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Saturday 9 October 2021

Zoo Visits for Science

 Better late than never!  I'm so sorry this post is late.  Today we are on the final letter for this years Blogging Through The Alphabet!  Wow the letter Z.  My co-host Desiree is sharing the Z is for Zone!  

The topic today is Zoo Visits for Science!  A visit to the zoo is so good no matter what age you are.  I'm so grateful for zoo's around the world.  They contribute to so much of the knowledge that we have and allow us to experience different biomes and animals from across the globe.  They are places that protect and preserve life and contribute to the wellness of so many people through having access to being able to see and experience the beauty that is out there in our world. 

One of the mistakes we make is thinking we need to spend ALL day at the zoo.  Our local government zoo has a membership program making it much cheaper to be able to go to the zoo multiple times throughout the year.   By planning our day and choosing which animals we wanted to see that day made a HUGE difference to us enjoying the zoo together.  We would pack morning tea.  Take ourselves to the zoo and look at those sections we had chosen and come home.  Everyone enjoyed this approach so much more than long protracted days at the zoo.  

Wild Nights Zoo After Dark 2015


Keep an eye on your local zoo what's on page.  We discovered that our Zoo ran a week long night program in winter allowing us to see the zoo after dark.  We have such wonderful memories of toasting marshmallows, seeing possums up trees and meeting the serval. 

We attended this event for a few years,  you can see some of our adventures along with video's in these posts:

Taking our children both young and old to the zoo is a great way to incorporate hands on science with your children.  The interpretive signs at the zoo are full of scientific and geographic information.  You will cover subjects like history, geography, science, biology, maths and literacy. 
Members of the MSO tuning up and preparing for the conductor and performance.

We also covered music at Melbourne Zoo!  A few years ago they ran a program with white Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - Carnival of the Animals.  It was so much fun to see the animals, meet members of the orchestra and enjoy this particular event and meet Noni Hazelhurst.  It was a day full of culture at the Zoo!


Over the years as a family we have some of the most amazing adventures and builds some wonderful memories at the zoo. 


Different States in Australia have different rules about meeting Australian animals.  When we went to Queensland in 2012 we were blessed with being able to hold and meet koala.  It was a super special time for us all. 

Paul and Sir N released number four of the Bandicoots.

This is one of the most special memories I have of Paul and Nathaniel!  They released bandicoots into the new breeding area at Werribee Open Range Zoo.  This breeding program has become one of the success stories for Zoo's Victoria as Bandicoots are no longer endangered.


This post has come at the perfect time because this week Zoo's around the world celebrated International Zoo Keeper Day!  I'm so proud of all the wonderful work that Paul does at Werribee Open Range Zoo alongside his colleagues.  You can follow some of his adventures on Instagram @servalpaul or on Facebook at Serval Paul Photography. 

What is your favourite thing to do at the zoo?

Blessings

Chareen

Featured from last week the letter Y...

This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is Z is for Zone!

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter Z for this weeks ABC Blogging






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Thursday 30 September 2021

YouTube Homeschooling

Wow we're on the second last week of of Blogging Through the Alphabet 2021. This week we are talking all things Y. Today I want to share a few thoughts on teaching our children using YouTube. My co-host Deidre is sharing Y is for Yellow in her her Lego Alphabet Series.

When Nathaniel was younger we really loved learning online via YouTube.  There are some really AMAZING channels on there.  Today I want to share a few we've enjoyed.

The Engineer Guy is one of my favourite channels.  Bill Hammack explores the world of engineering.  You can find his website here: The Engineer Guy.

Here are a few of his YouTube video's that are my favourites:
I've enjoyed these:
If you're looking for a channel to challenge your thinking and expand your horizons I highly recommend Martyn Iles The Truth of It on YouTube.

Mark Rober is a former NASA and Apple Engineer and creates interesting things on YouTube.
We're fans of Myth Busters around here so this new channel was very welcome indeed.  Adam Savage hosts the Tested content platform.



Brave Wilderness is by Coyote Person, Mark Vins and Mario Aldecoa. they lead you on a variety of expeditions featuring everything from Grizzly Bears and Crocodiles to Rattlesnakes and Tiger Sharks! Every single episode offers an opportunity to learn something new. 

Want to learn to paint with acrylics?  Follow the Art Sherapa where you can take online beginners tutorials.


If you are interested in renewable energy then this documentary is thought provoking: Planet of the Humans directed by Jeff Gibbs.

Our introduction to science in motion was by this fun channel: The SlowMo Guys.  

What are some of your favourite channels on YouTube to compliment your homeschooling?

Blessings 

Chareen

Featured from last week the letter W...


This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is Y is for Yellow

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter Y for this weeks ABC Blogging




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Thursday 22 July 2021

Olympics 2021

Welcome to week 16 of  Blogging Through the Alphabet 2021. This week our letter of the alphabet is the letter O and I thought I'd share a couple of resources to get you looking at the Olympics as it commences tomorrow!  It's certainly going to be a different one this year and a year late to boot.  My co-host Desiree at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is O is for Olympics.

This year the summer Olympic Games are being hosted in Tokyo from the 23 July 2021 to the 8 August 2021.  The Paralympic Games are being hoted from the 24 August to the 5th of September.  I'm quite excited about these games as Australia has a homeschool student - Oceana Mackenzie who is competing in the new sport climbing division. We also have extended family - Kate French from the United Kingdom modern pentathlon team competing as well. Wow and as I was writing this it was announced that in 4021 days Brisbane Queensland will be hosting the 2032 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Creed

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well." Olympic Creed 

The Olympic Charter

"The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play." –Olympic Charter

Future Olympics


 Resources

What are some of YOUR best Olympic study/investigation resources?

Chareen

---oOo---

Find the other ABC posts in this series here:

  1. A is for Art Lessons at Home
  2. B is for Books Where do You Purchase Yours? 
  3. Charlotte Mason a Round Up of Posts 
  4. Delight Directed Education
  5. Encouragement for Weary Homeschooling Mothers
  6. For the Children's Sake  
  7. G is for Geography
  8. Homeschool Bloggers  
  9. Instagramers to follow who are homeschooling
  10. Joy in Your Homeschool Journey
  11. Know Yourself - Stop the Comparison Game  
  12. Life Skills in Your Homeschool
  13. Math Resource for Home Education
  14. Netflix in Your Homeschool
  15. Olympics 2021

Featured from last week the letter N...

This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is O is for Olympics. 

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter O for this weeks ABC Blogging

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Thursday 15 July 2021

Netflix in your Homeschool

 Welcome back to Blogging Through the Alphabet 2021.  This week we are looking at the letter N.  My co-host Desiree over at Our Homeschool Notebook is talking about N is for Ninjago.

Netflix is not the first thing you think about when considering resources for homeschooling.  However I can assure you that we have enjoyed many great docudrama's, true story movies and educational series on their service here in Australia. 

Educational Content on Netflix

Here are a few ideas to get you started. When doing a search use words like: documentary, history, science, math etc

 Please note that I have not watched all of these.  If they are on here it is not a personal endorsement of the show.  Please do your own research BEFORE you watch a show to see if it is suitable for the ages and maturity of your children. 

These are some of the titles I found that looked interesting from an educational point. IF a show has two ** asterisk before the title it indicates I have watched it and enjoyed it.

  • **Abstract - The Art of Design 
  • **The Social Delemma - a look at the dangers behind social networking and its impact on society.
  • Spycraft - The tools and technology throughout history for spying.
  • Paul Apostle of Christ - docudrama
  • **Meat Eater - Steve  
  • In the Heart of the Sea - The true tale that inspired the book Moby Dick follows a New England whaling crew as it wages a desperate battle to survive when a giant whale capsizes their ship. 
  • Troy - Greek Mythology

Nature

  • Our Planet - Take a look at different biomes such as: frozen worlds, jungles, coastal seas, from desserts to grasslands, fresh water etc.
  • Explained - This series investigates topics like cryptocurrencey, diamonds, animal intelligence, pirates, coding, why diets fail etc
  • Marked the Documentary - A look at the cultural practice of marking in Nigeria's culture. 
  • David Attenborough - a Life on our Planet
  • Night on Earth - a nature series lifting the veil on the lives of animals at hight.
  • **My Octopus Teacher - Follow the life of an Octopus.  

History

  • Roman Empire - A mix of documentary and lavish historical epic chronicals the reigns of Commodus, Julius Caesar and Caligula.
  • Genius of the Modern World  - Explore the intellectual landscape that helped shape the lives and work of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud.
  • World War II in Colour - Footage of the most dramatic moments from World War II restored in colour and high definition for the docuseries.
  • Race for the White House - a miniseries featuring archival footage and interviews of presidential campaignes.
  • America's Book of Secrets - A look behind the stories of familiar institutions like the Pentagon, West Point etc.
  • Age of Tanks - A look at military history.
  • Being Napoleon - A reenactment of the epic clash at the Battle of Waterloo.
  • The Russian Revolution - Starting in 1881 follow the personal battle between the royal Romanovs and the Lenin Family. 
  • Hitler's Circle of Evil - a look at Hitler's inner circle of Nazi leaders and how the seize control of Germany.
  • Apollo 11 - Behind the scenes of the 1969 moon landing.  Original footage.
  • Flags of our Fathers
  • Empire of the Tsars
  • Gallipoli - Follow four Australian men facing the reality of war in 1915 Turkey.
  • Gods and Generals - A retelling of the Civil War through the commanding generals on both sides from 1861 to 1863 
  • **12 Strong - a dozen US soldiers mount on horseback in Aftghanistan to help a local warlord take on a mutual enemy. 
  • Apollo 13 - The true story of Jim Lovell and his crew 

People

  • #AnneFrank - Parallel Stories Anne Frank's story is retold alongside those of five Holocaust survivors in the documentary with Helen Mirren. 
  • The Secret - 
  • **The Surgeon's Cut - an incredible journey through the lives of four brillian pioneers in their fields and how they got there. 
  • **Being Elmo - The journey of Kevin Clash to becomming Elmo!
  • **The Theory of Everything - A docudrama on the life of Stephen Hawking.
  • Gandhi - 
  • The Pursuit of Happyness
  • **The King's Speech - A docudrama on the life of King Feorge VI as he struggles to communicate and seeks help from a speech therapist.
  • **Just Mercy - The story of a lawyer who fought for wrongly convicted people to get them released pro bono.
  • **Mao's Last Dancer - the story of Li Cunxin
  • **Self Made - Inspired by the life of Madam CJ Walker
  • The English Game - the history of soccer in Brittain
  • The Royal House of Windsor -
  • **When They See Us - Five teens in Harlam accused of an attack 
  • **The Who Was Show? - Famous Names in History 
  • Unbroken - the story of Louis Zamperini during World War II struggle for survival in a Japanese prison camp. 
  • The Most Hated Woman in America - The controversial life of atheist Madaly Murray O'Hair

Science

  • Bill Nye: Science Guy 
  • Emily's Wonder Lab - science activities
  • Edge of the Universe - latest on the astromomy front
  • Brainchild  - from germs to social media explained
  • Human - The World Within - the incredible working of the human body

What are some of YOUR favourite educational shows on Netflix?

Chareen

---oOo---

Find the other ABC posts in this series here:

  1. A is for Art Lessons at Home
  2. B is for Books Where do You Purchase Yours? 
  3. Charlotte Mason a Round Up of Posts 
  4. Delight Directed Education
  5. Encouragement for Weary Homeschooling Mothers
  6. For the Children's Sake  
  7. G is for Geography
  8. Homeschool Bloggers  
  9. Instagramers to follow who are homeschooling
  10. Joy in Your Homeschool Journey
  11. Know Yourself - Stop the Comparison Game  
  12. Life Skills in Your Homeschool
  13. Math Resource for Home Education
  14. Netflix in Your Homeschool

Featured from last week the letter M...

This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is N is for Ninjago. 

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter M for this weeks ABC Blogging

...
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Thursday 1 July 2021

Math Resources for Home Education

Welcome to week 14 of  Blogging through the Alphabet 2021!I have had such a great week.  On Sunday Paul, Nathaniel and I had our  🇦🇺 Australian Citizenship conferred on us. Paul wrote a heartfelt poem about it that I shared on the blog on Monday. Today has been full as I've attended a Universtity Open Day as I'm trying to decide which degree to pursue.  

This week I am excited to share a little about Math Resources available for home educators and my co-host Desiree is sharing M is for Mindstorms.


I am always surprised by how the subject of math fills each of us with dread or fear and I often wondered why.  I don't struggle with math however I do have those anxious feelings whenever I think about math.  Over the years I've been curious about Math and teaching math and have done a little research.  

For me one of the defining moments of understanding teaching math came after I read the article History and Research on the Teaching of Math I highly recommend you read this article before you make a decision on your math curriculum.

Some interesting points I've discovered on the subject of teaching/learning math...

  • . . . early childhood may simply be an inefficient period in which to try to teach skills that can be relatively quickly learned in adolescence.  (Prime Time for Education: Early Childhood or Adolescence ? by W.D.Rohwer, Jr)
  • Mathematics in every form is a subject ill-fitted to the child mind. It deals not with real things, but with abstractions. When referred to concrete objects, it concerns not the objects themselves, but their relations to each other. It involves comparison, analysis, abstraction . . . (Cyclopedia of Education p.208 William H Burnham)
  • . . . successful school achievement in areas requiring use of concepts - such as numbers, classes, and spatial and causal relationships - correlated highly with mental age. Developing these concepts was especially associated with success in arithmetic, problem solving, and spelling. (Feyberg)
Over the years I've shared multiple thoughts on teaching/learning math, you can read more in depth about it here...

Scope and Sequence
When looking at changing math programs remember to take  scope and sequence into account.

  • Scope refers to the content.  In other words these are the topics covered (A to Z)
  • Sequence is the order in which the scope is taught (IE the order in which things are covered within the program)
It is important to know this about your math product or you might end up redoing math your child is already familiar with or you might end up skipping a whole lot of important content that your child needs in order to succeed at math.

Programs I've reviewed

I asked a few homeschool groups online to find out what my friends are using to teach Math and these are the ones they listed: 

Math Programs

 Pinterest

TED talks on math
I have enjoyed TED talks on the subject of math. They have helped me think through my preconceived ideas on teaching and learning math.

What are you using to teach math in your homeschool?

Blessings 

Chareen

Find the other ABC posts in this series here:

  1. A is for Art Lessons at Home
  2. B is for Books Where do You Purchase Yours? 
  3. Charlotte Mason a Round Up of Posts 
  4. Delight Directed Education
  5. Encouragement for Weary Homeschooling Mothers
  6. For the Children's Sake  
  7. G is for Geography
  8. Homeschool Bloggers  
  9. Instagramers to follow who are homeschooling
  10. Joy in Your Homeschool Journey
  11. Know Yourself - Stop the Comparison Game  
  12. Life Skills in Your Homeschool
  13. Math Resource for Home Education

Featured from Week 10 all things 'K'

 This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is M is for Mindstorms. 

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter M for this weeks ABC Blogging

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Thursday 10 June 2021

Joy in Your Homeschool Journey

I can't believe it's week 11 of Blogging through the Alphabet 2021! Thank you to everyone who has been joining int the fun each week.  This week we are looking at the letter J and how to find Joy in your Homeschool Journey. My co-host Desiree will be blogging about J is for Jurassic in her alphabet lego series.

I had been homeschooling for around two years and was feeling like I was living in survival mode and begining to loose my joy in homeschooling.  I had taken on far too many expectations from others upon myself and had lost sight of the road.   

The year 2000 saw me introduced me to the wonderful Waring Family who were touring New Zealand sharing Beyond Survival with us.  Oh I am so glad I attended this home school seminar.  Diana is an enthusiastic encourager and her family were an inspiration and encouragement to keep schooling through the high school years. Diana's passion and Bills gentle encouragement recharged my batteries.



It was Diana who inspired me to get Beyond Survival in my homeschooling and enjoy the abundance the lifestyle has to offer.  At this conference I learned about learning and teaching styles and the impact this has on our school at home how it causes a lot of frustration both for the teacher and student and it did not have to.  

Arm yourself with this treasure from Diana and discover some excellent tools for your homeschool today. This book is available from: The Book Depository and Amazon.

I discovered that Diana has uploaded an encourageing clip on YouTube called Getting Beyond Survival in Homeschooling, here it is for you to enjoy


About the Author

Diana Waring is the author of Beyond Survival, Reaping the Harvest and Diana Waring’s History Revealed world history curriculum. You can find out more about this at Diana Waring Education that's Relational.

She discovered years ago that “the key to education is relationship.” Beginning in the early ’80s, Diana homeschooled her children through high-school—the real life opportunities to learn how kids learn. Mentored by educators whose focus was honoring Him who created all learners, and with an international background (born in Germany, university degree in French, lifelong student of world history),

Diana cares about how people learn as well as what they learn. Audiences on four continents have enthusiastically received her energetic speaking style.

For those of you who would like to know more about Diana you can read a full author interview over at  Ben and Me. 

Connect with Diana on Social Media

What are your recommendations for finding JOY in your Homeschool?

Blessings 

Chareen

Find the other ABC posts in this series here:

  1. A is for Art Lessons at Home
  2. B is for Books Where do You Purchase Yours? 
  3. Charlotte Mason a Round Up of Posts 
  4. Delight Directed Education
  5. Encouragement for Weary Homeschooling Mothers
  6. For the Children's Sake  
  7. G is for Geography
  8. Homeschool Bloggers  
  9. Instagramers to follow who are homeschooling
  10.  

Featured from Week 9 all things 'I'

 This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is J is for Jurassic . 

 

Please link up your posts starting with the letter J for this weeks ABC Blogging.

 

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Thursday 3 June 2021

Instagramers to follow who are Home Educating

 

 Welcome to week ten of Blogging through the Alphabet 2021. This week we are looking at the letter I and my co-host Desiree will be blogging about I is for Iron Man in her alphabet lego series.

Today I would like to share a list of homeschool bloggers to follow on Instagram.  (The original list that I've expanded upon is shared with permission from Erin at Seven Little Australians) 

Instagram is one of my favourite platforms for it's ease of use and the sense of community is really really encouraging. 

Instagram first launched 6 October 2010 and is a phone only app which is available on both Android and Apple products.

You can find me there under the user name @chareenr and @macro_passion. When I first started using instagram I recorded our daily life as a way of tracking what and where we went.  Over the years it's been a multitude of things.  These days I record special moments and the books we are enjoying for high school.

If you are looking for photo's of wildlife or the occasional story from a zoo keeper then pop on over to my husbands instagram @servalpaul.  He loves hand feeding some beautiful little birds and you can see some slow motion feedings under the hashtag #paulswrens


Hashtags are a fabulous way of sifting through the content or discovering content to save or new people to follow.

For homeschoolers try: #charlottemason #homeschoolhighschool  #readaloudrevival #sonlight #homeschool #homeschoolLife #homeschoolingfun #homeschoolmom #homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolblogger #homeschoolingfamily #homeschoolfriends

A great way to discover new accounts is to join a follow loop.  You can also look through the list of whom I'm following here.

American Homeschoolers on Instagram

Canadian Homeschoolers on Instagram

Australian Homeschoolers on Instagram

Australia Somewhere

ACT

Distance Ed

Northern Territory

Queensland

  Who are your favourite Homeschoolers on Instagram?

Blessings 

Chareen

Find the other ABC posts in this series here:

  1. A is for Art Lessons at Home
  2. B is for Books Where do You Purchase Yours? 
  3. Charlotte Mason a Round Up of Posts 
  4. Delight Directed Education
  5. Encouragement for Weary Homeschooling Mothers
  6. For the Children's Sake  
  7. G is for Geography
  8. Homeschool Bloggers 

Featured from Week 4 all things 'H'

 This Week over at Our Homeschool Notebook the topic is I is for Iron Man. 



 


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