Friday 8 June 2012

HSMJ - I'm Back !

In my life this week…
  • We arrived home last Friday after a fantastic holiday in South Africa !  I have been thinking about the best way to showcase some of the incredible things we did while we were away. 
  • I have been thinking about my weight and health and what I am going to do about it.
In our homeschool this week…
  • I have spent this week in planning mode to start back into to school next week.
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
  • Chariot Press have announced this week that they have all their stock listed on their website.  They are currently running a stock take Sale. There is no extra postage on Sale items.  
  • Jimmie shared this Cool Country Report: Fill-in Poster. Introduce a different culture and help strengthen your child's writing skills, all at the same time! This is another example of the AMAZING free resources at the Scholastic site. 
  • Gosh I missed out on the 10 Days of ... Series hosted over at iHomeschool Network.  I have some catching up to do.  Have you had a look at these posts ?  
  • Looking for some interesting Top Ten posts to read over the next 8 weeks then head on over to Many Little Blessings and have a read.  This weeks post was 10 reasons my kids like being homeschooled and next weeks topic is: Top 10 Favourite Read Alouds. For more topics visit iHomeschool Network 10 in 10 and link up at Many Little Blessings.
I am inspired by…
  • Our Nature Journals over at Blue Yonder Ranch. I love this post.  I am still aspiring to Nature Journal but looking for a way that will work for our family.  Here is a snippet to whet your appetite "I keep a little notebook so that I can make notes about what we found and where, but we don’t take our journals with us. Someday I’d like for them to take field notes, but at the moment, it works better for us to spend our time outdoors just exploring and then to come home for the journaling.
    The things that we bring home go into a big basket until we have a chance to study them further. We won’t necessarily research everything that comes home with us, but some things will catch our fancy and we’ll want to dig a little deeper.
    .." Pop on over and have a read of Stefani's thoughts on the topic.  Even though this post is two years old it is very relevant and encouraging today.
     
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
  • We caught up with family and friends on Sunday for Sir N's seventh birthday.  His big brother Mr T arranged a surprise birthday bash for him.
My favorite thing this week was…
  • Realising that we have taken 10 400 photographs on our seven week holiday. 

What’s working/not working for us…
  • Being sick with the flu after a lovely holiday and arriving home to some particularly cold raining weather !

Questions/thoughts I have…
  • What are your favourite Home School Blog Hops / Memes ?
Things I’m working on…
  • Planing the next two weeks of school for Sir N.
  • A blog post featuring my Top Ten Homeschool Websites.
  • Blog posts showing you a few other things we did in South Africa
  • Library visit to collect books
  • My very first product review.... coming this monday.
I’m reading…
I’m cooking…
  •  Nothing too interesting this week.  I think that I will dig out my recipes from Carmel Wilkinson when I attended her Results Weight Loss clinic a year ago. 
I’m grateful for…
  •  The Bad News About Home Schooling over at Encouraging Beautiful Motherhood.  Rather thought provoking nail on the head kind of writing.  I needed this.  I have been feeling rather inadequate and wondering if I should be doing this homeschooling thing.  Just the article I needed to read!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
“Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion has no hold on the mind. Therefore do not use compulsion, but let early education be a sort of amusement; you will then be better able to discover the child's natural bent.” Plato

Blessings







This post is linking to:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
iHomeschool Network

The Home school Mother’s Journal began as a single post on a Friday morning over at The Homeschool Chick, and turned into a link-up for homeschool mothers across the blog-O-sphere to share a piece of their journey with one another each week.

The link party has moved and is now hosted over at iHomeschool Network and is open from Friday to Monday so join me in The Homeschool  Mothers Journal and lets encourage one another on our homeschool journey.


16 comments:

  1. 10 400 photos?! Wow! And I thought I took a lot of photos in vacation! (Although MY vacations aren't 7 weeks! LOL)

    Thanks for the Cool Country link! I pinned it! Looks like a GREAT resource!

    My favorite blog hops? Hip Homeschool Hop, Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and the Homeschool Mother's Journal...and if I actually bake (LOL) Kids in the kitchen. Favorite Resource and TGIF Linky also have some creative ideas too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes you read that right 10 400 ... I guess that's what happens when you each have a camera. The other reason is we were blessed with a SLR which we did not know how to use very well. So we took mulitple shots using different settings. I think this is the biggest reason for so many pics. Although I must confess we certainly enjoyed the learning curve.

      I have seen most of these link ups. I had forgotten about the Kids in the Kitchen linky and I have not heard of the TGIF link up. Who hosts that and what is it ?

      Delete
  2. Yay! Your homeschool journal is back:-)

    We're concentrating on nature and the arts, right now, so I'd love to get our nature journals up and running, again. Are you joining up with a Linky? Erin's photography linkup was so encouraging, I wondered if there was something similar for nature journaling.

    Also, are you doing another photography linkup? I think Deanne has found one - I might look to see if there's more around to choose between.

    Thanks for your help with the art blog, Chareen. I've merged them, now, but my labels are all over the place so I'll fix up a separate contents page. After a months' long slump, I'm feeling inspired, again, and you really helped {{}}

    I know how frustrating weight issues are. Of the sisters in our family, I was always the round one, so I spent most of my adulthood on a constant diet. For me, giving up sugar has been the answer. For my sister, she has a consistent exercise program. It's a challenge to find something that works long term, isn't it?

    There's a lot of interesting links here - thanks for sharing, Chareen.

    Praying for you:-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am pleased too Vicky :) Although I enjoyed my holiday immensly I certainly missed reading around on the web and learning.

       I noticed that Erin joined in on a Nature Walk Fridays (Erins post) which is hosted over at Elisa Loves which I am considering joining. 



      I know that there is also  the Handbook of Nature Study which hosts The Outdoor Hour Challenge.  The only frustrating bit is that they are in the northern hemisphere and so the challenge is in the opposite season to us.  This is what I found on the site about the challenge and joining in the link party:



      Just a few reminders to participants of the Outdoor Hour Challenge:

      The first of the summer challenges will post on  June 8, 2012..that is this Friday!



      Don't forget to send in your June blog entries to the Outdoor Hour Challenge Blog Carnival by Friday, June 29, 2012.



      The June (Ocean Beach) edition
      of the Outdoor Hour Challenge Newsletter has published. You must be
      subscribed to the blog in order to receive the download link. It is a
      beautiful and informative edition that I know you are going to want to
      have in your collection. You can subscribe on the sidebar of my blog. 

      I am busy looking for a photography challenge / link up to participate in but haven't found something that will fit just yet as I don't have quite as much time now that I am home ;o)

      You are welcome for the help on the blog I am pleased you managed to merge them.

      In a sense I am pleased about the challenge of my weight at present as it has given me a better understanding and a more compassionate heart for others that are struggling although it is still very hard for me to come to terms with.

      Happy Reading !

      Delete
  3. Welcome home~!!

    I LOVE your post. So much to read, so many links to travel through. :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Deborah it's so good to be home although I am missing the bush a little. It's been a shock to the system coming from the warm African sun to the cold of Melbourne !

      Happy blog hopping :o)

      Delete
  4. Chareen, I love your post, what a great blessing you are to your family! I can't wait to hear about your trip to South Africa. One of my very best friends is from there...and I love hearing about her country and learning about their culture! I have read the series you are talking about andhave loved the 5 day series this week, though I'm a little behind on it! Thank you for stopping by....Ilove your sweet space here.....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am pleased you dropped in Rebecca.
      Love the recent posts over in your blog. It's been a while since I've been able to drop in as internet access has been rather slow while in Africa and not worth trying to access any blogs because of it. I couldn't even open mine because of it. Hence only 9 posts for May. I completely missed my blogs First Birthday.
      Do you participate in the HSMJ meme ?

      Delete
  5. Your vacation sounds wonderful! Thanks for the links...I am heading over to check some of them out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was wonderful thanks. You are welcome :o) Have a great weekend.

      Delete
  6. WOW that is a lot of pictures to go through! Hope you have many memories stored in there for your family. I have enjoyed the series from Sidetracked Sarah also. She is a lovely person and my neighbor! haha Have a blessed week! Stopping by from the Hoggatt Homeschool via HSMJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is and I was stunned to see that we had taken that many between us !

      I have been enjoying the serries. You're blessed to have such a great neighbour ♥

      Thanks for popping in :)
      Blessings on your weekend too.

      Delete
  7. A holiday in South Africa: lovely! I actually have been there once! Of course, I'd love to visit Australia, too. :)

    And oh my goodness that's a lot of photos!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was very lovely :) When were you there and where abouts did you visit ?

      When you get to Aus look me up I'll show you around our neck of the woods.

      Delete
  8. Welcome Back! Sounds like you all had a fantastic time.

    Hoping to catch up with you soon! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Linda. It's good to be back. We had a wonderful time.

      Delete

I love to hear from you so please leave your comments below ♥