Cookies & Koalas

TRACKING YOUR HOMESCHOOL DAYS... As I get deeper into this adventure of homeschooling my children, one of the dilemmas and challenges I have faced has been around how to record and what to record of what we do everyday. Here in South Australia we do have some government requirements, but I am not required to show what we did every day. However, as an eclectic homeschooler and also a Montessori inspired homeschooler I felt I needed some way to keep track of the work we’ve done- both for me to keep track of where we’re up to and to have a way to prove that I am educating my children if I ever needed to defend myself (unlikely, but I feel more secure this way). Also I felt I needed a place to make observations about my children and notes about learning gaps and needs and interests. But I NEED this all together in one place. TRYING DIFFERENT METHODS First I just tried a small spiral notebook, but I found this messy and although it worked for noting my observations, didn’t have space to...

SHILLER LEARNING LANGUAGE ARTS... Finding a homeschooling education program that fits all of a mom's or family's desires and a child's needs can be a challenging task and despite the ridiculous amount of curriculum available can sometimes seem impossible. This has been the case for me, who loves Montessori, but really can't commit to doing Montessori full time as I have no training and don't have the time or energy to be constantly creating activities and "following" exactly what my child is up to. I wish it was different but I have been trying for two years now to implement Montessori at home and yeah, my efforts while valiant, don't look like the classroom. The occasional Montessori activity on a tray or engaged cleaning toddler just haven't reached the mark. There is part of me that wishes I could just keep sending them to school but homeschooling is really the best option for our family. My husband feels that I need a set curriculum so that I ...