Oh Look...

It's New Year's Eve. Happy New Year's too then :) We are having a completely average, quiet night. And seeing as our homeschooling registration officially kicks in as of tomorrow, I am browsing books at Chariot Press (and really must suss out how that educational tax refund thingy works).

Provisional Registration

Woohoo! We're officially registered (provisionally) to homeschool. Got a letter from THEAC today saying that our application and program outline has been reviewed and accepted! The letter says that we'll be contacted early next year to arrange a monitoring visit around March.

Homeschool Registration Update

Got a letter back from THEAC today saying that they received the application and that we should hear back from them 'prior to, or following, the next Council meeting on 17th February, 2011'. Um, 'prior to or following'... vague much? LOL So they'll get back in contact with us sometime in the future. From what I've heard from other Tas homeschoolers that's all fairly standard though... things run a bit slower down here!

Homeschool Registration...

I sent in the application form, outline of our proposed program, and copy of Shmoo's birth certificate yesterday. Makes it feel like it's all officially underway! I stressed out about the outline for ages... I've been collecting and writing up stuff for the last couple of years and then I got the home ed info pack and they only wanted 2 pages max. on very specific subjects - literacy, numeracy, ICT, career planning, socialisation and not much else! Apparently registering in Tas is easier than in other states, which is reassuring. Still feel a bit nervous about it though!

'Tis the Season

Can't believe how quickly this year has gone by! Christmas is just around the corner!! Thankfully I've had the boys' main presents stashed away since the start of the year (train sets for the big boys; wooden bug-themed shape sorter for the Bean) and their stocking pressies 'from Santa' are organised too. Have just gotten all their birthday presents ordered for next year too... how organised am I this year?!

Today we made heart and star shaped Christmas tree ornaments out of salt dough (gifts for the rellies). Was our first go at working with salt dough and I guess I didn't roll it out as thin as I should have (was about 1/2-3/4 of a cm thickness)... but nothing that a good 6 or so hours in the oven couldn't fix!! They seem okay now, nice and solid (but SO not a good day to have the oven on for all that time - it was really hot!). Shmoo & Loo kept staring into the oven, asking 'Are they cooked yet!?!'. The boys will paint the ornaments tomorrow and then we'll get some ribbon hang them with on the w/end. I wonder how long salt dough will last, if I should put a layer of varnish or whatever over them??

I am having a go at making my own vanilla essence/extract too - just vanilla beans and vodka. I love vanilla! We'll see how it turns out in a couple of months.

Hoping to make it to the next homeschooling group meet on Thursday and someone from our community has offered to take us for a ride on her school bus on Friday so the boys are really excited about going on a bus (they have only been on a bus once before, about 2 years ago in Melbourne, and Shmoo was terrified back then!).

Imaginarium Visit

We went to the Imaginarium Science Centre today with our Home Ed group to see the sports exhibit. No photos though as I forgot to take the camera! Shmoo and Loo loved it and had lots of fun - doing things like seeing how fast they could run/throw and kick a ball/press a button etc. They could have easily stayed there for much longer than the 1.5 hours allotted.

Hopefully the Imaginarium will be just as good when it moves to its new location in December!

Library Garage Sale

Burnie library had a garage sale today and we managed to score heaps of stuff... books, shelving, easel, a table & 2 chairs (more homeschooling work space for the kids!), 4 nice bowls, a little basket for the kids' toys, and some old kitchen stuff (old-style potato masher and 2 x pizza cutters) for the boys to use as playdough tools.

I am slowly getting organised for the official start of homeschooling next year. I've finished the program outline that I have to submit for registration (will go over it a few times again and then send it in another week or 2). Am also working on putting together unit studies and gathering resources, getting the practical stuff together etc. Very exciting but a little scary at the same time!

Natural Learning

Shmoo's first go at writing sentences: 'frog on a log' and 'fat cat' (on a mat). When we push him he digs his heels in and often refuses to do things. When we provide him with opportunities and encouragement and let him just 'be' he will often do things on his own, and do them quite well too.

The Bean learning to drive LOL

Updates

Don't know why but I haven't been able to get the blog to load for days. In the last few days we have:

- Had another paed appt for Shmoo. Usual paed was away so we had a fill-in. Upped Shmoo's meds to 1/2 a tablet 3 times per day. And he agreed that we were doing the right thing by keeping Shmoo out of undies and pants as much as possible (at home) to try and break the behavioural pattern. (Oh how I hate the walk from the Specialists Clinics to the pharmacy, going past the day surgery and operating theatres... flashbacks to my D&Cs every time. Ugh).

- Taken advantage of the nice, warm weather and had a nice afternoon at the beach in Penguin, exploring the rock pools at low tide.

- Over a few days, tried both Loo and Beanie on cheese. Both seemed to do okay, although hard to tell with Beanie as he didn't seem to like it and so didn't eat much.

- Beanie is very confident at sitting independently and also at standing holding on to things (sometimes only with one hand to steady himself, no more wobbly legs!). He has also made some small attempts at cruising!

- Shmoo is doing so well at swimming... huge improvements. He is now happy to wear his goggles and he will even put his face in the water and blow bubbles. So awesome to see him kicking around the pool holding on to a pool noodle and trying to coordinate all the things he has to do.

- We've also done a lot of 'nature studies', aka digging in the dirt. Shmoo that is. Loo doesn't like getting his hands dirty and is petrified of bugs. Shmoo, on the other hand, loves all things nature and has no problems making friends with worms, snails, millipedes or slaters.

- Baby wearing. Thank goodness for the Storch. I'd never get anything done otherwise. I even managed to get the bathroom, toilet & laundry cleaned the other day whilst he napped on my back.

- The boys are loving the activity trays and I've been having fun trying crafty things like using rubbing alcohol and food dye to colour pasta.

- Homeschool preparation. Trying to get our program organised and outline ready to submit with the registration form.

Cooking. As usual, always lots of cooking!

I Took His Hand and Followed

I posted this poem a couple of years ago but it's a good one and I think it's something that's always good to keep in mind...

I Took His Hand and Followed

(Mrs. Roy L. Peifer)

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn't make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I...

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood...

My kitchen wasn't swept today

But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill...

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,

That I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy

To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know.

Activity Trays

Aren't these 'Tot Trays' such a cool idea?! It has inspired me to set up something similar for Shmoo and Loo. I've rearranged the bookshelves to free up a couple of shelves that are just out of Beanie's reach but still accessible to the older boys. Now to work on filling them with activity trays! We can't afford to buy pretty, colourful trays at the moment so I've had to do some scrounging around the house (the plastic trays that sweet potatoes come in turned out to be the perfect size!).

Food-dyed rice.

I've got some of their puzzles on the higher shelf and the activity trays on the shelf below but I'm thinking I'll have to swap them around as Beanie will be able to reach the lower shelf once he starts cruising (certainly don't need him putting buttons or the like in his mouth - I don't want another ambulance trip to hospital!). There's room for a few more trays so I'm coming up with a few more ideas like cutting, pasting, playdough, colour & word matching/sorting games etc. There are heaps of different variations so I can switch things around every now and then.

Everyday Learning

Whilst in Launnie on Monday we stopped by to visit friends who have recently had their 2nd baby. This morning I noticed that Shnoo had written bub's name on the board...

Loo, not to be outdone by his bigger brother, practiced writing his 'i's and 'o's :)

Books

While we were in Cairns we visited some awesome shops and I found some great books for the boys. I highly recommend these books...

'Do Dogs Dream?' and 'Why is the Sky Blue?' by Geraldine Taylor (lift-the-flap and pull-the-tab books that explore the natural world)

'Earth Child 2000: Earth Science for Young Children. Games, Stories, Activities, and Experiments' by Kathryn Sheehan and Mary Waidner. (This book almost has a Steiner and natural learning feel to it).

'All I See is Part of Me' by Chara M. Curtis. "In a journey that carries the reader far beyond the printed page, a child discovers his common link with all of Life. Inspired by Sister Star, he finds the light within his heart and as his vision expands, he sees that same light in all other things."

'You, Me & the Rainbow' by Petrea King. "Have you ever been wrapped in a rainbow? Mariah has. Every night her mother wraps her in all the colours of the rainbow and they enter an enchanting world of ducklings, dolphins, tiny frogs, tasty cherries, sunsets, twinkling stars and violets. Float away with Mariah into the magic of You, Me & the Rainbow."

Belated 4 Week Check

Had a check-up with the Child Health Nurse today. Beanie now weighs 4510g (a 620g gain in 15 days); length 53.5cm; HC 38.5cm.

He's still a fairly cruisey baby. Feeding and sleeping well apart from usually having a bit of an unsettled period in the afternoon. He's been a little more unsettled in the last couple of days but I think there is a 5 week developmental leap?? He's also done several 6 hour sleeps overnight during the last 1-1.5 weeks... very nice!

And in other Proud Mummy News: Shmoo is now writing his name fairly legibly (a big thing for a boy who doesn't have the best pencil control!). We are also doing reasonably well so far with homeschooling (considering we've just had a baby!). Shmoo keeps asking for 'more homeschool work' and did 23 pages of a workbook yesterday before he moved on to other activities.