Modern Homeschool Today

We had an awesome holiday recently on the Gold Coast. One of the highlights was two days at Seaworld. This was our first trip to Seaworld since our eldest was 3 so it was a different experience with the kids old enough to sit and enjoy the shows such as fish detectives. We scored a seat right at the front and were so close to the seals that the boys could almost reach out and touch them! One of the newer attractions at Seaworld is dinosaur island and the dinosaur discovery centre. The dinosaurs are life sized which is truly amazing to see and the discovery centre is fantastic. I was explaining some of the exhibits to the boys and how they learn what dinosaurs used to eat by their poo. At the end, I asked the boys what they learnt about dinosaurs and DS3 piped up, "I learnt that dinosaurs eat poo". Not quite son, but good try! This has inspired  the boys to learn more about dinosaurs so we are re-visiting some books and studies on dinosaurs.  The dolphin show ...

We are moving house and saying goodbye to our faithful homeschool room! Our new place doesn't have a designated space...yet... so we are going to miss this room! I obviously took this photo before the wall was filled with artwork and posters and the computer desk is missing the laptop!   My love.......Ikea storage tubs! I'm excited about the opportunity to design our new homeschool room so it's goodbye to our old room and looking ahead to something new!

I think most homeschoolers ask themselves this question from time to time. Are we doing enough? It's hard to measure everything we do as so much of our days are just regular life such as a trip to the shops, bike rides, walks on the beach collecting shells.....and how can we measure the value of conversations with our children or the sibling relationships that grow and develop each day? We can't. Some learning, the important stuff, can't be measured on a standardised test. And isn't the avoidance of these measures at least partly what drew us to homeschool in the first place? When it comes to 'how much is enough?' we sometimes have to wrestle with our own beliefs about education when we imagine the 6hr classroom day compared to our own days at home. We returned from a week on the Gold Coast over the weekend so decided to take this week pretty easy as I'm also in the process of re-evaluating how we homeschool. I constantly fall into the 'are we doi...

We don't watch TV much these days but we did happen to see this segment on unschooling on the project where it was described as "stupid" and "irresponsible" by panel members. I don't identify as an unschooler but I respect the diversity that exists in the homeschooling community and embrace many natural learning approaches in the way we home educate. I've seen the merits of unschooling in my own boys through what they create in their 'free' time. I see their passion and enthusiasm when they pursue something that interests them rather than something I've told them to learn and it takes learning to a whole new level - a much higher level. In defence of unschooling is "stupid".......... To be fair, an unschooler saying they let their children do what ever they want does at first, sound crazy. However, what others imagine this to look like is usually incorrect. Unschooling doesn't mean letting kids do whatever they want ...

I'll be honest. Screens including the TV, computer and gadgets have often been my babysitter and sanity saver. I could defend why I use them until the cow's come home but the truth is, at times, I'm just lazy. I've become dependent on screens to give me a break, provide distraction for the kids and keep them engaged while I complete important (or not so important) tasks. The problem? I've become increasingly uncomfortable with what my kids watch on TV and the addictive nature of gadgets like ipads. I've learnt to recognise that when I begin to feel uncomfortable or uneasy about something it is often the still, small voice of God trying to get my attention. So when I heard about the screen free week challenge it seemed the answer I was looking for. It would offer us a chance to disconnect from technology and give us time to re-connect with each other. I felt it would also be an opportunity to re-assess our use of screens and to seek God for help in what c...

Part of the reason we chose to homeschool after spending time in a local state school was because we wanted to teach our kids Christian values. We had the opportunity to experience education and socialisation in a secular environment which helped us realise how important it is that not only our home life be centered about the person of Jesus but also our children's education. I have mentioned numerous times about homeschooling being a socially unpopular choice. It is also a counter-cultural choice. But what many people don't realise is that we often face opposition from other Christians and Christian leaders. Homeschoolers really are going against the flow! Even in church communities we are taught that it's best to go with the flow - just follow the majority and we should be right. The problem? We end up using imperfect people to guide our decisions rather than look to the word of God. We stop following God and start following church culture and church leaders inste...

Last week we went for a scenic drive in the Adelaide hills to a little town called Gumeracha. This is one of my favourite drives as the scenery is just so beautiful - but if you're driving try not to take too much notice as the roads are very windy. We visited the big rocking horse which you can enter and climb to the top. Hubby took the three boys who all climbed right to the top - even my three year old had a go!  There is also a small wildlife sanctuary that you can enter for FREE! You have the option to buy some 'feed' for the animals. We spent just under an hour in there meeting the kangaroos, peacocks, chickens, alpacas, goats, sheeps, ducks and talking cockatoos! The boys loved it! Although DS7 wasn't too sure about the alpaca! We then had a look around the toy shop and the boys loved 'peeking in' and seeing the carpenters making the toys out of wood. Most of the toys stocked at this toy shop are made on site and they also sto...