Well our original Australia day plans did not go as planned. Initially we had intended to stay home, have a BBQ and listen to some good Aussie rock. But we decided instead, to go and spend some time at Port Arthur.

This choice was quite a fitting and enjoyable one. We had a lot of fun at Port Arthur and enjoyed the fine weather. The children also had fun following the journey of their convict as they roamed around the site and read lots of information.

Well today is the day that we have to go to the airport and pick up DJ. For he is coming to our house for a few weeks holiday. It has been a while since we seen him. Last October in fact, so it is great to have him come and visit with us again.

While he is here we intend to go to Port Arthur and hopefully have some fun filled days together. Learning is always an everyday part of our lives and as DJ is also home educated, it is part of his too.

I hope that DJ is looking forward to visiting as much as we are looking forward to having him come here….

Nik in 2009 – two years ago today, my how she has grown!

Ashley

When we got our Chickens, Debbie and Ashley were only a few weeks old, with Debbie being the smaller one of the two. The journey from then to now, has been a long and hard one for Debbie. Bailey, our white hen, decided that she would pick on Debbie and would relentlessly peck at Debbie until she drew blood.

So we had to remove Bailey and watch Alice with the two younger chicks to see how she treated them. After a few days we reintroduced Bailey back into the chicken coop / run and it was obvious from the outset that Alice was now the top hen and well in control. Bailey did attempt to peck Debbie, but Alice quickly put a stop to it. – The black patch on Debbie’s head is one of the places Bailey pecked relentlessly, until we quickly removed Bailey from the other chickens.

A few days after Bailey was back living amongst the other hens, Debbie suddenly developed a loss of balance and the inability to stand or use her left leg and wing. No matter what we tried or how much we watched the hens, we could not work out why Debbie was suddenly this way.

After much research and attention to Debbie’s needs, we decided to isolate the two younger chicks from the bigger hens and put food and drink within easy access for Debbie, so she did not have to wander so far and try and use her leg / wing.

Slowly but surely, Debbie started to get better, leading us to believe that she had possibly injured her wing and leg. After around a week, Debbie is almost as good as gold. She is back walking on both legs, standing to feed and her wings are both in active use.

We have now allowed the little chicks back out with the bigger hens. We still watch Bailey with the chicks – So far so good, they all seem to be getting along well. Which is great news.

Ah the fun of raising chickens!

The choices we make as a family are those that benefit us as a family. They rise up from the discussions we have as a family,  to form the basis of our lifestyle and the way we wish to live. They are ours alone, just as the consequences are…

We acknowledge this and are not only prepared to live with the choices we make, but also the consequences of these choices. We do not expect anyone to fund these choices, clean up when things don’t turn out as we planned, or join in celebration when our expectations are exceeded. For these are our choices, they involve us as a family and are for us to celebrate, cry over and pay for..

The choices that we make provide us with opportunities that we feel are important to us. They give us control over our own destiny and lives.

After all the definition of choice is An act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities.

So as you travel through your journey in life, may you find strength in your own choices, support from your family and hopefully some of your like minded friends. For power is given to those who not only make their own informed choices, but allow others to do the same.

We have only had our Bunnies for around a month now, but it is incredible to see how big they have grown. Also along with their growth, has come the development of their own very different and distinctive personalities.

Sooty is more curious than Fluffy, she is the first one up to the door, when you go to play with them or feed them. She is more jumpy and full of life. Where as Fluffy is more cuddly and happier to be held. She always tries to nibble the children’s shoes and loves to follow them around.

Fluffy is obviously ‘fluffier‘ than Sooty and also bigger in size, but still they are both small bunnies and a pleasure to have as members of our family.

Life being life, I often find that things get in the way of ‘life’. This being said, our family have recently rekindled a tradition that we have used in the past to our great satisfaction. We have done this in the hope that through doing it, we will bring back accountability and keep on target with not only our goals for the children’s learning, but for life itself.

So with this in mind, last week we had our first Family Meeting for 2012. It involved all of us sitting around the dinning table, a notebook, pen and note taker (this just happened to be me- mama). We always make the Family Meetings official with minutes being documented. This then helps us work toward resolving any problem areas brought forward during the meeting, ensure we fulfill any needed tasks and base future decisions on the agreed goals we have as a family.

Our Family meetings also give each of us an opportunity to talk without being interrupted and teaches the children how to put their point of view forward and also to listen and respect others. It is a time for us to discuss our achievements, hopes, dreams, fears and concerns. It is also a time for the children to showcase their learning for Tata as he is not always able to see what they have been up to on a daily basis.

Our Family meetings provide us with a time to communicate with each other, value everyone’s input and also reflect on the journey we have all travelled together and on our own.

The children enjoy our family meetings as much as we do and are great at remembering what was discussed at the last meeting and what needs to be done. Each meeting helps us keep on target with what we wish to achieve and in what time frame.

Our family meetings are held fortnightly, they involve food, fun and a supportive atmosphere. At each meeting once we reflect on the last meeting, discuss issues arising, put forward ideas etc for achieving by the next meeting, the children then show case their learning for us all. They bring out any work they wish to share with us and talk about what they have done over the last fortnight in the learning journey. For me I have a fortnightly report written for each child. This is read and tabled for everyone to enjoy. It details the children’s learning journey from my perspective – giving attention to their achievements, struggles and overall performance and any memorable moments. The reports are typed up and include photographs. Once this has been read, the report is then filed into their own personal folders. I have one for each child and keep certificates, photos reports, etc in them.

These reports are a great way to ensure that Tata is completely involved and up to date with the children’s learning, strengths and weaknesses. They also serve as a wonderful tool to reflect back on as years go by.

Most of all, our family meetings bring us together as a family. Plus as the children grow, we hope that they will serve us as a great place for the children to bring to our attention their growing needs, concerns and achievements. Providing them with an already established way to communicate with us, any hard to talk about concerns, issues or worries they may have. Knowing that we will listen, work towards a resolution and support them through what ever it may be….

Phinee on this day in  in 2005. So little!

About every six months we tend to have a ‘BIG” clean out. This is usually when the cupboards are overflowing with things all in the wrong places and when the children have seemingly grown out of the last lot of clothes we have purchased. Our ‘BIG’ clean out seems to come around quicker and quicker every year and this year it just happened to occur this week. Just in time for the cupboards to be clean and everything it their correct places for the new learning year.

So now the cupboards are all clean, we have piles of things ready to go to their new owners or to op shops, so that others may get some enjoyment out of them. I have a huge pile of home school text books that we no longer wish to use or keep, but they are all too good to throw away so they are going to be given to a friend of mine so he can use them and give them another lease of life. We also have three bags worth of clothes, that no longer fit the children, but have a lot of wear left in them. These are all set up ready to go into the brotherhood bin. I also have our large garbage bin full to overflowing with rubbish as we cleaned out all the unwanted work we have done over the last six months. We keep a lot of it, but we just can’t keep on keeping everything!

Our pergola is now also under control as well, as we removed all the Christmas decorations yesterday (6th of Jan) as per our tradition, and packed them all away again until next year. So our outdoor space again has more flow and room and feels so much nicer – rather than old and cluttered.

So we are now all ready for what ever comes our way – and it feels great!