Fruit loops and homeschooling... and it began

When my friend Tracy told me about homeschooling her children I thought she was a fruit loop... sorry Tracy – big grin! But there was something about it that caught my attention, nudged my spirit... When I first told my husband, he was having none of it and anyway I couldn’t see any possible way of doing it as it would mean giving up my job and being home full time, something that did not seem financially possible.

I started having a look into home schooling, reading some blogs, choosing some books to research & chatting with people. I began to feel that this would be something that could benefit our children; even our family but I still didn’t see how we could do it. We lived in the suburbs but eventually we wanted to move onto acreage for the children. I wanted chickens, a vegetable patch and to be a home stead wife but it did seem pie in the sky. I attended a home school conference in Brisbane with Tracy and I loved sitting and learning from these people who home schooled their children. I even met the principal of the distance education school when he came for a home visit to see Tracy and her family. I discussed it with hubby again and he also began to think that home schooling our children could be something we could maybe eventually do. I left it with God. I didn’t want to make it happen in my own strength – I couldn’t see how it could be done or how we could afford it. If this was something God wanted us to do then He would and could make it happen.

Well within a matter of months things started to happen – we found a piece of land to buy and we wanted to put an offer on it but I couldn’t find the phone number of the real estate agent so I googled vacant land in the suburb we were looking at and another piece of land in the same area popped up on the screen. I rang the agent handling the sale and she told me that she had just that minute finished putting it on the internet. Not only was this land $15,000 cheaper it was larger. We drove straight up to have a look at it and fell in love with it straight away.
It was in a small dead end road with only one neighbour to our side and right next to bush land as far as the eye could see, so quiet and a five minute drive to the beach. We decided to put our home on the market and see what would happen - it sold straight away and for the asking price. We moved in with my parents while we were building.

At this time my hubby wanted to take another direction with his career to become an electrician and he was offered an apprenticeship straight away. You know that apprentices wages are very low while they learn their trade but we felt that he should take the apprenticeship. I was very unhappy with my current job – it was long hours and I had to work every second Saturday. I was told about another job that was afternoon shift. I applied and got the position, I started work when hubby finished for the day and I was home by midnight. This then left my day’s free .... hmmmm!

It still came down to the matter of finances. We sat down and worked out that if the children came home there would be no day-care fees, no school fees or before or after school care fees which use to take up a huge chunk of our wages.
So living on a very tight budget we took the plunge (it’s amazing what meals you can cook with mince! Big grin... ) It will take another post to write down how God really looked after us during this time.

Fast forward to now, we have just started our fourth year of homeschooling and have added two more to our family. I left my job and I’m a stay at home mum now who is homeschooling, I have the vege patch and the chicken coop is in progress. We are even looking at building a school room in the near future. I just really wanted to remind myself about this journey we are on. Sometimes you don’t see God’s plan unfolding until you look back. God answered every one of my prayers in His perfect timing.

Hmmm what to do with a toddler when you home school....

I have read some great blogs which have wonderful activities you can do with a toddler at home and I have used several of their ideas...
But no-one tells you how difficult it can actually be keeping your toddler amused while you homeschool the older children - surely I am not the only one who has struggled with this?

After much searching and trying to find some answers and coming up with very little in the blog world - I have discovered a few things that actually keep our two year old entertained while we home learn...

Lola now has her Í can do activities' with our monthly theme and we have our special time just us together working on some of her activities in the morning. When I am doing book work with Pernella & Charlie, Lola now has her own book bag with books, colouring books, crayons that are her 'school books' that come out only when we are sitting around the table...

I brought a red plastic tub and filled it with lots of knick knacks... lids, beads, plastic lizards, spoons, empty containers etc, etc.. so she can dig around and play with whats inside - a huge success - (Hubby found his missing sunglasses in there on the weekend - big grin!) Puzzles have proven to be a big hit - those I have made and store brought one's.

I know juggling school work will get easier as Lola gets older and then we have to start all over again with Molly - big grin...




Lola loves helping with the dishes so I set her up with her teaset and washing up bowl... but it wasn't long before out come the teaset and in went the doll!




lots of fun...

A brand New School Year...

Well not to miss out on the obligatory 'first day of school photo'... here it is…


Ahhh my studious children…
(what you don’t realise is that the intensity on their face is not them concentrating on the work at hand... Oh no it’s a race for them to finish their work in the vain hope that Mum will let them play the play station!)

Lots and lots of Bubbles

We had our first Creation Science club meeting last week. The theme for the morning was on Bubbles. A general chat about what is a bubble, what makes a bubble, how do bubbles get their colours etc, etc... Who knew there was so much to learn about bubbles.

Then came the fun part - making bubbles...







I think my two have forgotten all the 'scientific stuff' and are now just interested in my bottle of 'Morning Fresh detergent' sitting on my window sill!