So, what were our highlights?
Planning and taking our big trip to China!
A great opportunity to take the 'world's best excursion' (kids explanation to fellow-cruisers who queried why they weren't in school) and do some learning too:
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| And a great opportunity to look through pics of our trip again! |
Getting out and about:
Not that we did HEAPS of this, but we always feel better when we do (and I'm sure there are lots of outcomes I can tick of in retrospect).
Learning about...
...plants:
...the human body (post on this in draft form!):
...art and craft stuff:
Experiencing live music and live theatre:
Researching and building a super-duper, ultra-high powered gaming PC:
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| Looking pretty pleased with himself!!! |
We've also done a LOT of "bookwork" this year (more so than in previous years). There are a number of reasons for this:
- The kids are getting older and I'm conscious of getting them eased into a more "tertiary" form of learning (that's my main excuse, and I'm sticking to it!).
- I've been working at least 0.5 full-time, so I leave work they can do without the constant supervision and input of mum.
- I've been freaking out just the tiniest bit about the changes to the Board of Studies (NSW) requirements and making sure we just tick a few more "boxes" academically speaking.
That doesn't make for very interesting photos, but I may yet get my act together and do a post of the good things they've accomplished in their workbooks, lapbooks, worksheets and computer.
And of course, we acknowledge not only the traditional owners of the land on which we homeschool, but the wonderful natural learning that I am able to translate into "outcomes" that is infinitely superior to anything they might experience in a classroom:
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| Please note Wombat Girl doing "something" scientific with the mortar and pestle... |
I will post about the year in general closer to the New Year (hope that's non-committal enough for you!), but as I look back at our homeschooling year, and watch the Facebook posts of kids getting certificates for "attitude" "application" and "citizenship", I'm again thankful that we are able to live this life, learning and loving together (most of the time!).
I love seeing your year here (well, at least the tip of the happy iceberg that has been your year!)! Wow, you sure had some excellent adventures, and certainly hung out with some excellent people (yes, I DO see my photo in there!). I'm so, so pleased we're on this adventure together, my friend :)
ReplyDeleteLooking back, we managed to squeeze a bit of good stuff in (and hang out with some excellent people!). It is such a grand adventure!
DeleteLooks like a fun filled year :) I've always toyed with the idea of doing lapbooks, though I shy away from them because I fear we'd give up halfway!
ReplyDeleteWasn't our funnest year, but it had some pretty cool moments! I don't think we've EVER "finished" a lapbook - we just do the mini-books that are relevant to us (sometimes sourced from multiple sources) and I let the kids stick them in the manilla folder wherever they want. Works for us!
DeleteAlmost as good as my drawings too (when I was their age) :)
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