Last Week, we had our first Homeschool Examination Day. Following the suggestion of Ambleside Online, we decided that we would do a termly examination. It gives us a chance to see how the ideas have taken root in Mr 5 and gives him a chance to share what he knows. It was actually quite fun. We talked and reminisced over the stories we had shared, and then celebrated the milestone with a special lunch of Mr 5’s choice (pizza). It…
This week we celebrated our first day of homeschool for 2018. We didn’t just start. We really, truly, celebrated. We celebrated because homeschooling is a joy and a privilege and we are so, so excited to be on this journey. Here are five things we did to make this year’s first day extra special. We did the same five things last year, which you can read about here. A Special Breakfast Every special day in our home begins with a…
Tomorrow… Tomorrow morning, my oldest son will wake up and, still warm and fuzzy from sleep, he’ll climb into my bed for his morning snuggles. We’ll wake up slowly together, the boys and me. They’ll play together, probably with their trains, for maybe half an hour or more. I’ll read my devotions and pray. We’ll make breakfast together, still in our pyjamas. We’ll sit at the table and I’ll reach for my Morning Time basket. Later, Nanny will arrive to…
It’s one of the most common questions in the world of Facebook Homeschool groups. A family is setting up to begin homeschooling and they ask, “what do we need?” It’s a difficult question because “need” is so subjective. Really, we “need” so little. A library card. Pencil and paper. A sense of adventure. Google. No, scratch that, I guess even Google isn’t truly needed. I’m not going to write a list of things you need. Instead, I’m going to share…
Happy New Year! I’m writing this a few weeks late because I have been enjoying our Summer holidays and have been busy swimming, doing puzzles, reading and playing games. It has been very relaxing and refreshing. I have also planned and prepared for our upcoming homeschool year. Originally, I thought about writing a post describing my planning process. I even typed it out. To be honest though, it was as disconnected as the thoughts in my head. I guess that’s…
Our Year 0.5 Year 0.5 is an unofficial year for users of Ambleside Online’s Curriculum. It is the Year 0 curriculum (for 0-6 year olds) with added structure and short lessons in Maths and English as needed by either the child or the state registration board. We used Year 0.5 as our NSW Prep year. We did not have any registration requirements for our state at this age. Ambleside Online Year 0 This is a summary of our Year 0.5….
Freya Dawson has been homeschooling her two teenage boys since they were toddlers. She is an author of “Joyful Parenting”, and runs parenting courses and workshops helping parents make peaceful and joyful connections with their children. She kindly agreed to share her story with us. This post is part of our Real Australian Homeschools series. You can view the series here. Could you tell us a little about your family? Andrew and I met while we were both working…
Today we have finished our first formal year of homeschooling. Hooray! We have some special things lined up for the Christmas season (stay tuned!) so that’s still sort of homeschool-y but, as of this week, we have completed our first full year of a deliberate and planned homeschool with our 4 year old. In our state (NSW), this year was equivalent to “Prep” at school. The year before the first year of school. We set out this year to homeschool…
Christmas is fast approaching. My Facebook news feed is filling with countdown announcements. Only 8 weeks until Christmas! Oh my! I like to do the bulk of my Christmas shopping (gifts and special food) in October and November. I find it makes the Advent season in December more relaxed and focused if I’m not stressing about coming up with gift ideas, postage times or our budget. We have lots of fun and meaningful Advent traditions and I find that having…
I feel like I’m a bit late to the party on this one. Thornton W. Burgess. The Burgess Books. What a treasure. I had heard great things about the author’s works, but I had not had any luck finding them at the local Salvos or Lifeline Book Fair and hadn’t got around to looking them up online (pretty silly, since I now realise they’re very cheap!). I do have The Burgess Book of Animals (printed by Living Book Press) but…