Home Education
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Our Reading Basket: Reminisces & Plans
A constant of our home education journey is reading, over the years we’ve read, cried, laughed and devoured hundreds of books together, these ‘friends well met’ are now part of our family culture. Initially, when life was simpler we began our day with reading, as our dynamics changed this ‘time together’ shifted and continues to periodically as we seek the best way to meet our ever changing needs. It has also undergone name changes over the years, originally it was our ‘gather together time,’ eventually we called it our ‘reading basket time,’ another popular term for some is ‘morning basket.’ Regardless, we’re simply together; reading, discussing and memorising our way through…
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9 Tips For A New Homeschooler From An Old Homeschooler
We’ve been parenting/homeschooling for over two decades now, doesn’t it sound like a long time, not sure if it feels long or not 😉 One of the gifts of having several children over a twenty year span is our hard won wisdom doesn’t ‘go to waste’, our younger children benefit from our earlier experience. We’d like to share 9 tips with you that we’ve learnt along the way, in this parenting, home educating journey, come along and travel with us. What have we learnt along the journey, where are we now focusing our energies, what pieces of wisdom gained are we implementing? It’s All About Relationships Focus on nurturing relationships; your relationship with…
- Blog, Book Reviews, Home Education, Home Education - Language Arts, Home Education - Leaping into Literature, Learning
Leaping into Literature: Our Final Week
Our Leaping into Literature readings have become rather challenged as we juggle a number of major projects in our life, projects that distract our focus and energy elsewhere, in fact this post has languished for a few weeks in drafts, dusting off to share. All three of the older children have been reading up a storm, however focusing on the picture books this week. Jelly Bean (11) Kelsey Green, Reading Queen – Claudia Mills JB loved this book Jack Jack (9 – Later Reader) Treehouse Rescue: Peter Rabbit The Raddish Robber: Peter Rabbit Australian – War Remembrance Day was on the 11th November and we read through a huge pile of war books. Well…
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All About Reading: Level 1
After years of teaching our seven older children to read without a scripted reading program we are now using one. I’m so excited with the brilliance of All About Reading I want to share with you our experiences as we move further through the program and complete each level. I’ve previously reviewed All About Reading: Pre-Reading, chatting today about our experience with All About Reading Level 1. In my All About Reading: Pre-Reading review I talked about our first experience using a scripted program, about our previous method, a modified Australianised version of Spalding and of my reluctance to switch to any program as it may mean changing our phonogram sounds. A reluctance that was removed when I discovered All…
- Blog, Book Reviews, Home Education, Home Education - Language Arts, Home Education - Leaping into Literature, Learning
Leaping into Literature: An Interrupted Week
Last week was an interrupted week; a belated birthday luncheon for our teens with Marnie (my mum) and our annual local festival, always a big week. However despite the distractions we managed to achieve some reading for our Leaping into Literature theme. Michelangelo(16) The Warrior Heir – Cinda Williams Chima The Wizard Heir – Cinda Williams Chima The Dragon Heir – Cinda Williams Chima The Enchanter Heir – Cinda Williams Chima Princess(14) Sweet Little Ladies and the Secret at Berry Creek – Sascha Everett Horrible Science mags That Girl of Pierre’s – Robert Davis Jelly Bean (11) Star of Wild Horse Canyon – Clyde Robert Bulla Break in at the…
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All About Reading: Pre-Reading
At the end of last year I used All About Reading Pre-Reading with our then six year old, our first experience of using a scripted reading program after years of teaching children to read without one. We are extremely happy with our decision and believe we have finally found ‘the missing key’ to our children’s previous reading experiences. We are currently using All About Reading Pre-reading with Bass, our four and a half year old, and are impressed anew of the ease and effectiveness of this program. Bass is our youngest child to begin reading, but he is keen and for him it’s a game. Prior to teaching Jem to…
- Blog, Book Reviews, Home Education, Home Education - Language Arts, Home Education - Leaping into Literature, Learning
Leaping Into Literature: A Less Intense Week
In some respects our Leaping into Literature focus was a little less intense this week, we read far fewer picture books than last week. Although our focus remained on reading, it was more in the nature of our budding readers reading to me rather than me reading to them. I’m finding the most effective method of ensuring reading progress is to make it a ‘family affair’, our emerging readers and new reader all reading at the same time. Imagine children snuggled up in various cosy spots at the same time, that’s what’s working, the togetherness factor. Individual Reads: Michelangelo(16) The Tournament at Gorlan (Ranger’s Apprentice – John Flanagan Princess (14) Began a few…
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Reading to Teens
Do you read to your teenagers? I’ve just begun reading to our teens after a hiatus of years. Over the years I’ve read aloud to our middle and younger children (mostly) but for various reasons I haven’t been reading to our teens. This has bothered me for years and I’ve yearned to change the situation but have been griped by an inertia to do so. What was the catalyst for change? I was downloading Sarah’s podcasts when the title Reading Aloud to Older Children (still haven’t listened to it) caught my eye and I was instantly determined and inspired to read to our teens. We began that afternoon and have continued since. Why can’t our teens…
- Blog, Book Reviews, Home Education, Home Education - Language Arts, Home Education - Leaping into Literature, Learning
Leaping into Literature: Third Time Round
This is our third year to embark on our annual Term 4 adventure; Leaping into Literature. A time when we immerse ourselves in picture books, and chapter books for the older children. This ties in well with our focus this term, literacy; reading, writing and spelling, which deserves a whole post in itself, but suffice for now, we’re seeing wonderful results. To ‘free up’ time for picture books we omit history, science and geography from our studies, though in reality we cover these in our picture books anyhow. Our library cards are nearly maxed out, with 12 cards in the family and a capacity of 20 reservations per card, we’re already in the 200s! As our…
