We have begun our 2024 school year. This is a year of change. Not just because we moved, but because our homeschool has one less student and that student is soon to be a legal adult. So I feel like it might be a big year for all of us. As we adjust and adapt to the changes in our family, I look forward to seeing what this year has in store for us. With God as our guide, our family will move ahead - making sure to do our best as we face each new day. I hope you will enjoy seeing what our life is like as you follow my blog through this year.
Our new family photo.
We were WELL overdue for a new photo, I discovered our last family photo was taken in 2021.
Monster = 17 years old and our first homeschool graduate.
For those readers who may not already know, these are Monster's future plans for now.
He is enrolled in a Cert IV TAFE course in Financial Services (our equivalent to the community college courses in the United States). The course focuses on statistics and probability which are both things that Monster loves and excels in. The course is self paced (independent study) and he has 18 months to complete it. Additionally, completing the course will mean he has an avenue for entry into university (college) should he need/want to attend in the future. Monster is also in the process of applying for a part-time job, may continue to do some IT/web design work with his father, intends to continue attending church and youth group, and will continue learning various life skills that will help him in his adult life. 😁
Monkey = 14 years old Munchkin = 11 years old
Just a fun extra photo from church on Sunday. Monster was curious to know how much taller Monkey was, so he asked me to snap this photo. Yes, the younger brother (by nearly three-and-a-half years) is now significantly taller than his elder brother. The growing will continue for a time yet if his appetite and sleep patterns are anything to go by.
Munchkin happily transplanted some of his tomato seedlings into our special tomato pot that has a climbing pole. We are both eager to see if THIS attempt to grow tomatoes will be our successful one. Munchkin has recently discovered (due to his love of all things plants and gardening) that trips to Bunnings with his father are a good thing. He accompanied him twice this week and was happy to purchase a large bag of soil specific for growing tomatoes, herbs and vegetables. As these are the main things Munchkin is growing at the moment, he is a very happy boy. Stay tuned for update photos of the tomato growth in the weeks to come.
I love that my boys have happily embraced our tradition of first day photos all through their school career. We have a new background this year of course (again due to our move) which the boys were a bit unsure of, but they still loved getting their photos taken.
Monkey will be focusing on work that will meet the department of education requirements for achieving his Year 10 certificate. This means 3-4 lengthy written assignments (two of which will focus on some literature we have read), as well as some math assessments. I made a point of discussing the Year 10 certificate and the requirements for it with our AP during the home visit so that both Monkey and I would know what we have to work towards over the next two years. Neither of these requirements are favourite subjects of Monkey's so we are both glad that we have lots of time up our sleeves to complete them.
Monkey's interests continue to be art (specifically drawing and some painting), Geography, and German. We have incorporated the art and German into his elective options and I make sure to add much more to his Geography curriculum than what is required by the department of education, although Monkey also supplements his Geography learning with all sorts of fun online sites as well.
Munchkin starts high school this year and has mixed feelings about it. He likes having electives to choose now, but is concerned about the increase in responsibility and general workload. He originally chose Food Technology (cooking and nutrition) and Agricultural Technology as his electives, but sadly I forgot that you aren't allowed to choose two technology electives. After much thought Munchkin decided to choose Spanish as his second elective (we will do it together) and he will either alternate the two technology electives or do extra work that won't count as far as the Department of Education is concerned. He is excited to be learning about the ancient civilizations this year (Egypt, Greece and Rome) and is also looking forward to attending youth group with his brothers.
Just to add some extra fun to our first week of school - we had some medical issues. The mosquitoes feasted on Munchkin and the bites reacted to the point that I was concerned about infection setting in. Thankfully, with the wonders of modern technology, my mum was able to monitor the bites "remotely" and the application of all our various creams and ointments kept infection and medication at bay.
Monster also became sick through the week with symptoms that appeared to be a middle ear infection so he was off to our family doctor on Friday morning, but the diagnosis was a random (not particularly contagious) virus and so he continues to rest and hydrate.
My one photo of written work this week - Munchkin working through a math assignment. I kept structured written work to a minimum this week as we focused on our read alouds and getting back into a set schedule again. I am thinking about how to make our structured schoolwork portion of the blog more interesting - but truthfully - I'm not sure I can. I'm also unsure how much my readers actually want to see. After all, I have two high school students now and their structured written work is not all that exciting. I will put my thinking cap on and see what I decide as the term, and year, progresses.
The seeds are impossible to see in these resized photos, but Munchkin is busy planting some flowers he chose at the shops this week.
A lady who lives up the street from us has a beautiful native garden and has spoken a few times with us about all the plants Munchkin wants to grow. She was outside one morning as we headed to the shops and she gifted Munchkin with the beautiful plant in the photo on the left. We also re-potted the coriander into a larger pot with the tomato, herb and vegetable soil and it seems to be thriving finally. Previously it was looking rather sickly and I was certain we were going to have yet another failed attempt at growing our own coriander (cilantro).
Munchkin has quite the set up on the table on the front veranda now. In the middle is our apple mint that we successfully propagated from a cutting, some Australian native wildflowers, (back left and right pots) and various other flowers in the tiny round things you can see. I will continue to take progress photos so look forward to updates in future blog posts.
Saturday afternoon Munchkin did the prep work for a yummy blueberry upside down cake to be served for morning tea (coffee hour) at church. He did a majority of the measuring and mixing so all I had to do was dump the batter into our all-in-one cooker and turn it on. It turned out beautifully and I'm sure everyone at church will LOVE it. Also, I'm quietly enjoying the fact that Munchkin helping with cooking and baking counts for schoolwork as well.
Finally, two walks I took this week. Towards the end of last year I wasn't doing nearly the amount of walking that I wanted to. Now, just a walk to the shops for some groceries is a LONG walk so I am definitely going to be able to do a LOT more walking this year.
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