An Empty School Room

Our schoolroom, usually completely crammed with books, resources and whatever else will fit, currently looks like this:

 

And our Living Room looks like this:

Why?  Because we are packing, and we are moving house!

We are currently on an incredible journey, where as a family, we have learned much about trusting in the Lord, stepping out in faith, and building our family relationships.

Although we had not originally planned to move so far north, in the end, we have decided to move to Grafton, NSW.  The removalists arrive with the truck on October 16th - so we have just over a week to have everything packed and sorted.

It all still seems a little surreal - we have talked about moving for the past couple of years, and seriously for the last 4-5 months, but talking is one thing, and making it happen is quite another! 

On our recent holiday to Grafton, Bill picked up some work in nearby Coff's Harbour, and the house-hunting began.  We were knocked back on several houses that we applied for, but all along, I had hoped we would be able to find a house to rent that did not involve a real estate agent.  We've always had private rentals, and life is so much easier that way! 

A dear friend suggested I put an ad in the local paper, and on the morning that we were leaving to come home, we received a text message about a 4-bedroom house near Grafton.  We drove out for a look, and later rang them to say that we would like to rent it - and they agreed to have us!  It's a beautiful house on the Clarence River, and just minutes from Grafton.

After all these years coping with only one toilet (to share with our seven girls!), I'm delighted to report that we also now have two toilets, and two showers!  I know that may sound funny to some, but it's one thing that has been quite a challenge at times - so it's delightful to finally have a house with two!

And, we have music teachers!  Grafton has a lovely Conservatorium, and while we were there, we met with the staff and teachers, and we are very much looking forward to being involved with their various bands and ensembles.  We will also be involved with the local choir, and look forward to meeting with our new group soon.  As well, there are several art & craft groups, and I'm already in contact with a few ladies who are involved with scrapbooking, whom I am looking forward to meeting face to face once we arrive.

We also have the bonus of having several other homeschooling families in the area, and we are all excited to get to know these wonderful people more.  And, I have two nieces just a couple of hours north of where we will be living - so maybe I can finally find some time to spend with them as well!

How it all worked out is a long, wonderful story that is still unfolding;  and as I am able, I will share some of the exciting developments, especially in the area of our faith, friends and our family;  our relationships with God and with each other have absolutely blossomed these past few weeks / months, which has been very special to witness and to be a part of.

For now, though, it is back to sorting and packing, and making ready for our move!

God bless,

Linda.

Our Wonderful Digital Artist

Copyright Clickcritters.com 2012

One thing I've always tried to teach my children is that, despite any difficulties or your own limitations, you can do whatever you want to do, and be whoever you want to be.

Our Adnil Press business is one example of this - despite the fact that we live in a very rural location and have limited resources, over the course of the past twelve years, we have worked to build up our business, and in doing so, have secured several international printing contracts, including of course, our exclusive Australian contract with IEW.

Well, it seems all that encouragement is paying off. Our darling 15 year old dd is now our one and only 'working' child.  She has a passion for digital art, and has impressed one business so much that they are now buying her art for their online site!  This week, she received her first payment, and has stepped into the world of professional digital artists.

I also received a lovely email from the owners, who praised our girl for her talents, and indicated that they are very much looking forward to working with her.  Usually, they only purchase art from experienced artists who are at least 18 years of age, but her work impressed them so much, that they wanted her to begin with them straight away.

Congratulations, sweetheart - we hope it will be the beginning of a wonderful career!

.
Click here to feed me a piece of food !

Get your own at Click Critters!

 Linda

The Phonetic Zoo - Review

Here's a fantastic review of one of our more popular programmes:  IEW's 'The Phonetic Zoo':

No-Nonsense Spelling Curriculum -The Phonetic Zoo (Review) 

  

 

For ordering details, see our site, at:  Adnil Press - The Phonetic Zoo.

 

 

 

Have a great day!

 

 

Linda. 

Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings

There are times when you purchase curriculum that does its job, and you’re happy with it.  There are other times that the ‘fantastic, new, curriculum’ is an absolute flop, and ends up sitting on the shelf or re-sold.  And then, there are times when you purchase something that is an absolute hit – just perfect for your children, for you, and your homeschool.

Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings, for us, is one such curriculum.  I purchased it several years ago, and I was always a little nervous about it; the student and teacher volumes are huge, as is, of course, the Lord of the Rings itself.  And yet, it remained on my ‘to do’ list – one day – in the future. 

Earlier this year, I was busy planning our curriculum, and I needed to choose something for either literature or essay writing.  We’d completed several of the IEW courses, and I knew my teens were quite proficient with essays, so I decided to go with literature.  But what to use?  As always, there was a stack of choices, and then I spied LOTR, sitting on the shelf, waiting.  Maybe, I thought, now was the time to use it.  And I’m glad I did!

So much more than a fill-in-the-blanks curriculum, LiteraryLessons from Lord of the Rings offers comprehensive chapter summaries, vocabulary words, challenge questions, essay suggestions, and at the end of each book, unit studies.  The unit studies cover things such as the author’s life, other great works of literature, map work, and more.  Currently, we are working through Unit Study Five, which covers the timeless works of Homer and Vergil – The Odyssey, the Iliad, and the Aeneid.  Having studied Homer’s works a couple of years ago, it is refreshing to do a re-cap of these marvellous, epic tales.  The essay assignments are also wonderful (at least from my point of view!), and there are many ‘optional writing assignments’, some of which we tackle, and others that we freely leave out and move on. 

All the elements of literature are covered as well.  One lesson may concentrate on theme, the next on conflict, another on character or setting, and so forth.  In this way, literary terms are learned, and with the writing assignments, they are also put into practice.  Recently, we were asked to write a paragraph, vividly describing our favourite location, which could have been imaginary or real.  The programme also encourages the use of strong verbs and quality adjectives, meaning it dovetails with the IEW programme perfectly!  So I can rest assured that my young writers are also receiving some fantastic instruction that has helped them in their own writing endeavours.

Even my ten-year-old loves it.  Although she is not reading the novels or completing the essays, she enjoys sitting down with us as we discuss each chapter and work through the exercises.  She is in charge of the answer book, and as we shout out our answers, young Aimee excitedly informs us whether or not our answers are correct! 

Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings is certainly a keeper.  The chapter summaries help with putting the story together and keeping everything fresh in one’s mind, and the vocabulary word studies give a greater understanding of the author and the text.  Sometimes, comprehension questions and literature studies can dull the story, but that is not so in this case.  This curriculum helps to bring to life the timeless story of Frodo and his companions, and the studies of other great classics, the challenging essays, and the literacy lessons make this a complete high-school Literature course.  This is one resource that undoubtedly receives the ‘thumbs up’, and I look forward to using it again in the future.

Linda.

For the Writer in Your Home...

This is for all the young writers out there:

Does this remind you of anyone in your house?


Linda.

Aussie Home Educator series

Some time back, I was asked to join in on the Aussie Home Educator Series, hosted by April over at 'Learning Alongside'.

 

To read the interview and my responses, pop on over to April's blog, where you'll also find several other interviews and excellent blog posts.

Thankyou, April - answering the questions was most thought-provoking, and has reminded me of our goals, plans, and the very reason why we chose a homeschooling lifestyle - it was fun!

Linda.

SA Music Camp 2012

This past week, Helena and Daniel attended the 50th annual 'South Australian Music Camp', held at St Peter's in Adelaide.

After five days of intense preparation, a concert was held on the Friday evening - and what a concert it was!  It was absolutely spectacular, and made even more special as we watched Helena perform in the Shephard Concert Band, and Daniel in the Alexander Orchestra.

This was Daniel's first Music Camp, and he attended as a percussionist.  I commented to his father that the best thing about having a percussionist in the family was that we could see, and hear, everything he did on the night.  Daniel was busting for the opportunity to play the crash cymbals, so once he had them, that was it, and I don't know that anyone else got the chance at all!   Of course, there were other instruments in use as well - such as the tambourine and various other items to hit, whack, or whatever else one does with them...

Helena moved up in the ranks this year, playing 2nd clarinet in the concert band, and did a fantastic job.  While Daniel was positioned at the very back of the orchestra, Helena sat right in front, and it was a delight to watch how this beautiful young lady has matured and to truly witness her talents as she confidently played each piece to perfection.

Needless to say, they both very much enjoyed the camp, as well as the opportunity to spend time with some friends, who also attended the camp, and took great care of my young musicians during their time in Adelaide.

But, as always, it is wonderful to have them home again.  The coming week will no doubt also be one of excitement and activity - as both my older girls are home as well - meaning I currently have ALL of my children home for a few days!

One thing is for certain - the noise level has certainly doubled - and it's not making it easy to write blog posts!  'Ultrastar' is in full swing - and I think it's MY turn!  :)

Time for family!

Linda.

Apologia High School Science

For several years now, we've used the Apologia High School texts for science.  At times, it's all been a little too much, but after some research (as in hours & hours), nothing else I found came close, so we have continued with it.

And, I'm glad - while it does take 45-60 minutes per day, Apologia has certainly proven itself to be an excellent curriculum - thorough, user-friendly, and with experiments that actually do work.

The only small issue I've had is the rather messy notebooks.  As all the work is completed in an exercise book, and as some of my children don't really enjoy creating beautiful notebooks, we don't usually end up with much for 'show and tell' at the end of the year.

But today, I've made a marvellous discovery!  Over at:

 Curr Click 

Knowledge Box Central have on offer 'Lapbook Journals' for each of the Apologia Texts (Just plug in 'Apologia' in the search box).  These are downloadable notebooks - with over 500 printable pages, that are to be place into a 3-ring binder.  All the 'on your own' questions are included, along with the 'lab reports', 'review questions' and 'practice problems'!  The publishers have deliberately avoided lots of colourful pages - a bonus for those who need to rely on ink-based printers.

There are also Lapbook pages, to be used IF your child likes the whole 'crafty' thing - but, if not, you can simply choose to use the Review Questions Journal Pages.  So while the option is there, the student does not have to be creative (This also means you do not have to print out all 500 pages).  However, just having all the questions already written out, with a space for the answers, means that we're going to have some much nicer Apologia Notebooks at the end of the year.

I'm now feeling very glad that we have on order a new drum and a new box of toner for our printer!

Happy Printing,

Linda.

School --- Really?

Sometimes, school can be...  well, relaxed.

I occasionally read on other people's blogs how they are so disciplined, so organised, and so 'with it'.

I'm just not.

I mean - I 'plan' very well, and have very good intentions, but I'm just too much of a softie, I guess.

Don't get me wrong - I am raising a bunch of very independent learners.  Most of the morning school is taken care of with set workbooks, texts, etc.  This includes English, Maths, Spelling, Writing, Music Practice and Art.  Afterwards, with the basics covered, we usually get together for Religion, Science, History, and so forth.

But not always.

Take today - lunchtime came around so fast, and I then I thought that maybe I should torture them a little with some extra school work.  My son is currently away in NSW, and it's been quite different without him, having only girls around:  it's simply amazing how much the atmosphere can change when one is away.  So anyway, we settled back for another couple of chapters from 'John of the Sirius'.  We're really enjoying this book - we've read it before of course, but it's the first time through for my three youngest.

Since it was a lovely, sunny afternoon, I decided we'd then head outside for a science experiment.  This is one of my favourites - where one person takes a broom, and gives the shed a good 'whack'.                                    

       

The rest of the gang positions themselves at the other end of the yard, and takes note of when they 'see' the broom hit the shed, and when they 'hear' the broom hit.  In this way, they can see the difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound.   Just my type of experiment - simple, effective, and easy to clean up afterwards!  

     

Now, I really had intended to head back indoors and tackle that history lesson, but it was so lovely outside, that I just couldn't do it.  After all - I did have my camera in hand, and it was so lovely out there - so, we decided it was time for some photography.


Here's our 'current' car collection:

 

Of course, that doesn't included the FOURTEEN cars that are in the sheds or out the side, nor the TWO old vans / busses, or even the TWO caravans.  One could think I married a mechanic (yes, I did!).



Then, it was off to our 'family tree' as we call it, for the girls to climb:

 

And, there was a bit of weight-lifting as well:

 

Lizzie then spied our pile of 'witches hats', and asked what they were for.  I explained that we set them up for learner drivers to practice their parking skills.  And then it occurred to me that maybe 'I' should practice those skills - I can drive OK, but parking has always been an issue (partly because of my eyes and problems with depth perception) - but well, why not?

So, we set it all up, I grabbed our little car, and very successfully demonstrated why I am NOT the one to give driving and parking lessons.  Yep, I really do need practice!

 

Naturally, at this point, dear hubby arrived, and just HAD to take the opportunity to show off (but, at least the girls did get to see how to park correctly)!  Of course, I gave him heaps for showing off, but, we made up eventually:

 

While all of the parking and such was happening, the girls were watching on - except one:

 

This is the time when the homeschool mother in me wanted to scream - 'Yes- we've got one - a READER!' - but I successfully managed to control myself.  :)


Hubby then proceeded to change a tyre on one of the other cars, and the girls got to watch that, too - as well as build a 'tyre tower' from the collection of spare tyres.

 

Wait - what's so interesting?


Oh, I see....

Looks REALLY happy, doesn't he?



Finally, we headed back inside, put all the school books away (see?  they did do quite a bit this morning, even without me!)   and finished off our 'school day' with a game of 'Masterpiece - the Art Auction Game'.  I'm afraid to say they thrashed me, leaving me in last place.

Can't win 'em all, I guess.

 

And that was our day!


Linda.

The Alot is Better Than You at Everything

OK - so, it's nearly 2am, and I cannot sleep.  After a visit to one of my favourite message boards (TWTM), I came across this post and had to share - it's very cute!

The Alot is Better Than You at Everything

Anyone who gets frustrated with 'text' language, like I do, will appreciate it.


Linda.

Dissection Time!

Around ten years ago, we embarked on rather an adventure, using the KONOS curriculum.  We enjoyed it - the curriculum has some fantastic suggestions for hands-on activities, and we can all still remember building a castle out of boxes and creating a huge, crawl-through model of the ear.

One experiment that we did not do, however, was dissecting an eye.  There is no way I could have stomached it, and my girls thought the whole thing would be 'disgusting'.  I can't say I was sorry.

Fast forward ten years.  Now I have a twelve year old who simply loves that sort of thing!  When I stupidly mentioned dissecting an eye one day, she jumped at the chance!

Next step - going into the butcher to order one.  THAT took a while.  We live in a small town, and the people think we are nuts already -

1 - for having a large family, and

2 - because we homeschool (how dare we do that, when we have a perfectly good school in our town??)


But eventually, I worked up the courage and waltzed into the butcher to order our meat, and while there, I asked for the eyes as well.  All the guys froze - 'Did you say the eyes?'   Yep - we're doomed to be weirdos for life now!  I did explain what I wanted it for, but still...

Anyway, the eyes arrived.  I had hoped for a cow's eye, but I got pigs eyes instead - smaller, but we'd make do.

After a few weeks of looking at me whenever I opened the freezer,  I finally worked up the strength and courage to pull them out, and begin the experiment.  My Lizzie was delighted!  And she had a ball sifting through all the bits, and putting the empty shell on her finger afterwards.  (Yuk, yuk, yuk!)  I was quite grossed out by the end of it, and very keen to literally wash my hands of it all!

 

But, at least that is done, and I can finally tick it off our 'to do' list.  Actually, there are still two more eyes in the freezer - might just keep them aside in case someone visits that I really don't like - I'm sure they'll come in handy!  :)


Linda.

Camp Willochra - Day Five

All too soon, our country homeschool camp came to an end.

Several of the teens had actually managed to stay up all night, and although they truly did pitch in and help with the packing up, they were tired!  Certain people were well and truly ready for sleep:

I think we killed him!

I was impressed, though, that they not only managed to stay awake throughout the whole ‘group photo’ happenings, but they even managed to look bright and cheerful.

Our Homeschool Group

By 10am, the camp site was pretty much back the way it was when we arrived.  After a thorough check by the warden, we were given the all clear, and we were on our way back home.  

Packing the Bus

Needless to say, it was a very quiet household for the rest of the day, as our party animals went to bed, and stayed there until evening.

Camp Willochra was over for a another year.  It was fun, entertaining and very relaxing.  We all very much enjoyed ourselves, and it was wonderful to catch up with old friends, and to make new ones. 

Already, there is talk of another camp before the year is out!  It’ll just be a matter of mustering up enough energy to organise it.  :)

Linda.

Camp Willochra – Day Four

On Day Four, I crawled out of bed and headed for the kitchen.  We were supposed to be going for a hike down into Alligator Gorge at 9am, and it was already after eight, so I knew we needed to get moving.  Wandering into the kitchen / dining room, I was greeted with this scence:

One Empty Dining Room

Yep – I wasn’t the only one who had slept in!  9 O’clock came and went, and no-one cared.  We were all quite happy to take our time and get going at a leisurely pace.  Having said that, however, it was time to rouse the teens, and Jess took delight in telling them all to get a move on.  After another hour or so, we were all ready, so we loaded the vehicles and headed off towards Wilmington.

The Terraces

Alligator Gorge is a beautiful spot.  After a winding road to reach the top, we parked our vehicle and then descended the 250 stone steps to reach the walking track.  One of my favourite places in the Gorge is ‘The Terraces’ – part of the creek bed that has been worn away over time to look like a terrace.  Unfortunately, this time there was no water in the creek, but nevertheless, it was still very picturesque.  

The teens found a walking track, and came up and out of the Gorge a different way, and later we met them back at the top. During that time, they had also decided to have timed races down and back up the steps – with a couple of very fit youngsters completing the course in under 3 minutes!  Dear hubby and I had a lovely stroll through the gorge, and of course, I managed to stop and take a great number of photos along the way.

Some of the Stone Steps

 

The Race

Ascending the Stairs

After we returned to camp, we had lunch and then some campers played games, kicked the ball around, and took a walk along the Gibbon Line, which one of the mums had brought along.  There were some rather interesting acrobatic moves, but fortunately, no major injuries.  And then a few of us managed to escape to our ‘quiet room’ for some more craft activities.  It was a very relaxing afternoon that was over far too soon – before we knew it, it was 6pm and time to organise dinner, for next on the programme was concert night.

The Gibbon Line

  

Craft Afternoon

We began the night with only a few acts, however, just before my Aimee was to sing her first ever solo in front of an audience, my camera decided it’s memory card was full, and so I grabbed my computer and began to download some 450 photos and 12 videos.  During our little ‘technical hitch’ moment, others decided that they would get involved, and suddenly, the number of acts increased enormously, which was fantastic.   The acts were wide and varied, including singing, musical numbers, juggling, story-telling, and some where the whole audience was called upon to join in.  I still can’t get the ‘Pizza Hut – Kentucky Fried Chicken – McDonalds’ number out of my head!

G'Day G'Day

  

Loch Lomond

Bumblebee Act

With the concert out of the way, we said a few ‘thankyous’ and reminders for the clean-up the next morning, and then some of us went to bed, while others decided that, being the last night of camp, it was time for an all-nighter, and proceeded to stay up all night.  This was agreed to, so long as they would all be prepared to help out with the cleaning and packing the next morning.

And so we left them to it – and that was Day Four.

Linda.

Camp Willochra – Day Three

Day Three was Anzac Day.   

Following some morning activities including word searches, puzzles and the making of paper poppies, the girls headed into the kitchen to bake a cake with one of the mums.   

The games continued of course – including a not-so-serious card game among several of the teens.  As the weather was finally beginning to warm up, a few people also braved the swimming pool.

After lunch, it was off the Big Shed for a traditional Australian Bush Dance, hosted by our very own Jessica.  Many of our campers joined in the fun – and soon the music was blaring and the ‘Heel and Toe Polka’ went into full swing, followed by the ‘Flying Pieman’ and ‘Ned Kelly’s Land Stand’. All had a wonderful time, and afterwards, we headed off to the kitchen for dinner.  

Keeping with the Australian theme, it was BBQ night, and many ate their dinner outside, at the bonfire. One of the Dads had very kindly gathered up a heap of wood during the camp, and the bonfire blazed well into the night – and even into the next day.  Of course, marshmallows were toasted, and some camp fire songs were soon heard drifting across the camp ground.

And thus ended Day Three – well, as far as I was concerned.  The nights seemed to be getting later and later, but, that’s camping!  I wandered off into dreamland, as many of the other campers stayed wide awake, continuing to enjoy the fun.

Linda.

Camp Willochra - Day Two

To begin the day, the teens headed off for a hike up Mount Remarkable. Some rather keen adults and young children followed along a little later, and the rest of us settled down for a cuppa, a chat and some board games.  After an hour or so, some of the campers then headed into Melrose to have a look around the town.

A couple of hours later, I telephoned the teens to ask if everyone was still alive.  When I received and enthusiastic, ‘No!’, I figured all was well!   Eventually they returned – mostly fine, but with a few bumps and bruises here and there.  They’d had a good climb, and some of them had even reached the very top.

The afternoon was spent either relaxing, playing games or at a craft workshop.  After dinner, it was time for the ‘Quiz Night’, hosted by yours truly and my trusty sidekick, Margaret.  That was an effort!  It was the first time I’d run a quiz night, but I think all went well, and the general consensus was that there were a good variety of questions – some easy, some more difficult, and others, well….  Interesting!  My favourite question of the night was:  “According to the 2001 UK Census, how many Britons stated ‘Jedi Knights’ as their religion?”   I’ll leave the answer to that one in the comments section in a day or two!

After the ‘Marshmallows’ team took out the ultimate prize for the night, out came the broomstick, and the line up for ‘Limbo’ began.  I gotta say, it’s amazing how flexible some people are!  Some of the girls especially amazed us with their abilities to simply flip themselves backward!  My friend Jacqui and I sat back and enjoyed the show, and..  er… threw some entertainment back at them by singing (at the top of our voices) along to several of our favourite ‘eighties’ songs. 

 

 

And that was Day Two.  Successful, relaxed, and a whole lot of fun.

Linda.