Weekly Report 22/5 - 28/5

We were all full up with head colds this week so we only managed 1 full day of school.

Together -

Read aloud Hippo Story (virtue)

SSL C2

Read aloud When I'm Feeling Lonely

Read aloud If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

Read aloud Secrets of the Mummies

Flossy -

Completed MO E-10, E-11, E-12

Completed AAS2 S25 Review

Completed WWE1 W12 D1&2

Bugsy -

Completed MO C-11a

Worked on AAS1 S7 3 words

Completed 1/2 L46 100EZ

Chicky -

Drawing

Sonlight Science K - What it looks like at our house

We have been using Sonlight Science K in a secular manner for the last 7 weeks and it is a hit! From Sonlight I purchased the 5 day program (minus the supplies kit for K as it is a biohazard to Australia) but I did also get the non-consumable science supplies kit.

First let me say that the K level isn't hard to make secular at all. None of the books used have 'God' references and it is very easy to skip the parts of the Teachers Manual which are religion centred. Most references to 'God' are for discussion purposes.

Once I received all of the materials I had the student pages from the Teachers Manual copied and bound into their own book for Flossy to work through.

Most weeks follow a similar progression. Scheduled days 1, 2 & 3 are reading followed by comprehension questions on the student pages. Day 4 is experiment day where not only do you get to try the experiment yourself you can watch the Discover and Do DVD and see how it is supposed to work. Day 5 is additional reading which is scheduled. The Teachers Manual also contains suggestions for other activities that you might like to do and discussion topics.

So how does that work for us?

Typically we do science twice per week. On day 1 we cover days 1 & 2 from the Sonlight schedule and on day 2 we cover days 3 & 4. The program really is light enough at this level to not feel overwhelmed or like you are spending loads of time on science even doubling up lessons in this fashion. Day 5 in the schedule is reading the 'extra' books they add to the 4 Day program so we are saving those to use as lapbook or unit studies at the end. We school year round so it will make a nice change before we head into the next science program.

Each time we read from The Children's Encyclopaedia we take the time to look up the links on the computer and see if there is anything awesome there. So far we have found some wonderful sites and I think this is one part the kids enjoy most. The other part they love of course are the experiments! Here are some pictures from a couple of things we have done.

Here we are making a weather vein.

Observing how icebergs are mostly submerged under water.

Purchasing the supply kits means you have everything at your fingertips. No need to make a special trip to the hardware store for an obscure item.

I give Sonlight Science K 5 stars.

Flossy gives Sonlight Science K 5 stars.

Bugsy gives Sonlight Science K 5 stars (he wanted to give it 6!)

So there you have it an overwhelming success at our house.

Weekly Report 15/5 - 21/5

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Together -

Field trip to explore three neighbouring towns. Found an awesome playground we will be picnicking at in coming weeks.

MONDAY

Together -

Field trip to explore another neighbouring town. Caught up with in laws and had a lovely lunch.

Flossy -

Completed MO D-1 & D-2

Made a Birthday Card for Poppy

Bugsy -

Completed MO C-6 & C-7

TUESDAY

Together -

Read aloud The Goldfish Story

ALGF Maths L1

Read aloud Harold and the Purple Crayon

Read aloud The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Read aloud Blinky Bill C5

Flossy -

Completed MO D-3 & D-4

Translated story 1 C1 Minimus

Completed AAS2 S23

Completed WWE1 W10 D1&2

Completed SL Sci K W7 D1&2

Bugsy -

Completed MO C-8 & C-9

Made a Birthday Card for Poppy

Completed 1/2 L45 100EZ

Completed AAS1 S6

Chicky -

Made a card for Nana

Worked on L1 100EZ

WEDNESDAY

Together -

SSL C1

Real aloud Sheep Story (Virtue)

Read aloud Madeline

Read aloud William's Doll

Read aloud Paddle-to-the-Sea C1

Read aloud Little Red Riding Hood, Blue Fairy Book

Play-doh

Flossy -

Completed MO E-1 through E-6

Completed WWE1 W10 D3&4

Completed AAS2 S24 review

Bugsy -

Completed MO C-10

Completed L45 100EZ

Worked on AAS1 S7 5 words

Chicky -

Nursery rhymes

Drawing

Worked on L1 100EZ

Worked on AAS1 S1 phonograms

THURSDAY

Together -

Read aloud Hercules and the Wagoner, Child's Book of Virtues

ALGF Maths L2

Read aloud From Head to Toe

Read aloud Echo & Narcissus, Greek Myths

Read aloud The Princess and the Pea, Anderson's Fairy Tales

Flossy -

Translated story 2 Minimus C1

Completed AAS2 S24 teaching

Completed WWE1 W11 D1&2

Read and discussed The Mysterious end of the Minoans, SOTW1

Bugsy -

Was sick today so mostly just listened in

Chicky -

Read aloud William's Doll

Worked on L2 100EZ

Drawing

FRIDAY

Together -

Read aloud Aging Ape (Virtue)

SSL C1

Read aloud Crictor

Read aloud Leo the Late Bloomer

SL Sci K W7 D3&4

Read aloud The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, Blue Fairy Book

Flossy -

Completed MO E-7, E-8 & E-9

Completed AAS2 S24 spelling

Completed WWE W11 D3&4

Bugsy -

Still unwell but couldn't be left out today

Completed MO C-11

Completed 1/2 L46 100EZ

Worked on AAS1 S7 5 words

Chicky -

Worked on L2 100EZ

Puzzles

Currently loving Miquon

Yesterday morning I was woken by Flossy who was standing beside the bed asking, "Mum what do I do on this page?" She had her Miquon book and was keen to get started, it was 7am!

Flossy and Bugsy are loving Miquon! Bugsy is seeing it as a real challenge, a puzzle that needs solving and he is rising to the occasion. That isn't surprising as he loves puzzles like RushHour.

Bugsy working on making 9.

Flossy working on making 7.

Flossy on the other hand. She has been anti maths and numbers for a while. We have been using a variety of programs to try and keep things fresh and try to pique her interest. So far it has failed. She is VERY good at maths but doesn't like to apply herself, she wants it to come easy like other things. Some gifted kids are like that, they like the things they are good at which come easy to them and challenge the things that are more difficult even though they are very capable. However Miquon seems to have caught her attention and in the main she is enjoying it and actually asking to do it, woohoo!

She said to me the other day, "You know why I like Miquon Mum? Because it's fun, easy and it gives me examples to work with. I just love it!"

Working together.

We will be sticking with Miquon for the foreseeable future :) and might look to add some Singapore too as they seem to complement each other nicely.

Breakfast Granola

We love this breakfast granola and typically go through a batch a week. It probably isn't the healthiest but it certainly is yummy when served with plain yogurt.

Into a large bowl place -

3 C rolled oats

1 1/3 C self raising flour

1 C currants

1 C almonds (smashed up)

2/3 C sugar

1/2 C sunflower seeds

1/2 C sesame seeds

1/2 desiccated coconut

1/2 C wheat germ

1/2 C pepitas

4 T golden syrup

Then slowly add 1 C of olive oil mixing well every time you add a little. Once everything is coated well and there are no dry bits spread out on baking paper and bake in the oven at 150C turning every 15 mins or so until golden brown.

Weekly Report 8/5 - 14/5

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Together -

Field trip to explore two nearby towns

MONDAY

Together -

Cooking, granola and patty cakes

Flossy -

Completed MO C-3 & C-4

Completed AAS2 S22

Completed WWE1 W9 D1 & 2

Bugsy -

Completed MO C-4

Completed L44 100EZ

Worked on AAS1 S6 4 words

Chicky -

Drew a picture

TUESDAY

Together -

Listened to SSL C1 songs

Read aloud 'The King and His Hawk' The Childrens Book of Virtues

Read aloud Captain Skilly's Trawler

Read aloud Grandpa and Thomas and the green umbrella

Real aloud Pete's a Pizza

Read aloud part of Blinky Bill

Watercolour painting

Flossy -

Completed MO C-5 through C-11

Completed 1/2 AAS2 S23

Completed WWE1 W9 D3 & 4

Read aloud Pompeii... buried alive

Worked on Human Body project display

Bugsy -

Completed MO C-5

Chicky -

Worked with phonograms on the AAS board

Drew a picture

WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY

We had the rest of the week off to attend Dr appointments and catch up with friends.

Afternoon Tea

Quiet time at our house finishes at 3pm and we celebrate by having afternoon tea. We all sit at the table together and have something to eat and drink. The kids LOVE their tea time. Sometimes we have hot chocolate and cake, other times it is fruit and water but it is always together and always with a smile :)

We have been working on pegging a habit to afternoon tea, the art of clearing the dishes from the table. So far so good. Once that habit is down I plan to peg a read aloud and eventually a short activity like picture study, composer study etc.

Musings 'Education Is' from Simply Charlotte Mason

Over the weekend I read 'Education Is - an atmosphere, a discipline, a life' from Simply Charlotte Mason. I highlighted on the first pass and then re-read the sections later and made some notes. Here are my highlights, musings.

"Education according the Webster, involves training by both formal instruction and supervised practice; it includes all that we do to help our children develop mentally, morally and aesthetically; it entails our persuading our children to feel, believe, or act in a desired way."

The really speaks to me. It says to me that the desired outcome of a Charlotte Mason education is a person who is well rounded. They will have skills in all areas and not just academics. Is this thought perhaps related to Steiner's thoughts on educating the head, hands and heart? Is that what he says?

"Atmosphere - environment children grow up in."

"The child breathes the atmosphere emanating from his parents; that of the ideas which rule their own lives" CM Vol2 P247

Without intent and direct instruction parents pass on to their children their own bias and can colour their thoughts and feelings.

"Discipline - training our children in good habits."

Life - "all the thought we offer to our children shall be living thought; not mere dry summaries of facts will do" CM Vol2 P277

Academic/formal instruction should therefore be limited to 1/3 of the total education of the child. Atmosphere, discipline and life should be equal components in a well rounded education.

"Education is a discipline - that is, the discipline of the good habits in which the child is trained. Education is a life, nourished upon ideas; and education is an atmosphere - that is, the child breathes the atmosphere emanating from his parents; that of the ideas which rule their own lives" CM Vol2 P247

To me education is a growing, living thing. It changes as the child changes and grows with them. As a parent you are providing all of the food for the plant to grow, you water it and prune it and the aim is to end up with a wonderful well rounded specimen. Don't loose sight of the goal at the end, the bloom will amaze you!

"What ideas rule your life?"

Is there bias, political views, social views, etc?

"She just wanted to make sure we realise that the ideas that rule our lives play a big role in what our children learn from us."

Lead by example, keep an open mind.

"Children must face life as it is"

"Due relations must be maintained: the parents are in authority, the children in obedience."

We can freely share our thoughts and feelings but must always remain in charge. The adult, the parent. We should not expect nor ask that children take on adult responsibilities or burden but it is OK for them to witness us having a hard time of it. Hmm, does that conflict with the previous statement about ideas that rule our lives? I don't think it does. If our lives are generally unbiased then sharing our thoughts and feelings surrounding and event should be balanced, or at least instilling the values that we cherish.

"What does your choice of curriculum say about what is important to you?"

Mine probably says that i don't spend enough time planning, or preparing. It probably also says that i don't spend enough time actually reading to the children. Going to be changing that!

"Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind" The Story of Charlotte Mason P160

I love this, LOVE it! We can be so focused on the here and now that we loose focus altogether on the end goal. Everyday, every small step is one step closer to the final outcome we are looking for.

"If mothers could learn to do for themselves what they do for their children when these are overdone, we should have happier households. Let the mother go out to play!" CM Vol3 P33

When our kids are overwhelmed we stop and sometimes redirect them. Why then don't we do that for ourselves? We seem to plough on and no, that doesn't make it any better. It is time to STOP, get out of the house, or go to your room and feed our soul. What speaks to you? What can you do to help calm? Meditation? Handiwork? Make time for yourself and you will be better able to manage your household. I am trying to make time for myself everyday during quiet time now.

"At first, a child wants the support of constant supervision, but, by degrees, he is left to do the thing he ought of his own accord" CM Vol3 P108

Demonstrate, instruct, supervise, withdraw one step at a time. Does this show similarities with Montessori? I recall a moto of hers 'Help me to do it myself'.

"She wanted education to be alive to the children, to give their minds the nourishment of living ideas instead of dry facts."

Make it fun, enjoy it :)

"We too often settle for what looks easy rather than going on a treasure hunt for what is living. Education is a life teeming with ideas. Let's spread the feast of living ideas before our children rather than handing them dry factual crumbs."

I think I need a bit of help in this area. We need more living math, more literature and better science. Need to look at what is immediately available in our area. Also need to remember the previous note about making more time to plan.

So that is it. It was very thought provoking and I plan to tackle Smooth and Easy Days next. I think I would quite like to purchase the all day seminar from Simply Charlotte Mason. I'm ready to learn more :)

Snap Shot - What our days look like

Since the move our days have fallen into a fairly good rhythm. Here is what our days look like -

Around 7am everyone is up, we all wake naturally, have breakfast, get dressed and do morning chores, making beds, emptying the dishwasher, tidying up etc.

By about 9am we are ready to get started with schoolwork. For Flossy and Bugsy that is typically math and language arts. Chicky joins in where she wants to.

Generally we are finished by 11am then the kids head outside for a play and I have a cuppa and check the e-mails etc then make the lunch.

12noon is lunchtime and most days we enjoy a story over lunch.

About 12.30pm we head off with the dog for our walk which is around a nearby park and involves a short play on the equipment.

We are back by 1pm and the kids then have quiet time in their rooms. Flossy reads her history and science books, Bugsy looks at books and plays quietly and Chicky naps. I use this time for washing, baking, early prep on dinner, phone calls and sometimes book reading or the internet.

By 2.30pm the big kids are up and by 3pm Chicky is up too then it is time for afternoon tea.

Once afternoon tea is over sometimes we head out to the library or shops depends what needs doing otherwise the kids just play and play.

Dinner prep begins around 5.30pm and Rusty is normally home by 6.15pm just in time to sit down with us for dinner.

After dinner the kids are into the bath with Rusty while I clear away the kitchen.

Then most evenings we cuddle up on the couch for the final half hour or so before bed at 7.30pm for the kids.

Weekly Report 1/5 - 7/5

SATURDAY

Together -

Nature walk along the river observing ducks and gulls

SUNDAY

MONDAY

Together -

Nature walk along the river observing ducks and kangaroo's

Practiced social etiquette eating lunch at a restaurant

TUESDAY

Flossy -

Maths fact review + & - with sum up to 20

Reading for research project Human Body

Completed AAS2 S20

Completed WWE1 W7 D2&3

Read and discussed SOTW1 'Nebuchadnezzar's Madness'

Bugsy -

Completed L42 100EZ

Completed MO A-24

Worked on AAS1 S6 5 words

Completed 1L Reading Eggs

Chicky -

Built with Duplo

Coloured in

WEDNESDAY

Together -

Dancing to music

Read aloud 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' Blue Fairy Book

Flossy -

Completed BJU M2 L58

Math fact review + & - with sum up to 20

Completed 1/2 S21 AAS2

Completed WWE1 W7 D4

Read and discussed SOTW1 'The Hanging Gardens of Babylon'

Reading for research project Human Body

Read and discussed The Bobbsey Twins at School

Bugsy -

Completed 1/3 L43 100EZ

Chicky -

Built with Duplo

THURSDAY

Together -

Read aloud 'The Yellow Dwarf' from The Blue Fairy Book

Read aloud 'When I'm Feeling Happy'

Read aloud 'Ask Mr Bear'

Starfall

Flossy -

Completed BJU M2 L59

Completed S21 AAS2

Completed WWE1 W8 D1 & 2

Read and discussed SOTW1 'Bull Jumpers and Sailors'

Reading for research project Human Body

Bugsy -

Completed MO C-2

Completed 1/3 L43 100EZ

Worked on AAS1 S6 5 words

Coloured in

Reading Eggs 2L

Chicky -

Building with Duplo

Drawing

Phonograms m, s, l, a, y, t, e

FRIDAY

Together -

Play-doh

Flossy -

Completed MO A-24 & C-1

Completed 1/2 AAS2 S22

Completed WWE1 W8 D3 & 4

Read and discussed SOTW1 'King Minos and the Minotaur'

Bugsy -

Completed MO C-3

Completed 1/2 L43 100EZ

Worked on AAS1 S6 4 words

Chicky -

Random phonograms

Corned Beef, yum!

You'll need a slow cooker for this one.

1.5kg piece of corned beef

2 T malt vinegar

1 1/2 T brown sugar

1 t peppercorns

1 bayleaf

1 small onion quartered skin and all

2 cloves

Wash your piece of meat thoroughly under cold water. Place everything into your slow cooker with enough water to cover. It will take 6 - 8 hours on low. Remove and let rest before carving. Place the left over piece back into the slow cooker to cool properly before removing and transferring to the fridge.

I normally serve this baked vegies and crisp greens. Guess what we are having tonight ;)

Muesli Bars Mark II

A crunchier option.

125g butter

1/2 C sugar

2 T golden syrup

1 C oats

2/3 C self raising flour

1/2 C currants

1/4 C almonds (measure whole ones, then bash them up)

1/4 C unsalted peanuts (measure whole ones, then bash them up)

1/4 C wheat germ

1/4 C desiccated coconut

Preheat oven to 130C. Put butter, golden syrup and sugar into a bowl and melt, but do not let boil. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Use baking paper to line a large baking tray approx 20cm x 30cm. Spread mixture evenly over the base making sure to press down with hands. Bake in the oven approx 1 hour or until golden in colour. Leave to cool in tin, it will firm up as it cools. Turn out once cool and cut into even bars.

Nature Walks

We are loving being so close to a diverse range of nature opportunities. Or to put it another way we like being close to the beach, river, estuary and bush!

We have been trying to make the most of the wonderful weather before it gets too cold or too wet which it will soon. Here are some pictures from our latest walk along the river.

Tutorial - Dishwasher conversion from installed to portable

We used to have an installed dishwasher with independent plumbing and electrics. We moved house and now there is nowhere for the dishwasher to go so we have converted it to a portable dishwasher, here's how we did it.

From the back of the dishwasher you have two pipes, one for clean cold water and one for discharge water. At the end of the cold water pipe there is a fixed connection similar to a washing machine hose, we cut that connection off and in it's place we connected a snap on brass garden hose connector. The dishwasher hose is 10mm and the brass connection 12mm so we soaked the pipe in hot water to make it pliable then pushed it on to make it seal.

Next we altered the kitchen tap. On the end of the tap there is an aerator connected. We removed the aerator and then used a connection piece to screw into the end of the tap so that it would take a snap on hose connector.

After that we positioned the dishwasher so that it could reach the power and water, then connected it up turning the cold water on at the tap and making sure the discharge pipe was anchored in the sink.

Our remaining step which we are yet to complete is to fashion a skateboard for the dishwasher so that we can wheel it into position when needed and out of the way when we don't need it. We will use a piece of marine grade ply and some castors.

** Two serious things to remember **

1) This dishwasher is a tip hazard. As it is meant to be an installed dishwasher when you open the bottom draw all the way and it is loaded it will fall over.

2) As you are using garden fittings you need to monitor them for leakage. We applied thread tape to the kitchen tap as it wasn't a snug fit. Never turn this on and go out!

A new purchase = a big challenge!

Last Friday I finally purchased an Airport Extreme so that I could use my printer and external hard drive wirelessly. What should have been a simple plug in and set up turned into a 3 day saga, but I got there in the end :)

For anyone who cares about the hiccups I encountered here is what happened.

I connected the printer and hard drive to the Airport and then plugged it in to the power. I then followed the set up instructions and created my network. So far so good. I re-routed my printer address in my settings and tried the printer, all good. Then I tried transferring and accessing a file to the hard drive, again good. Then I tried connecting to the internet and it was a no go. Disconnected Airport and I could get on the net but I couldn't do both at once. Spent quite sometime looking for a solution on the net, changed a pile of settings. Managed to get on the net with Airport on only I lost access to the hard drive. So I had to reset the Airport and then I decided to upgrade my Mac OSX to Snow Leopard which I had but hadn't installed yet in the hope that would change things up. Well it did. I successfully managed to loose all access to my internet as the dongle software isn't compatible with Snow Leopard! So more internet searching and a trip back to the Mac Shop and I managed to manually configure my dongle and get onto the net. It was Airport or the net again but a few more tweaks and FINALLY I can access both the internet and Airport at the same time. Phew, lots of work but worth it!

Weekly Report 24/4 - 30/4

Yes, we started our week on a Saturday :p Although it was only reading over the weekend :)

SATURDAY

Flossy -

Read & discussed STOW1 Phonecian Traders

SUNDAY

Flossy -

Read & discussed The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Read & discussed SOTW1 The Founding of Carthage.

Chicky -

Nursery rhymes.

MONDAY

Together -

Nature walk on the estuary, bird watching and observing the marine life.

TUESDAY

Together -

ABC song

Nursery rhymes

Read aloud When I am Feeling Kind

Read aloud 'The Little Red Hen' from The Children's Book of Virtues

Read aloud 'The Bronze Ring' from The Blue Fairy Book

Flossy -

Completed copywork for penpal letter

Completed AAS S19

Read aloud from Bobbsey Twins at School

Completed WWE1 W6 D4

Read & discussed SOTW1 Ashurbanipal's Attack

Bugsy -

Completed 1/2 L41 100EZ

Worked on AAS1 S6 5 words

Completed L19 Kumon 1-30

Completed 3L Reading Eggs

Completed 1 pg Before ETCA

Chicky -

Colouring in

Reviewed phonograms for m & s

Introduced phonograms f & l

Threaded beads

WEDNESDAY

Together -

Nursery rhymes

Play-doh

Read aloud 'Prince Hyacinth & The Dear Little Princess' from The Blue Fairy Book

Flossy -

Read & discussed Bobbsey Twins at School

Completed MO A-18 & F-1

Completed MEP Y1 L21 & 24

Worked on Prof B vocab & symbolism of numeration

Completed 1/2 Kumon G1 WP L14

Read & discussed STOW1 The Library of Nineveh

Bugsy -

Read L1 & 2 McGuffey Primer

Completed MO A-21

Completed L41 100EZ

Chicky -

Completed shape puzzle

Coloured some shapes

THURSDAY

Together -

Practiced social etiquette eating lunch at a restaurant

FRIDAY

Together -

Play-doh

Flossy -

Began reading for research project on Human Body

Completed MEP Y1 L27 & 30

Completed 1/2 AAS2 S20

Completed MO A-22

Completed WWE1 W7 D1

Bugsy -

Completed 1/2 L42 100EZ

Completed MO A-22

Worked on AAS1 S6 5 words