Back to not-school...

School started back this week in Australia. Facebook and (non-homeschooling) blogs were full of mums beside themselves with joy that they have their days back to themselves again or worry that their little ones are starting the new, big world of Kindergarten or High School. And then people like Shae from Free Range in Suburbia wrote great stuff like this.

Apart from some lingering end-of-January shifts at work, I have been beside myself with joy that I finally get to spend some time with my kids! For large chunks of the holidays I've been working and they've been...what do teenage kids do in their dark, gloomy rooms? Mine have apparently been consumed by a whole world of anime cartoons that I only had a vague idea existed. And they are also learning Japanese! Little Japanese phrases are creeping their way into everyday conversation...

We have family movie nights where we hire a DVD or pull one (of many) out of the cupboard to watch all together. We have now started to have "YouTube" nights (thanks to the brilliance of the WiiU) where we show our latest favourite YouTube clips. It's a nice way of staying in touch with whatever the kids are into at the moment.

Inspired a bit by the Australian Open, the kids have got out the Wii Tennis and only managed to whack each other a few times in our tiny lounge room. Roger Federer doesn't have those issues, I bet!

We've also been doing the Big Screen thing - Hubby took the kids to The Hobbit in 3D (and I had 3 lovely, uninterrupted hours of Doing Whatever I Want. Bliss). I also took Wombat Girl to see Les Miserables. I prepped her about the sad and sometimes confronting storyline, because she is a sensitive soul. But she handled it OK and we both sat spellbound at the stunning photography, amazing acting, and of course the soul-stirring, moving and brilliant music and songs. We sobbed liked babies! We sighed, we smiled, we sat awestruck at the hardships and extremes of human emotions presented. Can you tell that I loved it? I asked Wombat Girl afterwards if she had any trouble following the plot given it was entirely sung - she didn't even notice! That's how good it was. Hugh Jackman is seriously under-rated as Wolverine. And Anne Hathaway singing I Dreamed A Dream in one shot? I have no words.

And in a desperate attempt to make sure they didn't spend all their time in front of a screen, we got them a Robot Arm kit, which kept them busy constructing and then programming (and troubleshooting!) the arm. There is also software you can buy which you program and send to the robot.

And so, after what seems like a LOT of months, we finally sat down to do some "schoolwork" together. And you know what? After about 20 minutes, I wanted to send them back to school!!! They were a bit narky with each other, Video Boy was fiddling with stuff (toothpicks everywhere, anyone?), Wombat Girl decided NOW was a great time to cut her fingernails, and we had lots of heads on desks and complaining. Yeah, I love homeschooling!

There may have been threats of sending them to high school made (and only half in jest!). But then we wouldn't get to go on big holidays in the middle of term....stay tuned for exciting news!