Sandcastles

Crocheted bag

2008-10-21T10:17:00.002+08:00

I learned to crochet last Friday and made this bag in two days. I am addicted to crocheting now. The wool is handspun/dyed by my mum. The bag is lightly felted.

All is Well

2008-06-19T21:06:00.002+08:00

All is well. Homeschooling is going so well this term. Of course there is a small part of me thinking we are just not doing enough, but a much larger part feels what we are doing is great because we are all happy and growing and learning. The Charlotte Mason method is working here! The kids both wrote great essays over the last couple of weeks, as I taught them about how to structure an essay. They are reading much more than they used to. Grammar is a blip in our days instead of a heavy thing. Maths is going well, although this is a challenging year for Genevieve, and the last two weeks she has been using ALEKS online maths for a change. Our schedule just works! And it doesn't change much so i am not always tweaking. And we still spend about an hour a day doing our together work which we all enjoy.
French is finishing so we are getting Monday mornings back, so that gives me the extra time I was craving. Probably a good time for our nature studies. We will still do French and Latin- Gen's Cambridge online has just finished too- but I will try and get them to do it independently.
Home life is cosy as we move into winter. The kids are both going on a Scout camp this weekend. I am reading their next year's books (for once, happily) and loving them !
I seem to have found my niche. I just had to let go of that fear of never doing enough, that constant feeling that I needed to just buy this or that and it would feel like enough. Instead, we have so little curricula. Its a relief!
What fun!

Catch up

2008-06-01T18:54:00.002+08:00

Its been a bit of time since I wrote what we have been doing,but thats partly because things have been going so well!
I just feel really good about this year so far.
The reading broken down Charlotte Mason style is going really well. They both read about 30-60 minutes a day for school, but both are also very much obsessed with adult series as well at the moment- Robin Hobbs for Gen and David Eddings for Jared. They read a lot.
Teaching writing myself is going well too. Wow, it's so good to be free of curricula!
This week I was going to teach Genevieve about essay structures, and in particular, start her on writing weekly 5 paragraph essays just to nail down the concept of structured essays. Then I suddenly realise Jared is read for this too, and what a great idea to teach them both at once!
In fact, he responded better than Gen, and chose a great topic- sharks, their dangers and benefits- while after half an hour of procrastinating I had to choose one for her- the benefits of Scouts.
This isn't rocket science.
I love Charlotte Mason. This is really good for my heart, and good for the kids.

Structure

2008-06-01T18:04:00.003+08:00

I have been thinking about the concept of structure today, and how difficult it is for so many people to live healthy, happy lives, because so many the basic structures of the past have become obsolete or simply eroded. I am referring to things like the structures of day to day life....keeping house, for example. Or diet- what IS a good diet?. Or just when to go to bed at night! Our circadian rhythms are generally out of kilter, and it feeds through to so many aspects of our lives and creates chaos and a sense of insecurity, and out of touchness.
I have been reading a book called Lights Out, Sugar, Sleep and Survival by Wiley and Formby, and it is a fascinating book about the effect that electric lighting of the last 80 years or so, and the excessive consumption of carbohydrates (in particular pure sugar) that has paralleled it, is having on our health. And all the misinformation that is out there to encourage people to eat low fat diets, which means high carbs.
So much change has happened in such a short period of time, and the rate of change is quickening too, in the sense of technological change.
But what I wanted to write about was how so many people's lives lack structure, in a healthy way. I really realized that I wasn't alone in this when after many years of struggling with doing housework, I came across Flylady, and her attitude and the easy to follow structure that she recommended changed my life. It really did. I suddenly realized I wasn't stupid or incompetent, I just hadn't been taught how to keep a house running by my parents. I wasnt taught about routines. And my mother had not taught me very well, because her mother had not valued housekeeping because she was a career mother and feminist, so housekeeping was a necessary evil, not a blessing to pass on to your family. Something like that, anyway, I haven't asked my mother about it, I have just surmised- she paid for a housecleaner a lot of my childhood. The structure of how to housekeep was not passed down to me, anyway, and learning from scratch has been quite a mammoth task!
The loss of religion, of small town communities, of outer structure, has led to so much break down in our society. But I don't think we should replace outdated or outgrown structures with new structures designed by other people, who soon become authorities....it seems to me it is time for everyone to find their own values, let go of structures that are no longer valid, but replace them with structures that are meaningful to them. Like community events, and family rituals.
Children especially thrive on daily rhythms as structure, but I have found that I do too! I have a resistance to being structured from without, but I have found that a dose of discipline and some conscious structuring of my life makes all the difference to my wellbeing and that of my family.
We can see what happens when children are left to drift without strong, healthy structures. We see teenagers in the shopping centres looking sullen and arrogant, hanging out. We know about negative peer pressure, the drug culture, crime gangs. Children and teenagers need meaningful activities, to feel a part of something bigger than themselves, and unless adults provide it...some sort of structure....children will naturally drift toward the strongest influence in their lives which does give them some sense of meaning and belonging. And we know that is often not a good thing. That's why kids need time in their families, not just bought things and sent off to play. It's the doing of time in the family that builds that inner sense of security and structure.
Constant chaos is just not a pleasant way to live, and I know because I have been there. A continuing, always present in the background sense of overwhelm, and not being caught up. I know there are plenty of people who could do with a healthy dose of letting go, rather than structure, but there may be some area in their life that this is relevant anyway. I dont know. I would call myself a free spirit type of person...I dont like external authority, I dont like to be told what to do, what to eat, where to be, what time to go to bed...I like my "freedom". But it took me two small children to realise, I need some discipline here to keep together a sense of stability rather than chaos in their life. And then I looked around and saw many people suffering from lack of healthy discipline and structure.
When I say discipline, its not about forcing oneself to do what one doesn't want to do. Partly, its about just growing up and doing what needs to be done, because the consequences of not doing it- washing the dishes, putting out the rubbish, or doing an assignment- are more unpleasant than the action of doing it. We all know the feeling of accomplishment of waking up to a clean kitchen as opposed to leaving the dishes till morning. Its also about forming new habits. We are so ingrained in lazy or ineffective habits which actually work against us- for example, eating junk food rather than making a healthy meal- that it does take some shift to grow a new habit.
And that brings up another issue. Are we worth it? Instead of seeing ourselves as worth making a healthy meal for, we instead tell ourselves a lie- I "deserve" this junk food, I will reward myself with it. We are all mixed up. The one chocolate bar or junky meal easily turns into a bad habit, and we are on a downward slope. How to get out of that? Somewhere along the line, we have to care about ourselves enough....or, at least care about our children enough to change.
Anyway I am rambling. I just wanted to write out what I had been thinking about today. i will come back and read it later and se if it makes sense!

Notes on our week

2008-05-16T20:40:00.002+08:00

It's Friday evening, the kids are at Scouts, and I am looking back over our week to see how it went, what we didnt get to (art and music appreciation, and no nature walk although Jared and I did have a walk), what was good. This week Gen started her current affairs journal and that went well- I feel good about that. She chose a local shark attack, and a genetic mutant sheep/goat, to write about! I had Jared do a drawing for a narration this week, and it has sparked off his enthusaism for drawing again. As someone said, he needs to feel success before he can try things, and his drawing was good. (Achilles with blood pouring out of his heel!).
Next week we have National testing, and that will disrupt our normal routine a fair bit. We will keep up the reading though.
I am feeling inspired to design a program for Australian homeschoolers that is similar to Ambleside- a list of books and a schedule- but secular, and with an Australian flavour alongside the World history. There are so many wonderful Australian books, and nowadays, even curricula. I feel there is a need for an Australian program outline for new homeschoolers and others looking for something different. It could have various alternatives eg for language arts, for grammar- there are different approaches which will suit different people. I would like to make it simple but extensive. I have made an outline...now I realise, comes the work!

Charlotte Mason Narration ideas for Highschool

2008-05-10T20:08:00.003+08:00

Narrations can be done in one sitting or over several days
Have them ask several questions, make up some comprehension questions, ask each other
Write down what you remember in note form, or as a list
Essay questions
Drawing, an illustration, a sketch
Write a letter from one character to another
Write a one act play
Write a letter from author to publisher about the book he/she has just written
Write the first chapter of a potential novel, in a particular setting (eg landing in Sydney Cove)
Write a diary of a person (chronological)
Write a poem (eg sonnet)
Write in the style of someone
Condense a story, passage
Condense, classify, generalize, infer, judge, visualize, discriminate
Lapbooks
5 paragraph essay
Practice editing, rewriting, paraphrasing, changing tenses, descriptive writing, poetry, lab reports, term papers, research papers
Compare and contrast religion/warfare of the Greeks and Romans
Write in the style of a newspaper reporter
Be a participant in an event describing the event to a grandchild
Rewrite something in a different style
Timed essays
Detailed maps
Socratic questioning

Culling

2008-04-23T20:47:00.002+08:00

I have decided to not try and do the Plato and Sophocles and Aristophenes etc this term. It feels like it might be the straw that breaks the camel's back. I will wait. I might add them in in another year or two as literature.
I think maybe we would be better served going down to the river and watching all the birds rather than trying to cram our brains with more ancient classical literature. Gotta draw a line somewhere!
I remember being my kids' age. I loved nature. They are not so keen- neither goes off for walks alone like I did at that age- but they are both far more social than I was at their ages. But I also haven't really spent so much time in nature with them- I tend to take my daily walks alone with the dog. We do check out the wildflowers most years and that has been a shared bond as they know many of the names. But that is a short, spectacular season.
So, less Plato and more nature walks!

Holidays

2008-04-23T20:31:00.005+08:00

We are on holidays. Our autumn holidays. And finally the weather has cooled to a decent temperature so that I can go out walking at any time of day, not only just before sunrise!
Genevieve is away up north at Fitzroy Crossing with a selected group of Scouts, having a cultural exchange with aboriginal kids up there. We all miss her terribly. And Vish said she better not come back all grown up! Even Jared has been a bit upset at not having his sister around. I forget sometimes how much he is just used to her presence- she has been around him his whole life.
However tomorrow I am taking him camping- just him and I- to a folk music festival for 3-4 days. We will pick up Gen from the airport on the way home. Vish wonders how i will live without my computer for that long...he is teasing me of course, but actually I don't tend to miss it when I am away from it. I am taking lots of books to read though! And I am glad Jared is a Scout because its been so long since I camped I have probably forgotten how to put up a tent!
I just put the Green Hour on the blog because I really want to make an effort to get outside with the kids more often. The weather is great for it now- summer isn't the best time to be outside around here, other than the beach in the early morning.

Vish the dish on his Harley

2008-04-15T16:03:00.001+08:00

2008 Term 2

2008-04-14T06:27:00.007+08:00

I am feeling better about the blog now. I feel that by calling myself classical, I set up an image that I then try to fulfill or project in some way, but I just want to be myself, whatever that is. I am not that educated. There was a wonderful debate on the WTM message boards recently about whether the progym is a better way to go with teaching writing, than modern programs. I realised how highly educated some of these women are! I have a gut feeling, an intuition about things, and I follow my passion or enthusiasm, and I learn as I go. But I am not in any way, over the next few years of homeschooling my kids, going to be able to draw from the experiences and knowledge these women can draw from, for example with teaching writing.

But, although I am a bit in awe of them, I don't feel I am any less qualified to homeschool my kids. One things I notice is that a lot of people on the boards spend a lot more time doing academic work than I want to, even as the kids get older. I am feeling far more attracted to the Charlotte Mason ideals of a rich, "generous" education. Lots of exposure, lots of experiences, lots of books read. And, I still feel that it is good to go into some things more deeply, so that things don't become shallow.

Here is a list of our plans for next term:

Both kids (age 12 and 13/14) will do their maths (Haesse and Harris), music practice, Queen's Language Lessons (which include copywork, dictation, editing, writing), and Latin programs pretty much daily, although Latin often drops to 3 days a week because we leave the house so early on Mondays and Fridays. Gen will do Analytical Grammar part 2, and some Biology from Singapore's Biology Matters. She outlines this one week and does the workbook the next.

Then both will read from this list of books. We will be studying Ancient Greece for 10 weeks, using K12's History Odyssey as a spine. I love this book. Other books:
Children's Homer (we have already studied the Iliad in depth. I have decided we have covered the Odyssey enough, so Children's Homer will do.
Geurber's Story of the Greeks.
Hawthorne's Greek Myths, with a written narration each week. They both love to do this- write the myth in their own words, and Gen loves to illustrate as well, sometimes with a watercolour painting.
Wise Guy a book about Socrates.
They will also read an Australian history book each this term (Gen- My Story. Jared- Verity of Sydney Town.) Jared will also read Little Men.
And, they will read the 1st half of Augustus Caesar's World (which is Roman, and we will read the 2nd half in 3rd term).
They will do a history assignment or other narration as well.

And then together we will read:
Plato's Republic, and perhaps some Spophocles and or Aristphanes, time depending.
Poetry by Sappho.
Theseus' life by Plutarch.
Shakespeare's Hamlet (we have an audio and a highschool text with notes).
French together- we have an informal class with another mum who speaks French.
Poetry - Robert Frost
Artist- Waterhouse
Thinking Toolbox for Logic.

I am excited! The intention is about 90 minutes to 2 hours on independent work in the mornings. Then an hour or so together doing read alouds and oral narrations and discussions. Then another hour on their reading and on some days, another hour on writing. Since we are out of the house on Mondays and Fridays, and only get basics done, I don't mind if they do 5 hours on T/W/Th, but its up to them whether they want to work on Fridays rather than play, while the other is doing their Science class.

time for more change

2008-04-13T20:44:00.002+08:00

I just changed the layout and name of my blog....it felt like it wasn't really reflecting me so well. Even though we use many Classical resources and ideas that coincide with others who identify with the classical label, sometimes it feels pretentious to go around saying "we are classical homeschoolers". I am not sure what we are. And I like it like that. I don't want to be narrowed down to any label.
It has occurred to me lately that it would have been far easier to have stuck with Saxon maths and Rod and Staff English, in many ways. We would be much "farther ahead" on the academic trail than we are now....or at least, we would be getting up there to the higher levels of those programs. But, I couldn't do it. Not to the kids and not to myself. It would feel very satisfying in a certain way. But think what we would have missed. A year on Lord of the Rings. A year or more on Classical Writing. Trying different things. Bravewriter freewrites. I feel that the different curricula I have used has enriched us, rather than scattered us, but when I try and share what we are doing NOW with friends, it sounds kind of flaky because my closest homeschooling friends tend to stick to...Saxon math and Rod and Staff. I don't feel flaky..but I feel i sound it! It feels like we are eating from the smörgåsbord of educational experiences available. We are having a wide range of experiences. And I think that is my aim. To give a rich education, rather than a strongly academic one.

time for another update

2008-04-12T20:43:00.002+08:00

Someone from the Well Trained Mind message boards encouraged me to write in my blog more. So here I am. But as I wrote to her, it is embarrassing because I constantly fluctuate and change what we do. From my perspective, I just like homeschooling that way. I make plans a way ahead, I tweak them, life does it's thing, but in the process, lots of learning appears to happen! I have never felt the need to use the same programs for years or decide now what we will be doing next year.

We are starting our autumn holidays, so have done 1 term of school in our year. We have four 10 week terms. I am very happy with what we have done this term, even though we have had a week long trip to Bali, and Easter, all packed in there too.

I am relaxing more and more with homeschooling. I dont feel like I am so fear driven, so anxious any more. I have stopped aiming for the stars, as far as classical education is concerned. I can't do it, and enjoy my life too, and enjoy my kids' childhood. Nothing matters so much as it seemed to before. Of course, I was always heading this way, but something has really shifted in me.

On Mondays we are out at French class, then Sport and Drama. And you know what I do while Sport and Drama is on? (3 hours?). I drive home (20 mins each way) and have a nap. I get a solid 2 hours at home. Enough time to read as well! What luxury! The last 2 years I hung around and chatted or went to the shops. But this way feels right for this season.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, we are mostly home, and these days we get most of our work done. And, we still finish by 1 pm. Or perhaps I should qualify that- I finish by 1pm. Genevieve often works longer. Jared reads. I nap. Getting a theme here?

Fridays we go to Science classes. Both kids do one now, and it takes us just about all day for them both to do a class, but its nice to sit in the park outside the hall and chat, knit, walk for exercise, or go off to the shops and buy coffee. The Science teacher is very good and it has relieved me of my stress about this subject.

I will post about what we are doing with school another time. This is enough for tonight.

Reviving this blog! Update

2007-06-12T10:29:00.000+08:00

Again a long time between posts!
So, this year is our year of Modern History, as well as the Lord of the Rings. They are our overall themes for the year, and it is going so well! Last year (2006) I was burned out from March onwards. I dont think it was our extra homeschooler, who left us in January. It may have been health related- not sure. By 4th term, I was just so exhausted.
But, this year, it's June and I am fine! Maybe it's just the mix- the curricula, the age of the kids, and the extra curricula activities- which keep the kids very happy.

Here are the activities we are doing:
Both kids- Hey Fever- a highschool homeschool social group accomodating younger siblings- they do Drama and Sport on Monday afternoons. It is great.
Latin class for dd13. However, she will be changing to using an online etutor for Latin in term 3. Not that the class is no good- she loves it- but it moves slowly, and I wanted to try this approach for a change.
Dd13 is doing French through an online course through a local christian school. She loves it and it is going well.
Dd13 is doing piano lessons- new teacher, loving it. More blues, jazz, ragtime.
Ds11 is doing Classical Recorder. Both do a guitar class together.
Dd13 does a sewing class and a watercolour class at the local art gallery. She loves them.
Dd13 also does a Science class with other homeschoolers, which is going well, and has relieved my anxiety about Science for her. She is interested in a medicine related career- we gotta get science right!
And dd13 also does a writing class with a homeschool dad, which is awesome.
And all 3 of us- two kids and I- are doing Karate! I am loving it, dd likes it, and ds doesnt want to leave playing with his street friends to come to it, but we make him. We like the respect it teaches.
But, this is a LOT of activities. Oh, I forgot the mos important one- SCOUTS! Dd is a Patrol Leader this year. Scouts takes up lots of time with camps etc, but for the cost, nothing can compare to the experiences they get from it.
I think we got the social mix right this year- for dd anyway! And ds11 just wants to play on the streets with the other boys- they play imaginative games, and the other mums are all good mums, looking out for all of the boys. Since we lost Daniel, the boy I homeschooled last year (actually, I told his mum no more, but that is another story), Jared reached out to the kids in the street and he is much happier. They are younger than him, so he gets to be a leader.

OK. Academics. I really wanted a lighter, more fun year for 2007.
So, Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings is a part of every day. We are loving it. I started off doing it all- now we just do most of it orally. And it is enough. And wonderful.
SOTW4 Modern history is another theme. I am learning so much! Much of our literature relates to our Modern History studies.

Other than that, I missed Classical Writing and so I brought that back in, at a much slower pace. Jared is doing well with Homer A, Gen with Homer B. And, we skip the parsing and heavy grammar- we are doing Analytical Grammar instead. It is enough for what I want for them. AG is great- simple, direct, easy to do each day for 5-10 minutes. Much, much more grammar than I ever learned.

Maths-Last year, both kids struggled with Singapore maths. I decided it was time to let it go, although dd finished 6A. Genevieve is using Haese and Harris year 8, and is loving it and doing well! I am surprised, but it really seems to click for her. No maths stress this year!
Jared is using Easy-learn maths, written by a Singapore lady here in Australia. It is awesome for him. However, we had to start a fair way back. He is now up to 5A. Yet he still did so well in the state testing last year.

Latin- dd is still using Cambridge and i have no intention of changing that. She is about to start Book 3 with an etutor, although she loves the tutor she has had for the last 3.5 years, I feel she is ready to move at a faster pace.
Ds is still using Cambridge, but I relaly felt he wasnt grasping teh grammar. Si, he is using the Latin Prep program a bought last year. As well as Cambridge. Just moving at a slow pace. It is going well.

Science- Dd is going to classes which fulfils her social needs as well as academic. They are great. Meanwhile at home she is still doing Singapore's Interactive Science. I am also reading Science Matters aloud to her once a week.
Ds is doing Tiner's Great Science Mysteries. Finally, a science course he is engaged with. I have been concerned at his retention, but as time goes on, the retention is actually getting higher and he is proud of his test results- it is a motivation to him.
I am finally at peace with Science, yay!
So much so, we are even doing Nature Study once a week too! using a beautiful book called the Wonderland of Nature- an Australian living book. As well as nature walks, and hopefully setting up a Nature blog.

And, things are going well. We are doing some CM stuff too, or at least I am taking some inspiration from Ambleside, and we are doing Art Appreciation, Poetry Appreciation, some memory work, of course nature study..and as usual, read alouds. Also, i am fitting in some religious studies- at the moment, we are reading a Tich Nhat Hahn book (he is Buddhist) for children.

Rich, wholesome. The kids are cooperative. Last week instead of a strict schedule, I handed them both an assignmet list. They did it, and loved it because it motivated them to get their work done early. So, same this week. So far so good.

Yay for homeschooling!

4th term focus

2006-10-21T21:26:00.000+08:00

It is our 4th term here in Australia, the last of our 4 term year. I have made a fairly radical change in our curriculum- although I am happy with what we have done so far this year, I need a change/break. I dont know if it is temporary or long term but it feels right for now. We are using Australian workbooks for Maths, English, maybe Science, and for Australian studies for my son.
And, we continue Latin, and Story of the World, and our study of the Iliad for now. The kids are also getting more time for reading and are doing an hour a day including Hakim's Story of Science for dd12. And, I even managed to squeeze in a research and report assignment the other day.
It feels like plenty! And wow, I needed at least a break from Classical Writing. I just couldnt keep it up with 3 kids. So time consuming too. Time to use that time for other things for a while.
Why did I ever push SO hard. Myself, the kids. I think we can even take it easier, but I am easing myself into taking it easier! My aim (which so far so good is actually happenning) is to get them working independently from 8.30 till 10.30, and again after lunch. I am around if needed, but they dont need me much for their workbooks. Between 11 and 12.30, while I am still fresh, we do our together work- Iliad, SOTW, whatever. Then after lunch they read, and do something else independent.
Whew, I feel as if a load has been lifted off me.

Holidays!

2006-09-30T18:05:00.000+08:00

I havnt felt so relieved to be on holidays for quite a while! I do always like holidays though.
I put the kids through some testing on Friday our last day. I used some recommended books I had read about and I will continue the testing next term. The idea is, if they get 80% or above, they are fine to move ahead. If not, they need to have a look at what they need to go over. Genevieve so far is well over 80% and so is Daniel, although Daniel flunked one page because he is weak on Vocabulary. Jared is between 70 and 80% so far. His weakness seems to be translating what he has learned in Maths into a different context. He has been doing Singapore maths- but these questions looked nothing like Singapore maths questions, and he couldn't do some of them- well, he could have if he couldn have worked out what they were asking.
So, so far so good, the testing is helping me get a better feel for where the kids are at in a particular way. Sometimes homeschooling feels like I am operating in the dark- I just dont know how well my kids are doing- or not.

Latest thoughts

2006-09-28T21:55:00.000+08:00

I seem to have been suffering from burnout for most of this year, to some extent. I still feel enthusiastic about homeschooling, but when I get to the schoolroom, I have little inclination to teach anything- I just want them to get on with it. I have even dropped off the read alouds lately. I have been having health issues. I had whiplash for 6 months. That seems to have finally gone although there is a slight issue there. Mostly, i have just been exhausted. I had a wonderful trip east to see my family. My life is going well. Marriage is good. Lots of love in my life.

Who knows how long this feeling of flatness will last. Lately, in thinking about things, and researching our next program for highschool maths, I have been going through a radical rethink of everything. I really want the kids to be more independent, and I want to use more Australian materials. I am feeling the need of a little more security that my kids would be ok if they had to go back to school, and I want to feel not just that they are getting a good education, but that they could actually cope with the local system as well (which is not necessarily the same thing, I realise).

The sequencing of Maths and Science is so different in the U.S. to here in Australia. I think it would be better to stay in alignment with the Australian system, and keep that as my foundation. We can always add to it. We can always use Classical methods. But I would like the content to be more relevent to and congruent with Australian systems.

Since I also want them to be more independent, I am looking at using workbooks as spines, and also making use of a local correspondence school for homeschoolers. We would continue with Latin.
We will see. I have months to work this out, before our new year in February. I just know I need to change my approach somewhat to get the kids to be more independent, so that they can just get on with their work if I need to do somethng else- or nothing, as the case may be. Perhaps we need a year of workbooks then I will be ready to be more 'the teacher' again. I dont know.
Its strange to have such a hange of heart about it all. I still love it, but i dont care if its Classical or anything right now. I just want them to get a good grounding, and I am concerned that with all the high ideals, I have inadvertantly left some gaps-probably not serious, but I dont know. Before we go any further, i want to consolidate.

2006-09-28T21:41:00.000+08:00

This is Genevieve and Jared. Going to the Snow here in Australia is a big deal- particularly for those of us who live 3000kms from it. But we got there, we tabogganed, and it snowed. It was awesome. Great memories, and a great time with my family.

August already

2006-08-11T20:04:00.000+08:00

OK, I havnt been here for a while, but here I am again. I would like to get a bit more savvy about this blogging stuff- when I see other people's blogs I definitely feel ...well, I would like to learn more.
Homeschooling is going well. My schedule and curricula have probably changed since last time I wrote about them. I am now homeschooling Daniel full time as well, so along with Jared, age 10, and Genevieve, age 12, I have Daniel, 12, though he lives down the street.
The Latin Cented Curriculum arrived a couple of months back and I re-evaluated and simplified again.
Here is what we are doing:
Music - Gen-piano and now guitar. Jared- classical recorder. Daniel- guitar.

Maths- all are using Singapore Maths. I have just started supplementing Jared with Modern Curriculum Maths though because Singpaore doesnt have quite enough review for him- and i had it on my shelf. Gen is on 6A, Daniel 5A (we started him all the way back at 3B, poor kid, just because of the way Signapore works) and Jared is on 4B.

Latin- all are doing Cambridge Latin. I would dearly like some sort of help with the drill I would like to include with this, but I am just stumbling along with it- and they do seem to be learning a lot of Latin. Gen is in book 2, and has a tutor. The other two are in book 1 and I am now applying the thumbscrews and insisting they really learn their stuff.

English- Classical Writing is our core program and takes around an hour 4 days a week. Jared is doing Aesop B. Genevieve is ploughing through Homer B and we are really having to nugget out those sentence diagrams, whew they are hard. Daniel is sailing through Homer A- I want to put him and Gen through Diogenes together.
I dont do much separate spelling with them, we work on it as we go, and they all spell pretty well. Sometimes they do a spelling computer program.

Literature- we have started Fagle's Iliad. So far, so good, we are into book 4 now. They usually sit and do something with their hands 9drawing, or a puzzle) while I read aloud, although sometimes i have them read as well. We stop a lot and discuss what I just read, and I am thrilled with their understanding.

Because of doing the Iliad, we are not doing anything else 'Classical' although the Latin teacher, Richard, is always fascinating and I consider the first half of every Latin class to be a Classical History lesson. I now insist the boys sit in on it because it is a rare experience to have someone so knowledgeable and enthusiastic teach your kids.

History- we are doing Book 4 of Story of the World, Modern History,along with the Activity book maps and outlining worksheets. The kids all are making a scrap book of their work, and a timeline. Daniel and Gen put a lot of thought into their design and art- mmm, well, hopefully it will rub off on Jared.

Australian History- we are reading books and watching a documentary called the Colony, where 3 families- an Australian, an English and an Irish- are put into a situation similar to an early settlement in NSW, and they really have to tough it out. One of those reality tv things, but we are all really fascinated, and it definitely gives you a feel for how hard it was.

Then there is Logic with Fallacy Detective ( reading and discussing), Ancient Greek (one letter a week with the Alphabetarian) and Art with Artistic Pursuits Junior High book1- which is a drawing course. These are all Friday subjects. I try and make Fridays Fun.

Wow, it doesnt seem SO simple, does it? We also do poetry for memory work.
At the moment, it is all going well. The kids all go to Drama class and Sport class with other homeschoolers, and Gen and Jared do Scouts, Daniel loves his football. Gen does a watercolour class as well where they paint plants and animals- it is very good.

My kids and I went to the east coast (of Australia) to visit my family last holidays, and had a wonderful time. We saw snow, and it even snowed on us (rare experience here in Australia)and I will try and get those photos up soon. Vish my husband has just bought me a laptop, so when it arrives maybe I can sit in bed and work out how to do all these things I never seem to have time for, like putting pictures on my blog. We will see.

Our new school year

2006-03-09T14:39:00.000+08:00

Well, I did say these were sporadic thoughts in the line under my blog heading!
This year is going so well. We are in week 6 of our new school year. Dd is 11 and a half, Ds is 10. I got so bored during our long summer break, that I did oodles of preparation for our new school year. I was, as usual, impatient to begin.
I think being in our 3 rd year of homeschooling (we began back in June 2003) I have lost a lot of those beginners heebee jeebees. I feel much more confident. I know what I want to do, I have read very widely, I know the kids in that unique way that homeschooling mums get to know their kids- what will work, what wont, and how they learn.
We have a good routine and the year started straight into it. Except that I put back our starting time half an hour- I shifted it from 8.30 to 8am. And the kids have to be out of bed by 6.30 am and lights out at 8.30pm. It is summer here though (well, officially beginning autumn but we are having a late summer) and no one has balked at all at the earlier start. It makes such a difference though, to the day.
Here is what we are doing this year:

Dd 11.5, she would be in 7th grade here in Australia, but 6th in the U.S. I tend to follow TWTM mostly, so I go with the U.S. grades, approximately.
Maths- Singapore 5B, 6A, 6B. Caluculadders, and a Living math book.
Memory work- poetry to match our history year, and Latin, so far.
Classical Writing HomerA. Going very well. Using Harveys as well, and this is very refreshing after slogging away with Rod and Staff last year, for both of us.
Latin- Cambridge book 2. Also she attends a Latin class which is still on Cambridge book1- we use the class as revision and to fill any gaps.
Science- Tops Science Beans and Corn for the first 5 weeks. Very successful. Now we are doing Singapore My Pals are Here 6. love it. Nicely presented, simple and doable, but develops good thinking skills.
History- SOTW 3 and 4 this year,I decided. We do 2 chapters a week. She outlines 1 chapter (well, the corresponding KHE pages usually) and writes a report related to the other.
Logic- Philosophy for Kids, and Fallacy Detective
Art and Music appreciation- 8 musicians and 8 artists for the year.
Australian History, using various Living Books.

Classes- Piano, Recorder ensemble, Drama, Sport, Watercolours, Latin, and Scouts.

She is such a bright kid, and her strengths are in languages and art. I want to start French and Greek with her too- but where to fit them in?

Ds10.
I am very happy with his progress and that finally I can get him to write more. He still doesnt like it, but he is getting better. Handwriting is still pretty bad, but he is remembering his punctuation most of the time, yay!

Maths- Singapore 4A and 4B, Calculadders
Memory Work- poetry and Latin.
Classical Writing Aesop. This is working well for him. We are not doing any other grammar this year, this feels like enough. I would rather he solidify those basics.
Latin- Cambridge 1, with me.
Spelling- Calvert.
Handwriting- 1 line a day.
Great Editing Adventures book 1- simple editing. I just have the student book. Takes 5 minutes.
Science- Top, and Singapore MPH4. Going well.
History- SOTW 3 and 4, but he writes one or 2 narrations a week, depending on our time.
Music Appreciation- I have a plan for the year, 2 composers a term.
Art- again, 2 artists a term.
Logic Puzzles- Mindbenders and Sodoku.

Classes- Treble recorder, recorder ensemble, Drama, Sport, and Cubs.

I am SOOO happy with the way things are going so far this year.

homeschooling someone else's child

2005-11-18T20:16:00.000+08:00

This last week we have had a guest. He is a great kid my kids have known all their lives. He is 12, the son of my husband's ex wife, and the brother of my step daughter. He (D)is having a hard time at home, his parents recently separated and he has been taking a lot of anger out on his mum. My dh and I offered to have him for a few weeks to help her and help him have a break, give him a taste of homeschooling, some playtime with my kids, and also have my dh really bring him into line and teach him how to manage his anger, and behave better (dh is a therapist).

Well, so far, he has been well behaved, and all three kids have been having a ball all week. I must admit we have been doing a bit less work than usual, but still, it has really helped my kids see what a good time they have homeschooling. D is amazed, we are usually finished by soon after lunch. Before school they get to go bikeriding and swimming as long as they are ready to start at 8.30. For lunch break they can again go bike riding and swimming. Reading is considered part of school.

D's mum said he wouldnt read. So my first priority was to put a book in his hand and tell him to read it. I searched my shelves and came up with the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. Not hard to read, a great classic, short enough to not be overwhelming. Well, what a hit. He is asking to read it. He loves it. The kids are in bed now, all reading thier own books. I am happy he is loving it. My son, who turns 10 tomorrow, has just received Eldest, the sequel to Eragon, this evening as an early present. He is so happy. I am so glad my love for reading is catching on to my kids, and then they can share that with D.

I hope we have D for a while. He seems to be a good influence, he is easy to have around (because he is pretty scared of dh and is behaving very well, even does his own chores here) and I think my kids are helping him a lot. I don't know what it would be like for him going back to school after tasting the love and freedom of a healthy homeschool though.

Kids' Chores

2005-09-19T11:43:00.000+08:00

I thought I would write a post about the chores my kids do.

Both kids have been doing dishes for a few years. The youngest started seriously when he was 7.
On odd days of the month, my son (age 9) gets to sit in the front seat of the car. He also only has to clear and wipe down the surfaces, while his sister (11) does the dishes- every meal. On those days he also unpacks the top shelf of the dishwasher while she unpacks the bottom. On even days, obviously , this is reversed. The convenience of having 2 children! When their big sister stays with us, she just helps them.

Jared- apart from kitchen duties, he empties all the bins and puts new liners in them. The kitchen bins are a few times a week, the other bins around the house are just once a week before rubbish day. He also feeds the dog and cleans the pool, and puts chlorine in the pool every 2nd day.
He also does his own washing, which he is capable of doing alone now, although I usually supervise still (and remind him to hang it up, bring it in, put is away etc).

Genevieve: apart from kitchen duties, she feeds the cat, and the chooks. Feeding the chooks involves water, chook feed, and taking the scraps bucket out to them once a day, and washing the scrap bucket. Of course she also brings in the eggs.
She also does her own washing. She must keep her room clean- we are working on that.

Each week, usually Saturday morning, we do our House Blessing. That involves: vacuuming, dusting, basic tidying, and bathrooms. We swap and change jobs frequently and take less than an hour altogether.

I do the Flylady system, so other cleaning jobs are spread throughout the week, including deep cleaning. Theoretically, anyway, but it helps to have a system.

Back again.

2005-09-18T13:43:00.000+08:00

Here I am again at my blog. Its been a while. I just managed to put up a photo, why was it so hard before? Dont know.
Homeschooling. We have been changing. Simplifying. I am really doing more Latin centred these days after reading Climbing Parnassus. I was heading that way before, too. It sounds terrible- Latin centred- but really, it's a concept that helps prioritise, rather than the fact we spend all day doing Latin.
Why? Well, I think I came to see that 'modern' education isn't really doing a very good job, and the more traditional way was held the same way for centuries because it DID work well. It produced deep , clear thinkers, noble men and women, and decent leaders. What we have replaced it with - well, to me, it lacks integrity and depth. And, we don't have a clue where we come from, our Western heritage, let alone our place in the world. We have no context for our lives and we have become so trivial and self centred, and pleasure seeking.

However, its not all dry and boring (as accounts of schooling in the past can certainly sound), we have lots of fun, and we learn to live in our modern world too- by living in it.
We don't sit around conjugating Latin verbs till we are sick of it. In fact both kids notice we are more relaxed, and doing less. But, it is more focused, more effective, I feel. Less trying to cover everything in 12 years, as trying to get a good foundation to set them up for a life of learning.

So lately, a day looks like:
8.30- musical instrument practice. Jared, treble recorder, Genevieve, piano.

9.00- memory work. Both are memorising Shakespeare's Sonnet 18- Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Nearly got it (and just by getting them to do it, I nearly have it down too!).

9.15- Maths. Singapore Maths.

10 Latin. Now we are all doing Latin for Children and loving it. We chant the chants, watch the DVD, and it's fun. Gen also does her Cambridge Latin homework from her class. Definitely not a subject any of us dread- why they made it so deadly boring when I was at school, i do not understand.

10.30 Grammar, 3 days a week. Rod and Staff- highly Christian but oh so thorough. And handwriting practice. Not so fun here, but there you go, mum is mean.

11.00 Writing. Gen is doing Writing Strands, Jared is about to start Classical Writing Aesop. Also, any other writing, such as projects, history reports, dictations etc.

11.30- whatever- French, Poetry, catching up.....

12.30- Lunch
After lunch we do Science or History- Medieval, Australian and Classical History, one afternoon each. But I am much more relaxed about it. We have fun. We read together, colour in. We all love History, so it doesn't get left off, but I am not so history centred now. Thats a relief in itself.
Art is informal or integrated into other subjects.

I am much happier doing it this way. I was spreading us so thin before, and always felt we couldn't get it all done. Now I feel even if we dont get to the afternoon work, we have done a good day's work.

Life is good. What a blessing to be able to homeschool.

2005-09-18T13:37:00.000+08:00

Wow, my first photo. This is me in my dressing gown giving a silly grin.

Peela

2005-09-18T13:28:00.000+08:00

(image placeholder)

update

2005-06-24T21:43:00.000+08:00

I finally get back to my blog.
It's the end of term 2 here in Australia. We have 4 terms a year, 10 weeks each. We are in winter, it is cold and wet and rainy and WONDERFUL which you can probably only understand if you couldn't remember the last cold AND wet, rainy winter you had. There's been a drought here- for years (well, we do live on the edge of a vast semi desert, but still!). Its been raining for weeks. Everything is coming alive. And our roof is leaking, in fact, my bedroom roof is leaking. Nothing a bucket can't handle.
I am happy with the way the homeschooling is going. I feel we have a good rythmn and routine going. I am feeling more confident, and at the same time I am still always tweaking.
This seems to be our routine at the moment:

First music practice, usually. Genevieve does piano. She won an eisteddford recently, for her own composition. Jared plays treble recorder, and his teacher is brilliant- she has him absolutely loving it- and he's not easy to please!

Both kids then do maths. First some sort of drill, then Singapore maths. Both like Singapore Maths, and so do I. It is so clearly presented, and not too much work. Still, they do usually spend about an hour on maths.
Then I work with Jared, age 9, while Genevieve, now a big whole 11, does independent work. She can do her Latin alone, plus Logic puzzles, Word Roots worksheet, one of her writing programs (Wordsmith Apprentice). Probably other things I cant remember.
Meanwhile, I will work intensely with Jared for about an hour. I will do Rod and Staff grammar 3- mostly orally, but he will do the worksheets- including some whiteboard work. Then, either Dictation or Copywork. A full page now (in his sprawly handwriting, anyway). He has come so far this year, and he really wants to write well. Then, its Latin- Prima Latina. I think we are both bored with this now, but he has learned a lot of vocabulary this year, and he is quite proud of it.
Then his reading out loud to me. We use a McGuffey reader mostly. He reads well.
Then, he is on his own to read for 40 minutes while I work with his sister.

I will do Rod and Staff with her. She hated it a while back. Now I think she is enjoying it a bit in spite of herself. She is very language orientated and enjoys sentence diagramming. But in the end, I think what she enjoys is the fact that I sit with her for a lot of it. I enjoy it- I am learning too. She and I are quite similar in our love for language.
Then I will mark her maths, go over any mistakes with her, and mark any other work she has done. Then I may help her with her outlining. She is struggling with this a bit. I may also get her going on her writing assignment- either from Writing Strands, or Imitations in Writing- Medieval Legends. She needs just a boost to get her started, then she is off writing on her own, and usually loving it. Well, not so much the Writing Strands.

We do History together on Mondays. SOTW 2, Medieval, listen to the CD chapter, do mapwork, colouring in together, and answer the questions in the AG. Then Jared has to give me an oral narration. He needs practice on this- I have been focusing on his writing skills. I feel he needs more practice doing oral narration before can write them down. So I write them for him still.

And Genevieve has to do outlining from Kingfisher. Yuk. Sometimes from SOTW instead. This week I relented and let her do a report from SOTW instead. I am going to work harder on outlining with her next week though. We have to get through this block.

Science is meant to be weekly but we have done only 6 chapters from RS4K Chemistry this 10 week term. We all enjoy RS4K. It is meaty, the experiments are well designed and explained. It feels deep, but doable. Some weeks we just dont get to it. However, once a month we go to the Power Museum and they learn all about physics with other kids, so I dont feel so bad.

I really had a burn out stage a few weeks ago. I felt it was all hard, dry work and no joy. I realised, what I was missing was the reading with them. We just didn't have time, except a few evenings, when we are tired anyway. I looked into Sonlight. At least now I know a lot about Sonlight, but I decided not to completely upheave and change curriculum (from the TWTM guidelines that I follow) and just ordered a whole lot of Sonlight books from the library. And we have been reading them, together. Some days, we miss another subject, just so we can read together. Even if the book isn't related to anything else we are learning. This shift has really helped me a lot to enjoy homeschooling again, and brought more joy back. They still do their own reading, but we all love snuggling on the couch and reading together. And the weather has been conducive to that too.

So, mid year for us and I am feeling good about it all. Gees, if only I knew what I know now, when I began homeschooling 2 years ago. Its been hard work doing all this learning, although I have been so passionate about it. There's no substitute for plain ol' experience though.

being organised

2005-03-13T16:19:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I cleaned the house, I decluttered ready for our swap meet this morning (which was sucessful), I wrote up the kids' schedule for the week including everything I normally leave till the last minute like what are we going to do for dictation today, and I read through all the lessons in their books to have an idea what we are going to cover this week. I wrote a poem up on the whiteboard. I thought of everything. It feels so good.
Of course, its all I did all day, cleaning and organising, but I had fun. And it just feels so good to be organised. Why dont I do it more often? Why do I leave things till the last minute then stress? I am normally semi-organised. And thats ok. But an hour on the weekend saves a lot more than that during the week, I am sure.
Flylady is having a month of getting into the habit of doing 15 minutes of de-cluttering a day. Its really helping me. I love de-cluttering. Mostly I have decluttered the school room and the kids toys this month. Next is my office/computer room.

Into March we go...

2005-03-05T12:03:00.000+08:00

I am generally really happy with how things are going. I wasn't happy with my dh telling the kids it is a long weekend this weekend and they have Monday off. I was waving my arms in the background and putting my finger to my lips, tying to get him to be QUIET! Oh well, now I guess I just have to accept it. I did so want to just carry on as usual.

The schedule is going well. Jared is still doing Maths for 45 mins, then writing, then Latin, Spelling, Grammar and reading. Its going really well. He really needs this time to consolidate his writing. He tries hard. He is doing a dictation almost every day, sometimes he will write a letter or do some creative writing instead. But the regularity of doing dictation every day is improving his writing a lot.
He also demanded to do Spelling, I think thats funny.

Genevieve is really beginning to work independently. I am thrilled. She can do her maths usually independently, then her Logic puzzle, her Vocab from Classical Roots, and Wordsmith Apprentice, and, at her insistence, her handwriting book, then her reading. Sometimes she does her Latin alone too, sometimes we do it together. Together we do R&S grammar (she does any worksheets alone), any outlining (she is still learning this and needs a fair bit of supervision), and I set her up ready to do her writing from Writing Strands, or a History report, which she does alone on the computer when everything else is done. I am really happy at her independence though, it frees me up to work with Jared.

This week I started our days with Science, and that worked well. Its too easy to drop off the end of the list, but I wouldnt drop anything else off . I am feeling ok about Science this week. We did about half an hour every morning, including looking through our telescope at the moon, and lots of reading and discussion. Genevieve did outlining from How the Universe Works.

It feels so good that everything is running smoothly.

Geneiveve is now in Water Scouts, which has been a great experience so far. Jared has been in Cubs for ages, but she changed from Brownies straight into Scouts this term. It's walking distance from where we live, and she goes out boating on Cats, yachts and canoes most weeks, but also on Saturday afternoons. They are thrilled with her. She had literally never been on a boat before this (poor deprived child) but they have asked her to go in their big yearly competition, they reckon she's a natural. She also pitches in and works hard. I am happy for her, it is really giving her something challenging and worthwhile to get her teeth into.
Poor Jared is jealous but he still loves his Cubs. He doest get to go to Scouts for another 18 months.

Science

2005-02-25T21:14:00.000+08:00

Well its been a while since I blogged.
The issue thats been fired up in the last day or so on the WTM boards is how to do/ get to Science? It seems many of us love history and find it difficult to teach, or find the time to teach, Science.
Its been an issue that I have thought about a lot.
I love Science. I just don't like the mess, the making it into work, the dryness of turning it into a subject.
I think Science is Life. It's real, it's nature, it's the world around us, and you have to get out there and touch, feel, taste, listen to it. Thats why I dont like 'studying' it. I don't want to turn my own love of nature or my kids' into a subject. I dont like doing Science experiments, like growing beans in different environments, because they are too contrived, and my kids already know the result, because we have a garden. Anyone with a garden knows.
All right, there are other things we could do as experiments that they wouldnt know, maybe. But it just seems so messy. I think I want to learn Science naturally. Or, get someone else to teach my kids, someone who is passionate and loves to teach it.
However, we are doing Science. Apart from the nature walks, and the discussions, and the documentaries. We do 'do' Science. Genevieve is outlining Science from How the Universe Works. Jared is reading lots. We read together.
We do it on alternate weeks to History. That way, we do it. But I am still not happy with it. We all prefer history. We can sit on a couch and be enraptured by the story of history. We can read it ourselves and be fascinated. But my kids do not naturally pick up a National Geographic or any book on Science and just read it. I have to make them. Yes, they will watch documentaries.
I read Science. I like it. My dad is a scientist. But its just not cosy and comfortable to teach.
Maybe its because I dont have a good curriculum, but I dont think so. I have tried a few 'good' ones and I still dont even use them, they dont excite me. Even maths excites me nowadays. Even grammar. Wierd. Just not science. I love it for myself, just not to 'teach'. Maybe I should let my kids loose a bit more with it, let them find their own passions, and go from there. Maybe.
OK, I am getting myself down about this. We are ok. I know I am not alone in this anyway.

books and reading ability

2005-02-05T20:28:00.000+08:00

Well, I am sitting here, and I only wrote on my blog yesterday but I feel like writing again.
I am about to go and read the kids the next chapter of The Hobbit. They are so into it. Less than a year ago I tried it and they just begged me to stop, they didn't like it. Now, they beg me to read it at mealtimes and late into the evening. Just goes to show what a bit of extra maturity will do.
I went to a private Christian girl's school (where we learnt Latin and had to wear hats AND gloves)
but we must have had a good English staff because in my first year of highschool, which is year 7 where I grew up, I was 11, we had to read The Hobbit. Well, of course I loved it, we al ldid, my best friend called her dog Bilbo.
We also had to read a book called The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. If you havnt read it, and the next 2 books in the series (the Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment) I highly recommend them. The first is the story of Merlin, or rather the Arthurian legend through Merlin. Its so wonderful. I remember finding it a little bit of a challenge (as was the Hobbit) but VERY worth it.
I have just given it to my 10 year old, as we are doing Medieval this year, and told her, dont worry, if its a bit too much for you, (it is an adult book), you dont have to read it now, you can wait till you are older. She is hooked, she loves it, and says its not too hard at all.
Which really makes me think, all this reading we do is definitely helping their reading skills- and I was a prolific reader as a child, but I remember finding the Crystal Cave a little challenging, at 11-12, yet my daughter is only 10. Thats good!

As for myself, what am I reading? I have a pile of spiritual books next to my bed. However I am not at the moment really INTO any particular book. I miss getting into a good novel, but I got out of the habit many years ago and have only read non fiction since then. As in, reading for a reason, rather than just for pleasure, for the comfort and joy or enrichment of being into a good book. There are so many good ones out there, but I dont know any at all. Sounds silly, but I am looking.
I did read Siblings Without Rivalry recently, that is still next to my bed. I highly recommend it. My kids were really fighting a lot over the summer holidays (Christmas hols here in Australia) and I was at my wits end knowing how to deal with it. The book really helped. They really just want to be heard. I listened, and threw the solving of it back to them, and it was miraculous. I dotn always have the patience for it, but it really does work.
I tried Don Quixote and perhaps I will try it again. I found it surprisingly good, yet not good enough to be a high priority for my time, and the library needed it back long before I finished.
So, I am still on the lookout for a good book. Its unlike me to not have one. Maybe its all this homeschool reading I do.

ok, time to go read The Hobbit. over and out for today

week 2- Science woes, and new schedule

2005-02-04T21:13:00.000+08:00

Well, we have managed to get through our second week of the year of school.
I had a mid week crisis about Science and posted on the WTM boards about it. I got so many beautiful responses. I thought I was fine, that I had my act together with science, but I dissolved into tears in frustrations after one science session with the kids, which surprised me!

I am not so good with experiments, messy things they are, but I tried one and the kids were bored. That triggered it. But more, it was the writing I was expecting them to do. I got lots of great ideas from the posts, and I decided to relax and just take it easy, even to unschool science until I could find a better way. (or a better curriculum - that endless search for the perfect curriculum!). I love Science myself, and my dad is an astronomer, and we are doing astronomy this term, (dad lives on the other side of Australia though). I just couldnt get the kids excited though.
We have a great planetarium here in Perth- but of course, when we went this week , it was closed for yearly maintenance. grrrr
Then someone emailed me privately and asked if they could help me, perhaps I was getting overwhelmed with my schedule. I took them up on their offer and emailed them my kids' schedules. Well, am I glad I did that!
So many wonderful suggestions for my son.
I have been trying to do too much, but not very effectively, I can see that now.

My new schedule for ds9. He seems to be doing mostly U.S. 3rd grade material. My pencil allergic, doesnt care a fig about punctuation, often very difficult to work with son, bless him.

Maths- Singapore, 2 lessons a day. Also times tables and Saxon drill sheets. 45 minutes. He likes maths.
Grammar- Rod and Staff- orally and with a WHITEBOARD- why did I never think of that myself? 10 minutes a day.
Spelling Power, because he wants to! He actually likes spelling, he is a natural speller.
Latin- 10 minutes mostly, longer at beginning of week, orally and with flash cards.
Writing- either dictation, copwork or written narration The trick is, to repeat the dictation or whatever each day till he gets it right. I started this this week with a science dictation , and he did it 3 days in a row- it was his only writing, apart from 2 lines of copywork for handwriting practice. It was amazing, I could really see his weaknesses. He corrected the punctuation by today, the 3rd day, but made 2 new spelling mistakes! But he liked doing it, no resistence except for constant happy chatting and losing focus, and it felt much more effective and satsifying to work on the same passage than just showing him the mistakes and moving on the next day. So, I have a new attitude with him, to work on perfection, the quality of his writing, rather than quantity.

So, I am happy. I needed to let go of what I thought he was supposed to be doing, and find a way to help him improve, starting right where he is at! He can do memory work, reading, listening to me read etc- I tend to think only 'writing' counts, but its not true at all.

Of course, today he read a Childcraft book for Science, and he learned something very exciting that he didnt know before, that our sun is actually a star. He didnt even believe it at first! He came to check with me. Now, thats the sort of thing I want to see with Science- a child jumping off the couch to come and find me to check if what they read could possibly be true!

So, its been a good week.

we have started for the year

2005-01-30T21:00:00.000+08:00

Well, it was a rough start with both kids resisting big time to getting back into it. They both couldn't understand how I could be so cruel ! I mean, fancy getting them off playstation and computer games to do WORK! I try to be so nice, but in the end, they just gotta do it. Then its all over and we can do the fun stuff. But no, they had to do it the hard way.

Well, dh and I read the riot act, said no more bullying mum, whinging etc, and lo and behold it worked. The rest of the week has gone beautifully, we covered lots of work, and they are enjoying it! We discovered Jared can remember his times tables up to 7 (all he has studied, apart from 10 and 11) even though he hadn't heard or looked at one for 3 months. He also remembered the words to the Owl and the Pussycat even though we hadn't really tried so hard to memorise it. And, he can write more than he could last year, and took an interest in it. Amazing. Such a thrill to see them improve. It sometimes seems like, particularly with my pencil allergic son, we are never getting anywhere. Then, wow, there's a jump in ability.

My daughter loves calligraphy, poetry, and writing stories on the computer (and finding ilustrations for them). She doesn't like Saxon maths, but I mix it with Singapore and she does it. She doesn't seem to have any weak areas particularly, just clear preferences! But she is such a joy to work with, because she is very responsive and enjoys a large part of her work.

So, its been a good week. Only thing missing are the social activities, the music/ gym/Latin/Scout classes. That starts next week. I am so looking forward to the school kids going back to school so we can have the supermarket, the pool, the beach, the parks etc back to ourselves during the day!

We just finished reading King Arthur and the Round Table, and we are just starting the Hobbit together. I just love that part of the day. Jared is reading Dr Dolittle and Gen has just finished the King of Ireland's Son. We are all enjoying Medieval History. We didnt enjoy Beowulf so much, but it was ok. The kids are doing big artist sketch book projects for history this year, and they are already looking great.

OK, I need to get off the computer now. Today I got off most of my yahoo groups. I need to back off and stop doing so much research and online socialising, its time. Its so addictive. I feel like I have my act pretty much together this year, I can just relax and coast and begin.

my latest thoughts

2005-01-19T11:18:00.000+08:00

First thanks to those who commented on my rantings. I havnt worked out how to talk back to you yet, but I appreciate your comments.

I also havnt worked out how to put links down the sidebar of my blog. Can someone tell me?
I have been limited by my family to 2 hours computer time a day. They convinced me I was addicted, and after answering a Sunday Newspaper quiz, I realised I probably am. The kids are restricted to 2 hours, so so am I.

I thought that would be a breeze. It takes my about an hour and a half to read and answer my emails and read the WTM boards. So thats half an hour for other stuff. I realised though that I used to just leave my computer on most of the day and come back to it whenever. Now, I turn it off after my 2 hours, and write myself notes about what I want to do or look up next time I get online. I do crave it, and I don't know what to do with myself sometimes. I think I was addicted. More cleaning is happening though!

I downloaded Homeschool Tracker Plus a couple of days ago. That is great, but is taking more time to fill in all the information.

Today however, I wanted to make time for my blog. I barely have looked at other people's blogs yet. I think I will have to cut back on my email groups.

We are supposed to be starting back to 'school work' next week, a week earlier than the school kids here in Australia. My excuse (not to appear too enthusiastic) is we get started early in order to take a week off mid term (we have 4times 10 week terms here). However my husband spat the dummy yesterday when he found out my intentions- he just loves it that we are hanging out at home all day (he works from home). He wants that extra week! Once I get back into working with the kids, the whole vibe of the house will change. He thinks I push them too hard, they need the full 6 weeks of school hols to just be kids and play. He thinks I am obsessed with homeschooling and need to learn how to relax and do nothing. He's very sweet. We will see what happens though, I am very keen to get started!

I have been reading a lot. I joined the Latin centred curriculum email group, just to see where they are coming from. But I am heading back towards Classical Lite I think, and I am more open to using the more modern resources (can you tell I am a bit burned out on CW?) I am still wondering whether to do CW at all. No, I dont own CC, and in Australia its not so easy to get hold of, although I would love to compare.

One thing I was inspired by recently though is to roll Literature, History and Science into one subject called Reading/Writing. I really want to focus on writing with my kids this year and that seems like a great way to do it. I am also thinking to do History and Science on alternate weeks.

Well, its another hot sunny day here in Perth. We have had bad bushfires here the last few days, with the heat and the wind. At the moment the cit is thick with smoke from the fires just outside the city, the smoke is so thick I have a headache. The heat here is dry, actually Perth is really on the edge of a desert. The weather is great normally, and we do have air conditioning.
What a lucky lucky life.

change of heart

2005-01-07T18:29:00.000+08:00

Today I have really been re-evaluating my determination to do Classical Writing, both Homer and Aesop. I have spent so many hours planning, re-reading and preparing from both books, ready for our new term in February. I have been very excited about them- and we have started them both at the end of last year. The kids love them. I find them hard work.
Ideally, yes, i think they are great. In reality, they may just be too much for me. Actually, Aesop doesnt seem like too much at all after starting Homer!
I am quite happy with Rod and Staff. Even though I have to be present for both kids while they doing it, because a lot of it is oral, its straightforward for me to teach.
I realised at the end of last year that my kids do really well when they know what to do, and they thrive on workbooks and projects they can just get into. They had their dad be their teacher for a couple of weeks, and I was shocked how much work he got them to do (I had set a bare minimum, and he had far exceeded it). The key for him was to raise his (originally my ) expectations and then bribe them with tv and computer and probably sugar!
What I am concerned about is that too much of our curricula is dependant on me teaching it, and yet my kids do well with workbooks, to a certain extent.
So CW is not heading in that direction, it is heading in the opposite. However, my kids love it. Particularly Genevieve, the oldest, she just loves writing out those stories, she asks for it!
So I will probably just keep going with it and stop trying so hard and just do it at the level we can, comfortably. What a process this has been. I imagine when Harvey's arrives ( I have ordered it) I will re-evaluate all over again.
I dont want to make this homeschooling harder than it needs to be.

my unusual life

2005-01-02T19:54:00.000+08:00

I have such an unusual life.

This weekend my kids went to my stepdaughter's mother's place in the country (my husband's ex's) and we missed them today so we went for a country drive to visit them. They were a bit shocked, they were very worried we had come to pick them up early! Nope, we just missed them and wanted to give them a hug and say hello. They were relieved. We had a cup of tea and drove home.

My husband is a spiritual teacher, thats pretty unusual and not always a very comfortable thing to tell people, so I thought I would get it out here. He is very passionate about it, and he works from home. We live on the riverside in a city, and its beautiful. We rent, we dont own much at all. Our kids are very lucky. But, it is unusual and we are a bit odd for our neighbours.

Homeschooling has meant I dont have to worry about what the local mothers at the public school think when I forget to wear any shoes to pick up the kids up from school. Its a snobby, rich suburb, and i am pretty down to earth. I do feel, even though the homeschooling community can be quite conservative, and I am not, that I can be myself and not get wierd vibes. I feel more accepted than I did by the local school mums. I am so glad to be out of that environment, and that my kids are out of that environment.

We have been homeschooling for 18 months. I found the Well Trained Mind about a year ago and thats my rock, my spine, the thing I lean on to stop me completely drowning in the sea of information and beliefs about homeschooling that exists out there. In the first months I didnt know there was anything but natural learners out there because they are very loud on the net.

Its funny though, because I dont look like a classical homeschooler. I didnt realise that till the other day when I met a fellow homeschooler in a bookshop and they said they thought I was a natural learner, when I asked them about Latin. I fit that image more, I think. I am a bit of a hippy, a nature spirit, health nut, I wear colourful clothes- probably more your natural learner image, just to stereotype them all! However, thats not my inclination at all. I am not sure why, its just not! I think I myself had a fairly classical education (I did Latin for 2 years, went to a private Christian girl's school) and I come from an academic family, perhaps thats why.

Back to my unusual life. My husband runs spiritual groups from upstairs most evenings and some mornings. He teaches people how to be happy. The teaching is similar to Eckart Tolle's The Power of Now. Its good stuff, but hard to explain to people! Just over a year ago I quit my part time job, and stopped doing naturoapthy, to be with the kids full time, homeschooling. I just love it, and my husband loves having them home too, we feel so blessed.

We dont have a lot of the stresses other people have in their lives. We both love doing what we do, we have enough money, we walk along the river every day, we have dolphins out the front of our house, and we have plenty of free time to just hang out together. Unusual in this day and age.

Well, I am going to try and do this every day or so, and get into this blogging. I havnt worked out how to download pictures yet. I downloaded the program Hello but havnt worked the rest out yet.

My first blog entry

2005-01-02T18:36:00.000+08:00

Wow my first blog.
I have two gorgeous kids, Genevieve who is 10 and Jared who is 9. We Classically homeschool, we started 18 months ago. I love it, I am passionate about it, I am so glad I found homeschooling and the Well Trained Mind, and all the wonderful other things we do. Life is blessed.