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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Imogen has finally weaned.  I knew this was coming for the last 8 weeks or so.  She has gradually cut down how much she is nursing and this past week has seen her wean completely.  She had cut down to only nursing in the morning and this past week she has refused to nurse instead getting out of bed and searching for her sippy cup of water.  She has not not nursed at all for 5 days.

 

The fact that both Xavier and Imogen self weaned, Xavier was completely weaned at 13 months having cut down from 10 months and Imogen completely weaned at 15 1/2  months having cut down from 13 months led me on a search of the net for articles about weaning.  I wanted something positive to share with you.

 

I found this article  http://www.kellymom.com/bf/weaning/babyselfwean.html  and was shocked to say the least! 

 

On reading this article it implied that I didn't do enough to nurse my children.  I must have some how encouraged them to eat more and drink from alternative sources and that secretly I must have wanted to wean my babies because it is unusual for babies to self wean before 18 to 24 months.  HOW RUDE!!

 

I have to say I am glad that I am thick skinned because some people out there would be devastated after reading an article like that.  Having thought they had done the right thing for their baby they are suddenly faced with the theory that they didn't do enough.  Should we not be supportive of one another???

 

I will freely admit that Ethany was weaned to a bottle at 4 months because she was lactose intolerant and refluxing.  The formula she was put on made the world of difference and I don't not regret that one bit.  It was the best thing for her.

 

Xavier only ever had a bottle when i wasn't available to feed him and in his bottle he had expressed milk.  This was only when he was little and was not very often.  When he weaned he weaned to a cup of his own free will.  I will not force my children to nurse.  When he refused and wanted a cup who am I to say no you are not old enough to make that decision for yourself.  He was never unhappy or miserable about not nursing I did not push him in anyway.  He has great attachment and still, at 3 hops in our bed for a cuddle in the mornings.

 

Imogen NEVER had a bottle!  She was the most unsettled of all 3, she nursed the most of all 3 and personally I thought I would be feeding her until she was 3, maybe older.  But, in the last 8 weeks she has started walking, become more verbal and decided that she doesn't want to nurse anymore.  That's OK with me.  We fought through 4 bouts of mastitis and nursing loads at night because she wasn't putting on any weight.  She loves her cuddles, has not been grumpy or looking to nurse and also has excellent attachment.

 

To end a long ramble I just want to say some babies will self wean earlier than others and clearly it can have nothing to do with the mother!  Personally I consider myself having breastfed full term, that is, as long as my children wanted to nurse I nursed them.  I applaud all nursing mothers no matter what length of time, one feed, one week, one month, one year, great job!!  Don't let others out there get you down!

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Ethany chose this audio book from the library on our last visit and today we finished listening to it for the second time.  I thought it time to briefly review.

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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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Hello everyone and Happy New Year!!

The last 6 months have seen us toss up the idea of home schooling.  Ethany is a  bright spark and has generally driven us around the bend since she was 2.  Mostly she was bored!  She was in desperate need of mental stimulation and more than just reading books and answering the millions of questions she has.  Soooo, after much thought we decided it best to start home schooling her.

 After she turned 4 we started with a few basic things, some Kumon handwriting workbooks and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  That went well and we took a very relaxed approach starting out.  She cottoned on VERY quickly and was asking to do 'school' all the time.  I also found some online maths worksheets which she loved.

This year we have decided to take it a little more formally as if she were going to school she would be in Kindy (US preK), not only that but she is operating at a Grade 1 level for most things.  So after breakfast we get stuck into a few things and later in the day we do reading and depending on the day a science or geography related activity.  She is loving it and Xavier is thriving too.  Even Imogen wants in on the act sitting on my knee, scribbling on some paper or trying to complete a puzzle.

 So, what are we using?  Everyones favorite questions isn't it, well, here is the list -

ETHANY 

Queens Language Lessons for Little Ones 3 (just started and loving it)

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (almost finished)

Websters Speller

Explode the Code book 1 (almost finished)

Math on the Level

Kumon Grade 1 Addition

Five in a Row

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding K-2

Our own geography study

Reading Eggs

 

XAVIER - he mainly just tags along for everything and participates when he wants but things he actually does with me include

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (just starting out)

Before Five in a Row (not every week, when we can get the books on inter library loan)

Reading Eggs 

We are also working on letter and number recognition 

 Please don't get the wrong idea.  It might look like we are doing HEAPS, but really we are not.  Any official lessons we do are not longer than 10 mins.  Also plenty of what we do is informal.  I am using the books more as ref for me to guide discussions and ideas for throwing things like science and math into everyday life.  We also love living books and borrow our quota everytime we visit the library.

We are looking forward to a great year !!

 Amber 

 

 

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We have finally arrived at the new place and unpacked the kitchen (sigh).  The kids and I have been in the same clothes for the last 3 days due to traveling and not unpacking clothing yet.  Can't wait to get something fresh on tomorrow.  Hubby has been living the high life at the inlaws for the week, so no smelly clothes for him.

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I can't believe it!  After 2 wonderful years in Dandaragan we are moving back to the big smoke of Perth.  How i will miss the quiet of living out here in the middle of nowhere!!

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We set off this morning in the fog for an hours drive to a wetland area that is being rehabilitated.  The project is an ongoing joint mission by Landcare and the company Russell works for.  The kids had a blast and were our little helpers putting the seedlings down the pipes of the planting gadgets.  Imogen was an angel, she slept in our Macpac carrier for about an hour.  All up the 200 people present planted 20,000 seedlings over a 4 hour period.  We had a hamburger for lunch before heading for home.  It was a great day and i think the kids got a much better appreciation of our environment.

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