February is... social media free month...

Who the hell am I kidding? No Facebook and Instagram for a whole month? No way, I'd die.

I do have a February pledge though. It is as follows.

From the first of February until the twentyei..... hold on... yes twenty eighth of February (I totally had to check for a leap year) I will not be on social media between the hours of kids awake and kids asleep.

This means that I shall pop in to say "I'm ALIVE!" but I shall only do it when the sweet darling children are sleeping.

I really do spend too much time on Facebook. Really. Tonight, 2 hours disappeared  How does that happen? I sit down to say a quick hello to someone, and 2 hours later I realise that I haven't done anything I was supposed to do and now it's bed time!

Also, while I do a lot with the kids, I do feel that the 3 hours I've spent on Facebook during the day (yes all those 20 minute blocks add up fast) could have been better spent reading a book, or playing a board game, or even pegging out the washing!

Will I go crazy? Yes, I'm sure the first week will be hard. Will I miss all my imaginary friends? Of course! Will the kids love 'complete and full attention from mummy' time? Yup! Will my house be cleaner? I'd almost bet on it!

I'm anxiously excited about this challenge!

And who knows, by the twenty eighth of February I might be totally cured from my Facebook and Instagram habits :)

What 2013 will hold

This year we're going to get out in the big wide WA and see as much stuff as possible.

We will visit Jenn in Kalgoorlie.
We will camp at Albany (and visit Ruth!)
We will camp at Exmouth

There is a long list of places locally that I want to take the kids too...

Adventure World
The Beach House
Rolloways
Cockburn Ice Arena
Fired! Ceramic Cafe
Armadale Reptile Centre
Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm
Lansdale farm School
Swim with the dolphins @ Wild Encounters
Calamunnda Camel Farm
The Great Escape
Kalamunda Water Park
Rio Tinto Naturescape
Fremantle Chocolate
Margaret River Fudge Factory
Penguin Island
Perth Mint
Alcoa Discovery Centre

Hopefully a lot of these can get ticked off in the next few months because WA is huge and there is so much to see and do!

I'm going to pick one thing each week to visit :)

At this stage we have February planned out.

Perth Mint
Alcoa Discovery Centre and mine tour
Penguin Island
Fired! Ceramic Cafe

If anyone is interested in joining us on any of these outings, just let me know :)  A blog post on each will follow our excursion :)

What Does A Homeschool Day Look Like

So inspired by this post, I thought I'd do my own!

Natural learning (otherwise known as unschooling) is what we do. To me, learning should be fun, and natural. Children didn't need to be taught at desks how to walk, they just did it. They didn't need to be taught how to talk, they just learnt words and off they went. We put so much emphasis on teaching children things, but if we allow them the opportunity to learn, they will do so naturally! For us this mean access to hundreds of books, documentaries, apps for their iPad, computer games and the great outdoors.

After a couple of weeks of deschooling the boys, we jumped right in with our unschool practices!

Most days, we will read at least 1 book, I say most because there have been days where we don't read at all, or they will read to themselves, but generally, we sit and read at some point together. Usually it's in the morning, when all the children have jumped into my bed for morning cuddles (yes you CAN fit 5 in a queen bed).

Then we usually pull out some activity. It might be something I've organised the night before like ice painting.

Or it might be something that's from the cupboard, like marble painting.

We learn through play. Maths is no problem when you cook regularly.

Counting money also counts as maths! Especially when you learn to group your money box shrapnel into $1 piles!

We've got nature covered too when we explore things we've collected, like different coloured leaves, at different stages of life. Bark from a tree. Some beautiful frangipanis. These explorations will often lead to discussions on the 'veins in the leaves' and how trees produce oxygen.

We've been known to head down to the local beaches and parks and do some environmental studies. This day we picked up litter while learning about the effects on the marine life.

This linked up well to our ocean learning, how many children fish and read books on the beach as part of their school studies? Mine do!

What about more art?

Or more art?

Yes we LOVE ART!

This is our art set up...

(there is more in that cupboard!) 

We also love tactile play. It might be playing with gloop or water beads, or ice and water. The ideas are endless and a lot of fun!

Sport? Does trampoline jumping and yoga count? What about bike rides? Swimming? Yes? Great!

 We also planted our very own veggie patch which has become a constant source of learning. From how things grow, to the need for water, to what bugs live in the garden. Best of all, there are tasty rewards to be had! Worm farms are also great!

We write, usually one entry into the journal a day. Or letters, postcards etc. It's not essential but it's something I like them to do. Part of natural learning is encouraging learning, but not forcing things they don't feel like doing. A child who chooses to learn is one who will absorb more.

Then there is game time... it might be some iPad apps...

Or a game of Minecraft, which is a favourite.

They also love Reading Eggs, Friv and Cool Math Games. The computer is open for learning at any time of the day.

There is plenty of time to play when you are home schooled.

A trip to the zoo turns into a breeding lesson! 

No more schedules, no more rushing, no more 1 teacher to 30 students. Instead the world is our classroom, and the sky is our limit.

There are also more sleep ins ;)