Friday 30 March 2012

HSMJ 20 Autumn leaf play


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 is open from Friday to Monday so join me in The Homeschool Journal and lets encourage one another on our homeschool journey.

In my life this week…
 
In our homeschool this week…
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
I am inspired by…
The Child Training Bible.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
  • On Sunday we went to the Vet School open Day.
  • On Thursday we went to Melbourne Museum and explored Bugs.
  • On Friday we babysat a wonderful little boy for his mum and dad who were at an expo introducing Melbourne parents to the Mi Bike.  I grew up with this bike and have many happy memories of playing for hours and hours on it.
  • Counting down the months, weeks and days

My favorite thing this week was…

2012 in 2012
  • Read about this idea over at Behind the Scenes and was really intrigued.  I think I will give it a go.  Won't make 2012 I don't think but it will definitely help me de-clutter.
Opening
Balance
What  This Week Balance
2 Thrown Away 0 2
0 Sold 0 0
0 Donated 0 0
1 Returned to their owner 2 3


Running Total out of the goal 2012


5

Questions/thoughts I have…
  • How do you heal up from total exhaustion ? {Emotional, Mental and Physical}
Things I’m working on…
  • I'm looking through Education.com for Easter Ideas to do with Sir N next week.
  • I was reading Young Men who love God and am inspired to put the following scripture in a frame in Sir N's room.
    Likewise urge the young men to be sensible;  in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach. 
I’m reading…
I’m cooking…
I’m grateful for…
  •  The support and encouragement of friends and family.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…


Blessings







This post is linking to:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
The Homeschool Chick

Two hours at the Museum

We joined some fellow home schoolers for the Bugs Bugs Bugs talk.  It was a great time of hands on activity and we also had a 30 min window of being in the bugs gallery on our own as a group.

I had forgotten just how much there is to see and do at the Melbourne Museum. I think that when we return from South Africa I will definitely take the time to get a museum membership so Sir N and I can spend an afternoon once a month at the museum exploring !


Bugs Olympics


  1. Worlds fastest flying insect: Desert Locust [Africa]
  2. World's largest moth wing-span - White Witch Moth [South America]
  3. World's most poisonous butterfly - Antimachus Swallowtail [Uganda]
  4. World's largest moth - Atlas Moth [Indonesia]
  5. World's longest beetle - Hercules Beetle [Central & South America]
  6. World's largest beetle - Goliath Beetle [Africa]
  7. World's slowest wing-beat butterfuly - Holarctic Swallowtail [China]
  8. World's loudest insect - Double Drummer [Australia]
  9. World's best defensive strategy - Australia Bombardier Beetle [Australia]
  10. World's most poisonous butterfly - Antimachus Swallowtail [Uganda]
  11. World's largest butterfly - Queen Alexandra Birdwing [New Guinea]
  12. World's fastest butterfly - Payen's Swallowtail [Indonesia]
  13. World's heaviest insect - Little Barrier Island Weta [New Zealand]
  14. Badge Huntsman Adult body length 18 mm

Dinosaur Walk

We enjoyed the big and the small of this exhibit.

Marine Life Exploring our Seas.

We enjoyed exploring our marine life.

Playing in the autumn leaves outside.

It was a wonderful day of exploring

Where have you been exploring ?
Blessings
Chareen

Thursday 29 March 2012

Vet School Open Day

On Sunday our local university had a Veterinary Science & Hospital Open Day.

The open day was hosted at The University of Melbourne Werribee Campus

There were many animals walking around to meet and vet students sharing information.

There was a self guided tour through the emergency department.

We had a look at the surgery area.

In the X-Ray department there were some interesting xrays to look at.

The snake bus was there with some interesting crocodiles.
It was a day filled with loads of hands on displays. 

Blessings
Chareen

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Expedition Earth: AFRICA - Morocco





What a beautiful country !  
I am inspired and would love to go here and explore.
We Learned
We experimented making repeating patterns.
We used Pattern Blocks from Sonlight.
  • Moroccan food tastes wonderful !
  • Morocco is known for it's ceramic tile designs.
  • The designs themselves are an act of worship and are in keeping with the Islamic law, humans or animals or plants are not to be depicted in art.
  • The kings castle has golden doors.
  • During Ramadan they don't eat during the day.
  • One sand dune is so tall it has a name. 
  • The Cascades d'Ouzoud waterfall is 100m.
  • Their colours are green and red.
  • Some one calls from the mosque minaret to announce prayer. This happens five times a day.
  • They speak Arabic in Morocco.
  • All children must go to primary school for six years. 
  • Only half the people can read and write.
  • They have a king in Morocco. Morocco is one of three kingdoms in Africa.
The Resources we Used
Books

Notebook Pages

On the Net

Folktales from Morocco
  •  Four Folktales We did not enjoy these however they were an interresting insight in the types of stories told.

Animals
Cooking
These biscuits were gorgeous.  We really like them.  We had to add extra oil as she says in the video.
 I took the two Moroccan dinner dishes and combined them to make a one pot meal.  I made the cous cous as a side rather than adding it.  It was delicious.

Blessings
 Chareen 

PS We pick and choose what to read from each site. We do NOT read every article in its entirety.  
Due to the every changing nature of the Internet please check that these sites are still safe before allowing your children on them.

This post does not contain affiliate links. 

Linking with 
Grateful for Grace: What We're Learning
 Collage Friday over at Home Grown Learners,   
Favourite Resources at Learning All the Time.
Look what we did at  Home Grown Learners

Tuesday 27 March 2012

28 TT - Resurrection Eggs

 Welcome to Tuesdays Treasures(TT).  I started these posts as a way of sharing great books in honour of my friend in New Zealand who would arrive with the treasures she had unearthed at her weekly trip to the library!

There are so many wonderful books out there hiding on shelves so I invite you to blog about a book on your shelf, one you're reading or one you found at the library and add your post to Learning All the Time Favourite Resource Link Up



This week ...
Resurrection Eggs
Resurrection Eggs
  • Format: 1 plastic egg carton, 12 plastic eggs, 11 unique objects to illustrate the Easter Story, 1 bilingual booklet.
  • Number of Pages:
  • Vendor:  Publishers
  • Publication Date:
  • ISBN: 978-1-60200-392-7
  • Produced by: Family Life
We used these for the first time last year.  Sir N really loved them. Ever since I took the box down in preparation for this years readings he has been nagging me is it time yet ??  We will be starting our readings tomorrow. Each of the stories in the book starts with a scripture reading followed by a short explanation making it real for little hearts.  Opening the egg with the symbol helps with understanding the progression of the Easter story.

Available from: Family Life, Koorong,Word, Amazon , Book Depository, and Christianbook.

Blessings






What others are saying on the www:
Shower of Roses
Catholic Icing. (Make your own eggs)
Want What You Have (Make your own eggs)


Friday 23 March 2012

HSMJ 19 - The difference between entertaining and Hospitality


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 home school mothers across the blog-O-sphere to share a piece of their journey with one another each week. The link party is open from Friday to Monday so join me in The Home school Journal and lets encourage one another on our home school journey.

In my life this week…
 
In our home school this week…
  • We started our Morocco Expedition Earth study.
  • Went on a trip to see the HMAS Castlemaine
  • We did a Picasso Inspired piece of art.
  • Have not completed Morocco this week as I intended so will need to finish on Monday when we start on Kenya.
  • Finished the letter "V" in spelling.  Wrote some letters to Grandad and Nanna.
  • Worked on math facts for the number seven.
Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
I am inspired by…
  • Waste Time on this NOT that over at Relevant.  Here is a sneak peak: There is a danger of getting sucked too far into the online vortex, but it’s a danger that’s easily averted if we approach our time at the computer with a healthy sense of perspective and balance, along with a few basic goals............... Remember to head on over to Relevant and read the full article.
  • Living on Rice and Beans over at Always Learning.
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
  • Monday was a busy day we visited a friend for her birthday and then went to a home school mothers meeting.
  • Tuesday we joined my mom and some homeschoolers and went on a trip to see HMAS Castlemaine.
  • Wednesday  and Thursday we were at home.
  • Thursday night Paul and Sir N went on another night time adventure with some friends and came home very cold. Autumn has definitely arrived in Melbourne.
  • Saturday are going to visit a home school family for lunch / afternoon / evening catch up we have been trying to organise for over a year.
  • Counting down the months, weeks and days

My favorite thing this week was…
  • Listening to Sir N's exclamations of pleasure and excitement when he realised it's only seventeen sleeps till we fly out to South Africa.

What’s working/not working for us…
  • the laundry ....... 
2012 in 2012
  • Read about this idea over at Behind the Scenes and was really intrigued.  I think I will give it a go.  Won't make 2012 I don't think but it will definitely help me de-clutter.
Opening
Balance
What  This Week Balance
2 Thrown Away 0 2
0 Sold 0 0
0 Donated 0 0
8 Returned to their owner 0 8


Running Total out of the goal 2012


194

Questions/thoughts I have…
  • I've been asked to do some guest posts at a Home school blog and been wondering what sorts of things I should write about .........
Things I’m working on…
I’m reading…
I’m cooking…
  • Flathead Fish Cakes
  • Ambrosia
  • Looking for a Moroccan Dish to finish off our Morocco studies.  Any ideas ??
I’m grateful for…

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
  • There is a difference between entertaining and offering hospitality. Entertaining seeks to impress. Offering hospitality puts the emphasis on others so they feel refreshed, not impressed, when they leave your home. - Karen Ehman
Don't forget to pop over to read what other home school Moms are doing
Blessings





Thursday 22 March 2012

A Charlotte Mason Companion Blog Hop


One of my all time favourite books is A Charlotte Mason Companion.

I have had this book for over 13 years now and whenever I am in need of some good home school encouragement I dig into this book.

As I have just re embarked on the homeschool journey with Sir N (my first two have graduated) I felt it's time to refocus and refresh.  The result is I would like to work through this book over the next few months and blog a little about what I learn once a month.

It does not matter how long you have been home educating there is something in this book for you!

 A Charlotte Mason Companion 
Monthly Blog Hop.


So here I would like to extend my invitation to you to join me in a Monthly Charlotte Mason Companion discussion blog hop. I would love to hear your thoughts, how you applied what you read, what worked what didn't ? etc



Upcoming Chapters
  • 2 April -
    Chapters 33{Nature Study}
    Chapter 34 {Nature for City Children}
    Chapter 35 {Neighbourhood Nature study} 
  • 30 April-
    Chapter 6 {The Atmosphere of Home} 
    Chapter 7 {Bickerings}
  • 28 May - TBA
  • 25 June - TBA
  • 30 July - TBA
A Charlotte Mason Companion is available from
(These are NOT affiliate links.)
Hope you can join me and share some homeschool encouragement.

Blessings
Chareen

For Further Reading:

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Picasso Inspired Collage from Practical Pages

I discovered today that Pinning it DOWN has been pinned to the wall. Why you ask ?
A note from Pam: Ah, doing what's right. Sometimes it is just so hard to do, and this is one of those times. It is with much regret that we announce that we will not be doing another Pinning It Down. Over the past few days it has come to our attention that many pinners are growing more and more concerned about the legality of Pinterest and choosing to delete their Pinterest accounts. This includes a number of the people who have participated with us in the past...... pop on over to Pams to read her full post on this issue.

Today Sir N and I decided to tackle a project from my Artist Studies board and do a Picasso Inspired Collage from Nadene over at Practical Pages 






 Sir N's project



We had a lot of fun together.  Some parts Sir N found hard but overall he is proud of his piece.

Pop on over to Practical Pages where Nadene has provided a great PDF download and step by step to accomplish this project at home.

Blessings
Chareen 

Linking with
Grateful for Grace: What We're Learning
 

HMAS Castlemaine

Yesterday we joined a few home school families for a trip to the HMAS Castlemaine at Gem Pier in Williamstown Victoria.  It was a wonderful three hours of exploring !  If you are ever in Victoria add this to your to do list !





Some things of interest
  • It took less than six months to build.
  • The Castlemaine was built in Victoria, at Williamstown Dockyard.
  • She was launched on 7th August 1941 and commissioned 17th June 1942.
  • She is one of the 60 Australian-built Bathurst class corvettes to serve throughout World War Two and the last such vessel still afloat.
  • Ships today do not go any faster than ships back then. The only difference is the economic efficiency of ships today.
  • She had a crew of 90 sailors (all men)
  • 70 of the crew slept in hammocks in one small area.
  • Each seaman was issued his own hammock which had his service number and name on it.  He took it with him where ever he went.
  • Each man had a set space / area where he hung his hammock.
  • When the ships were decommissioned they were each sold for £12 000
  • There are only two ships left from WWII in Australia and this is one of them.
  • Contrary to popular belief sailors were not issued rum on a daily basis.  Rum was kept on board for special occasions. It was used to toast the Queen on her birthday and coronation.
  • Today sailors have a beer allocation.  They are allowed one beer a day and only when in port. The beer is opened before they receive it.
  • The ship had enough food for 40 days at sea. 
  • There was fresh food for the first 10 days and after that it was powdered or tinned food.
  • They used salt water for everything. (toilets, showers, cleaning etc)
  • There were two types of compass aboard this ship.
  • She has been here for 30 years as a museum and has no government funding. She is manned and maintained by volunteers.
  • Some of the men who served aboard her 70 years ago still volunteer aboard her today.  We met two of them.  Both were in their 90's and took a tour !
For interest I had a look on Google Maps at the Castlemaine.




View Larger Map

Blessings
Chareen

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Tuesdays Treasures - A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays

 Welcome to Tuesdays Treasures.  I started these posts as a way of sharing great books in honour of my friend in New Zealand who would arrive with the treasures she had unearthed at her weekly trip to the library!

There are so many wonderful books out there hiding on shelves so I invite you to blog about a book on your shelf, one you're reading or one you found at the library and add your post to Learning All the Time Favourite Resource Link Up

This week ...

A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays


  • Format: Paperback 
  • Number of Pages: 584 
  • Vendor: Heart of Wisdom Publishing
  • Publication Date: June 2001
  • ISBN: 0970181604
  • Author Robin Sampson & Linda Pierce
  • Illustrator:
Along with my Mom I have embarked on a journey through the bible Cover to Cover. For the past couple of months we have been reading about the feasts the Lord required of the Israelite people. This has made me rather curious about the feasts and how as Christians we can celebrate the fulfillment and teach our children about them.  I found this book and thought I would share it with you.

The book is available from: Amazon, Fishpond, Book Depository. For a free pdf download of 39 pages please visit Heart of Wisdom.

Blessings

Monday 19 March 2012

Mum Heart Conference


Have you heard about the Mum Heart Conference up on the Sunshine Coast, Australia ?

This is what Barb has to say about it: "I would love to encourage you on your home schooling journey and introduce you to mums from all around Australia who share your enthusiasm for raising your family - wholeheartedly.
This is not so much a "how to home school" conference ... more of a break away in a beautiful setting to encourage and replenish you and fill your heart to go home inspired to minister to your family.
Last year, I had the privilege of traveling to America to attend Sally Clarkson's Whole Heart Intensive and I am so inspired to pass that encouragement on to you! "

The conference will be held at  Novatel Twin Waters Hotel and there will be three speakers this year.  

I am hoping I can join the ladies in June but still not sure.

Will any of you be attending ?

Blessings
Chareen

Sunday 18 March 2012

Performance Acceptance Addict

I received an email from Heather over at Raising Mighty Arrows who will be doing a special post next Monday (26 March) inspired by the YouTube clip: Oh How He Loves Us Cardboard Testimony. I had never heard of a cardboard testimony before but have been encouraged and inspired.

The challenge: write a testimony of 10 words ....
There is so much He has done in my life over the years it was really hard.  I settled on my recent journey with HIM.

Chareen: Performance Acceptance Addict 
----->  setting my eyes on Him.


Remove the things devoted to Destruction

You can not stand before your enemies
until you take away from among you 
the things devoted [to destruction]. 

As I read these words I became aware there are many things in my heart that still need to be destroyed before I can become victorious in my walk with the Lord.

As I meditated on this verse I became aware of His current work in me and His challenge for me to be true to myself and who HE has made me to be.

IF I don't I will not be able to stand before my enemies {self doubt, inadequacy, discontentment, performance acceptance, insecurity, ... }.

I need to take away from myself this addiction of trying to find acceptance through my performance {as a mother, a homeschooler, ...} and set my eyes on HIM and trust Him with my heart and lean not on my own understanding.

I just wanted to encourage you, you are not just a MOM you are a daughter (sons) of the King and as such you are Princesses and worthy.  So my friends BE TRUE to YOURSELF and reflect the King.

Blessings
Chareen
I leave this song with you that speaks to my heart about the depth of HIS gift to me through HIS life.






Saturday 17 March 2012

Expedition Earth: AFRICA - Nigeria


We learned:
  • Nigeria has the largest population in Africa
  • It has the largest butterfly diversity of any country.
  • Is home to a few endangered animal species.
  • Has the third largest river delta in the world.
  • Really enjoyed reading the folk tales from Nigeria.
  • The flag is green and white. The green means farming and the white means unity/peace.
  • The country is in Africa.
  • The children wear uniforms to school.
  • They speak English.
  • They pump oil and sell it to make fuel.
  • The capital is: Abuja.
One of the animals that we looked at this week is the Gorilla.  Werribee Open Range Zoo now has Gorilla's on site so I rang Paul yesterday morning and asked if we could come in and see the Gorilla's behind the scenes as a wrap up for our week in Nigeria.  He contacted those in charge who said YES.  So at 4 pm we were off to see Gorilla's up close and personal. All visitors have to wear masks. 

Just look at the size of his hand ! That's 2" weld mesh.
There are three Gorillas at WORZ.  They are fed by seperate keepers to prevent them arguing over the food.  Here is a 20 second clip of Paul feeding one. This one on one time is also used to check on the animals well being and keeps up with their daily training.





Paul feeding a Gorilla behind the scenes at WORZ


The Resources we Used

Books
Stories from Nigeria on the Internet
Some of our Notebook pages
Notebook Pages
**We do NOT use ALL pages but pick the ones we want.**

On the Internet
Animals
Cooking
Jollof Chicken & Rice

  • Suya (Nigerian Chicken Skewers)
  • Jollof Chicken and Rice really enjoyable meal will definitely make this again.
  • West African Benne Cakes over at Confessions of a Homeschooler My family really enjoyed these. We used greaseproof paper when baking which made it really easy to remove the biscuits. We baked them for 5-8 min any longer and they were over cooked.
West African Benne Cakes.
Blessings
 Chareen 
PS We pick and choose what to read from each site. We do NOT read every article in its entirety.  
Due to the every changing nature of the Internet please check that these sites are still safe before allowing your children on them.

This post does not contain affiliate links. 
Linking with 
Grateful for Grace: What We're Learning
 Collage Friday over at Home Grown Learners,   
Favourite Resources at Learning All the Time.