HSMJ {16} of reading and blog buttons

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…

• We made Paper Snowflakes.
• Spent a light week on school as I was sick.
• We watched The Secret Life of Plants.
• We started a Printable Lenten Calendar for Kids.
• I ♥♥ doing a Jesse Tree at Christmas and this week Collette shared her Jesus Tree over at The Art of Being Mama. The Jesus Tree is a continuation of the Jesse Tree and used during Lent to retell the story of the Life of Jesus.
• Got our learning spaces in order.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

• Remember your home school planner / Instructor Guide is your SERVANT not your MASTER YOU dictate the daily happenings not the guide !!!!

I am inspired by…

• Life's a beach for newlywed Nick Vujicic (Author of Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life ) who got married recently. (Wedding Photo's). Find out more at Attitude is Altitude.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

• Paul and I walked 8 km on Sunday at the Wyndham Rotary Fun Run/Walk to raise funds for the Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
• Swimming lessons.
• My Sister took Sir N to Play School Concert. 
• Went to my brothers place to celebrate my sister in laws birthday.
• Counting down the months, weeks and days

My favorite thing this week was…

• Listening to Mr T play and build train tracks with Sir N

What’s working/not working for us…

• Having a specific library book box.  I don't have to hunt the whole house down to find that missing library book anymore.

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…

• I have been reading and listening to: Read, read, read, read to your children over at I Take Joy and wondering how much time do you spend reading to your children each day ?  How old were your children when you stopped reading to them ?
  
  Twenty Minutes a Day
  by Richard Peck
  Read to your children
  Twenty minutes a day;
  You have the time,
  And so do they.
  Read while the laundry is in the machine;
  Read while the dinner cooks;
  Tuck a child in the crook of your arm
  And reach for the library books.
  Hide the remote,
  Let the computer games cool,
  For one day your children will be off to school;
  Remedial? Gifted? You have the choice;
  Let them hear their first tales
  In the sound of your voice.
  Read in the morning;
  Read over noon;
  Read by the light of
  Goodnight Moon.
  Turn the pages together,
  Sitting close as you'll fit,
  Till a small voice beside you says,
  "Hey, don't quit."

Things I’m working on…

• A blog button for A Charlotte Mason Companion Blog Hop I would like to host starting on the 21st of  March 2012.
• Gathering books at the library to do Egypt in Expedition Earth next week with Sir N.

I’m reading…

• When Your Home school Goes On Survival Mode over at Heart of the Matter. 
• Unashamed by Francine Rivers.
• Read, read, read, read to your children over at I Take Joy
• Guest Post: Reading Aloud With Our Littlest Bambinos over at Thriving Home 

I’m cooking…

• Home Made Pizza
• Macaroni and Cheese.
• Mince and rice.
• Gluten Free Cup Cakes.

I’m grateful for…

•  A husband who is faithful and supports me in so many different ways.

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


Blessings

This post is linking to:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and The Homeschool Chick pop on over to read what other home school Moms are doing.

NBTS Week 4 - {A Day in our life}

Welcome to Week 4 of the Aussie NBTS Blog Hop.  This week we are sharing a Day in our Lives.

In week one you met my three children Mr T, Miss J and Sir N who have all been homeschooled.
In week two I shared the curriculum choices I have made for the year ahead with Sir N.  This inspired me to share a Time Line of my homeschool journey with you.
Week three saw us looking at our learning spaces.

Well the last week had no typical days in our lives because in between it all I got sick and spent the days sleeping and calling in Paul to step in so I thought I would give you an approximation of a typical day in our lives.

An Average Day in Our lives goes something like this:

So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90: 12

5 AM	I get up Do my Cover to Cover bible study. Blog at One Year Through The Word. ***********************************************
6 AM	Exercise Walk or do a programme using a DVD or do a session on Wii Active. ***********************************************
7 AM	Shower ***********************************************
7:30 AM	Cup of tea with Paul ***********************************************
7:40 AM	IF it's a work day I drive with Miss J and Paul to drop Paul at work. ***********************************************
8 AM	Take Miss J who is on her L plates and let her drive herself to work She is currently working full time since her graduation. ***********************************************
8:30 AM	Home Breakfast Clean the kitchen Touch base with my Mom Sir N to do his morning Five Fingers Chart. ***********************************************
9 AM	School written work Go for the Code Abeka Arithmetic 1 Developing the Early Learner. A Reason for Handwriting 1 ***********************************************
11 AM	Play Time House Work Laundry ***********************************************
12 PM	Lunch
1 PM	School Read Alouds ***********************************************  Core A Science A ***********************************************
2 PM	Play Time ***********************************************
3 PM	Room Time Sir N will either listen to an audio book or Classical Kids CD or Hide em in Your Heart ***********************************************
4 PM	Chores ***********************************************
4:30 PM	Fetch Paul from work (Pick Him up at 5) ***********************************************
5:30 PM	Fetch Miss J from work ***********************************************
6:00 PM	Dinner Time ***********************************************
6:30 PM	Bath Time Sir N Evening Sir N Five Fingers Chart.
7:30 PM	Bed Time Sir N ***********************************************  Read bible Sing Along time with Paul ***********************************************
8:00 PM	DVD / blogging time for me ***********************************************
10 - 12 pm	Bed Time ***********************************************

This list is what I aspire to but by no means is it always done but it's a good outline for us to work to.

I have a rough schedule or else I waste the time I have each day and do not accomplish much.

So teach us to number our days, that we may get us a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90: 12
 
We are very flexible and will stop what we are doing if visitors arrive.  Some mornings and afternoons contain extra Murial activities and we adjust our schedule for that.  For example we have swimming lessons on a Friday morning.  We have a weekly play date etc.
 
Paul works on a rotation roster and will often be home during a weekday meaning we can go for day trips such as: { Sustainability Expo, Fishing, Ballet, Hanging Rock, Australia Post}

Don't forget to pop on over to  Our World Wide Classroom and read about other Australian Homeschoolers and what they do each day.

Blessings
Chareen

Pinning it DOWN - Paper Snowflakes

Welcome to the third Pinning it Down Tuesday! Do you find yourself pinning projects to Pinterest, but rarely getting around to doing them? Do you need a bit of encouragement to make some of those projects come to life? Join Pam and Sarah every Tuesday for the Pinning it Down link-up, where we're making a Pinterest project happen in our homes every week. This week is hosted over at Pams

This week I decided to tackle something from my Kids Craft Ideas Board. We made paper snowflakes. The original idea came from Michele Made Me: Reader Question: How do you cut your snowflakes ?  Her step by step tutorial is excellent.
Michele has some excellent ideas of what you can do with your snowflakes.

• Junkmail Snowflakes Tutorial ❈ The Wall Blizzard 
• Junkmail Snowflakes Tutorial ❈ Gift Toppers
• Junkmail Snowflakes Tutorial ❈ Lanterns 

Source: michelemademe.com via Chareen on Pinterest

The Process

Completed Paper Snowflakes

Blessings
Chareen
Photo Collages done with the FREE software Photoscape . Tutorial over at Great Fun 4 Kids.
Are you ready to play along? Here's how the link-up works:

1. Choose a project from one of your Pinterest pinboards and make it happen. Blog a little about it. Remember, it doesn't have to be elaborate- we just want to see what you've been up to! 
2. Make sure you link back to Pams somewhere in your post so others can find us and play along. Feel free to grab our Pinning it Down graphic if you'd like to add it to your post. Also, don't forget proper pinning etiquette and try to include a link back the original idea whenever possible. We want to be sure that cool idea credit is given to the proper person. 
3. Link up over at Pam's . Make sure you're sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address. You can add your link all the way through Friday, so if you haven't gotten a chance to work on any of your pins yet this week, you're not too late