Karen's Clan

You know that saying? "It never rains, it pours"? Well folks that's how I feel this weekend! I cannot belive the pace of the last two weeks - a friend referred to life during the term as 'warp speed' once,  and I so feel like I'm living in that!

After our interesting start last week and our shocking first day of school, I had so hoped that this week would begin, and remain, better. And we did start better, and then things got a little complicated when on Tuesday an enormous fire threatened to devour the houses along the perimeter of the Estate we live in.


I was at the beach at the time (with two young Zimbabwean girls thrilled to be at the sea!), really enjoying a wind free beach at St James. I had deliberately left my phone in the car, in a rebellious state of just not wanting to be able to be reached all the time at every moment. So imagine my surprise when upon my return to the car I find 11 missed calls! From people I know well who do not panic!!!

I quickly realized how serious the situation was, and managed to raise my parents-in-law to try and get to the house to help. I am so thankful for my neighbors and friends within the Estate who lent a helping hand, as well as our twice a month gardener -without them, my house would not be standing today! So very thankful...but the ash? Well that's another story...it covered the garden like black snow...


 For those of you interested, here's a video my father in law took to illustrate my point!

Overall, now at the end of week two, I can say it's gone better than than week one, although I have had to realize again just how different my children are. I am so thankful I have the privilege of homeschooling them and tailor making their education, although it is challenging and daunting at the same time. After having a tearful meltdown in Brent's arms the one night, I've had to tweak and adjust things, as Aragorn's learning styles are completely different to King Arthur's: it's the subtle challenge of carrying on stretching King Arthur, while at the same time supporting and encouraging Aragorn at the start of his journey. Bended knees people, and a good dose of tears!


Cape Explorers kicked off again this week, and when the outings are ones that I am personally responsible for it seems to knock me for a 6 (I guess especially after the week!). The outing went swimmingly, and I love those kids to bits...but, imagine my surprise then, thinking I was coming home to put my feet up and relax for a bit when I discovered our landlady had employed some folk to strip and replace a roof that has been leaking for years! In the pulling up of the old roof sheeting, ash had re-covered everything! Sob! And they weren't able to finish yesterday...and left a large hole...and so when it poured with rain today...well, need I say more? Sob sob!

So surely, surely, next week cannot top this?

Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose!!

Today, Belle began her first day in the Tiger's Class....


...complete with a hand me down Tiger back pack which she was thrilled with! Belle's report on her first day? "Mom, I had an awesome day!"
(Oooh, she also had her first ballet lesson which she just loved!)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, ...

(I actually took this :))

I will never forget King Arthur's face when he returned from his morning ride, came around the door and saw this sign - his face lit up and he beamed...from ear to ear. I'm so pleased I followed through with the inkling I had, because it seemed almost a silly thing to do...but it's those small things, the things we can so easily brush aside that speak loudest to  our kids, and even those around us. Somehow, this little sign and taking the photo affirmed them and boosted their whole day (they were so eager to show Dad when he came home too). Aragorn? That boy has been excited for weeks, and his enthusiasm was at an all time high the whole day!

Our day went well. Strike that. The first hour and a half of our day went swimmingly. Braveheart has kindly agreed to take Belle to school on the way to work, which has transformed my mornings. Now without me leaving the house in the mornings we gain so much time. Morning chores were done by 0730, and school started at 8. We got so much done....

Then I decided we would take a break and go off and get our puncture fixed. Well, the day went downhill from there. Let's just say, a Toyota Verso's wheels confound my local fitment centre; it took longer than expected; Braveheart still had my debit card; my new credit card didn't work and then after yet ANOTHER walk to the mall, it failed to work altogether. My day was HIJACKED. By admin. Grr. I had a good cry and a blow out, and said goodbye to the two and half hours of stress, spent the rest of the afternoon doing co-curricular lifting, and then finally got home to make our traditional "Back to School" cake (ahem, this was disastrous, just to top off the day)!

The kids love sticking their toys on a Back to School cake!

 Anyhow. So here I am. Holiday? What holiday?! I know that today will pass, that tomorrow is another day, but seriously, what a way to start the term!

The only thing that keeps reverberating in my mind is (for all your Friday Night Lights fans)


And I may just have to print that out very big and stick it in front of my desk!

Hope your start of school has gone well!

 It's a new season this one....

a busy one, where both Braveheart and I are stretched to the brim...

or perhaps even flowing over a bit?

It's interesting to me, that when you think you can't handle anything else on your plate, God can stretch you even a little bit more...but never to breaking point.

And there's always HOPE.

My season right now is one of humble housework...the basics of family life. Our wonderful helper and part of our family returned to Zimbabwe a while ago, and we have felt it's a season for us to be without help in the house...and so it's a season of juggling more, and fitting in chores into already packed days. As a family, we're learning all about responsibility, and servanthood... something I seem to not know enough about.

I'm loving our journey through this time: its highs and its lows - watching my kids learn to take on chores that are age appropriate, blessing one another when they do each other's chores, watching them learn about sharing the load of a family's work. Braveheart has been a star too, stepping in when he can, as this is his leading for our family in this season. I thought I was a highly disciplined person, but when it comes to housework at the end of one of those days, I realize how weak my will is!

I'm learning about grace...about rhythms ..some days lend themselves to a neat orderly house, and on other days I have to take a few steps back and ask myself what is really most important - relationships or a clean house, and then close a door, or leave a room...a challenge for me.

And so as I juggle my time, this blog is last on the list. I'm hoping I find a rhythm here, truly I do.

Until then...

I recently attended my first Homeschool Educators Expo here in Cape Town, (a convention for those of you from the north!). The Cape Home Educators did themselves proud with a well organised event, and I was really blown away by what I walked away with....no curricula, but a heart full of knowledge and wisdom.

I walked into the building a little after 8, and left again after 5 - for me not to see the sun for a whole day is saying enough don't you think? It made me think, "Gosh, I really must be a 'nerd' to enjoy doing this!" and truly I was invigorated, energized! I realized so clearly, that I love to learn : feed me knowledge, tell me how to do something, teach me - and I am in my element! I soaked it all up - and if any of you reading this are interested in finding out more about homeschooling, attending the lectures at an expo is a good place to start!

I was also so touched to meet other homeschooling moms - some whom I only know from their profile picture on FB (and if you're a HS mom/dad in the Western Cape you really should be a member -  it's a growing community of like minded folk who are passionate about educating our children), and to be met by folk who read this here blog. It's a little nerve wracking that part - meeting people who know me in so much more detail than I know them! To those of you, who shared how much some of my posts have spoken to you, thank you (again!) for having the courage to do that - it inspires me to keep writing my heart.

I wanted to share a few nuggets I walked away with, as they were light bulb moments for me, and perhaps they will be food for thought for you. As I've said, I think I attended all but three of the lectures, so it was pretty intense! (Please note, not much of what follows are my own original ideas - the ideas communicated here belong to the speakers at the Expo)

• Somehow homeschooling parents have a great need of security, and so all too often we can focus on the "how" of homeschooling (how am I going to teach Math, what is the best curriculum for language arts, how am i going to teach three children of different ages etc), and not the "why" (for what purpose am I homeschooling?). 
• Too often we can mistakenly focus on the books and not the child, when it comes to choosing a curriculum - I did have a good laugh at myself during one of Martie Du Plessis' lectures, when she outlined learning styles (I am so 'sequential'!). It makes sense to me now how often we can choose a curriculum for ourselves, to make us feel safe and secure rather than one that would suit our child because its learning style is so unfamiliar to us.
• The current state of education in South Africa sobered me. It is vastly different to the education system I grew up with in Zimbabwe (before our political turmoil) and I was interested to learn this 

Newsweek‘s (16 August 2010) list of the world’s best countries put South Africa at 82nd overall, and ranks our education system 97th out of 100, which is 4th from the bottom. South Africa’s education performance is even ranked below countries like Mozambique, Bangladesh and Iran, states less wealthy or less free. (source)

          Fourth from the bottom in 2010? Seriously? And this is where it ranked last year:

 According to the 2011 annual national assessment figures, the World Economic Forum ranked South Africa 140th out of 144 which is lower than Lesotho and Swaziland. (source) 

• I'm growing increasingly fascinated by the nature of the Information/Digital Age we are presently in. Let me add here some statistics Inesa Van Rooyen of Neruolink gave in her presentation, (another worthwhile lecture): 
• information is doubling every 2 years at present, and by 2017 it's estimated it will double every two weeks; 
• our children have to learn 5 times more the volume of information we did 20 years ago when we were in school; 
• and finally, one edition of the NY times contains more information than people in the C17 were exposed to in a lifetime.

As a result, we have to help our children to work faster and smarter - working harder (which most schools seem to push) is not going to equip them to cope with this. We have to teach them to out-think, out-learn, out create. I loved the idea that we can work with our brains to increase their fitness - something I'd like to spend more time looking into.

 A few books on this topic were recommended by various speakers: Teaching a Digital Generation - please o please download this PDF and spend some time reading it. It is such weighty food for thought about the reality our children are facing. This book 21st Century Skills also has an excerpt you can download.

• I loved being reminded by Martie to focus on enjoying learning in these young grades (1-7), and to be more focused from Gr 8 onwards (remember that Karen!). 
• I was intrigued by Martie's mention of this quote:

We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet 

exist . . . using technologies that haven’t yet been invented . . . 

in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.

 —Richard Riley, Secretary of Education under Clinton

•  To educate for the C21st and beyond, she recommends we take our traditional  3 R's and times them by the 7 C's : critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, cross cultural, communication, computing, and careers (learning self-reliance and self direction).

I've found the timing of this carnival quite funny, as in the last few weeks this is the area of my life that is facing the biggest challenge!  Thankfully, this month's carnival host did me the kind courtesy of sending out a reminder two weeks before it was due, and as I sat down to write this, I thought, "Hey! That's an important tool to 'getting it all done', reminders!" Having a reminder, be it on my cell phone, in my diary, or on a hastily scribbled note pad really help me to get it all done.

So, having been reminded for a while, I've been able to think about getting it all done. How do I do that? What is helpful? Here are a few of my 'tools'.

Let's start with school. I think another important tool for me is having a schedule or a plan. The curriculum we use in our home (Sonlight) comes with a schedule provided for 36 weeks. Now in the one and  half years that I've been doing this I have grown immensely in this area. I'm learning constantly how to make the schedule serve me, rather than becoming a slave to it. I've learnt what parts of Sonlight work for us, and what parts don't; I've learned to let those parts go without feeling guilt, and to make it suit our family.

Sonlight's Instructor 's Guide

• I take 10 weeks of the Sonlight curriculum guide and consider this my framework. Then I make a term plan on scrap paper, with blocks, rather than days (so day 1, 2, 3 etc rather than Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday etc). Sonlight's separate schedules for the Core/LA/Science were too cumbersome for me, but I believe that has changed now. I've found this helpful because when life happens, and we are delayed, I don't feel guilty looking and seeing that it's Thursday and we haven't done any 'school' yet, rather, that we just need to pick up where we left off, on day 2. I streamline our selected learning from this broad guide: for example, I'll look at all the suggested LA  assignments, and select some of them to do, I'll leave out the spelling, and make sure I add in more books for him to read. 
• Then in pencil, I write in my daily journal what I want to achieve that week. As we do it on the day, I tick  off what we actually manage to do with a colored pen. This way I can adjust our week's load easily, but also have a final record of what I've done (which I draw from when I write my son's mid term and end of year report). 

Getting this done takes me a couple of solid evenings at the beginning of the term, and that sacrifice of time is so worth it. On a weekly basis, I try and do the weeks plan on a Thursday during down moments in the morning, or latest by that afternoon (we use a 4 day school week), so that it's ready for us on Monday (I used to do it on a Sunday evening and that was awful!).

my weekly planner

Having a schedule or a plan is essential to my sanity! 

Another tool that works for me is having a predictable routine. Again this is something that happens naturally in our home. My kids and I are early risers, and so we're all awake, fed and ready for the day by about 0730. When King Arthur and I get home from dropping the others at school, we start within minutes of walking through the door. It's just evolved into this over time, and now my son knows what is expected of him. Predictable routines lead to this - children knowing what is expected of them.

In terms of the details of our day, over time we've learnt, through much trial and error, what works for us (we're still learning this: as King Arthur grows, as I learn, as life changes...being open to this change is important!). We settle down to do seatwork first (Maths or Handwriting). This works for us as King Arthur is fresh, and at the end of the day it just doesn't happen well! I've learnt with Maths to keep the lessons short, and with Handwriting, I vary the assignments from day to day: copywork, creative writing,  letters to Granny... anything that is written! Then we move from the table into the lounge where we do Science, Reading and History, and then at the end of school we do all our read-alouds.

However, in my grand plans, I've realized that I even need to schedule in the fun - the art, the experiments, the nature walks etc (perhaps this is even the real school stuff, just a thought!), because I have a tendency to want to tick everything off on the list, and by the time I've done that, I've run out of steam to do the fun things. This is an area I'm still working at, so there's much room for improvement....and watch this space, as it's likely I might throw out everything I'm used to in the coming months! I've been sensing change afoot!

To compensate for this, I've found it really helpful to share school with friends, or to run my own workshops, where I can get around to doing all the fun things I never seem to get to! I'm also fortunate to be around women who are also running things - King Arthur attends a friend's Art club, and music with another lady -  areas that are not my strength.

I find it helpful to use this morning, when Elijah is at Art, wisely. It's the one morning every two weeks where I have my own head space for two hours, and I try to make sure it is used well. For me, having some personal head space on a regular basis, just to be still is also essential to getting it all done.

It's also helpful to be accountable to someone to get it done - Braveheart is amazing in listening to me week in and week out, when I relate to him our progress. Other times I just need a different perspective, and sometimes friends are able to offer that to me.

But life is not just about school! Over the last few years I've learnt some tools as to how to get "life done"! Time management is my golden key:

•  I schedule things at the same time - so whilst Aragorn is swimming, King Arthur does his reading, or whilst King Arthur does his gymnastics, we visit the library. 
• I've learnt how to plan my meals for a month, and do one monthly shop (which saves me both time and money), and then only shop once a week for fresh things. I'd love to tell you I cook two meals at once and freeze regularly, but the only time that happens is with spaghetti bolaignaise! This used to be the frozen for a meal on nights when we get home after 5. (I must add here, in all fairness, that Braveheart has blessed me by taking this meal on board, as it is his *meal* (he has a knack of making a delicious one!), and he makes it for us now)
•  I've learnt how to streamline buying birthday presents by keeping a birthday list year after year - so, for example, at the beginning of September I know how many presents I need to buy and I try and do that in one go.
• I'm very privileged to have a lady to help me with housework, and her work is such a blessing to us. I've learnt though on the days she doesn't come, to first do what will make it feel like I'm on top of things before anything else. For me, making the beds, a tidy lounge and tidy kitchen counters make me feel like my house is in order, then as the day wears on, I can get to all the other little things. My kids also know how to pull their own weight in tidying things too.
• I guard my time on the computer carefully, and with how I spend it in general. 

Before I go any further I feel it quite important to share something with you. I like being organised. I like order. These things make me feel comfortable, and I like knowing what to expect. But sometimes, even  for me, the best intentions of getting it all done can vaporize in a moment. I've been there these last few weeks, with launching Cape Explorers, attempting to run two blogs, managing family life, and investing in relationships.



What does one do then, when everything seems to go pear shaped?

I simplify. I strip down our life to the bare minimum. What are the absolute essentials I need to get done today?
- for me? (shower, eat?)
- for the house (dishes bathrooms, beds?)
- for the family (get them fed, quality time?)
...and get myself back together with a few days like that. It's no good getting myself into a nervous break down trying to get it all done! And after a few days like that, my perspective shifts and I am on an even keel again!

I do hope you find the time to read this month's carnival, and that we can learn and be encouraged by one another!

Here's to getting it done!

These holidays were a little different for us as a family - usually we have a long list of things we want to do during the holidays, but these holidays I was so shattered form the term we kind of slumped into the holidays...and then it's only now as we come to the end of them that I'm starting to feel relaxed...unwound. I guess that's the point of a holiday! Thankfully Braveheart has agreed with me that we need to take another week off to fully recharge, and so we are - next week we've been given the opportunity to get away, and we are all looking forward to it!

Instead of the usual long list, each boy had only one desire really - King Arthur's was to have a Lego club at his house, and so each Wednesday he invited some friends round to play Lego with him the whole afternoon (if he'd had his way, there would have been a Lego Club all day every day! He even got upset the boys didn't want to play Lego the ENTIRE time they were here!). He had a wonderful time, and built some wonderful creations. I love how Lego is his absolute passion.

Aragorn on the other hand, wanted to have a restaurant. He wanted to cook and serve people and lay out tables and charge people. Plain and simple. And so after some thoughtful deliberation on my part, I decided I could probably manage a "tea-time" restaurant...and so one Saturday, we got to work...

First he designed the covers of the menus, and King Arthur wrote inside each one. Belle colored in the table numbers, and Braveheart helped Jonathan decide on prices - he chose a slice of chocolate cake to be his most expensive, at R4! It turned out to be this day long lesson in so many ways!

he wanted strawberry cup cakes.....

I love this shot! Oaty cherry biscuit hands!

My proud son...so pleased with what he's made, waiting for patrons to arrive. It took a whole day of baking, and I was so impressed that he never complained once!

Aragorn employed his siblings for the afternoon too - he asked Belle to be the Front of House, welcoming guests to their tables....

the guests at their tables...

And at the end, King Arthur added up their bills, and organised the change....


I loved spending this time with Aragorn, and it was very special for me to see how much this is a part of who he is - he absolutely loves being in the kitchen, and loves serving people. I'm interested to see where this will lead! He next wants to have a  "dinner time" restaurant, so I'll let you know when bookings are open! He used the money he made to pay his brother and sister for working for him, and combined with his pocket money, bought a toy he had been wanting for ages! I'm a proud mamma!

As with any kind of sub culture, there is a particular jargon that one has to get use to if one wants to become a member of that subset. And, if you're like me, you probably wondered for a while what a "living book" was exactly, and thankfully, this month's carnival seeks to give you just that - an explanation, and an insight into actual examples!

I am a book lover. And a book hoarder. And in spite of annually giving away books, or moving countries, I still have a surprising number. I love them. Unashamedly. It was something I loved as a child, something I could escape into, something that captivated me. I'm one of those readers, that if I get into a good book, pretty much nothing can deter me.... unless perhaps there's a fire. I switch off, seldom hearing anything beyond the words in my head, and have been known to read voraciously for whole days. Now lest you wonder in awe at how I carve that time out when I have three exuberant young children, let me assure you, those days of reading all day are almost non existent. Every now and again, I will stumble on a book of such awe and majesty that I will read in chunks of time...but whole days? A thing of the past. (You can follow what I read, when I have time to blog about it, under the Books on my Bedside Table labels)

So...I tell you that, because it's important to know that I am a book lover. And that therefore I always wanted my children to be book lovers. And so since they were little, I've read to them anything we could get our hands on - King Arthur had his own library card by the time he was one. (I review library books under the label Library Loot if you're looking for good picks!) Braveheart does not share this passion of mine, but he has a library card, courtesy of me, so that we can take out an extra 7 books!

When we started homeschooling we naturally gravitated towards a literature based curriculum. In the last few years of researching homeschooling and starting to homeschool, a whole new world has opened up for me - a world where learning texts come alive, where books are filled with rich and rewarding notions, where ideas make you start to think and imagine - and for this to come alive in subject areas is a true feat, if you think back to the dull dry textbooks you used at school!

And so, without further ado, here are some of our favorites so far along our short journey...



This is my all time favorite non-fiction text that I own. Sonlight recommends Hillyer's A Child's History of the World, but as I've worked with both of these texts this year, Susan Wise Bauer's wins hands down. I find her text to be better structured, and like how she covers the beginnings of civilizations across the world at the same time, rather than following one civilization for a while and then backtracking to study another one. As a family, we've responded to her style more than Hillyer, and both my boys (they're seven and half and five and a half) are really enjoying it - some nights we've read it as a bed time story - that's how engaging it is!

We haven't used the corresponding activity books with this text yet, although they also have had brilliant reviews. There are a wealth of blogs and Pinterest boards on this book though, and so we're adding our hands on activities as we go along.

Our favourite fictional books include:

We've only recently begun this, but it's such a lovely story of life on a sheep farm: it brought back such memories of life on my uncle's cattle farm. There is a wealth of information about the raising of sheep and the nature of farm life, all told through a lively and engaging story about the young farm boy Peter as he grows up.














What homeschool library would be complete without a set of Laura Ingalls Wilders' tales of Prairie life? I remember being captivated by these books when I was a young girl, (and loving the TV series!) and now the pleasure of re-reading them yet again to my children is wonderful!
There's only one twang that rises when I read this. I long to find some living literature written about the Great Trek the pioneers made from the South African coast up into Africa's interior - can anyone recommend anything?








I'm a C.S. Lewis fan, and these never fail to peel back my eyes and allow me to catch something deeper each time I read them. At the beginning of the year I started reading them to my boys as a bed time story, and I was astonished at how rich and rewarding his work really is, even for little kids. It is a feast for the soul!










And this one is for you moms! If you've read Kings and Chronicles and ever wondered what it was REALLY like, and have longed for those Biblical books to come alive to you, then  Lynn Austin's Chronicles of the Kings is worth reading - and this is the cover of just one of the five of them in the series (got to love it when you come across a great author and there is more than just one book!). I learnt so much about the names kings in Israel's history through these historical fictional novels, and about the surrounding nations that I am drawing on even now as we go through our Ancient History curriculum.




And here's two Living Books I would love to get my hands on one day!


And I'm on the lookout for some Math Living books, so I'll be browsing the carnival with great delight!

Happy reading!

This post features on the upcoming SACHS blog carnival...

This lovely image is taken from this site which has wonderful Language Arts power point presentations http://www.mce.k12tn.net/english/powerpoints.htm

Aah...the lovely Language Arts! This has got to be my favorite part of our curriculum, and where I feel most at home. I have always loved words, loved writing and loved reading!

Language Arts encompasses everything there is to know about the English Language - the intricacies of its written form (spelling), the semantics (the meaning), the grammar (how to correctly string words/ideas together with the right syntax) and then the most wonderful - the sweet enjoyment of these strings of words...reading the written form, savouring each word! Aaah! can you hear me sigh?! Sweet music to my soul!

Love this idea of contractions on paint chips from The Education Centre

However the the challenge for us homeschooling moms is how to ignite the same passion we have for Language in our children...and to keep it a joyful delight and not a drudgery and a bore. This carnival hosts a selelction of posts which showcase what different  moms do to keep this passion alive.

Here's an insight into what we do and how...

To begin with, we chose a literature based curriculum this year (Sonlight Core K), whose strength is the wonderful books selected for "Read Alouds" (books read out loud by mom to child). "Read Alouds" are without a doubt King Arthur's favorite part of his school day - in fact, if  his entire day could be made of read alouds it would be perfect!

We also purchased Sonlight's Language Arts K with Readers K. I really was surprised at how brilliant I found Sonlight's Language Arts package. As a high school English teacher I am amazed at the strong foundations that are being laid so early on in their education in such an unpressured way.  Each week you are given a variety of tasks that includes reading, writing (copy work), and creative expression.

One of our favorite Creative Expression exercises is the one titled "Story Elaboration". Just today, King Arthur's task was to take this story:
Ed taps a drum. Pam sings. They create music.
And through a series of questions, he has to create an interesting and enjoyable story. This is what he came up with:


I've always enjoyed using photographs/paintings with my students to inspire creative writing, and this week King Arthur wrote this, inspired by this photograph of Monet's garden at Giverny:



The one aspect of the Language Arts program King Arthur did not take to very well was the readers. He really struggled with the endless three letter word combinations, and thankfully a conversation I had with a friend made me realize that he was ready for sight words. We took out some readers from the library (which thanks to this link, Oxford Owl, I've now discovered we can read many online -yay!), and  have supplemented his reading practice with the Progressive Phonics website, and he is now flying through his reading and thoroughly enjoying it. I LOVE discovering him reading books to his siblings!

 Just five minutes a day of concentrated effort can produce dramatic improvements in your child’s handwriting. Be sure to give her interesting ideas to copy, rather than rows of letters. Use Scripture, poetry, hymn lyrics, and excerpts from favorite living books. We have many such interesting passages available as free downloads for beginning writers to use for manuscript copywork. 

Along these lines I have begun to share my favorite poems with King Arthur, and as he is passionate about eagles, we've just studied The Eagle, by Lord Alfred Tennyson. We broke it down, so a line a day, writing it, learning to read it, savoring it. We practiced reciting it to each other whenever we were in the car, and then one day we talked about what it would look like on paper. We then spent a lovely morning illustrating it side by side. ( I was recently directed to OT Mom Learning Activities which has some very useful exercises  to help students who struggle with handwriting.)

I'm choosing to deliberately abstain from grammar lessons until King Arthur is much older (10+). I really do believe that as we continue to read great Literature and enjoy it, and even practice copying it, that it will naturally become instinctive in his writing.

I've really enjoyed seeing how this year has been a gentle laying of the foundations in practice and skills, and am so looking forward to building on this next year!

Other members of the carnival have wonderful links for you to follow - go on over!

• Taryn's (Hayes Happenings) daughters use Sonlight too, and Taryn shares Katie's first story here (age 5) and Kiera's first poem here (age 7). Wonderful to see budding creative writers!
• Helen (Of Right Mind) shares an interesting insight into whether or not spelling is a problem for today's children, and echoes how important an environment rich in books is for a child.
• And Trixi (Trixi's Home Ed Academy) has created a very useful resource: a wonderful list of useful links. I love that she has showcased local suppliers as well as those internationally, and she's also made it clear where all the Freebies are to be found!

Every journey that you take starts with a small step.

Whether it's a physical journey, a diet, a relationship, starting a new job - you name it (I dare you!), it's got to take something small first.

I really believe that that's what we've done this year, in our first year of homeschooling.

We took our first steps.

After deciding to homeschool our eldest son this year (step one), we chose to use Sonlight (step two).

We chose it firstly because we strongly felt God leading us to it as the right fit for our eldest son. I am passionate about books (would one day love a house that has its own library; am always on the hunt for books; need more shelves...you get the picture!), and so is he. After this year, I also realize how much of an auditory learner he is!

Secondly, it just made so much sense to me to chose a literature rich program: what child doesn't love to have stories read to them? Thirdly, most of the the great writers of old learnt how to write by reading, appreciating and copying the masters that they studied. I want my children to be critical thinkers and fluid writers - what better way than to expose them to great literature? And furthermore, literature can present you with ideas that are dissimilar to your own, forcing you to really think about what you believe and why, allowing children to 'own' ideas from an early age.

Once those steps were taken, the year took on an easy keel. This clan was really fortunate to start off with a Core A from Sonlight - an 'all in one' package. I loved the fact that the year was all planned out for me initially, and that I didn't have to think terribly much about what needed to be done/covered each day. But as the journey got easier, I progressively found my feet.

With each step this year I've been able to see so much clearer about what it is that I want for my children, what I want out of homeschooling. I've been able to see my blind spots...I've been able to evaluate our growth. And I've been challenged in reading other philosophies.

I find it so helpful to refer back to the word picture of setting out on a journey - let's use hiking for example. It would be foolish to pack a backpack and not test out its weight on a short walk before embarking on an eight day trail. So too, is it unwise to bite off more than you can chew when it comes to subjects, electives and curricular. Start...and then as you go you can see what you need to lay down and unpack, and you will notice what you are lacking and what you need to pick up - and those things will change from year to year, from child to child.

I've become more and more attracted to Charlotte Mason's philosophies, and have spent time reading some of her works. I'm really hoping to incorporate some of her principles into our next school year. And I'm looking forward to allowing creativity to flow more freely too - it's refreshing for all of us!

And remember, at the end of the day?

Image from http://allthingslovely.typepad.com

• Compatibility – when drawing together a group, have an evening where you can freely discuss what it is that you want from the group, and how you want to achieve that. You may find that people whom you really like as individuals may have completely different goals to you, or ideas of how something should be run that might make you feel uncomfortable. Are your own learning styles and those of your children compatible with others? Being different in this area is not necessarily a problem, as long as you are aware of this at at the outset – after all this happens in the classroom and later the work place! The key about co-op, for moms and children alike, is learning to get along, to co-operate. And this can take time – for moms and children alike.
• Consistency - Although in our own co-op we oscillate madly, we keep trying (note, trying!) to keep some things consistent from week to week. Perhaps it can be the opening song, or they way in which you close off your time together as co-op? Kids welcome a routine, however simple it might be.
• Size – each time a family is added to a co-op the dynamics change – not only because of the number of children , the noise levels and the dynamics of their interactions with one another, but also the number of moms. Think about where your co-op is going to be held – what will it be like on a rainy day? I would recommend starting small and then adding families on when you've found your stride, if you want it to be larger. It's much harder to go from a large group to something smaller.

Wendy from Loving Learning takes you on an inside look at her co-op. I loved the hands on activities on South Africa culture both here  (mmm milk tart!) and here (mmm bobotie!), and aslo wonderful to see how their co-op is supporting an incredible journey!


This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more.  You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.