This last couple of weeks...

Does life sometimes just seem a blur?? This is true for me at times. Does school and home life just merge into one? It has for us.
Brid is working very hard for her Ballet exams in July. We have been Blessed with the opportunity for Brid to do her exam early. The school exam dates were pencilled in for September,  this was not an option for Brid - due to prior committment,but our lovely teachers asked the ACB board if it was  possible for  Brids' exam to be scheduled earlier.
All her other studies are going well. I asked Brid if she would like to do a unit study. She chose Edith Stein. This meant delving deeper into WWII. Its been a very interesting study and Brid has embraced it well. She wanted to understand the Nazi occupation of countries and how it affected her chosen countries.  Belgium and Holland are her chosen countries. It will be interesting to see how she undertakes this study.
Its been a time of intense learning of the Nazi rule and the plight of Jews and anyone not German in that day and age. Lots of reading and looking information up on the internet, researching in books and immersing herself in this important time in modern history.




  

A special phone call....

Today, I heard unexpectingly, from a very special friend. She has been away in Europe and the States for around 8 weeks. I was just doing my daily chores when the phone rang...
"Hi its ........, couldn't wait to see you, just had to call, we are on the freeway......",  I was delighted, someone thought of me and my family that much that they call us on there mobile on there way home in the car after a long flight from the US. !!!!!!!!!
Once, I got over that, we just chatted, so much to catch up with, so much has changed in 8 weeks. Brid spoke with her daughter while her hubbie drove them closer to home......Wow...Smiles and excitement all round.
Still can't wait to see them.

You see God put us together. We met some years ago, when Brid was invited to attend the art classes held in her studio.  We share similar interests, our daughter are good friends-they both Love Ballet and go to the same Ballet School. We use similar homeschool products and often get the girls together for joint lessons.
I have missed them so very much, and I didn't really realise, how much until today. So we will catch up as soon as we can. That will be a great meeting with so much to share with each other.....

Why are homeschooled kids so annoying?

Why are homeschooled kids so annoying?

This is such a good article. Enjoy Reading it.

Homeschool Camp- March 2012

Our First Catholic homeschool camp, done and dusted. Yeah!! A great success.

t was a magnificent week: A very Blessed and peaceful Camp.

The lake where we canoed

A lovely bunch of families all came together to enjoy a week together, in friendship, fellowship and community.
It was a small camp, but exactly what God had planned. There was no mistake who  He chose for the camp.
We had 5 families, a young Marian Priest, from the Marian Valley and a Seminarian from Lismore dioceses.

The rooms with the parents hub directly ahead

We all met at Lake Ekala Nurra, a youth camp site 20 minutes north of Taree, Monday lunch time.
Every day we had a different activity for the children to do, ranging from canoing, bushwalking, cricket, but the most successful one was the Grand Piano that the children got to use every day. They played danced and encouraged each other.  We even had one of our Mums play for us for hours. Very Blessed.
Our focus for the week was the Stations of the Cross as we knew we were heading into Holy Week the following week. The aim was to reinforce the Stations in order to the children and for each child to make his/her own kit. We started with painting a box in Lenten colour, discussing the Passion of Our Lord, Colouring in each Station and acquiring a symbol to go with each Station.
To complete this we asked the children to find sticks and we made Crosses to place around the area, so we could say the way of the Cross for children, with Fr. It seemed to work.
We asked Fr to speak on Confession and the Passion of our Lord at Catechism each afternoon. He also chose to speak on a few wonderful Saints including St Maria Gorretti, St Gemma Golgali, and several others. He had the children captivated.
We celebrated Mass daily, Divine Office throughout the day and the Rosary before Dinner. As we were a small group and the kitchen was close by the chapel area, we said the Divine Office several times a day with Fr. Some of the  children joined in as well. This was a very special time for us all. Each psalm seemed to resonate in our hearts.
As our age range was under 10, we tailored our day and evening activities accordingly.
Games and campfires, a performance and presentation night were highlights of the evening activities.
We announced on the Tuesday that we would be having a campfire that evening, so in between activities the children very quickly rounded up the kindling and logs we would need to keep the fire going for a couple of hours. Marshmallows were a great hit.  The children went off to bed quite content.
One evening, Fr P and I tested the children’s knowledge of the Catechism through a fun game highlighting areas of the Catechism. The parents had a game afterwards.
The other children expanded their knowledge on general trivia.

a close up of the rooms

The adults could have had lots of sleep, but we decided to use this time to catch up and chat with like minded Catholic homeschoolers. This was made possible as ‘the parents hub’, was in very close proximity to the bedrooms.    
We had a mums morning and a dads afternoon encouragement session. We had no real agenda, but asked the Holy spirit to be with us and guide us. The men were Blessed to hear Fr Ps’ witness talk. Very inspiring for them.    
Its been a huge build up to a fantastically Blessed Homeschool camp.
Did I say that the food multiplied on the way there. We catered ourselves and we are certain the food multiplied in transition from our home to the camp.
We ate very well and every person joined in to either help prepare, cook, serve or clean afterwards.
Will we do it again next year?  Looks like we will. Will you come and join us.

Photos to follow later in the week.  

the rhythm of life...

What our weeks like at the moment-
Ballet-
It has been a big change here this last term, particularly with Brid beginning at a new Ballet School. She has extra classes, so we fit our school around them. That has been quite exciting for us all, especially as these teachers have just come off  the Stage in 2010.
Camp-
We are busy organising our first Catholic homeschool camp. It is a little stressful but it will be worth it. We have nearly given up a couple of times, but our fellow organisers have been my strength when the chips are down.
Maths-
We have changed Maths programs from Maths Online to Teaching Textbooks. It is a rather good fit, as Brid likes to learn visually. Even when we read together, she likes to see what is being read.
IEW-
We are using Fix it Grammar at the moment. It really only takes about 20mins a day, and reinforces the grammar emphasisd in the IEW intensives.
Reading-
We continue to read Sense & Sensibility. Its created quite a lot of conversation. Brid has picked up so much information along the way about this era, that she is teaching me.
Science-
Well this is an area I have been agonising over for months, or dare I say years. I loved Jeannie Fulbrights Young Explorers Series, but just didn't like the slant General Science took, and after hunting, searching, buying products I that were not a good fit, we have bit the bullet and borrowed Apologia Physical Science. Watch this space. ...................
Latin-
It has been fun start to the year. We sit together and enjoy Cambridge Latin.
Youth-
And then there is Youth Group and Girl Guides. Brid has been attending Girl Guides since 2008, but Youth group has just been this year. She loves it and the team have certainly seen Brid's natural leadership qualities and have begun harnessing them. She read last week at Mass. She read and projected her voice very well. Its lovely to see that others see these qualities in her.
Diet
We are still on our health kick and with the kilos that are slowly coming off, it gives us encouragement to keep at it.
So its been quite an interesting time for us all. A time of adjustment as well.

How life changes....

Its the end of week 4 in the school term in NSW, Australia. Its been a rather busy start to the year.
Firstly, we changed Maths Programs to Teaching Textbooks, added a Grammar Program through IEW, and started Cambridge Latin.
Of course, You have it all in sorted how the year will flow... Well God must laugh at me, He is really in control. We have tweaked our day, our week as we have added various extras.
I have always been one to be quite strict on morning routine. I feel routine is important to learn for tertiary study and  employment in the future. This routine has worked  until this year.
Our after school activities list has grown and gotten later in the evening as Brid has gotten older.
Youth group has a 9pm finish with a 30 minute drive home, so we have scheduled in a small sleep in to accomodate for tiredness and the need for teens to sleep more.
Brid has 2 disciplines of dance 2 nights a week, so we have Fridays as a rest day. Our catch up day and a generally slow start to the day. We meet up with friends and chill out.
It has been quite an easy transition and what I have noticed is the level of cooperation that has really been reached. The jobs that once were so important to set for Brid have been blurred. We all do them. Brid still takes the responsibilty and this has created a harmony. Much to my surprise.
So this term is still quite new, but with so many  changes that it feels new.

What changes are happening in your homeschool?



 

Latin comes to life....

For years now we have used Latina Christiana and Prima Latin. Great Programs, but we were tired of them.
We asked around.  What were we to use instead.
Cambridge Latin we were told by 3 different families. Oh Ok, I can look into that.
So of I went finding further reviews and checking up forums. Finding out the price of the Books..and hang on, there is an online section. Lets look...
So I began clicking away. I was hooked, how much fun.
I was keen to show Brid Dermot anyone who happened to be around. I even showed a friend who was having coffee with me, while the girls chatted in another room.

Ok, we begin our official school year here in Australia and it came time to start Latin..
We both dashed to the computer...By the way, who is being educated here, Brid or Me???
We read the material and translated the Latin quite quickly. Thank you Latina Christiana, you have given us a great grounding in Latin.
We were laughing and enjoying the awkwardness of the language and how it translates.
We declined 1st, 2nd, 3rd, we found nominative singulars and plurals, and lots more. It was loads of fun. Brid certainly is very content but without a grounding in it, we probably would be a little lost.
Amongst all the learning and reinforcement  of the language, there is also fun online activities. There are links to show you about the different areas of cities they are discussing. Its well worth the look to gel History and Latin together.

We are off to a good start with Latin. Thank you to my dear friends who have shared the love of Cambridge Latin with me and my family.