The Sea Shepherd

We joined some fellow home schoolers for an outing and tour of the Steve Irwin last week.

I asked about their logo which is rather controversial and discovered that it is based on pirate lore.  It takes a pirate to catch a pirate.  The fork represents Neptune's Navy, the shepherds crook those who care for the oceans fauna and the skull is part of their aim to catch the pirate.

I have always been under the impression that Sea Shepherd were a part of Greenpeace.  I learn't that they parted ways in 1977 hence the 77 on their ships.  Their history makes for some interresting reading.

Our guide (whose name I can't remember) is a former ice road trucker was excellent.  He was engaging funny and relevant to the age of the students.

Sir N enjoying being at the helm

The ship is covered in amazing works of art. Most of the staff on board are volunteers.  A few of the professional staff are employed.

The diet on board is Vegan. All staff sign an indemnification when boarding.  They acknowledge that it could be dangerous and they could loose their lives while on board and in pursuit of a whaling ship.

When in the arctic zone all staff working outside have to wear the orange suit.  The orange is for visability. It helps them to stay warm and will protect them if they fall in the water.  The water is so cold that you would die within three minutes if you had no protection.

They have a chopper on board and have a policy to always help when asked for helicopter assistance.
The chopper is stored in a hange on the top deck.  It takes three crew 15 minutes to have her fully operational.

This particular ship was renamed the Steve Irwin with Terri Irwins blessing."Steve Irwin's life demonstrated how one person can make a significant difference in the world," said Watson. "Steve wanted to come to Antarctica with us to defend the whales and now he is able to join us in spirit with his name emblazoned on the fastest and most powerful whale protection ship in the world." - The Fleet

We had a wonderful morning on board and enjoyed the sight of Melbourne from the deck.  So if you are in Melbourne make some time to come down to the quay and have a look around you wont be dissappointed.


Blessings
Chareen

More on the web

• Sea Shepherd.org
• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
• Sea Shepherd Australia
• Sea Shepherd on Flicker
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Facebook

Sea Shepherd's Flagship the Steve Irwin.

The Steve Irwin is currently docked in Williamstown VIC, at Seaworks located on Williamstowns Waterfront, at Pier 82, Nelson Place.

Free tours and donation stall are on Saturdays and Sundays 10 AM to 5 PM.

HSMJ - Permission to Pin

In my life this week…

With all the hype in the blogging world over Pinterest on whether to pin or not to pin I followed a link from All Things Beautiful and I read Do You have Permission to Pin over at Corkboard Connections and decided to give official permission for people to pin from my blog.

I took the plunge this week and started a Facebook page so if you are on Facebook I would love to connect with you and chat.  Please pop on over and like the page and say hello. 

I met some new bloggers and enjoyed surfing the www. I struggled about whether or not to do a product review after I discovered that they wanted life long advertising in exchange for a 90 day use of their site.  What would you have done ? 

In our homeschool this week…

• We went to see the Sea Shepherd. (post on this adventure tomorrow)
• Played with lego and built all sorts of amazing structures.
• Completed week 16 of Core K and Science A.
• Watched episode three from the The Private Life of Plants.
• We finished the book Eggs and Chicks. 
• In the Internet-Linked Children's Encyclopedia we read about plants, Victorian Era and Dolphins this week. We used their Quicklinks page to view a few sites on Dolphins.
• We are still enjoying Dr Doolittle 
• While reading The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose I have noticed that Sir N is starting to understand the subtle innuendo when I am reading these poems to him.  It's so cute listening to him giggle at the funny bits.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

• Sarah over at Amongst Lovely things has posted a post titled Ruth Beechick 101. If you are a little worn out and in need of some encouragement. Head on over and check out Sarah's post.
• Rebecca over at Mom's Mustard Seeds has written a well balanced post on how she decided on their method of homeschooling.  This is a great article to share with new home school Mums and veteran Mums alike.  There is a Method To our School at Home.
• Are you homeschooling in New South Wales (Australia) ?  Would like a little insight into how to do your exemption? Pop on over to Rendezvous Junction where you can look at Miss Z (high school) registration, Master J documentation (Year 7) and Miss E Year 1  You can view pdf's of the process and what to submit.

I am inspired by…

• My bloggy friend Jo.  Jo bloggs over at Princess Warrior Lessons and suffers from hashimotos-disease and this week had to make a very difficult decision to send her boy warriors to school due to complex health issues.  Jo has blogged about this heart rending decision and as a result of this majour change is experiencing many feelings and has asked for support.  Please pop over and encourage her during this hard time. 
• Stacy over at Your Sacred Calling who has two great posts recently: Worldliness: Don’t Walk as the Gentiles… and Serving God in the Mundane

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

• Last week Saturday evening I joined my father, brother and his kids for a train trip to Etihad Stadium to watch a rugby match.  We watched a match between Wales and Australia.  Australia won by the skin of their teeth in the very last seconds of the match.  It was nail biting and so much fun. It's been at least 30 years since I last joined my Dad for a ride on a train to a match. 
• Monday saw us visit my sister and help her on her newest adventure which just happened to be my favourite thing this week!
• On Tuesday we joined some fellow home educators and went for a day trip to see The Sea Shepherd.
• It has been too cold to venture out for the rest of the week so we have been enjoying our centrally heated home.
• My Mom came over for a cuppa.

My favorite thing this week was…

• Helping my sister start her new blog.  Maryleen has been blessed with an artistic gift and I love to see the things she has made or the things she is currently working on.  I have been encouraging her to start a blog and share some of her creations.  The result is Cherished Moments in Time. Please pop on over and welcome her to blog land.

What’s working/not working for us…

• not making it to the library to stock up on books for our next adventure on Expedition Earth.

Questions/thoughts I have…

• What are the sorts of things you like to see shared on Facebook pages ?

Things I’m working on…

• Heee Heee Meme started by Victor with the intention of spreading laughter and hilarity throughout blogland. I was tagged by Vicky and reminded of my need to add a post by Erin.
• Back in April Jennifer from Little Homeschool on the Prairie tagged me in a Good Random Fun Meme.  

I’m reading…

•  Strangers Passing Judgement over at Seven Little Australians.
• Cream of the Crop by Erin about an Australian History living book series which has whet my appetite.
• Fit for Photography by Peter Lik. 

• Friendship sound advice over at Mrs Clark it's about blogs tea and me. 
• The daily 7 for a highly successful household over at Totally Together Journal.
•  Time Management for Moms over at Totally Together Journal.
• Starting a Family Game Night  over at Totally Together Journal. It's not about winning or losing. It's how you play the game. - Grantland Rice.  This post has a great breakdown of family games in three sections: Preschool Games(No reading required), Young School-Aged Children (but still fun for older kids/adults) & Older Elementary-aged children to adult.

I’m cooking…

• Soup.  It's cold here and the time of the year for old fashioned crock pot cooking and soup.  Got any favourites you like to cook ?
• My husband cooked some trout in the barbeque /smoker.  Can't wait to try out the new flavour. 
• I found a great blog via Pinterest  called A Year of Slow Cooking.  I am keen to try use some of her recipe's. The recipes have been listed in two ways: The Entire Year, in order OR Table of Contents, A Year of Slow Cooking.

On Pinterest I found...

• Plenty of Photography tutorials.  This is my latest adventure and I am really enjoying learning how to use a DSLR camera.
• One of my newest projects is looking for home school helps in teaching Character.
• Sir N has been enjoying playing with his lego.  Pinterest has some excellent practical ideas for you.

I’m grateful for…

•  Great friends who support and encourage me.  For my new blog friends who inspire encourage and coach me on this blogging journey and the ones who are donating e product for a blog birthday give away.

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

Break Free from Your Mold Zenos Frudakis 2000

Blessings

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

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.

A Bit of Fun ... 11 & 11 & 11 & 11

I've been "tagged" by Jennifer over at Little Homeschool on the Prairie and I thought this looked like fun! Be sure to pop on over to her space.  Jennifer has a published book and shares some great practical homeschool craft ideas.
The Rules:

1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random facts about you.
3. Answer the questions given to you in the tagger’s post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag new people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and let them know they have been tagged.

A Photo ...

11 Random Facts about Me

1. I'm six foot tall.
2. I was blessed with two big babies [One was 4.185 kg (9 lb 2 oz) and the other was 4.42 kg (9 Lb 74 oz)]
3. I don't wear makeup.
4. I am not a shoe person.  I like my sneakers in winter and my Piper Sandals for summer.
5. I have worn the same style sandal for 27 years. I bought my last pair from Piper Sandals and will never use a different brand.  The quality is the best I have ever found.
6. I love the smell of percolated coffee but can't stand the taste!
7. I have more than 4 000 books on my shelves.  (No you don't need a personal library to homeschool that is my personal pet collect.)
8. I got engaged at 18 I was married at 19
9. My first born was born on my 21st birthday.  Yes you read that right.  We share a birthday and I'm still trying to convince him that it's mine because I got there first ;o)
10. I am a South African, Kiwi import to Australia....  I was born in South Africa, migrated and naturalised to become a New Zealand citizen in 2001, and now I live in Australia.
11. I like to watch rugby and enjoy the Tri-Nations even more because it doesn't matter who wins I am behind the winning team.   (see point ten above).

 Jennifer's Questions / My Answers

1. What’s your favorite verse or quote?
   I have a few.  Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. This is the one that is currently the edge of my learning curve.
2. What’s your favorite family activity?
   Reading a good book out loud.
3. Favorite book?
   Oh my this is a hard one I have a few. Homeschooling - A Charlotte Mason Companion,  Christian novel - Mark of the Lion Trilogy 
4. Favorite room in the house? My office, I'm really enjoying blogging and learning the skills needed for this.
5. If you could visit any place, where would you go and why?
   I need to break the rules on this one and give two: I would love to go to Israel, and see the places that Jesus ministered. I would also love to go to Yellowstone National Park in the US. I did a project on the park in high school and ever since then I've wanted to see it in person.
6. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
   A pilot. I would still love to get my Private Pilots Licence. Anyone out there willing to sponsor me ?
7. Who or what inspires you?
   I have a few authors who inspire me such as Karen Andreola, Sally Clarkson and Diana Waring. I am inspired and encouraged by many of my blog friends.
8. How would you describe yourself in five words or less?
   Homeschool Mom, Curious, Book-holic, Information Junky,
9. Why did you start blogging?
   To share resources with the wider homeschool community. I missed my friend in New Zealand who used to share all her treasures with me.
10. How would you describe your style of homeschooling?
    Eclectic Sonlighter. I love Sonlight but over time I have found a couple of other things I prefer using so for my spine I use Sonlight and then eclecticly fill in the rest.
11. What’s one of the most important lessons you’ve ever learned?
    Not to have concrete result expectations. To be patient and give it time.

My Questions

1. What are you reading at the moment ?
2. What blogging advice would you give a new blogger ? (two tips)
3. What is your idea of a perfect day ?
4. Do you use a curriculum and if so which one ?
5. How do you do it all and find time to blog ?
6. What are your top three traits in a friend ?
7. Do you use Pinterest ?(Please share your link)
8. What are the top three home school blogs you visit ? (please link to them)
9. Do you join in link up parties ?  If so which ones ?
10. Do you use Notebook pages ?  If so where do you access yours from ?
11. Do you do Nature Journaling ? If so have you blogged about your methods ?

I would love to hear from these ladies

1. Vicky over at Creating with Wisdom
2. Erin over at Seven Little Australians.
3. Sarah over at Amongst Lovely Things
4. Catherine over at Serenades and Solace.
5. Deborah over at The Paper Maid.
6. Chelle over at Last in Line.
7. Rebecca over at Moms Mustard Seeds.
8. Becca over at  One Homeschool Journey.
9. Lisa over at Home to 4 Kiddos
10. Jenni over at Our Journey.
11. Alyson over at Family Style School.

Please, consider yourselves "tagged", even if I don't stop by your blog to leave official word. If you decide to play along and have some fun, I'd love to read your posts :) If any other readers want to play along as well, feel free! Leave me a comment with a link to your post and I'll make sure to visit and I will add you to the list!

So far I have enjoyed reading posts from Susan and Jennifer.

Blessings
Chareen