Long overdue catch up.

H Corner has moved again. :) This is my main reason for not having blogged properly (or at all) since last time. School has been happening, it just hasn't been recorded in a way that is easy for me to trace back right now. Which is a shame because the reason for the blog is so that I can keep a good record for the children of what we have done, show friends and other inquirers what we do and a bit about how we do it... hopefully encourage someone along the way, etc, as well as re-encourage myself when I go back to read through.

We are in a new season. Matthew is studying for pastoral ministry, we are on college campus living in community (wa hey!! Community-  gotta love it, in many ways it is just so much better than a little, forgotten about Corner somewhere!), and School is ever-changing.

For the good. Changing for the good, definitely.

I think I have to consider that I have 3 1/2 children "in school". Little Miss August is now about 3 3/4... and most definitely Learning. Not old enough for Kindergarten / pre-school but I am glad I don't restrict (or insist) based on age... and she's learning to read and a whole heap of other things. Little Miss June is now nearly 2, and she I suppose is the hardest for me to set up with things so that I can do work with the boys. But the boys are working more independently, although Little H#3 isn't reading yet, he is doing a great job at learning to read and write but not yet independently. I am really pleased with his progress but it is still very hands on for me which means I still have those inevitable time struggles.

So... how am I handling a toddler and a pre-schooler? Well I am a whole lot more organised with everything than I used to be. For a long period of time we have freewheeled with most subjects in an unschooling / natural learning kind of manner. Which has been great but it is time for change.

Finally the house is getting some kind of organised, and the kitchen / dining area is lovely and big. We have room for the table to extend fully and a friend the other day gave me a cute little (and very old) toddler table and chair, which is great for the girls to sit at with an activity.

I am trying something new on a personal level. A new kind of planning. Having a whole heap of stuff printed out and planned for the children in advance, rather than in my head. Lots of tuts I am sure for those who think this is what I should be doing anyway! But I can hold a lot in my head and the only difference in some ways is a seamless transition between activities! Also I am finding (maybe a little to my dismay) that the children respond really well to... Lists. So Lists it is. If  I don't have a list, they show reluctance, refusals sometimes, and I lose motivation. If I put a List up - they drive me. They motivate me and keep me on the straight and narrow. We get through everything really quickly and my Chief Complainer becomes Team Leader. :)

So we have a Morning Jobs list, I have tried a List of School (column each for each child) and the feeling of having that ready to go for the next day, was amazing for me and it blessed them too. They were excited about it. So while I am not a Scheduling Mama I am trying to find a way of using this tool to help us all without getting too prescriptive, or stifling their (or my) creativity.

We can go to Chapel every morning if we want to. It is at 10.20am-ish. I have discovered I can get a lot of school done before then, this way. The children really want to go, they enjoy it, but I haven't been brave enough to try for every day though the children are up for it.

There's going to be another Little H in September, so this is the pregnancy year. Little H#6!! Normally I find the pregnancy year way worse in homeschooling terms than the baby year. So far so good. It's great, and we are doing well. Just loving homeschool and being encouraged constantly. I am excited to have a backlog of lessons and activities I want to blog about.