New Inspiration-

After reading sue’s blog, it inspired me and started me thinking. Dangerous. Who have been my inspirations and how does it work in our home?

Well we are in a fortunate position, in only homeschooling our youngest Brid. We homeschooled her older brother and sister for a couple of years during their teens, but Brid & I have a bit of a groove happening.
When we first begun, our journey into the idea of homeschooling, I read nothing. I am a bit of a just go for it type of person. I learnt as we went along. It directly is in comparison to the type of Nursing training I did. Hands on, learn on the job, Hospital trained.
The first person on our journey was Mrs Seton- Kay to be exact. I liked that journey, the bookwork was a similar to what we knew, as we had taken Brid from a local Catholic school. Remember I had done zero research, just knew it was for us.
I liked how Mrs Seton, integrated Catholic faith into books. We quickly tired of them though. By this time I had stumbled across Mrs Charlotte MA, using a catholic approach, and Mrs Laura and a whole bunch of other people, like Susan and Mrs Elizabeth.
Boy had we taken a huge learning curve- hang on here, I had taken the learning curve. I happily fumbled my way through curricula and dreamed. Did this fit us. Or, was this better.
I quickly returned to why were we homeschooling every time we were faced with a hard decision. I would use only Catholic curricula.
Many friends shared what they were using and it took us on rabbit trails and every time I got confused, I would come back to the reason why.... This helped me be frugal in not purchasing too many resources. I loved the sound of Diana and Mr Wile, although they are wonderful they didn’t meet my criteria.
So I mused over Mrs Seton, Mrs Charlotte MA, and Mrs Elizabeth and picked out what worked for us. Recently we met Brenda and she is a good fit for Brid.
We are still friends and I enjoy keeping company with them. We have moved through various resources with these ladies and occasionally we do our own thing. But, I have the structure to come back to each time.
We love to follow the liturgical year and at times we follow it more closely than at other times. This year has not been our best year, I must say. We tried new ideas and they haven’t gelled.
I have observed Brid throughout the years and she does enjoy the structure, but also likes to do her own thing. So we are both on the same page. We may not be as academic as others. I have always supplied her a timetable for each week, and I wonder if I took it away what would happen.

We may not fit into one curricula and we may not be the best Latin scholars but we are doing it our way. I know God has his hand on our schooling, because when it’s not right I have a distinct bad feeling. I have learnt to trust these feeling. It hold me accountable to God and what he wants for us.
I have often mused over unschooling and being child centred, and we have seasons like this. It’s not our way, but the older Brid gets the more she makes the decisions in her daily work. I can see as some trusted curricula is drying up with its booklists we may flow to a more unschooling approach. I suppose I feel comfortable with my own idea on schooling that we can take a different tack.

A Topic a week- posted May 2010

This week, we are looking at Music Composers. We spend many years using Classic for Kids, but she has moved past it. I was recommended a Book, called The Gift of Music..-Jane Stuart Smith.., and U tube, to study each individual composer. So far, she has looked at Bach, Handel, and Haydn. She has plans to move onto Mozart today.

After Morning Tea, she begins reading or being read too, summarising, and writing notable information to make up a report each day, with Music playing in the background. She has plans to use these in her newspaper column, that she is writing.
She also has plans of highlighting her work, with a powerpoint presentation. All in the pipeline, but I am sure she will make it happen.
Next week, we focus on Geography, particularly Rivers of the World. I was reading a thread on here and someone suggested using rivers as a framework. I didn't have a book or curriculum to go by, I just wrote a plan for Brid to follow.
We will see how this approach goes and we will review it mid term. Although, Brid is already saying she feels much more relaxed. She isn't chopping and changing between work.

JUNE -Ballet Notebook
I noticed a couple of weeks ago how tired Brid was looking. This worried me of course, So I started thinking- dangerous, about cutting right back on School work.

Its week 9 why not, so....( we have 4 Terms of roughly 10 weeks in each term, here in Australia).
This week, we have kept up Maths and her History reader.
I thought, how about something fun, that she can embellish. So I found a lap/note book on Ballet.
All week, Brid has thoroughly enjoyed creating her project.
It has gone changed format several times, from a lap book, to a poster, to a book, now she has settled on a newspaper.
She spend hours looking through various books, pictures and choosing what she wanted to put in her newspaper.
So has it cured her tiredness, no not really, but it has been rather a relaxed week, and amazingly, the day has been finishing later, with "Brid you need to save that, its time to set the table...".
So am I surprised how it worked out, a little, as Brid was quite apprehensive about this project in the beginning.
Now she wants to do another one on Composers, next term.

Term 4 Day 1

Today was our first day of term 4. It was a little hard to get back into School. We have been pretty laid back over the holidays.
Anyway with sleep in our eyes we got breakfast, and readied ourselves for the day.
Brid was ready before 9. yeah!!! very good.
I started this term with a whole program, and determined to complete it all. I break term 4 into finish of the years work and get ready for Advent.
This year I want to celebrate All Saints Day in a big way, so I have a few ideas for that.
I want to get several topics and books finished. I want to complete 'Blood and Guts', and I was surprised when I found we were very close to completing St Patricks' Summer- its been our faith reader. Its been a great read, one I have enjoyed. Brid is well able to read herself, so I do not do as many read alouds now.
So now we have 2 chapters to read on Blood and Guts and it is complete, but this term, I have taken the Human Body unit to a different level, as I will start talking about changes using Mothers Little Helper and taking brid on a mother daughter journey into her growing up.
We started last week by praying the Rosary and then reading the first chapter. It was a very beautiful moment for me as Brids' mother. God has entrusted Her to me and this job I have will be done prayfully and with Gods' guidance.
Maths is a whole area we are getting through, but it is a hard and big job. It sometimes seems tedious. I have the new 6/5 to go into, but it looks like it will be a lot later than I thought we would be. I just need to be patient with Brid and encourage her.

So today we started all our studies and we worked very late, but we had a little bit of fun doing it to. Brid rode her bike, Lunched together, Daddy was home all day and I got yje bas done.
So after school Brid relaxed and got ready for Girl Guides while I vacuumed up the leaves around the back paved area.

Daddy went off to work and I took Brid to Guides.
I went for a very fast walk around the circuit Dermot & I use. That was my day Brids day and it was a big first day, but lots of fun as well.

one year on

This is my Dad and Brid, he is very proud of her.

One year on and i have changed my approach to homeschooling yet again. I change it with Brid and our lifestyle in mind.

Brid has adapted and loves the new moves.

As we have moved in the last 9 weeks, we have of course had interruptions to our schooling. We found a good history unit study. history links. It has been our answer to headaches in getting all material I need for the next history program.

This last year we have addressed and enjoyed Astronomy, at the end of The Human Body and about to embark on Botany. I use readers as these topics will be covered as Brid gets older, in greater depth.

The human body will be used to bounce into Modesty and whats happening with your body now.

I have been recommended mothers little helper. its hard to find, but God will lead us to the right book for this discussion.

We are about to embark on 6/5 saxon maths. And wow has it been a journey of knowledge. Brid struggles with times tables, so we have built this drill into our day, at any time.

But what we have seen is an understanding andan interpretation of text beyond her years. Its been very obvious as we look back over the other children, at this time.

Her knowledge and understandinf and being able to defend her faith is amazing, so all in all its been a very good year academically.

We have had a huge year with family issues, and it has been very hard for Brid. I would love to have sheltered her from this, but it has been to hard, so Brid has had to be in the thick of it too.

I am actually very proud of how much she has grown and her maturity in dealing with this all. Its definitely been a God lifting her up. Praise you Lord.

Religion

Our faith has been quite a major part of our homeschool journey. We have covered quite a lot using lots of different books and resources.
This year we have read:
The First Christians- Acts of the Apostles
My Pathway to Heaven
Our Ladys' Book
Various saint Books
A Summary style of A Story Of a Soul
Seton Religion
St Josephs Catechism
About to read- Stories of the Child Jesus from many Lands

My family

Before we go anywhere I must introduce you to my Beautiful family, so far.
We have Dermot & I, We met in 1985 in London, fell in love, came back to Australia to get married on 5th September 1987 at St Phillips Catholic Church, Kotara South.
We were young and so in love, but not quite used to each other- but we learnt as we went along.
Louise was born March 1988. Much loved and adored. She was so clever. We baptised her on my birthday 1988, at 6 weeks old.
We loved being parents so much, we wanted more-before we knew it I was pregnant with Kristie- still training as a midwife-full time until 33 weeks- she arrived a few weeks after I completed my course. She was a very hungry baby, and fed 3rd hourly around the clock. She was amazing. Kristie was our first Homebirth but not our last. She was baptised at 5 weeks and born on her grandads birthday in May 1990.
Next came our only son, Kieran- a special blessing from God- and a delight. He was a summer bay, born on the hottest day of the February, another hungry baby- my heaviest baby. We chose to Baptise him on my Mums birthday- you see we tried to choose dates we couldn't forget.
We loved our little family of cuteness, strife and we had our Challenges.
Dermot & I needed to work, so we sourced a Nanny to look after the children 3 days a week and my Mum the other day or two . It was hectic, but the only way we knew.
Several years later we had placed on our hearts to bring another life into our world. Her name was Brid, my birthday present- born the day later than me in April 1998. I called her my angel from heaven- she was my best baby- slept through the night from 6 weeks, and before that irregularly.
It was quite a journey with her because there were many weeks we thought she would be not here, anyway, Gods plan was for her to be part of our family.
Brid was born the year Louise, Kristie & Kieran were accepted into St Patrick's school at Wallsend.
This was an amazing journey of faith for Dermot & I as parents. We continue this same journey even today.
Our children are now grown Louise is 20, Kristie is 18, Kieran is 16 and Brid 10. We still have placed on our hearts the desire for more children, if God grants us our prayer.

Homeschooling Journal begins

Our homeschooling journey, wishes dreams will be posted here