A great website worth mentioning is…

Art Attack – The website – also a TV Show. Great value for quick, easy ideas!

I know I have spoken a few times about how much we all love to read books. I fact my ultimate goal in life is to have enough books – and my own dedicated room -  to have my own library… Ambitious I know, but hey, I love books!

I however find it very distressing to know that according to love2read.org.au

Nearly half the population struggles without the literacy skills to meet the most basic demands of everyday life and work. There are 46% of Australians who can’t read newspapers; follow a recipe; make sense of timetables, or understand the instructions on a medicine bottle.

This statistic makes me so sad for all those people who can not read or stuggle with words. Yet it also makes me extremely happy that I have a family of readers, who can not only follow a recipe, make sense of timetables and read a newspaper, but choose to read for the sheer pleasure a book brings to their lives.

For us, the opportunity to read a book is an opportunity to be carried away to a far off time or place. It allows us the privilege of being able to view life through another persons perceptive. It brings far of lands closer to home and the opportunity to step back in time or travel to the future. Every word in every book, brings with it a new experience, an increased level of fulfillment and also contributes to the overall well being of us all.

So if you love books, why not share this love in 2012, by involving yourself in one of the following activities (these are just examples, the possibilities are endless!):

• Read to your children for a minimum of 30 minutes a day or
• Incorporate a minimum of one hour of reading into your learning week
• Share a good book with a friend or family member
• Buy a book as a gift for the birthday party you or your child/ren have been invited too.
• Blog about your favourite book,
• Spend family time around a book, rather than in front of the TV
• Curl up in bed or on the couch with a good book

What ever you decide to to enjoy yourselves!

I have set some goals on a personal level for myself, as we travel on our journey as a family to a deeper connection with each other, the earth, our heritage and community.

Here they are…

• Document, document and document — I intend to document our learning in a new and hopefully more refreshing way. I want to really capture the learning, the skills, the fun and joy we share everyday of our lives as we learn, love and laugh together.
• Limit Computer Usage — there will be a time and a place for online activities. There will no longer be ‘just one more minute’ or ‘in a sec’. Computers and online time will have a time and place. I have learnt over the last little while how easy it is for minutes to slip into hours, and before I know it precious time is  wasted online, when it should be devoted to other tasks. I am sure I am not the only one with this problem, but 2012 is the year I intend to try and get a grip on it, rather than it have a grip on me.
• Become more self sustaining as a family unit — we are already working towards this by growing our own vegetables and fruits, as well as researching ways to be able to power our own energy needs, maintain our own water supply and so much more. Time, money and energy are the key restraints here, but we are slowly making strides in the right directions and that is all we can keep doing… I want to ensure this continues to happen, it is a very important for me to ensure my children know how to feed themselves and manage their own needs into the future.
• Learn a new skill each month for 2012 — I intend to learn a new skill each month of this year in order to share that skill with – or along side – the children. I am not sure what skills I wish to learn but I am sure I will work that out along the way.
• Become more frugal — I wish to learn and find ways to be more frugal so we can save more money without us actually having to work ourselves to death. Not sure how I will do this, but I am sure to find some ways and implement them.
• Get healthier — Isn’t that something we all could do with achieving? I am not going to focus on my weight, but rather on getting healthier, eating better, sleeping regular hours and just being healthier. Already we have started this, 2012 will see me continue on this change to my life.

What better way to start the new year, than with a new way of doing things…

Well technically it is not a new way of doing things. It is rather a new focus for us as a family on how we do things,  what we value, and how we achieve the goals we have set for ourselves and for each other.

2011 was a year that seen us muddle through, occupy ourselves online and immerse ourselves in technology. It was a year of endings and changes. We endured heartbreak and tears as well as new commitments and brighter days.

Were as 2012 is a year where we are aiming for our learning to have a major emphasis on the earth, its creatures, people (past and present), culture and connections. It is a year were as a family we hope to shift our focus back to our grassroots, back to life around. 2012 will be a year that we will will turn to the old ways of doing things to achieve a greater connectedness with family, friends and community.

Some of the ways in which we hope to achieve this greater quality of life for us as a family include …

• Writing letters rather than sending emails — Yes we know that emails provide for faster communication between people, but we feel that the quality of interactions is degraded. We want to bring back the excitement of getting a letter through the mail. The anticipation of wondering when the next letter will arrive and the sheer joy of curling up on the couch, or sitting under a tree and reading what our friends and family have to say. We want the children to learn patience and value the time and effort it took the person to actually write the letter to them and post it as much as the time and effort it takes them to write back. We want them to experience meaningful communication rather than the often trivial nature of communication that comes hand in hand with emails. I love letter writing so much that I want them to enjoy this pleasurable activity also…. So if you are reading this and want to start or rekindle a friendship with us, let us know!
• Growing our own vegetables rather than buying them — We want the children to understand the life cycle of planting, growing, harvesting and eating produce. The time it takes and the resources used to grow the food. We want them to understand that food is valuable, that it is something to be treated with respect, rather than something that you can just buy from a shop and discard if unused without consequence. We want the children to try new foods, understand how different vegetables and fruits grow and when they are in season. We also want them to understand how their food choices, not just shop bought v’s home grown, impact on their own health and that of the animals, plants and world around them.
• Having a ‘NO Electricity Day’ — We have agreed that once a month we will have a no electricity day. This will ensure that we indirectly focus on our electricity usage and how it affects our lives. I am sure that we are all likely to find it quite hard at first when the first no electricity day for the year comes around. So no computers, TV, lights, oven etc can be used. I am sure that we will be okay, we will just have to shift our focus onto discussions, letter writing, play, boardgames and other similar activities.
• Handmade instead of Bought — It is our aim to hand make every gift for very occasion in 2012. Now I know that this is going to mean we need to be ready, organised and working ahead, to ensure that we do not miss anyone’s birthday or special occasion (Nan if you are reading this your gift will be a little late for your birthday on the 4th of January, but it will be handmade!). The children will be organising a calendar today, outlining every occasion where we need a gift. They will also have to be a few months in advance with ideas for each occasion, so that we can have them made and ready to be sent (most gifts have to go in the mail) to arrive on time.
• Engaging, Connecting to Community instead of solitude — We intend to embrace our local community and all it has to offer. Find ways to make connections with our neighbours, share experiences and hopefully grow friendships and bring a skill base together. I have ideas on how this could be achieved, but I am still trying to work out how to get a few other people on side to ensure this dream becomes a reality…

Watch this Space!

The December edition of GLIMPSE is now available!

We hope that you enjoy this edition and look forward to the next one – which from 2012 will be bi monthly! The first one to be out on the first of February 2012.

Please share Glimpse with all your friends, family and also please seriously consider contributing to it in the future. A Big Thank you to everyone who has contributed in any way to Glimpse over the last 18 months since it was first created, we appreciate your sharing!

So until February, please keep those articles, children’s work, photos and more rolling in!

Glimpse December 2011

I guess a fresh approach to home education is called for with 2011 coming our way. Since moving to our new abode our needs have changed and with it our priorities. Thus affecting the way in which we intend to homeschool next year.

2011 brings with it the increased ‘official’ load of homeschooling a grade 5 student, as well as a prep student. Side by side the girls will work, independently as well as collectively. The basics will remain in play as they are the building blocks of all learning. But the focus will shift to align with our different way of working and approaching life in general.

Tata is to take on a more important role this year, shifting from ‘principal mode’ into skill builder. He will help build the children’s physical abilities to enable them to generate new skills for themselves. Until now he has overseen much of the learning, ensuring that we keep on track and are ‘doing’ what is expected, but in 2011 he will join together with us in more everyday activities.

My own involvement will also shift from what it has been, to what it now needs to reflect. More spiritual based learning, reflective of where we are now standing. We have some amazing things to do this year. This all involves just being at home in our little piece of paradise yet bringing a little of the greater world into our own back yard.

We hope to widen our children’s natural curiosity, through more hands on projects, more earth based learning and more time outdoors. So as the sands of time shift, so do our own ways, wants and needs.

Let’s hope that we are blessed with the ability to carry forth with our plans and enjoy new and exciting learning for every one of us, and that all those who tread upon our path, either with intent or by a twist of fate, enjoy a glimpse into our learning as much as we enjoy participating in it.

As a child I was exposed to books on a daily basis as my father collected books just for the love of them. We had a huge room lined with book cases, filled to the brim with books. I guarantee that even though Dad had his own favourite topics, no matter what you were looking for, you would most likely find a book related to your topic of interest.

So it is no surprise that in our family we have a love of books, that at times means I just can’t keep up with everyone’s reading habits. Each week we usually go to the library and each child has their own library membership and they are able to pick out 15 books to take home to read for the upcoming week.

We are also trying to create our own library of books, purchasing old time classics along with more modern books to create a balanced library in our house. However no matter how many books we buy or how many books we borrow I still can’t keep up with my family’s healthy reading habits!

So I was so excited when I was made aware of a website called ‘We give books’. This website is such a wonderful example of how helping yourself can also help so many others. ‘We give books’ has a wide variety of books – for various ages that have been made into digital versions – and can be read online.

Now if you are like my family, we much prefer to be able to hold the book in our hands and read it curled up on a couch or chair rather than read them sitting in front of a computer screen. However after really examining this website we decided to join ‘we read books’ and contribute to the literacy of not only our children, but those of other children around the world.

‘We give books’ provides us with the ability to read digital books online. However if you sign up for a free membership, every time you read a book online, they donate a real book to charity. You have the choice on sign up; to choose which campaign you wish your books to be linked too (or if you wish you can change this at any time). So for each book you read a book online a child somewhere in the world will receive a real book in their hands!

We have therefore been busy reading books at ‘we give books’ so that we can not only ‘test drive’ stories to see what we like before we buy them to add to our personal library collection. But also to help enhance the chances of another child somewhere in the world to increase their access to books and literacy abilities.

A win –win situation for all if you ask me!

So if you find yourself looking for a new book to read with your children, but don’t know what to choose or can’t make it to the local library, why not join us at ‘We give books’ and check out what books they have on offer to read and help another child along the way!

Our Family has enjoyed reading the books that we might otherwise have not checked out. We have found some favourites amongst these books and hope to add them to our collection in time.

Happy Reading everyone!

http://www.wegivebooks.org

Some of the books you can read online include:

This article was included in the October edition of Glimpse (Global learners in Many Places sharing Ideas) – Glimpse Edition 3 October 2010

Well today started out quite good. The girls and I went down to the local park next to the football oval. I walked all the way while they rode their bikes. We had intended on spending some time there, but as the sky kept growing darker and the clouds appeared heavier we decided that we would make it a quick stop. Phinee decided that she would get me to time her as she raced around the oval on her bike. She wants to see if she can make it around faster each time she attempts the ride. Today the lap around the oval took 2 minutes and 16 seconds – a great effort on her behalf. Only time will tell if she can make it faster or not. Let’s hope she can!

After lunch we had a visit from some friends of ours. They are over from the mainland for 10 days. It is great to see them and to be able to sit and enjoy a chat. They stayed for Dinner and we all enjoyed ourselves. The girls very much enjoyed practicing Netball, playing little pet shops and grabbing some attention from our visitors.

A good day was had by all

Well today as tradition has it, we put the Christmas tree up and most of our Christmas decorations.

We decided to put it all outside in the pergola as there is much more room out there to dress up and it is where we are hoping to spend much of our Christmas time and festivities and celebrations. The girls had a lot of fun with it all and even though there is more left for us to decorate we have made a great effort so far and the tree looks fantastic.

Our next task is to write a Christmas letter to enclose in our Christmas cards to everyone as we need to get them posted off ASAP!