July School Holidays: Week One ~ Family Adventure Followed By Change of Plans

The July School Holidays have arrived and what better way to celebrate than a family outing to the zoo after church. We returned to our church building for the first time since 15 March and enjoyed seeing everyone and worshiping together. After church we jumped in the car and drove to the city for an afternoon at the zoo. The weather was perfect and it was so nice to spend time outside, away from home, together as a family. There are a LOT of photos, but I hope you enjoy your sneak peak at our beautiful zoo.

It is true... the animals live on prime real estate and have the BEST view of the city. 

Our first stop was the Capybara exhibit. When we last visiting the zoo in March we missed them because we didn't walk past their exhibit until late in the afternoon. So this visit we made them our first stop for the day and we were rewarded with being able to see all four enjoying the winter sunshine. 

It took some patience but I managed to snap a quick photo of the Cassowary. 

We are always on the look out for Water Dragons whenever we are at the zoo or a park. 

One of the boys spotted this Kookaburra sitting quietly. 

One of our favourite animals to visit is the Quokka. 

Probably the worst photo I took all day... but we were pleasantly surprised to see that the wombats have added to their family. 

 We love our Australian animals... the emu and wallaby were kind enough to pose for pictures.

 It was a treat to discover that it was feeding time for the gorillas when we got to their exhibit. I have never seen the gorillas get fed so I was super excited - they are my FAVOURITE animal. We learned that they LOVE vegemite... the upper right photo shows the gorilla wiping vegemite off the plastic container and then licking her finger.

 This juvenile gorilla was comical... still quite small... but walking around upright like the adult gorillas and it was adorable!

 The new African Savannah exhibit has a BEAUTIFUL meerkat enclosure so we spent quite a lot of time watching them. I got some GREAT photographs of the "lookout" meerkat.

The zebras were a bit hard to view... not sure if this is because of the layout of the new exhibit, or just where they chose to hang out. We'll see how well we can see them next time we visit. 

 It is always fun to watch the giraffes eat...

The elephants enjoyed some water play when the keepers turned on a hose in their enclosure. 

Beautiful birds... 

The Bongo... 

We finished up our day at the zoo at about 4pm with a visit to the Koi pond. By then the sun had gone down enough that the whole zoo was shaded and we were worn out and chilled. But it was a magical day and we're looking forward to our next trip. 

Sunday evening Monster completed his fish puzzle... this was a difficult puzzle and he was quite pleased with the final product. 

 Everything I had planned for our school holidays came to a screeching halt at lunch time Monday when Monkey developed a fever, cough and headache. A phone consultation with our family doctor saw hubby taking Monkey to the hospital for a COVID nasal swab followed by two days of strict isolation for the whole family while we waited for the results... which were negative.

We KNEW the test would be negative because the boys hadn't been anywhere and there were no active cases in our postcode (which is our suburb and three surrounding suburbs) but it should made the situation that much more real for us.

Therefore, we spent the entire week at home... playing board games and reading TONS of books.  Monkey still had energy to work on paper craft and draw, but I insisted that he hang out on the lounge, rest, and drink lots of fluids. 

By Friday he had completed this drawing...

We had an in office appointment with our family doctor on Friday as well since Monkey was still running a fever and not really improving. The doctor advised to monitor him through the weekend and review on Monday... 

We ended our week with a few games of Zeus on the Loose... 

We did LOTS and LOTS of reading... independent reading for Munckin 

 Books we finished as part of our on-going racism unit...

 More independent reading for Munchkin...

 School holidays is always a good time for "rabbit hole" topics... we we did some reading about the history of money, as well as this series (right-hand photograph) that our library recently bought...

 All three boys really enjoyed this beautiful book about space...

I never tire of reading the Ramona books aloud... 

 We learned more about Martin Luther King Jr as part of our racism study

 More read aloud selections... WWI for Monster on the left, and a bit about Gandhi for all three boys on the right...

Munchkin agreed to return the Elmer books so we spent and afternoon reading all of them one more time... 

Term Two Evaluation ~ Munchkin

ENGLISH:

Reading ~
* A book list of all books read to Munchkin and books he has read independently will be included in his portfolio for the year.

Munchkin enjoys his online Reading Eggs program as well as his online Teach Your Monster to Read program.  He spends some time each school day working through the lessons. Munchkin is now working through the Reading Eggspress levels.

Writing ~

We still use, and LOVE, our Institute for Excellence in Writing Program

Teaching Writing: Structure and Style

In Term Two, Munchkin wrote paragraphs on the following topics: African Helmeted Turtles (non-fiction), Tree Kangaroos (non-fiction), John Williams (non-fiction), "The Three Little Dingos and the Big Bad Wombat (narrative re-write), Dingos (non-fiction) and Capybara (non-fiction).

Spelling ~

We continue with Ozspeller lists that I source online.

Munchkin is working through the Year 1/Year 2 lists.

He has an oral quiz Monday through Thursday and a written test on Friday.

Handwriting ~
Targeting Handwriting Yr 3 

Grammar ~
Junior Analytical Grammar requires too much writing/reading for Munchkin to participate yet so he will do this program in a few years time.

Literature ~ 
"The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame

"Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
"Beezus and Ramona" by Beverly Cleary
"Ramona the Pest" by Beverly Cleary

MATHS:

Munchkin finished the Haese Mathematics Year 3 textbook during Term 2 and began working through the Year 4 textbook. 

Topics we covered this term in the Yr 3 textbook included:
Multiplication, Division and Factions, Data Handling, Chance, Time, Angle, Symmetry, Length, Money, Mass, Location & Position, and Capacity.

Topics we covered this term in the Yr 4 textbook included:

Number, Multiplication, Division, Fractions, and Decimal Numbers.
Munchkin also enjoys the Mathseeds program online that is part of our Reading Eggs subscription. He works independently and I am continually impressed at the level of difficulty he has mastered on his own.



SCIENCE:

Munchkin listened in on the read alouds with the older boys. The list of books is the same.



HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY:

The titles of the history books we read this term are listed below:

"DK Life Stories: Katherine Johnson" by Ebony Joy Wilkins

"A Street Through Time" by DK Books

"China Through Time" by DK Books

We started a unit study on Racism and Intolerance and read the following books:
"Racism & Intolerance" by Louise Spilsbury
"Slavery in the United States" by Gary E. Bar
"The Struggle for Freedom"

PDHPE:

"Pick Bite and Scratch" by Julia Garstecki

"Wonder" by R.J. Palacio

.



CREATIVE ARTS:

Munchkin spent LOTS of his free time during the term sketching and drawing. Due to COVID we took advantage of several online freebies such as Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems and the drawing tutorials on Dav Pilkey's website. Munchkin also continues to enjoy Art For Kids Hub on YouTube as well.

We also started an Elements of Art unit study.

Term 2 we also began a music unit study. We are listening to examples of a variety of types of music, learning about musical instruments, and also learning about world music.

SOCIAL:

Term Two Social Events:

Weekly Facebook video chat with my brother, SIL and their two girls

Daily walks around the neighbourhood greeting people as we see them

Celebrated Munchkin's 8th birthday during April school holidays

Returned to weekly trips to the library for "click and collect" borrowing service

Term Two Evaluation ~ Monkey

ENGLISH:

Reading ~

* You can see from my weekly reviews that we read LOTS of books, aloud and independent.

* A book list is included in Monkey's portfolio with a list of all books read each term.

Writing ~

We still use, and LOVE, our Institute for Excellence in Writing Program

Teaching Writing: Structure and Style

In Term Two, Monkey wrote paragraphs on the following topics: "How the Hippo Was Humbled" (narrative re-write), African Helmeted Turtle (non-fiction), Tree Kangaroos (non-fiction), "Jack and the Golden Goose" (narrative re-write), and Australian Savannah Grassland (non-fiction)  

Spelling ~ 

We continue with Ozspeller lists that I source online.

Monkey is working through the Year 6 lists.

He has an oral quiz Monday through Thursday and a written test on Friday.

Handwriting ~

Foundation Handwriting Yr 5

Grammar ~

We are taking a break from our grammar curriculum this year. Monkey is not ready for Analytical Grammar (the high school version) so we are just taking a little break for now.

Literature ~

"The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame
"The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
"Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson
"Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
"Beezus and Ramona" by Beverly Cleary
"Ramona the Pest" by Beverly Cleary

MATHS:

Haese Mathematics Yr 5

He covered the following concepts during Term 2 while completing chapters 4-9 of the book: Polygons, Circles and Solids, Fractions, Decimal Numbers, Time, Measurement: Length and Area, and Money

SCIENCE:

Below is a list of the science related books we read:

"Wild in the City" by Kate Baker
"World's Strangest Places" by Lonely Planet Kids
"World's Cutest Animals" by Lonely Planet Kids
"Australia's Greatest Inventions and Innovations" by Christopher Cheng & Lindsay Knight

"Indescribable: 100 Devotions about God & Science" by Louie Giglio
"World Health" by Dr Ronan Foley
"Space: Visual Encyclopedia" by Heather Couper & Nigel Henbest

HISTORY:

We finished up our Bushrangers Unit Study. Below is the list of books we read aloud:

"Ned Kelly's Jerilderie Letter" by Ned Kelly
"Captain Thunderbolt" by Jane Smith

"Captain Starlight" by Jane Smith

Other History Books We Read:

"DK Life Stories: Katherine Johnson" by Ebony Joy Wilkins

"A Street Through Time" by DK Books

"China Through Time" by DK Books

"The Camel Who Crossed Australia" by Jackie French

"The History of Money" by Julie Haydon

GEOGRAPHY:

Below is the list of books read aloud and/or independently through Term Two:
"The Houses We Build"

CREATIVE ARTS:

Monkey spent LOTS of his free time during the term sketching and drawing.

We also started an Elements of Art unit study.

Term 2 we also began a music unit study. We are listening to examples of a variety of types of music, learning about musical instruments, and also learning about world music.

PDHPE:

"Pick Bite and Scratch" by Julia Garstecki

"Wonder" by R.J. Palacio

SOCIAL:

Term Two Social Events:

Weekly Facebook video chat with my brother, SIL and their two girls

Daily walks around the neighbourhood greeting people as we see them

Celebrated Munchkin's 8th birthday during April school holidays

Returned to weekly trips to the library for "click and collect" borrowing service

Term Two Evaluation ~ Monster

ENGLISH:

Reading ~
* You can see from my Weekly Review posts that we read (aloud and independently) a LOT.
* A book list is included in Monster's portfolio with all the books he reads each term.

Writing ~
We still use and LOVE the following curriculum
Institute for Excellence in Writing Program
Teaching Writing: Structure and Style

In Term Two Monster wrote paragraphs on the following topics: Elephants (non-fiction), Hansel and Gretel (narrative re-write), and The Causes of WWI. I also introduced a new unit - the standard five paragraph essay.

We use our IEW paragraphs primarily to show learning in history, geography and science. I do not use textbooks or workbooks for these subjects and instead rely on quality books from our local library.

Grammar ~
This year we are continuing with Analytical Grammar which is the next step up after Junior Analytical Grammar.  Term Two he worked through units 13 - 14: Infinitive Phrases and Appositive Phrases.

Literature ~
"The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame
"The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
"Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson
"Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
"Beezus and Ramona" by Beverly Cleary
"Ramona the Pest" by Beverly Cleary

MATHS:

This term Monster started his Haese Yr 10 Advanced mathematics textbook.
Over the course of the term he completed chapters 1 - 4 which covered the following topics: Indices, Algebraic Expansion and Factorisation, Radicals and Algebraic Fractions.



SCIENCE:

Below is a list of the science related books we read.
"Wild in the City" by Kate Baker
"World's Strangest Places" by Lonely Planet Kids
"World's Cutest Animals" by Lonely Planet Kids
"Australia's Greatest Inventions and Innovations" by Christopher Cheng & Lindsay Knight
"Indescribable: 100 Devotions about God & Science" by Louie Giglio
"World Health" by Dr Ronan Foley
"Space: Visual Encyclopedia" by Heather Couper & Nigel Henbest


HISTORY:

We read the following books as part of our World War I unit study:
"Australians at War: World War One" by Robert Hillman
"The ANZAC Puppy" by Peter Millett & Trish Bowles
"Digger: The Dog Who Went to War" by Mark Wilson
"Message in a Sock" by Kaye Baillie
"ANZAC Ted" by Belinda Landsberry
"Roly the ANZAC Donkey" by Glyn Harper
"A Soldier, a Dog and a Boy" by Libby Hathorn
"Simpson and His Donkey" by Mark Greenwood
"Alfred's War" by Rachel Bin Salleh
"Going to War in World War One" by Adrian Gilbert
"Lone Pine" by Susie Brown
"The ANZAC Tree" by Christina Booth
"The ANZAC Violin" by Jennifer Beck
"Meet the ANZACS" by Claire Saxby
"One Boy's War" by Lynn Huggins-Cooper
"Stubby - A True Story of Friendship" by Michael Foreman
"The Red Poppy" by David Hill
"The Poppy" by Andrew Plant
"The Last ANZAC" by Gordon Winch
"Why Did World War I Happen"
"True Stories of the First World War" by Paul Dowswell
"War Horse" by Michael Morpurgo
"The Donkey Who Carried the Wounded" by Jackie French
"Feathered Soldiers" by Vashti Farrer
"The Story of World War One" by Richard Brassey
"Our Jacko" by Michael Morpurgo
"How Can a Pigeon Be a War Hero" by Tracey Turner
"Poppy Field" by Michael Morpurgo
"Women Heroes of World War I" by Kathryn Atwood
"Midnight" by Mark Greenwood



Other History Books:
"Ned Kelly's Jerilderie Letter" by Ned Kelly
"Captain Thunderbolt" by Jane Smith
"Horrible Histories: Smashing Saxons" by Terry Deary
"The Most Powerful Idea in the World" by William Rosen 
(this book finished off our Industrial Revolution unit study)
"John Simpson Kirkpatrick" by Allan Drummond
"DK Life Stories: Katherine Johnson" by Ebony Joy Wilkins
"Captain Starlight" by Jane Smith
"A Street Through Time" by DK Books
"Black Snake: The Daring of Ned Kelly" by Carole Wilkinson
"China Through Time" by DK Books
"Horrible Histories: Vicious Vikings" by Terry Deary
"The Camel Who Crossed Australia" by Jackie French
"Horrible Histories: Stormin' Normans" by Terry Deary
"The History of Money" by Julie Haydon
"Horrible Histories: Angry Aztecs" by Terry Deary
Monster read all the Horrible Histories book independently

We started a unit study on Racism and Intolerance and read the following books:
"Racism & Intolerance" by Louise Spilsbury
"Slavery in the United States" by Gary E. Bar
"The Struggle for Freedom"



GEOGRAPHY:

Below is the list of books read aloud and/or independently through Term Two:
"The Houses We Build"




ELECTIVE #1 ~ LATIN:

Monster continued to work through Lingua Latina Familia Romana and Lingua Latina Exercitia Latina 1. This book and exercise book will take him through this school year and likely through next year as well. He works through these books independently and then I grade his work with the answer key. Monster is doing exceptionally well working through these books independently.




ELECTIVE #2 ~ MARINE AND AQUACULTURE TECHNOLOGY:
"World's Strangest Ocean Beasts" by Lonely Planet Kids

LOGIC:
This term I began teaching Monster logic.
We are using "Logic Self-Taught: A Workbook by Katarzyna Paprzycka - an online workbook.
Monster is finding it interesting and challenging and is doing quite well with the workload.

SOCIAL:

Term Two Social Events:

Weekly Facebook video chat with my brother, SIL and their two girls

Daily walks around the neighbourhood greeting people as we see them

Celebrated Munchkin's 8th birthday during April school holidays

Returned to weekly trips to the library for "click and collect" borrowing service

Term Two: Week Ten ~ Wrapping Things Up

Week Ten is finished and the 2020 school year is officially half over. It has been weird and wild year, no doubt about it, but for at least the millionth time I am feeling blessed that we chose the path of homeschooling. Through the lock down and the disruption of the global pandemic, we have been able to school as normal, with a few minor adjustments.

Our week ten comprised of wrapping up any unfinished work and then enjoying the extra free time we had earned... so not a lot of photos of structured written work this week.

Monkey is always drawing... I know this isn't the most beautiful picture to look at... but his talent continues to amaze me! For those of you who don't know... this picture is a character from the computer game Plants vs. Zombies. Monkey drew this just by looking at a picture. 

In the wake of George Floyd's murder and the riots and on-going racial tensions in America, I have started a unit study with the boys on racism and inequality. So we started by watching this movie as we had read several books about Katherine Johnson earlier in the term. If you have not yet seen this movie, do yourself a favour and watch it! 

My early bird (Munchkin) busy at work with various paper craft activities bright and early in the morning. 

Monster worked hard through the week to wrap up his last IEW writing assignment for the term. I passed it on to a teacher friend of mine who said it was very well written indeed. 

A friend in our homeschool group is having her house torn down and re-built. So one afternoon when we had to go out we walked up and had a look. Good thing we did too or we would have missed all the excitement. 

Monster worked on his puzzle two nights this week... you can see the progress made from the first night (top photo) to the second night (bottom photo)! He is anxious to finish this puzzle and start a new one! 

I started reading the Ramona series to Munchkin this week... he was very unsure at first... but the wonder of the books has sucked him in and now he BEGS me to read every day! I love sharing my childhood books with the boys... as I'm reading this series aloud all three boys are enjoying the mischief of Ramona! 

 Monster and I finished two wonderful WWI books this week!

 Daniel enjoyed a new chapter book series from the library, as well as some well loved picture books.

Independent reading for Monster... 

One last read of these books before they head back to the library...