Moving :)

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  But I have just got regular internet back after our BIG move.

We have just finished packing up everything and moving across the country back home.  We have been blessed to be able to stay in a friends house for 3 months while they are overseas on mission work.  We have been house hunting and found a house the first weekend we were back.  We are waiting on final approval from the bank but it looks like by the end of September Godwilling we will finally have our own house after 8 long years!!

We did not expect to be away from home so long.  It was supposed to be a 6 month stint with us all together as a family, while the baby grew and Hubby finished the job he had to do.  It turned out to be 2 1/2 years!!  We met lots and lots of friends who we will miss, were part of the fantastic Noah’s Ark Playgroup for kids with special needs, and managed to get ourselves close to debt free.  All in all our time in Kalgoorlie brought many blessings.

Unfortunately Hubby’s job has not finished and at this stage he had not found work else where so we will be going back to a FIFO (Fly in Fly out) role.  So this will bring big adjustments to our family.  The older kids can remember those days but the youngest 2 cant. 

So this last week has been spend unpacking boxes, setting up our workboxes and getting ourselves ready for school again.  Meanwhile the kids are enjoying exploring the new backyard, finding caterpillars and go-carting down the driveway!  After one ripped skirt and one crash the rules are Jeans, shoes and helmets!!  Little Man is enjoying meeting his cousins and being introduced to a whole new BOY world!!

We also joined our local library and bought home a whole pile of books – now life is starting to feel more like normal.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt

It has been ages since we rowed this book.  So long ago that I don’t have a record of it!  Only have records for the last 2 years – the rest are in storage in another state!  So in preparation for a re-row here are some resources I have found around the web.

 

Other Homeschoolers share their Rowing of the book

Joyful Mother of 6 Children rowed going on a bear hunt here.  I LOVE her sensory tub ideas, in fact I love all her ideas!

Delightful learning shares here.  I love that she shares a video of the author reading the book.

The Bough Family make a bear hunt guide here.

Workbox ideas (all of the ideas below would be great additions to a workbox)

HomeschoolShare has a Bear Hunt Lapbook on their Resources page  More ideas from the HomeschoolShare Message board here

Circle Time Poster for We’re going on a Bear hunt here.  This would be perfect for children to use to retell the story.

Patterns for We’re going on a bear hunt from Kidzclub (can download in color or black and white)

more patterns for felt board this time from MakingLearningFun*com, they also have a 3D map for the story, and an emergent reader.

And a Story pack (Please note this is from Sparklebox – see blog post here first )

Sparklebox

I know that a little while ago there was some debate on line about using Sparklebox.  In case you are not aware the owner of the website is a convicted pedophile.  I link to Sparklebox resources on a regular basis and at this stage I do not intend to stop this but I want people to know so they can choose to or not use them.

The story is listed here and here

I have no intention of debating the issue raised here.  This post is only so people can make an informed decision before they choose to use the resources. 

If you feel uncomfortable using the resources here is a list of other sites providing similar free resources as Sparklebox does.

 

Mrs Pancake

SEN Teacher

First-School – not as colourful but one of the first sites I ever used and still come back to use it.

Best Primary Teaching Resources – not all are free but most are.

 

I will try to add more to this page as I find them.

Sonlight Surprise–One and Zero by Kathryn Otoshi

I found a surprise in my mail box today.  A parcel from Sonlight.  But  I already have the new catalogue and I didn’t order anything.  Inside was a book …

and a letter explaining my special gift from Sarita Holzmann president of Sonlight Curriculum.

The book is two books in one – one side is One by Kathryn Otoshi and the other side is Zero by Kathryn Otoshi.

I had never read these books before or heard of the author but as soon as I opened the  books I was impressed.  The pages are clear with simple illustrations, simple number concepts and colours but such a deep message.  One deals with bullying and standing up to a bully.  Zero deals with the fact that we all are important we just need to find our value.  I had some quiet time today with only my “baby” home, something that rarely happens so before he went to sleep we read the book together.  He loved it.  Wombat is 2 1/2 with developmental delay and Hypermobility Syndrome.  It was good to see him pointing to the pictures, the simpleness of them seemed to appeal to him.  Next week  I am going to read it to the older girls and see what they think.  For me it has joined my book list of favourite books.

I was also impressed with the fact that Sonlight has done it again.  I did not have to do anything to get this book.  It arrived a complete surprise.  A gift to me.  What other company does this sort of thing?  Especially to overseas customers?  We are in Australia and so many times any specials offered by many companies are sent to those in the US only. How many companies send you a gift for faithful business. A gift to help you encourage your children in being able “to step up into the roles God has called them to”*

Thank you Sarita and John.  Sonlight has made a difference in our homeschooling journey and I appreciate the work that you do, supporting me in homeschooling and in providing such great books for us to read together. 

 

* (quoted from the letter accompanying the book from Sarita Holzmann)

 

 

Interesting Links regarding these books

Interview by the Author Kathryn Otoshi

Kathryn reads her book ‘one’ on Youtube

Become a Charlotte Mason Teacher

I was sent a link to the blog ChildlightUSA and in particular the post on becoming a Charlotte Mason teacher.  I recommend reading this post if you are thinking about using Charlotte Mason’s principles in your homeschool journey.

I will be adding this blog to my list of favourites to read. Enjoy

The Curiosity Files–Puffer Fish Product Review

The Curiosity Files™ : Puffer Fish

Explorations with Professor Ana Lyze—Expert in Outlandish Oddities
A FUN unit study for kids ages 8–13

I know it is school holiday time but the kids wanted something to do and I was given this product to review so this week was a good time to use it.

I have never used any of the Curiosity Files before.  They are published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.  Each File is $6.95 for a downloadable Ebook in PDF format or you can get a downloadable bundle of all 9 books for $46.00 (or $49 if you would prefer them on CD).   In the series are Cicada-Killing Wasp, Blue Diamond, Blue-Footed Booby, Dung Beetle, MRSA, Platypus, Red Tide, Zombie Fire Ants, Quicksand and Puffer Fish.  All unique and interesting subjects.

The series are written from the point of view of a child asking questions of Professor Ana Lyze (the name appealed to Zebra (10) as she is just starting to understand plays on words).  The information presented about the puffer fish was interesting and even though we had done a short study before on the fish we learnt some new things.  My children love the Magic School bus and this reminded me a little of them  – (zany and strange things of nature)  The difference is that this series are God focused.  The kids (and I) really enjoyed reading about the fish and not having to wade through the normal evolution biased information which seems to be in nearly every book you pick up. 

The information about the fish was interesting, clearly written and simple to understand.  This is the first bit of the Ebook which was a huge 85 pages.  You could print this up if you wanted to or do as we did and just read it off the computer.

The next bit of the Ebook is a review which we did verbally (you could do it as a written test).  I was impressed that the girls could answer all of the questions except one.  Then the fun starts or it would have if my printer had not died. I was disappointed that at this present time I was unable to print out any of the worksheets and lapbook components.  I think there is enough work here for 1-2 weeks of work.  Every subject is covered –

• Bible study and memory verses
• Math, history, and geography investigations
• Literature and suggested book list
• Writing, spelling, and vocabulary activities
• Beautiful copywork pages (manuscript and cursive)
• Science observations, projects, and experiments
• Discussion questions
• Art, crafts, drawing, and coloring pages
• Lapbook and notebook pages
• Internet resources and video links
• Complete answer key at the back making it very easy for Mum to check work.

It would also be perfect to use for a science fair project topic. 

I liked that it was perfect to use with the workbox system as you could just print the bits you wanted and add to the kids boxes.

The age range was 8-13 and I think this was fairly accurate. My children are 5,7,9 and 10.  There were bits that could be used with younger children and my 5 year old was happy to listen to most of the information.  There was a lot that was above my kids work wise so this unit would be perfect for a family that likes to do unit studies together.  Just print and give the appropriate bits to each child.

Having tried this one  I would  buy more in the series as I feel that they are really worth the small cost ($6.95) as all the kids can use them, it was a simple and easy way to do a whole family unit study with no preparation on the part of Mum other than printing out the relevant work sheets.  All the information needed was included along with a list of links for more learning if you wanted to learn more. 

I was very impressed to see a section for kids with special needs giving ideas for extending their learning, with hands on ideas.  Having a son with special needs and a nephew with autism it is nice to know that they can be easily included in the unit study as part of the family with out Mum having to alter things specially for them.

 

Did you know that to become a qualified chef in Japan you have to do 2-3 years of study, and if you make it to the end of the exam have to eat your fish?  About 100 people die each year from eating Puffer fish?  Just some of the interesting facts included in the book.

If you would like to try a sample of this ebook click here.  If you would like to purchase this ebook or others in the series click here  or go to The Old Schoolhouse store website and search under Curiosity Files.

 

**Please note  I was not paid to write this review. 

I was given a free copy of the product for the purposes of review. ***

Holidays time

Down under here the first term has just come to an end and we are on holidays for 3 weeks (at least our family is! ).  I haven’t planned anything for the holidays except relax and enjoy our selves but the girls have a few ideas they would like to try so we will see what happens. 

So for all of those in Australia who follow the school term a big Happy Holidays to you!  and see you in 3 weeks time

From Akebu to Zapotec

Sonlight had a extra download in 2009 (It was called Core 1 Tips – but with the cores renamed and the website under change I am not sure how to find it ) 

I am going to provide the direct links that were given in the Sonlight download for this book.  Please note these link direct to the PDF’s – they were really hard to find and link to any other way.  I found these really good – I printed up the map for the kids to mark the country on and the info about the country I printed for me so I could share more about the people as we read about each one.  They are from www.vernacularmedia.org/  There was so much more we could have done with these lessons – but if we took every rabbit trail we would NEVER finish a core!!

 

 

 

Akebu people – supplemental lesson PDF

Brokpa People – supplemental lesson PDF

Chut People – supplemental lesson PDF   we read about these people after we had read some books about the Vietnam war, which made the people and the place seem a little bit more real and closer to home for us here in Australia.

Dongxiang People – supplemental lesson PDF

Elkei People – supplemental lesson PDF

Fania People – supplemental lesson PDF

Gusilay People – supplemental lesson PDF

Hrusso People – supplemental lesson PDF

Ica People – supplemental lesson PDF

Jumjum People – supplemental lesson PDF

Kulango People – supplemental lesson PDF

Libido People – supplemental lesson PDF

Melanuau People – supplemental lesson PDF

Ngizim People – supplemental lesson PDF

Osing People – supplemental lesson PDF

Phuan People – supplemental lesson PDF

Quechua People – supplemental lesson PDF

Rajbanshi People – supplemental lesson PDF

Safwa People – supplemental lessons PDF

Temacine People – supplemental lessons PDF

Umeda People – supplemental lessons PDF

Vadar People – supplemental lesson PDF

Woleai People – supplemental lesson PDF

Xibe People – supplemental lesson PDF

Yinbaw People – supplemental lesson PDF

Zapotec people – supplemental lesson PDF

 

We made a cover for our notebook which you can download from HS Launch here

There are prayer journals for your children to pray about some of the people they read about here at Wycliff.org (Lesson 7-8) the prayer cube (lesson 6) is a cool idea too.

There are pages here from Jjn3beans’s homeschool Launch Page (sorry I am not allowed to link direct to the downloads – but they are listed on the left side of the page)

This book made a HUGE impression on Duckie, she included the people in her prayers and reminded us to also pray for them. It never ceases to amaze me how different things appeal at different times, we have read the book before but this time for her it was so different.

New Sonlight Catalogue has arrived

How exciting – my catalogue has arrived – we are in Australia so assuming those in America have had theirs for a little while.  As we packed to go away over the weekend I glanced quickly through it, thought about sneaking it into my suitcase and reading it but decided in the end to focus on having time out from school and everything and enjoying some rare family time out.  We had a wonderful time.

And now to read my Catalogue –

In my quick glance through before we left, I noticed that the Cores have been renamed but I also noticed how much clearer the catalogue is to make sense of.   After patiently showing friends how to order their Sonlight orders for the first time and how to work out what they needed. I feel that Sonlight has made it so much easier to make sense of.  I am also excited to see that All about spelling has been added to the Sonlight range.  I have seen so many good reviews for this program and so really want to try it.  So off to make a list for next year!

Workbox Schedule–updated

We have used a few different schedules since we started our workbox journey 2 years ago and this is my favourite – it works for us! 
 
Our first schedule was exactly the way it is described by Sue in the book.  But I found that with lots of pages for the day the kids would turn too many or not see the last cards.  Duckie works best when she can see all she has to do, all on one page.
I found a few sites out there where the schedule was set up for a week. What’s in the Box, Ginger Snap Shots,  Homeschool Creations,
I liked What’s in the Box’s bound schedule but office supplies are so expensive here and I thought  I could come up with something cheaper and homemade!  I downloaded her pages but only ended up using the calendar numbers.  Below is  Bunny’s schedule.  Each card turns over when used so it doesn't get lost and I don’t end up with hundreds of cards to sort through (which was driving me nuts ). 

cards have velcro on front (see camel card) and on back.  Each child choose a sticker set that they wanted as a “reward” on the back of each card.  No lost cards.  I prefer the velcro coins cut in half but ran out and was given free strips of velcro so used that instead.

Any spare cards go at the back of the folder, as do number cards for the calendar pages.
Here is how I made it – bought a folder ,

removed the binder bits,  print up and laminate your pages I used a heavy laminate

hole punch the pages to match the holes in the cover.  I used red dots to mark 4 holes so I would punch in the right spots. 

Put hinged rings through the holes (for those in Australia I bought mine at Office Works) and you are done


I also did a single page book for Monkey (photos below) where she matches the numbers on her schedule to the number on the box so her numbers do not turn over, they stay on the box so at the end of school she has an empty page.  I just collect the number off the box and put it back in her folder for the next day.  I also focused on the days of the week rather than the dates for her.


Other Web links  that you might like:
Planning a week with workboxes at Heart of Wisdom
I wish I had the room for a set up like this at Sweet Phenomena

Science Week 1

We have completed week 1 of Sonlight Science 1 and the girls love it, and so does Mum.  It is sooooo easy.  We read the book and then we do the activity sheet.  We watch the DVD and then we do the experiment how simple is that!

 

This week the Discover and Do lesson was on Magnets so we did a workbox activity with it.  So simple – a box of different things and a magnet.  I made up an activity sheet to go into our Science Notebook.  They choose 5 items and stuck the picture of the item onto their sheet and then made a guess as to whether the magnet would stick or not and then tested their guess and crossed out the sad face if they got it right or the happy face if their guess was wrong.  So simple and easy to do.

You can download the Activity Sheet here at Homeschool Launch

 

Monkey did spend a while exploring with the magnets after doing her sheet.  The other girls were happy to do the experiment and move on.  This would also make a great waiting station activity.

 

The set up of the box was specific for a reason – the focus of the box was learning about magnets so I had pre-cut all the answers and the child just had to find the right one and stick it on.  I used little glass containers (from Ikea) to hold the answer pieces.  I have found that the less complicated and simple looking the set up the more the kids are attracted to go and do the activity.  I love the way Montessori sets up the environment as I feel kids are attracted to the simplicity and organization of an environment.

New venture–In our spare time :)

A friend and I are trying to make a little extra money to help out the budget and decided to capitalize on our hobby - sewing, we both love sewing and so the weekly sewing group was formed.

Here are our first efforts ready for sale. You can see them through our blog Creating in our spare time or on facebook.

We are happy to take custom orders. We have lots more to add. We have 5 girls between us and 4 boys so will be adding some modest, nice older girls clothes as we know how hard that is to find.

I would also like to add some Montessori items, am currently sourcing some inserts if you are interested in anything please let me know.

Sonlight LA 1 Week 1

In the folder for week 1 is the following

# A copy of the weekly spelling list

#Weekly spelling cards

#Sonlight Activity Cards

#An activity for activity #7 (see below)

#copywork sheet – one is laminated which I write on for her to copy and a blank one for her to write on.

 

Here are my downloads and notes for week 1 – you NEED the Sonlight Instructors Guide to use these downloads.  I am not affiliated with Sonlight in anyway I just love their books and use their program as my base to homeschool my 5 kids.

You do not need to add extra to the Sonlight Program but we do because it works better this way for our family.  Please note that I am using HWOT (Handwriting With Out Tears) paper for all my downloads.

 

Spelling -  

All spelling words – download here from Homeschool Launch

Find a word for this weeks spelling list – download here from Homeschool Launch

 

Phonics Activities -

#1 – we used a ‘th’ page made to go with the THRASS chart, then discovered that THRASS had produced a PHONICS WORD BANK book.  So I won’t be making any more THRASS worksheets (unless I really, really need to ). 

#2 we used the magnetic letters I made.  You can download them here from Homeschool Launch

#4 we are using the THRASS Phonics Word bank book instead of making a chart.

#7 If your child does not like writing use the sheet I made and either get them to cut out the letters and paste on to the chart. (WORKBOX HINT: Think about what you want to accomplish with this activity and if cutting is not part of it do the cutting yourself before hand ) or laminate the chart and use a cookie tray and magnetic letters to “write” the answers. Download at Homeschool Launch here.

 

Creative Expression -

Creative Expression Activity sheets week 1  – download here from homeschool Launch

Writing Activity - Pat the Rat Notebook page download here from Homeschool Launch

Extra Activities for the Workbox this week

‘Penguin Learns at words’ at Sonflower School house. It is no #185 January 2010

‘Sonflower sight words’ at File Folder Fun

 

To see all our weeks with Sonlight Language Arts 1 go HERE

Sonlight LA 1– Beginning to Read

We are working our way through this LA with Duckie so this page will continue to grow as we make and use extra things to go with our Sonlight Program.

Please note you do not need to make extra things – Sonlight does provide worksheets for every week but we wanted them to be in the HWOT (Handwriting With Out Tears) format and Duckie wanted some pictures to make them more exciting. We are also using THRASS so our edits to Sonlight will reflect that use.

For the year:

I have found a small whiteboard essential for spelling – mistakes are rubbed out straight away so there is not chance of wrong spelling becoming stuck in the brain. Plus no extra paper to file and keep and a white board is lots of fun!

Word cards – You can download the sight word cards from Sonlight here. I have made word cards for the spelling words too.

Weeks 1-10 Download from Homeschool Launch here.

I also made a weekly spelling List. I did this in one hit so you can download the entire years list here at Homeschool Launch. I use these along with SpellQuizzer to help Duckie review her spelling words for the week. Download from Homeschool Launch here.

Mini Alphabet Cards – we laminated these and then stuck a magnet on the back. We use them instead of the go-fish cards and also with some of the activity sheets I altered (more about them later) Download them here at Homeschool Launch. You can also use the ones that Confessions of a Homeschooler has made to go with her letter of the week curriculum and just add magnetic backing to them.

Below are the links to each week as we complete it with more downloads and links for each week.

Language and Thinking by Ruth Beechick and Jeannie Nelson has lots and lots of extras to go with it so I am going to make that a separate post. See Language and Thinking

Week 1

Week 2

Not back to school Fun Introduction

I am joining Our World Wide Classroom (another Aussie Mum) in her Not Back to School Fun. For those of us homechooling downunder the school year has just begun with the start of February so we are just getting back into the routine.

So our introduction:

First in the line up is

Zebra – Our eldest Daughter she is 10 turning 11 at the end of the year. I am so proud of how far she has come since we started our homeschooling journey. She is turning into a confident young lady. Her reading has taken off and now she is just like her mum with her nose always in a book. She loves being outside, especially climbing trees. She has hundreds of questions and is doing her best to learn everything she can RIGHT NOW!

Duckie comes next, she is 8 , turning 9 – Duckie loves people, at Playgroup she always has a baby near her. She is my crafty girl – loves drawing and is not too sure that school needs to be done. She does best with workboxes, knowing what is coming next and exactly what has to be done each day – do it and get it over and done with and get on with life!!

Bunny is 6 nearly 7. This year we will start more formal learning, she is eager to learn to read this year. She too loves learning and her main interest at the moment is learning all she can about the insects and bugs in the world around her. She has started collecting seeds and wants to learn about every plant she sees. She is keeping me busy learning along with her.

Monkey has just turned 5. She will be playing lots this year. Her only curriculum will be B4 FIAR and we will be reading the books from Sonlight’s P4/5 program – these are all new to us so I am sure the others will be eagerly listening in too .

Wombat is 2, he is at an interesting age!!. Wombat was born with Infantile Esotropia. Both eyes were crossed and he had to have an operation last year. The operation was a success but other issues have come up. We have just found out that he has Hypermobility Syndrome (as do at least 3 of the girls), his is considerably worse and we will be doing lots of sensory things this year to help him. We also have weekly physio for him and we attend a weekly playgroup for him which all the girls come to. So lots and lots of Tot school will hopefully be happening for him. We are also using Macaton signs with him to help with his communication.

This is our 6th year of homeschooling – wow that sounds like a long time! Each year is so different from the last. Officially only Zebra, Duckie and Bunny are homeschooled as in Australia you do not have to send your children to school until they are 6, though most kids start kindy at 4, pre-primary at 5 and year 1 at 6 in Western Australia.

Next week I will post about the curriculum we are using and our plans for this year.

Blog Link up - This post is part of the Not Back to School Fun Blog Hop hosted at Our World Wide Class Room

Ask Mr Bear Rowed Feb 2011

This is the first time that Monkey has rowed this book – the other girls have all done it at some time in the past. So it was all new to her. We started the year with this book because she had just had her birthday and Daddy’s birthday was this week so it was good jumping off point for thinking about what to get him and making cards for him. The older girls are also reading Charlotte’s Web so this week was Farm Theme week for Monkey.

Things we did:

Made a Lap-n-Note – All of the mini books were from Homeschool Share (Ask Mr Bear lapbook) I did make a cover for the lapbook using the cover of the book you can download that here from HS launch and I also made a matching game which you can down load from HS Launch here. This will be added to our Ask Mr Bear book bag so that anyone who wants can pull out the game and play it – it is the same as the one in Monkey’s folder, except she coloured the cards in. I Laminated the whole page and the pictures and then added velcro dots to the backs so they don’t get lost.

We walked like the animals

Played with a rice sensory work box filled with the animals from the story and a Mum and boy. Wombat was fascinated with the little boy – love that his hat came on and off!

Monkey was given a farm animal sticker book for her birthday which I put into her workbox this week and she enjoyed putting the stickers on the right pages.

We also watched a Playschool DVD – one episode a day on farm animals. All the girls enjoyed this and I think I might get more playschool DVD’s. We don’t have TV so this is one thing they have not had.

We also started an Animal Classification Chart. As we are discussing animals this year we plan to sort them onto the chart. Below is the empty chart in our Science corner of the room. You can download our Ask Mr bear Animal Classification cards from HS Launch here. The animal classification chart labels are from Confessions of a Homeschooler’s Expedition Earth: Discovering God’s Animals. This is her post on her animal wall.

It was a fun week one for Monkey.

Added 7/4/11 - Homeschool creations has a birthday preschool Pack to download here . This would be a perfect addition to a birthday theme when rowing Ask Mr Bear.

First day of school

Well it wasn’t exactly as I had planned due to having a doc appointment for Wombat this morning, which of course look longer than expected. I have not yet had one doc appointment that I haven’t had to wait at least 1 hour for!!

So all we did was some more work on our praying mantis learning. Wombat was fascinated by the “Bub” his word for bug! We also read some of the farm books we borrowed from the library.

Homeschool Share has a fantastic Praying Mantis Lapbook which we are using.

Below - First day of school photos. We always take a measurement each year and compare how much the kids have grown. That piece of wood is our measurement board! We have moved so many times over the past few years and it always comes with us! Duckie just had to sneak Honey into help her do school. You learn so much better with a puppy on your lap!!

try 3 weeks of Sonlight

Would you like to try Sonlight before you buy?

The link below enables you to try a 3 week sample - you could borrow the books from the library and see if it is what you are after. Once you have tried Sonlight you will LOVE it.

3 week trial

The Ultimate Montessori Homemade Materials Collaboration

Montessori Items are so expensive to buy especially for good quality ones. So What DID we do all day? has come up with a linky list – so if you are wanting some ideas start here (click on the picture to go to the blog and then the link)

– if you have made some please add to the list.