History of the first world war

Autumn walk

We watched War Horse last night. Long time overdue! I wanted to go and see it as soon as it came out as I'm a great Michael Morpurgo fan but sadly my son was against it! At last I got my way as it's out on DVD and my son is allowed a free DVD each week from the library. Yesterday I went on my own and selected it on his behalf  and so we spend a family night in round the television watching the film. As with all the books I've read by Morpurgo so far. it is based on fact. It covered the role of horses in the first world war and gave a glimpse into the conditions tolerated by the soldiers but in a way that most twelve year olds could handle. In fact my son who has Aspergers syndrome has watched far worse in documentaries about the war and can handle it because of a lack of emotional attachment due to his condition. His twin sister on the other hand couldn't. We all agreed that it was a film worth watching and are now looking forward to the release of Private Peaceful, a book which we have already read and which deals with the delicate issues of cowardice and desertion.
When it comes to home education the kindness of others never fails to amaze me. My son was given a bag of BBC wildlife magazines on Friday. They were bought by a couple from church for their Granddaughter but she wasn't interested. I often find that about so called 'educational books'. They are so often in pristine condition when we buy them in charity shops as children don't want to 'do education' after school- they are too tired having been bombarded with facts day by day. My son's encylopedias however are well thumbed. He dips into them as and when he feels like it and is always throwing unusual facts at us! We have been following the travels of a distant relative as they do a grand tour of Australia and an article about Dingos allowed us to add another piece of information to the jigsaw ! My son also received a heavy package yesterday - a book of all life on the planet which I'd swapped on Readitswapit it! A fantastic swap as the RRP was £20 and we got it for the price of a stamp. I will leave it in the car for him to pick up when we go out!