Getting on with things at home..

Winter has come and with it cold mornings and nights..brrr!! But thankfully most days are still warm when the sun is shining. 

The past couple of weeks have been great! The end of term has almost arrived and we are really enjoying learning. This past week I have noticed a real growth in the kids and how much they are learning. It is very exciting!

It took me a little while to trust in the kids leading the topics they are learning, but it has been really great! Avril and Josef have been learning about the frog lifecycle, Adele is loving 1930's Australia and Damon continues on his adventures in aviation, geography and zoology.

I am quite excited about what next term holds for our learning adventures.

Below the kids are doing some cotton tip painting with friends.

The beginning of an autumn tree..

Avril decided to paint a bunny..

Avril and Josef are loving learning about frogs! This week we looked at the lifecycle.

We watched a YouTube video of Fergie the Frog. and we created our own lifecycle to hang up.

Bubble wrap eggs...which were dotted in with black marker.

We then made tadpoles which the kids decided were not perfect without purple glitter paint :)

So off we went outside to finish off our tadpoles..

We then printed off a frog to decorate..

To make our own lifecycle!!

The three big kids have been sharpening their maths skills with xtramath. It is a free on line maths program that helps them to master their maths facts.

 Avril has been practising her reading and is coming along really well.

 As usual there is some kind of cooking..left over easter eggs are a real treat in cupcakes :) And fresh cupcake batter is a lovely addition to breakfast!!

 Damon is loving his aviation studies. This week he was studying the centre of gravity.
We have two excursions planned to Fighter World and Newcastle Airport for next term.

 Adele was so interested in 1930's Australia that she completed 2 days of planned work in one afternoon! This was a surprise to me and then she started writing a story about her character, from the characters point of view, by her own choice.

 She has discovered a love of history!

We are using the My Place lesson ideas, as well as a few of our own to make history come alive :) Adele loves watching the DVD's.

 Another end to a great couple of weeks!!

Taking time out together...

heading off to soccer games with Damon often gives us an opportunity for some quality family time. This time we headed to Muswellbrook. Damon loves his soccer!!

The field was right next to a grave yard which fascinated the kids, so we went exploring and reading the headstones. The kids enjoyed working out how old the people were when they died and seeing how old the graves were.

My kids love to climb trees!! (and secretly so does their mum!) A tree is always inviting to us and the kids always try to get as high as possible.

 
On our way home from Muswellbrook we stopped over at Singleton for lunch. We stopped at the dreaded bat park!! ...just because of this wonderful spinning go round!! I remember them from when I was a kid and we don't see them anymore, so we had to have a turn :) (and yes we headed to the nearest bathroom afterwards to wash our hands!!).

The kids also loved playing on the two tractors on display int he park.

 We always have such fun on our soccer outings!

Back at home we have been doing some yard work. Damon has been helping his dad mow the lawn and fix up Nehemiah's cage (our rabbit).

The kids were really excited when they received letters from some of good friends who recently moved away! They immediately got started on their replies..

Adele has been continuing with her ballet project. She has been writing up information about ballet as well as making this display.

 The little kids have been learning some more about cooking through our Home economics book. They work so well together all taking turns.

After learning about sifting, Adele made some baking powder biscuits, that were kid of like scones.

We have been meeting with another home school family to share an activity. Here are the girls starting their pinata. this was their second attempt, with the first one exploding!!

Here is Damon giving one of the kids a swing :)

 The kids were set the task of writing a paper on what they are good at. this was in line with our focus on stewardship and using all the God has given us for His glory - their talents and interests. The kids illustrated their papers with tiny passport photos and printouts from the computer. They look really good :)

 Avril has been interested in frogs fro quite a while and misses her friends from our old home :( So we have started our study on frogs. We have been reading information texts on frogs. Below is Avril decorating her frog as a poisonous frog from her book.

Here is Josef joining in :)

I asked Avril to tell me something she learned about frogs, so I could write it down and then she copied it below her picture.

Another great few weeks. 

During the next few weeks Adele will venture into 1930's Australia and Avril will continue with her frogs and their lifecycle. Damon will be diving into the world of biomes, Africa and continuing his aviation studies. So more adventures to come :)