Moments with the girls......

Natalie finally lost her first wobbly teeth - two at once during tap class - it was a mix of trauma (with some blood) and excitement.

Natalie and I recently found a forest of toadstools in our backyard - quite surprising as our backyard is not the most shaded and sheltered place.  They were quite delicate and beautiful.

Erin working through her John Lennon glasses!

About a week ago we had a thunderstorm and we all were sitting on the upstairs balcony watching the lightening.  Rory was reminiscing about when they were young, and how as soon as it started to rain the boys would set up camp on the balcony to sleep the night outside.

This must have inspired the girls - they have been sleeping on the balcony for all week now!  But, it must be said, in "glamping" mode, not in "boy" mode - which is just to dump a blanket and sleeping bag onto the concrete!

 Erin practising her skills!

Inspired by the monthly free Coles magazine, the girls decorated these biscuits.  It was actually lots of fun (and easy) - decorated digestive biscuits.

Leave a Comment Erin, homeschooling, Natalie

The Murray River

During our recent trip to Victoria and back we (obviously) crossed the Murray River - the border between NSW and Victoria.  By chance yesterday at the library I found a book tracing the course of the river from the snow to the sea. 

Today I read the book to the kids over lunch.  It was great as the girls had first hand experience of what the book was talking about - the moment of crossing the border, the Tom Groggin camping ground, the Man From Snowy River, trout, bogong moths, etc.

This all lead to lots of googling about Australia's megafauna.

Leave a Comment Charlie, Erin, homeschooling, Natalie

Books we have read - Term 4

We read this book in preparation for our trip to Japan - a beautiful, sad yet inspiring story.  But it was a little too sad for Erin, so I didn't continue it with the girls.

We read a few things about Helen Keller in term 4 - I have been wanting to "do her" for a while.   This particular book I borrowed off a friend and it was a lovely story to read - good size chapters for a morning reading session and just the right amount of information for the girls to digest.  They did find it a bit sad reading about her, and at times Natalie didn't want to continue, but by the end I think they were quite impressed and inspired.

This, and its sequel, were bedtime reading last term and the girls really enjoyed both books (by the end I was ready to stop though).  I must say though, Enid Blyton does do animal stories well and things always work out well - so it's perfect to go to sleep on!

This is a book I had as a child and remember rereading quite a few times.  I have wanted to share it with the girls for a while; we didn't get it finished last term, but will during the holidays.  Erin seems to enjoy them, Natalie not so much.

Leave a Comment books, Erin, homeschooling, HSIE, Natalie

Shakespeare

Last term Charlie did Shakespeare study with some other homeschoolers - they studied Romeo and Juliet.  They had fun looking at Shakespeare insults and reformatted the play (with a Hogwarts theme) as well as making various props (ie swords!).

We also went to a Romeo and Juliet performance at the Opera House put on by the Bell Shakespeare Company which was very well done I thought (those actors have soooooo much energy!)

Later in the term we went to a performance of The Comedy of Errors which was put on by the Pop Up Globe Theatre.  This is temporary travelling theatre which is constructed in the design of Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre.  It was complete with open roof, standing room only at the front of the stage and seating all around to the sides of the stage.  It really allowed the audience to be up close and personal to the actors - there was a school group in the standing area who had water and other props thrown on them!

It was a great experience as it really brought home to me how involved in the plays the audiences of the time would have been.

In the photo below you can see how close to the stage we were.

Rory, Noah (a friend) and Charlie

Leave a Comment Charlie, homeschooling, Rory

Junior FLL - Term 3 2018

FLL (First Lego League) season started this term and Natalie is in a junior team.  The topic is The Moon and as well as researching and learning about the moon, the team members also have to investigate all that would be needed to live on the moon.

Learning about the different types of galaxies (this is a spiral galaxy).

Using fruit to learn about our solar system.

Making rockets.

The sessions are comprised of a discussion about a problem, then a building challenge (with instructions) which includes the robot, then the coding of that robot.

Leave a Comment FLL, homeschooling, Natalie

First Lego League (FLL) Junior

Well, it's that time of year again - FLL time!

Both Charlie and Natalie are in FLL teams but as I am helping out with Natalie's team, I will have more photos of the juniors so intend to update this page quite regularly.

First Lego League is an annual international robotics competition - teams are giving a theme and various challenges/problems and they then compete at the year's end to earn the most points.  Poins are not only given for "getting it right" but also for ingenuity, problem solving, consideration for other teams - there are all sorts of categories the judges consider.  This year's theme is "space", with the juniors focussing on the moon.

Here are our juniors making a very glittery spiral galaxy (like the Milky Way).  They also made constellations by pricking holes in a piece of cardboard which is attached a one end of a tin can and then a torch is shined through to display the "star pattern" onto the wall or roof.

Believe it or not, Natalie is the oldest in this group!

Leave a Comment FLL, homeschooling, Natalie