December 2013- High Summer

(First published at Sandbox to Socrates http://sandboxtosocrates.wordpress.com)

Age 6- Grade Prep

"That was a bearded dragon. It crossed the road at the Hattah Lakes. The he climbed up the bank and behind the tree."

Again Daughter has combined objects of interest from St Clair and Steavenson's Falls into one picture. In the middle of the picture there you can see a flower with a purple seed pod. It must have been some kind of native pea. I was interested because I don't ever recall seeing plants in various states of flowering while also producing seed pods.

This was drawn from Lake Nillacootie, which is not one of our usual haunts. We were there for a break up party with one of our homeschool groups. This is a picture of a dead cicada.

"The cicada was dead. There were others being noisy up the tree. Those ones were alive." (Of course they were. Sometimes this girl is too cute. :) )

____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Religious Calendar Curriculum- September

1st

- Beginning of the liturgical year (Eastern Orthodox)

~~~~~~~~~~
6th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~
7
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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8th

-The Nativity of the Theotokos (Eastern Orthodox)

*Read Sister Elayne's book

~~~~~~~~~~
9th
-Full Moon (Neo-Pagan)
*Some Pagans, particularly Wiccans, observe the full moon as a special time.
*Read 'Aiden's First Full Moon Circle' by W. Lyon Martin

~~~~~~~~~~
13th

- Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~
14th

- The Elevation of the Holy Cross (Eastern Orthodox)

~~~~~
Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~
20th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~
21st
-At Mabon (March 20-23rd), the God has died. The Earth has received His body and given up the last of the harvest. Leaves are falling from the trees and the Earth is preparing for the long, cold winter without the light of the Sun. The God has died and the Goddess, growing old and becoming the Crone, mourns His loss. The Earth has received His body and given up the last of the harvest - He has sacrificed Himself, giving His energy to the Earth, so that we may enjoy the fruits of the harvest. Leaves are falling from the trees and the Earth is preparing for the long, cold winter without the light of the Sun.

It is Ostara in the southern hemisphere. Sometimes I make themed candles, but I'll always be doing some gardening! It's time to start seedlings for summer veggies like tomatoes, capsicum and eggplant!

~~~~~
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~

24th

- Rosh Hashana (Jews)
*This celebration begins tonight and continues for two days. It is believed to be the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Chava. Customs include eating apples dipped in honey and blowing the shofar, which is made of a ram's horn.
*Colour the relevant page in the Jewish Year colouring book

~~~~~~~~~~
25th

- Navratri (Hindu)
*Begins today and lasts for 9 days to worship the goddess Durga
*Work on the relevant page from the Indian Festivals workbook

~~~~~~~~~~
26th
-Dhu Hijjah fast begins (Islam)
*Some Muslims fast for the first ten days of the month of Dhul Hijjah, the pilgrimage month

~~~~~~~~~~
27th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~
28th
-The Fast of Gedaliah (Jews)
*This fast is to honour the governor of Judah, whose name was Gedaliah, who was assassinated at around 1 BCE and whose murder marked the end of Jewish autonomy. The fast is observed from dawn until dusk and special prayers are read.

~~~~~
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

November 2013- True Spring --> High Summer

(First published at Sandbox to Socrates http://sandboxtosocrates.wordpress.com)

Another short post.

This was drawn from our kitchen. "The dead moth was on the window sill. The spiders will eat it up. I saw the moth's legs. I showed Dad the baby spiders." Not the best drawing, but the baby spiders were cool. :)

____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally…

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Religious Calendar Curriculum- August

1st
- In the Northern Hemisphere, many neo-Pagans are celebrating Lammas, the first of the harvest festivals. A story the Wiccans tell about this holiday is as follows: The first grains are harvested and all the growing is over. The Lord grows old and ethereal, becoming the Elder - as the crops are cut down, so are the days of His life. He is weathered and beginning to weaken. The Goddess is the Mother, heavily pregnant with the infant God to be reborn at Yule.

-In the Southern Hemisphere, we are observing Imbolc. This means I will be pouring over my heirloom seeds catalogues, telling myself I don't need anything and probably buying anyway. It also means I have to put together some sort of hot house to start my corn off in.

*Read the Lammas section from Rupert's Tales

~~~~~
- Beginning of the Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodox)
*The two weeks before the Feast of the Dormition are a time to fast for the Orthodox Christians. During this time, they must not eat meat, eggs, dairy, oil and wine.

~~~~~~~~~~
2nd
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~
3rd
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~
5th
-Tisha B'Av (Jewish)
* The is the other major fast in addition to Yom Kippur, and is considered the saddest day in the Jewish calendar as it commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jews from Israel as well as other tragedies that happened on the same date in the history of the Jewish people. It started last night at sunset and continues until sunset tonight.
*Read the section from the Jewish Book of Holidays and colour a page from the Jewish holiday colouring book

~~~~~~~~~~

6th
- The Transfiguration
*This feast is observed by Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and some Protestants, though some churches celebrate it later in the month.
*Read Sister Elayne's book

~~~~~~~~~~
9th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~

10th
-Raksha Bandhan, also known as Rakhi Purnima or plain Rakhi
*This festival celebrates the love and duty between brothers and sisters. Not just biological siblings, but also brother-sister like social relationships. It is observed by Hindus, Jains and many Sikhs, predominantly in India, Mauritius, and some parts of Pakistan and Nepal, plus people of these faiths elsewhere in the world. One custom is for sisters to tie rakhi threads (sacred threads) around their brother's wrists to symbolise their prayers and wishes for their brother's well being and their brother's life long vows of protection towards their sisters. Sisters living far from their brothers may post rakhi threads in advance, but if they live close together they will probably get together with their families and exchange food and the brother will give gifts.
*Colour a picture from here: http://www.ekansh.org/uploads/1/1/3/3/11333477/3907646_orig.jpg

~~~~~
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~
-Full Moon (Neo-Pagan)
*Some Pagans, particularly Wiccans, observe the full moon as a special time.
*Read 'Aiden's First Full Moon Circle' by W. Lyon Martin

~~~~~~~~~~
15th
-The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics is also known as The Feast of the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos by the Orthodox Christians.
*This commemorates the Virgin Mary being taken up to Heaven
*Read Sister Elayne's book
~~~~~~~~~~
16th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~
17th
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~
23rd
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~~
24th
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~~
30th
-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)
*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~~
31st
-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians
*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.









____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...
Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

October 2013- True Spring

(First published at Sandbox to Socrates http://sandboxtosocrates.wordpress.com)

A short post this month.

This picture was drawn from one of our nature study tours down to Barwon Heads. We stood for a while watching the duck diving into the estuary. A bit of artistic license has been taken. The duck was not purple, but black. :)

____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Religious Calendar Curriculum- July

5th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~

6th

-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~

12th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~

-Full Moon (Neo-Pagan)

*Some Pagans, particularly Wiccans, observe the full moon as a special time.

*Read 'Aiden's First Full Moon Circle' by W. Lyon Martin

~~~~~~~~~~

13th

-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~

15th

-Fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz- minor fast. Dawn to dark. (Jewish)

*This fast commemorates the breaching of the city walls of Jerusalem before the Second Temple was destroyed.

~~~~~~~~~~

19th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~

20th

-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~

-Day of the Prophet Elias (Orthodox) (aka Elijah)
*Colouring page from here: http://www.holyresurrection.us/kids/iconart/ProphetEliasl.html
*Relevant Bible story

~~~~~~~~~~

24th
- Pioneer Day (Utah Mormons, sometimes others though not a big deal is made)

*This commemorates the arrival of the first group of Mormon settlers in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah on July 24th, 1847 after having been forced out from where they'd come from in other places in the eastern US. This is a public holiday in Utah and is celebrated with parades, fireworks, rodeos and other such fun.

~~~~~

-Laylat al-Qadr (Islam) (Not always observed on the same day, but roughly in the last ten days of Ramadan.)

*This is considered to be the night the first verses of the Quran were given to the Prophet Mohammed. On this night, they believe Allah blesses everyone, grants all prayers and forgives all sins, and that the angels come down to earth.

~~~~~~~~~~

26th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~

27th

Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~

29th

-Eid al-Fitr (Islam)

*The big party at the end of Ramadan, where absolutely no fasting is allowed! Also, donations are made to charity before Eid prayers are made.
*Read 'I'm Learning about Eid-al-Fitr' by Goodword Books

____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

September 2013- True Spring

(First published at Sandbox to Socrates http://sandboxtosocrates.wordpress.com)

"The moth was on Mamma's arm! It had 2 eyes, wings, antennae and 6 legs. It wouldn't go away" I don't know why there are so many moths in my bedroom, but they've been there for months.

"We saw the waterfall. We saw some flowers."

This picture combined our trip to St Clair and to Steavenson's Falls.

This was drawing of me looking at the sun from our verandah. I wish I could remember why I was doing that.

Does anyone know what makes sand poo? Well, what looks like sand poo? Um. Never mind… If I ever find out, I'll be sure to come here and share.

____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Religious Calendar Curriculum -June

1st

-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~

3-5th

-Shavu'ot (Jewish)

*This commemorates the occasion of God giving the Torah to the nation of Israel, and is a day (or two depending which branch of Judaism you belong to and where you live) of feasting and fun. Many people also read certain passages of religious texts and may even stay up all night to do so.
*Colour a page from the Jewish Traditions colouring book

~~~~~~~~~~

7th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~

8th

-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~

14th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~

15th

-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~

21st

-Litha (Northern Hemisphere) and Yule (Southern Hemisphere)

~~~~~

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~

22nd

-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

~~~~~~~~~~

28th

-Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

~~~~~~~~~~

29th

-Ramadan begins (Islam)

*This is a month of fasting and spirituality in Islam.

~~~~~

-Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Entire Public Domain Curriculum

The entire Public Domain Curriculum is now available at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7FV4B6vlfT3bVhybHRHRkN2dWM/edit

All the contributors to this blog are in awe of all the work our colleague here has put in!

We will eventually break this document up and publish subject areas and grade levels separately for ease of navigation. For now, though, take it, work with it, tweak it, tell us what worked and what didn't, and share it with anyone who might make use of it!

Public Domain Curriculum - Physical Education (Alpha Edition)

We are happy to present the alpha edition of the Physical Education component, handily hosted at Google Docs!

Do let us know how you found it and any alterations you made, because we're curious!



Series Introduction
English component
____________________
-By a Lady

August 2013- Early Spring

(First published at Sandbox to Socrates http://sandboxtosocrates.wordpress.com)

This pic was drawn after our nature study tour visit to St Clair. I believe the white chunks in the bottom left corner are snow and she is playing in it. We were disappointed there wasn't enough to toboggan on, but some is more interesting than none. :) Not really sure why the ground is red, but these things happen.

Driving to Anglesea (on our nature study tour to the heathlands there) "We saw different colours of wattle." I suggested she draw the different coloured wattles, but it seems, from her pic, that the seeing was less important than the going. She has drawn yellow wattle, so perhaps the issue was she doesn't have a cream coloured pencil to draw cream coloured wattle with?

This pic was drawn at home. We woke up and went outside a bit earlier than usual, and seemingly over night, lots of little spiders had made lots of little webs all over the wattle and gum trees. They might have been there for ages but not caught our eye because the dew had dried. Again we have the problem of being unable to draw white spider webs without a white pencil. I shall have to do something about that.

Previous post in the series
____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Public Domain Curriculum- English (Alpha Edition)

We are happy to present the alpha edition of the English component, handily hosted at Google Docs!

Do let us know how you found it and any alterations you made, because we're curious!



Series Introduction
Physical Education component
____________________
-By a Lady

Introducing the *Public Domain Curriculum*

How do low-income families make homeschooling work? Can they? Is homeschooling only possible or acceptable for comfortably middle-class, two-parent families? Should poor families have no choice but to rely on public education, no matter the quality and the needs of their individual child?

The bloggers at Investigate The Landscape believe that education — a solid, quality education that enables people to learn to think for themselves — should be available to everyone, no matter who they are. That "no matter who" includes people of all different ages, locations, socio-economic classes, and life paths.


The Public Domain Curriculum

• English starts with learning to recognize and write the letters of the alphabet and ends with reading at a college level and writing a research paper.

• Math starts with learning to recognize the numbers 1-5 and writing those numbers with tally marks and ends with algebra and geometry.

• The content subjects will focus on providing the information that students need to understand and enjoy books and their world, and to participate as a valuable member in their society. This may be somewhat US-centric, but as we've said, this is a curriculum without copyright so you are free to tweak however you like.

Racism In Old Books and Why So Much Fiction?

"Aren’t old books racist?", some people will ask, personally offended that anyone is still reading these books instead of boycotting them. Some of the authors of these books were provincial and elitist, but we consider it even more provincial and elitist to entirely boycott several centuries worth of literature from multiple countries for any reason. 

This author hopes that parents will teach their children that racism is ONE of MANY human rights violations and that ALL human rights violations are wrong, including those present in our modern literature.

Racism is disgusting. This author does not condone and encourage it. This author also believes that the disempowered moms who will be most attracted to this free curriculum are not required to shoulder all the burdens of all disempowered groups throughout all of time and throughout all of the world. These moms have enough on their plates just meeting the basic needs of their families, and not everyone is called to be a boycotting activist for every cause at every stage of their life.

A literature-heavy curriculum results in students with different sets of skills than those that were explicitly taught with more non-fiction, but I’m not so sure that the skills gained from reading lots of fiction are inferior for ALL students in ALL parts of the USA and in ALL parts the world. Reading fiction gives insight into other people, and it is other people we have to deal with (or avoid) all our life long. For more on the benefits of fiction, see The School of Life's youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RCFLobfqcw

What about the textbooks that are used? The dated content in most public domain textbooks is a paltry percentage of the whole. The minutiae that never needed to be taught in the first place often represent most of the dated content in textbooks. The most obvious dated material can be easily explained by mom, and the less important and questionable details can often just be skipped. Severely dated material will seldom be scheduled without adequate explanations and support.

I hope my attempt here inspires others with their own unique life experiences to adapt this curriculum to suit their own needs, giving the world multiple options to choose from in educating with only free materials.

Entire Curriculum (Rough Draft)

By subject:

English (Alpha edition)
Physical Education (Alpha edition)

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- By a Lady

July 2013- Deep Winter

(First published at Sandbox to Socrates http://sandboxtosocrates.wordpress.com)

A very short post for this month. We had no nature study tours scheduled and the weather was, shall we say, uninspiring!

I'm continuing to find it interesting the way she is drawing the pictures from something other than her own view. This pic certainly shows that the important part of her experience was being with Charlotte (another member of our homeschool group) while she took the photo of the nest, rather than the nest itself. I'm ok with that, since I wasn't sure she believed me that an eagle nest was worth a look anyway. Perhaps to her it looked like a messy pile of sticks compared to the compact mud nests of the swallows above our front door.

Previous post in the series
Next post in the series
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Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.

Indigenous Australians in Cinema 1936-2014 - Reflections

As part of my son's crusade to "subject" me to a course of study on Indigenous Australians in cinema, we've begun by watching the 'First Australians' series.

It has taken us a while to get through it for a number of reasons, not least my dear son's penchant for suggesting we watch an episode just as I was about to head off to bed causing me to nod off part way through!

This is a brilliant series, it shows Australia's treatment of the first people to inhabit this continent throughout history - both good and bad.

I believe that no Australian child should be able to complete their schooling career without having seen it.

Over decades, governments and media outlets have encouraged the wider community to write off Indigenous people as "no hopers". However as 'First Australians' shows, there are countless Indigenous people throughout our history who have fought through the mire of European domination to fight hard for their people and we should look to those leaders as Australian heroes.

That Australian children have learned for decades about Simpson and his Donkey but not about Pemulwuy or Jandamarra is a travesty, although it does seem to be changing - in part due to this series.

I've found it really upsetting, physically upsetting to know that this treatment had been inflicted on anyone - let alone the first people of the country of my birth. It's a shaming experience, however I've been buoyed by the stories of Pateygarang & Lieutenant William Dawes and of the Wurundjeri people & Reverend John Green which show that not all inter-cultural relationships were negative.

'First Australians' has left me with a fuller understanding of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' history and the depth of their culture. I now have a far better idea what their culture and land means to them - take Koiki Mabo for instance. He was dying, cancer riddled his body but he still would not give up the fight for recognition of his traditional law, culture and land but the cultures and lands of Indigenous peoples throughout Australia.

I am very grateful the series was made and look forward to part two of this study - the films.

Series introduction

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Rhonda lives in Central Victoria, Australia, generally minding her business and leading a quiet, peaceful life- unless her children have shown up to harass her.

'Story of the World' review

The 'Story of the World,' by Susan Wise Bauer is a popular history program written to be used with grades one to four, or for older children to read independently. The text is available in hard cover or as an audio book read by Jim Weiss. It is currently also available in Korean, both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and Turkish, with further translations in progress. The accompanying activity guide is available as a paperback or download from Peace Hill Press. The activity guide includes suggested reading, colouring pages, map work, narration prompts, craft ideas and other such activities. Don't miss the chicken mummy! All the cool mums and dads let their kids make chicken mummies!



Volume 1: The Ancient World

Rosie's review

I'm using the text and parts of the activity book with my grade one daughter. A typical chapter will see us attempt narration, do the map work, colouring page, watch vaguely relevant Horrible Histories clips (insert link for earlier blog post) and often some supplemental reading. I have bought a few decks of Oracle cards to use as props when learning about the gods. They are convenient and it helps keep them all straight if I can point to a picture when I'm reading a wonderful tale with an inconveniently long cast list! As this is a world history program, I also inserted a chapter of our Australian history book on the pre-colonial period into the SOTW chapter on early nomads. 

I don't like the chapters on the early Jews as they present Bible stories as history instead of literature, so I skip them. I also find it strange that there are three chapters on the Jews and none at all on the Hittites whose empire lasted a thousand years, so I searched Amazon for some supplemental material to include them, but didn't find much. I must also confess that Daughter remembers very little of the actual history content, but hey, we have to talk about something and she enjoys it. The chicken mummy was a hit, and one day she absolutely insisted we stop school so she could ring Nanna and tell her about Persephone. For a language delayed seven year old, I consider this a perfectly good use of our time and we plan to continue with the series. 

http://investigatingthelandscape.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/horrible-histories-by-sotw-chapter-v1.html

Jack's review: 

Story of the World 1 started our journey of exploring history. We used the activity guide alongside the main text. This mainly helped me get used to the process of doing narrations. The kids enjoyed the coloring pages and map work. I have bought the activity guide again for subsequent levels, though the reading suggestions aren't helpful at all here because our local library doesn't carry any of these things and I can't even begin to attempt to buy all those books. We follow chapters up by watching stuff on YouTube and picking anything related up from the library.

While I noticed a definite Christian bias, I can't say that's surprising. The author is pretty open about her religious views in the Well-Trained Mind, after all. She did an excellent job including bits and pieces from all over the world, something that is lacking in some history programs. 

My oldest "remembers" most of  what she learned about ancient history through Story of the World. That's in inverted commas because the book is still on her bookshelf and I regularly catch her reading it. Stories from that book still pop up in daily conversation regularly.



Volume 2: The Middle Ages

To be continued next year…


Volume 3: Early Modern

To be continued the year after...


Volume 4: Modern Period 

To be continued the year after that if the sky does not fall and the world does not end...


Series Review

Hannah's review:

We do "History Club" with four other families who meet once a week. Each mom takes a turn to host the group and to prepare the activities for the chapter of the week. The afternoon starts off with a recap of the story and an explanation of how the activity fits into this. The kids benefit from each mom having a different approach and talents and knowing that the other families are depending on a well prepared activity keeps everyone accountable! We are doing history club for the 2nd cycle with my younger daughter and over the years with older and younger we have covered the spectrum of crafts, sewing, drama and games initiated by our sporty mom.

Before the history club afternoon we start by reading (or listening to the audio of) the relevant chapter from SOTW. This is mostly for my benefit as my 10 year old daughter enjoys the audio cd's and she has listened to each of the chapters more than once. The audio for each chapter is typically between 5 and 15 minutes long. She might do a colouring page while listening if the picture appeals to her.

The next day we do the review questions and narrations. Again this takes only a few minutes. We also take out any additional books we have and we google away. Our history club keeps us moving along through the chapters, but one could stop and do an in-depth study of just about any of the topics. There is an incredible amount of materials available online developed by other homeschoolers and loads to google on each topic. SOTW has lead to some great rabbit trails and more in-depth study for us. Both daughter's have developed a keen interest in Greek mythology and my ten year old has a neat party trick of naming and describing the Greek gods which impresses most adults!
We spend a fair amount of time in the car and mostly have a history audiobook going. I gave up on matching the audiobooks to SOTW topics, but it does tie up to the general time period. 

For your listening pleasure:
Ancient History Audio: http://www.pinterest.com/hannahwsa/ancient-history-audio/
Middle Ages Audio: http://www.pinterest.com/hannahwsa/middle-ages-audio/

While I had fun making and putting up a timeline and playing with memory cards (available together with a random bunch of other stuff in the file section in this yahoo group here:  https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Hannah_hs_helps I’m not sure how much my daughters or their friends in history club really benefitted. They do remember a surprising amount of the names and details of the stories, but this is due more to repetion than the visual aids. They still don’t have a very good idea of the chronology and even though they did memorise some of the timeline, this has been forgotten. But I figure that they at least have the mental hooks for future studies.

My older dd completed and enjoyed the first three books of Story of the World and a few selected chapters of book 4 before she decided that she did not want to learn about 'all those wars', so we moved on.

Give Away Winners!

It turns out I have two copies of the book so the two winners are:

Anonymous- who wanted to win for Master 6

and

April- who wanted to win for her 9 year old


Do please email us your postal addresses at investigatethelandscape@gmail.com

Give Away!

The weather has been lovely in my part of the world and I am *desperate* to get out into the garden and plant something! I know, however, that if I plant anything before November, the frost will kill it so I am keeping strong and limiting myself to weeding. Weeding is not as spirit lifting as planting, is it?

So this week I offer this little book I acquired in a Book Depository mix up:

(I will post anywhere in the world, and it will arrive providing the Post Office fairies are attentive to their duties. The winner will be announced next Sunday.)

To enter, tell us who would you like to win this for! (And do make sure we will have some way of contacting you.)

P.S. If you try and post a comment, the page might reload with a captcha, do scroll down and make sure you fill it in if it has or the comment won't post. If you don't like to parley with captchas, you may comment on the Facebook post instead:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Investigate-the-Landscape/1476070145956803?ref_type=bookmark

Religious Calendar Curriculum - May

1st

-Beltane in northern hemisphere (Neo-Pagan)
*The story the Wiccans tell for this shabbat is as follows: The God and Goddess have matured, becoming young adults. They have fallen in love and unite, and the Lady becomes pregnant. The Earth is full of growing things and abundance. 
*Read the relevant section of "Rupert's Tales."

It is Samhain in the southern hemisphere and I will be cooking my usual Samhain dinner and burning the memorial candles I've made this week.

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3rd

- Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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4th 

Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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10th

- Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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11th 
Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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14th

-Full Moon (Neo-Pagan)

*Some Pagans, particularly Wiccans, observe the full moon as a special time.

*Read 'Aiden's First Full Moon Circle' by W. Lyon Martin

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17th

- Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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18th

Lag Ba Omer (Jewish)

*Colour the relevant page in the Jewish Holiday colouring book. I'd like to know if there are any resources I should know about since Amazon let me down here.

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- Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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24th

- Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

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25th

- Sunday Church services- Holy Days of Obligation for Catholics, encouraged for nearly all other Christians

*Read a picture book, colour a colouring page from The Mass Colouring Book http://www.amazon.com/Coloring-Book-about-Catholic-Publishing/dp/0899426832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386972341&sr=8-1&keywords=about+the+mass+colouring+book or something printed out from one of the Catholic sites online.

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29th

*The Ascension of the Lord- this is a Holy Day of Obligation for Roman Catholics and is observed by the Eastern Orthodox as well. It should be the Thursday 40 Days after Easter Sunday, but is moved to the next Sunday in some areas.
*Read 'The Ascension of Our Lord' by Sister Elayne

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31st

- Jewish Shabbat (begins at sunset the night before)

*Observed by all observant Jews, this is a day of rest to commemorate all the work God put into making the universe. How much resting and avoidance of work depends on the family culture. Yesterday, of course, lots of work went into preparation because no one can take a full day off running a house unless they have already done the needed work. Otherwise, what would everyone eat?

____________________

Rose-Marie was one of those enthusiastic planners who began researching when she was pregnant with her first. She wanted to homeschool because it sounded like an affordable adventure, then she met her kids personally...

Her young daughter has Echolalia and some processing issues so isn't speaking fluently yet; but she is making good progress as they work and play in Central Victoria, Australia.