Serenades and Solace

24hr sale is on again .. NOW!

2012-02-03T00:06:00.000+11:00

It's started already, and I actually did grab a bargain myself this time.

Book Depository is having another 24 hour sale, with a new book reduced down by up to 80% for an hour. Once that book's sold, you need to wait until the next special is released.

True, you never know what's going to be on offer, but chances are that if you take a look you may just find something.

If you want to check it out, go here or click on the icon below.

We've had a facelift

2012-02-01T00:39:00.000+11:00

I've wanted to experiment on a new look for this blog for a little while. If you've come by here throughout the day yesterday, you would have noticed a few things changing and looking out of place. My apologies for the bad housekeeping, lol!, and thank you for bearing with me during this learning curve.

When I started, I'd found a lovely pale blue damask, but it looked too cold for the feeling I wanted here. So, I've settled on this for while now, having played with HTML codes enough to give me a headache.

I still need to learn how to put my signature into the template. At the moment I'm adding it to the most recent posts, individually. I guess I'll sort that on another date.

The other thing to learn is how to add tabs to the top of the blog. There's no time to learn about that right now, but it will be something I plan to do in the future.

Anyway, I hope you like it. A little bit old fashioned, with a bit of antiquity in the header, some warm colours and a 'not so obvious' music theme.

Thank you for dropping by!

Now for our new weekly schedule (2012)

2012-01-30T23:53:00.000+11:00

Okay, it's getting serious here now. I'm able to spend a bit more time each day setting out our goals for the year rather than just think about it.

Papa is wanting to help me work out a better plan for the day and had asked me to write up some type of schedule for the children. It's his way of having some input, where he knows what to follow up on each evening. It's also become apparent that I need some tool to time manage now that I'm teaching music most afternoons. So, here's what I've come up with (with pseudo-names being used) as a general daily guideline:

I didn't come up with this schedule idea alone. I have been reading a few blogposts and came across "Through the Narrow Gate" where she uses Managers of Their Homes to help set out her routine (all stemming from the Well Trained Mind forum!)

This is the most formal I've EVER set out our daily routine. I ran it by Papa this morning and he was happy with how it all looked. Then I asked the children what they thought. Straight away Mariposa picked up that she got her computer time in the morning (which was a 'not before lunch' rule before .. which made 'who/when' an issue), so she was happy. Maestro told me he wouldn't take as long as I'd given him to do some things, esp. science, but I was allowing for experiments which do take time. If they finish early, then we'll just move a little quicker.

I like that I can see how much time I'll be aiming to give each child. I know that Maestro is far more independent, but he still needs time with me to check he comprehends the work to be done and that I'll follow up with checking it's completed okay. It was actually a bit daunting when I noted that I'd usually leave him to himself most of the time, whilst I worked with Mariposa for quite a bit. My challenge was setting out their days so I was more equally divided between them. Of course, it's also expected that the older the children get, the more independent they'll be too.

There will be times I know I'll be able to just work by myself nearby, just so long as I'm there in case they have a question. That'll be when I'll have my crafts to keep me going, or something in the kitchen to be done (or covering books with contact, as I've been doing since Sunday evening!)

Another plus is that the children could see that if all was done by 3pm, they had free time .. time for friends to visit! .. unless one or the other has a dance lesson to get to (which is usually Wednesday). So, general approval all round. I guess we'll have to put it to the test to see if it really works, but remember that it'll be used mainly as a guideline. Nothing too rigid in our timeframes work when we're doing our homeschooling, only other appointments!

Thank you for dropping by!

The 'stop sign' has gone

2012-01-29T09:25:00.002+11:00

My apologies to those who were visiting here recently and came across that big orange stop sign. I'd been trying to get rid of it all week, only to have a friend email me with a link which helped.
What had happened? Well, one of the widgets I had up had expired. Finding that widget and removing it solved it all.
If you ever have this happen to you, there's some advice over here.

Any thoughts on 'Schedules'?

2012-01-27T10:06:00.000+11:00

This morning I find myself seriously thinking about schedules. Should I write one up and really try to stick to it? Should I post it up somewhere on a wall for everyone to see? How rigid should a routine be to suit our needs, given I'm also teaching most afternoons?

Why am I thinking about this again now? Is it because we've had a decent break and I'm just trying to get my head together, or is it because I really believe the children and I will benefit from this? My children are now ages 13 and 10, so they are capable of quite a bit of learning, but need their own creative times.

I've wandered around a few forums and had a look at advice from others, and also considered our past experiences. Down to Earth has been discussing theirs for homekeeping. Well Trained Mind has advice about 'Managers of Their Homes'. Then there's Catherine Levison's book about my preferred teaching method, Charlotte Mason, with her outline schedule in A Charlotte Mason Education.

So, I'm just thinking about all this. I'll probably continue to ponder on it whilst finishing up some jobs in the kitchen, too.

I have an outline of what the daily routine may look like, which was put together once the dance timetable came in. Here's what it's looking like so far:

Is anyone else a scheduler and have ideas/thoughts to share?

Thank you for dropping by!

Composer studies: upgrading books and a look at Bach

2012-01-25T09:44:00.000+11:00

Music does fill a fair bit of our family life, so what I'd consider 'incidental learning' happens here quite often. With Maestro doing very well with his violin playing, and Mariposa taking so well to the piano, they are also learning the mechanics of music very well.

We've discussed composers before, and had a composer 'theme of the month'. However,we need to keep this up and it's something I'd let slip a little last year. My other music students should also be exposed to more information about various composers, so guess what?! I'm looking at more books and fun ways to include this into our homeschool diet again.

In the past I relied heavily on my "In Classical Mood" cds with their accompanying booklets. Now I'm adding to that with some more living books that I've found listed on the Living Books Curriculum site, as well as some audio books. These audio books are actually the Classical Kids cds, of which I've selected a few titles from ebay to purchase first .. perfect for car trips!

Sebastian Bach, The Boy from Thuringia by Opal Wheeler

So, where are we starting? Well, we're looking at Bach. Maestro is learning a violin piece known as "Where Sheep May Safely Graze". We're also studying Medieval times, so I'm planning to keep our studies happening along the timeline we're following as much as possible (with the help from the Young Scholar's Guide to Composers).

We'll also look at things like fugues and canons. I have a lovely cd from Amy Grant, where she uses part of a fugue to introduce her song "Sing Your Praise to the Lord".

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Via Angie's Petra School blog, I've just come across Julie's site, A Teaching Heart. Julie is running a study on composers every Thursday, so please jump on over and join in!

Thank you for dropping by!

A delightful read

2012-01-24T20:22:00.000+11:00

It's been some time since I just picked up a light-hearted novel to read for my own pleasure. Whilst over at the Down To Earth forum, ladies were sharing what they were reading this month. Amongst all the discussion on those posts, the "Elm Creek Quilts series" was mentioned and raised my interest.

I am so glad that I followed up and checked out the first book at the library, entitled The Quilter's Apprentice. This book has been just delightful! A few years ago I tried my hand at a few quilts, but I'd still say I was very much a novice. I related to the character Sarah in her endeavours to begin learning, but she had a tutor throughout the story. It felt like I was right there watching and listening.

This story is more than just the practicalities of quilt making, it's the interweaving of two characters who seem so contrary at the beginning, but who end up helping each other learn truths and begin to overcome past hurts in their personal histories.

As I was reading this, I could almost see it as a beautiful mini-series for the screen. I know it's set in America, but my admiration for Judy Dench did have my mind's eye put her in the role of Mrs Compson. But who should play Sarah? Kate Beckinsale? I don't know .. lol!

Anyway, I'm hooked on this series now and have already reserved the next two titles to read, plus the book with the actual 'how to make the quilts' from the stories. Yes, I think this may just become a mother/daughter project for Mariposa and I (smiles!)

You can check out the order of the books here on Amazon. AND (... oh joy!! ...) google has just revealed that the author has a site where you may join the Elm Creek readers community http://elmcreek.net/ .

Thank you for dropping by!

The summer we painted (2)

2012-01-20T14:44:00.001+11:00

I don't have anything much to show by way of an update, because we've still got some final touches to do. However, the painting is now completed in the kitchen, except for a final coat on the wall tiles.

It took 3 coats of paint, with a brush, to get all the pine panelling done properly. However, the effect is a much brighter kitchen now all the brown has gone.

For the first time ever, we decided to paint over the beige tiles. It took 2 coats of primer, and so far we've only got 1 coat of the colour on. It's just a pale blue, but gives the room a bit of a lift. Hopefully once everything is back in it's place and the room is properly dressed, it'll all blend in together nicely.

Still to be done, replace these old taps/faucet. We're having trouble sourcing some economical ones that are suitable for wall mounting. Papa has found a kitchen recycling centre near his workplace, so is hoping to find something there tonight.

The good news is that the dining table is back where it belongs, and I'm working out of the kitchen again rather than camping out of the rumpus room. We still have a few things to complete before saying this is completely done:
- kitchen taps/faucet
- drawer slides to suit the style drawers we have (central top mounted, not side rollers) .. may have to figure a way to hand make these from plywood.
- skirting boards to be added to dining room
- flooring needs updating .. Papa's thinking lino, but we haven't shopped for options yet.

This job has been huge, but we knew it would be. It's still cheaper than getting a whole new kitchen built.

And finally, a new picture Mariposa drew which I've put up on the fridge to brighten us all up:

Thank you for dropping by!

The summer we painted (1)

2012-01-09T07:34:00.000+11:00

We've done a solid slog of painting here over the last two weeks. With only a couple of days here and there to stop and take a break, we've been pretty consistent trying to get this job done as quickly, but thoroughly as possible.

I should share some of the reason why we had to start this job in the first place. A leak in the main water supply meant that we had water seeping under the house, toward the hot water system that's outside Mariposa's bedroom. We didn't know about this leak for quite some time as no irregularity had shown up in the last water bill, and they only come quarterly. All we knew is that we were getting damp in her room and lifting the carpet revealed a mold problem. We thought it may have just been the extremely wet winter we'd had.

Then .. we had been away for a week. Upon returning home, we noticed that the front yard was like a swamp, but the birdbath was empty. No rain .. so where's this water coming from? THAT's when we found the leak, a kink that had developed in the pipe. With us being away, there was no relief in the water pressure, which resulted in us finally finding out the problem.

So, we investigated further and found that mold had started in our bedroom also. There was nothing for it but to do a proper job fixing everything up.

We started in Mariposa's room. It was the smaller room and she was ultra keen to put up a different colour on one wall. Pictures just don't show you exactly how it looks to the naked eye, but it's a light version of a marine blue, which is very calming. Her horse theme has been enhanced a little with her jigsaw puzzle completed in a picture frame.

Sorry for the flash reflection!

She also has a small decal added to a corner of her mirror.

New curtains are in order (a matching soft blue gingham, most likely), but I haven't anywhere to put a sewing project into motion yet. That'll come when the paint is all packed away!

From there we moved to our room, making a feature wall also in a 'Suede Effect' Mediterranean blue. I'll be painting our bargain $10 headrest to match the rest of the room too (we're going French Provincial/Shabby Chic, so lots of light colours: a soft cream on the walls and white trims).

Our bedhead, on its side, waiting in our 'holding area' as we do each room.

Maestro's room was the easiest after all the mold treatment that had to go on in the other two rooms.

Most of the trims are in mission brown, with an occasional

window in timber. Everything's going to be made a uniform white.

Timber doors remain, along with brass fittings.

Pulling up his carpet revealed some lovely hardwood boards that had already been polished, but unfortunately spattered with paint.

This was a lovely find. The other bedrooms all have raw pine.

Now we're in the kitchen and dining area. These rooms haven't been touched by us at all since we moved here, and they boast some lovely pine paneling on most of the walls. This makes the room quite dark and we wanted to brighten it all up. So, again, we're going with the theme of a soft cream and white trim.

Applying a special undercoat to help the paint stick to the varnish

... smelly work!

I wonder who painted this wall?

It's the 4th day working here and we've only just managed to get one coat on by the end of the day. We're not far from finishing it, but Papa's return to work means we've had to slow the pace down considerably. I'm really hoping I'll have my kitchen back in the next couple of days.

Thank you for dropping by!

Treasured Moments (6)

2011-12-31T18:43:00.001+11:00

The last day of the week, and the last day of another year. It's a nice time to reflect on all that 2011 brought us with its challenges and successes.

Do you find yourself falling into a pattern of daily grind, skipping the 'fun' activities because you don't have time or lack energy?

Do creative arts, nature walks, drama, read alouds or spontaneous acts seem only a distant dream in your life?

Yet these Treasured Moments shared with loved ones uplift us, nurture our soul, remind us of the beauty and joy in our lives.

We want Treasured Moments for ourselves, for our children, for our families but how can we make it happen?

... Commitment ... Encouragement ... Support ... Ideas ... Plans.

You are invited to join us at the end of every week and share your plans and ideas, your targets and goals and your stories ... your 'Treasured Moments'. In this way we may inspire one another, encourage ourselves and start achieving our dreams. Hosted by Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting.

My Treasured Moments this week are:

1. A whole week of being together. No work for Papa. No after school activities. That's always a first to put on my list when it happens. (smiles!)

2. A day at the beach with family yesterday. Papa's brother was visiting for a holiday from Queensland with his family. We grabbed the boogie boards, sunscreen, some lunch and took off for most of the day. Watching the cousins have a great time together was very special.

3. Time catching up with my sister and her family, who are visiting from Canberra, happened today. Wow, that little nephew of mine has grown (5yrs old). He just loved being outside with the chickens and our dog, Midgy.

4. We've been painting out the bedrooms. Mariposa's and our rooms have been a harder slog than we thought, but looking great now they're done. Maestro's room is next on the list, with the carpet coming up as well.

5. An opportunity to pet-sit for our next door neighbour came up for Mariposa. While I had to supervise with the locking of doors, etc., she independently did her list of chores admirably for 4 days. This morning, our neighbour arrived home and thanked her. Mariposa now has a paying pet-sitting job whenever she goes away.

6. We enjoyed Maestro's reading of his latest written work. He's always enjoyed writing, but it's even more fun listening to him read it out aloud with all the inflections in his voice and pausing for the comical moments. Seriously, I think we should get this child some acting lessons! He had us in stitches as he read a version of the little droid, Joey, from an alternative tale of Star Wars.

It's going to be a VERY HOT week here in Melbourne, over the next few days. Today was quite warm, but there's a lot more heat to come. I hope you all stay well hydrated, and enjoy Summer now it's here.

Gymkana 2011

2011-12-23T23:08:00.002+11:00

~ Mariposa's first Gymkana ~

Dress up competition

Excursion to the Dolphin Research Institute

2011-12-15T16:36:00.003+11:00

We had another excursion yesterday. This time it was a really long drive away (2hrs) and an early start, but very much worth it.

The Dolphin Research Institute is located in Hastings, Victoria. We signed up for the two sessions: Through the Eyes of a Whale, and Don't Pee in My Pool.

Through the Eyes of a Whale

Lots of enthusiastic discussion on different types of whales and their behaviours. We heard the different whale songs, saw photos and videos of whales in the local area, as well as some wonderful TRUE stories about sitings that kept the children (and parents!) enthralled.

We had the opportunity to feel some teeth from a sperm whale. The females' is considerably smaller than the males'.

Sperm whale teeth.

The male is the darker/heavier on the left, and female on the right.

Also passed around were some baleen plates, which were really quite heavy. Apparently, once a whale dies, all the baleen plates fall out quite readily. This is also the part of the whale that was used when making corsets.

Whilst feeding, whales usually turn on their side; once they engulf the water with their food, they become very 'front heavy'. We saw some footage of a whale feeding near the surface of the water, taking a huge gulp, which caused the chin area to expand as it would on a pelican's bill. The throat grooves then slowly contract, as it sifts the sea water from it's meal.

A very heavy vertebrae from a humpback whale had been found on a local beach, which led into a discussion on whales' and dolphins' skeletal structure. The dolphin's skull was used to show how the lower jaw was hollow, which is how the dolphin hears via vibrations.

The hollow lower jaw of a dolphin.

This then led us to go into another room and explore what it's like being inside a humpback whale.

Inside the whale, the children sat along the centre to get a feel for how big one of the smallest whales are. They were told a true story about how a man had survived being swallowed by a sperm whale. The story can be read at the Killer Whale Museum, in Eden NSW.

Don't Pee in My Pool

After a break for lunch, we were back to learn more about how pollution from our drains affects the marine plants and animals. The children were taken to a nearby drain, where all the rainwater from the street works it's way down to the sea. It was awful to see so much rubbish there! Mangroves were growing, and some small fish and crabs swimming around in the shallows.

Finally, a game to let everyone burn off some energy before the trip home. A game of tag was set up, with a long rope used to make a huge circle. Three hula hoops served as 'seaweed' safe places, but had a limited safety time of 3 seconds before players (fish) had to move into 'open water' again. Those who were 'it' were the hungry seal and dolphin, where soft toys were used. The game was made more difficult once the seaweed safeplaces were removed.

A great day out. If you can get here to book a group session, I'd recommend it!!

A day in my life

2011-12-09T15:00:00.000+11:00

People often like to hear how others conduct their days, and I find this is true for homeschoolers too. Last week we had a local group of homeschooling mum get together for an Encouragement Night. Everyone was asked to bring along some notes of what their typical day looked liked.

Well, I actually had neglected to write this up earlier in the day, so after arriving at my girlfriend's house, I plonked myself down beside her coffee table to scrawl out some notes of what I'd done that day. She was also busy finalising her writeup on the computer. After we'd both finished, we headed off to the meeting.

I thought I'd share what I'd written here, especially as my typical homeschooling days will change next week, because we'll be finishing up our bookwork and doing all sorts of other activities.

"A Day In My Life .. last Wednesday Nov 30th"

I generally get up and about at 7am. Whilst my husband (Papa) gets ready for work, I get our breakfast ready. Fresh coffee and baked beans on toast this morning. Also, his lunch is made (chicken and salad sandwiches, some fruit and a packet of mixed nuts).

7:30am - Papa leaves for work. I take some time for myself over the next hour, including getting the wash started. In that time I checked emails and checked out some excursions happening over at the "Excursion Factor" site (organised for Melbourne homeschoolers, Vic. Australia). There are a couple there that the children will be interested in, so I make a note to ask them during their breakfast.

8am - children begin to emerge and have their breakfasts. Mariposa was up first today and diligently went out to check on her hen, Beauty, with the new chick. After a quick play with the dog (Midgy), she's getting dressed. Maestro needs to be roused even though his alarm's been going .. but he keeps turning it off and ignoring it.

9am - Maestro's finally out of bed and showering. Mariposa had started playing the piano, which was impossible to sleep through.

9:30am - piano practice over, Mariposa is keen to start with Maths. She's very close to finishing her Singapore Maths level 3 book, so she worked hard to get a few pages done today. We worked together learning about area and perimeter .. not as hard as she thought!

Maestro washed, dressed, fed and done his chores. He's been working on IEW's Student Writing Intensive and is really liking it. Today he watches day 3 on the dvd, which takes about an hour with pauses in between for completing the activities. He likes being independent with his work this way, too.

10am - Mariposa continues her bookwork, doing a lesson from her yellow LLATL book. She reads aloud to me for a bit .. the part she doesn't like about schoolwork. For some reason, she's never really enjoyed the task of reading, but still loves a good story if read to. So, we take small bites of reading at a time (approx. 10 mins). Today she read from her Science book about Mixtures and Solutions (used for NOEO Chemistry I).

11am - time for a break. Eggs are collected, washing hung on the line, kitchen tidied up ... I also check emails again quickly and make a booking for those excursions we were interested in. Confirmation came through that we can attend the Dolphin Research Centre in a couple of weeks (even though it's almost 2hrs away from here, but it'll be worth it!)

11:30am - read aloud: "Flame Over Tara" from Maestro's Sonlight.
Whilst this was happening, Mariposa started getting some lunch cooked up for us. Today she made us some noodles with leftover chicken.

12:30pm - Maestro's misplaced his maths book, so during the time he'd usually have for a break, we're looking frantically for it everywhere. This leads me to cleaning out a bookshelf and putting aside some books we no longer need, plus folding some laundry which was left tossed on the couch (no it wasn't under there, either). By the end of all that, still no book, so Maestro gets his Apologia Science book out ready to work on in a little while.

Mariposa asks if she can invite a friend over to play. She makes the phone call and her friend is expected to arrive at 1:30pm.

1pm - As part of Mariposa's Australian history lesson, we were going to do some dot paintings as the Aboriginals did. She sets up the table with all the necessary bits and pieces.

Meanwhile, Maestro completes his Science. He's had an experiment brewing in a jar on the window sill, soaking a chicken bone in vinegar. We check out how it's coming along, but don't enjoy the smell! The bone is starting to bend as the calcium is leached out. He writes up his prac. then heads off to read Story of the World II for history.

1:30pm - friend arrives and they do their art activity, followed by play in the backyard and a healthy snack on any cherries they find on the tree.

By 2pm, Maestro's finished all his bookwork and chooses to spend some time on the computer. I remind him that he does have a violin lesson tonight, and he's yet to do his practice for the day. Oh, and could he please continue the search for his maths book!

I'm getting myself ready to head out for the afternoon and evening. Today is the last week of singing lessons for my Wednesday students, and I teach at the children's dance school. Mariposa also has her final art lesson (chalk pastel drawing) and has to take a plate of afternoon tea, so I get that ready for her. When I get back, we need to eat dinner before heading out to evening activities. (Yes, this is a typical VERY BUSY Wednesday!)

3:45pm - time to leave for my singing lessons. Mariposa has an art lesson at the same location, all this being en-route to dropping her friend home. Maestro volunteers to stay home and chats with his friend on the phone.

5pm - headed back home. Dinner to be made: tonight it's a frittata with plenty of our homegrown eggs, some cheese and vegies, plus a salad. We're eating by 6pm (when Papa has arrived home). Our dinner time is typically full of discussions of the day's activities. Papa likes to know what the children have learnt about during the day and if there's anything they're struggling with. He also lets us know that we're invited to his workplace breakup party, to which we all agree we'd like to go. (An Italian restaurant .. YUM!)

6:45pm - We're all heading out. Maestro has his 1/2 hr violin lesson and he heads off there with Papa. (When they get home, they choose to have a boy's movie night.)
Mariposa is with me as I head off to my girlfriend's to attend this homeschoolers' meeting. I won't tell you what time we all got back home .. it was late, and we slept in the next morning!!

Have you written up a 'Day in My Life' entry? If you'd like to, or already have, let me know and share your link in the comments section. :)

Mango Ice Cream

2011-12-09T07:30:00.000+11:00

Mariposa's been creative again. It's just how she is; she always has to be doing something and that something's been in the kitchen more often than not lately. It's also a great way to make sure she's getting some reading done (and maths!)

Last month we purchased a couple of boxes of mangoes. The first box disappeared promptly as my children morphed into fruit bats. Then, as the novelty began to wear off, we were left with those that were ripening quickly. This is where Mariposa came and stepped in to the rescue, as she got to work cutting out all the fruit and laying it on trays in the freezer.

Frozen mango pieces are great for a refreshing smoothie, but 2 cups worth were transformed into a delicious ice cream that I would really recommend you try. This recipe comes from a book "Homemade Icecream Naturally", isbn 1-86256-075-7.

Mango Ice Cream:
(makes 1 litre)

4 large, ripe mangoes (or 3x 425g cans mango segments)
150g caster sugar
1 egg
465ml cream
65 ml (1/4 cup) milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Peel, seed and sieve the mangoes to remove fibres.

2. Place mango puree and 75g of the sugar in a double boiler and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Cool and chill the mango mixture for 30 minutes before using.

3. Place the egg, remaining sugar, 65ml (1/4 cup) cream, milk and vanilla essence in the blender and process for 30 seconds.

4. Add the chilled mango puree and blend for 15 seconds. Continue blending for about 30 seconds while adding the remaining 400ml cream.

5. Place the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze (or, do as we did and place in a metal baking tin. Using a fork, stir through every 20-30 minutes to disperse ice crystals. Continue until firm.)

Mariposa served this cut into wedges, but it could easily be whipped up again with a fork, after sitting a few minutes out of the freezer, then served with an icecream scoop.

This recipe is just delicious!

Treasured Moments (5)

2011-12-04T23:47:00.001+11:00

It's the quiet but late hours of the day, well past my bedtime. I've just finished watching the final episode of "Pride and Prejudice" on tv, then thought I'd make a quick stop here before calling it a night.

Do you find yourself falling into a pattern of daily grind, skipping the 'fun' activities because you don't have time or lack energy?

Do creative arts, nature walks, drama, read alouds or spontaneous acts seem only a distant dream in your life?

Yet these Treasured Moments shared with loved ones uplift us, nurture our soul, remind us of the beauty and joy in our lives.

We want Treasured Moments for ourselves, for our children, for our families but how can we make it happen?

... Commitment ... Encouragement ... Support ... Ideas ... Plans.

You are invited to join us at the end of every week and share your plans and ideas, your targets and goals and your stories ... your 'Treasured Moments'. In this way we may inspire one another, encourage ourselves and start achieving our dreams. Hosted by Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting.

My Treasured Moments this week are:

1. This week has been the wrapping up of most of our 'after school' activities. Dance lessons are finished, art lessons are finished, and some of my piano and singing students are on vacation until February. So, we've shared goodbyes and well wishes for a lovely summer break.

2. On Wednesday night, I joined a group of local Christian homeschoolers for an encouragement night. 25 mums were there, and there are plenty more local homeschoolers in the area who couldn't attend that night. Some I already knew, but there were new acquaintances made and a lovely atmosphere. We had too much food to share, lovely notebook/pen gifts, and a guest speaker, who is now watching her homeschooled children raise their homeschooled children.

My thanks to a dear friend (I hope you're reading this!) for encouraging me to attend, and for all the work you did in helping organise this lovely evening. (Hugs!)

3. Monday saw myself, Maestro and his friend attend another digital sound excursion at the Soundhouse. This time he did a 2 hour session called "Film Soundtrack Creator", which extended on the knowledge he'd learnt in August about music technology. (During this time, Mariposa spent most of the day with a friend.)

4. Maestro's interest in this music field then led me to explore some options for further education. I spent some time looking at what is usually offered at schools, especially for VCE and then TAFE and universities. He could have a number of options open to him, but one thing is for certain, I'm very glad that he has a strong music background and is already playing an instrument well, as that's half the battle won. He's only 13 at the moment, but if he continues along this path, he should do well to be admitted in a course that will interest him further down the line.

5. Mariposa has blossoming in her desire to cook. She has initiating lots of cooking here, with all it's marks of creativity. She's invented a version of vanilla pudding that takes only 2 mins in the microwave, but by far her best effort was a lovely creamy mango icecream. It tasted like one of those Weis bars, but with only a few natural ingredients. Yummo! It's just a shame that we've almost used all of those mangoes now.
(I'll post the recipe in my next post.)

The photos that should have been here yesterday

2011-11-23T00:08:00.001+11:00

Please excuse my camera's tardiness. It seems to enjoy taking excursions with my children to various parts of our home, then often gets a little disoriented before returning to it's rightful place in the study. At least when it DOES return, it leaves some clues as to where it's been!

Day old chick, named 'Esther',

an Araucana breed.

Mariposa's hen "Beauty" who had patiently sat, being broody,

for 2 weeks before we put some fertilised eggs under her.

'Apricot Delight' rose

Evening Primoses are abundantly sprawling on the pathway

to the front door at the moment.

They seem to have really enjoyed all the rain!

Teeny butterflies enjoying the nectar from the Evening Primroses.

YUM! These were hiding under some of those primroses.

Good morning!

2011-11-22T09:20:00.001+11:00

Hello everyone!

It's been another bit of a gap between posts, but the quiet in blog land only reflects that there's plenty of things happening here to keep us very busy.

The past two weeks have been especially busy with extra dance rehearsals in preparation for the concert, which was this weekend gone. What a great night! The format was a little different this year, with the juniors all performing in the afternoon with the theme 'Circus'. Then, in the evening, the older students performed with the theme 'A Walk Through The Art Gallery'. Pictures from famous artists were projected onto the back screen, and appropriate music and dances reflected these pictures. We really enjoyed watching it, and the children enjoyed the different format.

In our homeschooling, we're looking to finish up in another month. Many projects and books are almost completed. Mariposa's almost through the level 3 Singapore Maths books, but Maestro is swiftly working through MUS Pre-Algebra. We've also become the proud new owners of IEW. Maestro is LOVING this intensive writing course, and I'm really happy with the work he's produced so far. Science is still being worked on at a steady rate, but we're only about 3/4 through each of the levels (NOEO Chem I for Mariposa, and Apologia's General Science for Maestro). It's the same with our history: Maestro's at the beginning of the Middle Ages through his Sonlight, whilst I only recently started doing Australian history with Mariposa this term.

I've been learning more about certain learning issues. Mariposa has had several severe ear aches since a baby, thus the reason for her operation in September. This week, I've been watching some online videos about the affects that all those antibiotics have had on her young body, and how they could be contributing to some learning difficulties, via Dianne Croft's site. Once the cds, 'The Biology of Behavior', arrives here and we've had a chance to really study it, we'll be implementing ways to improve her health for better learning (and all the rest of us, too!)

In the henhouse, we have had one of our youngest hens go broody. She's now successfully hatched 1 of 4 chicks that we planted under her as preincubated/fertilised eggs. They're quite happy occupying a fenced off area along the side of the house (because I'm running out of room to put these chickens!!!!), so I often wake to the sound of 'took, took, took' as Mama hen takes her young chick out for a forage early each morning.

This morning's been one of checking over budgets, menu planning and shopping. Now it's time to get the diary out and check what the rest of the year looks like, because I don't want it rushing by in a blur as the last two weeks seemed to do. Time for a cuppa, and we'll get on with that whilst the children do their math I think!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Ginger Meggs is 90 today!

2011-11-13T09:40:00.001+11:00

Who remembers the comic strip of Ginger Meggs? I'm sure many do. Even Maestro remembers reading some old comics; "Yes, he was very arrogant!"

Ginger started his life in 1921, in the Sydney Sun before being relocated to the Sunday Telegraph in 1951. He's the 12 year old Aussie larrikin who had a healthy disrespect for authority.

In 1982, a movie was released featuring Paul Daniel and Gary McDonald. I actually don't recall ever seeing it before, but after watching this small part remembered the satire about a young lad dealing with the tougher side of society.

I have better memories of seeing a film based on the musical "The Girl from Moonooloo" with Jacki Weaver. This was set in the 1930s, where Jacki's character ends broadcasting Ginger Meggs on a radio show. If you ever come across a recording of this, it's well worth the viewing. In fact, I'd take the children to see this musical if it ever came back to the stage in Melbourne!

The pentatonic is so predictable!

2011-11-08T00:22:00.001+11:00

Here's a fun little exercise you can participate in at home:

Personally, I can't wait until another campout, family get-together or a day with friends to try this out on them!

After seeing that, I'm checking out the rest of the lecture from the "Notes & Neurons" seminar from the World Science Festival.

or you may choose to view this on You Tube, as a 10 part series: START HERE.

In beautiful memory

2011-11-05T10:43:00.000+11:00

Saying goodbye to a loved one is never easy.
Yesterday we said goodbye to a dear friend, with whom we'd spent time with whilst away in Echuca.
He'd just turned 79.

He loved his family, and always openly praised his grandchildren, even when they weren't there.
He worked with his hands, making and mending clocks.
He also loved his country music.
Papa had helped him put all his old reel-to-reel films onto dvds earlier this year, so we'd already shared a more intimate look into his earlier life, also.

One song played at the funeral really moved me, because it summed him up perfectly.

"In My Daddy's Hands"

I remember Daddy´s hands, folded silently in prayer.
And reaching out to hold me, when I had a nightmare.
You could read quite a story, in the callouses and lines.
Years of work and worry had left their mark behind.
I remember Daddy´s hands, how they held my Mama tight,
And patted my back, for something done right.
There are things that I´ve forgotten, that I loved about the man,
But I´ll always remember the love in Daddy´s hands.

Daddy's hands were soft and kind when I was cryin´.
Daddy´s hands, were hard as steel when I´d done wrong.
Daddy´s hands, weren´t always gentle
But I´ve come to understand.
There was always love in Daddy´s hands.

I remember Daddy´s hands, working 'til they bled.
Sacrificed unselfishly, just to keep us all fed.
If I could do things over, I´d live my life again.
And never take for granted the love in Daddy´s hands.

by Holly Dunn

You may here it here.

We'll miss you Jim!
xxxxx

A week of wet weather

2011-11-03T21:23:00.000+11:00

Looking over the pictures I put in my last post, I can't believe we were actually enjoying a very warm day at the beach. Since that change came through, it's been COLD! and wet, all week.

Never mind, because there are some sunny days predicted in the next few days.

The good things this week brought was:

Mangoes! A bulk supply c/- a friend, which is steadily being devoured.

I'll start freezing some soon, as they're gradually all getting ripe now.

Mariposa's received her Certificate of Recognition

for participating in the library's writing competition.

Maestro's been having a go at Math-U-See Pre-Algebra. There are some gaps that he hasn't covered before, but a lot of it has been revision. We're putting MUS on trial in our house, and so far Maestro is liking it. We'll have a better idea of how it 'fits' after a couple more weeks.

(We're still using Singapore Maths for Mariposa.)

I've ordered 'The Girlhood Companion' for Mariposa, which arrived this week. She has been trying so hard to be a lovely helper here, and making some special mother/daughter time reading and learning new recipes, etc. will be much fun. I'm thinking that the monthly Tea Cozy Club may be a good option to try, also, especially if the writings, recipes and crafts are of the same high standard.

Maestro has started making his own website.

I know ... how did he learn to do that?! I don't know how to do that!

All it takes is a friend who already knows and a curious mind to soak up the information apparently.

He's including podcasts, polls, and a whole lot of other music/technology experiments.

We were also full-swing back into homeschool lessons, dance lessons (only 2 more weeks until the concert!), Papa back to work and my music teaching. All the good things to keep us busy and our minds off the wet weather.

I hope you've all had a good week!

Out for the day .. Lorne

2011-10-28T19:01:00.000+11:00

A warm day, with a storm on the way,

but we wanted an outing whilst Papa's still home.

We grabbed what we needed

for a day trip down to The Great Ocean Road.

We stopped at Lorne and enjoyed the beach.

Mariposa's the first to try out the water.

Brrrr! It's still pretty cold for this time of year.

Maestro's more comfortable staying on the sand

and trying to make hills under the towels.

Then the storm clouds started rolling in:

We pack up to head back.

A quick stop and dash to see the lighthouse as the rain starts to really settle in.

We'll endeavour to travel further along the Great Ocean Road

and see the 'shipwreck coast' with all it's history

on a future trip.

Let's take this notebooking a little more seriously

2011-10-24T17:20:00.000+11:00

I've been putting myself through some more teacher training. We have a teen in the house and I don't want the learning to be all textbook based. It's has to remain engaging and encourage discussion.

The Primary years have been a lot of fun, and thankfully they're not over YET with Mariposa being at the end of grade 4 level. But with Maestro, we need to get a little more serious in defining interests while still broadening understanding on the bases already established.

So, where does one go for inspiration? Friends! Yes, I've been talking with those who have older children and watched what they're doing. Still, I really want more angles on how to do this. How have others successfully pulled together the final years of learning with their teens?

I learned about a month ago that there's a Charlotte Mason High School online course, complete with papers and audio files that arrive in monthly installments. This is put together by Jim and Sheila Carroll over HERE.

After a few weeks, I've already received enough information to seriously whet my appetite for MORE PLEASE! After reading and then listening to the audio files, I've been bunny-hopping around the internet looking for more information.

So far, the main inspiration has been to finally sit down and have the children really start working on regular notebook entries. It was after listening to Cindy Ruston that this has really taken off. Her talks on her 'Talk-A-Latte' pages were fabulous. It's so easy, and then I wonder why I didn't seriously set it all up this way from the start.

So, now the children each have a 3-ring binder and all notes are going in there. Beautification is a good thing, but if we don't have time, we come back to it later. Whilst we were away, the children were studying parables, such as "The kingdom is like ..." which they wrote out, then paraphrased the meaning. I also want them to have a go at making up their own parables as we didn't really have that happen last week.

The children seem to prefer notebooking much more than lapbooking. The 'everything in one place' works with the plastic sleeves and papers already on hand, and half-done projects easily contained where they can be transported for work elsewhere.

I'm looking forward to 'notebooking' all my recipes. They seriously need a tidy-up!

If you'd like to check out some of the places I've been to when looking for ideas, here's a quick list:
- A Quick Start for Notebooking Mini-Set, Cindy Rushton
- Notebooking for High Schoolers
- Notebooking Resources for Homeschoolers
- Beautiful Feet samples
- Harmony Art Mom's Notebooking Resources
- By Sun and Candlelight, "My Homekeeping Notebook"
...... and there are HEAPS more if you do a google search. :)

*** Pictures to come in a future post .... when we have finished our covers and have a collection of interesting pages to share! :)

A typical Sunday

2011-10-23T18:14:00.005+11:00

It's a lovely sunny day after a run of cool, wet days.

We've been for our early walk.

Mariposa's had her 3 hour horseriding lesson.
All the windows were opened around the house to let in the lovely warm breeze.

A great day for getting all the washing done!

Floors have been swept and mopped.

The diary has been checked to see what's coming up this week,

but I still need to look over upcoming schooling work and check materials needed.

Friends have dropped in for afternoon tea and a chat.

We made an exchange of 1 doz eggs and some lemons
for a box of books ... woo hoo!!

The lawn has just been mown.

Time to think about dinner: pasta with mushrooms, tomatoes and herbs,
and a baked custard for dessert.

I hope you all had a lovely day today, too!

Treasured Moments (4)

2011-10-23T07:32:00.000+11:00

We've been away in Echuca again. Warm weather, fresh air, lots of adventurous activities ... plenty of treasured moments to tell you about! :)

Do you find yourself falling into a pattern of daily grind, skipping the 'fun' activities because you don't have time or lack energy?

Do creative arts, nature walks, drama, read alouds or spontaneous acts seem only a distant dream in your life?

Yet these Treasured Moments shared with loved ones uplift us, nurture our soul, remind us of the beauty and joy in our lives.

We want Treasured Moments for ourselves, for our children, for our families but how can we make it happen?

... Commitment ... Encouragement ... Support ... Ideas ... Plans.

You are invited to join us at the end of every week and share your plans and ideas, your targets and goals and your stories ... your 'Treasured Moments'. In this way we may inspire one another, encourage ourselves and start achieving our dreams. Hosted by Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting.

My Treasured Moments these past 2 weeks were:

1. We're really enjoying having Papa home on vacation. It's a change of pace for everyone, and we were away in Echuca for almost a week, soaking up some lovely sunshine and breathing in fresh air. It was even warm enough to enjoy a swim in the outdoor pool.

2. Ten pin bowling with friends. They were giving each other such great support .. we were a very noisy group!

3. Maestro, Papa and I had a go at some archery. Some pretty keen shooting went on there!
(Mariposa opted for a group horseride instead that day.)

4. Mariposa had her first ever canoe paddle with me, down the Murray River. Maestro also came along, but was in another canoe. We were in a group with a total of seven canoes.

5. Our Maestro is now officially a TEEN! Yes, he has just turned 13. We bought him some Bear Grylls' survival gear he'll be able to use when we go camping and hiking.

6. There's more fun to come, as Papa still has another week and a half at home. We'll be back to lessons with the children, but will escape for a few extra outings whenever we can.

Too pretty to not photograph

2011-10-05T12:56:00.000+11:00

Oh, if only I could share the scent wafting from these gorgeous blooms with you!

It's Spring. What else can I say?

Treasured Moments (3)

2011-10-02T23:44:00.000+11:00

We started off having a lovely weekend, but today I'm the one who's ill, unfortunately. Having slept most of the day away, my tummy's decided I'm peckish again. So, whilst I'm sipping some hot tea and dry toast, I thought I'd make an entry into my blog again. Besides, it's nice to reflect back on the good things that happened during the week.

Do you find yourself falling into a pattern of daily grind, skipping the 'fun' activities because you don't have time or lack energy?

Do creative arts, nature walks, drama, read alouds or spontaneous acts seem only a distant dream in your life?

Yet these Treasured Moments shared with loved ones uplift us, nurture our soul, remind us of the beauty and joy in our lives.

We want Treasured Moments for ourselves, for our children, for our families but how can we make it happen?

... Commitment ... Encouragement ... Support ... Ideas ... Plans.

You are invited to join us at the end of every week and share your plans and ideas, your targets and goals and your stories ... your 'Treasured Moments'. In this way we may inspire one another, encourage ourselves and start achieving our dreams. Hosted by Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting.

My Treasured Moments this week are:

1. The children have had a week of minimal screen time, which means playing lots of games, chatting, baking and catching up with friends. We've had time at the park, been out for a lovely luncheon with other families, and had Mariposa's friend spend a day and evening with us. I felt like this has been a great week for settling back into 'getting to know you' time. Yesterday, in particular, I was delighted with the level of conversations that were happening here.

2. I've started reading a couple of new books, on loan from friends. The first is "The Soloist". It's a very moving book about how a journalist chances to meet with an accomplished musician. This man has extraordinary talent, but how did he come to be living on the streets? I'm about 1/3 or way into this book, and I get the feeling that this journalist is learning what many of us would need to learn in order to really HELP someone .. there's no easy quick fix.

The other book I'm reading is called "Hold on to Your Kids". This is all about attached parenting, and building wholesome relationships in the family.

3. Today, the children were wonderful helping out around the house and looking after me with extra pillows and drinks of water. I even had the window opened so I could see the lovely day outside, and smell the native frangipani which has just come into flower.

So where are we at?

2011-09-27T23:49:00.000+10:00

Once again, it's been over a week since my last post. Finding time to write up blog posts is getting trickier. One factor is that Maestro is becoming more tech. savvy, so uses this computer more than I. I'm not holding a grudge, though. He does a quick check for my emails, yells if I'm needed, then gets back to the task he was doing. He's either working on music editing, story writing, Spanish lessons (Auralog), or emailing friends. Is it time for us to get another computer? ... I really don't want to seriously think about that right now.

Mariposa has been recovering amazingly well from her operation. After the more painful days (around 5-9 days after her tonsils and adenoids were removed), she bounced back and was ready to do all sorts of things. We still waited out the two full weeks of quarantine, though, taking time for picnics at the park and some pleasant walks in the sunshine. She then went back to her drawing lessons, a craft day with friends, an afternoon horseriding, and is having her friend for a sleepover tomorrow night.

In our 'homeschooling world', Maestro's worked hard to get through more Apologia General Science. He felt like the units on evolution discussions took forever, so I prodded him through it and now we're into the discussions on DNA with units on biology. He's made a DNA model, dug up worms from the garden, looked for starch in plants; it's all a whole lot more fun again now.

Mariposa's science has consisted of reading How to Think Like a Scientist. I won't give it all away, but she's actually carrying out her experiment about whether a snake hung over a tree branch really can bring rain ... with a toy rubber snake. "Did it rain, though?" I hear you ask. Well ... yes, it did, but I think that it was already on the forecast before it fined up to a lovely afternoon.

We've also been out to the pet supply store and bought a basic budgie nesting box for our two birds, Oliver and Butterscotch. It is Spring, after all, so we're hoping that this pair of birds will produce some offspring for us to enjoy. The nesting box we bought is very much like this one. I also found this cute nesting box you can attach outside your window, cleverly set up so you can peek in when you lift the cover from inside the house: Peek-a-boo Birdhouse. It may be something we could make at home, with a perspex backing, and set it up similarly to watch some small native honey-eaters.

Introducing Oliver

and Butterscotch

Our Fibonacci living books arrived and we've read them. This week, as it's now the state term break, we're also playing lots of games that involve math ( but sshhhh! don't tell the children!) We've been playing Yahtzee a fair bit today and the plan to use multiplication facts to find your score IS WORKING!

The number of my music students has been grown ... 14 students now! Wow! How did that happen so fast? Three new girls started the previous week, all known from the dance school. I think that's where a lot of my spare time is going, but I'm enjoying it. I now have five students learning singing, and the others learning piano. I'm finding that I'm encouraged to play more myself now, and even my children are getting more enthused about music (not that it was ever lacking before, really!) Mariposa told me this afternoon that she's a little jealous of one of the girls, as she wants to learn those (more difficult) piano pieces too. Nothing like positive peer pressure, I suppose. I'll have to remedy some of that this week.

I won't start telling you all that's been happening around the house, except that there's the mess made with little renovation jobs popping up here and there. Let's just say, I need a break to clean up this place! But, we're happy .. and I hope you're all having a great week too.

Such an inspiring documentary : Mrs Carey's Concert

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000+10:00

We all sat glued to the tv set last night. I actually hadn't planned to watch anything in particular, but I'm so glad that I decided switch on to the ABC channel for a look. A most inspiring documentary was about to begin.

Mrs Carey's Concert gives us all a glimpse into what can be achieved with determined teaching and perseverance. A look at the bigger picture, and seeing how music can offer so much to every student, takes Karen Carey and her staff off on a journey each year of building up students to reach where they never thought possible. All students from Sydney's MLC Burwood will perform at the Sydney Opera House. Everyone comes away with something.

Carey describes music as being that which builds the intellect, creativity and explores emotions. All 1200 students at the school must participate, and all must apply themselves to the best of their ability.

There are struggles along the way, as is the expected experience. Students are either harsh on themselves in striving for a good result, or they're stubborn with the teachers in rebellion. I actually particularly like how the other students help support Mrs Carey's effort to have everyone included in the program, by confronting the rebellion for the sake of everyone involved. This documentary shows both sides, with the final concert answering the persisting question, "How will she make all this work?"

I so wish I had an opportunity to play in an school orchestra like this. The end result is wonderful, and you can't help but have the tears well up in your eyes as you hear the final concert results after glimpsing into the lives off these young ladies. There is definitely something to be gained by participating in the bigger picture, and we saw a little of what that's like by watching this documentary.

Tagged for a homeschool meme

2011-09-14T09:33:00.000+10:00

Thank you Erin, for tagging me! It's taken me several days to think through my answers to these questions, and I probably still haven't fully gathered all my thoughts properly, but it's a quiet morning and I'm going to attempt to answer these questions now.

1. One homeschooling book you have enjoyed

I have also read several homeschooling books, and all have something in them that's been helpful.

One of the most enjoyable books I've read, though is Karen Andreola's Charlotte Mason Companion. It's simply put, and encourages the nurturing of the whole child .. spirit and academic. I always have preference to a gentle approach, and this book is very gently written.

2. One resource you wouldn't be without
Wow .. one resource .. ? Okay, I'm going to say my Sonlight catalogue. Right there I have a list of fabulous books that will keep the children (and myself!) engaged in quality learning for a very .. long .. time.

3. One resource you wish you had never bought
Unfortunately, for us, Sequential Spelling was a fizzer when we tried it. It brought tears like I'd never experienced from Mariposa before. She hated that she couldn't practice the words before having the 'test', and because spelling isn't her strong point, the frustration that it caused was absolutely unbearable.
I really like how it seemed to work, as it's a 'learn the patterns as you go' type of curriculum. It probably would have worked well on someone who processes visually well, like Maestro, but it really didn't work at all for Mariposa.
(We ended up changing to All About Spelling with success ... just so you know there was a happy ending to that little drama.)

4. One resource you enjoyed last year
Sonlight's Science, for both children. We're really getting into science now, especially loving the experiments. Maestro completed Science E (Electricity, Magnetism and Astronomy), and Mariposa completed Science D (Biology, Taxonomy and Human Anatomy).

5. One resource you will be using next year
(does it count if we've already just started?)
NOEO Science, Chemistry. This, again, will be for Mariposa because she really thrives with hands-on learning. So, we're going to make things fizz, bubble and pop, no matter how simple, and learn about atoms, molecules and elements along the way.

From there, we'll go back to Sonlight Science F.

6. One resource you would like to buy
A tutor in Spanish. Yep, I struggle with other languages, and I don't feel it's really fair on my children to miss out because of me. If I could afford to, and there was real interest, I'd have them tutored.

7. One resource you wish existed
I don't know .... I daren't say, because I know that I haven't got an exhaustive knowledge of all that's out there! I'll just keep looking around as I need to. :)

8. One homeschool catalogue you enjoy reading
Again, my Sonlight catalogues.

9. One homeschooling website you use regularly
Rockpoolhomschool - homeschool forum. My eyes started to open at all the resources available to homeschoolers right here!

10 Tag six other homeschoolers
I'd love to hear from any of my readers:)

What's all this about Fibonacci?

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000+10:00

Maestro has moved from the Primary series of Singapore Maths books to the High School series New Syllabus Mathematics. Wow, what a huge step up! Compared with the Primary books, we're having to move at a slower pace now. We don't have a parent's or Home Instructor's Guide, so I need to sit with Maestro and work through this with him.

The problems are very creative, too. There's been a lot of extra problem solving from the outset. Some of the questions are fun, and we'll work on them together. Others are tricky and border on us getting frustrated, so we have to leave them and just move on. (There are no 'working out' diagrams in the answers!)

Hmmm! Did I chose the wrong maths program for Maestro's High School years? I'm hoping not, and as I look ahead into future chapters, I realise that I remember a lot of my High School work.

BUT .. first we have to wade our way through Chapter 3; Number Sequences and Problem Solving. Right there, in the first few pages of that chapter, we're learning about Triangular Numbers, the Fibonacci Sequence and Pascal's Triangle.Hold on; back up! "What's this Fibonacci, Mum? I really don't get it! The triangle stuff seems to make sense, but I don't understand what it means with that Fibonacci sequence."

It's true, I haven't really discussed this with my children before. We've talked about patterns that occur in nature as a generalisation, but not as a mathematical discovery. The New Syllabus Mathematics book only gives a 1/2 page pointed explanation, which assumes that the teacher would fill in a lot of the information, or the child has had some form of introduction to this material before.

We do need to back a bit, and I'm going to opt for some living maths books again. Mariposa will be able to read these with us, and we can also take not of our findings in nature studies.

Here are some books I have ordered, and going by the Amazon reviews, they'll be great additions to our library:

Blockhead, The Life of Fibonacci
This book is aimed at years 3 to 5, giving a light-hearted introduction to Fibonacci's life.
Some lovely reviews and sample pages, as well as a video presentation, are available via Amazon here.

Growing Patterns
Again, aimed at upper primary grades, but looking at the patterns in nature with some clear photographs. It looks like a simple book, but again, sometimes that's the best way to invite exploration.
Reviews and samples at Amazon here.

Fibonacci Fun
Aimed at grades 4 - 8, this is an activity book we can use on occasion to keep practicing what we'll be learning.
Review at Amazon here.

Add to those resources some websites, and I think we'll have the makings of some good grounding material.

Dr Ron Knott's Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Sequence - was the first site I found on my google search. It's full of information which I found fascinating, plus some great activity suggestions.

Thinkquest - this explores the Fibonacci sequence in quite some depth, moving also into Binet's formula, the Fibonacci spiral and the Golden Ratio. To start using this site, click on 'The Series' in the left sidebar, then use the arrows under the main part of the screen to move along in sequence. If you hit the 'A' and 'P' icons, you'll see the animations and proofs.

Brantcan's Fibonacci - gives more of a scientific lean to the study. To be honest, I need to read through this page more thoroughly, as he talks about sound waves as well. Fascinating, but I need to get my head around it. I've marked this webpage in case Maestro really gets the gist of it and wants to explore more. Additional links and free downloads also available at the bottom of the page.

Looking ahead in Maestro's maths book, I see that some more creative problem solving is going to be happening, so I'm going to read up and make sure I'm well prepared. I like that we're investigating what develops the curiosity of a mathematician, and that enquiry is encouraged, but I also think that I'll enjoy a rest from all these mental gymnastics when we hit Fractions and Decimals again!

edited to add:

If you are looking for more information re: Singapore Maths for the high school, there is the choice of doing New Elementary Mathematics, Discovery Mathematics or New Syllabus Mathematics.

Cathy Duffy gives a review of NEM that may be helpful HERE.

Or, check out Singapore Maths for information on their various books HERE.

Flower Arranging (1)

2011-09-10T23:16:00.000+10:00

Quarantine isn't much fun, especially when you're not really feeling 'sick'. Mariposa was desperate to do something with me, so I suggested that she make a table arrangement. She's helped me make some nice little arrangements before, but this time I let her take the reins and I was going to sit on the side ready if she needed some help. I would also snap away and take plenty of photos. (smiles!)

Now, I do have .... somewhere! .... a proper little collection of flower arranging materials. When I find them, we can explore some other options. For now, we're just going to use the following:

a small waterproof bowl
a pair of secateurs
a small block of oasis, cut to fit into the bowl, allowing 1cm sticking out above the rim
a collection of medium sized leaves for covering the base
a nice selection of blossoms from the garden
some 'filler' blossoms or folliage to go between the flowers in the arrangment

I'm going to share how I was taught to do flower arranging from when I was at youth summer camp, in my teen years. I really enjoyed learning this skill, so it's stayed with me. :)

First thing to be done is to soak the piece of oasis. Oasis (or florist's foam) may be found at $2 shops, florists, or ebay. Make sure you have a piece that fits snuggly into the bowl, and that it also is raised above the rim by about 1cm, then pop it into a dish of water so it can absorb as much water as possible (give it at least 1/2 an hour). Whilst that's happening, you can go about collecting and laying out your flowers and folliage.

Once the oasis is full of water, carefully put it into the bowl. At this stage, you'd usually tape it down with waterproof florist's tape. I couldn't find mine, so we're making do without.

Start by making a 'skirt' for the arrangement with some medium sized leaves. I often use camellia leaves, but some other suggestions are bay leaves, small ferns, or as we've used, scented geranium leaves. Cut the stalks at a bit of an angle so there's more surface area open to the moist oasis. The point also helps when it comes to inserting it into the arrangement.

Next, choose your main flowers and think about where they'll be placed. Because this is a table arrangement, we need to ensure that the finished product will be enjoyable to view from all sides, so aim to keep symmetry. Here, Mariposa has used some freesias that have just come into flower. I instructed her to place them evenly around, starting by putting a smaller flower at the center (top) for height. Then, she put in a flower facing out at all the corners. Wherever she placed one on one side, she had to mirror on the other as much as possible.

It's worth noting that lighter colours do appear to come more to the foreground than darker flowers, so place these lighter ones where they'll give good balance. You'll notice that your eye will get drawn to these first.

Some larger flowers will fill up an arrangement quite quickly. With ours, though, the freesias are fairly small, so we have plenty of 'spaces' to fill. We've cut some shrubbery from our fragrant pittosporum bush, then cut off small bunches to fill in close to the oasis. You want to hide as much of the oasis as possible, creating a background between the main blooms. You can use all sorts of filler to do this job. Some suggestions are thryptomene or gypsophila, which are commonly used by florists here, or variegated leaves from various shrubbery.

More filler flowers were added in the form of yellow marguerite daisies. These highlighted the yellow freesias beautifully. Then, finally, a few lavender flowers for a touch of 'blue' and some extra dimension.

Make sure some water is added to the bowl every day, and if the weather is quite warm, a spraying over with some water in a small bottle is beneficial.

Not bad for her first 'almost' solo effort. I think this may become a fun little activity she can do for the family dining table on a regular basis, using the blooms we'll have in the garden throughout Spring and Summer. We'll practice some other florist skills as we move along.

I have found a 'how to' video online. This may also help give you some information on how to start. There are many other helpful related links from the video page HERE.

Bravely done, Mariposa

2011-09-08T15:28:00.000+10:00

We're taking things quietly here over the next few days, whilst Mariposa recovers from her operation. She's just had her tonsils and adenoids out, and is feeling very tired.

She handled the anxiety of the unknown so well leading up to the operation, even making a new friend in the waiting room.

This morning she admitted to the nurses that it wasn't all as scary as she thought it would be. Now we're glad that she's home and is eating small meals well. We'll look forward to happier days ahead with few earaches and sore throats, and better nights' sleep without snoring.

Treasured Moments (2)

2011-09-03T10:17:00.000+10:00

Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting is away at the moment, but I thought I'd still do my week's worth of treasured moments.

Do you find yourself falling into a pattern of daily grind, skipping the 'fun' activities because you don't have time or lack energy?

Do creative arts, nature walks, drama, read alouds or spontaneous acts seem only a distant dream in your life?

Yet these Treasured Moments shared with loved ones uplift us, nurture our soul, remind us of the beauty and joy in our lives.

We want Treasured Moments for ourselves, for our children, for our families but how can we make it happen?

... Commitment ... Encouragement ... Support ... Ideas ... Plans.

You are invited to join us at the end of every week and share your plans and ideas, your targets and goals and your stories ... your 'Treasured Moments'. In this way we may inspire one another, encourage ourselves and start achieving our dreams. Hosted by Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting

My Treasured Moments this week are:

1. Last weekend was my Dad's 70th 'surprise' birthday party. Those of my family who could get together were there. Dad seemed really happy to see us all in one place, and having lots of bouncy grandchildren to play with was a special bonus! We bought him a musical birthday card, which could record a vocal message. When he opened the card he heard us all yell out 'Happy Birthday Grandad!", then it played a lively country jig .... which I said he could dance to in celebration of his retirement.

2. We're planning some bedroom renovations with the children. Each child has an idea of some things they'd like to change, and now that they are a little older, we're giving them some more ownership and responsibility. It's been lovely watching them get excited about what they could do and sharing ideas together.

3. This was Mariposa's 'week off' from bookwork. That means she gets to do lots of 'unschooling' activities. One of her priorities was sorting through her books and toys. We also took time to go op-shopping together and she found some lovely summer tops and skirts. She had fun trying to find some outfits for me also.

4. Maestro had more time to do his bookwork with me, due to Mariposa's week off, and we have especially enjoyed reading his Sonlight history book "Caesar Augustus". Very easy to read and understand; we're 1/2 way through it now.

Later, I'm sure I heard him say "Yay, Mum's going to help me more with my maths this week!" in his put-on 'cutsie' voice. I realised then that he must be finding the NSM Singapore maths challenging, so we spent lots of time together going through that. He's covering Fibonacci sequences, so I'm sourcing some more living maths books for him. It was a good reminder that (i) he needs to let me know when he's struggling, and (ii) I need to clue in more to his needs / read his textbook ahead, so he doesn't feel lost.

5. Both of the children have been working fabulously together using the ACID digital music program. My husband found he had a sample program already, so it's been downloaded to the family computer and both children enjoy working at compiling their own masterpieces.

The "to be done" list

2011-09-02T08:32:00.000+10:00

Do you keep a list of things that need to be done around the house? We always manage to write up an impressive page or two of tasks that we'd like to get done before Summer comes. There's something about the birth of Spring which brings about the homely nesting instincts, and hubby and I found ourselves, once again, writing out such a list.

This year's list, for us, is going to be fun, but a lot of work. We'll be pulling out carpet and polishing more floorboards (it's taking us about 3 years to work through the whole house in stages), painting the bedrooms, and finishing a few touches that were left from last time.

Mariposa's selections: flowers for the garden,

and a choice of a blue for her bedroom wall.

We're also going to tackle sprucing up the kitchen on a budget. Basically this means giving the walls a lick of paint, as well as painting over all the cupboards in a complimentary colour (they're currently all polished pine paneling). The sink .. yes, the faucet needs replacing, and I've just ordered a venetian blind for the window (now that the neighbour's tree has fallen down and been removed, we can each see straight into each others kitchens).

Most importantly, though, is the installation of a new greenhouse I recently purchased. We have a space in our backyard where a concrete slab was poured to make a detached BBQ area. However, we've not found it very functional, with all the roofing disintegrating not long after our move into this house. So, it's become a bit of a storage area for tree trunks and prunings to dry out, bags of compost and miscellaneous materials. Well, it's time for a clean up! All the wood is to be cut up properly for firewood, and we'll have to organise trips to the tip with whatever is deemed unusable. Maestro's been given the fun task of demolishing the brick BBQ, which we will rebuild in another location. Then, this space will contain our new productive greenhouse. More yummy organic vegies; I can't wait!!

The site for our new greenhouse.

I had to take a before picture .. but it's such a mess!

Today, I'll also start sowing some seeds for the front garden. We've decided to put in a number of sunflowers, along with some chinese greens and herbs. The shadows will begin to retract soon, so we'll start these plants off in little punnets and plant them out in a couple of months.

I have no idea how long it will take to get all of these jobs done, but I think writing some time goals are in order. Mariposa is champing at the bit to get the paint for her room. Some paint swatches were bought home, and she's chosen a lovely cornflower blue as a feature wall. Oh yes, I should write this down too: her furniture to also get a lick of paint. Oh dear, we are going to be busy!

You can all look forward to some updates as we go along. I really needed to put up this post as motivation, because these jobs MUST get done, even if they do take until the end of the year.

Colours of this morning

2011-08-22T09:41:00.000+10:00

Early morning; the sun's fresh over the horizon

and peaking into the garden through a clear blue sky.

The jasmine on the garden arch has a few of it's fragrant bloom in the spotlight.

Ground cover plants are delicately veiled still in dew.

And for another plant, it's the first morning that it's blossoms open for the season.

This will become the meeting place for many bees as soon as it's discovered.

An experience with digital music creativity

2011-08-20T21:49:00.000+10:00

The children are getting older and the need to get out and explore new things has been taken to a new level.

In times past, I'd hear of an idea for an excursion being planned and happily volunteer us all for an outing, seeing the educational benefits and how it would all fit in with things we're already doing. This still does happen a bit, but now my children are talking with other homeschooling children, finding out about activities ahead of me and wanting to get in on the act.

I'm really glad that some strong friendships have been made, and even more glad that my children are taking the initiative to ask about excursion ideas. I imagine this is going to happen more often as they get older!

It's because of such enquiries that I came across The Excursion Factor, set up to facilitate homeschoolers in the Melbourne area. Other homeschooling families already knew about this great group, so I quickly jumped on the bandwagon so we could participate in these outings too.

Getting started, Maestro gets some personal instruction.

As far as Maestro was concerned, we'd hit the jacketpot! Music technology is one area he loves to spend lots of his time exploring, and LOOOOOKKKK! at all the excursions planned based around that interest!!!!! We already have a program here at home that he plays with, but a visit to the Digital Learning Hub near Melbourne's Arts Centre would open up the experience further.

Set up with keyboards, computers and a mixing board per student.

Along with a number of other homeschooling children, Mariposa and Maestro participated in the Discover Music Technology program which ran for 1.5hrs. Instrumental sounds were explored and recorded in MIDI, starting with drum beats and guitar sounds. This then lead to creating a track with ACID software, where recorded loops were arranged to make their own digital compositions. Each child had their creation saved and then recorded onto cd.

Sample of ACID with mulitple tracks.

Mariposa approached this activity with some apprehension at the beginning, but in the end had such a lot of fun that she's now creating more music again at home. And I have a budding sound engineer wondering how long it will take him to save up for the ACID program to use here at home.

Group instruction, given intermittently to introduce a new step to everyone.

Maestro will also be taking part in the Film Soundtrack Creator excursion planned for November. (Side note: don't you love how all the curriculum learning boxes are already set out for us? Love it!! )

Our list of excursion ideas will probably keep growing as interests develop. It'll be fun to see what ideas will arise over the next couple of years.

Treasured Moments (1)

2011-08-13T13:01:00.000+10:00

Do you find yourself falling into a pattern of daily grind, skipping the 'fun' activities because you don't have time or lack energy?

Do creative arts, nature walks, drama, read alouds or spontaneous acts seem only a distant dream in your life?

Yet these Treasured Moments shared with loved ones uplift us, nurture our soul, remind us of the beauty and joy in our lives.

We want Treasured Moments for ourselves, for our children, for our families but how can we make it happen?

... Commitment ... Encouragement ... Support ... Ideas ... Plans.

You are invited to join us at the end of every week and share your plans and ideas, your targets and goals and your stories ... your 'Treasured Moments'. In this way we may inspire one another, encourage ourselves and start achieving our dreams. Hosted by Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting

My Treasured Moments this week are:

1. Taking time with the children to enjoy our trip to the city for an appointment, and having lunch together rather than just rushing back home.

2. Working together in the garden, planning our new space for a greenhouse and potting up more herbs. We all got involved, and I was so happy to see the children get excited about some new projects.

3. Both children are getting more creative with their cooking, so I'm having to relax and let that happen so they can learn. Timeframes for mealtimes need to be a little more lenient until the methods are well established. There are just so many lessons to learn when preparing food. So, many treasured moments in the kitchen, and in the eating afterwards!

4. Mariposa worked on a lovely pastel picture, as well as a cake from a new recipe, to give to her horseriding teacher. The joy she had in presenting this was so lovely.

5. We took another impromptu moment yesterday to catch up with friends for a cuppa. Four mums and ten children had an absolute ball relaxing for afternoon tea and a chat (well, and a few other boisterous games with the children!)

To join in you are welcome to add your post on Seven Little Australians and Counting using the Mr. Linky form (please link to the individual post) and include a link back to Erins post. If you haven't a blog we would still love to hear your voice, just leave your stories in the comments

An 11yr old's public speech against G.E.

2011-08-09T21:51:00.000+10:00

This is just so inspiring, to see a young lad having the confidence to speak publicly about the sensitive issue of genetically engineered foods. Educating our children, and the future generations, is obviously so important!

A look into a child's bedroom

2011-08-07T10:11:00.000+10:00

Some of you may know of a book entitled "A Child Just Like Me". We have this book and have shared it with our children. James Mollison has published a photographic journal that's in some ways similar.

A small collection of the photos can be seen HERE. Or, you may like to look at all of the pictures from James' site HERE.

These could raise some very interesting discussion in your family!

Read TOS's Summer magazine for FREE!

2011-08-01T09:33:00.003+10:00

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Summer issue is currently available, and everyone has an opportunity to view the digital version for FREE! If you have ever been interested in this magazine, here's your opportunity to have a sneak preview.

Head on over the special offer page via the picture link above, or click HERE.

How goes the homeschool planning?

2011-07-28T07:00:00.006+10:00

In the US it's the beginning of another school year and the buzz is all happening with new curricula and planners. I love hearing what other people are doing and keeping track of ideas I'd like to try. My email box keeps receiving messages about new or updated products, and discussions happening on various forums does get one very excited.

Back here in Australia, though, we're in the middle of our schooling year. Even then, our homeschooling 'year' never seems to start in any one fixed position on the calendar. We phase from one book per subject to another on a sliding scale. If we stop for a vacation or term break, then we simply just pick up from where we left off once we return.

So, how do you schedule? What do you use to show others what your children have achieved, or even as a reflection on all those things the children have done over the years? How then do you plan ahead and anticipate what will be achieved in the next 12 months?

In our state, we don't currently need to have a planned report to present in application to homeschool. Many other states around Australia do have this requirement, however. Personally, I think there are some clear advantages to having this type of documentation completed, because it maps out the journey you'd like to take with your children. Sometimes the route may change a little along the way, but the destination is important.

Being realistic is of utmost importance. I've been guilty, as I'm sure many other homeschooling parents have also, of planning out the perfect daily schedule, only to find that there is no physical way that it will work out perfectly each and every day. Yep, I'm guilty! I've done the timetable thing, when Maestro was 6 years old and Mariposa a toddler, of saying we'll do one activity at 10am, then another at 10:45am, then we'll do the shopping, lunch, nap/storytime, swimming ...... It can't work like that everyday.

So, how CAN you schedule?

Everyone does this differently. I've picked up a few things from various homeschooling suppliers and friends along the way, but this is how I currently work:

Start by writing down the key subjects (or 8 KLAs as is known here), and write in how you like to achieve coverage in those areas. For example (I'll use Maestro's plan for this post):

Arts - violin, some piano, Artistic Pursuits
English - Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts, with Newsademic and Wordly Wise 6; Sonlight Core G readings
Health / Phys. Ed - dance (5.25hrs/wk), adhoc sports days with other families; nutrition/health as family activities at regular intervals
Language other than English - Spanish using Auralog
Maths - Singapore Maths NSM yr 7
Science - Apologia General Science
Studies of Society and Environment - using Sonlight Core G for history; current affairs with Newsademic.
Technology - responsible for some cooking per week, regular household chores/maintenance, woodwork/leatherwork classes in 1st term. Computer time regularly per week (teaching himself music technology), touch typing skills.

This is the thumb-sketch of our year, 2011. Other things will come up that can be added to our list, including all the excursions we'll be doing.

Next, I grab my planner and write in the weekly plan. The only times I have actually booked per activity are those booked as appointments. So, this includes the weekly violin lesson, and all the dance classes. We also had a dance competition on the weekend, so that was blocked out.

Now it comes down to the day-by-day homeschooling lessons. There are a number of things Maestro can work through on his own, but I still need to keep my finger on the pulse. How do I do that? Well, I actually had asked Dr Jay Wile how he worked that with his teenage daughter, when he was visiting for the seminar a month ago, which helped me with this method. What Maestro and I are doing is meeting together just after chores are done in the morning and going through the day's plan. We grab out his books and I go through the texts to see what he can manage. If I need to tutor him for a bit, we start there and then I write notes in his diary for what he can then proceed with alone. We move through all the key subjects in this manner, and I note where I'll be needed for more time together later that day (for eg: with read alouds). He tracks pages and assignments done in his diary, and then we get together at the end of the day to recap and check what may need to kickstart the next day should anything have been missed. We don't block in time periods for 1/2 hr math, 1/2 hr science, etc. There hasn't been any need for this as the day moves quite smoothly from one subject to another. Generally speaking, he's all done by around 2pm if he's started around 9:30am.

One thing I haven't yet ever done is to write up an actual report for each child. It is something I'll start doing, though. I've seen some great ideas and heard reports of how friends are making up reports and certificates to mark their child's milestones. I think that a portfolio as Renelle has done HERE is a great idea.

We do have a type of portfolio coming together for each child, but it's more a collection of all their certificates, exam results and such that could be used as a reference folder when the children are older. I had made up one when I was growing up, and it has come in handy many a time for interviews with the Dept. of Education, and character references. I think we'll still continue to keep this, but add it to a binder with regular reports of homeschooling successes.

Lots of people do set out their homeschool plans in different ways. Often the state requirements have dictated the need for different details. Here are a couple places you can visit if you're looking for planning ideas:

Renelle at Dove's Rest
Michelle at Homeschooling Down Under
HEA's Articles on Programming with real examples of people's planning submissions.

If you have some planning suggestions, especially if you are required to keep records as per state requirements, please leave a comment and a link back to your relevant post. I'd love to see what others are doing, too!

You may also be interested in a timely reminder from Julie at Bravewriter: Beating the Homeschooling Blues (Instead of Singing Them). We need to remember not to overburden ourselves and enjoy these times we have with our children.

A weekend treat: Pecan Pudding

2011-07-25T08:20:00.002+10:00

Does anybody else do the once-a-month deal of eating from whatever's already on-hand in the kitchen for a week?

This is something I started doing quite a while back, and it's become a little tradition. Mind you, it's not easy when the staples like flour, potatoes and rice start disappearing. By this weekend just gone, I had to go to my store cupboard and pull out another 25kg sack of wheat grain out to put into the pantry. The last of the brown rice went Thursday night, and we still have a couple kg of potatoes in the basket.

Our Sunday menu looked very interesting, but we certainly didn't starve at all.

Breakfast:
Museli with tinned pears.

Lunch:
Potato wedges (tossed in a mix of plain flour and garlic powder, then placed on baking tray with a drizzle of oil, into a hot oven on the top shelf). I had a little cream cheese left, so I warmed that to have with some sweet chilli sauce (if anyone wanted).
Apples.

Dinner:
Creamy vegetable and lentil soup. This was simply a sauteed mix of 1/2 a brown onion, 5 celery stalks, 2 large carrots and a small head of broccoli. Add 1 cup of red lentils, enough water to cover liberally, and some chicken stock cubes. Cook until tender and then puree.

Earlier in the day, I'd found a small packet of pecans hiding away. Aha! Pecan pudding. This is so yummy, and makes enough for 8.

Pecan Pudding:

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
80g butter, melted
75g pecan nuts, chopped

Into mixing bowl, sift flour and brown sugar together. Add pecans and toss through to coat.
In a separate bowl mix the milk, melted butter, and beaten egg. Add to dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
Spoon into greased oven proof dish (1 litre capacity).

Sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1/4 cup golden syrup
1 1/4 cups boiling water

Mix brown sugar with the cornflour until smooth, then sprinkle over the pudding base.
In a small jug, add the golden syrup to boiling water until well mixed, then carefully pour over brown sugar and cornflour mixture.

Bake in a 170degC oven for 50 minutes, or until topping is golden. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes until serving.

We found a little vanilla ice cream to go with ours, and it was very YUMMY!

Weekly happenings

2011-07-24T23:33:00.000+10:00

The start back to third term wasn't quite off at a pace I'd anticipated. Unfortunately some illness took hold of first one child, then the other. Whilst both of us as parents are fairing fine, the need for sleep and comforting soups has been needed in these past several days.

So, the goal was set to have us stay at home as much as possible, staying toasty warm on cold drizzly days.

While Maestro was down, as he was ill first, Mariposa and I took time to get back to speed on her Spelling. She's almost ready to start another book, so I have put in another order with All About Spelling and look forward to that arriving soon.

We began reading Mr Popper's Penguins and should finish it next week.

Mariposa is also now learning more about measurement and coming along wonderfully with her maths. It's amazing to see the confidence develop as she's seeing how her basic arithmetic is applying to so many other things. I must remember to play more mathematical games with her. We've been using the Singapore Maths Instructor's Guides for ideas relevant to the learning, and it's making it so much more fun.

In the area of Science, we've been learning about seasons and the earth's orbiting of the sun. Measuring shadows during the course of the day just hasn't been able to happen as it's been too overcast most of the time.

Once Maestro's health picked up, we got back into doing a little bookwork. We took the slow road to figuring out the prime numbers up to 100 on Friday. (He's now started the Singapore Maths high school books, New Syllabus Maths.)

I chose to read The Bronze Bow aloud, and that was completed by Friday.

Science has been put on hold. Maestro's violin teacher is a chemist, so when we see her next (a lesson was missed because of illness), we'll pick up some supplies to do some experiments. We'll be growing some crystals with alum from the Apologia General Science module #6.

For me, I had a busy week with some more music students coming along. Not too long ago, we bought a new piano. This has meant that I can now offer lessons to homeschoolers nearby, and the numbers have already grown by another six students. Now I'm busy practicing whilst I can, which ended up being a good hour today.

As of today, only Mariposa is still feeling a little under the weather. We should be ready to get back into full swing again during next week.

Hoping you've all had a good weekend!

Music sites for children

2011-07-24T10:11:00.000+10:00

Have you heard about the site Clickschooling? Diane Flinn Keith hosts the site, providing a library source of all sorts of educational sites. If you subscribe to daily curriculum ideas, you'll receive daily emails, with a given subject each day of the week.

This weekend I received an email about a music site that looks great! Play Music directs you to various other musical sites, including Carnegie Hall's Resource Centre, various games, an interview with a conductor, creating your own music and more.

I've just checked out the "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" via the Carnegie Hall site. The interactive videos are very informative. A parent may be needed to help read the information written on the screen, but there is also enough dialogue given to not make this necessary.

If your children enjoy learning online, you may want to have a look. There are LOTS of bunny trails via Play Music, so go through them and bookmark your favourites.

Comfort reading

2011-07-15T09:29:00.002+10:00

On cold nights, a book to read in the comforts of a cosy bed is very rewarding.

I found this book in our library catalogue, so put in a borrowers request. When it arrived, a quick scan through the pages had me looking forward to getting some time to read it.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Our Year of Seasonal Eating is a writing about a new lifestyle, set in southern Appalachia, USA. Barbara takes us through her memoirs season by season, adding her journal investigative thoughts throughout. Moving from light, humourous conversation to political and environmental issues keeps the reading interesting.

Barbara starts with the first harvest season after a cold winter, when asparagus spears begin to emerge. We're still waiting for our first asparagus of the season, so by the end of chapter 2, I'm out there in the garden inspecting any signs of progress. No, it's too early here still.

Reading on, we move through the stages of garden productivity, when to expect what vegetable in it's seasonal order, and some recipe ideas shared. I'm now only in chapter 7, but the excitement of Spring's possibilities have whet my appetite sufficiently to start sorting through my seeds and seriously plan what we want to be eating in a couple of months.

I love the humour in the book, too. The light-heartedness side of family life, where personalities blossom with innocence, is a lovely side to read. I relate to her youngest in this book, as she sounds so much like Mariposa. Here's an excerpt from page 94 that I had to read aloud to my husband; it made us both laugh:

As weeks passed and her future on the farm began to take shape in her mind, Lily asked if she'd also be able to have a horse. Her interest in equines surpasses the standard little-girl passion of collecting plastic ones with purple manes and tail; she'd lobbied for riding lessons before she could ride a bike. I'd long assumed a horse was on our horizon. I just hoped it could wait until Lily was tall enough to saddle it herself.

In the time-honored tradition of parents, I stalled. "With your egg business, you can raise money for a horse yourself," I told her. "I'll even match your funds - we'll get a horse when you have half the money to buy one."

When I was a kid, I would have accepted these incalculable vagaries without a second though, understanding that maybe a horse was out there for me but I'd just have to wait and see. The entrepreneurial gene apparently skips generations. Lily got out her notebook and started asking questions.

"How mush does a horse cost?"

"Oh, it depends," I hedged.

"Just a regular mare, or a gelding," she insisited. When it comes to mares and geldings, she knows the score. I'd recently overheard her explaining this to some of her friends. "A stallion is a boy that's really fierce and bossy," she told them. "But they can give them an operation that makes them gentle and nice and helpful. You know. Like our daddies."

... and it goes on. Lily is a second grader, so a couple of years younger than Mariposa is now, but still so very much like her in character.

There have been parts I've related to Maestro also, but his interest in the animal world isn't quite as passionate. He really just wants to build things and experiment with his growing manly strength. When I suggested beekeeping as a possible interest, he squirmed with irritation at the thought of bees landing over him whilst collecting the honey. The idea of the money making side appealed though. Hmmm ~ that gets me thinking that there's usually a honey show happening here in August, so I may need to enquire about some type of 'excursion' to explain the practicalities of apiculture.

Scattered throughout the memoirs are her writings on issues, similar to those found in books I've already read, such as Food Inc. They are good reminders of why we should take care of what we eat and how it is produced.

Recipes are available on the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle website, HERE.

Now it's time for me to roll up my sleeves and get some practical work done outside, even though this morning's air is still so very crisp. Our fruit trees need pruning, and I need to make sure that the asparagus stays safe. Last year, our dog, Midgy, was the first to enjoy eating this vegetable, and I don't want that to happen again this year!

A change of direction : horseriding

2011-07-08T11:00:00.004+10:00

Letting children make their own decisions can sometimes be 'testing'. I must admit that it's been a rough emotional road here for a bit, for all of us really. What I found most difficult, personally, is my daughter's innate love of dance disappearing. I can't seem to put my finger on one determining factor; it seems that there are several things at play here.

Mariposa does have a natural talent for dance. She's amazingly flexible, has excellent rhythm ... but a few things seem to have gone amiss. Over the years, she's been bumped up to join other girls of her ability, making her the young one in the group. This made her happy at the beginning, because she always wanted to learn the next more difficult thing rather than just going over the same material. Her request to join another more mature age bracket (the one Maestro is in, actually) just won't work. She's yet to turn 10, and they're in the 'under 16' age bracket. The group she was in seemed to be going through a 'silly' phase, talking (according to her) about nonsense and excluding her from conversations.

Bandana ~ Mariposa's horse on Wednesday.

What to do?! We allowed her to drop all but ballet at the beginning of the year. If a child has a natural talent, you don't want them to just give up, do you? But it became evident that our insistence was causing her so much anxiety and we had to yet again reconsider.

If we let her finish up with dance, we need to replace it with something else, and hopefully something that will not only bring back her spark, but present a few challenges to keep her interest.

"Can I do horseriding? PLLEEEEASE!"

Sigh! Another expensive endeavour.

Bandana - preparing for a ride.

Private lessons are a must before they'll let you join the group sessions, unless you can organise your own group for a mid-week session. The latter had been tried before and failed. The good news is that Mariposa had been to have some horseriding lessons before, so really only needed a refresher.

So, as you've probably already guessed, horseriding lessons have started. This week she has participated in a full week holiday program to bring her up to scratch ... and she's a very hard worker, and quick learner. I take her down to the stables at 9am and she's finished by 5pm.

Pillow - enjoying a spot in the late afternoon sun.

The challenges have come pretty thick in the first couple of days. Bad weather didn't help, which kept the children from riding. Stable duties and horse maintenance were on the agenda for most of the time. Thankfully the gale winds and rain has held back since Wednesday, which meant more riding time.

One of Mariposa's new friends, who lives just down the road from the school.

She brought her own pony along to learn about Natural Horsecare.

Mariposa has also made some new friends. When I arrived to pick her up yesterday afternoon, she was busy dancing around whilst sweeping the floors, singing some funny song. The girls were all laughing together, then everyone suddenly became serious when they noticed me there.

Completing chores at the end of the day.

I think tomorrow will be a day when Mariposa will enjoy a good sleep in. Despite the long day and cold weather, she's had a lot of fun. Deep down, I do hope that she won't dismiss dancing forever, but then it's quite possible she may. Meanwhile, she's happy and hopefully we can continue to accomodate her learning this way. (Yes, I'm opening up a new savings program for horseriding!)

Choosing your words

2011-07-02T10:03:00.000+10:00

Something simple and inspiring, to hopefully make you all smile:

1st of July, and I'd like my holiday now please

2011-07-01T10:06:00.000+10:00

It's Friday. The financial year is over and the paperwork is already done (yay!) We have no out-of-the-home commitments today. The sun's shining. I'd like to have my holiday now please.

Next week is actually the 'official' start of the term break, but we can lenient today, right?

What I'd like to do is get stuck into some gardening. There's a bed full of potatoes I'd like to scavenge through before Midgy, our dog, finds any more and eats them. An old bathtub, that's sitting outside, can then be used to raise these potatoes in a space that a dog won't dig them up.

Some of these potatoes look a bit 'green', therefore inedible.

We'll plant these into the old bathtub to get a new crop.

I also have a narrow bed of raspberries being overtaken by some passionfruit root stock. It's as hardy as anything and I don't know how to get rid of it. The grafted part where the fruit develops died years ago. I've found some facts about this root stock here, and it looks like some pesticide (glyphosate) will be needed. From this discussion, it looks like Nelly Kelly passionfruit vines are out, and a better option would be the Sunshine Special.

Too much vigourous grown from a Nelly Kelly passionfruit rootstock.

If I'd known the possible problems I'd have with this years down the track,

I'd never have planted this variety.

I'm also tossing around some ideas for a new chicken run. Our hens have been keeping the grass under the fruit trees down for years, but I'm wondering if the soil there needs a bit of a rest. We still have the three Australorps and a White Sussex. I know our Australorps got very broody last Spring, so I'm also thinking ahead on how to handle that if we need to have separate areas for each hen to raise her chicks. This may need some time doing more research before actually laying my hands to any actual work.

Our hens, Australorps and a White Sussex.

One site I'd like to move the hens too, but we'd need fencing to keep our dog well away.

That may be enough to handle today. After all, we do want a break. At least the 'potato project' will be fairly quick to do.

We met Dr Jay Wile

2011-06-30T08:24:00.004+10:00

As soon as we entered the doorway, Dr Wile was there and shook our hands. That set the tone for the day. He was approachable, relaxed, and although the hall was filled with approximately 140 bodies, I still felt like we were just gathering in someone's lounge room to share a discussion.

Dr Wile has been in Australia this past week, travelling to our major cities to give a seminar that was worth hearing.

Maestro and I were only there for the first two presentations:

12.30pm Why Homeschool through High school
Homeschooling parents are often faced with a difficult decision when their children reach high school age. Typically, the parents feel they are not able to teach the more demanding courses that are required at the high school level. As a result, many parents feel that they must send their children to school for a proper high school education. In this seminar, Dr. Wile, a former teacher at both the university and high school levels, will explain why such a decision is not in the best interest of the student.
Using data gathered from many different sources, including his own experiences, Dr. Wile demonstrates that homeschooled students are better academically prepared and better socialized than their publicly- or privately-schooled counterparts. These facts allow Dr. Wile to make a compelling case that the best thing for a homeschooled student is to stay in homeschool, regardless of the parent’s academic abilities.

2.30pm Be Open Minded But Don’t Let Your Brain Fall Out
One of the most important steps in critical thinking is to look at all sides of an issue. It is very easy to get trapped by false ideas if you continue to look at an issue from only one side. At the same time, however, it can be uncomfortable (and sometimes dangerous) to read the viewpoints of those with whom we disagree. How does a Christian deal with this tension? Dr. Wile first discusses why it is so important to look at an issue from many different sides, and then he explains how to avoid the pitfalls that could result. Those who are interested in serious investigations of theological, scientific, or political issues should definitely hear this talk.

I was pleased to hear in the first presentation his experiences in raising a teen homeschooler. His 'model' for teaching through the grades from elementary right through were certainly along the lines of how I found our homeschool routine already working, but I hadn't reached the 'end of the line' yet. The affirmation of working from teacher, to tutor, to co-learning along with independent learning meant that my ideas of how we were going about things in our home was a good expectation.

No matter what the subject, or interest of the child, it's the parental involvement that is a most important factor toward the end result. Ultimately we hope that the children will have a good, close relationship with us. They'll see that as parents we don't have all the answers, but we're willing to tough it out with them to find out what we need to learn, how to direct them, and still stay friends at the end of it all.

In the second presentation, a lot of my notes included names I've not heard before, with regard to proving quotes incorrect and looking for proper research data. Most of my scrawlings don't make a lot of sense on their own, even only 12hrs later, so I'll be going back to the podcasts (when they are available) to listen again and pay some more careful attention. (LOL! I can pause a podcast and scrawl away again before continuing!)

The emphasis on this presentation was about equipping yourself with information, so you do know both sides of an argument. Our children, especially as they get older, are going to form their own opinions. Healthy discussion is paramount, which means listening and then looking for good, solid information. Check your sources carefully, and watch for phrasing which can be based on facts, but also misleading.

Dr Wile's site has HANDOUTS for these seminars available in pdf format. These are the notes he had up on the screen during his talk. Unfortunately these are just a sketch of what was talked about. As is often the case, what's said in between to flesh out the points is usually more interesting; this was certainly the case in the second presentation (for me!) So, again, when podcasts are available, I will be listening to those again.

On a final note, Dr Wile is putting together a series of books for primary science according to history. This sounds very interesting, and will be available from August on a pilot program. You can find the link HERE, but be patient (bookmark it!) as it's not there just yet.

My thanks is also extended to all those who helped organise this event. You did a fabulous job!

Cute, practical bookmarks

2011-06-28T19:26:00.000+10:00

Sometimes I order something, not quite knowing what it will look like from the description given. It's nothing habitual, but I'm glad to say that my curiosity worked this time.

In my searching for stationery to complement my butterfly theme (ie: planner and stickers, as per previous post), I had come across something called 'i-clips'. These are magnetic page markers.

Aren't they cute? Each is about the size of a thumb nail and clips to the page magnetically.

The reverse side has an arrow at which you can place the marker to remind you of the exact line you last read.

For some reason, I had thought these may resemble more of a small bulldog clip, with a rounded edge. They are very slim, however, and will make great little gifts to send via the post.

This and that

2011-06-28T10:12:00.002+10:00

It's a lovely, quiet morning, with the sun streaming in the windows. The air outside is crisp and snaps your senses to attention the moment it's inhaled. It's the kind of morning that invigorates and makes you just want to 'get on with it'.

I've been sitting and enjoying a cup of tea, while looking over my new diary/planner. It arrived in the post yesterday and I have only just started jotting in birthdays and a few other notes. I know .. I used to make my own planner and keep it in a binder. That works fine, but I guess I've become a little lazier and looked for something pre-printed and of a nice size to slip into my handbag.
I've gone with the butterfly theme, but others were available: Mom's Weekly Planner. (Sample pages are available to view through Amazon, here.)

Pretty butterfly glitter stickers have been added to some pages, too. These will be quick reminders of special dates coming up.

A number of pages have already filled up with notes of Maestro's dance competition dates. His very first comps for the year have already happened last weekend, taking all of us up to Shepparton. The troupes did very well (3x 1st place and a 2nd placing), and we enjoyed watching the performances. I personally also enjoyed watching the under 6's perform some song/tap solos; they were so cute!

The weeks leading up to the competitions were spent sewing and knitting costumes. Actually, I had to have two goes at knitting the vest for Maestro. He's so lean that the first was swimming on him! Thankfully a smaller sizing meant it was quicker to work up.

Well, the morning is quickly passing. Mariposa has made a lovely batch of pikelets we can enjoy for morning tea whilst I've been typing, and then we'll start working through our bookwork again.

Have a lovely day all!

Excursion: the Australian Ballet Co.

2011-06-24T21:07:00.000+10:00

We shared an experience at the ballet today with some fellow homeschoolers.

Often the storyline can be difficult to interpret with ballet, especially for the younger audience. So, having the scenes 'paused' and narrated through by a cast member helps a lot.

Today, the Australian Ballet Company performed a segment of "The Merry Widow", retitled "The Baron and the Widow". The Baron interjected with narration at regular intervals during the performance, keeping all up to date with happenings on the stage.

The Merry Widow tells the story of the Baron Mirko Zeta whose country, Pontevedro, is on the brink of financial ruin. The Baron is desperate to find a solution to his country’s problems and Hanna Glawari, a wealthy widow, could be the solution. Join the Baron, along with the cast of The Merry Widow, as his devious plans to save his nation are revealed!

We still saw the beautiful dancing and elaborate costumes, set designs for those scenes and effects. 60 minutes was a perfect little snapshot for an introduction into the world of a ballet performance.

The Ballet Company offer other educational experiences on a regular basis. You can find more information on their Education page. A performance as we saw today is an annual event.

Australian working song - Click go the Shears

2011-06-17T09:42:00.001+10:00

Maestro has his violin exam this weekend; it's only days away now. The extra times spent practicing with the accompanist are very exciting, as the music just comes to life.

One of his pieces this year is the Australian working song "Click Go the Shears". Learning about how this song came about and what some of the lyrics mean has been part of the necessary preparation.

Years ago, I had a recording of this sung by the Play School group, and the singer used to pause before each verse to explain the slang. I wish I still had that recording, as it was excellent. (The album was called "There's a Bear in There" (1987).)

picture from here

Click Go the Shears

Out on the board the old shearer stands,
Grasping his shears in his long, bony hands,
Fixed is his gaze on a bare-bellied 'joe'
Glory if he gets her, won't he make the ringer go.

Chorus: Click go the shears, boys, click, click, click,
Wide is his blow and his hands move quick,
The ringer looks around and is beaten by a blow,
And curses the old snagger with the blue-bellied 'joe'

In the middle of the floor in his cane bottomed chair
Is the boss of the board, with eyes everywhere;
Notes well each fleece as it comes to the screen,
Paying strict attention if it's taken off clean.

The tarboy is there, awaiting in demand,
With his blackened tar pot, and his tarry hand;
Sees one old sheep with a cut upon its back,
Hears what he's waiting for, 'Tar here Jack!'

I found a page where the terms are explained here.

This has been a lovely way to tie in violin lessons, music/songs, poetry, Australian history and art (see painting) into an impromptu lesson.

Silks in the air

2011-06-02T23:09:00.000+10:00

Lovely clear blue skies have made us alert to a very strange occurrence: there are long spider silks trailing everywhere in the air! We've found them draped over sign posts, tree branches, buildings, but most amazing of all is when we'd look up and see long trails of threads drifting quietly along.

Spider silks en mass? I'd never heard of it before, let alone seen it. We probably haven't had the right conditions to see this so clearly in the past, but it's been happening the last few days.

I phoned my girlfriend this morning, and our conversation lead to her saying that she'd noticed them too. Then the question was asked, "What type of spider is it?" And another, "Where have they come from?"

Naturally, I couldn't resist the investigation, and here's what I found: a rare airborne migration has been reported in Tasmania. Could it be the same thing we're experiencing in Victoria? This article is a very informative read.

Another article from England shows a picture not unlike scenes around our area.

Well, learning about spiders ballooning was all new to me until now. I love how observation brings about the questions to help us learn more. (smile!)

A 30 second You Tube showing a spider getting it's silks ready to take off:

Part 1 of 5 documentary (5 mins):

My Boomerang Won't Come Back

2011-05-24T23:58:00.000+10:00

Okay, I plead guilty. This is a song my Mum introduced to us many, many years ago, and yes, we've sung it. I've passed my strange sense of family humour on to my children now.

MY BOOMERANG WON'T COME BACK

Charlie Drake - 1961

(Oom-yacka-wurka, oom-yacka-wurka, oom-yacka-wurka)

In the bad backlands of Australia

Many years ago,

The aborigine tribes were meeting,

Having a big pow-wow.

(Oom-yacka-wurka, oom-yacka-wurka)

"We got a lot of trouble, Chief,

On account of your son Mack."

"My boy Mack? Why, what's wrong with him?"

DRAKE: My boomerang won't come back.

"Your boomerang won't come back?"

DRAKE: My boomerang won't come back,

My boomerang won't come back,

I've waved the thing all over the place,

Practiced till I was black in the face,

I'm a big disgrace to the Aborigine race,

My boomerang won't come back.

DRAKE: I can ride a kangaroo (yeah yeah)

Make kinkajou stew (yeah yeah)

But I'm a big disgrace to the Aborigine race,

My boomerang won't come back.

They banished him from the tribe then

And sent him on his way,

He had a backless boomerang

So here he could not stay.

(Animal noises)

DRAKE: [Spoken] This is nice, innit? Getting banished at my time of life. What a way to spend an

evening: sitting on a rock in the middle of the desert with me boomerang in me hand. I shall very

likely get bushwhacked.

(An animal roars; Drake shrieks back.)

DRAKE: Get out of it! You nasty bushwhacking animal. Think I'll make a nice cup of tea. (Doing, doing,

doing...) Good gracious! There goes a kangaroo. I must have a practice with me boomerang: hit him right

behind the left earhole. Now then, slowly back.

Gruff voice: If you throw that thing at me, I'll jump right on your head. (It chuckles and bounces away.)

DRAKE: Innit marvellous? Got a land full of kangaroos and I had to pick that one.

For three long months he sat there

Or maybe it was four,

Then an old old man in a kangaroo skin

Came a-knocking at his door.

"Well, I'm the local witch doctor, son,

They call me George Alfred Black.

Now tell me, what's your trouble, boy?"

DRAKE: My boomerang won't come back.

"Your boomerang won't come back?"

DRAKE: My boomerang won't come back,

My boomerang won't come back,

I've waved the thing all over the place,

Practiced till I was black in the face,

I'm a big disgrace to the Aborigine race,

My boomerang won't come back.

"Don't worry, boy, I know the trick,

And to you I'm gonna show it.

If you want your boomerang to come back,

Well first you've got to... throw it."

DRAKE: Ooh, yes! Never thought of that. Daddy will be pleased. Must have a go, nyuh-huh! Excuse me.

Now then, slowly back... and throw.

(Boomerang whizzes away; Sounds of a plane approaching and then falling from the sky.)

DRAKE: Ooh dear me! I've hit the flying doctor. Eee-hee-hee! Can you do first aid?

Witch Doctor: Don't talk to me about first aid, boy, you owe me fourteen chickens, you know, when I learned you to throw the boomerang, you know, first things first.

DRAKE: Yes, I know that, but I mean, I think on this occasion, you know, you could be a bit more perspective...........

Our experience with 'Grammar Town' - MCTLA

2011-05-24T11:14:00.003+10:00

Yes, it's something new again! Finding the right tool to fit Maestro's Language Arts learning style has been a bit of an interesting journey lately. He likes to get to the point; no waffle please. A quick version to download into the recesses of his mind, with a few reminders of how the whole plan works, then moving right into application; this is how he likes to work.

Mid March, our books from the Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts curriculum arrived. Deciding on the right level at which to start was actually a tricky decision, but we're using Level 2 as it's a new method. I really wanted him .. well, US actually, as some of this is all new to me too! .. to get a good grasp on all this so it becomes easy at the end of the whole experience.

We've followed the plan according to the Application in Elementary Levels slideshow. This meant that the first and only book we started with was Grammar Town.

Grammar Town starts so easily, as a regular 'read aloud'. The conversation then changes to a more 'grown up' tone, using all the correct definitions and explanations with diagrams, to quickly give you a great overview of the English language.

We worked our way through this at various paces, slowing down if there was something new and applying it in the practice pages. From my personal experience, I felt like someone had actually finally been able to give me a proper bird's eye view. I think this is a very helpful thing, especially for children, as they see that the whole subject is only so big, with just a certain number of elements to learn. Regular review and practice, naturally, helps reinforce the teaching, and a view of our language as a whole begins to look more beautiful.

When we were starting, I made a wall chart similar to that in the book. The eight parts of speech were all written out, with definitions and some examples. Then, via the MTCLA homeschooling support forum, I read that this wonderful lady had made a Grammar Help Sheet on her blog, GuestHollow. This has been a great help, and is laminated ready for use with our books, so many thanks are sent to her!

We've started using some of the Building Poems book, but will only continue with that intermittently at this stage. Right now, this week, we're sinking our teeth into Paragraph Town and Caesar's English 1. We actually had our first session with the former today, and will read some of the latter tomorrow.

If you'd like to have a tour of these books and other links online, then you may like to use these quick links to help you:

* Royal Fireworks Press Home Page: latest news and new featured books

* Michael's Home Page: the Overview of the Curriculum with links to each level of grammar, vocabulary, writing, poetics, and practice books, and to other works by the author. Sample pages are also available via this link.

* MCT Slideshows and Downloads about his approach to teaching and how to implement.

* Some great videos of Michael speaking about teaching language arts.

* Homeschool Packages: the most cost-effective way to purchase the MCT Levels.

* What other Homeschoolers say: some excerpts. There is also a link to classroom teachers' testimonials.

* What Cathy Duffy had to say in her review about MCT. This is a far more detailed review, and will probably answer more questions than I have. I agree with her advice about the possibility of using the Teacher Manuals only, but you'd need to be organised with a notebook to write out the practice work. Cathy reviews the entire MCT program, not just Grammar Town.

So far, this has been a big THUMBS UP curriculum for us. I probably could have placed Maestro further along into level 3, but what we're learning isn't too easy and certainly covering new ground which has kept it very interesting. I'll let you know how we get on with the program as we progress further!

Horse flicks

2011-05-17T23:38:00.002+10:00

Roddy McDowell, Elizabeth Taylor, and Mickey Rooney all share one thing in common. Do you know what it is? Horse movies!

We've been enjoying some old favourites c/- some op shop treasure hunting. Flicka and Thunderhead (Son of Flicka) started the ball rolling, but now National Velvet is a certain favourite.

Black Beauty and The Black Stallion are still on the shelf, patiently waiting their turn to show their stories. I think they'll be waiting a little longer at the pace we're going.

I don't know what it is about young girls and their affinity with horses. I know it wasn't something in my blood, but Mariposa has certainly inherited something. We knew the interest was there before she turned three, because on her third birthday hubby and I bought her a little porcelain horse with a clear knowledge of the attraction.

It is just such a cute merry-go-round pony, and it plays music as it sways back and forth.

My mother-in-law grew up in South America, and there she used to help her parents raise and break in horses. I can just imagine seeing her galloping about, bareback, and her long dark hair trailing behind her. She's shared a couple of stories with us of her childhood, and I always end up with this certain image in my mind that I marry up from the stories and the few photos we have of her youth. See, there is something in the blood, but it's on the other side of the family!

This interest has led to a keen desire to have more horse-riding lessons. It's been quite a while since Mariposa has had one, primarily due to the cost. However, as she's now changing a few interests and I've taken on a couple more music students, we may be able to fit this in once a fortnight or so.

Meanwhile, I don't mind sharing the enjoyment of watching these classic films on an occasional afternoon. I think there are a few lines from National Velvet that I'm hearing echoed in play already. Oh yes, and I've also had a request for a dress that looks like Velvet's, "please Mum!". (smiles!)

Are there any other fans of horse flicks out there? What's one of your favourites?

Eurovision fans?

2011-05-15T23:56:00.001+10:00

Was anyone been watching Eurovision's Song Contest leading up to tonight's finals?

We watched the semi-finals mid-week, and really hoped the children would be able to view a fantastic performance by a group called "Cold Steel" once released on You Tube. They were FABULOUS!
Here is the link to see it on You Tube now: COLD STEEL.

Congratulations to the 2011 winners, Azerbaijan. We'll be looking you up on the map and reading some more about your country this week. (smiles!)

Savings workshop

2011-05-15T17:26:00.001+10:00

Several months have passed since I was first told about the Saver Plus program offered via the ANZ bank (Australia). Well, I FINALLY got in touch with them and have now been signed up for a month.

The program is actually run by the Brotherhood of St Lawrence, and involves a couple of 2 hours sessions on money management. A small group of us got together to discuss general budgeting ideas and share ideas or products that may not have been previously known. We had some fun, and shared lots of interesting pointers. I think the best I came away with was that reading up on Money magazine c/- of the library is worth some time. There are plenty of recent updates about new savings plans with banks, the best phone deals, etc.

We had fun deciding on 'NEEDS' vs 'WANTS'. As everyone's family situation is different, how we categorised differed to some extent. I also learnt that my 'savings personality' was more the 'Penny Pinching' kind. I guess that's something you learn, as I know my mother was like that, and I have other siblings who are very similar.

Thankfully, though, I was able to share one tip that was seen as very helpful. It something I've shared before, and know that many other bloggers do also. It's all about knowing what's in your pantry and fridge/freezer, then menu planning so as to control the spending in the supermarket.

Once a month we try to have a minimum spending week. I go through the pantry and fridge/freezer and list what we DO have in stock. Then I try to create a menu to fit around those food items, making everything stretch as much as possible so as to avoid another shop that week. It always surprises me what I'd forgotten about, like a few pieces of puff pastry in the freezer, or a can of mixed beans and a packet of sago in the pantry.

I also had a nice big piece of beef rump I'd bought at an excellent price. I cut into some smaller pieces: 8 medium sized 'steaks', a decent amount for a beef & mushroom stirfry, and the remaining piece for a hearty beef & barely casserole.

MMMmmm! That casserole was good. So good that the children asked if I could make it again sometime (which I will). Here's how I cooked it:

A small piece of beef rump (around 300g).
Put into a stock pot (or crockpot) and pour over boiled water from the kettle (this sears it, minimising scum and avoiding having to seal the meat with oil).
Add a collection of diced vegetables (not the potatoes yet), 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, a beef bullion and 1 cup of pearl barley. Make sure all is well covered with enough water.
Leave it to slowly cook away on a low heat (or crockpot set on 'high').
Check meat after several hours to check tenderness. I then removed it and diced it up, but you could just shred it if desired.
Add in 2 diced potatoes. When potatoes are cooked, serve.

I served these with some pastry pieces.
2 pieces of puff pastry. Sprinkle one piece with some grated cheese. Place 2nd piece of pastry over the top. Cut into equal portions.
Lay on baking tray and sprinkle with sesame seeds, then bake for 20mins, or until golden brown.

Getting back to the Saver Plus program, check the ANZ site HERE to see if you qualify. The current program was going to be ending some time soon. I am not sure of another launch date at this stage, but enquiries will probably inform you of any updates.

An appointment to see Jupiter & it's moons

2011-05-14T11:19:00.001+10:00

The alarm was set for 5:30am.

Jupiter has been visible with the naked eye, with it's moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, clearly visible also. A pair of binoculars made it even more spectacular. Jupiter is passing Earth, the closest passing in 47 years.

Check out details on Earth Sky's website HERE.

Look to the west, before dawn, if you'd like to see Jupiter. It's following the moon.

Then (but wait, there's more!), wait until dawn arrives to watch Mercury rising in the east. Again, see HERE for information.

We're going to try and keep this appointment again for tomorrow morning, hoping that the clouds dissipate a bit more for a better view of the east.

Let's move it! GoTrybe TOS Review

2011-05-11T23:56:00.001+10:00

Finding a fitness program to motivate your children can be challenging. They may be wanting to further develop their endurance levels, or just start a regular routine of exercise that can be measured.

When I was young, the "Life Be In It" program was starting off, and we had 15 minutes of daily exercise out in the yard first off every morning. Everybody benefits; it doesn't matter if one child is already more active than another.

As we started reviewing an online fitness program for children, called GoTrybe, I saw how the intention is similar to that which I'd partaken of as a child.

GoTrybe all happens online. So, before considering this, make sure you have an internet connection that allows for the downloading speed (ours was a little slow!)

Here's how you start:
* Choose the age group you're interested in: grades K-5, 6-8, or 9+.
* You may then select your avatar and fill in a profile. We didn't do this until a little later, so missing this part won't stop you from using the program.
* Hit on the "Daily Activity" tab, and you're on your way!

Every day (ideally!) you check out the four boxes under "Daily Activity" to maximise your points.

The Fitness window is where you can select your exercise regime. There are pre-planned routines, or you can customise your own. Make sure you select a warm-up, and then pick and mix to make a routine that suits your child's style and goals. Once you click on the black ? box, you can scroll through a selection of videos. Hovering your mouse over each frame will give a description of the exercise details. Select from different activity types (eg: dance was a favourite here) and intenstities. You can also select as many or as few as you like, tailoring to a time requirement also if need be.

It may take a few times before you find your ultimate routines, then when you do, save them as a 'favourite'.

Nutrition, motivation and wellness are a selection of quick videos and facts with questions to answer.

Completing each section adds points to your total. Only so many points can be awarded each day, too, so no cheating allowed! The points are later redeemable in the avatar store to upgrade each child's avatar. (This was something we didn't bother with. The points themselves were motivation enough, and probably more fun if parents redeem them with a shopping voucher for children to buy their own actual clothing.)

GoTrybe usually costs $39.95US for an annual subscription. I suggest trying it out for a day FREE OF CHARGE first to see if it suits your family. A discounted annual membership is then available using the promo code GETFIT for $19.95US.

There are other features, including an online forum, which we didn't try out. If you should have any further questions about this product, visit the site's FAQ page HERE.

Have some fun as a family. Maybe the children will even put together a good workout for you!

NB - I received use of GoTrybe for the purpose of review. There is no other compensation and the opinions are my own. Thank you to GoTrybe for the use of this product. If you'd like to read further reviews on this product, please click HERE.

When the cold comes to the front door

2011-05-10T23:29:00.001+10:00

It's a little predictable here, that as soon as Mother's Day has arrived we begin to really feel the cold. All of the sudden, it seems, we need to get the heaters going, warmer sheets and the thicker bedspreads onto the beds, and porridge to warm our bellies in the morning.

A visit to the vet confirmed our suspicions about Midgy's cough. He's not well and is now on medication to avoid pneumonia. Then the children became ill with tonsilidis soon after his diagnosis .. hopefully not just out of sympathy. So, that makes three ill bodies in the house, needing warm food, cuddles and quiet.

The cold has also finalised our hens' laying season. No eggs so far this week. Unless the youngest hens start laying, we may not see any more eggs until Spring.

We do have mushrooms growing, though! I've been picking them as they come up in the front garden. They're your typical 'supermarket' white button mushrooms, coming up from the compost we lay out on the garden a month ago. At first I was missing them, as more mulch had been placed over the top of the compost. So, these mushrooms emerge under the mulch, giving them dirty looking tops. However, they've been quite edible once the outer layer is peeled off.

Here are a few that I picked tonight. The gills are still lovely and soft, and almost pink. These darken as the mushroom ages. I'll keep one of these mushroom tops to place on a sheet of paper, making a 'map' of the spores once they develop and fall from the mushroom. (Yes, a future post will reveal all!)

So, we're really moving through Autumn now and feeling the first real chills toward Winter. I think it may be time to make a list of some cool weather activities we hope to do. Are there any plans at your house?

Hoping you had a lovely Mother's Day

2011-05-09T08:15:00.000+10:00

How did you all enjoy your weekend? I hope it was a lovely time for you all with your families.

It's a nice tradition, keeping Mother's Day. We prepared roast lamb, fresh bread and chocolate fudge cake as part of our family meal, and shared company with some of my side of the family. One sister had come flown down from interstate, which was great timing to catch up with my parents and some of my siblings for dinner.

After all the gathering and chatting, it's very like me to sit and think about how my home is running. Is it a nurturing place? How will my children look back on their childhood? What will our relationship be like when they are adults?

I suppose most of these questions come up because we naturally share memories of our childhood as adults. We remember handfuls of separate occasions, but generally it's the overall atmosphere from home that glues all those instances together.

This weekend I spent time reflecting and writing up in my diary again. Setting some goals for myself and the family never hurt. There are lots of lovely things that happen here, for which I'm thankful, but there are also many needs. A person can only ever do so much on their own. If I can at least remember those things that are lacking and keep them in perspective, then asking for help, having patience and a gentler tone in my speech, as well as getting on with the all that needs to be done without grumbling, is a much more rewarding task.

During the quiet of this morning I am spending time on the logistics of the housekeeping, then we'll enjoy a day of learning and other activities, that .... hopefully! .... the children will reflect back on in their adult years with fondness.

Second term into the year

2011-05-03T09:25:00.000+10:00

A three week break and we're back to another term of scheduled activities and learning. Our Autumn break was marked with significant gatherings, and lots of time together as a family to enjoy conversations and outings. We now look ahead to some quieter days as a general rule, but we're also leading up to that time of the year where emphasis is on dance competitions (for Maestro only, this year).

We had started using Winterpromise's 'Animal and their Worlds' for Mariposa at the beginning of the year. The books are certainly lovely, but much of the content was very much like what she'd already covered in Sonlight's Science 3. I don't want to 'put off' anyone wanting to try Winterpromise. It was just unfortunate that it wasn't a good fit for her this time. We are continuing to finish off using the readers, and have held on to the "One Small Square" books, as these are just excellent.

So, Mariposa will now move into learning more Australian geography and history. I've been collecting some books for her and will share them as we go. We started off looking at Aboriginal life, and a trip to the Melbourne Museum to see artifacts was a wonderful experience. We also saw a puppet play, showing one of the Dreamtime stories enacted, which was very interesting.

On other subject matters for Mariposa, she's continuing with her Singapore Maths (level 3), All About Spelling, LLATL (yellow), along with various books from Winterpromise and Sonlight. She is also working through Sonlight's Science 2 schedule very quickly. As predicted, it's a little easier than work done previously, but we're compensating by letting her do most of the work independently, and at a rate of a week's scheduled work in two days.

Maestro has settled very well into Sonlight's Core G (previously known as Core 6). There's a marked difference from Core F. Core F was a very full core; it could also be that he's used to the routine. Considering we only had 3 full days to dedicate to bookwork last term, he's keeping up the pace extremely well.

Maths is about to be stepped up a level. Once Maestro completes a couple more sections of Singapore Maths Primary 6B, he'll be starting the high school books. We couldn't get this completed last term because of time doing the bow and arrow workshops, but it'll be done in the next two weeks.

Language Arts is a collection of various books. We've got Worldly Wise 6 on the go, along with LLATL (tan). Add to the mix a new curriculum we started in the last couple of weeks ... and it's working so well for him! (I'll be writing up a review for this soon.) Maestro started using the Michael Clay Thomas Language Arts program, and he's taken to it very well. It looks as though we'll be passing up the LLATL for him at the rate he's going, as this new curriculum is moving at a pace that's much better suited to his learning style.

Apologia General Science has also been a huge success. He works through a module over a two week period, so we're well on target for getting through this level by the end of the year. We've also now acquired a dvd of the BBC program "The Story of Science", which has drawn the whole family in.

So, I'll work on getting some more reviews and other information up on this blog soon, especially with regard to the new things we're doing. I'll have a little more time to write now that we're more home-based again.

A bed with a view

2011-04-28T02:22:00.001+10:00

" ... Sara knew something was going on in the sky; and when it was at all possible to leave the kitchen without being missed or called back, she invariably stole away and crept up the flights of stairs, and, climbing on the old table, got her head and body as far out of the window as possible. When she had accomplished this, she always drew a long breath and looked all round her."

Chapter 11, A Little Princess

A special place to look out the window is something that Mariposa really enjoys. I've given up counting how many times she would rearrange her bedroom to get the best advantage at a lovely view. I do know that last week she had the curtains pulled wide open and the head of the bed butted up to under the window ledge. Only, this proved disappointing as she was hoping to see the full moon. The moon rises over on the other side of the house, so she would have to wait until the wee hours of the morning before seeing it from her window.

Last weekend, there was another major furniture rearrangement made. This time it was of our initiation with heavy furniture being exchanged. Mariposa's room became the study, and she moved into the smaller bedroom (also fondly known as the 'nursery', as both children had this room when babies).

That bed just had to go back near the window! She's put the cane headrest at the foot of the bed, with the tallboy behind to support it. This way, she can sit up for a while to watch the sunset, or moon and stars, in her quiet space before going to sleep.

Actually, I sit with her just before she goes off to sleep. I read to her, and at the moment we're in the end chapters of A Little Princess. It's a special time and place, with the best view in the house.

Science program supporting Apologia General

2011-04-13T10:01:00.000+10:00

Last night, our local television station aired a BBC program titled "The Story of Science". It was on at a later hour, but we allowed Maestro to watch some of it with us. Very interesting! It was like watching his Apologia General Science chapters come to life on the screen. In many ways it was abbreviated (of course, the book is always better!), but other information was expounded upon a little.

This is worth checking out for high school students. Our local suppliers won't have the dvds in until they modify the program to Region 4. Meanwhile, we have the program airing on SBS2 at 8:30pm, Thursdays.

Ironing lesson #1

2011-04-10T12:04:00.002+10:00

It was decided by Mariposa that today would be a good day to learn to use the iron.

I admit, I'm not the most organised housekeeper, and our ironing is usually done as needed. Otherwise, clothing items are folded and put into drawers until required. So, I haven't exactly been the best role-model for my daughter.

We'd already ironed our shirts, pants and skirts to wear yesterday, when Mariposa asked if she could practice ironing her clothes.

Some of her items are fiddly, or made of material that needs caution. I suggested she start with something simple. Handkerchiefs would surely be the easiest thing to begin with.

Check the water level, then the iron settings. Safety rules were explained about NOT touching the plate and keeping the iron moving across the fabric. Then starting slowly, iron the handkerchief flat. Set the iron aside, then go about the folding.

Five handkerchiefs later, Mariposa produced three of her cotton tops she wanted to try to iron. She did a great job!

Autumn, April 8th

2011-04-08T20:40:00.001+10:00

The air smells of Autumn this morning, and the light has certainly taken on a softer tone. We munch on our very ripe William pears for breakfast, the juice dribbling down our chins and running to our elbows. This is obviously best done outdoors, preferably while taking a walk around the backyard to see what's been going on. A meander by the chook run means we can toss in the pear cores, check for eggs and see how the youngest to the flock are settling in.

This may be the end of a run of fine days, so the washing is all hung out early to catch the warm breeze. They say rain's on the way again tomorrow. I'm glad of that, as our tank has actually run dry. The chooks had to have their water delivered by bucket from the mains this morning, which hasn't had to happen for a while.

Cheeky hens; they've found a new laying spot again. Since introducing the youngest birds to the flock, some of the older birds have decided to lay elsewhere. Well, I found them out today and collected the eight eggs they hid away from their 'intruders'. We thought it was a bit too early for them to go off their laying. It's usually in late May, as the cold southerlies hail the call of Winter, that our hens begin to lay more infrequently. Still, I'll start saving most of these eggs we collect now, in preparation for the scarcity ahead. Our neighbours will have to revert back to store bought eggs for a while.

We'll have lemons this year! This is a huge achievement. We've not been very successful with our lemon tree. One tree was given to us by my mother-in-law when we moved here 15 years ago. To date, we have only had one fruit. A few years ago, I moved it, where it's grown a little larger but still no fruit. I also planted a different type of lemon, which was very small at the time and has taken a few years to establish. But, now, it's fruiting!

Time for a cup of tea and a read-aloud. We're starting a new book: Tarantula in My Purse. That will keep Mariposa quite happy. Then we need to finish the last chapter of Maestro's book today, a nice way to end a term, ready for a two week break.

Green pea soup

2011-03-29T20:45:00.001+11:00

We tried something new for lunch today, and it only took around 15 minutes to prepare: green pea soup.

Take 1/2 cup of frozen green peas and 1 cup of chicken stock (per person).
Cook through, then blitz quickly with the blender. Season to taste and serve in a mug. This was sweet, smooth deliciousness.

This morning's musings

2011-03-24T09:40:00.005+11:00

There is no other way to describe our lifestyle over the last two months with any other word other than 'busy'. Once the momentum of activities begin, the rate of increase just keeps on compounding until I find myself, as I did last night, almost falling asleep at the dinner table.

Nothing has been especially difficult, but the flurries of activity happen in huge gusts before some quiet descends the next day. Today is 'the next day'. We don't have any running around to do, other than Mariposa's ballet lessons later this afternoon.

We had to be quick to harvest these last week.

Once one bird spreads the word that they've found a free feed, it's all gone in a couple of days.

Twice a week, Maestro has been heading out to the countryside to his longbow and quiver/arrow making workshops. On Mondays, we all head out there. We even take Midgy along so he can play with his new found friend. Mariposa has made friends with the instructor's daughter, so they spend the morning playing. This week it was a huge cubby house from sheets slung over chairs, looking very much like a yurt.

On Wednesdays, Maestro gets a lift with friends to the workshop. Yesterday was a double lesson, which meant a really long day for him. When I went pick him up, all the boys were practicing using their bow and arrows, shooting at hay bales in the paddock.

Mariposa has taken on gymnastics, which happens on Monday's return trip from the first workshop. She's really enjoying it, doing very well at the beginners level. Add to her routine, as of this week, art lessons on Wednesday afternoons, which coincides with my teaching singing in the next room.

Dancing at the local fair on the weekend; Maestro is with his competition troupe.

Yes, this brings me to how my singing lessons are progressing. I now have six students, and I teach while one or both of my children are learning their dance lessons. We're in a building that facilitates art, drama, dance, and now, singing. I've also had a couple of requests to teach piano, but that'll have to be from home, when I get better set up .... and maybe some more time!

If you call my name, I'll kiss you!

Meanwhile, today, I have Mariposa playing with Midgy .. still in her pajamas. Maestro is still sleeping after his very long day yesterday. I'm going to start by sitting and reading with Mariposa, then we'll muster up some energy to finish off the dishes that were left after I ended up going to bed early last night. By the afternoon, I should have some nice vegetable soup ready for us to sip on. Maestro will work on some science experiments, then start a new section in his maths book. I've still got a basket of apples to clean and cook up, plus a whole heap of pears looking at me from the outdoor table, but I'll get to them when I can.

I hope everyone enjoys some quieter time this week. I plan to have my dose today!

Girls in the kitchen

2011-03-20T17:12:00.000+11:00

How do you like your muffins?

There are a lot of choices, but plain muffins with choc chips are very nice!

Everything is carefully measured out before starting any mixing.

You pour while I keep stirring.

Okay, this is messy, but I like that we can lick the spoon afterwards.

Here's the recipe the girls made, all on their own, today:

Choc Chip Muffins

2 1/2 cups SR flour

1/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup choc chips

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

160g melted butter

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and choc chips.

Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and gently fold together.

Spoon into muffin tray (makes 12 muffins).

Bake at 180degC for 20-25mins.

River Cottage inspiration

2011-03-13T22:02:00.003+11:00

I'm forever thankful that our library stocks so many wonderful resources. A recent wandering along the dvd shelves helped me find a new dvd called "River Cottage: Spring and Autumn". The censorship of M because of language had me a little concerned, so I started watching this once the children went bed.

Well, it didn't take long before I realised that this was actually a great dvd to share with the family. The M rating is a precaution about some 'slang' used occassionally (yes, a bit of bad language) and about showing some animals being slaughtered, but there was ample warning given to 'look away' before seeing anything.

The dvd series starts with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall helping a group of families in England's suburbia start up a community garden. This was lovely to see, and is a continued theme throughout all 4 dvds. The families learn to grow their own vegetables, then raise pigs, chickens and milking goats .. all in smooth transition, so nothing is too overwhelming.

Foraging is another theme that runs throughout, and part which we really enjoyed. It was just after seeing Hugh collect gooseberries that Mariposa and I decided to go berry picking the other week. Since then, we discovered that an apple tree is growing on the side of a main road near us, which was being foraged by another family. We may go back and see if any fruit's left on it, although we really do have enough apples from our own tree to keep us in supply for some months.

Now, what I learnt the most in watching this was in the apprentice butchering sessions. I know that we don't have any of our own livestock, but for frugal reasons alone, I think this is a skill worth having. So, I sought a copy of the River Cottage meat book to borrow. It didn't have all the 'hands on' information I was after. However, the opening pages have already taught me a lot about the importance of properly hung meat, the aging process of meat, and how supermarket packaging is more about keeping the water in for weight, destroying the integrity of the meat in the meantime. Of course, lots of lovely recipes fill the bulk of this book, but I'm still looking for more relevant information.

The next book I sought out, from a different library, looks to have more of the information I'm after: Basic Butchering of Livestock and Game. I've also added this to my Book Depository wishlist: The Butcher's Guide to Well-Raised Meat. So, I've got my homework set out for me again.

It's coming up to that time of the year when we usually order a whole lamb from the butcher. We'll be chosing butchers very carefully now, and maybe even asking for the lamb to be pre-cut only into manageable sizes so we can have a go at finishing off the rest ... maybe?! It'll certainly be something worthwhile doing at some stage, and letting the children learn along with us.

Applications for the TOS Crew are now open

2011-03-13T02:33:00.003+11:00

It's time! Applications are now open for those interested in joining the TOS Crew review team. Please refer to my earlier post HERE on recommendations before applying.

If you'd like to apply as a member of the TOS Crew, it's officially posted on the TOS site HERE. Please read all information carefully.
Applications for 1st round offers are open until 31st March.

Recent artwork: Real Life with water-colours

2011-03-11T18:10:00.004+11:00

We've gotten back into using "Artistic Pursuits" for our artwork. I really like the informative narration at the beginning of each lesson and how we can discuss other artists' work before starting our own.

For our first lessons this year, we're looking at the Impressionists, and "Real Life" pictures in particular. We had a chance to try out some new water-colour paints I'd bought at Aldi, and some proper water-colour paper. Using the right paper made such a difference. Our first attempts were in sketch books, and the paper just got too wet.

Learning to use the right amount of water, the better size brushes, and light strokes took some practice. I'm very pleased that we all had some fun doing these, though. We all need to experiment with a bit more art in our homeschooling.

Here are our recent offerings of "Real Life" pictures using water-colours, as done over the last couple of weeks.

Ancient Egypt keeps our interest peeked

2011-03-05T22:44:00.007+11:00

I've decided to dive right in with Maestro's studies of Sonlight Core 6, this year, and try to read all the books before he gets to them. I'm falling a little behind now, but I won't miss reading any of them.

I started ahead on Mara, Daughter of the Nile during the summer break. I really liked this story as it had the suspense held throughout. Sadly, though, Maestro hasn't enjoyed this so much. I think we'll try again another time, as a read-aloud. The vocabulary is most likely the issue, and I should have been prepared to use this as a read-aloud from the outset, as recommended on the Sonlight forum.

Another title we're now reading aloud is The Golden Goblet. This is more to his liking. We'd been reading some interesting facts within the story (both stories, actually) that has drawn us to the internet for more information.

We've learnt that lotus blossoms were quite common in Egypt. The blue lotus is regularly referred to in the story of Mara, Daughter of the Nile. This is considered a sacred flower, symbolising rebirth, and the variety that is depicted in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. More information, with pictures, were on this webpage.

I don't know if we'll ever find any lotus roots to try, but I do think they look quite curious. The Golden Goblet describes the root as having a strong anise flavour. There seem to be quite a few recipes online, but here is a site that had great pictures and explanation of the plant: Lotus Root.

Another part of the lotus plant that's mentioned as edible are the

".. cone shaped fruits ... There were fully twenty-five seeds studding the top of it, cracked, and the almondlike, sweet white nuts inside freed from the bitter green leaf that separated their two lobes .. "

pg 115, The Golden Goblet

I managed to find more information and pictures on Wikipedia. We're now very keen to see if we can find some lotus roots and seeds to try, hopefully by visiting some markets.

Moving away from food and to books, here are some finds that may be of interest to others:

Atlas of Ancient Egypt is part of a series that I was able to acquire from ebay not long ago. We really like the maps and timeline information in this book.

Similarly, we found a Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt in our library.

A Test of Time by David M. Rohl has also been recommended to us. This will be very interesting, once I can find a library which has it, as it will coincide with our biblical studies on the lives of Jacob and Joseph very well (although this is probably aimed more at an adult audience).

To top off our studies in this era, we're looking forward to the Tutankhamun exhibition coming to Melbourne in April. This will be a family event, and I should start thinking about when we'd like to go now. Tickets are already available online.

I wonder if the ancient kings knew they'd be changing songs to tell their stories in our time? Here's a series of You Tube videos put out by 'history teachers'. Time to have a bit of a giggle with these:

Apple harvest : cider and jelly

2011-02-27T20:22:00.003+11:00

We always lose some apples to the birds, but we did pretty well with this year's harvest. Maestro and I got to work plucking the apples on Friday. Two and half laundry baskets have been brought in, and my job today is to sort out those for longer storage from those that will need cooking up. Several apples from the lower branches have some kind of spotting on them, but it's only on the skin; everything inside is quite sound. It just means that these will need cooking up.

After cleaning several apples, they've gone through my trusty juicer. Fresh apple juice is so refreshing, and we'll probably indulge in this for a few days. I'm having a go at fermenting 2 litres, though, to make some apple cider.

I'd been told about Oztops a few months ago. We've been having a go making our own Lambrusco with grape juice, and apple cider using bottled juice from the supermarket. It's a very simple process, only taking 2 days before a brew is ready to drink. Let's hope the home juiced apple cider tastes just as lovely.

Using Oztops is so easy. Just add in a little yeast to your juice, then change the lid. The lid has a small valve that allows excessive gas to escape, so no bursting bottles!

On Wednesday, I decided to take Mariposa berry foraging where it's known that blackberries haven't been sprayed. We came away with almost a kilogram of berries! Yum!! Some were eaten that night with icecream. The remainder was then divided. Half have been frozen, but the other half are now going to be turned into apple and blackberry jelly.

Here's what I've done so far:

Wash and prepare 450g berries, and 8-10 apples to be diced (core and skin still on .. just clean off any blemishes). Thinly peel rind from 2 oranges, then juice oranges. Orange juice and rind is to be added to berries and apples in large saucepan. Add 3 cups of water. Slowly bring to boil and let simmer until fruit is very soft (about 40mins).

Strain off all the liquid using muslin, or as I've done in an old linen teatowel. Don't squeeze the juice out or it will become cloudy. Measure liquid. Add 3/4 cups of sugar to 1 cup liquid, and boil in saucepan as one would when making jam or jelly. When at setting stage, carefully pour into sterilised jars.

I'm up to this final stage tonight. After straining the liquid off for almost 3 hours, I can see there's a decent quantity and the most beautiful deep rose colour. Well, I'd better get to it and finish the job! I won't have time to do this tomorrow.

Look out little fella!

2011-02-25T20:58:00.001+11:00

I don't think scampering around the bathroom, under the bathmat is a good idea for you, little one. You're so lucky Maestro spotted you when he did, and that Mariposa happened to avoid you earlier.

Running about on the tiles is hard, slippery work. You're still pretty quick though, and very difficult to catch!

Ah, let's use a modest square of reliable tissue paper. There we go; got you safe and sound, without losing the end of your tail. It's outside with you now!

Are you interested in joining the TOS Crew?

2011-02-20T04:01:00.004+11:00

I've had a great time being part of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. We've had a variety of products to try out, suitable for both of my children's learning abilities and age range. We've also met a lot of new homeschooling friends through their blogs.

My local homeschooling friend told me about the opportunity to try out for the Crew last year, via email. I had it stored there for a little while, then decided "Why not?! They can only say 'no'." So, apply I did. What came next was an opportunity to write up my first test reviews, using two products: I Wanna Be a Firefighter, and Australian Expedition.

Well, now is the time to start thinking about if this would be of interest to you. The selection process will be a little different from what I've experienced, though. To be a potential crew member, you need to fill the following criteria:

have an active blog, with at least FOUR posts per month,
have Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs, or some visible way of showing your blog following in your sidebar,
and have at least 25 public followers.

This isn't too difficult to fulfill, especially if you contribute to a weekly meme or two. Some great ones to do include Homeschool Mother's Journal, or Weekly Wrap-up. If you prefer to keep it simple, then a Wordless Wednesday is fun when sharing some favourite photos.

Make sure your followers are visible in your sidebar, and ask your readers to become public followers. It's a nice courtesy to offer to follow back, too. (And if you ARE following me, but I'm not following you, LET ME KNOW!!)

When it comes to writing up a review, you'll be assessed by your writing style. Show you can express yourself clearly, creatively and honestly. Opinions need to be balanced when giving a review, weighing in the positives as well as any negatives you've experienced. And, remember that taking this 'job' on is a real commitment to the Crew and Vendor (client); you MUST use the products and then write up the review to be submitted on the actual required date. (You can write up reviews ahead of time and schedule them to post in the right time period.)

All crew members give each other support, so if there are questions, you won't be isolated. You will sign into a forum and be asked to check your emails regularly for updates on products coming your way. Being very active on the forum isn't a pre-requisite, though. Only that you make sure you have time to read all main notices.

Reasons NOT to consider applying for the TOS Review Crew:

you cannot commit to regular email and forum checks.
you are committed to using only the curriculum you've already selected. Yes, you will need to be flexible to incorporate new products into your schedules.
you may find that the product doesn't 'work' in your family, so are you willing to adapt or 'tweek' it and then share how you did so?
you don't want to use a large variety of online products. This year, I did have to use quite a few, and sometimes download times/speed were issues. Perseverance paid off for us, otherwise using the internet at the library. *NB - as an overseas user, we didn't receive much printed material.

Over the time I've been a Crew member, I've had my eyes opened up to a whole lot of new curricula that has enhanced our children's learning. Some things have suited us to a tee, right now, such as The Write Foundation which Maestro is using with success. Other products, such as Digital Frog, are getting more use now than late last year, as we continue Mariposa's studies on different environments through Winter Promise.

In some instances, I've been able to develop a lovely rapport with the vendors. Jim from Speekee has emailed me with exciting news about developing more Spanish curriculum especially for homeschoolers. Becky at the Write Foundation was fabulous when discussing how to make her product more accessible to overseas clients via ebooks.

So, have a think about it. When the time comes, I will let you all know when applications are being accepted.

Making an archery set

2011-02-15T12:59:00.000+11:00

What better setting to do a practical homeschooling lesson than out in the country, sitting on some soft grass under an apple tree.

We've taken up an opportunity for Maestro to learn some leathercraft and woodworking skills with a group of local homeschoolers. The gentleman taking the class has had years of experiencing taking such classes, so we're heading out twice a week (only a 45min drive) to his property. He also uses products that are naturally produced where possible, including some naturally tanned leather for this project.

Maestro started off with making his first quiver. It was all made to measure to his long torso, but Maestro did the cutting, preparing the holes and the sewing.

Mariposa and I settled in the farmhouse to do a little bookwork, then she amused herself with a new friend, "Pebbles". Mariposa even performed a rescue mission when Pebbles took off with the leather lacing for a good old chew. Just as well she's had plenty of practice with Midgy here at home! Sorry pup, looks like you have to stay tied up if that's what's going to happen with the leather goods.

We'll be back there on Mondays and Wednesdays through to early April. Maestro will be making a longbow, arrows, knife and a knife pocket, as well as practice in whittling, making a wooden bowl and maybe a few other such activities.

All photos taken by Mariposa.

Are they more than just a little CURIOUS?

2011-02-11T21:14:00.007+11:00

Once upon a time, Maestro used to have another pet name. It was "Sir Curious". Another friend of mine calls her son, "Mr 'Scuse Me". I loved the younger years with my children. They'd asked SOOooo many questions! (and yes, it sometimes WAS very tiring, also!) There's something in a child's make-up that loves to inquire about everything around them, and fostering that so the desire to keep on learning throughout their lives is one of the beautiful things I enjoy about teaching my children.

The Old Schoolhouse has launched a new product, aimed at facilitating this type of natural inquiry. However, what's different about this product is that they offer some very unusual topics.

The product is called, curiously enough, The Curiosity Files. They are aimed at children in middle primary to early secondary, or ages 8-13 years. This is an interesting age group, as they usually like to learn about something that's a little different from their immediate surroundings. They also enjoy finding out obscure facts (yes, I'm learning all sorts of interesting tid-bits that happen to pop into conversations lately!).

The current collection of titles are quite enticing. Here's what you'll find is available:

Blue-Footed Booby
Blue Diamond
Cicada Killing Wasp
Dung Beetle
MRSA
Puffer Fish
Quicksand
Red Tide
Zombie Fire Ants

We had the opportunity to use Blue Diamonds. I really like the presentation of this 91 page ebook. The format is very easy to read, with clear pictures and photos. There is a LOT of information, and a great collection of worksheets covering all the learning areas. It wasn't just the children learning, either. There was a tonne of information I never knew. Here's what you can expect to find:

* Bible study and memory verses
* Math, history, and geography investigations
* Literature and suggested book list
* Writing, spelling, and vocabulary activities
* Beautiful copywork pages (manuscript and cursive)
* Science observations, projects, & experiments
* Discussion questions
* Art, crafts, drawing, and coloring pages
* Lapbook/notebook pages and helpful lapbooking links
* Special needs, hands-on discoveries
* Internet resource and video links
* Complete answer key

This complimented a book we were working through as a read-aloud at the end of last year: "Twenty-One Balloons". When we used one of the suggested links from this Curiosity File, we viewed an animation on the rock cycle. This answered a question that had arisen at the time of our reading, which was a great help to me!

One thing we are yet to do, though, are some experiments on the rock cycle. These do look like a lot of fun, so we won't be missing doing it later. One involves using a crayon, an iceblock, and a few other household items. We'll imitate corroding a rock, then treat parts of it differently to represent the various rock types.

Oh yes, and the craft activities do include jewelry making, even a necklace for a favourite pooch. (Can you guess who enjoyed that little activity?)

Take a look at the ebooks available in this series. Sample pages are available to download when you visit the web page for the individual books. Here is the sample of Blue Diamonds.

Each ebook costs $6.95US, or you may like to choose all nine ebook titles for $46US.
Or, grab a bargain! A small number of the titles are currently available for sale at $1 through the TOS dollar specials page.

NB - I received full use of one ebook for the purpose of review. There is no other compensation and the opinions are my own. Thank you to TOS for the use of this product. If you'd like to read further reviews on this product, especially with regard to the other ebook titles, please click HERE.

It's bookclub day!

2011-02-09T09:15:00.002+11:00

I was approached by our librarian last year about the idea of starting up a bookclub, at the library, for homeschoolers. The library already runs a teens bookclub, and an adults bookclub; but a homeschoolers bookclub hasn't been done in any of the local shires before.

What a great idea! We'll have opportunity to meet more people, broadening our homeschool social circle. The children can read and discuss books, a favourite thing in our household. But then she asked if I could facilitate the meetings. Gulp! Okay ... I think?!

Our dear librarian had it all planned out. We could have around 15 children, ages 8 to 15, and meet once a month. If we needed to have two books running at the same time, to accomodate reading levels, then that's fine. We'd have basic rules like listening without prejudice, open discussion with some questions highlighted as topic starters, a list the children can contribute to re: favourite authors/titles, etc.

So, it all kicked off last year in October. 16 children showed up at the start, all keen to get their noses into the first book. The librarian started everyone off with a middle-of-the-road book, Matilda by Roald Dahl. We ended up discussing some interesting points on what our ideas of school are, how families should treat each other, when children have special talents and then ended up discussing how we all came to homeschooling.

The following month, the older children read Tolkien's The Hobbit, and the younger ones read a book called Wish by Felice Arena (Mariposa is still trying to 'catch' 100 planes. She's almost there.)

This week, we're focusing on Jackie French. The children have taken home various titles, quite a few that I have already read personally. Maestro's been reading The Horse Who Bit the Bushranger, They Came on Viking Ships, and The Night They Stormed Eureka. I've been helping Mariposa read The Secret World of Wombats.

I really like Jackie French's writing style. Her 'living history' books are great incentive to have a look into more about the time she writes. I know that Maestro has enjoyed They Came on Viking Ships, and Mariposa is learning all about the mysterious antics of wombats. Jackie writes in a very 'real' way, engaging with fun bits of humour, whilst still trying to stay serious with the topic.

So, I'm looking forward to hearing what all the children have been reading over the summer break. I wonder what our librarian has in store for us to read this coming month?

Such a pretty morning

2011-02-07T08:22:00.000+11:00

This morning, I couldn't help be enticed for a walk around the garden. The sunlight is so soft, draping over everything so delicately, that one can't help but sigh at the beauty of the day.

Roses are flushing after the weekend's rain.

The pear tree is heavy with fruit, reminding me that bottling season isn't far away.

Likewise, the plum tree is getting close to picking time. Hmm! Some birds have already discovered that too. Netting to be done after breakfast!

The lemon verbena is looking just lovely. I'll have to find some recipes soon. Mariposa wants to make some perfume from it, like Miss Beagle from the "Little House on the Prairie" dvds. There may be a recipe on the web somewhere.

Of course, I was followed about by the ever-playful Midgy.

I hope you all have a pleasant day today.