O'Reilly's

The very best way to leave the screens behind? A day trip to the mountains as a family. What a magical place Green Mountain is. I want to go back and spend days there just exploring!


(O'Reilly's, Lamington National Park, Qld)

Bananas

 1. Rainy days, 2. Miss Five Nature Journaling, 3. Emerson, 4. Fern, 5. Wallaby love, 6. Kookaburra feather?

There's a show on the ABC, 'Didi and B'. A butterfly puppet, Didi, sings the days of the week, then B mucks about half way thought and shouts, 'Bananas!' and they both have a fit of giggles. It makes my children giggle too. "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs, Bananas!"

We spend a lot of time together exploring, creating and learning. But too often the children end up squabbling and I am left feeling like a referee while the magic of the day is lost. After looking for a shorthand way to get my children's attention when they are fighting, 'bananas' has become our codeword for feeling frustrated or cranky. It has made all the difference to smoother, battle free-ish days now that we are all spending more time together through homeschooling. Using the codeword 'bananas' is both funny and nonsensical, and gently breaks the mood. When the children start to bicker I say, "Are you feeling bananas?" And they can't help but crack a smile, despite trying to keep a straight/cranky face. Rather than saying, "I am feeling frustrated", I say, "I'm feeling bananas". Or, "are you feeling bananas?" The weight seems to lift without blame. Once the tension has eased we can discuss their frustrations, put their big feelings into words, and find solutions.

The children have embraced the term as their own and will acknowledge proudly that it is lunch time, and no one has said the word 'bananas'. Or point out when I am starting to express 'bananas' and try to offer alternatives.

It's sweet that such a simple thing could have such a big impact on our days and help us all be mindful of our reactions and emotions, and the way they affect the family.

Do you have a family code word that helps destress a situation? Or a tactic for improving the relationships between your children? I'd love to hear, for who knows how long 'bananas' will be effective?!

Happy days

Our first egg!

Broken bird egg shells found in the yard 

 Part of my reading pile - Shakespeare and Latin

 Master 8's reading - Awfully Ancient 

 Miss Five's first horse riding lesson 

The chickens are free ranging around the back yard, my eldest child is reading inside and the youngest two are playing on the trampoline while I sit on the back stairs and write this post. It has been a day of excitement. First, the chickens gifted us their first egg! What a lovely surprise to start our morning. We have been trying to be patient as we waited for them to start laying. But until today we have left empty handed each time we checked the nesting boxes. This morning, with no fanfare, there was an egg sitting in the bottom of the coop. 

Secondly, Miss Five had her first horse riding lesson today. She is our nature and horse loving girl, this one, whose favourite animal is of course the horse. After a couple of lead pony ride sessions in the past, Emerson was determined to learn how to ride a horse. As I watched today she had either a look of concentration on her face, or joy, as she climbed atop the saddle, learn how to turn, go, stop, trot, balance and turn around in the saddle. I do believe we will be booking her in for a whole term of riding next year - on top of her swimming lessons, and Master Eight's jujitsu and golf lessons. 

In other news there is much reading happening in the house as always. Cohen is currently obsessed with all things Minecraft and is devouring Minecraft related books. Awfully Ancient books have also hit the mark, with colourful cartoons and gruesome historic facts, they are an eight year old boys dream come true. Meanwhile, Mama is reading all about Shakespeare and Latin, and writing our the homeschool programs for our first year. I shall have to share some of the resources we will be/ are using in another post, as there are so many great ones out there and I am constantly discovering more that I am adding to a list for future use.

Eggs, horses and books. Happy days!

Nature Studies

I found a post sitting in drafts that sums up much of our weekly nature study adventures.

Mama packs a basket with water, snacks, nature journal and paints. The children pack their backpacks with toys, dolls, sketchbooks and pens. After a little wander we unroll a picnic blanket and snack while documenting the flora and fauna around us. Ducks, lizards, water lilies, freshwater mussel shells, 'santa clause' seeds, feathers, leaves. We observe, discuss, record.

And for a little while, a peacefulness descends. They are in tune with nature and each other, exploring their creativity and really studying what is around them. Eventually the spell is broken and the squabbling begins again. I was sitting there/ he stole my pen/ she ate my food/ don't touch my bag! 

Ah, the realities of parenting. But still, those peaceful nature study moments keep me coming back for more. 

Homeschoolers

1. Handknit socks from the craft cottage at Logan Village, 2. The suns rays as it dips down in the late afternoon, 3. A most delightful collection of clouds

It's a funny thing when wishes come true. A surreal, 'pinch me' feeling has been my companion this week. Like, everything is so much better than it should be, surely something will go wrong. I'm generally prone to that 'touch wood' feeling when things are going right, but this time instead of waiting for a negative, I have been embracing the positives. This wish has been a long time coming.

We are officially, unofficially, homeschoolers. Yesterday we celebrated our first-week homeschooling. What a relief it has been to leave the struggles and anxiety of school mornings behind us! No more last minute lunch boxes, early morning homework, and teary, anxious goodbyes. Instead, we have had slow, free mornings and days filled with our choices. I feel like we have squeezed several weekends into this last week already, as we have lived, created, explored, experimented and adventured together. It was terrifying at first to take the plunge, but the relief is palpable.

Our days are full, yet relaxed. My focus is on interest lead learning, in addition to short daily lessons in writing and math. We have begun the slow journey to deschooling, building trust and connection between parents and children. I am getting to know my children more deeply that I had before, despite years of attachment parenting. 

Learning with my children this week has been a gift. I am keeping a journal of our educational pursuits, and the moments when the children surprise me with questions, answers or observations far above what I would have imagined possible at their ages.

At times my three little ones irritate each other. They squabble and fight, and irritate me too. And yet, they are learning to spend more time together. They are reminded how to share, be kind, be thoughtful. And they are looking out for each other, reaching out to each other, and communicating in new ways.

So, pinch me and knock on wood! Here's to many more joyous weeks homeschooling my three dear babes.  

Make Every Bird Count

 Catching tadpoles

 Spot the Keelback snake between the rocks

 Our latest pets - tadpoles in a styrofoam box

We took part in our first 'Bird Count' for Bird Life Australia today, the largest citizen science study in Australia. Friends joined us at a local park to count the bird life and enjoy some time outdoors. The children's interest was rather quickly diverted by the large number of tadpoles nearby, and then by a water snake. 

Still, we managed to get our first count under our belts, observe a snake swimming, praise said children for observing the snake and reporting it to an adult, and bring a jar full of tadpoles home to observe.

As the sun began to set this afternoon, my children and chickens free ranged in the backyard, and I completed another bird count. I felt such a sense of contentment and happiness that surely only children, chicken, sunset and birdwatching can bring. xx

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Take 20 minutes this week to count the birds and take part in the study by downloading the app, and find your own joy and calm while helping with Australian bird conservation.

Experimenting

 Owl Pellets STEM Box, dissecting a Barn Owl pellet, uncovering three rat skulls and one vole

When you undertake an experiment you do so because the answers are not yet known. You may have an inkling, a hypothesis, an educated guess as to the result, but the truth is still waiting to be uncovered.

And so it is with our/my plans to homeschool next year. After several years of research, I will finally put my hypothesises to the test and uncover the truth for our family, as to whether homeschooling is the answer I have been seeking. Despite the pushback from my husband, family and teachers, the horror stories and negativity, I am still optimistic about participating in my children's education. I am keen to use this time to really get to know them, strengthen the connections in our relationships, explore the world with them more fully with fewer time constraints, and follow and share in their changing passions. 

In the meantime, my eldest was home today with asthma, and we enacted a homeschool day as I have planned out for our submission. Reading, writing, nature study, math, science and STEM. I couldn't have been more pleased. When I came up against resistance in the learning process we discussed it and got to the root of its cause and were able to overcome it. 

With luck, the Owl Pellets kit I bought from STEM Box arrived today upon our return from the doctors. Cohen and I spent the next hour and a half drawing, measuring, dissecting and identifying owl pellets - the hair and bone remnants of their food. As owls cannot digest these parts they regurgitate them instead. Thus, we uncovered three rat skeletons as well as a vole's. Fascinating! Or, in my sister's words, "cool and gross". We had anticipated finding a few bones and hopefully a skull, but were rather excited to find four skulls in the first pellet. Cohen plans to dissect the second pellet tomorrow and I can't wait to see what he finds.

Today's experiments have left me feeling excited and inspired about the experiment we take on next year. I will hold on to those feelings each time I feel the pushback when people realise we want to step outside the mainstream and defend their choices by expressing negativity about ours.