Scene: The OH and I, standing around chatting with a couple of acquaintances while the kids play. They had been amazed at Loo's reading skills and Shmoo's neat writing.

X:  So which one of you is the 'teacher'?
The OH:  *quickly points to me even though he's the one far more likely to pull out a textbook* She is!
X:  *looks at me* Oh, so do you have a teaching background?
Me:  Uh no, no...
X:  Oh. It must be a lot for you to do, teaching them...
Me:  *shrugs* It's no more than any parent does from the day their baby is born. As parents we help our kids to learn right from the start.
X:  Yes but that's quite different to teaching them all the other things, isn't it?
Me:  Mmm... I kinda think it's not so much about 'teaching' them as encouraging them and giving them opportunities to learn.

Location, Location, Location

 

Excuse the blurry phone pics but it was too funny not to post. This is going straight to the pool room. ;)

Shmoo is fascinated by an electrical substation and insists on us driving past it whenever we're in the area. A couple of days ago, The OH picked up me and the younger two and drove us over to the residential area near the substation to show off his discovery. There, opposite the substation, was a small, modest looking house with a sign up near the entrance...

THE CASTLE

Feel the Serenity

Okay, so you'd have to have seen the movie to appreciate it, but don't you reckon that powerlines are a reminder of man's ability to generate electricity?

It's the vibe of the thing! =))

Yes, we homeschool.

No, we don't use a particular curriculum.

No, I didn't work as a teacher prior to having children.

No, the boys don't sit down at the table with textbooks at a certain time every day.

That's great that you know a big homeschooling family who gather around the kitchen table every day to do lessons together. How nice that you think it's such a lovely, heart-warming thing. Good for them. It's not what we do.

No, I don't appreciate the look on your face that seems to imply that I'm not educating my children properly. You know my kids, you've talked with them, played with them, watched them draw and write, listened to them read... I think it's rather obvious that they're not 'behind'.

8-|

Performing Arts - Clowning Around

 

Loving all the new books at our public library...
Such a great resource. We came home with 30+
books and a few DVDs today.

Shmoo Bear experimenting with oil pastels.

Buddy Visits Japan

This morning Shmoo decided that today was Buddy's birthday and made him a birthday card and lots of little gifts. He took Buddy on a trip to Japan and apparently Buddy was given a special vehicle to travel in. I'm guessing some kind of diplomatic car as it was sporting the Japanese flag on the end of a skewer (secured with Blu-Tack).

Learning to Loom

Shmoo had his first go at knitting today. As I can't knit with needles it was a round loom. He really enjoyed it and was so proud of his progress.

Pretty Flowers

The boys and I ducked into Coles (we don't shop there often) while we were in town today and were delighted to see a colourful display of cauliflower. We often get the white variety; have had the green 'broccoflower' on a few occasions; the purple cauliflower once or twice; but this was the first time we'd come across the orange variety. It was very interesting to discover that "This trait came from a natural mutant found in a cauliflower field in Canada."

Monitoring Visit

We had our homeschool monitoring visit this afternoon so this morning Shmoo made a yummy gluten free, vegan coconut lemon slice to share for afternoon tea. He managed to do most of it by himself (just needing a little assistance with the stove and oven) and even helped with the cleaning up... by giving the bowl a good licking :)

 

The monitoring visit went really well . The THEAC rep was lovely, so supportive of natural learning and very encouraging and positive about what, and the way in which, Shmoo is learning. She didn't see any reason why the council wouldn't approve our 'programme' and said that we probably won't have another monitoring visit for 2 years.

It was so great to be able to talk to someone 'official' who is supportive of homeschooling. It gets a little discouraging when I have paeds, psych, therapists etc pushing to integrate him into the mainstream schooling system in some way. And you know what? It's never about the 'education', all they're concerned about is the 'socialisation'. Yep, I really want to drop my super sensitive, anxious, not-fully-toilet-trained 7 year old into an environment where there is rampant bullying and principals who turn a blind eye; overwhelmingly large classes that he'd get lost in; where he mixes with kids only the same age as him; where he has to get permission to speak, walk around or go to the toilet; where he can only eat or drink at designated times... 8-| Yeah, great socialisation.

Anyway, it's always good to get some whole-hearted support and encouragement. I am so grateful that we have such a good homeschooling system here in Tasmania.

At an extra 3 hour special 'school holiday' performing arts session. Kind of funny that our (homeschooled) kids were the only ones who showed up.