Homeschool Highlights This Week

We had a fun time as usual this week with a variety of activities. Just thought I'd post a few of these to give you guys an idea of what we're getting up to during the week. I've been meaning to do it for aaaages, so let's start now! Xx

Monday: Getting started on our four times tables and skip counting songs. Love "The Four Legged Zoo" on YouTube. After that we went to Osprey House for some great educational stuff about mangroves and rivers, in the beautiful mangrove forest.

Tuesday: Watercolour landscape painting with Jo and our Journey group park play.

Wednesday: TLC co-op sings an amazing four-part harmony song and we learn more about Captain Cook and work on skipping tricks. And off to the beach in the arvo.

Thursday: It's Matt's birthday! We spent the day getting ready then celebrated with the folks for dinner - thanks Nanny! Kees baked the cake by himself and Jimmy decorated it. That's me off the hook for every future birthday 😊

Friday: Some more schoolwork and some crystal-growing science first. Then, to go with our studies on Captain Cook: sailing! And then rugby. And there was lots more! 

Now I'm tired after thinking about all that! I had no idea how much we had done this week. Well, time to get to work planning and preparing next week....

Love Cath xoxo

Holiday Tennis

Kees has had a ball playing tennis in a holiday clinic at our local tennis centre. He absolutely loved it. I enjoyed seeing him when I picked him up, all red-faced, sweaty and happy. He made good progress - perhaps he's inherited some skill from Nanny Chris and Digger! 'Cause it sure wasn't from me.

 

Not sure what he's up to here...

What a serve!

Happy boy.

 

It's important to me that he learns from other people, not just me, so this term he's signed up for trampolining, tennis, Montessori maths, art and Mandarin lessons, in addition to our Teaching and Learning Co-op and other miscellaneous workshops. Should be fun!

Volcano!

We did this science experiment a long time ago, when we were learning about the beginning of the Earth, but I wanted to document it and share with you. The volcano we made was this one. It was easy and lots of fun. I mean boys, explosions, "lava"... pretty hard to go wrong!

Knead the dough and shape your volcano...

Go outside (highly recommended!) and pour in the vinegar...

Yeehah!

Great fun. And afterwards, the kids played for ages with all the sloppy leftover mess. And then I left the mess for such a long time that Matt got sick of it and cleaned it up. So, all in all, a winner ;0)

Arty Beach Morning

I so enjoyed this morning, doing a bit of art at the beach. It's so nice to pack a few materials and snacks and ride down the beach to do our learning activities.

I always get a bit excited when Kees gets into an art activity, because it's not what he's really into.

It was all going beautifully. Who was I to discourage experimentation with saliva and sand?

Kees made a storm, I did a flower of course, and...

Jimmy's art was very....black. I hope this doesn't express his inner feelings. ??

After that we cemented our knowledge of meteorites and craters by dropping big rocks off the deck and into the sand. xx

Butterfly Life Cycle

A beautiful experience to witness the life cycle from caterpillar to butterfly!

"Mum, MUM! It's SO BEAUTIFUL! You have to come and see!"

The amazing golden chrysalis...

Montessori 3-part cards...

Much waiting and checking, until....

"Mum, MUM! It's amazing!! Wait till you come and see!"

A wonderful change....

Beachy Winter Morning

What a beautiful morning. It brings me so much joy to watch all these sweet children playing freely in nature.

Idyllic.

I didn't realise how important freedom was to me until I had children. The idea of freedom drives many decisions we have made for them. That feeling of space, to be able to run, skip, hop, jump.

To breathe.

Kees has always been the sort of child who has demanded this. As a baby, he would get bored inside - I know that sounds crazy, but he would. He would cry inside, then I'd step out the door and he'd stop. Step back in, start crying, step out, stop! It often feels like the backyard is too "bound" for him. Even as a tiny tot, he'd be over fences and off down the street, or up on the neighbour's garage roof.

When my children are outside somewhere beautiful like this, their spirits soar joyfully. 

My Striated Pardalote!

Sorry Toad...

This year, our overarching educational theme has been the beginning of the universe and the evolution of life on Earth. I haven't really posted any of our activities because I keep forgetting. We are up to Stone Age people now. I did, however, want to share a very successful activity in case you would like to give it a go....or not.

Whilst studying Amphibians, I thought a toad dissection might be of interest and relevance to the children. It really was! The kids were completely engrossed (and grossed) by this activity.

So. First you need to duck and dive around the backyard with rubber gloves and a plastic bag, and catch a few of the pesky varmints. I should let you know that toads are a big-time PEST in Australia.

The most humane way to end their days is by popping the bag in the fridge for an hour or two so they can go to sleep - just ignore the rustlings - then into the freezer overnight.

Thaw them out, and you have your specimens:

We pinned ours out with sewing pins on the lid of a polystyrene fruit and veg box.

Yes, Tamara, to your undoubted mortification, they are my sewing scissors!

Max trying not to be sick. At the end, he got up the courage to have a go, and unexpectedly chopped off the toad's foot. It's always those quiet ones...

Just check out the concentration!

Lucy: "I've got the heart!" Mwahahahah...also one of those quiet ones.

Future brain surgeons? Or maybe they'll just be really good at "Operation"!

You can watch a short animated film on called "Cane Toad: What Happened to Baz" here. It was made by my brother and his friend, and shot them both on their way to brilliant careers!