Edexcel International GCSE Physics

Posted on April 2, 2024 by ofamily

One of our International GCSE subjects is Physics and we have been using the Collins Edexcel International GCSE Physics Student book so I thought it was about time that I shared some pictures and thoughts on the student book for those of you who are looking for Physics resources. First of all let me start the post by saying this was a Free book that we were given and we are not using it in isolation. In fact Physics is the one subject where we are using outside help and that outside help has been the brilliant lessons given by Theatre of Science. But as much as I have been incredibly grateful that I discovered the Theatre of Science lessons I do think you still need to have a student book for your kiddo to refer back to and this is the one we are using.

First things first. In terms of the specification and what you need to cover for Physics, all the topics are here. So this would be the only student book that you would be required to buy (the contents of this book match the Edexcel spec, there is no issue with this at all).

Format wise I actually really like this book. We (my daughter and myself) find the pages VERY easy to read and digest. The information is broken down into smaller bite size pieces of information which prevents it from becoming overwhelming (because lets be honest Physics is one of those subjects that can be a bit overwhelming at times, well we think it can be).

And they have included lots of worked examples throughout all of the chapters (loved that these are scattered in chapters as the points are discussed and are not just at the end of the chapter).

Questions and Answers – okay this is where I think this book falls a bit short. They have small questions scattered throughout the chapters (which I like) and for these they have included the answers at the back of the book. But the “End of Topic Questions” i.e the ones at the end of each chapter they have chosen not to include the answers for these. The answers for these are included in their teachers pack (at a costs of £115, which I personally think is very expensive for home educators). And really at this level you cannot expect the student to work through questions without having access to the answers. So if you do use this book then you will need to give your kiddo extra questions (where they can check their answers against sample answers). For those of you wondering, we are using the CGP Edexcel International GCSE Physics Workbook as well and also the Physics and Maths Tutor website for our questions.

They have also included a chapter called – The International GCSE examination. This chapter although only a few pages long may be quite useful to those of you who are new to helping your kids with IGCSE exams. I really liked the few pages where they highlight words that are often used in questions and then explain what is required.

Another interesting chapter is Developing Experimental Skills. Again this is a chapter which home educated kids might find incredibly useful.

Okay so all in all do I recommend this book? I personally think your kid needs a student book, one that explains the topics and has good worked examples in it. Which this one does. I also think your kids needs questions to practice with but I actually like using the questions out of the CGP workbook and from the Physics and Maths Tutors website, so although I was irritated that the publishers did not include all the answers (this is always something that grates me) it would not put me off buying this book as I would end up buying the workbook and using the website regardless of whether they had included the answers or not.

Also some of you may be wondering how this book compares to the CGP Edexcel Internal GCSE Physics Revision Book (I know this book is very popular). The Collins book is a LOT more detailed and includes lots of worked examples. It explains the concepts in more detail. The CGP book is a summary, it truly is a Revision book as it does not have the detailed explanations or examples. Personally I would go for the detailed student book and if you want a summary book then get the CGP.

The student book that I have mentioned in this post can be bought directly from the Collins website or you can go to Amazon – Collins Edexcel International GCSE Physics Student Book (this is an affiliate link).

Admin – I was given a copy of this book for free, this does not affect my opinions expressed in this post. I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use and recommend.

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Twilight reimagined – the life and death book

Posted on March 27, 2024 by ofamily

My daughter is busy reading the Twilight series and because of that I discovered that there is another book in the series which is less well known and a bit different from the original set. It is the Life and Death book, which was written on the 10th anniversary and takes the Twilight story but flips it around. In this version the vampire is a female (Edythe) and the new kid in town who falls in love with the vampire is a male (Beau).

When I saw this I was immediately intrigued. Yes I am a fan of the Twilight series, I think it is well written and the characters are well developed (I am of the opinion that you should read the books before you watch the movies). So the idea that the characters had been flipped fascinated me. My first thought was that it would not work, and truthfully for the first few pages I was not convinced but as I read on I actually started to enjoy the character flip. I enjoyed the fact that the strong vampire was a female. It does take our normal stereotypes and kind of say “stuff it” lets have some fun and make the girl strong, powerful and ultimately the one who gets to decide if the boy lives or dies.

There are a few other character flips that I found interesting (Beau’s parents stay the same) but Doctor Cullen is a female, also the vampires with powers have flipped genders (that was also interesting) and the wolf gene is now passed down to daughters instead of sons (again an interesting flip). So all the way through the book who have role reversals. I must be honest I did really enjoy the idea of the wolf gene going to the daughters.

The story line sticks to the original plot and there are the same main events (sitting together, going to meet the family etc etc) but it does deviate when Beau goes to meet the tracker here the story is “sped up” a bit and Beau becomes a vampire and they tell everyone that Bean died (I did find the scene where Beau’s parents are carrying his coffin sad).

All in all I found this an interesting idea, the possibilities of what could happen with the characters flipping genders is interesting and it actually mad me think of a of other stories and wondered how those would develop if the genders where flipped. I think if you are a fan of the original Twilight series then you will find this extra book interesting to read.

In terms of reading ages, I think it is suitable for secondary ages, there are no explicit scenes.

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Writing tests in the coffee shop

Posted on March 20, 2024 by ofamily

Last year (possibly two years ago) we started going to our local coffee shop to practice writing tests. Yes, I know that probably sounds a bit strange but hear me out. My kids have sensory processing disorder and part of that is they hear soft sounds a lot louder than we do, which means everyday sounds (like someone walking past them or moving their chair) can often be very distracting for them. So one of my concerns with them writing exams at an external center was the simple fact that they would get distracted by the sounds and find it hard to concentrate on their papers. It was something that could end up being a big issue so I decided that we needed to practice answering questions in an environment that was a bit louder, a bit busier and not somewhere where they would normally do their academic work. So the idea of using local coffee shops started. And to make it a bit more official I decided that I would give them mini tests to do in the coffee shop (we have a number of the CGP 10 minute tests books).

The idea is simple. We would go to a local coffee shop during the day, they would sit at one of the tables and complete a couple of their 10 minute tests and the upside is everyone gets a nice treat afterwards.

Can I say without a shadow of doubt that this idea has worked? Well it is not like I can compare what it would have been like if she just went in and wrote her mocks without us doing this, so no. But I do feel like it has helped. If I compare her ability to focus in a strange place with strange sounds and smells from two years ago to now, she is without a shadow of a doubt much better at it. Before we started our coffee shop tests, someone walking around would be noticed but now after practicing she only looks up if there is a loud sound, like someone drops a plate or breaks a coffee mug. So yes I think the practice has helped.

It may seem like a small idea but often lots of small ideas added together makes a difference. And if nothing else they get some tests done and I get to enjoy a nice coffee.

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Writing mock exams (for IGCSE) as a home educated kid

Posted on March 13, 2024 by ofamily

My kids have never attended school, so they have never written tests or exams in an external setting (we have written a few exam papers at home as practice). But writing a mock at home is quite different to writing a mock exam at an exam center. So last week my oldest went and wrote two mocks at an exam center.

Firstly I am going to admit that writing International GCSE’s (which is what most home educated kids do) is NOT cheap. School kids get to write their exams for free but home educated kids have to pay for every exam that they write and then if they want to write a mock that is an extra expense which you need to cover as well. So the decision on whether your kids write mocks or not could honestly come down to costs (writing a mock is very close in price to writing an actual exam). And I totally understand that a number of people are going to just say it is too expensive to add in the costs of mocks (believe me I get that).

But we decided to stagger our exams (and I want to say the decision on whether your kid staggers their exams or writes them all in one go is totally a personal decision and like everything with home education it is down to what is best for your family). But one of the advantages of staggering the exams is we don’t have to pay for all the exams in one go so by staggering the exams we actually made it a bit easier on ourselves to pay for the mocks (being able to afford the mocks was not a reason when we decided to stagger them but it ended up being a bonus for us).

So why did we want to write mocks? Simply put it is for the experience. She has never had to write an exam in an external venue before so the exam culture that most student take for granted are new to her. The whole experience of walking into a hall with a bunch of strangers, sitting at an allocated desk, not turning your paper over, making sure you write your name on it, then working quietly, not getting distracted by others, what to do if you need extra space or even going to the toilet during the exam. All of those small things are things she never experienced. And for somebody with sensory processing disorder some of those small issues could become quite big issues.

Also it is practice in doing everything in the build up to the exam. Practice in managing the stress and nerves of – “I am going to write an exam”. Being able to sleep the night before. Waking up the morning of the exam and what do you do – do you just take it easy or do you try and read through some notes. Practice in preparing for the exam, reviewing her work, figuring our how much she should study and when she needs to give herself a break.

So for us the mocks where really about getting to practice the entire experience before it is the real deal.

And how did it actually go?

The exam center is not close to us, we chose it because it is an exam center in which she can write all of her subjects, but it did mean a train trip and a short walk. We arrived at the destination station a bit early so we went to a local coffee shop and had some extra breakfast, then we walked there, signed in and took our seats in the waiting area. The students where called in the hall and I left. I have to admit the walk from the exam center back to the local coffee shop where I was going to sit and read for the duration of her exam was filled with some panic as I kept thinking of scenarios that I may not have prepared her for. But once I went back to fetch her she was calm and happy, and said it went well. Then we went and had a quick lunch before we had to go back for her second exam. For the second exam we where both more relaxed because we knew what to expect.

All in all it was a long day. We left the house at 7:25am and after writing two exams we got home around 4:15pm. It was a long and expensive day but it was 100% worth it. The satisfaction that she can do this is real. She wrote two papers in one day. She went to a strange place, sat in a strange hall with a bunch of strange people and she wrote the exams. She did it. She now knows that she can manage the entire thing. She knows. And for me that is key. She has proven to herself that she can do an exam at an exam center.

Yes it is expensive but for us the experience, the fact that when she actually goes there for the real exam it will not be a first time that for us was worth the cost.

And yes we are getting her papers marked and it will be good to see how she did. But regardless of what her marks are (we have two months before she writes for first exam and then another extra month before she writes the second, all of which is just for revision), the experience was priceless. The experience and the knowledge that she can do this makes the price of the mocks worthwhile.

(This is the two of us on the way to the exam center – and yes there was a freezing wind that day which is why we are bundled up)

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China Through Time – a book review

Posted on February 20, 2024 by ofamily

My kids and I have recently started a China Topic. We are doing it as a general topic – looking at the Geography, History and Culture but it is a vast topic so we are focusing more on the time from the Ming Dynasty to modern. However that being said I still wanted to give them a brief idea of what China was like before the Ming so I have been doing my usual book and documentary search and I happened to find this book China Through Time which is published by a publisher that I have reviewed for before, so I asked for a review copy and they kindly sent us one. (This is not a paid for post, this is a book I was given for free so we could read it and then express our own thoughts on it).

Now I have to admit the reason why this book appealed to me (when I was searching for possible books) was because it is a visual glimpse of life through around 2500 years of China but it is a visual glimpse of a wide range of people and events that would have happened.

Okay first impressions – the illustrations where even more appealing and detailed than I thought when I was looking at it on the website. These are truly stunning illustrations.

The idea of the book is quite unique in that it follows the construction and path of the Grand Canal (over a time span of 2500 years).

And they have included a wide range of events, from a page showing the very beginning of digging the canal, to a page where a fortress is attacked, a typical busy dock and trying to build defenses to stop a flood. They really have included a wide range of scenes.

Each illustration is surrounded by sentences explaining what is happening in the picture and there is also a small, concise paragraph which gives the context of the illustration.

They have also included interesting detail in every illustration. Take for example the page of the fortress being attacked. Here they show how the guards at the fortress would light a signal so that others would know they needed help, they show the weapons used to attack the fortress as well as something called a Wolf-tooth crusher (we thought this was fascinating) and even detail of some men trying to dig a tunnel. It is all of these small but fascinating bits of detail that not only teach us about the time and culture but also make these illustrations so special.

I really do think the illustrator has done an incredible job with each and every picture.

And for those of who you need to find an extra “hook” to keep your kids interested they have included a time travelling cat called Lihua) who is always hidden in each and every picture and your kiddo can have some fun searching for him.

If you are looking for a fascinating, visual book on China we recommend China Through Time.

For those of you looking for an Amazon link here is my one – China Through Time. (this is an affiliate link).

Admin – I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use and recommend.

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