End of Term

We have finished with our formal schooling for the year, though naturally, the children haven't finished learning! Really, it's not like there is a switch that says, 'turned off for the holidays' LOL. Sarah and Daniel will continue to work on their own projects, play music, read and play, or do whatever else they choose to do. It's just that the structure of their days will change - nothing is planned, and I wont be keeping any records. Isn't that what a holiday is?

This year has been wonderful. Fun and full. The variety of interesting subjects the children applied themselves to resulted in much knowledge being acquired - by all of us. I often share in the childrens learning as I research, plan and gather resources!

I have previously mentioned that our preferred way of learning is via Unit Studies, which are usually based on Sarah & Daniel's interests. I value the way unit studies can cover almost all the Key Learning Areas, and I think a more cohesive and thorough understanding is built, simply by the sustained immersion in a subject, as deep or as far as we care to go - bunny trails and all, sometimes!

Typically, after breakfast and morning chores, our Mondays to Thursdays begin with Mathematics and English (though I think this subject should really be called 'Language Arts' as it is in some other states of Australia) followed by morning tea and a jump on the trampoline. After this break, a couple of hours is spent on the current unit study, till we stop for lunch. The afternoons are for music, sport, arts & crafts, reading, playing or socialising.

The Units we have covered during our first 2 years of Homeschooling are: China, Dogs, Polar Lands, Rice Growth & Production, Our Solar System, World Geography, Dolphins, Birds, The Human Body, Australiana, Weather, The Plant Kingdom, Famous Artists, and Light.

Sarah only - Environmental Food Issues, Ecosystems
Daniel only - Transportation, Volcanoes

Fridays are usually the day when we schedule excursions - for example, we have been to the PowerHouse Museum, the Currency Museum, the Maritime Museum, Elizabeth Farm, and Muru Mittigar Aboriginal Cultural Centre. I wish I could add in the Art Gallery, because we have been planning to go since October when the Monet exhibition opened, but my leg injury and being incapacitated meant we had to put it off. With the busyness of December we have still not managed to visit, so it looks like we are going to have to brave the crowds of the school holidays and go before the exhibition closes late January.

Every second Friday we meet with a Homeschool group and the children Ice Skate, which has been lots of fun. The rink offers school rates to the Homeschool group, which means the cost is only $6.50 for each child, for the 2 and a half hour session we have. For the first 30 minutes, Sarah & Daniel joined in a learner's class. These classes were fabulous and in a seemingly short time, they both went from being 'holding on to the wall wobblers' , to children who were presented with Level 2certificates to say they are now proficient at forward stroking, forward punting, backward swizzles and forward shalom. YAY! Next year they will work towards learning to achieve T-stops, backward 2 foot glide and 2 foot turn to backwards.

So, that's a little of what Homeschooling in our home is like - loving, living, and learning!