Gin Gin Home Educators Calendar

I'm cheating & using a blog as the calendar...meh...it works.
Gin Gin Home Educators

GASP!

Our weekly schedule is filling up; swimming, medieval group, art, science, excursions, festivals, library, kids club, soccer and music classes. And you know what? People who send their kids to school go to all this too! Isn't school supposed to provide all this for them?

What people think

Thanks to Defying Gravity

Week 5

We had a very arty week. On Monday we went to BRAG (Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery) where 3 collections were showing: Cabinets of Curiosity which Kirk adored because the stuff he collected last year for his cabinet, with a little creative arrangement, could EASILY have gone into this exhibition. The second one impressed me, Growth, which used basket weaving and natural materials to create sculptures. We also had an art lesson with Brian on painting watercolour flowers. It was a really easy technique - I think we will have to make a wall full of flowers! The rest of our subjects were simply carried over from last week although notably, each night I am reading a couple of stories to Kirk from Stradbroke Dreamtime by Kath Walker. Great stories & beautiful artwork.

Do We HAVE To?

2 years ago Qld came into line with the rest of Australia & now provides 13 years of schooling and this year the national curriculum was introduced. BUT it's a hard and disappointing. So many of the kids are too young to manage it. Yes, some are loving it, but why make this Struggle Street? Can't we give the kids who are not quite ready an extra year to grow up so that their maturity matches what they are expected to learn so schooling becomes a joy instead of constant bafflement?

Week 4

English: Made a frog with plasticine then photographed a story sequence and wrote the story. Read LOTS of books (4WD mag, Asterix comics, Steven Parish wildlife stories, find a bug book, paper aircraft, and Far Out Brussel Sprout series). Revised titles, capitalization, full stops & topic sentences. Also did a lot of phonic work with Reading Eggs.
Maths: Money - focused on adding 10c, 20c and 50c pieces, general equations - building his speed.
Science: Frog & leech observations (involuntary). Weed identification
HPE: soccer, swimming, playing with friends, climbing trees, hanging out with M&B
Arts: Experimented with  an electronic keyboard.
Practical Skills: Weeding the property.

The Rest of Week 3 (3 days)

Science: Freshwater: Kirk discovered tadpoles in the wheelbarrow so we will monitor them over the coming weeks. Gardening: We planted macadamia seedlings (thankyou Ross) one of them was directly planted with no ground preparation, the other in a large hole with a couple of old nappies for their water crystals, humus, slow release fertiliser and cow-poo liberally mixed in. Spotter's Log: We saw a few different animals but the most impressive was the red backed fairy wren.

Maths: Money, basic equations & pattern recognition.
English:  Frog books, Asterix comics and lots of random stuff.
HPE: soccer, swimming, bike riding, hanging out with friends inc. spent time with Ashley & his family selling snags for the soccer club and last night Dylan's birthday dinner (17!)

Week 2 & a bit of 3

I suspect these reports will gradually get further and further apart because doing home schooling is so much more fun than writing about it. Note that I integrate the subjects so when we study science we are also reading, writing and doing a lot of maths, art, drama etc... 


Science: We modelled the rain-cycle in a jar & watched how plant transpiration works. Then we made some splattery ink clouds to go on the art wall. We have done numerous trawls catching mostly glass shrimp (Paratya Australiensis), dragonfly nymphs and BSFs (bloody small fish). We've looked at the dragonfly life-cycle which differs from butterflies who have a pupation stage whereas dragonflies just go about their business and gradually transform inside their own skin.  We read, "Exploring Our Creek" and he knew a fair bit about all the animals mentioned so we added our own page on the Freshwater Mussel (Velesunia ambiguous) which he gathers regularly in the creek.

Freshwater Mussels: They live in creeks and dams. They eat algae and detritus. In drought they bury into the mud. (He dictated, I wrote & he copied.)

Socialisation: Plenty of opportunities with soccer, swimming, shopping & visiting friends.
Reading & Listening: We're still on Pobblebonks - he's really enjoying the book because he has discovered how to use expression in his reading. We also read Mem Fox's "Harriet You'll Drive Me Wild", Terry Pratchett, "The Unadulterated Cat" and more Andy Griffiths.
Handwriting: Meh...a little every day. Quality varies with his mood.
Maths: 6 weeks of holidays killed his speed equations so we're slowly building it again, mostly with games but our focus this week  is money. Kirk has made a shop from a cardboard box and we have been role playing the transactions between some very interesting characters. We giggled so much we needed a "Run Like Muppet" session to get the giggles out.  He also did some book work which looked at informal units of measurement. Sigh...he is still learning the months of the year - I need a song!
PE: We are taking every opportunity to go swimming and started soccer last Saturday.
LOTE: Kirk is experimenting with words and continually makes up his own words or asks if they exist in another language. This is great because he understands that language in itself is a creative process.
Practical stuff: Kirk made pizza, noodles and sandwiches. He discovered knives hurt and now prefers to use the little serrated knives. He's also independent enough to go alone to the public library and borrow appropriate stuff for Skye & himself.

Week 1

A gentle start, so not a huge amount done this week.

Socialisation: Played with cousins & friends, spent time with Leo learning about France via photos & music and watched Peter & gaming club play Warhammer.
Science:  Introduction to the water cycle & concept of healthy waterways. Flooded creek observations: erosion & the animals around the creek (insects, frogs & snakes). Built a working submarine (soda bottle with a rubber band driven propeller). Electronics - rebuilt the continuity circuit and modified the circuit to accommodate a buzzer (far more annoying = more fun), started using a commercial voltmeter.
Maths: Revised year 1 math concepts; numbers to 100, count by 5s & 10s - forward & backwards. Measuring cm, 2D & 3D shapes, months of the year.
English: He read levels 1 & 2 books from Wet Paper's, Kids and Water series & Pobblebonks. I read to him: 1 story from Andy Griffith's "Just Stupid"
Grammar: Together we revised how to use full stops and he used ABC Reading Eggs which in lessons 95 to 97 taught vowel blends and the difference between vowels and consonants.
Handwriting: 2 pages from handwriting book.
LOTE: Leo is providing a lot of cultural knowledge about France & a lot of international music.
Practical Skills: Sewed a tapestry bag & assisted Sean with fencing (helpful & entertaining).
Personal Development: Used metaphor to boost confidence - watched The Little Train Who Could & read The Little Red Caboose.
Skye started to learn shapes, colours, letters & numbers.

Long Time No See

Apologies for the long holiday! Normally I just place here the highlights but instead I will try to post more often and give a run down of what Kirk does each day - this could prove tedious but so many people ask what homeschoolers actually DO all day. Of course they are also intensely interested about how we socialise our children which is a skill parents lost in the industrial era - over 200 years ago! Fortunately the home-schooling fraternity are reviving this lost art, creating hard-working yet creative and happy adults who are able to relate to people across the generations!

So what's on this week? I'm aiming on a freshwater ecology, electronics & gardening...I hope :-)

Moving Along

Kirk is a stubborn, self-directed learner and often rejects my assistance. Currently he is reading Footrot Flats and Garfield comics. I know he can not read much of them yet but he is decoding them gradually and since they are his reading matter of choice (obsession?) how can I refuse?  He loves the ABC Reading Eggs software and has almost finished all their latest levels so I hope they publish something soon.

We have finally moved onto grade 2 Signpost Maths and he is finding it easy. Oddly he likes the structure of that particular maths text and bucks when I try to feed him anything else. Using the Mathletics texts as grade 1 revision was unsuccessful and nor does he find the Mathletics online software engaging any longer because the interface is extremely repetitive. So why is Mathletics so popular? It looks like I need to find something which will engage him in more creative ways. However we will be studying electronics in term 4 so that should extend his numeracy in all sorts of directions. 

On a side note Kirk now wants to be a chef because he is very proud of his efforts in making pizza from scratch.  He can also prepare noodles, make sammies and helps me generally in he kitchen.

Report on the Bundaburg Air Show

Last weekend we spent 3 days at the Bundaberg Air Show. On the first day we bought a hovercraft. We also saw 3 big racing cars (one was small), they do 400km per hour. They belong to Stuart Bishop. He’s the guy who drives them. We spent a lot of time looking at airplanes. I liked the bi-planes – they were pretty good at stunts.

I like the Roulettes doing their tricks. They are planes that are red with stripes on each wing. They’re airforce pilots that fly the trainer aircraft.
  
I have found out that F18s are REALY REALLY REALLY loud. They are incredibly fast! They protect the world – they go to war. And maybe they are the best planes ever built in history.

Matt Hall is a famous pilot, he did stunts. He did loops, hovering, he flew upside down and all sorts of amazing things.
   
I had a chance to get in an airplane. And I knew how you steer it and how you use the brakes. There was a stick that had a little handle you pull it back and that slows the airplane down and that stick steers it. Right – turn the airplane right, left – turn the airplane left. It was a fighter called a Nanchang CJ6A and it fought during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

I saw microlights. They have a propeller at the back which pushes them whih is attached to an engine. The man said that he takes his daughter flying in it. How you steer – there is a little bar and to go left you tilt it right and to go right you tilt it left. There is no roof, no doors or walls – they are just a small light aircraft.

This “seeker” airplane looked very unusual.

That's Just Silly

Reading has really clicked. Perhaps because he has discovered Dr Seuss. He INSISTS on reading them himself and giggles all the way through. Which in one way is a pity  because I love reading them to him.

Just an Update

Kirk is almost ready to move onto grade 2 maths but I'll just revise all the concepts & wait for his literacy to catch up before we buy the next text. While he has an excellent oral ability, his reading level is still restricted to the basic building blocks & phonic words. His handwriting still requires a lot of work as well and I think these things are restricted by his maturity and he will simply develop them in time. Also I'm finding he has an excellent memory and will repeat facts and passages wth fair accuracy months after he has learned them. 

North American Indians

A report dictated by Kirk with a few suggestions from me to help it make sense.

Indians used bows and arrows and spears for hunting. They liked to hunt wild turkeys - they go, "Gobble, gobble gobble!" [turkey calls on YouTube].  They hunted buffalow by scaring them over cliffs. They then would fall and break their bones. The Indians hunted moose with moose callers. We made a moose caller last week out of paperbark and tied it with strong grass. It sounds like "mwaaaaaja".  Here is a page full of moose calls. [ed: Kirk thinks these are hilarious.]


They caught fish with nets and lines with hooks with bait. Their bait was made out of other fish. Their first idea was insects and then other fish.  They also made fish traps.  Indians planted types of corn, squash (pumpkins) and beans. They also gathered blueberries, seeds, nuts and herbs. 

They made canoes fom wood and bark.

They lived in tepees, wigwams, longhouses and mud brick houses.
The plains Indians followed the buffalow with tepees. The tepees were made out of skin and how they put them up was with stiff sticks.They were nomads.The east coast Indians lived in longhouses made from bark and wood. They did not move often. Others built wigwams and moved occassionally. Some of the mudbrick houses (adobe) were built under a cave so they did not have roofs.

During this month we have made a costume & feather headress. We are now making a tepee and my first tepee is nearly half built. Mum is making leather moccasins, a quiver and tomorrow we'll make a leather bag with seed and shell decorations.

We have been doing lots of archery and I'm hitting the targets more often. Sometimes I hit them in the neck.

My Life as an Indian

Kirk spent most of today as an American Indian. He sewed a tunic (which he can wear to Northern War) and went hunting for deer. He also discussed at length their houses. His tepee unfortunately is still under construction.

V-I-K-I-N-G

Mum, I know how to spell Viking. V-I-K-I-N-G!

Ahhh... A boy after my own heart!

Last week it was Indians and it looks like this week it will be Vikings. He then asked, "Why did they call them Vikings?"
"I don't know, we will have to research that."

GOAL!!!

The soccer team kicked their first goal and Kirk achieved his - NOT to cry during the game! Well done my little boy.

Nerd Cert I

Kirk passed Nerd Cert I the other day. He excitedly pointed to David Attenborough on the DVD and exclaimed, "This man tells me all about animals - he's really good - I watch all his stuff!!!"  and he doesn't recognise  High 5 or the Wiggles.

Cock-a-doodle-doooo

Kirk is buckling down to work properly now. When we open a page of his handwriting text - he just does it. If I tell him it's not good enough and rub it out, he just does it again with more care and no complaints.

His maths progress is great but what I am even happier about is he can self-assess and is setting his own goals. If he receives less than 80% in Mathletics he is disappointed and deservedly celebrates when he achieves full marks. Today he aced his term assessment from the Signpost Maths textbook. Partially this has occurred because reading and writing is falling into place hence the textbook is a lot easier to understand. He willingly does 2 or 3 pages at a time and can sometimes predict what they want him to do.

3 weeks ago we did a mapping exercise at Frank & Elaine's place with our homeschool group and this week Kirk surprised me with a spontaneous map of our yard - everything was recognisable and in the right place. Incidentally he drew this map for the Toothfairy because he has lost another tooth.

He is also loving soccer even though he is the woosiest boy there! His coach, Ashley, is very patient and gently explains and encourages him. His swimming progress is also pretty good and I am hoping he will be good enough for swim club by September.

So where is Skye in all this? Usually harassing him!

Reading at last

It's taken a while but reading has finally clicked for Kirk. Admittedly it's just phonically and only 2 & 3 letter words but he's made it to first base. PHEW! I hope the next landmark comes a bit quicker :-)

Get Rhythm

Need it. Slowly succeeding.  I won't harp on because others already have.

We're Legal!

We have the temporary "go for it" from the homeschooling unit until they read our program. It seems their workload grows every year.

This term we're doing seashore and estuarine ecology, building on what we did last year and we're reasonably on track. One of his tasks is to make a collection for a Case of Curiosities. The other week we went beachcombing at Kelly's Beach and he found a lot of cuttlefish bones so we spent a few days learning about cuttlefish and what animals are related to them (basic classification). Afterwards he dictated this for his book, I made 4 suggestions about better wording;

Cuttlefish Bone

Yesterday we went to the beach and we had a little swim. The weather was a bit rainy and bit cloudy. Then we went beachcombing. We found cuttlefishes’ bones. They are very soft and I can put my fingernail through them. Some broke in my hand. Cuttlefish bones come from cuttlefish. They’re  much softer than normal bone. It helps them float in the water.

Cuttlefish change colour so they can hide. This is called camouflage. They also squirt out ink when something is attacking them. The ink blinds the attacker while they escape. They do not have any other way of defending themselves so cuttlefish are smart, they have big brains and can do tricks.

______________________________________

Today we went to the Burnett River (tidal)  to look at the effects of the flood. He was SOOOO impressed...especially when he found a fantastic crab trap which he intends to give to Grandpa. We saw all sorts of wreckage; boats, jetties, bowling balls, fences etc... and then he noticed there were a lot of large crab holes but very few small crab holes where as the opposite was previously true. So we speculated on what happened to all the small ones and he concluded they were washed into the ocean. I'll make a point of visiting the sites again in 12 months to see if their numbers have rebuilt.

On the sporting front: Kirk's swimming confidence is growing and he is a lot more competent in the water but I would not say he is a great swimmer yet. We are trying to swim two or three times a week and HOPE he will be able to join the swim club at the end of the year. 

Kirk is also looking forward to starting soccer on Saturday...so far it has cost us almost $200 so he had better like it because he won't be dropping out!!!

We're having fun with the homeschoolers group. We're making sock puppets at the moment (They only stick the needles in each other a couple of times) and will put on a play for the toddlers playgroup soon. Strangely all the kids have wanted to make chickens...

If anyone wants to see what we're doing this year. Drop me an email and I'll send you our program.

Better Catapult Capers

As I mentioned yesterday in my family blog I was disappointed in a science class I was required to teach. It sounded fun but turned out to be over controlled and burdened with paper. I had to purge my miasma so today Kirk and I made a very simple, yet effective, catapult. The design works really well so I reckon we might make a few of these tomorrow in class if the kids can find a little spare time...and I am sure they WILL!

Ants in Yer Pants

When I was little my Grandma said she would buy me a watch when I learned to tell the time so naturally I have given Kirk the same bargain. This has been sped up considerably because when our Mums visited Annette brought a kids calendar and a clock from Bernie so now Kirk is keen to learn  how to tell the time. The days of the week are also starting to make an impression - this week it clicked that the days of the week have an order.

Ann also brought an ant farm with her. Richard had a great time putting it together and both Kirk and Joshua are all fired up about filling their ant farm. They liked it SO MUCH Dad went out and bought another one so they could each have their own metropolis. I imagine they have plans to invade each other one day...

Busy

This last few months have been very busy  but we are squeezing in our schooling around our manic social life. Last week was all focused on the SCA and this weekend he had a birthday party.
Kirk has been fairly obsessive with numbers & is consistently reading numbers to 100 and understanding numbers to 1000 about 1/2 the time. We've been experimenting with the spiragraph and playing a lot of Snakes and Ladders, Snap and Memory.  I'm reading Enid Blighton's Magic Faraway Tree series to him and working on a few sight words. Now that Sean is home more, they are spending time in the shed together. He's exhausted at the end of most days.

Long time...

Since returning from Gold Coast it has been difficult to bring our routine back on track, nevertheless Kirk has been working very hard at reading 2 & 3 digit numbers and simple words. Now I'm back at school teaching the odd day, I have the opportunity to compare him to the preps and he seems to be about average.

I still haven't bought him that trampoline which he thoroughly deserves but Aunty Michelle gave him Joshua's bike which thrills him immensely. There isn't a lot of flat area to ride it here so he takes it to Jorja's and rides it all day there. Rachel tells me he is managing to ride it on 2 wheels going forward but still requires the trainer wheels when cornering.

Last term we were studying space and since our trip have been fairly lax with it but as he is gravitating to anything space oriented I shall plug along with it and see how far we can push the theme. He has matured these last couple of months and I think he might be ready to learn more of the physical concepts rather than just facts.

A problem Kirk has had the last 6 months is a very slight lisp, not unusual for his age, and I have been trying to correct this and concluded its persistence was due to the lack of front teeth. A visit to the ENT said it was more likely due to inner ear fluid. Hopefully after his tonsil operation we will be able to correct this.

We made a couple of model rockets today. One the traditional style - the other closer to a multistaged rocket. Learned about making cones and cylinders.

Almost there

Although Kirk still has an issue with the 10s, he is developing a solid grip on counting to 100. He is very determined to understand double digits and the difference between numbers standing together, being added or multiplied.

He is still enjoying our exploration of space so I will continue with this. He's chuffed with Uranus which has fallen on its side and tonight watched a fictional documentary on the discovery of a planet with life. He has a huge imagination. I wish he liked art so he could show us what is in his head.

Writing the alphabet has reached a plateau so we will play with pastels for a while.

Questacon

Yesterday Questacon came to Bundaberg. Kirk and his friends had a ball. Not surprisingly he spent much time playing with the gear board. It is a vertical magnetic surface with 1 moving gear to which you stick different sized gears and watch what happens.  We then spent the afternoon in the Botanical Gardens with our friends. 

Please Mum!

For months Kirk has been nagging me for a trampoline. A fortnight ago I gave in and said that when he could count to 50 by himself he could have one. At the time he could barely get to 15, let alone 50. I thought this would buy me a heap of time but it looks like I will be forking out a lot sooner than I expected. On Monday he watched his friend, Jorja, count to 100. On Wednesday, with some help, he did it himself. No kidding. This week he has spent a lot of time asking me about numbers. Questions like: "What's a 6 and a 3 make?" (63), "What is 6 plus 3?" (9), He has also been obsessively counting everything and doing a lot of self talk about number comparisons, "8 is bigger than 6."

Note to self: material rewards WORK but forgo trampolines in the future.