HSMJ - Of Pirates and Christmas Treasure

In my life this week…

 Wow it's been a whirl wind two weeks in my world.  We had the most wonderful week with Paul's sister and her husband visiting us for five days.  On one of the days we took the day off and went to Heallesville Sanctuary.  It was neat enjoying the great outdoors.
I also fell off the radar as as I have been familiarizing myself with TOS crew protocol and getting to know my crew mates for this year.

Sunset at Werribee Open Range Zoo last night

In our home school this week…

• Our tickets arrived for the stage production Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  So looking forward to this in the new year.
• We attended a few cultural things this week.
• We did a Pinterest inspired craft - Printable Nativity for kids DIY  (our take to be posted on Sunday)
• Continued reading Jotham's Journey
• Made a Christmas tree for Miss J who is flatting and doesn't have one.
• We went to Melbourne city and explored the Christmas decorations.
• Spent a delightful afternoon exploring the Melbourne Museum.
• Went to Werribee Open Range Zoo for a special presentation.  More on this in January ...

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

• Five in a Row just launched their new website.
  If you subscribe to their blog feeds thru email, they are giving away ALL of their Fold N Learn lapbooks.
  There are 46 total Fold N Learns for holidays, volumes 1-4, and Before.
• I discovered A Thomas Jefferson Education this week and have had a delightful time poking around their website and blog.  A couple of wonderful posts to keep you encouraged and well resourced are
  What's Math Got to do with it ?
  Living Math - By Jimmie Excellent resources and encouragement from a Charlotte Mason perspective.
  
  
  Math Classics for Kids
  Classics for Young Readers
  Classics for Young Children and Family Reading
• The Schoolhouse Review crew is hosting a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway!

I am inspired by…

• I feel so blessed and encouraged after reading Renata's post on Why ? in the wake of the Sandy Hook Tragedy last week.
• The gift of artistic creativity that the Lord has placed in so many people.

• The hearts of those who are making an effort to help the Sandy Hook Students when they return to school in January.  The PTSA have decided they would like to give the new building a make over and create a Winter Wonderland with Snowflakes. Head on over to Angels of Heart to read more about it and how you can make and send snowflakes to help with this project.
•  All Things Beautiful is hosting a Snowflakes for Newton Link up for the next month.

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

• We went to an end of year ballet production with the T Family
• On Sunday evening Paul joined us and we went to watch Pirates: The Search for Christmas Treasure.
  .

• On Tuesday we went to Melbourne city to look at the Myer Christmas windows and explore the wonders of the Melbourne Museum.
• Wednesday we had three families come over to watch the DVD of Pirates: The Search for Christmas Treasure followed by a trip to find some Christmas lights.
• Thursday we spent an evening at Werribee Open Range Zoo
• Friday we had some friends over for a play date while their Mom went to the Dr

My favorite thing this week was…

• I had a few but my all time favourite thing was watching Pirates: The search for Christmas Treasure stage production with Sir N and Paul over at Southwest Christian Church.

What’s working/not working for us…

• Losing my photo's from the last six months due to not backing up my hard drive since before we went to South Africa.  Sigh     tears......

Questions/thoughts I have…

• What software do you use to back up your PC ?

Things I’m working on…

• Learning about my new position on the Schoolhouse Review crew and getting to know my crew mates
• Organizing Christmas lunch which I am hosting this year.
• Searching eBay for a new lens for my D-SLR camera. I read about a lens that is 18-135mm. My current everyday lens is 18-55mm and could really use the extra 80 mm....
• Catching up on my blog. 

On My Bedside Table ...

•  Still plugging my way through Teaching the Trivium (although I have not read any of it this week due to too many interesting things on the Internet!

In Bloggy world I’m reading…

•  I'm listening to some excellent videos over at A Thomas Jefferson Education.
• Back to School Shopping over at TJE.  Interesting insights.
• RSA Animate: The Truth About Dishonesty.
• A Dickens of a Christmas over at Moments with Mother Culture
• Lieterary Archaeology over at Under the Sky

I’m cooking…

•  Nothing new..

On Pinterest I found...

• Homeschool - A Thomas Jefferson Education.

I’m grateful for…

•  My children who are safely with me. 

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

This is an edited version of a 55 min lecture.  The full YouTube clip is available at RSA Sir Ken Robinson. There is also a PDF version of this graphic available over at Cognitive Media.
Blessings

This post is linking to:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers - Weekly Wrap Up
iHomeschool - Homeschool Mothers Journal
Hammock Tracks - It's a Wrap
Homegrown Learners - Collage Friday

Photo collages made with: Photoscape a FREE photo editor

Christmas in Melbourne {2/2}

After a delightful morning of exploring inner city Melbourne we decided to take a walk up to Melbourne Museum for a picnic lunch and explore.

The gardens and beautiful Royal Exhibition Building

 After a peaceful picnic lunch in the gardens we decided to explore two of the newest displays in Melbourne Museum

Even the Dinosaurs had joined in Christmas this year!

Dinosaur Walk

The children enjoyed seeing the huge dinosaur skeletons and touching all the hands on displays and always a winner with the children are the computer animations explaining different aspects of dinosaur life. The museum has Educational resources available, a Virtual Exhibition as well as Prehistoric fun activities for children.

600 Million Years Victoria Evolves **

Next we explored a new division recently opened in the science and life gallery.  The amount of things to see in this gallery is a little overwhelming and you could take a full morning here to read and explore.  I was not prepared for what we saw and had not prepared Sir N who encountered the 100's of millions of years put forth as fact!  Needless to say we are having a few discussions about time and evolution.
You can take a virtual tour, enjoy some Fossil Fun activities, access educational resources or watch some video's.
** As a family we believe in Creation and young earth.
 
Dynamic Earth

Our next point of call and revisit was to Dynamic earth.  We briefly explored this exhibit in October and it made such an impact on the children they begged to see it again.

I stand in awe of our creator God who made all these beautiful things.  The images here do not do justice to the things we saw and experienced.

The website has a comprehensive overview of what you can see here as well as a library of video's,  Earth fun for children and Educational resources.

Christmas Blessings

It was a wonderful experience enjoying the outdoors, Christmas delights and earth science explorations for us.  It's days such as these that make homeschooling a delightful past time.

Which museums do you enjoy visiting with your children ?

Blessings




This post is linking with: Look What We Did
Photo collages made with: Photoscape a FREE photo editor

Christmas in Melbourne {1/2}

We spent the most delightful day in Melbourne yesterday. In light of the fact that my PC took a turn for the worst and died two weeks ago I have decided to be more dedicated in recording our trips on my blog, as those are the only photo's I have left.  The moral of this sad story is back up! back up! and back up your photographs! Enough said and onto the wonderful day we had.

Each year for the past 57 years our Meyer store has decorated their store windows for Christmas.  This tradition inspired us to join the T family for a trip into town today to see the new windows.

This year I also decided to make more use of the community and grow a 'science of relations' as Charlotte Mason puts it.  Our morning started early with a trip trip into Melbourne central with a short walk to Meyer. This years theme is on the book: Russell's Christmas Magic by Rob Scotton.

Click on any of the collages to view full screen in light box.

Meyer Christmas Window

After exploring and enjoying the widows we took the lift upstairs in hopes of going for a ride on the Meyer Christmas train.  Unfortunately two of the children had grown to tall for this experience and after a deep sense of disappointment we went looking for the miniature railway display.

Meyer miniature railway

After a look at all the miniature things the children asked to see 'Santa'.  What a lovely experience we had with Rudolf sleeping in front of the fire.

A chat with Santa at Meyer Store

By now we were all thirsty and took a walk up to Melbourne Square and listened to some carols being played by the Salvation Army on the way.

Just before the square we discovered the Gingerbread Village by Epicure, to raise funds for the Children's Hospital. (You can view the Gingerbread Village at the City Gallery 90 Swanston Street, Melbourne.)

Next stop was Melbourne City Square for a picnic morning tea, a talk to the elves, a nativity story and a maize to find the reindeer.

It was a marvelous morning and it was so delightful seeing Miss L, Master G and Sir delighting in the things of childhood and creating some memories along the way.

From here we made our way to Melbourne Museum for a picnic lunch and explore but more of that tomorrow.

What have you done to enjoy your precious family this festive season ?

Blessings

..




This post is linking with: Look What We Did

Photo collages made with: Photoscape a FREE photo editor

TT - Silent Grief

This week ...

 Silent Grief

Clara Hinton

• Format:Paperback,
• Number of Pages:176 pages
• Vendor:  New Leaf Press
• Publication Date: 1998
• ISBN: 089221371X
• Author Clara Hinton

In the wake of this past weeks tragedy I decided to share this treasure from my bookshelf.  Around four years ago when I was struggling to come to terms with the loss of my baby in miscarriage I went looking for support over at Focus on the Family where I discovered this gem.

Clara gave me permission to grieve for my baby deeply and let me know it was OK to talk about the loss of my child.  She made no bones about the depth of the pain nor the road you need to walk and most of all she helped me understand the depth of grief a parent feels at the loss of their child.  Children are supposed to out live us not die!

Clara speaks from personal experience and the experience of one supporting those on the same journey of losing a child. This little book finally helped me cope with the feelings of loss I felt when my niece died before her first birthday.

If you are experiencing the grief of child loss or are supporting a friend who has lost a child I highly recommend this book to give you tools to support and encourage others on this journey.

 You can find online support at

• Silent Grief,  
• Silent Grief forums Child Loss Support
• Silent Grief - Child Loss Support Facebook
• In loving Memory of the Sandy Hook Victims Facebook

Blessings

In loving Memory of the Sandy Hook Victims

...

 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. 

12 Days of Christmas Giveaways

A heads up for my American followers head on down to Schoolhouse Review Crew where blessings are currently multiplying. Each day is a different giveaway and you are invited to join in the fun.

Blessings

Silence For Sandy Hook Elementary

"... Weep with those who weep." -

Romans 12:15b

source

Source

Celebrating 11 000 pins ...

Hello

Today I'm celebrating reaching the milestone of 11 000 pins on Pinterest!

At present there are 178 boards for you to browse and pin from.

Are you on Pinterest ?  Leave your link in the comments so I can meet you and pin :)

Blessings

TT - An Angel's Story

This week ...

An Angel's Story 

Max Lucado

Max Lucado

• Format: Hardback
• Number of Pages:96 pages
• Vendor:  Publishers Thomas Nelson
• Publication Date: 2004
• ISBN: 9781418512712
• Author Max Lucado
• Illustrator: Greg Dearth 

It's been a while since I've posted to my Tuesday's Treasures collection and since it's December I thought I would share this one with you by Max Lucado.  I really enjoy Max's encouraging books and I am always attracted to books with beautiful illustrations.  I have adopted a friends habit of buying one beautiful book about Christmas a year and adding them to my collection.

This is the one from a few years ago. I agree with Max sometimes we loose focus at this time and do not see that this is a war.  It's a war (Ephesians 6:12) for the very soul of man and Jesus won the war when He stepped down to earth.  This is a story of imagination and many parts are true. Through the story we can focus on the One who made us, His greatness, His plan, His mercy and most of all His TRUTH.  It is truth that sets us free (John 8:32)


You can read an excerpt from the book over at Max Lucado's website along with why he wrote An Angel's Story formally published under the title A Cosmic Christmas. "Christmas is full of cozy thoughts: a sleeping Jesus, wide-eyed shepherds, a soft-faced Mary. The nativity sentiment is warm, the emotion is joy, and the feeling is peace. Such is the picture in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In John’s Book of Revelation, however, he offers another perspective. From his perspective, the birth of Jesus stirs more than excitement; it stirs evil. - Max Lucado"

Book Depository description: "author Max Lucado imagines the spiritual conflict that surrounded the coming of Christ. Surely there was much. If Satan could pre-empt Christ in the cradle, there'd be no Christ on the cross. Journey back in time to the very throne of God;and witness firsthand the glory, the wonder, and the battle that took place on the very first Christmas."


Available from
Non-Affiliate Links: Koorong, Christian Book, Kindle, Amazon, Book Depository,
Affiliate Links: Book Depository, Christian Book , Amazon,

Blessings

 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. 

TOSR - Schoolhouse Teachers.com

Did you know that The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has a members only area called Schoolhouse Teachers.com ? I didn't either until this week when I was given my first review assignment on The Old School House review crew for 2013.

TOS magazine is open access, which means it is available for free to everyone through a FREE app on your Apple, Kindle , Android device or PC.

I've spent a delightful evening exploring the website and seeing just what is available to you when you subscribe to Schoolhouse Teachers.com.  I am impressed with the simplicity of the layout and ease of site navigation.  You don't need a degree to find your way around. The tabs at the top are arranged for ease of access.  You can search for information by specific grade ( Pre K - Elementary, Middle School, High School), Family, Dailies, Extras, Samples, Library or meet the teachers creating the content. Each tab has a drop down menu with subject specific links. 

The Cost**

• For a limited time you can trial Schoolhouse Teachers for the first month for $1. 
• After your trial you have the option of a monthly subscription of  $5.95 (via Pay Pal) or you can purchase a one year discounted membership for $64.26
• Non obligation cancellations are available at anytime.
• Are you a HSLDA member ? You can receive a 1 year subscription for FREE.
• FREE 1 Year membership (NEW) for Active, Retired and Reserve United States Armed Forces (Offer expires 31 December 2012) 

** All prices quoted are subject to change without notice and are stated in US $
 
What do you get with your membership ?

1. Member only access to lesson materials in all subjects listed below
2. A new daily activity each morning covering over 13 subject areas.
3. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine delivered straight to your inbox.
4. All The Old Schoolhouse Magazine digital back issues
5. Download all five Schoolhouse Planners
6. All TOS E Books, unit studies during your 12 month membership.
7. All available TOS Expo-To-Go recorded sessions and future sessions for the duration of your membership.
8. New teachers and subjects as they are added. 

Subjects (Sample pages)
Click on any of these links to meet the teacher, read a course overview and upcoming lessons. Each page has a key (PK, K, E, M, HS) in the top right hand corner corresponding with which school levels are covered. 

1. Asia - Bonnie Rose Hudson
2. Career Exploration - Carol Topp
3. Chemistry - Joey Hajda
4. Classical History - Jennifer Courtney
5. Classics-Based Writing - Janice Campbell
6. Economics - Mark Sims
7. Elementary Literature Kits - Lisa Duffy
8. Figures in History - Cathy Diez-Luckie
9. French - Greg Shone
10. Film-making - George Escobar
11. Geography - Terri Johnson
12. Beginning Guitar - Jerry Jennings
13. History - Diana Waring
14. Home Economics - Malia Russell
15. Lapbooking - Kimm Bellotto
16. Literature - Adam Andrews
17. Logic - Lisa Duffy
18. Elementary Math - Dr. Peter Price
19. High School Math - David Chandler
20. Media Socialization - Dr. Lisa Dunne
21. Mock Trial - Deborah Burton
22. Monthly Reading List* - Michelle Miller
23. Music - Voice* - Joy Sikorski
24. Reading Lessons - Matthew Glavach
25. Special Needs / Struggling Learners - Judi Munday
26. Worldviews - Dr Alex McFarland
27. Writing - Kim Kautzer
28. Weekly Science Experiments by "Mr Science" - Jason Lindsey

*Members only content.

Are you looking for a daily drill to compliment your home school ? Add these Schoolhouse Dailies to your regular curriculum or mix and match to suit your need. Under this tab you will find a full list of daily lessons available to you

• Everyday Games
• Everyday Astronomy
• Copy work
• Explorers (USA, Canada, Australia/New Zealand)
• Schoolhouse Spelling (Pre-K/K, lower elementary, and upper elementary.,grade levels 6th through 8th & high school)
• Writing prompts
• Everyday Easels
• Math
• Shakespeare
• Pre-K
• This Day in History
• This months Menu

Extra's available to Members

• Any and ALL The Old Schoolhouse Magazines dating back to 2007
• A monthly FREE TOS E-Book
• Webinaar recordings
• All five Schoolhouse Planners (US$125 value)
• Something NEW each week.
• If you monetise your site there is an affiliate program available

Samples
Here you can find  pdf lessons to sample in the following subject areas

• Schoolhouse Expo 
• Writing Lesson
• High School Math lesson
• Figures in History lesson
• Music Lesson
• Daily Unit Study
• Everyday Explorers history lesson
• Summer Shakespeare lesson
• Extras
• Planners

My Opinion

• I am impressed with the quality and range of materials available. Coming from Australia you don't often see subject specific areas for our area on US based websites.  I was pleased to find specific areas just for us.
• The lessons are concise and easy to access.
• The lessons I chose to use were short enough to fit in with my current 15 minute lesson plan as I am trying to follow a Charlotte Mason approach this year.
• I am looking forward to using some of the archived lessons as we start up our new year after Christmas.
• If a teacher recommended a web resource it was linked and I did not need to go looking for it.
• Each lesson had a PDF file for me to download.
• We had a play around the Weekly Science experiment area where we enjoyed one minute science lesson YouTube lessons. (Hooked On Science) Sir N loved watching the clips and the pdf's had an excellent step by step and concise explanation explaining the science behind the experiment.  I was impressed with how the clips were related to everyday life.
• The library of lessons is well laid out and I am impressed that nearly ALL the lessons since the sites debut in March are archived in the library area.
• It contains daily, weekly and monthly lessons and plans, which are all in one place making it so much easier to access and less time is spent on the net sourcing information.
• Teachers gave multiple resources so I was not locked into one specific book which I 'had' to buy in order to follow the program.  For example in the classical history Jennifer used four different books (Classical Conversations, Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, Streams of Civilization and Victory Journey Through the Bible) in which she also referenced page numbers. 

What others are saying on the www

• Cynce's Place by Cynthia Albright.
• At Home and School by Susan Raber
•  2013 The Oldschool House Review Crew
• What is Schoolhouse Teachers.com by Marcy over at The Oldschool House Review.
• 105 different reviews by the 2012 TOS crew.
• Home Sweet Life by Carol.
• Bow of Bronze by Amy

I was pleasantly surprised to find this membership site for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and even more impressed with the access to some very well known names in home school circles.

Blessings


This post is part of and linking with the Schoolhouse Review so don't forget to pop on over and read what others are saying about Schoolhouse Teachers.com.
 This post contains NO affiliate links.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

HSMJ - New TOS member

In my life this week…

I was invited to join The Old Schoolhouse review crew for 2013.   

We also found out that my sister in law from South Africa and her husband are coming for a flying visit next week. I'm so excited as this is the first time in 16 years they have been able to come!
I spent a good deal of time deleting 90 spam comments!  So annoying.
Sadly my documents drive on my pc died yesterday.  An even sadder fact is that I have not backed it up for the last six months so might have lost all my photo's for that time period.  Please pray that we are able to rescue my pictures.

 In our homeschool this week…

• I have been reading Jotham's Journey to Sir N and he is really enjoying it. We are reading a couple of extra chapters each week because don't have a full five weeks to read.
• Looking for Advent printables among my Pinterest pins.
• 
  

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

• There are two great resources currently being offered for free. The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History and Adventures in Art.  See my post on Saturday for details on obtaining these two books.

I am inspired by…

• How much support and encouragement we receive being on the TOS crew.  I am amazed at just how much work the crew leaders put into each day.

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

• On Monday we caught up with the T Family
• Tuesday we visited Granny J and went to Kelly Sports
• Wednesday we joined the family in helping Granny put up Christmas.
• Thursday C came for a play date, and the W Family came over to make a 21st birthday cake.
• Today we are going to the Victoria State Rose garden for a picnic and tonight we are hosting an annual homeschool family pot luck dinner, carol singing Christmas light looking (or as Sir N puts it hunting for Christmas lights) evening.

My favorite thing this week was…

• Receiving an invitation from Kate to join The Old Schoolhouse Review crew for 2013. Super excited to be on crew with Deborah from The Paper Maid and Renata from Sunnside Farm Fun

What’s working/not working for us…

• The fact that my pc died yesterday.  I am amazed at how much I use it !

Questions/thoughts I have…

• Are any of you on TOS crew ?  Or have any of you ever been on crew in the past ?

Things I’m working on…

• My very first The Old School House Review.

On My Bedside Table ...

•  Teaching the Trivium.  Really enjoying this but I do confess I am chewing my way through it  it is not an easy read at all.

In Bloggy world I’m reading…

• The grateful Christmas Project over at A Holy Experience.
• Homeschooling What does it look like ? (A photo story) over at Little Men in My Library.
• High School Maths over at Fisher Academy International.  This is part of a Homeschool High School Carnival. 
• Gross Out your Kids over at Always Learning.

I’m cooking…

•  Nothing too exciting as we are still on holiday recovery mode and I have not done the shopping yet.

On Pinterest I found...

• This week not very many new pins.  I have not managed to get onto my boards much. Hoping to remedy that tomorrow.

I’m grateful for…

•  My brother who is able to help me with any technical difficulties with my PC

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
"A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them with books, if he has the means to buy them. It is a wrong to his family. Children learn to read by being in the presence of books. The love of knowledge comes with reading and grows upon it. And the love of knowledge, in a young mind, is almost a warrant against the inferior excitement of passions and vices." ~Horace Mann

Blessings

This post is linking to:

Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers - Weekly Wrap Up
iHomeschool - Homeschool Mothers Journal
Hammock Tracks - It's a Wrap

Schoolhouse Review Crew Member

In October I shared with you that applications were open for the Schoolhouse Review Crew for 2013.

Over the weekend I received an invitation to be a part of the crew!  My first review is due next week so keep watching this space :)

For the 2013 year there are 250 of us on crew so there will be plenty of reviews and encouragement to go around.

Blessings


PS So far I have found out that there are three of us from Australia on Crew for the 2013 cruise.