view it:

There is a light

Follow what you love

here are some songs I sung about my guinea-pigs!

Guinea-pig band

Guinea-winnie-pig's singing

More Guinea-Winnie-Pig band

If you like my songs, please leave a comment on YouTube.

Early October - The Weavers and wool Guilds of Wales

I visited our local art gallery called the 'Minerva' It had an ehibition on and here are some photos of the work many people knitted, sewed, painted, crocheted, etc.

 

 

People all work on one piece of artwork together, as a group, then have it displayed in the exhibition, this exhibition is called 'Guild'.

Here in this photo you can see everyone's piece of work they all helped each other make together.

 

Isn't this fox sweet? It must of taken a while to knit him!

He has a lovely blob of white fur on the end of his tail, and I like his little black feet.

This is the first page of a book in the Exhibition.                              What a great way to start a book, by showing your sketches of your illustrations for the book, before you added colours, or more objects.

I think the shading is very nice.

Later September - Poem & Picture

If you would like to subscribe to the 'poem & picture' monthly email, please contact me through the contact me page, you can always unsubscribe.

Late September - Troy .A. Davies

Yesterday, Troy .A. Davies was executed, many believe he was innocent and was wrongly accused of being the person to kill a policeman. He has been on death row for 20 years. Amnesty international, asked people to write to him, suggesting a message of kindness.

I wrote a card to Troy almost a year ago, saying my thoughts are with him, and I think what they are doing is wrong and horrible. I wrote to him last year when I was 8.
He wrote back on Wednessday 15th of December 2010, saying:
Dear Agnieszka,
Thank you for your lovely card and letter, your support is very meaning full to me, may god bless you and your family!
Merry Christmas, and happy New Year!
From Troy.A. Davies
Now hearing this, I feel emotional, and think cruel executions like this should be completely stopped.

Please click on this link: leave a comment about the case, find more about his execution, why he was wrongly executed, about amnesty international...

September 2011 - Trampolining

Has anyone got a trampoline? Its great fun, especially if you take photos of you mid air! I've done exactly that!                                      I can do flips, cartwheels, handstands, and lots of different jumps.   In this photo I am doing a flip.

This one is amazing! I'm mid air, my hair bands coming out of my hair, and things coming out of my pockets!

To see more, go to my 'photography' page!

 

August 2011 - My cello

As you might know, I play the cello. I have been playing for two years, and have taken my grade 1. I passed with a merit. I play the piano too. I have taught myself the piano for a year, with a few odd lessons with a pianist and my sister. I think the piano is a great instrument, for you can sing to it, and it's good to start of a song! I make up songs, and then find the right tune on the piano.  I love the cello because of it's deep sound, and it is a beautiful instrument to play. This picture is of me and my big sister, we are enjoying making music outside, on a warm August evening. We love improvising with each other: her on the violin, me on the cello, and sometimes mum on the concertina or guitar.

CHALLENGE FOR YOU! I challenge you to write a song, if you have a piano or any other instrument, then you could make a tune to go with it. Please write down the song, and email it to me through the contact page. I will then display it here on my blog! if you wanted you can write why you wrote this song, I will write about your song on my blog, and I will write what I like about it, what's inspiring, what it made me think of, and about what special talent you have in song writing! don't be shy, and write it down, I will write as much as I can about them. Remember, this for fun, so enjoy it! Be inspirational! Enjoy, can't wait to read them, and write about them! and to be more excellent, you could even record you playing it on the piano, with your song and upload it to youtube! please tell me if you do.Agnieszka x

August 2011 - Arts Award Discover

This Summer, I did my Arts Award Discover, (watch our film below)

Film we made showing what we did for our Arts Award Discover

And with a few other children, I had a fun time drawing, and doing things to do with art, Thank you so much to my brilliant teacher Anita! We all were listened to, had our ideas shared, had fun, and took part in editing the films, activities, games, and loads more! Go to this website for more about Arts Award at oakwellbarns: artsawardwales if you are between 10-25 then you can join in the fun, even if you don't live in wales! You can do it by doing the 'eportfolio' distance learning course!

August 2011 - Harvest

Our garden has come so alive! our three vegetable plots in the garden are full of; potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, pumpkins, chives, thyme, parsley,beans and lots more!

last evening it was quite warm, and I sat outside about 7:45 pm and dug up some potatoes with my hands, it's like finding treasure!

Why not plant something to eat, and then watch it grow, then eat it! If you have done so, then leave a comment on my blog (scroll to the bottom to find it), tell me what you grew, or what environment it was in, how long did it take to grow? a year, a few months? I love hearing from you, so please keep blogging!

 

July 27th 2011 - Hula Hooping!

Hula Hooping Round the World!

had a lot of fun editing this medley together using imovie special effects of me hula hooping! You can leave a comment on youtube, and like it! Tip - The best hoops are the weighted ones, you can make these yourself from old pipe. Here is a link showing you how to make your own: Make your own hoop Or you can buy these from a circus. Ones you normally get from toy shops are too light to do much with.

This is what I have been doing all summer, circus & mainly hooping, I've also been going to the Youth circus at nofitstate circus in Cardiff, learning trapeze & juggling & tumbling. I love hula hooping, and can do hundreds of tricks! I've made up many routines, and performed in a circus show.

To see some pictures of me, doing stilts, tightwire, and hooping in a circus show go to: PanicCircus show 2011

June 2011- Magnificent Mums/result for 500 words story competition!

Great news! a while ago, In secret with dad, I entered a competition from a magazine called 'scribbler!' (you can view magazine or subscribe on the scribbler website, go to my contact page to find the link to the website).                                                                                 The competition was, to write a short poem about somebody you love, and I wrote a poem about my mum, the prize was, to win a bouquet of flowers to give to your mum, on mothers day.                                                                                                                                       However, I bet I didn't read full details of the competition, because I sent off my poem, and a few weeks ago, I received a letter saying ruffly: 'Dear Parent/Guardian of Agnieszka, and Agnieszka. Agnieszka's poem: The Best Mum Ever, has won the magnificent mums competition! congratulations! your poem is going to be published in a poem anthology! and will be published in August. It will be available in shops, and libraries in the UK an republic of Ireland. Please fill in this forum for copyright permission... My I close this letter by again saying congratulations!'

So! my first ever bit in a book published, by me!                                                                         You may also be wondering the results for the 500 word story competition, well I didn't get through to next round. But If you'd like to review my one page short story by email, please contact me through contact page, and post a review/comment on my blog if you want.

PS. Hurry! my competition on my writing page closing date ends soon!

May 1 2011 - Spring Faeries

We've been making spring faeries.

 

Magdalena and I collected lots of moss and ferns, feathers and leaves, then got some tissue paper, and wool.

We used dolly pegs for their bodies. We made glue out of mixing a little water with some flour & used cotton thread to tie bits on and to hang them up with.

We stuck wool for hair on their heads and used the moss & ferns & other bits we had collected for decorate them with,making dresses & crowns. Then we hung them from a  branch that we put in a vase inside.

 

April 21 2011 - Make Easter Chicks and Nest!

It's almost Easter! so now is the time to get creative with nature!  why not make Easter chicks, and a  nest for them? Here is how to:

 

 

Making The Nest

1. Get a small bowl

2. Get some sticky mud & little sticks, make a  nest shape in the bowl.

3. Now get some moss, and push it inside and all over.

4. Leave to dry then take out of the bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

Making The Chicks

1. You need some wool, white or yellow is best click here to go to a good website selling wool.

2. Cut a little felt/or bit of old cloth yellow/black for the beak click here to see a good website selling felt.

3. Make 2 pompoms,1 smaller than the other(for the head) by wrapping the white & yellow wool round 2 cardboard circles with holes cut in the middle, keep going until there is no hole left in the middle,then tie up with cotton thread between the 2 cardboard circles.Then cut the wool around the outside if the circle & cut the cardboard away. Sew the pompoms together to make the body & the head.

4. Sews the beak onto the wool, and sew on two little black eyes out of black beads.

5. Add the chick's into the nest, now your done! Enjoy.

 

April 6th 2011- Chris Evan's 500 word short story competition

In February, I entered Chris Evan's 500 word short story competition. The story I wrote is called 'lost in the story'. In June, after the competition, I will post my story up on my writing page.

I have just heard that it has been been chosen to go through to the second round! It is one of 900 that have been selected from 30,000 entries!

Now 50 will be chosen from the 900

The next 50 chosen all get tickets to the Hay Festival where the winners will be announced and broadcast live on radio 2 from the festival.

The final 50 are then judged by 5 famous children's authors to choose the 5 they like the best, and if they select you as one of the five, they read your story out on the radio!

My story is only one page long, and now however, I'm turning it into a novel with chapters, not for the competition of course, but for myself.

March 28th 2011-Film street

I have found a really good website, called film street, it's a website about animation, with animation tips, tricks, and ideas. And you can make and download your own animations.  Here's the links to 2 animations that I have made:

The Spade Dance

The Magic Dance

Click here to view the website & make your own!

March 23 2011- Nature's Calendar

I have found a really good website called Nature's Calendar click here to go to the website. The website is where you can record your sightings of nature in the Spring and in the Winter.People have been recording first sightings for 400 years, so we can compare sightings from year to year. This is a way to see how climate change affects wildlife and if the species are expanding or contracting. It is really fun and you can use it wherever you live, in the city or the country. It's for adults too! It costs nothing and takes a minute  to register, and you get sent a welcome pack too which has photos of wildlife to spot and identify.

I have made a nature project book and have cut out activity sheets and experiments and fact sheets and stuck them in adding my own notes. I have a subject headings like 'cloud gallery' or 'mushroom gallery' and I then collect information through writing and sketches and photographs about the subject.

I love sketching from photographs & life as I draw I learn about what I am drawing, where it is strong, delicate, how it moves, its many colours, shapes...

Today it was lovely weather! so I went outside and wrote my sightings down, today I saw  the first 'catkins' and yesterday I spotted the first butterfly in our garden it was a small tortoiseshell. The frogspawn has grown into tadpoles too, little squiggly black lines. I went onto the website and recorded them onto my chart. I selected the date, month and year (on my website calendar) and recorded it. Our first bees are out too, spot one at the bottom of the butterfly photo.

March 11 2011 -Competition For You To Enter

On the Writing page is my latest competition, it is a quiz and you can win a fab prize!  good luck! I am organizing competitions now, When a closing date finishes a new competition starts.

February 24 2011 - Winning Film Competition

This January, I entered my first film competition,
Go to my film page to view the film and you can read the article that was written about it below:

January 2011 - My little sister Video Wins Prize

Home Education Video made by 8 year old wins first prize in National competition.

This video is a positive & inspiring glimpse into the way home educated siblings can teach & learn from each other, seen through the eyes of an 8 year old.
One of the siblings, 'Magdalena' (5) has Down's syndrome and this video illustrates how the sisters learn equally from each other`s different qualities and abilities whilst having a lot of fun in the process.

A common worry that parents have when considering home education with a child with additional needs, is how to home educate all of their children with such a wide range of needs, and will the extra time that the child with additional needs requires have an adverse affect on the others. This video shows the opposite happening in practice. The older sibling has learnt clear articulate speech, patience, makaton, thoughtfulness, independence, responsibility, awareness of other people`s differences and the ability to accommodate these to be in relationship. The younger sibling is stimulated and motivated to learn by her sister's exuberance, joy and desire for her sister to join in activities with her. These are just some of the many qualities that each sister brings to the other sister's life through being home educated together.

The 8 year old sister in the video; 'Agnieszka', is an avid film maker and is able to pursue this passion in depth, being home educated. She shoots a lot of footage by setting up the camera on a tripod to film herself with her sister. In this video she edited her footage and added her voice-over in a day entirely by herself using the facilities at www.artsawardwales which her parents run from oakwellbarns:

"The initial idea for putting the video together came from a competition that Netbuddy was running, asking for 3 minute videos on any aspect of life living with a learning disability. Agnieszka entered the competition and won first prize in the www.netbuddy.org.uk video competition. Netbuddy are now using it on their home page. (Netbuddy is a website set up for anyone caring for someone with a learning disability to share tips, ideas, practical advice.)"Agnieszka and Magdalena are both home educated along with their older sister (who is not in the video)."

Agnieszka & Magdalena's parents offer individual consultations and workshops on home education and parenting. They also run several support groups including 'First Moon Group' - a breastfeeding and conscious parenting group, that meets weekly. 'Central Wales Down's syndrome Group' and 'HE-DS' (Home educating a child with Down's syndrome). This is an online discussion and support group with annual gatherings at oakwellbarns to link and network with other families who are home educating a child with D.S. or who are considering doing so. If you would like more information or would like to join any of these groups, please email: alex.anita@virgin.net
Article printed in Education Otherwise newsletter February 2011