Morning Basket

I first read about this here and it took me here and I liked what I saw.  We've never really done 'circle time' or 'mat time'.  Generally I've got the kids ready for the day and started on something, then while they are occupied I've got myself ready and the house in order.  That's not to say that I drag my feet in the mornings, it's just how the day went.  Up until recently everyone has needed help with something and that has left me until last, and not wanting to loose their attention I just started them on a lesson and went about my business.

Over the summer however we have worked on independence and morning chores.  Whilst we still all eat breakfast together the kids are now able to dress, tidy their rooms, brush hair, empty the dishwasher, start the washing, feed the cat and get the table ready for the mornings lessons.  It keeps them busy whilst I am getting Possum and myself ready for the day.

Next we grab a cushion and make ourselves comfy on the floor in the learning area.  I choose 3-4 things from the basket and we enjoy them before moving on to anything else.  We've got some lovely things in our Morning Basket :)

Here is what is in the basket -

All About Spelling phonics cards & rules
IEW Poetry
Parables from Nature
Picture books from our Playschool shelf
Guide to the Wildlife of the Perth Region
Birds of the Greater South West (Western Australia)
Nature notebooks
Banjo Patterson A Children's Treasury
James Herriot's Treasury for Children
Can You Find It, Too?
The Children's Book of Virtues

Here is what is on the iPad but for the Morning Basket -
(these are all available free online)

The Fairy-Land of Science
The Insect Folk
Seed-Babies
Wasps and their Ways
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
Among the Farmyard People
Among the Forest People
Among the Meadow People
Among the Pond People
A Collection of Beatrix Potter Stories
The Story Hour

Occasionally i will throw in something extra like -

Sing and sign a nursery rhyme
Skip counting
Sing Advance Australia Fair
Count to 100
Sing and sign the alphabet
Australian Money
Menu planning
Clock reading
Singing from the Sing books
Map work - states of Australia, continents etc
Stretching, dancing, yoga, running, bouncing, something physical

The children have responded well to the Morning Basket.  In particular they LOVE drawing after reading from Birds of the Greater South West.  Here are some of their drawings.

Chicky's Brown Quail

Flossy's Stubble Quail

Bugsy's Emu

If you need a new way to start your day i'd encourage you to try the Morning Basket.

Warm wishes

Amber

Look What We Did Today!

We had a massive toy purge and reorganised our main learning space, yay!  Just in time for school to start back on monday.  So here's what it looked like when we emptied EVERYTHING out ...

and here's what it looks like now.

School supplies and curricula are on the Ikea shelving unit.  Dressups are all hung nicely on the clothes rack.  Thanks D for this great idea! 

Some bigger extras that i couldn't find a better home for. 

LOVE the Ikea Trofast frames housing cars, threading 'stuff', trio, little people, playdough 'stuff' and duplo.  Smaller unit to the right housing baby doll clothes, Possum's toys, train set and doll house 'stuff'.  Probably need to move the world map and multiplication charts a bit higher on the wall now. 

Finally the top of this sideboard looks neat.  Mostly taken up with books, the CD player, the mouse house and a ready supply of paper and pencils in the draw units.  The crate with wheels at the end is our new library crate.

Our workboxes all loaded ready to go, science in a nutshell kits to the left and ontop of the Trofast frames are out BUILD materials.

You might be wondering about the desks.  We usually school on the kitchen table which is just on the other side of the half wall where the workboses are.  Although i was talking with Rusty this evening about getting a large table that we can all sit around so that we don't have to pack away at mealtimes.  We will see what happens there.

We are all really looking forward to getting started with school this year.  Just a few more things to finish organising tomorrow and we will be back to our full schedule on Monday!  We have really enjoyed schooling 'lite' over the summer.

Warm wishes

Amber

Getting started with homeschooling

Just recently I have been approached by a few people wanting to know more, wanting to know how to get started homeschooling. The first thing I have to tell you is don't rush and do some research.

Start by finding out from your state's Education Department what their requirements are for homeschooling. Here in WA you need to register with the Ed Dept once your child is of Year 1 age. They will send you a Certificate of Registration and will then arrange a Moderator meeting. The Moderator will come out and meet you to make sure you have some ideas about how you will cover the learning areas. They will come back again in a year to check on your progress and what plans you have for the following year and so the band plays on.

You will also need to think about what kind of homeschooler you will be. Will you 'school at home' and sign up with a distance education provider like SIDE or Southlands? Will you use a boxed curriculum like Sonlight or My Fathers World? Will you piece it together yourself? Will you do any formal schooling at all?

What kind of philosophy will you follow? Charlotte Mason, Classical, Latin Centered, Unschooling, Delight Directed, Unit Studies, Waldorf, Montessori etc. Or will you be eclectic? A google search of any of these terms will produce tons of results to help you get a feel for what they are about.

There are so many different choices to make! It is a fun and rewarding journey :)