We've moved!

Hey!

If anyone is still reading this blog, I'll just let you know that we are no longer living in an 'alternative suburbia' and have packed it all in and are travelling Oz in our motorhome :)

The new blog is www.teenytinylivingspace.blogspot.com.au

Would love to see you there! xx

Winter garden blues ... again

As usual, this blog is getting neglected in the cooler months. It's not even THAT cold here; I mean, I'm freezing but people from more southern latitudes would laugh at me!
It's so wet and soggy outside. I've been thinking about re-designing the garden beds for better access but every time I go down there it's so muddy and depressing that I just trudge my way back up to the house and dream of summer. I can't even bring myself to put up a photo of it because it's so muddily-depressive!
On a brighter note ... we've decided to take another road trip up north in mid August, so I only have to complain for a little while longer.

Some Writing from Indi

I'd just like to document a bit of Indi's literacy journey, as crude as it may be. I'm terribly disorganised (which I'm pretty sure is an unschooling family's prerogative) so I think I should at least start photographing and trying to blog about our little adventure in learning-without-schooling. It's pretty likely that these documents will go missing in the massive pile of 'stuff to sort through' but at least I'll have a digital version now :)

This one is from a few months ago. Mostly copy work and asking 'how do I spell ...' 

She copied these from reading eggs about a month ago. We have a couple of phonic-based programs on the computer and the iphone that she is free to use as she pleases.

This was from last week. She was nagging me about making a cake and wanted to make sure we had all the ingredients. Flour, eggs, milk, custard, cake, cupcakes. 

This was thrown at me a few days ago. For those not fluent in inventive spelling, it reads: 

Mum. I love you so much but I wish we could go on holidays. 

(Me too baby girl ;) )

She has also started reading everything in sight; street signs, food labels, catalogues etc. 

We have been reading some books together, just the regular simple beginner books, Fat Cat and that sort of thing. 

We also found a couple of Dr. Suess books in a second hand shop today (who get's rid of Dr. Suess, honestly?! One of them was even in the freebie bin!) and tonight she read a few pages from 'Ten Apples Up On Top!' which we have never read before so I know she actually read it and didn't just repeat from memory. WOW! 

Hooked

I've started a Facebook page showing off some of my crocheted stuff. Here's the link if anyone wants to take a look :)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hooked/205466002798437

Today's Classroom

Indi practicing her writing in the sand

Breakfast?

Yep. It's popcorn.

But wait; before you all go and call welfare and dob me in for bad parenting, have a think about it ... it's probably a whole lot healthier than what a lot of kids have for breakfast. 

No sugar, no preservatives, no colourings, no added salt. Just air-popped corn kernels with less butter than you'd spread on your toast :) 

While we were feeding the guinea pigs last night, Indi noticed different types of seed in their food and decided she wanted to plant some. One type were sunflower seeds but we have no idea what the other type are. She is really keen on writing and sounding out words at the moment so I suggested she write down some info about it. She wrote the day and date, and the type of seeds she planted. Because we didn't know what the seeds were, she wrote down a description of them.

Indi raked away all the mulch she'd spread a few months ago and pulled up the remains of the corn stalks and most of the weeds. She was happy to find a Jade plant growing from a snapped branch that she'd chucked on the ground.

Planting the sunflower seeds along the wire fence

Planting the other seeds in a row behind

Watering

Once she'd planted and watered, Indi drew a map of her garden and marked in where she'd planted the seeds so she'd remember not to step on them (this was interspersed with yells of abuse at the dog who decided to tramp all over her freshly watered beds!)