Week 2: What are your plans and goals for 2016?

This week I'm playing catch up with the Australian Mum's Encouraging Mums blog hop.  I had so many good intentions and not enough time in my week to follow through. Last week Monday I shared about how I stayed blogging and all the why's and in week two Belinda asked: What are your goals for different areas of your life, including homeschooling? Hmm I am not really an active goal setting kind of person so these questions have been a lot harder to answer than I initially thought they would be.

What worked for you last year – and what didn’t – and what you are going to change

• Changing our homeschool to more of a Charlotte Mason philosophy has really worked.
• Having too flexible a schedule really did not work.  I was trying to avoid a schedule because I thought it would help bring about a more peaceful day around here because of Aspergers Syndrome.  It did not.  Children on the spectrum really need routine to keep things peaceful and they need just enough change to learn flexibility.
• This year I want more of a rhythm to our day than a rigid schedule and that is what I'm aiming for.

Share your week’s schedule/plan – or share the stories from one day this week

• Last month I shared the day in the life of homeschooling an only.

Share how you plan your day/week/year – how do you find your priorities

• That's an interesting question.  This year I'm aiming for more of a daily rhythm in our homeschool.  As a result we are still working our way towards finding our perfect happy flow.  At present we follow breakfast with kitchen cleaning chores followed with school reading work with physical activity breaks. 
• We are aiming to attend a minimum of ONE field trip a month.  No amount of book work could ever substitute a field trip and what immersion in an experience brings to learning.
• Our homeschool group is also aiming to have one day a month where we get together for an afternoon of fellowship.
• I'd like to start piano lessons for Nathaniel and I this year too but I will leave that for term two. 

Share how you stay motivated to stay on track with your goals

• In one word:  FRIENDSHIP.  I love my homeschool friends they keep me accountable by asking me how it is going.  They inspire me to be a better home schooling Mom.  
• New homeschool Mom's  I love to attend any meeting of new home educating families.  Their enthusiasm and passion re-ignite my zeal and fill me with the courage to continue this journey and finish it well.
• INSTAGRAM.  I love to look through the photographs of other home educating families and be inspired to dig out long forgotten resources and use them. 

Blessings

Chareen

March 12 Homeschool Mothers Journal.

 In my life this week…

• We are New Zealand citizens who are currently living in Australia under a bi-lateral agreement.  Recently the Australian government announced a new pathway to citizenship for NZ citizens who arrived in Australia between 27 February 2001 to 19 February 2016.  Please be in prayer for us over this as this is something we desire for our family having a pathway to citizenship.  For my New Zealand friends who are in Australia here is some information for you: Additional citizenship pathway for New Zealanders
• I'm still on a mission to regain health and strength this year.  I just found a wonderful post by Dolly: How to get started on THM on a budget. 
• Goodness I'm looking forward to next week we are going away for a weeks holidays!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

• Favorite Librivox Stories for Kids 
• Shakespeare for Kids: An Easy 5-Step Plan 
• Check out this fabulous YouTube channel:  How it's Made.  Most are 5 min in length and answer the age old questions we all have on How do they make that?

In our home school this week…

• We learned how to make our own home made yoghurt. I'm so pleased we did as now 800 grams of greek yoghurt will only cost me $1 to make ...
• We completed the second class of the Repeated Sweets DVD.
• Nathaniel was blessed with a Stopmotion Explosion kit and has been experimenting with it ever since.
• Our mushrooms reached maturity and we were able to harvest and cook them.
• Started reading some Usborne Beginners Science books. (Weather and Tadpoles and Frogs)
• Commenced a new missionary biography from YWAM - William Booth
• Finished reading Joseph Haydon - the Merry Little Peasant.
• Went on a field trip to Cooks Cottage
• Started reading Egypt in Spectacular Cross-Section  

My favourite thing this week was…

• Erin from over at Seven Little Australians shared this post that spoke to the heart of what I think and feel lately about my little blog and my homeschool journey.  How to Find (or Re-find) Your Passion
• I can so identify with my friend on this.  This is a post written by a missionary friend who is currently 'home' on furlow  Every step I take I take in you…
• I was reminded how blessed I am and how much God takes care of this when I read this on a new friends blog 10 Years of Provision
• Oh I loved seeing this post: Sorry, You’ve Been Using Post-Its All Wrong… Here’s The Right Way now I know why my notes would never lie flat! 

 Things I’m working on…

• The Virtual Curriculum Fair - Week 2 Science, Math and Logic
•  Places to Explore near Melbourne
• Step ONE of our Repeated Sweets Project 
• Why did you start blogging (and why do you keep blogging)?  

 On the WWW I’m reading…

• On Graduations, Mom, and a Throw-Back Thursday too
• This could be awkward or a blessing: How Can You Help Someone Whose Home is Filthy? 
• Hmm this is a good reminder for all of us: Extravagance Verses Prudence  
• The REAL reason Facebook Really Wants You to Use Its New Reaction Buttons 
• Oh this is hear touching - Before losing his battle with cancer, teen invents IV pole 'lily pads' to help sick children
• It's so good to read encouraging write ups like this:  To the Strangers in Whole Foods Who Surrounded Me After News of My Father’s Suicide
• For my blogging friends here is a great write up from Google about your review posts - Best practices for bloggers reviewing free products they receive from companies   
• How to Find (or Re-find) Your Passion

 Trim Healthy Mama…

• If you are in Australia and looking for Konjac noodles check out ZERO
•  What I learned while following the Trim Healthy Mama’s Stubborn Losers Menu

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
This week Joey passed from earth to glory.  This is an amazing video of her singing a love song to her husband for the first day after she is gone and walking on streets of gold...  Be sure to have your tissues handy when watching When I'm Gone.  It was a timely reminder for me to appreciate Paul more.

Joey+Rory - "When I'm Gone" from Hickory Films on Vimeo.
Blessings
Chareen

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A Week In Review Link UP

Join Lisa and I each week and share your week in review.  We look forward to reading about your

Week in Review
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And anything homeschool related.

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Places to Explore near Melbourne

One of the things I enjoy about home educating is the opportunity to make use of the things within our community in order to make use of immersion learning. The second thing I love about this life style is the opportunity to meet families from around the world which in turn encourages us to explore local places and 'show' our guests a little piece Australia.

Michelle from Homeschooling Down Under and Belinda from Live Life with Your Kids have invited us to show you our little piece of Australia. In our 'back yard' we have a number of gorgeous places to visit and today I would like to introduce four of them to you.

1. Victorian State Rose Garden

This is a little piece of heaven earth-side.  The garden beds are arranged in the shapes of rose petals and filled with roses from around the world.

Photographs do not do the Rose Garden justice.  The Rose Garden is open every day of the year to the public and entrance is free.

2. The Mansion

Here is a place you can spend a full day and not see everything there is to see.  Entrance to The Mansion property is FREE but if you would like to look inside the historical home there is a small fee.  Walking through these gardens is magnificent.  The trees are enormous and the grounds are beautifully kept. Continue round the back and you will walk into history.  The farming part of the mansion is still there to take a look at.  If you like art there is also a sculpture walk to enjoy.

3. Werribee Open Range Zoo

A visit to us is not complete without experiencing a little piece of Africa or the Werribee Open Range Zoo.  Paul works here and if you'd like to meet his serval be sure to attend a presentation (You can watch Paul introduce serval at a night zoo presentation on YouTube).  Depending on the time of year the zoo is open after dark (Night Zoo) and during summer for Rhythm of Africa.

 You can also meet many of the animals up close and personal.

4.Geelong

 Geelong is a beautiful waterfront city not far from our home.  There are a number of museums and areas to explore here.  Among them the Wool Museum which often has exhibitions on.

If you all looking for some family friendly things to do in Melbourne do not forget to check out this post: 10 Family Friendly Places to Experience in Melbourne Australia 

Blessings
Chareen