Christmas on a Budget: Decorations

After our snowflakes and gifts, we decided to start with some trees for decorations.  With a tight budget, its easier to work with materials you already have in your home of with materials that others might have in abundance.  I am sure that all of you have magazines or know someone with lots of magazines.

Magazine Christmas Trees Tutorial

This is simply one of my favourite crafts, because I always  have loads of magazines and though we craft all the time, I defnitely don't use them all up.

Step 1

One magazine.  Sorry Pick 'n Pay - I love your magazine but today you are being used for craft! You don't need to get this specific magazine, any glossy one will do.  Just watch out for those Popular Mechanics because I know that I wasn't very popular when I suggested using them arts and crafts.  My hubby definitely did not see the humour in that suggestion at all.

Step 2:  

Open to the first page.  (keeping the step simple:)

Step 3

I could probably do this wordlessly but I have a friend who blogs who really detests lots of pictures, so the only way I can keep her motivated to keep scrolling down is to let her think that I might have something interesting to say.  Plus I was reminded this week on more than one occassion that the fact that I haven't blogged for a week is ...... let's just say .... unacceptable!  Well that will teach me, can't start a blog and though go MIA (yes missing in action!)

So fold to the centre.

Step 4

Fold again.  It looks almost like the beginning of a paper plane.

Step 5

Move it over to the left.

Step 6

And now you start from the beginning and repeat.

Step 7

Cut the bottom points off.  You're doing this otherwise the tree won't stand up straight but topple over. 

Step 8

Pull off the magazine cover. Don't worry if a page comes off with it.  Some of the covers come off that way. This is what it will look like from the back after cutting and removing the cover.

 

And if you put it against the wall, it looks fabulous. 

And if you make lots of them, which we did because we have lots of children.... just in case you didn't know (4 and counting:)

And if you want to add the stars on a stick like we did, you can find a template here

We didn't try this, but I am sure you could make an amazing centrepiece, simply by sticking two of them together with glue and adding the star.

Happy Crafting!

Online programs and software we use

As you know from last week's post, we use online programs and software for all sorts of reasons, but how about a look inside this homeschooling room in South Africa - to find out what we use in the WILD!  (Excuse my rather tongue-in-cheek comment but for some reason - a lot of people still believe we have giraffes and lions roaming in our backyard.)  Online programs are part of our daily homeschool routine and it's lots of fun with lots of variety.

Online Review Products

I always have a few of these running.  I love trying out new products and with such a range of young children aged 4 to 11, I have the perfect group of sample testers. They enjoy the variety and they are brutally honest.  I definitely do not write a positive review for anything that I don't think is great. If it's mediocre or less I don't.

Memrise

The children use this for our Mandarin character writing.  There are currently more than 3000 characters to be learnt and the boys are on about 100 or so characters.  This is done online and there are more than 200 languages and courses available here.  I make this part of their learning routine on a daily basis, except when things don't go according to plan:)

Rosetta Stone Homeschooling Edition

 This is a software program which we bought and imported.  We use this as the basis for our Mandarin learning.  I have heard that there are very similiar programs out there which cost a lot less with the same type of format.

Learn Chinese Online
Though the children use Memrise for Chinese character recognition, there is no opportunity to practice writing the characters themselves and so I looked all over the place to find a site -which for the moment, is the one they use.  It shows them what order to write their strokes which is systematic and can include more than 16 different strokes for a really complex character.

Seterra

They use this for social sciences and which helps them to know continents, countries and cities - it's a free map quiz game that can be download onto a computer. It's a race against time.  You should try it with your children.  Nothing is more motivating than competing against mom and dad.  My boys are also naturally competitive, especially the older two, and they compete for 1st and 2nd place all the time.  Chad struggles with the names of some of the places as they are difficult to pronounce and some are fairly foreign sounding.  I would recommend this for Grade 3 or older (including high school).

Moneyville

A recent discovery and very appealing in its presentation.  It's all about learning about using money, saving and working.  Of course there are adventures and rewards.  Even time travel which by the way, needs to be paid for by work.  Which is great because, as they get to know that nothing is for free.  All my children enjoy this, even I do - it's not very complicated.  Definitely for age 6 to 8.  Though Declan (11) enjoyed this, I don't think any sustained activity for him would hold much interest.  More for screen time days than learning days but one I know they enjoy.

There is a wizard, - but he is a rather harmless fellow and I just instructed the children not to pay too much attention to him.

Reading Eggs
I have written about this product a number of times and all I can say is - we love it!

BBC Mat Typing

This is a great place to get those typing skills that every child needs.  Yes even boys.  If there's a computer in the house then at least teach them how to type quickly.  These days, touch typing is a life skill.  Then they truly will have all the information they need at their fingertips:)

Chess Kid

What my children love about this site is that they have the chance to compete against children from all over the world.  Whoever is online at the same time is the next competitor.  And if your children are new to Chess, there is even a brief video explaining how to play or if they already play but want to improve there are videos about that too.  And of course safety measures have been put into place, so that you as mom can ensure that your children don't meet any dodgy people online.  All games are matched according to age and ability too which means that a new learner is not thrashed online the first time they try.



There have been a number of programs and software learning systems which we have used in the past that were excellent resources too but I wanted to write about the ones we are using at the moment.  We are constantly changing the software we use and are always on the lookout for something that will work for our family. 

I would love to hear what software programs you are currently using in your homeschool?  Do you use a computer based program or an Internet based program?

Photo Journal of Cape Explorers

You may remember that I mentioned that one of the extra mural activities that my children participate is something called Cape Explorers, run by a fellow homeschooler.  And so the adventure has begun!  Besides painting T-shirts at our first meet - we have now ventured forth into the world of explorers and adventurers and our first visit was to Cape Union Mart where we were given the opportunity to brave the elements and try out some of the equipment used by those who would brave the elements.

Chad attempting the climbing wall

Listening as they are given the rules of engagement with all the adventure equipment

Not for the fearful i.e. mothers!

Ethan on the climbing wall again, and again and again, and again... and finally dragged off home

In the ice chamber of minus 14 degrees - freezing

Building tents - or trying to

Ruthie in the rain chamber - she loved the fact that it was pouring and she wasn't getting wet. 

All the little ones went into the rain chamber together - too precious for words.

Teacher Karen giving Chad the run down on wall climbing

And some mom's just had the chance to hang out with their kids - aren't they beautiful?

So good that all the little ones could do something together and not be left out!

The next time we meet we are headed to the Green Point Lighthouse which promises to be a thrilling and height defying adventure!  

When to use online programs or software

I have a natural adversity to web based programs for my children which is pretty ironic considering how much time I spend online myself.  I just know that even as an adult, maintaining healthy boundaries in this area can be soooo difficult - and even more so for our children.  And yet I have found some really awesome programs - like Reading Eggs and Memrise - which all my children loved and argued over every day.

Homeschooling is all about discovery and learning

We have rich full days and most of the time I wonder how I can fit in all the opportunities for discovery and learning, never mind the more demanding book work.  Part of my daily challenge is to decide what to include and what to leave out.  Online programs and software is something we use almost every day.

* To supplement something we are already learning

It's great to use software that will add to what you are already learning, we use all sorts of software - some online and some that have been downloaded onto our computers.  

*  For busy or sick days

A doctor's appointment with one of the children, fielding business calls for my husband when he is out training the masses, an unexpected visitor, the days when I am still in my fluffy pink gown at 11am and desperately need to go and shower and get dressed - these are the days where online activities are a God sent strategy!  We are very blessed to have 2 fairly old laptops and a desktop and so these keep the older 3 boys busy and Ruthie gets the chance to watch one of her favourite video's like Strawberry Shortcake.

I know that I could leave them with other book work but I find that I have to have a multitude of conversations through the shower door, interruptions on the phone and with visitors or an endless stream of questions for work that they don't understand.  With this they are so busy - you could hear a pin drop.

* To change the pace of the day

Some days just don't work.  Nothing seems to be running smoothly.  The children are lethargic or distracted, my patience is running thin and I have explained something three times with 4 blank faces looking back at me.  Sometimes I need to change the pace.  Change the focus, so I can take a moment, and they can gather themselves.  A bit of fun and a learning experience for 30 minutes and then everyone is back on the same page.

*  Sneaky learning

I often feel frustrated because there is just so much to learn about and so many fun things to find out about but there are just not enough hours in the day.  We do screen time over the weekend but on rainy days when sport is cancelled or when the children have free time and they ask to play on the computer, I occasionally let them on condition that they only use the learning software I have.  Though it's not just games, the activities are so much fun that they don't even notice.

* Academic Feedback

A number of the programs that we use have assessments included, which is a great way for me to see how they have grasped a specific section of work and some of them even email me the results of what they have done, how much time they spent doing it and how well they have done it.

* Ensure that non busy students don't disrupt the rest of them

When one of my children are working very quickly in a section of work I allow to them to use the relevant software, while we wait for the rest to finish what they need to do.  It stops them from causing distractions and disrupting the rest of the children.

* Motivation and Rewards

Working slowly and getting distracted is one of my biggest challenges with the children.  They like to chat and discuss what they are doing, retell a story about what happened yesterday or just deviate to every other subject under the sun.  Computer time on these programs is offered as motivation for hard work and work done quickly.

Online activities keep little ones busy while you are teaching their older siblings

* Keeping little ones busy

Ruth who is 4 cannot sit around while her brothers are busy with one on one times with mom.  She entertains herself with toys and the like for short periods of time but sometimes I need to have some dedicated time with one of the boys.  I have a few excellent programs I use for her which are fun, read stories to her, and even sing songs and teach her riddles.  It makes the day a lot easier to manage when I can use these resources, this mom is under far less pressure.


I am always on the lookout for new web based learning activities and programs (which is probably why I love reviewing them) because when I find a good one, we just dive right in and use it until the children can't bear the site of it anymore or something better and newer comes along.

When do you use online programs and software in your homeschooling day?

Great Calendars for Children

There is so much that is celebrated or remembered from history.  Each of them a learning experience and an opportunity to make your homeschooling experience fun and relevant.  Looking back is so useful as it reminds children that who we are today is a result of who has gone before us.  Also children often think things just exist and it's a lovely reminder that someone discovered or invented  an item before it could exist.  I have found some lovely calendars and use one or all of them at the same time.

Calendars are great for any homeschooling mother.  You could use it for circle time, or just to start the day.  I find that it opens up all sorts of discussions and also for topics for your journal.  The best way to use these is a daily practice.  And for those of you that unschool this is really a great opportunity to open up doors of interest for further study.

Here are some of the best online calendars I have found so far:

Scholastic

I love this one, colourful, relevant and with the occasional website which is great for further reading.  This is definitely my favourite.

Kinder Art

This calendar is more like a crafting calendar based on what's happening.  This is a great one if you are looking to do arts and crafts with your children more frequently.

Motherhood on a Dime

Though not quite a monthly calendar this calendar is for summer, fun activities to make summer holidays exciting and entertaining!  I know we are experiencing a South African winter at the moment but many of these can be used for any season or any day when you want to avoid book work at all costs.  (yes those days happen too)

Family Crafts

Lots of links, too many to even mention

Crayola

This is another great site with lots of arts and crafts, also unit study approaches to some of the topics.

Se7en + 1

Blogger Se7en +1 has also created her own calendars and in fact every month she will give you a free calendar to print, as well as loads of links to books that complement any of the mentioned events.

Enchanted Learning

I would definitely use this site in conjunction with the other calendars. This one does quizzes and questionnaires on the events.  So it requires some reading or research before you could actually attempt some of these.

Reading is Fundamental

Reading is fundamental has created a calendar which encourages your children to read a book, do research or look online for more information about any of the topics listed.  You could have your children reading all day and I really think that this will help with encouraging a more active reading style, without very much effort on your part.

PBS Kids - Raising Readers
This one is definitely aimed at younger children but such lovely activities and a lot of outdoor fun things to do!

Nourish Interactive

These guys offer you a food and holiday calendar which you can download and print off.  Great for putting up against your wall.

Have you found any others?  Please leave a comment and share!

The Lowdown on Extra Mural Activities

After having posted recently on the extra mural activites that we do as a family which include:
Sport, Creative Expression, Spiritual Growth and Learning Enrichment - some of you spoke to me personally about feeling quite inadequate, lacking in someway in comparison or just feeling overwhelmed.  And so I felt it was important to bring some balance to these articles.  I would like to just emphasise some points which I think are important to consider.

*   Everything doesn't happen all the time or every day. A number of the listed activities only happen once a month, some are only once a week and some are only when I am up to it.  The only activity we do a lot of is Nippers, as their schedule is very busy.  The lists may look long, but the aim of these articles - is to emphasise balance.  We need to consistently weigh up what our children are involved with, so that we don't place special emphasis or have a slanted activity program based on our own interests/like/dislikes.  We need to see the child as a whole and to help grow and develop all aspects of who they are.

*  Extra murals do not have to cost a lot.  I don't send my children to tennis lessons (though they love it) because we can't afford it.  A lot of the monthly activities cost a minimal amount, and are affordable to us as a family.  Don't get into debt to do activities - and what you can't pay someone to do, you can do yourself.  There was a long time where we couldn't afford swimming lessons and so I found an amazing online program which shows you with online videos and activities, how to teach your child to swim.  It meant having to get into the water with them, and being the instructor - but if you really want them to do it, then do it with them.

Look for open days for museums and local attractions - so many of these places have special deals over off peak seasons/ holidays or specials on public holidays. 

You do, I do - have turns to organised extra mural activities - there are so many fun things you can do if you partner with other moms or if you are part of a co-op.  If you're not - start your own.  Cooking, photography, art, sewing, sculpture, outreach to community projects, volunteering... the list is endless.

*  Your children are different to mine - obvious but something we all forget.  We are all prone to comparing and forgetting that we are so different.  Don't try and do what we do, because this is the Grant Family not your family.  Even the fact that Sean works from home influences the dynamics of how it all fits together.  He works from home and is therefore able to take time out to do some activities with the children.  Your husband might not be as available or willing after a long day at the office and peak hour traffic.

*   We go through seasons of busy times to quiet times, work and rest, play and learn.  Consider your season and enjoy it!  Just don't go into hibernation:)  Cabin fever is not good for the children and for mom!

 *  Age plays a vital part in your choice of activity.  You may have noticed how many activities we are involved in, but only a few of them are applicable to Ruthie, who is only 4.  She plays more than anything else where ever we go and that's fine.  Soon she too will start Nippers (or Starfish for her age) but for the moment she just wants to play play play. She loves her swimming lessons and she is doing so well. And that's enough for her.

* Location, Location, Location :  when we lived in a little "dorpie" (town for my English readers) in KwaZulu Natal - there was a  lot less places to go to.  Our homeschooling community was also tiny!  But here in False Bay in the Western Cape, homeschoolers are everywhere.  Also if you only have one car, like we do - and Sean takes the car for work (which always gets preference in our house) - we need to be able to get to where the activities are. Now fortunately we live along the train line so we use the train a lot. The children love it and it enables us to go to a lot of  places. However, there are also a lot of places we would  love to go to that we can't when we don't have the car, because sadly in South Africa (yes even in the Western Cape) - a lot of the infrastructure is rather poor.

Building balance into your children's lives - growing them in their relationship with God, their relationship with others, in stature and mind - this is your key.  Don't try and do everything and don't leave one of these things out.  And while you are building balance into their lives - don't forget to do the same for yourself mom - they need you and they need you to be looking after you too.

Have a great weekend filled with new experiences and special moments!

Linking up with Wise Woman Link-Up,  Women Living Well,  Raising Homemakers

Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities: Spiritual

I believe that though one's life as a Christian cannot be compartmentalised, it's important to ensure that my children participate in extra curricular activities that are spiritual in nature - that feed their soul, remind them of who they are in God and develop good healthy relationships with the church.  I want to encourage them to enjoy fellowship, the gathering of the saints and being part of a body - at a young age.  We study the word and pray every day with our children but if we relied only our input into their lives, they would be limited in their growth.  This gives them many opportunities to grow, to be challenged, to  learn and to have fellowship.

There are a number of spiritual extra curricular activities our children are involved in on a weekly basis:

Youth

Friday we priortize Youth, which for us happens at a local church.  The balance of fun and the gospel is a winning combination for us. It has included carnival days, youth camps and excursions.  Of course if there is a themed holiday club we are the first to sign up. I always endeavour to find Christian based activities that remind them that life with God is not always about struggles and sacrifice but that you can have lots and lots of fun while walking with Him and others.

Life Group

Though our children are not actively involved in our lifegroup (for some of you that might mean Bible Study or Cell Group), again its an opportunity to get together with families in our church and beyond while studying the word, praying and lots and lots of laughter.  The children normally play in the other room but they are very aware of what's going on and they get to spend time with their friends.  And of course cake and chatting afterwards is always a winner.

As parents we are modelling something to our children.  Fellowship, Prayer, Faith, Friendship - the list is endless.  They are often part of worship and prayer, putting into practice some of the things they read about in the Bible or hear in our Bible Study time.

Friendships

Meaningful relationships are important to adults and children alike.  Though I think you can spend time with almost anyone, our closest friends need to be people who have the same love for God as we do.  This is not exclusive in nature but rather a way to encourage our children to ensure that the people they walk the closest to, are like minded.  It's easy to think that these like minded souls can only be found in your own church or denomination but we have really enjoyed getting to know a number of Christians in the valley who are not members of our church.

Through our other sport, learning enrichment and creative extra mural activities - there are lots of opportunities to build relationally with others, often the activity you are busy with, will keep you from forging deep friendships.  So we need to make time.  And we do.  We limit the number of times we do this in a week, as it can get really busy, so much so that our house is a shambles and my husband has to wait for supper - but we do make a point of scheduling time for friendships every week.

There are moms that I spend time with who are my spiritual sisters and so I love that our children can build lasting relationships with their children.  They might not be the same age but I believe in giving my children the opportunity to build cross- racial, cross- generational and cross -cultural relationships that span a variety of ages.  Older and younger.  A chance to follow and be followed.  Hopefully children that younger children can look up to and friendships with older children who will help them grow and challenge them to greatness.

So those are our spiritual extra curricular activitie, just one type of extra curricular activities we are involved with.

See the other posts on Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities in:

*  Enrichment

* Creativity

* Sport

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.  We hope you enjoy the
 carnival as much as we have!

This month's blog carnival is being hosted by Trixi's HomeEd Academy

Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities: Creativity

What I often love about extra curricular activities while homeschooling, is that often there are opportunities for the children to engage with other very noble, wise and talented individuals - while Mom gets some head space.  Yes I do need it occasionally. 
Creativity is not one of my strengths but I love artistic expression in different forms.  The more varied, the better.  I don't just want my children to be limited to arts and crafts, though they do that too, but I want them to experience the joy of creating whether its from a piece of wood, beads, paper or wood.  The sky is the limit.  And so where there is an opportunity for creative expression, we do it.

Tekioo

Forget the fancy name - this is all about woodworking (formally - design and technology workshops).  This is a new company based in the Western Cape.  The boys have had the chance to really grow in their creative and handwork skills. So far we've got birdfeeders, plant holders and picture frames, all made out of pine wood and handcrafted.  I love the fact that they get to play with power tools without me having to be around to watch.  I don't think I could bare it.  Normally the group is about 10 large, at someone's house -and we all have turns to bring a snack.  It's a real winner - hammers, nails, drills, sander - and no mom!

Music

Once a week they go to music lessons, where the children are given the opportunity to play all those instruments you and I used to play when we were at school - recorders, xylophones, triangles, tambourines and drums. And they learn the theory of music, playing a variety of instruments - though recorder seems to be the base instrument to learn the theory. You can imagine what practise time sounds like with 3 boys playing recorders when they are not yet fully proficient.  Let's just say that I prefer to be outside hanging up washing during their practise sessions (which says a lot).  And and top of that, Ruthie has her own recorder and just practices artistic expression - a real cacophony.(no that's not a swear word, it means lots of noise - you can relax now)

The children also have further music lessons individually in drumming and guitar. A lot of this is also practised  with online programs and at home.  I don't believe that lessons always need to cost money.  There are so many free online resources available that you can use to help your child grow in this area.

Cooking

This is an especially fun activity to do.  I have spent large chunks of my afternoons teaching my children to cook, bake and prepare all sorts of delicious treats.  I want to raise my children to be good husbands and wives (and of course - children when they bless their mother with a night off)

I allow them to choose an item to cook, they make the shopping list and then make whatever it is that they have chosen with varied levels of intervention depending on their age.  I have had to deal with overcoming my desire for perfection, and let them get on with their creations - I only help when they ask.  I sometimes ask questions which helps them to stay focused.  It can make the difference between a teaspoon of salt versus a tablespoon - which could be a real problem.  

Cooking at the Dairy Expo with some well known food bloggers

They love this activity so much they fight over who is next.  I hope to continue to inspire them in excellence and creativity in the kitchen, that they will never fear something unknown and be radically adventurous in their choices.  

Cultural Excursions

We love the theatre - be it dance, song, music, ballet, ice skating, fairy tales or dramatic productions of well loved books.  We always try to take our children to at least one theatrical production a term.  It doesn't sound like much but it does get really expensive to pay for a family of 6.  We have also been invited on occasion to review a new show. that would appeal to families with children. which has been a real privilege and a real treat.

Arts and Crafts

This is something we do frequently.  When we can't get out to sport because of the weather, and we are housebound - rather than switch on a television (no matter how tempting that might be), we bring out the art supplies.  Box construction is a firm favourite of the boys.  Lots of boxes of various sizes, lids, glue and paint - and then they are able to make whatever they want.  After a two or three hour session they have designed robots, ships, sailboats, aeroplanes and buildings.  Though my eldest is 11, he still loves this activity.  They initially struggle, as you can seem them having to switch brain hemispheres and off they go.

Often its just a large blank piece of newspaper print and they create a new world, all of them working on one  scene, cities with strange creatures or the jungles of Africa.  In all of this there is just the freedom of expression and the opportunity to create and create and create.  Awesomeness!

So that's extra curricular activities for creative expression, just one type of extra curricular activities we are involved with.

See the other posts on Homeschooling and Extra Curricular Activities in:

*  Enrichment

* Spiritual

* Sport

This post features on the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers (SACH Bloggers) where South African home schoolers share experiences, ideas, philosophies and much more. You can join the carnival too by heading to the South African Carnival of Homeschool Bloggers sign up page.  We hope you enjoy the
 carnival as much as we have!

This month's blog carnival is being hosted by Trixi's HomeEd Academy