Well, it’s been a while since my last post… basically because I am still recovering from shock. I suppose it was inevitable really, what with having boys and all. It’s all a bit gender stereotypical I know but apparently it is quite common amongst the younger of the male species. Ariel has discovered Frogs. And as he is often want to do when it comes to the smaller marvels of God’s creation, he has developed an obsession with them. At any given time I can reluctantly gaze through my front screen door (there’s no way I’m actually going OUT THERE) and see 5 or so ex-honey buckets housing a collection of the evil slimy creatures in various stages of morphological madness. Still, this is the joy of home educating. Who needs a university degree? My sons’ etymological, zoological, and amphibian husbandry training has already begun.
Speaking of which, I have stumbled across a new curriculum idea to add to our eclectic brew of learning. It’s called The Heart of Wisdom Approach and is based on the Hebrew model of education, which is completely Holistic and doesn’t separate the spiritual life from the physical, mental/intellectual/academic life. This is the complete opposite of the current model of eductaion which is based on the Greek Classical method, which aims to separate and segregate everything. It sits well with us because it also acknowledges the actual Sabbath, Feasts of the Lord, and His actual way of life and makes it the focus. It’s also really really good because it is adaptable to any style of home educating….so it fits in with the rhythms that we already have been endeavouring to follow AND as an added bonus it helps me to remember to meditate on God’s Word as well. So we’ve been implementing some of the suggestions and Ariel did some copy work (writing, reading stuff) around the days of Creation (hey, where else would we start??) and learnt a new word: Atmosphere. He was pretty chuffed about that one.
Anyway. Other than that and the aforementioned ‘delight’ of Ariel’s graduation onto frogs, we have been plodding on as usual. We recently had the opportunity to spend the weekend up in the beautiful Blue Mountains at Leura, and while we were there had the most amazing raw gourmet dinner party. Julie from Conscious Creations outdid herself in creating the most delectable raw gourmet I have tasted. The Hearty Chili was a hit for the die-hard carnivores (who would have thought? No meat!) and her chocolate macaroon pie was simply divine. If you ever get a chance, take the plunge and go to one of her workshops or buy one of her cakes. Alternatively, if you can’t get to Bondi (where she is located) you can come to one of my raw workshops (next one is 13th April)..and I’ll actually come to you.
But I digress, this blog is meant to be about the boys learning adventures. They did enjoy the food though! Anyway, while we were up in the mountains we did all the touristy things and went on the steepest railway in the world, across the skyway cable car, and walked down to Katoomba Cascades. It was great and the boys had a good time. Another of my highlights was foraging Hawthorn berries outside the oohlala posh Lillianfells Hotel. Ariel and I are going to see if we can germinate them and attempt to grow a living fence. (we figure it will be quicker than waiting for the actual fence to be built).
Opa came down for a visit last week, and during that time he and Ariel really got into creating mazes on paper. Really really complex and tricky ones which Ariel was pretty good at. He has been creating new ones most mornings since while he has his breakfast.
Analytical skills, problem solving, hand-eye co-ordination, botany, horticulture, biology, nutritional science, vocabulary, reading, writing, grammar, physics, Bible study…. who needs school?
