Living
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How To Raise a Family of Readers
How to raise a family of readers? Reading in our household is an integral part of our family culture: our children are read to from birth through to their teenage years, reading independently is nurtured, and reading as a pastime is highly valued. Our children are surrounded by books as our home literally contains thousands of books: books purchased, gifted and found at book sales. Both my husband and I are readers as are our children; conversations, activities and movie watching are entwined around our love of reading. Simply, reading is something we do as a family. Reflecting upon how we have grown a reading culture, I decided to ask…
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Transitions Within Our Home Education
Over the past few weeks we’ve been chatting about a variety of ‘not back to school‘ topics with other fellow Aussie home educating families, hosted by Kylie from Our World Wide Classroom. We’ve shared our Goals for Our Year Ahead, we’ve reflected on They Way We Learn and listed a huge line up of the Resources We Are Using, this week we’re wrapping up with chatting about what ‘Homeschool Transition’ we are undergoing in 2017. As I reflect back over the years it appears that our learning room has seen nothing but a continuous stream of transitions as every year brought forth new challenges. We’ve welcomed new babies with regularity, undertaken building two homes ourselves, those babies have…
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Resources We Are Using
Joining up once again for more talk about ‘not back to school‘ topics with fellow Aussie homeschool families. Hosted by Kylie from Our World Wide Classroom and this week we’re chatting about ‘Resources We Are Using.’ One of the attractions of home education is the freedom to choose which resources suit individual family’s beliefs, learning styles and lifestyle. We have for you this week a collection of unique approaches and quality resources reflecting the families using them. As a long term home educating family we have long settled on our approach and subsequently managed to narrow the plethora of resources available to some outstanding choices that have withstood the ‘test of time.’ Not…
- Blog, Home Education, Home Education - Link Ups, Home Education - Our Journey, Home Education - Planning, Living
The Way We Learn
Joining up with fellow Aussie homeschool families once again to bring to you our unique perspectives about a variety of ‘not back to school‘ topics, hosted by Kylie from Our World Wide Classroom. This week we’re chatting about ‘The Way We School,’ talking about not only our philosophies but how this looks in the reality, what our home education routine really looks like. We have been home educating for nearly two decades now and our Home Education Journey has undergone many changes along the way. The dreams and visions we began with have either gained clarity along the way or been abandoned. Other areas we didn’t even consider of importance…
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Goals For Our Year Ahead
The new school year begins this month Australia wide. As in years past I’m joining up with a band of Aussie families for four weeks of ‘not back to school‘ blogging chat hosted Kylie at Our World Wide Classroom. Over the next few weeks we will chat about a variety of topics relating to the upcoming year, each family bringing their unique perspectives. Kicking off this year’s Not Back To School roundup with our ‘Hopes, Dreams and Goals for Our Year Ahead’. As a long term home educating family we have many goals for our children; personal and spiritual as well as academic, the holistic person. Academically our overarching goals never change, ultimately we’re…
- Blog, Blogging - Link Ups, Home Education - Australia, Home Education - Geography, Home Education - Link Ups, Living
Growing Up In Australia
Today I’m meeting families from all around the world at Simple Homeschool’s Global Link Up. This concludes the Read the World Book Club, which despite a keen desire to do participate in didn’t eventuate for us. Come on over and join in the Globe Hop. Tell us about your family. Hi, I’m Erin. I’m passionate about all things books, have a developing passion for photography and a self-taught skill for juggling large family logistics. My husband is my Prince Charming and incredibly skilled in many areas. His career is in Finance with a talent for Excel and databases. He moonlights on weekends as an owner building, building our large home and…
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Planning Epiphany
After nearly two decades of planning for our home education journey I’m continually humbled as to how much I still have to learn.Two weeks ago I commenced my planning with the determination that this would be the term we’d correct all shortcomings. I began with the premise that our problems would all be solved by ‘raising our work standard.’ An assumption I continued with until my epiphany moment. Factors in Planning When planning, many factors come into play. Your teaching style, the children’s individual learning styles, family logistics, your educational philosophy, all have a role. Not only in how you home educate but what resources you select. My personal philosophy…
- Blog, Home Education, Home Education - Learning Notes, Home Education - Reggio Emilia, Learning, Living
‘Winter Workshops’ Create Enthusiasm
Term 2 came to a close yesterday here in New South Wales, though we aren’t stopping for a break yet. Partially because we haven’t achieved as much learning as optimal in the past month due to life’s interruptions. Also we’re waiting until our two City boys come home in a fortnight to be able to enjoy their visit for the two weeks they’re here. One of the benefits of home education is we can be flexible and work around family time. Truthfully though we’re all feeling a little stale, students and teacher, and in need of a change of pace. I’m always of the mind that ‘there’s more than…
- Blog, Home Education, Home Education - Charlotte Mason, Home Education - Nature Study, Living, Rural Life
Exploring With “Small Boys”
“It is infinitely well worth of the mother’s while to take some pains every day to secure, in the first place, that her children spend hours daily amongst rural and natural objects; and, in the second place, to infuse into them, or rather to cherish in them, the love of investigation.” Charlotte Mason, Volume 1, pg 71 I can have a tendency to become consumed with the ‘busyness of life’, the ‘to do’ lists, the mundane and then forget to make the time to see the world through the eyes of my children Today I consciously stepped into the world of our younger boys, we headed down to our…
