Organising, rearranging and otherwise painfully occupied

Above: The Christmas Tree we used to have (before we moved interstate)
Above: The Christmas Tree (minus the crappy lights/ornaments - think silver and blues/purples) we will be having this year!!!

Yup. It's been a bit like that. Over the weekend, I reboxed my Hopped on Phonics boxes (they are currently in storage for Raven and Monika now)! Whoo-hoo! Too bad if that is patented...

That obviously means I've got 3 children doing the Master Reader course now.

We've been doing our animal unit and learning about penguins and kangaroos today. Raven has started writing! Just simple shapes of letters, but still, fantastic!

I've also put a whole heap of the art and worksheets away into their folders, and believe me they are positively bulging. Monika now needs her own as she does a drawing here and there now (and looking so cute as she walks everywhere now, never crawls anymore.)

Things are looking positive with Andrew's health too.

It's just me really, I've got a sore mouth and had to go on anti-biotics to kill a minor infection in my BIG gaping hole. Ouchy!

So, I'm out to completely rearrange the readers to be semi-friendly and semi-keep them safe from roughness. Good readers, not boring Sally and Bob sat down...Sally and Bob sat and sat etc You know the type....

Actually Labyrinth has a reader (as previously mentioned) on proper skate board techniques etc, and Dante of course non fiction fishy business. But they also have Nemo, Kung-Fu Panda and other such stuff they seem to like.

Tonight was great though, we sat down as a family with Tea, Atlantic Salmon with hand made chippies and fresh, steamed vegetables and watched a new Anime episode that Labyrinth introduced us to called... Fruits Basket. And I'm so glad she did, it was too cute. Later we will be making stones or something like it, maybe Fimo, into the 'signs of the zodiac' for fun.

OH! I can't forget this, oh no no no!!! We picked up a great Christmas Tree from BigW - the classic goth tree (we used to have a pure whitey but this is beautiful...) - it is a perfectly black tree. We also got a few silver ornaments, but we intend to make the rest, as we do I'll blog 'em naturally. Until next time, Q.

Queens Birthday... Whatever! We do our own thing...

Maths - Fractions and Addition:

Dante and Labyrinth are plodding along and

getting it, but Kai is soaring for his age!

Here we have the first day of our bug unit (inspired by The Bee Movie.) Not because it was particularly good or anything, more opposite really, correcting those pesky untruths they loaded onto the children such as Bees 2 legs and 2 arms when we know that insects have 6 legs, and other wonderful, factual tales. Actually, my mother insisted they take her copy as it was so educational... umm well enough said. Below Kai's says, "The bees live in hives with honey, their babies hatch from eggs."

Raven's done a lovely picture, tis a shame this bloody scanner doesn't pick up yellow very well. Below is the poem about bees. Further below is Labyrinth's Bee Poem and picture. "Bees Buzz, Flowers Grow, Honey is made and its Yum, Yum, Yum!"

Above is Dante's. His states, "The bees make honey from flowers, and fly around looking for flowers."

We also looked at Haiku poetry today, and we discussed how it relates to a moment in nature, and tries to capture a feeling. I read these:

The breeze brought it--

a moment of moonlight

to the hidden fern.

-Foster Jewell

After I step

through the moonbeam--

I do it again

--George Swede

The fog has settled

around us. A faint redness

where the maple was.

--Claire Pratt

and two from children

Soap bubbles!

My face is flying

too!

-Masahiro Suzuki, Japan, Gr. 4

Mr. Ant,

do you mind if I set you

on my leaf boat?

-Norimasa Oikawa, Japan, Gr.1

The fog poem particularly caught their imaginations, as we could see the fog outside, thick and cold. So we rewrote it together to suit our own environment:

The fog has settled

around us. A faint greeness

where the trees are.

We also played guitar and did some singing. I read to them - Mem Foxes Possum Magic, A lift the Flap Thomas Adventure and Steve Parish's Mother Duck's Family.

They played really well in the cold stillness of the afternoon, and hugged each other before disappearing to sleep. Monika is in the process of cutting her newest tooth, and suffers for it. We made pizza tonight (dough and all) and the children made individual ones, faces etc.

Cassowaries, Emus and Dinosaurs

Just short and sweet tonight. Monika is teething and not sleeping so I really need to look after her so people in the house can sleep/do what they need to do! I've got photos to download to my computer and upload to here too... hope all is well, Q.