Thursday, July 19, 2007

A Homeschool Morning




Was this morning a typical homeschool morning? Probably not. But it has been a pleasant morning, an enjoyable morning, with learning being our lifestyle ... so, I thought I'd share....

Gerry was off to work early and Alexander and I woke early-ish, to workout. I tidied, did laundry, checked email, asked kids to help me clean uo the kitchen ~ the usual.

Jonathon has spent time studying for his uni exam tomorrow ( Screen History and Research) and discussing the effect of TV and cable TV on cinema attendance. Thomas checked ninemsn for news and we got into a discussion on the Liberal government, on Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello.
Thomas and Anthony made a motorized model car - well, it is almost finished. Alexander tried reading more of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" in Latin, with a Latin dictionary nearby!

Anthony worked on folders for his role playing game - writing, diagrams, statistics; and he and Thomas played a computer game, discussing strategies. Everyone played music - guitar and piano, singing along, listening to CDs.

Anthony went on a bike ride around our small housing estate ~ by himself!

The kids played basketball and "guns" , involving running around our end of the cul de sac and trying to shoot each other with foam bullets and toy guns. :-)

And there has been a lot of reading ~ the spoiler of the new
Harry Potter book, an anthology of 1960s humour ( including Thurber and Belloc), an autobiography of a fighter ace of WW2, Choose Your Own Adventure Dr Who. Anthony found my copy of "The Nun's Story". I have been looking for that book for ages, wanting to re-read it after I re-read Godden's "In This House of Brede" earlier this year.

Thomas cooked dinner for tonight, ahead of time! ~ I helped.Spaghetti and Meatballs. Alexander made signs for my Kumon centre and I worked on Kumon paperwork and phone calls and emails and on the parish newsletter.

I read aloud a bit about the saint for today - Blessed Peter ToRot , from Papua New Guinea.

Now, time for more laundry and lunch . Alexander ( and others) are going to watch an old Dr Who TV episode over lunch, with book comparisons, of course, and then we are off to work at Kumon. Anthony will do some Kumon English reading and writing work, until Gerry picks him up at 5 or 6-ish, while the rest of us are working at the centre.

A pleasant winter school morning!

8 comments:

Cindy said...

Sounds fun!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the inside view, Leonie. SOunds like a very full day of learning and life.

Btw, is "The Nun's Story" good? In comparison to "House of Brede" what would you rate it?

I read "House of Brede" recently and would love to find a companion book as good, or almost as good.

Leonie said...

I like "The Nun's Story" and the reflections fit, for me, with the Brede book. But for even more of the same, have you read other books by Godden that fit in with the theme of convent life/interior life? - Five for Sorrow Ten for Joy ; Black Narcissus....

Anonymous said...

The only other Godden books I've read are a few of her children books and a biography about her.

I've heard often of Black Narcissus but have a nagging memory of something being dark about it. Perhaps it's just the name that fools me.

Which one should I try first?

Leonie said...

Black Narcissus is a bit dark but I like the exploraion of why people may choose a religious life and how they may deal with doubts, etc. Same goes for Five for Sorrow and the Nun's Story....

molly said...

Great look into your day! I love reading others natural living and learning entries.

molly said...

BTW....I did not rrealize I was coming up stacking marbles...it is me molly Mcgovern....

Leonie said...

Hi Molly!

Hope you and the kids and dh are doing okay. And I also love reading "typical homeschool" days! :-)