Different Kinds of Maths.

Maths is taking different shapes and sizes, literally, after looking for how I can involve Little Miss August in more school, and do some slightly different work with Little H#3 at the same time to involve them together.

A while ago I downloaded a great number of Scholastic e-books, as they had a dollar sale. One of them was a shapes fun booklet. I thought a little geometry wouldn't do us any harm, and this was perfect for tracing practice for Little Miss August as well as easy but still useful work for Little H#3. 

She really likes tracing and colouring at the moment and I am really pleased with the new dimension this is giving our mornings.

 Finished shapes coloured in and traced, ready for cutting and sticking.

Big brother Little H#1 helping with the cutting and sticking. Helping sometimes takes patience (!) so this was good practice in co-operation too for everyone!

Little H#3 making his shapes bear with little assistance and patiently waiting while we shared one tube of glue around the family. Note to self: we must buy more now that even that one has run out. I think we do a lot of craft. :) That, in itself, amazes me!

This is the usual maths scene. Math-u-See. We use the little DVD player now for those who want to watch their lessons. Was lovely having everyone gather around the PC to watch everyone else's lesson but it just takes too long to get through the work. While the boys were working, Little Misses were using play dough on the toddler table next to the big table. It was their first time with the home made play dough so we got a lot of mileage out of it. Still in use although the novelty's worn off a bit. Have re-invented said play dough to include a maths activity for Littles some time this week.

And now for the unschooling variety. This is child-led Park Maths.

Mr L and his mum came to the park with us for a play date. He was obviously much heavier than Little Miss August. The children decided that this was  a problem that needed fixing.

Nope.Mr L < Little Miss August + Little H#3

 Mr L + Little Miss June > Little Miss August + Little H#2... only just. Keep trying!

Aha!!!! Mr L does in fact = Little H#2 + Little Miss June. 

Socialisation + Children = Happy mums chatting while kids do their own kind of school. 

No two children were exactly the same age.

It didn't seem to matter...

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.

Children make Useful Tenants.

Maybe! Certainly I believe that they don't necessarily present a health hazard to a rental property in the way most agents and landlords would really like to be able to believe (and we so struggled getting accepted for a house this time - odds are, that was why!!!).

This house has had a terrible dirt patch problem the size of the space behind Little H#1 (above) since we moved in. The pavers were wrecked by the previous tenants (no children involved, just adults parking a car on pavers that weren't meant for it... and sinking the pavers very deeply - as we discovered after the boys, Daddy and Grandpa shovelled and moved all the potting mix stuff that was thrown over the hole after the pavers were removed).

It was an unsustainable situation for us. Had to be re-paved. We took the house "as is" I suppose, and knew it wasn't worth asking the Landlord to re-pave. Though he should have I am sure! Anyway, we got permission to put all the pavers back  - they were just piled up around the side of the backyard, so we didn't have a great deal of trouble with sourcing the bricks.

Grandpa is the experienced one among us so he knew what needed to be done, and set about with Matthew and the two eldest Little H's while I took the other 2 out for most of the day.

Little H#1 with the space to be paved behind him. Grandpa flattening the space. Matthew was involved but behind the camera for all these photos!!

Boys working with Grandpa!

Little H#1 shifted all of these himself for Grandpa and Daddy. The bricks also had to be cleaned before they could be relaid, and all old soil etc scraped off them. Another job the boys did very well.

Little H#2 laying his own pavers. He worked out the geometric pattern, and did a good deal himself. Fantastic for his age. 6!!! Well actually I think fantastic for any age!!

Little H#2 concentrating hard on laying the bricks in place.

Little H#3 was home in time to lay the final brick and hammer it in with the rubber mallet. So glad he got this job!

He looks pretty pleased with it himself! Sacrificial for the boys to let him do that too, I was proud of them for (amongst many other things) allowing him to do the last brick and finish "their" job.

Filling the gaps with sand / metal before coming in for tea. They wouldn't come in till they'd finished their work. Thankfully they worked so hard and the job was finished by 5pm!!!

A major day's work and a major achievement for our family, especially our boys. The hardest they have ever worked. Ever. No complaints, no problems, brilliant teamwork and totally dependable.

Whilst homeschooling probably can't take the credit, what I do know is that if it hadn't opened our minds to expecting more from children and what they are capable of, allowing them to do "real things" and teaching us - as well as them - that they can make a valuable contribution to Real Life, they probably wouldn't have done (or learned) half of what they did this Easter Saturday.

Just fantastic. :)

Wordy Wednesday...

W is for:

What a terrible night. Miracle if today turns out ok.

Wish I had followed my instinct and not given Little Miss August 2009 something for tea that I thought might  cause problems... and it SO did...

Words - poetry, poetry set to music (John Taverner and Greta Bradman)...

William Blake - "Tyger Tyger" & "The Lamb"

Wow. All of a sudden, a cross-curricular unit study has sprung up out of nowhere, and bringing a number of strands together

Working hard. The children have done maths (Little H#1 and LittleH#2) and Little H#3 some self-starting phonics. I am so pleased with how he is getting on. We have also done music and movement to the Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens, drawing to that same music (Little H#2 drew the correct animal for each movement - his idea) and then we had processions of lions, jumping kangaroos, graceful fish, and some fantastic elephants. We ate our lunch to the Aquarium on repeat. ;) We also listened to the William Blake poem Tyger Tyger set to music by Greta Bradman and sung by her and a dear friend of ours. Need to look out The Lamb from Little H#2's Baptism recording. They can hear mummy and daddy singing that one!

Washing. Actually it isn't. W is not for Washing because I can't do any. All week. Machine broke (burned out rather nicely) on Monday, and a man is coming to either mend or condemn it tomorrow (Thursday). So actually W is for "Washing free Week". If school turns out this much better because I am also not trying to do washing, maybe I need to come up with a different plan for laundry.

Welcome Home. W is for welcome home because Matthew will be very welcome home tonight to a productive and happy house, much achievement, a happy mummy (miracle) and home made soup and cheese scones.

Oh, and Welcome Back Creativity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woilla! (sorry couldn't resist!!).

Home(less) School

The irony of our education choice has been weighing on me this week. Well for a long time but the pressure is getting too much to bear. Christmas holidays have been and gone, I started school back a bit earlier than the official school year because we all missed it. But now we are quite definitely in domestic chaos as we have 2 weeks till the end of our lease and no new place to go to as yet.

A good friend sent me an email that does look interesting last night, but I said I'd put the home back in homeschool and then get back to her. :)

Currently we are doing basic minimum of maths and english. LittleH#2 has finished the first Spelling Rules! Book A, and LittleH#1 is still doing the last few units in his. They are both still chipping away at maths but we aren't doing anything exciting together in terms of project work. We are managing to read the Bible together in the mornings sometimes, in the way we do when school is in normal and full swing, so really the learning's ticking along fine, in light of the long holiday.

Other more unschooly subjects definitely involve maths (estimating what will fit in boxes, measuring gaps in potential houses for washing machines, measuring and estimating anything really), DIY (cleaning walls, taking things apart), and most definitely Legal Studies. Of course I excel in this area and haven't been purposely teaching it to them. But they are working out the obvious elements of landlord and tenant law (though I think I will eventually have to teach them about Justice - ha ha), and generally getting quite a good feel of that as much as they need and probably more than most children their age! Certainly they know more than I did probably even before I went to university!!!! In the UK of course they had experience of us selling our house - so this adds to that and starts to build a picture.

Hoping that the uncertainty will be over today when we hear about whether we  finally got a house. The thread through it all is our trust in God (I've struggled with that one this week, it looks so bleak!). So many scriptures and encouragements, kind offers from church pointing us in the direction of houses that turn out to be depressingly unsuitable just when we thought it was over. And a fantastic sermon about Abraham and Sarah last Sunday about periods of waiting in our lives. We are certainly in one of those and being taken closer to the edge than we've ever been before. And we thought our migration was bad. There's a Corrie Ten Boom story that's relevant and a myriad of others but time and fractious babies don't permit me to go into it now! The point is - we are waiting for Isaac and don't need to meddle and take a house that is the equivalent of Ishmael - doing things in our own strength because we can't wait on God's timing. It has been helpful to see some bad inspections that we have almost felt pressured to take and "settle" for in the light of that story.

Only later will tell if the agony is over. In the meantime we have no choice but to pack in faith because the current house is being shown off in all its glory with us still in it this weekend. Thanks a lot. I doubt they'll be pointing out the broken walls or hole in the roof. :) Someone else's turn to pay rent to a landlord who won't maintain the structure of a house, and time for us to shake the dust off our feet and take our blessing to a new house.

In sickness and in Homeschool... again!

Well we are in a health blip - nothing major but even if they were at school, Little H's #1 and 2 would be having a fair time off at the moment with a flu virus that just seems to be going on forever! No-one is spared, so with a family of 6 we having been nursing someone or other (usually more than one) for about the past 3 weeks...

School still goes on, kind of, but it has been even less formal (and less organised!) and there is beauty and blessing in that, as well as a bit of extra guilt and stress for me!

I have had a bit of an exploration of the NAPLAN standards, a year ahead, so that I can see where we are in terms of what is expected of Y3 which Little H#1 will be next year. Really the thing I am interested in is how the maths curriculum compares and I am glad to have looked at it now - not because we are going to go anywhere near NAPLAN next year ,but because I can see what gaps we have in what we are doing. I have listed those for myelf but a noteable one was logic problems. I used to love those as a child anyway and we haven't done much logic and not enough probability (which actually Little H#1 copes ok with). So I will supplement what we are doing in maths (I don't really feel the need to apologise for concentrating on number, but I will do some more of the other things to make sure we are a bit more rounded).

We did some beginner logic problems on Friday and I enjoyed doing something very different with Little H#1, and he enjoyed them too. They were free off the internet of course. :)

We also have done some money play and work recently - we definitely need to do more of that, and I think the time has come to start with pocket money and saving up and actually using money in shops.

The boys have been playing games really nicely too, and there is definitely an improvement in the patience of taking turns, accepting that they may not win, and also importantly being willing to attempt things like forfeits (or action cards, required in a lovely game we have called Bright Buttons). The Bright Buttons game is aimed at 3 year olds but even last year when I bought it, neither of the older 2 felt able to attempt any of the easy actions if they required physical movement or impersonations etc. So it's a nice game they can all play together and still get something from.

Little H#2 is very keen now and is asking for work even when ill, which is difficult because obviously it is harder for him to concentrate and he gets upset with himself for getting letters back to front or questions not quite right.

They have inspired me again with Bible time, we have had some lovely devotion times recently and Little H's #1 and 2 are reading fantastically from their Bibles. Little H#3 is also desperate for "work" but his attention span is age appropriate and it's a little hard to keep him engaged sometimes in preschooler activities. ANyway. I am trying to master setting work for 2 slightly different developmental stages (they are closer in maths than I might think) and soon I will have a better idea of how to balance all 3. There are those scholastic bliss moments (like hotweels maths last week) where they all work together, Little H#3 can join in and we all come away with something good. I will detail that lesson separately but here is a sneak preview:

How we study and some achievements!

We seem to do some subjects in blocks, rather than itty bitty subjects every day of the week. I used to be concerned about this but actually it suits the children more to learn that way, and when I add together all that we have done and are doing, it seems to balance out in the right proportions.

Currently we have been having a bit of a science and music festival. The science has included the exploration of hovercraft technology, making some models with a motor and batteries from a little kit Matthew brought LittleH#1 back from his trip to Melbourne - our week without him is another story ;).

LittleHs 1 and 2 are learning the ukelele, as well as the guitar. They already knew a few chords on the guitar, and have been having lessons with DH, as well as music sessions. Matthew came back from his conference talking about a session they had with about 300 delegates all playing the ukelele and being taught for the first time how to play some chords. With only 4 strings it is easy for someone to pick up. So we bought 2, one cheap one and one good one - and now they are playing 4 chords (LittleH#1) and 2 chords (LittleH#2). They have been introduced to Bluegrass, and we are working on a VonH version of You are my sunshine. Got a few Colin songs we think they might be able to manage too. With practice! Meanwhile I'd like to think about getting LittleH#3 some Suzuki method violin lessons to see whether he'd like that. The ukelele playing is also improving their guitar playing too. Bonus.

We have also begun teaching them the music stave and note names. Whilst this is something I can do (and I want to teach them the recorder) it has been nice for Matthew to take on music a bit with them, so that's how we are dividing the work for now.

We are thinking about how we might make a bigger hovercraft model next, and also were amazed how LittleH#3 described what he thought was happening to the air underneath the takeaway box container that was the hovercraft body. He thought that the air built up and then tried to escape and that is how the box lifted up a bit and moved around. He'd be right! :)

Other achievements recently are that LittleH#3 has begun riding his bike without trainer wheels at only 3 1/2, and LittleMissH is standing up and threatening to cruise. She is talking a lot, and communicating even more. I haven't officially designated it homeschool but they are all enjoying a mix of Auslan signs and baby sign language with her, and that officially can count as LOTE if I want it to. It will certainly get a mention in dispatches next year!

I have just discovered how to 'right' the date and time I post things on the blog. That had been annoying me for a while. :) Edited to add: ah, no I haven't. I appear to have a technical problem but I don't suppose anyone minds (hardly a great following) and I am just going to have to live with it!

A few good days...!

By that I mean, we are finally getting back to normal and have had some days that feel full enough and have produced some good work (and great play!).

Highlights of this week have been sending LittleH#1 to scouts for spy night dressed up like a spy (though I do feel that a better spy costume is absolutely 100% normal clothes, I don't think that it would have felt very good... like going to school in the wrong clothes on non-uniform day - we've left all that behind now thankfully!).



The briefcase is full of interesting spy-ish type things - truth drug (Fisher Price Dr Syringe!), mobile phone, digi camera, walkie talkie, secret notes, code (we wrote the code and practised its use - I received a secret message that said "To Mummy I love you"), we made a spy ID card disguised as a credit card that flips open to photo and finger print, a newspaper... etc. Great fun. The dress ups get revitalised a bit through scouts (last year I had to make a Peter Pan costume that can double for Robin Hood). The jacket was a (probably very expensive!) David Jones jacket I chopped to size and hemmed so he could go a bit "Bond-ish" and moved the buttons across for comfort reasons. He seemed to think the jacket needed to fit!


LittleH#2 is writing AMAZINGLY. Really keen, has written a page of 'news' about the weekend, enjoying his (too easy but good practice) "Going on Eagerly" Rod and Staff book, copy writing Bible verses etc.


LittleH#1 is also getting much quicker at maths, has written a few letters to relatives, we have done a lot of Birthday and Special Day Blessing of others recently and in my book that is all good school. School of life as well as work I count as homeschool.


And LittleH#3 - well, he is really enjoying his "About 3" Rod and Staff book. Sometimes I can't stop him - the pencil control is amazing, he is pleased with the results himself, and I can see a new phase ahead of us with 3 children doing work at once! Wow! Only got to be careful I don't recreate at home what I don't believe in really, which is young children doing school before they are ready - although LittleH#3 doesn't sit at it for long and is still very 3 anyway. Have had some nice time with them all or just H's #2 and #3 together doing play dough.


We had a lovely visit from a friend yesterday, and it was great for the oldest 2 boys to have time with an older friend - L is 9, and they played Uno twice, lego, duplo and then some imagination stuff outside. LittleH#1 was beaming after, and thanked me and told me he'd had a fantastic time.


They've also done geography, some amazing world atlas drawing, inspired by a page in "Going on Eagerly", and today did a 150 piece big world jigsaw together- agreeing with each other who was doing each continent, amusing themselves with the characteristics picked out by the illustrators for each country.


I have been asked a question about water's surface tension, so am going to look for a decent bit of science to have some fun and build on that. Kind of back to our eclectic mix, instead of winging it 'naturally'. There is a season for everything and I am working back to a bit more formality and routine I think now.


Also feel its time for DH and I to do some proper praying about the medium and long term, instead of for the strength and ideas to get through each day. Need that too, but I want to re-energise the medium term goals and have a Vision as a family again.

Birthday Girl...

Little Miss August 2009 turned 1 this week!!!!! How is that possible? School has been rather "natural" recently, still included Bible study (a bit!), maths, handwriting practice, creative writing, D&T, art and craft, lots of great life lessons, and special family time tho. Currently investigating idea of more bookwork to add to what is still good.

But anyway, here's beautiful birthday girl enjoying her crafty mama's Midnight Mystery Quilt (heirloom birthday present, finished it a week before her birthday!) and Waldorf baby doll (friend helped me to make this first one, and have plans for some for the boys for Christmas dressed up as a scout, and "boys"!).

H is for...Holiday!

That is, we are on one.

For many reasons it is not quite what we were expecting. But anyway, for now HouseofH has been turned upside down (probably that should be "the right way up") and we will be back at the end of June.

Its a bit AWOL-ish but busyness leading up to the trip and then family circumstances during (ie so far, and continuing) mean I haven't had time to post or really the opportunity.

So school is definitely "un" although I have made a mental note of the socialising LittleH#1 was engaging in on Sunday at a totally mad family party (at one point around 30 adults around) and I spotted the person he was talking to happily was a high up eduacation type person (retired but still scary) and I noticed how a child will talk happily and engagingly if they notice that a person is "open" to them. So it seems even high up education bods (or some of them) are happy still to converse with children and make themselves 'available'. Perhaps that means that even some educationalists still have good socialisation skills????! At least it means my children are developing theirs...

Anyway we are in another hemisphere (in more ways than one) and as always joy is mixed with sadness and I could refer to a plethora of scriptures but praying that joy will come in the morning and would appreciate other prayers likewise.