Homeschool highlights......

My kids love science...... I mean they seriously LOVE science....

If they can do experiments and learn why things work the way they do then it makes for happy children..... especially for Isaac who, I am convinced one day, will take something really important apart (like the laptop) just so he can see how it works! I don't mind him pulling apart some things...... but please.... not the computer!

Now Evie, well her selection of books from the library ALWAYS includes books about living things (a girl after my own heart) and 'nature' is definitely her 'thing'!

So this year we are doing a course called Real Science 4 Kids and I have to say, they are loving it!

Every week we read a chapter in the textbook (it's chemistry at the moment) and every week they get to do a hands on experiment illustrating the stuff talked about in the chapter. Now, I was rubbish at chemistry at school, it was the one science I dropped out of ...... but let me tell you it is so much fun learning it second time round with kids.....

So here they are learning all about how molecules are formed..... with marshmallows and toothpicks..... I even bought the four coloured marshmallows so that we could make distinctions between the different type of atoms!! What fun we had....



To begin with they were allowed to build molecules with no rules..... ah, what weird and wacky shapes they came up with!



Then they moved on to building molecules following simple rules. And after all of that..... we played fluffy bunnies.......

Just chillin'

Reading time with dad......

No matter how old my kids get they still love to have stories read to them.....


Evie and Brian finishing off Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.....

The Return of the Indian (a sequel to The Indian in the Cupboard) is my read aloud to them both at the moment....

I hope this love of 'reading aloud' never stops.......

Weekending....

Pluots::
yum, yum! Dot introduced me to these and I am a convert! I had never eaten one until a few weeks ago and I have to say they are rather delicious...... (they're a cross between an apricot and a plum I discovered!)


Dressing up::
both of them this time delved into the dress up chest and came out as pirates...... ah ha, me hearties...... (Isaac is a kind of Captain Marvel/Pirate cross!!)


Sunshine::
Enjoying the beautifully warm sunny weather on the back deck drinking a new-to-us favourite.......


Peanut butter, chocolate & ice cream milk shakes...... another yum factor.....


Hope your weekend was filled with good things......

Cat Lady comes to school......

Here she is puzzling over her maths...... hope I taught her well!!

Harvest.....

Yesterday we popped down to school for Isaac to have his weekly piano lesson. Afterwards it was lunch break and so the children spent time playing with their friends and I sat in the staff room and basically had a good old chin-wag!

However, I heard a little knock at the staff room window and turned to see my boy with his arms full of fresh veggies......

He'd been into the sanctuary, a wonderful natural learning environment where he used to love to spend time with his favourite teacher in the world (after me of course!!) Mrs Lisle. They'd gone round the sanctuary veggie patch and he'd been allowed to pick a few bits and pieces to bring home.....

So last night I was busy making yellow zucchini (corgette) and parmesan soup


Potato and Silverbeet soup


and this morning I hand kneaded a loaf of crusty white bread (not because I am into hand kneading bread (however, believe me when I say my arms could use the workout) but because I have lost the paddle for my bread machine....... a new one is on its way as I type thank goodness!!!) which was popped into the oven and voila, lunch was served


This also popped up to say 'hello'...... ah, bliss

Someone else's trash.......

Browsing op shops - it's something I really enjoy ..... and actually my children are fast becoming lovers of the op shop too! Give Evie a $ and she is seeing what treasure she can dig up!!

Of course, with Dot being here we have done a bit of op-shopping and I came across this stack of quite beaten up Beatrix Potter books ...... but I couldn't just leave them on the shelf...... they called to me, 'buy us, buy us' and so for the princely sum of $1 they became my treasure.....


Evie has already read them a few times and taken delight in the beautiful illustrations.... they certainly made us happy!

Lego........ like we need any more.....

We gave the kids a 'new to us' Harry Potter Lego set today......

It was VERY well received......


We had full recall of the dialogue from the film whilst re-enactment happened with the characters.......


Here is Ron Weasley caught in the ...... trap (look, I have no idea what the proper name for these things is ..... that's the kids' department!!)


I forsee many happy hours of Potter-ing........

Weekend gadabouts......

We went down to Melbourne yesterday for the day and had a fun time browsing round the Queen Victoria Market.

Then a picnic in the park next to Melbourne Museum followed by a nice hour or so pootling round the museum...... what a lovely way to spend a day!


My lovely boy at his favourite part of the museum..... an interactive water saving quiz/game......


Evie's new favourite display ...... I wonder why?


Hope you had a lovely weekend too........