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We have not really done any formal habit training so far so I decided this week we would make a fresh start and get own to business with habit training.  A friend forwarded me her morning and evening routines which I fitted to my family and printed out and popped on the pantry door, very central place in our house.  Whilst doing that I decided I would make a makeshift whiteboard so that I could write down what I wanted to achieve for us school wise for that day, week and month, it went on the pantry door too.

The kids responded really well!  When their feet hit the floor this morning they were checking the chart working their way down the list.  We have included a daily nature walk as part of our morning routine for all of our benefits.  Before moving here I used to walk 2km per day to collect the mail.  Sadly I don't walk nearly as much now and really need to so I am hoping this will be excellent encouragement.  As it was swimming day today and we swim in the morning the walk was only a quick lap of the block, but whilst out we stopped and admired some native birds and spied these snails.

Once home from swimming we got stuck into the 'school work'.  Ethany and Xavier made snowflakes which go with our Five in a Row book Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

We also worked on Explode the Code and a few other things including telling time, +2, more 2 syllable words from Webster's and our memory bank.  Ethany has just memorised her first RL Stephenson poem 'Rain'.  The memory bank is working well.

Imogen just hung out being her tiny tot self :-)  She pulled out the entire contents of her bottom draw in her chest not once but twice.  She climbed onto the computer table and was standing up in the high chair at one point calling out for me to 'rescue her'???

Yesterday I found this guy on my window sill when I opened the laundry window.  This is a much better specimen than the last one we found, his marking and colourings were very true.  I released him under a tree in our yard.

Marbled Gecko

I'm blogging everyday for the next 20 days by request from relatives who are traveling so tune in tomorrow  to see what's new with us.

Amber 

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Yet again, another busy week.  Our friends return to their country home this weekend so things will go back to normal next week.  We have however had an awesome time with them over the last 3 weeks and will be sad to see them go!

This week we completed the post test for Explode the Code Book 1.  Ethany has progressed so well in this book and I have been blown away by her dictation ability in the post test. 

Xavier started Explode the Code Book A at his request.  I am just going to take it very slowly.  He is a very fickle little guy!  He also started 100 Easy Lessons, again at his request and managed to complete 2 lessons for the week.

We have not done heaps of reading this week because we just have not been home :-)  Ethany has completed a few more lessons in 100 Easy Lessons and has listened to 3 audio books, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, The Fairy Charm by Emily Rodda (this was a compilation of 3 books) and Fairy Dust by Gwyneth Rees.  She listened to these during all our travel time.  She loved them!  The Fairy Charm was a really beautiful girly story and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is such a classic.

We managed to finish rowing The Story of Ping this week.  We conducted a flotation experiment with general household items.

I pulled out the MUS blocks this week and we played 'banking', which I invented on the spot, shhh!  Basically I give her a bunch of units then she takes them to the bank and changes them for the larger blocks.  So if I give her 12 units then she changes for 1 ten and 1 two, you get the idea.  Next week we will work on changing other blocks.  She has the concepts of addition (no regrouping) down really well so time to work towards regrouping.

I also pulled out some patterning tasks and Ethany worked well transferring the 2D pic to the 3D real life model.  A couple of times she got it backwards but by pack away time she really had the hang of it.

Xavier had to be in on it too, so i gave him some beetles to build.

 We got along to the Zoo twice this week, once for A to Zoo which has it's very own blog post and once just to kill some time whilst up in Perth.  On our second trip we enjoyed an icecream whilst watching the Australian Pelicans prene themselves and have a wash.

Before heading to the zoo for the second time we hit Kings Park quickly as I have been wanting (since it opened) to walk over the new bridge.  This week we did although I don't think the kids really got what the fuss was about.

Just by the new bridge at Kings Park is a Boab tree.

This boab tree is special because it was transplanted from the Kimberley (the far north of Western Australia) and was then put on a truck and travelled thousands of kilometers to be replanted in Kings Park.  Only recently they were able to label the transplant a success when the boab grew its first new shoots since the move.

I hope you enjoyed a good week too :-)

Amber 

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OK, I just have to confess that I love the convenience of 'spray & wipe' type products for the kitchen.  I have for a while been testing out various environmentally friendly ones and looking for 'the one' that matches the quality of the non-enviro-friendly ones.  The search is over, I have finally found it!

I am just LOVING Enviro Clean's Vigor All Purpose Cleaner which I purchased from Gardners Direct.  It is so easy to use and really works well.  I purchased the 1L bottle because I was a little sceptical, to date I have been very disappointed with other enviro-friendly 'spray & wipes' on the market.  They have left nasty residues or just not cleaned at all.  This stuff is different and truly packs a punch!

I took one of my old 'spray & wipe' bottles and put in 1 cap full of Vigor and topped up with water then gave it a shake to make sure it was diluted properly then I attacked my stove top.  I had deliberately left it for several days without cleaning because I wanted to give this new product a true test.  It worked wonders.  I sprayed on, left on whilst I wiped down the table and bench tops and when I returned I simply wiped off the stove top and EVERYTHING came off.   I was stunned and amazed, infact I called Russell into the kitchen to check it out.

Since that moment I have been using it on everything and have never been disappointed.  Truly I can't recommend this product highly enough, it is wonderful even on the toughest stuff. 

(Please note I have no financial interest in Enviro Clean or Gardeners Direct, simply providing a review of a product I love.)

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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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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 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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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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