Mother's Day, my birthday and our homeschool month!

Above are a few of my gifts, these were what I recieved for Mother's Day. I'm Babushka Doll mad. When I was growing up we loved visting a certain older couple who used to fill me up on wonderful stories of their lives in old Europe before immigrating to Australia, and these Bubushka Dolls sat on her mantle, some from 'the old country', some Inga had collected over the years. They used to fascinate me, just as much as the stories they told. I remember Villy being very surprised when I told him the story he was 'reading' to me had different words than the printed ones! Yeah I was a nerd who could read before I set foot in school.

The teapot is such an awesome replacement for the second tea pot the darlings have smashed over the last few months. It's really nice Hello Kitty kind, the plastic seems sturdy though I'd prefer no plastic, and the glass mouldings and the strainer is just perfect. I mean that, it doesn't let any real residue through!

The stamp is a present I brought for myself, I've wanted a Raven stamp like forever and this happened to be going cheap on Ebay, so I thought I'd snap it up. I can certainly add it to Raven's scrap pages, I want more of them, can't ever have enough stamps I'm afraid. Ahhh, the Scrapper's Lament.

I did get some more scrapbook project boxes, a table I can set up in front of the telly to scrap on (hell, nothing expensive), a new tool tote and a scrapbook bag. I'm actually downsizing. I'll be putting four project boxes together and doing them on the couch (with new table) or at the kitchen table, and getting a tall boy for sensible storage for clothes as opposed to taking over my bedroom with scrap storage and desks....at least that's the theory. My mum brought me Cadbury Chocolate (plain which is Gluten Free) and a purple skirt. She gave Michelles children an Ocean candle to give me. She's getting better at guessing what I'll like as an adult. Andrew keeps ribbing me about the Independance Day Boardgame she gave me the year they met him (we were already married! That was a story I might deluge one day).

Andrew and I have struck a more structured homeschool, we do four lessons a day, and by god he's taking half of them! We evenly divided up the lessons, giving ourselves a day off a week, plus a weekend which for us in Friday/Saturday (we never school on Friday's anyway because it's pay day and we're oftten busy). Sundays are English creative writing, Blogging (for the children and me - find them in the About Me link), Maths and Japanese. Mondays are Art apreciation, German and double science. Tuesday is English Grammar, Craft or Cooking, Maths and IT (they're building web pages atm), Wednesday is Music, Craft or Cooking, and our playdate with other homeschoolers, this would also be the time for trips to museums and art galleries etc, and Thursdays are English, Reading aloud, Maths, Watching language shows like Muzzy or Japanese Anime. The lessons are done in a fashion that we either take all morning or all afternoon which has left me time to pursue my dream of losing weight, getting fit and doing my university work in the daytime! This was all good in theory till I pushed myself too hard and pulled a muscle in my lower back, and I was doing so well! I might have taken nearly 5 months but I've lost a dress size.

Tuesday's lessons haven't happened yet, it turned into a playdate with their cousins from Perth, my sister Michelle who is now a doctor brought the beautiful bright cousins over to play! Ella also visited on Thursday and we ate tea at my Mum's where they were staying. Michelle was attending a Women's Health Conference (she was doing it for some kind of credit? on her medical knowledge somehow). So this week with me injuring my back on my birthday and Michelle and her children, I've been flat out busy (as has the rest of the family). We've not been able to go to a homeschool playdate since last week, but it's only one week and they got to spend a day with the cousins who they really get along well with.

There are fewer knots and bruising on my back today, but yesterday was painful! I brought some Solopas from the Chinese Emporium which help amazingly, Andrew slathered my back with Arnica and Comfrey mix (which was for my broken arm long time since). I had a long bath with a little Monika intruding for a bath at the end - hey she can have a bath now and she doesn't suffer from eczma anymore.

Finally, we spent four and one half hours with a the very Dr Donahue at the hospital on Friday, which is all about finding the results to the children's various illnesses, all of which I will blog on my other blog Quasior's Recovery From Silly Yaks. He accepts I am a celiac, and Raven is too! After all this time it's nice to have a doctor agree with me. I will be joining the Tassie branch of Coeliac Australia soon.

That's about all for now in our little corner of the world. I'm sorry I've been absent so much, I've just been crazy busy, Q. I will add in photos of more scrapping soon.

Make Love Not War, Man...

We had a traditional Aussie lunch of roast lamb. We then had a lesson about the ANZACs, which was basically an online study guide for young children, it can be found here. By the end of it the children were restless so they went outside for a long play. They were impressed by Simpson and his donkey though. They were more interested in the stories than the events, at thier age, who can blame them?

We then began cooking a traditional Aussie tea of scones and ANZAC buscuits.



They now want to go check out a war memorial so they can see some of the names of our brave soldiers who died. We discussed what freedom is, and how we have a form of freedom where we can have some choices, but we are not really completely free, though. Ideally, we would be free to make nearly every decision we would like to that doesn't interfere with another's choices or safety. This is not the case here in Australia. Like many nations, we have ridiculous and stupid laws, some are so out of date they literally are not kept by anybody. Some of them are cute though, like a pregnant woman can have a wee any where she pleases.

Our scones are heart shaped. This is what the title of this post refers, Make Love Not War! I am of the mind set that I would go to great lengths not to go to war, but I certainly wouldn't entertain the notion of not fighting in the act of defence. This does not include war on a nation for financial gain, nor putting one's belief system over that of another's.

While I appreciate the freedom I do have, especially to raise my children safely and homeschool them, I do think that as a global community are not ready to quit the notion of war. Too many individuals are not like minded. While I am not paranoid about terrorists, I am prepared to fight for the lives of the people I love in defence, and for our freedom to live as we choose. I am prepared to fight on home soil to keep the freedoms I enjoy, that is I won't be sending my children into the education system to be dumbed down. I would sooner leave this country of mine than give up my right to home educate (and they give home edders money per student to acquire curriculum and learning materials in NZ, well technically they do in NSW and VIC as well, but I don't live there!)

I hope you all had a good ANZAC day. Enjoy the freedom that was hard earnt by our nations heroes because of the stupidity of other nation's leaders. Q.

Dreaded worksheets.

Yes, we did the dreadful worksheets today, the kids do so love them. Even Raven insists on doing it, even though he's only two... I've gotten out of it because we've been so busy this last week. But, here we are, and they are asking for them again. To make it a bit more interesting there was some cutting and pasting, and a science worksheet relating to the gardening they did afterwards. And they took turns reading the letter (as in a written letter between friends)/proper nouns worksheet.

Kai is extending himself and easily keeping up to the other two's level. Dante seemed a bit slower about it, until half way through he caught on. Labyrinth went through and did it all while she waited for the boys. So, really, she is streaking ahead and I'll probably give her extra stuff to do later on. Raven loves cut and paste, so he did two today, one was colour in shapes, cut them out and put them on a flag. He told me what the shapes were before and after colouring them, so its in there. These are the results.

Labyrinth:

Dante:


Kai:

Raven:

Writing and Art

As part of our learning, I wrote down that sentence that does every letter...
A quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
They then copied the writing (so I could see how well they are writing each individual letter and in general (no lines) and then I asked them to draw what they thought the sentence meant.

This is Labyrinth's (she decided that a wall needed to be drawn as well):
This is Dante's and he can do so much better, but he wasn't into it and it shows:
However, current appraisal I might revise that and say its pretty good actually. Last, but certainly not least, is Kai's, remembering he is much younger than the other two I really thought he put some good effort into it:

Loving Life!

See I have been Scrapping! So this one I did a couple of weeks ago and haven't had time since...

Raven's Sand Paintings^^

Well, we've been doing alot of informal learning of late, lots of reading to each other as always, lots of art work, listening to music, using the computer for learning (Rainforest Maths again, Dora and Thomas work for Raven, Utube for Labyrinth).

Confession to make. I've been doing a lot of catching up on uni work (I've got all my assignments in on time AND caught up so far). So, I've let the children do a fair bit for themselves. Luckily for me, they have learnt to be very good self-starters, and have been doing some wonderful things. Labyrinth made a "lift the flap book" about a Bratz Rock Concert in City Partk, Dante made a dinosaur picture which included a "lift the flap" so you could see little eggs inside and Kai has been doing alot of drawing and he does that really well. Raven did the above "Sand Paintings", to his and my delight, a bit of one on one time.

Dante's Pterdactyl.

Dante draws alot. This was just sooo cute though I had to post it. And below is Labyrinth's Scrap page of her Champ Camp, Feb this year. Its "about" the animal cafe they did on the last day!

Labyrinth's Champ Camp.

Last night we enjoyed a visit to a friends house, who has children around the ages of Labyrinth and Dante. We enjoyed 'havesting' walnuts, lush quasi-minestrone soup, and the company of some wonderful people. Thank You!

Well, until next time, Q.

Conversations about US

Today after a mundane start to the day (ie chores), and Andrew having a doc's appointment, we endeavoured to get to our Blackman's Bay homeshool discussion group.

It would have been easy if our van was behaving herself (on a rare hot day she tends to overheat, poor girl.) So we had an improptu play at the park while she was quenched.

While the Adults debated our Homeschooling situation in the lounge, the children played silly buggers in the shed, with other homespun children! It was great, it was organic and it was educational. Besides the inevitable debating with a particular woman who insisted on being off topic and praise and glory be... it was fantastic.

A homeschooler (who alone advocates in the legal sysem as "the" expert witness on homeschooling in Britain) was visiting our humble island, had so much to say. Her inquiry was why are we so insular and isolated. She had to find us through THEAC, and she only really clipped the top of the iceburg. Somewhat our community consists of a majority of christians, or so it seems. Scratch the surface and I think the island has much to hide in the fact that there are many fellow homeschoolers out there, wanting to be unseen, invisible and therefore untouchable.

She encouraged us to go out and get a support network going, and Andrew and I have decided to put together a homeschool network forum and website for Tasmanians. Its a start, but breaking in through the barrier might be tough (I mean, for heaven's sake we've been at it for quite some time now - 18 months). I hope some Tassie homeschoolers under the radar will join up, be unafraid so that we will be able to become united and strong as a community.

I've seen the way it can run, and by god, its wonderful (Brisbane - the heart of the free homeschoolers who homeschool despite the crap legistration up there!)

It may be a unique place, Tasmania. THEAC does have some Government involvement, but we don't see any of that here. On the face of it we see the veteran homeschoolers who choose to come and visit to check us out see we are cool and generally leave us to it. I've heard of the opposite too, that they are interfering Gets but not in my experience. They have been very supportive, but I have and will flount the law if necessary as I have had to in the past. We should be free to give our children the education they deserve, which is NOT one in an unnaturally structured and stiff environment. I am a fighter for the things I believe in, and I do not give in.

The rules are getting tighter though... my 5 yo is now suppose to be schooled now. 5! Where, O Where has my childhood gone, oh Where, O Where Can It Be????

Well, dreaming of an awesome forum and group for Tassie Networking, Oh YEAH!

Q.

Woes of the Internet

Unfortunately, been off line basically for the last week. This is great because *this is the first week of my distance uni course which requires broadband*, and wonderful because it was during this time I could have *opened a non receipt of item dispute* on ebay for a Totoro Organiser I so want and can't seem to find anywhere else on the net. It also meant I couldn't moderate on the Family Value Forum, or frequent other forums. I also could *not* blog. It was a tough 5 days, and I am not pleased.

So is the woes of no internet, and the woes of allowing my hubby to run our finances when I know I shouldn't because of this bipolar financial symptom he has ie, no control. So this time I made sure things happened as they should (and am keeping us to it).

So, last week in brief.
Monday, It was Andrew's birthday, and as I'd been ill for the weekend, it fell to me to clean up and get a roast lunch ready (after brekkie in bed). It was also going to be a bbq tea and play for the children, but he was far too depressed. We've also been working on an off the page piece for Andrew's birthday.
Tuesday, Andrew and I both did lessons. These being maths, reading and writing. Labyrinth actually played up for her dear Dad! No one except Kai finished their writing lesson. Labyrinth had a cooking lesson with making a chicken stirfry.
Wednesday, was a good day for reading all round. I took over the ardous task of reading lessons with Labyrinth and she did really well. Dante is coming along beautifully much to my delight. Kai is slow and steady, but that's OK, I'm not pushing him. Dante did the cooking lesson this time, and we had chicken wraps. There was a documentary on Sharks that Dante watched today, and the rest of the family in bits.
Thursday, another good day for homeschooling. Lessons all around in maths and spelling and reading. Labyrinth watched a documentary on medical sciences, in particular, when labour goes horribly wrong. This was fascinating for her as she got to "see" a ceaser being done on about four different women, one with triplets. This interests her because of Monika being the token "cut-out baby" in our family.

Friday I'll dedicate an entire post to...

So Close it hurts!

Nearly done! Still breaking it up to go fishing and playing etc, but getting it done.

Yesterday was great, the children really enjoyed exploring the beach and rocks, found seaweed, shells, mother of pearl and various creatures like shrimps while Andrew and I fished. We made it an evening of it and ate at the park nearby as well. This is the life! The children also threw rocks into the water (Ok not ideal but it is what they wanted to do for a while).

Raven was even able to find me in the female toilets! By calling and responding. That's an achievement for him, even if it isn't the best place.

Andrew did have a bad day yesterday. He's been very depressed. Its sometimes very difficult to understand, but we still ended up enjoying our night out (even though it was suppose to be a day out). He is also going through something that has to do with his past so that isn't helping at all.

We also made a decision to take all the children out of care once and for all. They went twice a week last year to a veteran homeschooler's family day care centre, so it was very much a rich learning environment for them there. We thought we needed the distance from them (because of Andrew's condition), but during the holiday's we found even when he was depressed/manic, we didn't really need that time at all. Plus the days coincide with varying homeschooling meets with other groups. So it had to go!

Its going to be their very last day next monday, so they can have a good-bye party. I feel a bit sad about it but I am looking forward to a more smooth and better homeschooling year this year.

We begin some educating tommorrow, like reading/writing/gardening etc. Rehauling the house took more time than I liked, but we're so organised I feel fantastic about it! YAY!

Well, until tommorrow then.