HSMJ - Gifts to give to YOU !

In my life this week…

I am so excited! It's my blogs birthday and I have some gifts to give You! So pop over to the post leave a comment, follow me or blog about it.  Then don't forget to add your entry to the rafflecopter to go in the draw.

The giveaway is open world wide.

I have really enjoyed my home school days with Sir N this week.  Something seems to have clicked and the two of us have been working well together.

In our homeschool this week…

• We have continued learning about plants and their anatomy.
• Finished reading Dr Doolittle.
• We started with South Africa in our Expedition Earth studies.  We coloured in the flag and started reading Letters from around the world: South Africa and the abridged version of Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela.
• In light of the fact that next month marks the begining of the 30th modern Olympics I managed to get some books from the library which we started reading.  So far I have been impressed with The Story of the Olympics  (Serries Usborne Young Reading) by Minna Lacey.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

• Over at The Quotidian Reader I read Thoughts on "Less is More" Homeschooling.  I feel refreshed and encouraged and equiped to reevaluate our homeschool choices.
• I found this post after reading the above one:  Ten ways to simplify homeschooling.  Love reading this list but will say on the outset I do not entirely agree with every point.  I am listing it here because there are some excellent gems among it.
• 2nd Grade Homeschool for FREE (or nearly Free) over at Teaching My 3.  Great list of resources.
• 1st Grade Homeschool for FREE over at Teaching my 3. This page contains loads of links for teaching first grade.
• Life Skills Ages 2-18 over at Busy Kids = Happy Mom
• Encourage a Beginner Reader - Sight Word Chart for the Home over at Busy Kids = Happy Mom

I am inspired by…

• All the wonderful mom's who share and encourage one another in the blog world.

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

• This week we have tried to stay home and not flit about the country side as much.  I must say I am feeling more rested and so is Sir N.
• We visited Mrs T and had loads of encouragement.  She shared a new book on Character with me which I am keen to purchase and use.  It's called:  Get Wisdom!
• We went to Werribee Open Range Zoo one evening to watch the staff prepare for the upcoming Wild Nights which starts on June 30th.  We even partook in a news paper photo shoot.  So we are waiting to see if Sir N will feature in the news paper on Sunday. We went last year and had a blast so we are looking forward to going again this year.  I highly recommend it.
• Today we went to see Ice Age 4.  Was not overly impressed with it but Sir N enjoyed it emensly.

My favorite thing this week was…

• Having a cup of tea with a friend.  We have been trying to catch up for the last six months but something always seems to happen and put a spanner in the works. 

What’s working/not working for us…

• Finally getting to the library and taking out some books to help us learn about South Africa and the up comming Olympics.

Questions/thoughts I have…

• What are you using to study the Olympics with your children ?
• Can you recommend any notebooking resources ?
• Which books have you enjoyed ?  I am looking for books for a seven year old.

Things I’m working on…

• A unit study on the modern Olympics
• A unit study on South Africa

I’m reading…

• Why you should not put an SD card in your Canon 5D Mark III (if you shoot to both CF and SD and care about speed) by Jeff Cable.  He is a photographer who will be working at the Olympics this summer in England.
• The Consequence Planner - The Danger of Raising Nice Kids by Timothy Smith over at Busy Kids = Happy Mom.
• Countdown to Independence for Kids over at Busy Kids = Happy Mom.
• Kiwi Crate Blog having a look at their Two Ingredient Tuesdays posts.  Great idea to use two items to have some fun with your children. 
• Birthday Traditions Roud-up over at Kiwi Crate Blog.

I’m cooking…

•  Babootie a traditional South African dish.

On Pinterest I found...

• I have been looking for things to study Character with Sir N. 
• 15+ Pinterest Boards Teachers Should Be Following This is a blog post listing 15 great pinners to be following.
• B. Barrett her boards are comprehensive and easy to look through.

I’m grateful for…

•  The homeschool mums who have donated electronic product for my blog birthday give away.

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

Source:  Facebook: AussieHomeschool

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.