A Classic Term

I have come to realise that there is far too much that I want my children to learn, and that I simply do not have enough time to do it all. The same goes with classic books. I would love to read them all with them but in order to do so we would never have any other time for any of our other subjects.

Also if I am completely honest, I feel that just because a book is termed a classic, it doesn't automatically mean that it is a good, or easy or even an enjoyable read so I made the decision to read some abridged versions. That way we could get through more books in a quicker time and if the girls really enjoyed them then we can read the full version or they can in their own time and if they didn't then well at least they had the general gist of it.  So we have been reading the Classic Starts books. They are a little young for The Fashionista and even Agent Smelly really but we can get by with them.

We read one chapter each day (unless it's huge) and complete a wee lap book with each book; and I couldn't believe my luck when I found on Pinterest that Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler has been using the same book series and produced lap books we could use. Yeah what a time saver. When we finish reading the book we then watch related movies or mini series (OH boy have we found some stinkers doing this, but we enjoy picking it to pieces!) and sometimes we make a craft, an activity or meal to accompany the book. It's been taking us a week or two to complete each book and the work with it.

 

En garde ... All for one and one for all.

They made their swords from scratch!

 

 

We read in 10 weeks:-

• Dr DOLITTLE - Neither enjoyed it much; I was a bit surprised, I thought they might. Haven't been able to find the movie yet.
• KING ARTHUR - They LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this so much we have read many more versions and watched a couple of different movie and mini series too.
• ROBIN HOOD - Unsurprisingly after King Arthur they LOVED this too. We have since read the full version. I even managed to find a copy of the Errol Flynn version of the movie ... and now they love it as much as I always have.
• THE SECRET GARDEN - They enjoyed this, despite no sword fighting.
• JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH - We all quite enjoyed this book. Sadly the movie versions are often very loosely based on the book so whilst most are enjoyable (btw if you come across a version with Bryan Brown avoid it!) they have left us a bit disappointed.
• THE THREE MUSKETEERS - Again a firm favourite. They love the characters in this book and this is another we are reading the full version of.
• CALL OF THE WILD - We finished this book at the end of term and when I finished reading (I struggled with the last bit with a rather wobbly voice) I looked up to find my two girls with tears streaming down their faces, which then turned into full blown sobs. So guess who joined in. The Papa then walked in from work found us all walking around wiping our tears and passing each other tissues, etc and wondered what had happened.  I had to explain it was all over the book. He just raised his eyebrows, shook his head and went on his way ... hahaha.  We girls now have a good laugh over it but was told not read any sad animal books like that again.

When we finished Robin Hood I surprised the girls with a couple of $2 shop plastic bows and arrows and drew a target on our whiteboard and placed it up the end of the hallway for them to shoot at. They had quite a bit of fun and still pull them out to play with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The little horrors turned on me and found it funny. I had to high tail it out of there!

 

The Magic Half - Book Review

The Magic Half (2009) by Annie Barrows

This book is the best book I have ever read! It is my favourite book.

It is a magical adventure about two girls. The main character, Miri, comes from a family that has two sets of twins and is always feeling left out.

Her family moves to a new house and she finds a piece of spectacle glass in the corner of her bedroom and when she looks through it she goes back in time 75 years before in the same house.

There she finds a girl called Molly, who is exactly the same age as she is and looks like her too.

Molly lived with her mean aunt Flo, two cousins (evil Horst and Sissy who was OK) and her very old Grandma who was deaf and bedridden but had sort of magical ways. She helped Molly summon Miri in the first place to save her grand-daughter from her evil family as she is not able to look after her herself.

Miri and Molly have some adventures and then Miri saves Molly from her evil relatives and brings her through time to the present. It changes the present to how it should be. Molly lives happily with a new, loving family and Miri gets the twin that she always wanted!

Agent Smelly (nearly 10!)

Writing in 2014

We haven't done a lot of writing as a class subject over the years and last year, both of my girls I noticed, really started to enjoy writing their own stories. Every now and then after we had done our regular schoolwork the pair of them would take off and start writing their own stories.  As they seemed to enjoy it so much, I thought I'd foster that interest and incorporate it into our schedule.

I had planned to write out some writing prompts (otherwise they can complain they don't know what to write about) but came across 100 Writing Prompts from Curric Click. It's a cheap download; I think it was US 99 cents but really, really well worth it.

I printed the pages onto A4 card stock, cut them into small cards and placed them in a wee container and the girls simply take one card out and write on whatever it reads on the card. They are allowed to choose up to three cards, if they find the first or second hard to do but, no more than that.

There is no amount they have to write but they have a small exercise book to write in and usually keep them to about a page long. I do realise they need to know some grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc (we have studied that formally before) but I am being very careful in those areas so as not to kill their creativity ... I don't want to stifle their writing at this stage. They can always tighten up on some of the other side of things later on. For instance if there is a word misspelled that I know they should know I will point it out to them to see if they realise.

The stories coming from them have been awesome, even the Papa has been reading them and having a laugh and been astonished at some of their ideas and creativity. We have been using them for a couple of months now and not once have I heard "do we have to" in fact although I only ask them to do it once a week they will ask some mornings if they can do one of the cards. Who am I to say no!

Starting Harry Potter

We are pretty big fans of Harry Potter around here ... especially the Mama ... I know, sad but true. I just adore the series!

Even though the girls have seen the movies, they have never read the books so I decided to start reading the first of them, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, to them this week.

At the same time I have been having a look around for some school work that they could do along side the books and confess I am having a blast.

I found a terrific acceptance letter to Hogwarts online at HSLaunch (Homeschool Launch). I played around with the font and added some clip art and then printed the letter on some cream coloured paper which came out looking ever so cool and official. I dropped the letters on the girls work table and walked away. I could hear their squeals of joy in the other room.

The idea of the letter is that they had to "type" an official reply on the computer accepting the position, print it off and redeliver it back to me. It jokingly says to deliver it "by owl" on the letter and there is a date their letters had to be back by. Well despite them having a few days to reply, much to my amusement, they desperately got on to the PC as soon as they had some free time, to write their replies.


Agent Smelly wrote ...

Dear headmaster Xxxxxx,

I would love to be in Hogwarts school of the wizardry arts.
Do you mind if I ask a few questions? Of course you don’t!
When do I get chosen to be in my group, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw? I would love to be in Gryffindor!
Do I get a wand? I would love a wand!
Do I get a robe? I love robes!

When do I start?  It sounds like so much fun to be a wizard!

From...the soon to be wizard,
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx



The Fashionista's reply ...

Dear Headmaster XXXX,

I would love to attend the Hogwarts School of Magic! Thank you so much. I will enjoy it so very much!

I would like to be sorted into Huffle-Puff if possible please.

Where do I get my supplies: wand, broom-stick, cloche, etc?

When does the magical school term start? Is it the same as normal schools?

How exactly do I get there? I mean, I know about 9 ¾ but what station?

Do we get our own rooms or do we get sorted into rooms of let’s say three or four?

About the classes, do you take any? Is there allot of reading involved?

Yours sincerely,      

Soon-to-be, Witchy, Xxxx.   

They do ask a lot of questions don't they? I do think you can probably feel their excitement in their letters though!


I later saw Agent Smelly on a chair in the dining area tying a rope to the curtain rod and she looked at me and said "no questions please mummy" so I left her to it. Later on I was called over to the table to sit and then lo and behold she had tied her owl puppet to the string and placed her own letter in it's arms and then let it slide down the rope to where I sat. I was gobsmacked and couldn't help but laugh. Apparently she took the "delivery by owl" rather literally.

Such a fun activity for us all.

Our First Poetry Teatime

Poetry teatime is a new term for me. I purloined it from Navigating By Joy's blog.

Basically you have a wee tea party and each person takes a turn to read a poem but click through to Lula's blog and the full explanation will be there.

We study poetry every week but this week, knowing how my girls love our tea parties, I decided to give Poetry Teatime a go.

Even though it's winter in NZ, as the day wasn't too bad I decided to set up on the deck. We had hot cacao (same as hot chocolate but made with cacao and sweetened with some organic blue agave), fruit (fresh and dried), some nut balls/truffles and mini Pavlova's with lemon yoghurt and cacao nibs. It was all pretty healthy but yummy!

The girls asked if they should get "dressed up" for the event. I suggested that as we were outside simply to make sure they were warm. Check out the hats they came back with! Seriously they are so theatrical at times.

We then ate, sipped hot cacao and took turns to read one of the three poems we had each chosen earlier in the day. Agent Smelly read her first poem with gusto. She chose one about winter, then a couple about animals.

The Fashionista, sporting a beret (who knows why) chose a Robert Louis Stevenson poem for her first and then her next two were more humourous by anonymous authors. We didn't read them all at once, but took it in turns to read one each.


I chose a Robbie Burns poem but was told that I had to read it in a Scottish brogue and being the dutiful mother I complied. They simply adore A Red, Red Rose which they were introduced to in the book, A Child's Introduction to Poetry, which we base our poetry lessons on. This book has all of the different kinds of poetry with explanations, and many famous poets from throughout history. It has an accompanying CD with professional actors reading the poems which you simply play when the "play track" symbol shows in the book.

 

 

It was a lovely way to spend an hour in the afternoon and my girls found it vaguely amusing when the country school buses started going past as we sat outside reading and eating.

Friday Funnies

We have been studying poetry this year and Agent Smelly, whilst not exactly a gifted poet, has taken to writing little poems in her spare time. She has, shall we say a rather unique style, which I thought I'd share with you cause they simply crack me up.

The cheeky genius 

There was a genius,
 He was quite cheeky,
 He was a rascal,
 And he was sneaky.   

 

 

White Fluffy Feet

 

There once was a little hamster with white fluffy feet,

And a poodle ran down the plain old street,

And the hamster looked at it for a while

and then the poodle said to it

"Who you lookin' at?"

 

 

and one of my faves ... cause what goes through this kids mind????

 

 

Love of Another

 

Love of another, that love is for you,

I am your lover, and how about you?

 

I gave my heart to thee,

and you looked at me and gave me a kiss ...

but then I realised it was only to make me shut-up!

 

 

This week I received an email from her, asking if I'd like be added to her mailing list and she'd send me two new poems every Friday. Of course I jumped at the chance ... goodness knows what gems of wisdom I'll receive!

 

Shakespeare for Kids

Recently I saw a book at the local library that had been highly recommended by Kendra who writes the fabulous and informative homeschool blog, Aussie Pumpkin Patch. It was the "Usborne Stories from Shakespeare" and because I had placed it on my wish list after reading her recommendation. I decided to borrow it to see if it lived up to my expectations.

Little Agent Smelly re-reading Shakespeare just for fun!

Well people let me tell you, forget my opinion, although it did turn out to be a very good book, a certain 11 and nearly 9 year old were over the moon with this book! I ended up reading them a story a day!  In this book are the plays, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Hamlet and it finishes with a short biography, The Life and Times of Shakespeare. The plays are of course written in language that the children can understand, with the occasional Shakespeare quote thrown in for good measure. The most perfect introduction to Shakespeare for young children.

This delightful book has inspired my girls to want to read more, and more and more of Shakespeare's works and luckily I managed to obtain 3 books, Leon Garfield's Shakespeare's Stories, Othello (The Young Readers Shakespeare) and Shakespeare's World - Health and Disease (a book on Tudor times through the plays and poetry of Shakespeare) from our local library on the sale desk for just 50 cents each. What a score!!!  We have started Garfield's book and it is also very good, it's just the next age group up from the Usborne book I think. The stories are a little longer and more detailed, which is perfect as they are getting more of actual Shakespeare's original works in this book but they aren't quite as easy to read as the Usborne one and they don't have the same lovely illustrations.

We also came across two of the girl's Grand-dad's books (the ones in red in the above photo). We think he may have used them at school as his name is written in the front and there are pencil marks and notes throughout them. The Fashionista was pretty excited reading all her Grand-dad's notes. The girls never got to meet their Grand-dad Doug, as he passed away before they were born and would be in his 90's if he was still around today so it is lovely that they could share in the same books that he used.

 

We also listened to these lovely audio versions of three of his plays as told by Jim Weiss. We love listening to Jim's story telling. He makes any story sound exciting.

 

We also watched Much Ado About Nothing, the Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson version, which I keep getting asked to rehire as they both thought it hysterically funny. I was actually rather surprised that they understood it to be honest. Note; For parents with young children there is a brief "uncomfortable scene" but it is integral to the plot. 

 

 

 

 

I do not like to spoil the enjoyment of a book by making them write book reports or laborious stories on what we've read but I did think that it might be nice to add Shakespeare to their Inspirational and/or Famous People journals. So I had them do some brief details on Shakespeare, details on his family, career, birth, death and their thoughts on him lap book style. We included a pocket with quotes (I was surprised at how many I knew too, although I didn't necessarily know they were his) and also another where we put pictures cards of his plays that I downloaded off the net. I put the play name and the year it was written under the picture. We haven't done it yet as I have only just purchased some star stickers, but they are going to pop stickers on those cards rating the plays that we have read with stars out of three.

 

I have got to say, although I hadn't planned to do Shakespeare this term, that it turned out to be so much fun, for us ALL. There was moaning, but it was for more of his works! We still have some plays to read but we'll take our time getting through them, now that we have some books of our own. We also plan to include some of his poetry in our poetry class next term.

"Surviving the Applewhites" Book Review

Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan

 

 

I found this book whilst searching for some stories written about homeschoolers. It had been a New York Times Bestseller and from the brief description on the blurb I thought the girls might enjoy it. I confess it wasn't quite what I thought it would be.

It's about juvenile delinquent, Jake Semple, who has been placed with his Granddad after his parents are supposedly in jail for growing marijuana and if that's not enough Jake smokes, swears, and supposedly burned down a school. It doesn't go into those things in a big way but I confess because it was a read aloud I kind of skipped a few words or sentences here and there.
 
It basically starts with Jake having being placed at the home (farm like setting, Wit's End) of the Applewhites after being expelled from another school and Granddad not knowing what to do with him.

The Applewhites are a totally eccentric, artistic, yet mostly likable family (it's an extended family with a Grandad and aunt and uncle also) who run a "Creative Academy" for their children i.e. they appear to unschool.

As a last option Jake is going to live with the family and attend their "Creative Academy", it's either that or juvenile hall. Early on Jake isn't too sure that he made the right choice as the Applewhites unconventional ways really bother him but then he starts to change for the better. Frankly amongst this larger than life group, many of the things he thinks will cause some angst (only wearing black, piercings, spiked hair) just gets ignored so he gives up bothering. The Applewhites are pretty mad and can be a little self-absorbed and totally happy to let people express themselves (except for the smoking which they are anti) in any way they want, I can't imagine a lot shocks them.
 
There are a few other characters that come and go, like Govindaswami who stays with the family to help sweet, Aunt Lucille with her meditating. Even some of the families animals are super funny, like Paulie Parrot (who has a potty mouth), some mad goats (just like ours were!) and a family dog who adopts Jake and follows him everywhere.
One of the daughters, smart, sensible, E.D., who believes she's the black sheep of the family, along with Jake (who she clashes with) serve as two of the more "normal" members of the household yet after a while they both end up involved in one of the families theatre productions and thus themselves caught up with all the madness.
 
Both my daughters absolutely LOVED it. Really loved it! They hounded me daily for another chapter or two or three and despite my surprise over a few swear words (from memory they are mild ones, as the swearing is mostly inferred) and a couple a of things, like the teen smoking and Jake's parents being arrested (it just tells you this happened to you know why he's at his granddads), it actually turned out to be a funny and enjoyable book.

It is very light-hearted (well it is aimed at tweens) and whilst suggesting some deep concepts doesn't really go into much character depth and reasoning. This gave way for us to have some discussions. We were able to discuss why we thought Jake and even E.D. behaved like they did. What the girls did and didn't like about the "Creative Academy" and how their household ran or didn't, IE discipline, boundaries, etc. So whilst I personally felt the story a little unrealistic (and I hope kids reading it don't think all people home school like the Applewhites) it did open up some great discussions and for a fun read it was great.
There are 217 pages in the paperback and it says on the back it's for ages 10 and up which is probably about right.

Inspirational People Review

As mentioned previously, last term we started reading some books on inspirational women as I want my girls to feel as though they can pretty much do whatever they set their minds too, same as these amazing ladies have done. These ladies have something else in common, despite their backgrounds they haven't "settled", they have followed their passion and in some cases their calling  from God, and gone on to happily achieve some amazing things.

To-date we have covered Helen Keller, Florence Nightingale, Amelia Earhart, and Dian Fossey. We were going to start on the magnificent Mother Theresa today but the girls did not really seem in the right frame of mind (beans in their pants) so I secretly decided to test them to see how much they had remembered on the ladies that we had already covered.

I sent them both off to the spare room (where the dress ups box lives) and asked them to come back dressed as one of the people that we have covered and sit down on the stool that I placed in the corner of the lounge room and tell me all about themselves.

Agent Smelly came down as Dian Fossey. She has a plastic leaf in her hands which she chewed on when she sat down, like Dian did when she tried to make friends with the gorillas. Then she told me some things about herself, actually remembering where she, Dian, had lived and studied the gorillas. I was quite impressed although I did need to ask some questions to prod her along a bit but she did very well considering it's been a few months since we studied Dian.

Not hard to guess who The Fashionista decided to come as ... "The Lady with the Lamp" ... Florence Nightingale. I didn't have to ask her as many questions as she was able to tell me quite a bit about herself. I was very pleased with her efforts too. Check out the pose will you, apparently she had to sit like Florence was on the front of one of the books. Her bonnet is actually off one of her old fashioned dolls ... she certainly gets and A for the outfit!


This activity was a huge success with both girls really enjoying the dressing up and pretending that they were a famous person. They had no idea that I was checking to see what they had actually learnt and retained, which was about what I expected them to have and in some cases I was pleasantly surprised. It's funny what they find important enough to have retained about a person. A little telling at times.


I will try this again with them and they are very keen to do it again, so I had better get a move along and teach them about some more inspirational people.

"The Imagination Station; Voyage with the Vikings" Book Review

The Imagination Station is a living history series. It is recommended for ages 7 and up and is christian based. In this first book we are introduced to the main characters, cousins Beth and Patrick, and Mr Whittaker, the inventor of the "Imagination Station" (time machine). There is an ongoing mystery in the background and in this volume the cousins must return to Viking times to obtain a Sunstone (and they don't actually know what one is) where they actually meet the Viking Erik the Red and his son Leif.

I read this first volume, like I always try to do for the books I get for the girls, just to see what they are about, and whether they are suitable for them (age and content wise). I confess, I enjoyed this lighthearted adventure so much, that I grabbed the second one off the shelf to see what happened next.

"The Imagination Station; Voyage with the Vikings"

Book review by The Fashionista aged 10 1/2

Two cousins, Beth and Patrick, go back in time using an invention of Mr Whittaker's that he called the Imagination Station. In this book they went back in time to the year 1,000 to find a Sunstone. They landed in Greenland and met, the Viking, Erik the Red.

I liked it because it was a fun adventurous book. The characters were cool because Beth is smart, Patrick is just a normal boy and Mr Whittaker reminds me of a nutty professor. I really liked Beth's viking outfit and found it amazing that they made Beth a slave because of her brown hair and Patrick was fair so they said he must be a viking. Also Erik the Red wanted Patrick's cape and thought he could just take it because of who he was. Erik would have probable killed them but for his son Leif and Hilda, Erik's wife, protecting them.

I learnt that back in those days Vikings were mostly violent and worshipped heaps of gods but a small group of them were peaceful Christians, like Hilda and Leif.

Another workbook completed!

Agent Smelly finished her first workbook in the Vocabulary with Classical Roots series today.

I wasn't going to start her on these yet but because big sister is doing them she just had to do them too!  She's pretty good at English subjects so I thought she could take her time to work away at them. She surprised me by doing it in quicker time than big sister.

The girls quite like these workbooks (as do I) so we'll continue on with them next year although because they are relatively short, I will try and eke them out a bit more.

Classic Kids Books

For the past few months we have been giving the girls a cent for every page they read of a book, on completion of said book. The money goes into a jar and can be used to purchase another book that they want. By the way this is not my idea, but one I purloined from my friend Kat, whose children are always reading without any prompting!

Sometimes I felt like the only homeschooling family that's children weren't into reading 

I am happy to say that this system has been working; they have been reading more. The only problem I have now, is that I have noticed that the books they have been choosing to read are what I would call "fluff". You know fairies, puppies, etc, Now whilst I don't have an issue with their choices, as I  myself like a good fluffy novel now and then, I would like for them to also incorporate some classical stories into their reading.

This is part of one of five of my FULL bookcases, unlike my girls I was a total bookworm and many of these were mine as a wee girl.


I have been thinking about what I can do to get them to read some good classics and came up with an idea which I shared with them today. They were so very excited at this prospect, that they had me making up the "envelopes" straight away.

I have listed a pile of books that I would like them to read, i.e. Heidi, Little Women, Stuart Little, Little House in the Big Woods, etc and written them each onto a piece of paper (I was planning to use and prettily decorate envelopes but the angels were a little desperate for me to get a move on! I may still do that though). Before folding and taping the paper closed I wrote a financial figure on the inside of the paper. Once they finish a book, they get to open the corresponding envelope and are "awarded" the amount of money listed inside. As a bigger incentive I even told them one envelope would have $5 on the inside so they are super keen to get that one.

I know it sounds a bit awful, I am really buying them off, but I am desperate for them to read some "good" books. I myself didn't always like the recommended "good/classic" books, but I still read them and I am really wanting them to stretch their reading skills. Please don't condemn me by appealing to their love of money. My little girls are saving for Lego ... which are also great for their creativity and fine motor skills and so on, so really it is a win, win situation ... anyone buy that? Nah, I am just buying them off but if they develop a love of fine literature it will be worth it!

What to do on a Lunch Break and A Comfortable Reading Nook.

We are having the most glorious spring weather so after the girls finished their lunch today I sent them outside and told them they had to stay out there until I called them in for some school work. OK, the nice weather was just an excuse ... I simply needed some peace and quiet and to pay some bills online!

When they came in from their play, they very excitedly shoved a camera in my face to show me yet some more new photos of their goats. Seriously, I think they could possibly be the most photographed goats in the world! I was a little surprised to see these pics had a slightly different twist to them.

Here's Miss Milly looking rather glam with a pink bow on one of her horns. She's such a sweet little princess.

And here's Mr Molly looking hip in his cap and chewing on some weed. He really is as dopey as he looks ... and often makes us laugh. 


After the break I asked the girls to go find a fun new, comfy reading spot, and do their reading whilst I set up for their art class on Georgia O'Keefe. I also find it gives them a chance to unwind before they get stuck into a long afternoon subject.

I turned around from prepping the table and spotted Agent Smelly. Apparently this position was "very comfy mama". This made me curious, I had imagined them snuggled up somewhere amongst cushions or on their beds, so I went in search of The Fashionista to see where she had ended up.

After walking into each of their bedrooms twice and not finding her, I then spotted her in the  bathtub. I didn't say a word but crept away and grabbed the camera. She later told me that because it was a little warm today that she had found the bathtub quite cool and relaxing and very quiet.

Granted I read in the bath whenever I can, but usually it's filled with water!

There are days like this that I think, "yes, homeschooled kids are a little different!" I'd like to say this is not a typical day in our homeschooling life ... but I think days like this are more common than not.

The Fashionista finally finishes Handwriting Level 4

Today The Fashionista completed her Targeting Handwriting Level 4 handwriting student book.

 

All done!

This is a recent page from her book.

I will be giving her a wee break from these books in order for her to put what she has learnt into practice. Then start her on level 5 next year in Term 1. The writing simply gets a bit smaller and she'll learn some fluency and speed joins at that level.

She only does a page a week (she does handwriting in other subjects too) as I don't like to rush them to complete the book. This book has taken her about 18months.

I would prefer their writing to be legible and easy for them to do.  Do you remember rushing as a kid and getting writers cramp? I used to write so quickly (and pretty messily!) and be constantly shaking my hand to relax it. The Pig on the other hand, presses really, really hard when he writes and so when I tear a page off the shopping list I can see what he wrote for about another 5 pages!

Grammar and The Fashionista

Well the little madam finally finished her First Language Lessons Level 3 today. She was thrilled. Maybe you can tell from her photo.

When we started on Level 1 and 2, I wasn't aware there was a Level 3 so we didn't continue with the series. Then I came across it online so decided to put her back onto it, as the girls had just loved Book 1 and 2. If there hadn't been a gap she would have completed it a year or two ago.  In fact Agent Smelly started it last term well ahead of her sister.

At this level there was a fair bit of diagramming, you know, the subject goes on the left, the verb to the right, the direct object after the verb on the graph and so on. She didn't find it at all difficult and really loved it to begin with. By the end of the book she had started to get a little bored with it. I am still scratching my head as to the relevance of it to be perfectly frank with you. Thank goodness I had a teachers manual (which is really easy to use!) or I would have been a bit lost in places. I did love the fact that they had to learn some Robert Louis Stevenson and William Makepeace Thackery poems as these writers have been on our list to read.

Based on The Fashionista becoming so bored with this towards the end and my wondering how important diagramming is I decided not to continue with the final book in the series but to switch her to a writing course. Up until recently she has really struggled with writing stories, even long answers to questions for that matter, so I have been really wanting to get her onto a program for it.

Helen Keller the end

Well we finished reading Helen Keller today and both girls really enjoyed it.


We had some fun signing into each others hands with our eyes closed, just as Helen had learnt, and we found it really difficult to do. We were OK with the vowels and from then on it was all downhill ... not to mention The Fashionista can't go five minutes without chatting (or giggling)!

I gave them a list of about 12 questions to answer to ensure that they had a good understanding of the book and also to see what they had gained from it.


Agent Smelly's answer to what she thought of Helen was, "I think she was brave. She didn't let her disabilites stop her". I think she fully summed up Helen Keller don't you think.


We are working our way through books on what I would call inspirational women. I want my daughters to be surrounded by these amazing ladies who have done incredible things with their lives. Next we'll take a look at Florence Nightingale. Who do you recommend that was or is an inspirational woman for us to take a look at?

Helen Keller, the beginning

Today we started reading Helen Keller, a scholastic biography, written by Margaret Davidson.

Although it is a really easy read, I want to read it out loud so that we have a chance to discuss it as we go through it. 

I stopped a couple of times, to have the girls close their eyes and to pop their hands over their ears to see if they could imagine how Helen felt and to give them an insight into her behaviour as a young girl before she met "teacher" and could communicate.

Both girls were absolutely captivated by the book and did not want me stop reading it and had to promise them that I would continue it again tomorrow, in order for them climb off my coffee table (where else does one laze in order to listen to their mum read to them?) and go and have their lunch.