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Yet another busy week here whilst we still have friends in Perth on holiday, but we did achieve a lot!

Ethany finished all her +1 math problems in the Kumon Grade 1 Addition book and has made a start on +2.  I provide her with an abacus but most of the time she is completing these mentally.  When I ask her how she says she has apples on her computer in her head and she counts them.  It's working for her for now and she is getting 95 to 100% on every page.

She has this week finished all but the post test in Explode the Code Book 1.  I just need some down time to give her the test.  She REALLY has not enjoyed working through this book.  I have moments where I think it is moving too slow for her and moments when I think maybe too much writing and moments when I think it's the lack of colour for my visual child.  Who knows!!  Towards the end of the book she has finally stopped complaining and has got on with it colouring as she goes.  She has been writing beautifully and only made 1 mistake for the entire book.  It does work so we will be on to Book 2 once it arrived in the mail and hopefully the complaints are behind us.

I have decided to race through the last few lessons in 100 Easy Lessons at 2 per day because she is reading so beautifully already.  I could put it aside and not complete it but as this is the very first thing we started when we began formal homeschooling I really want to complete it.  That's the focus for the next 2 weeks.  Completing it with Ethany because Xavier is busting to get started!

Queens Language Lessons is going fine.  The lessons are quite light so we have been completing 2 lessons most days unless it's copywork.  We are really enjoying the picture study and narration.

We have moved on to the 2 syllable words in Websters and so far so good.  She is doing a wonderful job. 

Ethany's handwriting has all of a sudden improved out of sight.  We don't have a handwriting program so rely on copywork on the main part.  I always sit with her to provide encouragement on correct formation if required.  We also practice 1 letter that doesn't look too flash at the end.  For a 4 1/2 year old, left hander with poor vision she is turning out some really nice work.  Wonders never cease to amaze!

We continued working on The Story of Ping this week.  Ethany provided an excellent narration which I may post separately.  We also made a river and put all our ducks on.  Well, at least I thought it had all the ducks but I did discover 2 under the table when cleaning up at the end of the day.

To finish off our week we attended a picnic at King's Park with a huge bunch of other homeschoolers.  It was wonderful and gave me the opportunity to catch up with a couple of Mum's I don't often get to see.  We were quite early so enjoyed exploring whilst the park was quiet.

Pacific Black Duck and her ducklings

 We did also see some Australian Wood Ducks but the picture I took was very poor.  The Pacific Black Ducks are very common to the lakes and wetland areas in Perth.  I grew up calling these Dilly Ducks.  My Mum actually had one as a pet when she was a child living in the country.  This mother duck was lovely and came close to the kids keeping her ducklings altogether.  She hoped out of the lake at one point which sparked some mass hysteria from the ducklings who all called madly for her.  She did come back and appeared to tell them all off sternly before hopping back in.  They then went hunting and the kids were amazed to see the little ducklings completely submerge themselves and swim under the water looking for food.

Take care

Amber 

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Once upon a time there was a beautiful young duck named Ping.  Ping tried not to be last.  Everyday he tried to stay nearest to his mother but one day he was trying to get a little fish but he did not hear the call, "La-la-la-la-lei".  He knew he would be last so he hid in the grass.

Splash, Ping was surrounded by dark fishing birds.  They had rings of metal around their necks so tight that they could never swallow the fish they were catching.

One day he did not hear the call again and he was surrounded by boats so he set off to look for the wise-eyed boat.  He was attracted by cake crumbs, rice cake crumbs and while he ate these cake crumbs he came nearer and nearer to a house boat.  Splash there was a little boy with a barrel on his back.  "There", said Ping and he snatched at the rice cake.  "Ooo, ahh", the little boy said.  Then his mother, his father, his sister and his brother pulled him up from the Yangtze river.  His father said "Ooooh", a duck dinner has come to us and his mother said, "I will cook him with rice at sunset tonight".  The boy said "No" my duck is to beautiful to eat.

Ping found himself in a basket and he could not see.  Then the little oy lifted the basket off Ping and then he let Ping off the house boat.  Ping slipped into the yellow water of the Yangtze river.

He hears the call "la-la-la-la-lei" and there was the wise-eyed boat which was his home.  Ping neared the shore but he saw his mother, his father and his uncles and aunts crossing the bridge.  Then he saw his 42 cousins crossing the bridge, then he saw the last cousin crossing the bridge he knew he had to hurry.  Nearer and nearer he came to the shore and he knew he would be last, so he hurried and hurried but he was too late, there was the spank on his back.  But then he was back at last with his mother, his father, his 42 cousins.

This is the end.

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Yet another busy week at our place!  Our best friends (the kids and mine) are visiting Perth and as we don't see them very often we are making the most of it.  We had them down for the day so no school work that day.

Our nature finds for the week -

Libelluidae Blue Skimmer Dragonfly

 First off let me say we didn't hurt this little guy his tail was bent when we found him.  According to my field guide these guys normally hang around water courses.  I'm not sure how he found his way to our place!  We don't have any lakes or streams in our immediate area.  I found this guy on the washing.

Armadillidiidae Introduced Rolling Slater

We have these little guys all over our yard.  They especially love the wood pile.  They are a crustacean and not an insect.  As his name suggests when he is threatened he rolls himself into a ball using his segmented outer as a protective shell.

I took the kids on a field trip this week to have a ride on the ferris wheel which is visiting Perth.  It was wonderful!!  The kids loved it.  They enjoyed looking down on the people and cars.  It gave them a completely different perspective.  It wasn't cheap, but it was fun!

 The nature we encountered on the way -

Rock Dove

 I grew up calling these guys pigeons.  They were introduced to Australia and are scavengers.  Some councils now have signs making it illegal to feed the birds because they are such a nuisance.

Silver Gull

 I have always called them Sea Gulls because they are always at the beach, lol.  These ones were having a dip in the Swan.  They are very common here and can be as bad as those 'pigeons' with their scavenging.  Don't leave your food unattended at the beach, they will sneak up and pinch it!

Ethany's reading is really taking off!!  I tested her 2 weeks ago and she was reading a a solid Grade 2 level, in only 2 weeks i think it closer to a Grade 3 level now.  Over this last week we have buddy read (she reads a page, I read a page) the entire collection of First Fairy Tales which we borrowed from the library.

All 3 of the kids started swimming lessons this week.  Xavier has been petrified of the water for a long while, wont take a shower, wont go under the hose, wont get his face wet at the beach etc.  But surprisingly he has done really well.  Ethany and Imogen are both water lovers so no worries there!

I have decided to take a slightly different tack with Five in a Row this year.  Last year I found I was trying to do too much and we skimmed over stuff and didn't stop to smell the roses so to speak so this is what we are doing.  I have dropped Before Five in a Row for now although i will pick it back up soon.  I am putting more into planning Five in a Row and letting Xavier just come for the ride.  I am getting the manual and looking at all the activities then choosing what I want and fleshing it out.  Then I work out how much will be reasonable for a day and work out how many days we are going to work on that book.  We have started The Story of Ping and plan to work on it over 6 days.  If we miss a day, no big deal we will just pick up tomorrow so we will still achieve everything I planned but not on set days if that makes sense.  It is working sooooo much better already!

Take care

Amber 

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This list will not include the myriad of picture books that are brought to me daily to read-a-loud  simply because there are just toooo many!!!  I will keep it to books we read over a period of time.

The Enchanted Wood - Enid Blyton completed

The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton completed 

Winnie-The-Pooh - AA Milne completed

Peter Pan  - JM Barrie completed

 The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams completed

Charlotte's Web - EB White now reading

The Wishing Chair Again - Enid Blyton

The House at Pooh Corner - AA Milne

Brer Rabbit Book - Enid Blyton

I try not to plan too far ahead with our selections (so i will update often!) because I like to own the books we read as read-a-louds with the hope that the kids will pick them up and read again when they are able, having fond memories of what was read to them when they were little.  Well that's the plan anyway :-)  Also i like to hunt in the second hand bookshops and you can't always find what you want!

Amber

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This week has seen us out and about a little more than usual which has been nice.  We have still had plenty of time to observe the nature at the backdoor though.

We have loads of these tiny insects at our place.  I have no idea what they are and so far have been unable to identify them in any of our field guides.  We are dubbing them UB (unidentified bug), lol.  Do you know what they are?  If you do please drop us a line!

This guy ...

Bobtail

 ... gave me such a fright on the way to the rubbish bin this week.  I came round the corner loaded with rubbish bags and he was right there waiting for me.  By the time I popped the rubbish in the bin and grabbed the camera he had scurried around the side of the house next to our fence.  You would think that I would be used to these guys after living in the country and relocating 20 from our place over that time, but no, they still get you when you least expect it!

 Ethany began her very first chapter book this week.  Of her own free will she chose The Princess and the Unicorn by Wendy Blaxland (Aussie Nibbles book) from the library.  It is way above her reading level but she is determined to read it and we are taking it slowly!  To mark the momentous occasion we made bookmarks.  Giggling gurty couldn't control herself for the photo, lol.

Whilst at the library this week Imogen picked out a CD and was determined to bring it home.  That is unusual for her, so we got it out.  We had popcorn (afternoon tea) and a dance to The Ultimate Fairy Album.  It is wonderful classical music.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed it.  Perhaps i will have to include more of the classics in our day to day life :-)

I have also been making a tough curriculum decision this week.  Ethany has almost finished Explode the Code Book 1 and she really has not enjoyed working through it.  It has moved very slowly for her.  She is quite a visual kid and has not enjoyed the black & white pages either.  I think I have finally made a decision.  I have looked at Spaldings' The Writing Road to Reading, Spell to Write and Read, All About Spelling, LEM phonics, Spectrum phonics, MCP Plaid phonics, and loads of others I can't even remember the names of.  Can you tell I am dizzy!  I liked The Writing Road to Reading and how they approach phonics, but I also wanted something that would complement Websters Speller that we have been using for reading practice and learning the syllables.

I have decided to go with LEM phonics.  I quite like the Spalding method of teaching all of the phonograms but i don't like the lack of structure that The Writing Road to Reading offers, I got lost just trying to read the book.  LEM phonics is strong on phonograms providing something very similar to The Writing Road to Reading but also has a strong emphasis on syllable division so seems like the perfect fit.

Language Arts is not my strong suit, I much prefer math, science, social studies, infact almost anything else so I need something with all the rules and reasons laid out clearly and preferably in a workbook type format.  LEM phonics ticks all the boxes for me so that's the purchase I will make this week coming.  It basically follows The Writing Road to Reading but in a workbook format, heavy on syllables, all with an Aussie slant.  You can find more information about it here

https://www.lem.com.au/welcome.html

Hopefully I will have a chance to review after using for a few weeks.

I am hopeful that Xavier will catch on using this method too.  Ethany learnt to read using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  Xavier is a totally different kid and he is keen to start reading too, but not keen to sit and learn to read as Ethany did.  So hopefully teaching him the phonograms in some fun and interesting ways will help him on his mission to read just like Ethany.

Take care

Amber 

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Dolphin Diaries : Under the Stars is a fictional novel written by Lucy Daniels and our audio was read by Lorelei King.

From the dust cover -

Jody McGrath's dolphin dreams are coming true!  Her whole family is sailing around the world researching dolphins - and Jody is recording all their exciting adventures in her Dolphin Diaries...

 

Jody is at Dolphin Haven in the Bahamas, where dolphins Bella, Misty and Evie are about to give birth!  Everyone is excited - but also worried.  In the past, Evie's calves have died, and this may be her last chance to become a mum.  Will this calf live? 

This book whilst being fictional provides a lot of accurate information on Dolphins including what they eat, their natural behaviors and the birth process.  It also touches on the learning difficulty dyslexia and friendship.

 

As a read-a-loud or on audio this is an excellent book well suited for a wide age group.  Ethany and Xavier loved it and even i enjoyed it.  I would not recommend this book for a sensitive child however.  As an independent read i would guess an age range of 10 to 12, definitely a girly book :-)  There are several more Dolphin Diaries books and we enjoyed this one so much we will check them out next time at the library!

Amber

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We seem to have a wide variety of creatures living around our place!  Here is what we have seen in the last 2 days.

Marbled Gecko

He was on the wall of our verandah when I was heading out the door I spotted him.  He was almost translucent and was a little tricky to identify.  According to our description they only appear translucent this at night time.  During the day they should have a strong marbled colour.  I think he was just trying to camoflage with our brickwork.

Laughing Kookaburra

(Sorry about the quality of the pic.  I took it through the back door so as not to disturb our new residents.)

 A family of Kookaburras has moved into our backyard.  There is Mum, Dad and bub.  They have been teaching bub how to catch worms and other bugs in our yard.  They visit morning and night and are enjoying having some freshly turned earth (where the tree used to be) to hunt.

Geometridae Fence Grey Geometer Moth

Ethany helped me to identify this one from our guide.  We were undecided on which moth it was, a couple appear very similar in our book.  The key was the small black vertical stripes on the wings.

Amber

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Since we moved into this house we have been undertaking a massive project!  The removal of a very large tree from our backyard, so that we actually have a yard, lol.  The tree was taking up the entire yard, i kid you not.

Whilst cutting down the monster we came across this little guy.

He is a South-western Spiny-tailed Gecko.

According to my Guide to Wildlife he is a subspecies variety as the markings on his back are not as strong as the true South-western Spiny-tail.  They can grow up to 13cm and are arboreal.  Our guy was about full size.

He was a very friendly little guy.  I picked him up to show the kids and he happily sat on my hand then licked his eye to get a better look at us.  I popped him in a container so the kids could get a better look at his spines before we popped him back on the tree, where we found him. 

Amber

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Last week we spent some time studying Brazil.  The kids were so fascinated about a family of Tembe Indians we read about living in the Amazon Rainforest they just couldn't resist dressing up as Tembe Indians themselves. 

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