Signs and Wonders

Photo Take Friday

A few action shots from today's gym lesson

 

 

 

I added this one just because he's so cute.

Mary Moments Carnival for May

The month of May is dedicated to Mary in a special way, a month to honour her and to place ourselves in her maternal care. She is my mother in every sense of the word leading me and guiding me in all aspects of my life. Though it's as a mother myself, that I need her guidance, her example and her courage the most. As a mother her example is ever before me an example of lovingly and patiently submitting to the will of the father. If scripture tells us that what you do to the least of these you do unto me, then in each child’s face I should see the face of Christ. It stands to reason that I in turn should be striving to mother my children as she mothered Christ. Willing to walk with each one the road of Calvary, the sleepless nights, the hospital visits, the difficult child, are all opportunities to ask for her help and guidance to seek refuge with in her immaculate heart while always striving to imitate her and to draw closer to her Divine Son.

It is in echoing her “yes” to the will of the father that I in turn will draw closer to the Son. Allowing her to lead me in every aspect of my life, submitting my will and my life into her care and seeing in her the magnification of the Lord can only draw me into greater union with my Lord and my God.

A Simple Woman's Day Book - May 25th

 

Be sure to stop over at Peggy's and check out this weeks Simple Woman's Day Book.

Out side my window.... Everything is wet and soggy after days of flooding rain and the rolling grey sky still threatens more rain ahead 

I am thinking.... About party plans, guest lists, shopping lists and most importantly are we going to have FINE weather.

From the learning rooms...Encouraging the children to independently and diligently finish the work assigners in their work box's.

I am thankful for... That the rain has eased and that the levee protecting our local town wasn't breached and for children who are willing and able to cook a wonderful meal for our large family.

From the kitchen....The smell of marinated chicken fills the house, it's Erin's turn to cook tonight so I get to enjoy the wonderful aromas an delicious tastes with out having to do the hard work.

I am creating.... Crochet roses for our Lady.

I am going....    To start crocheting a blanket this week.

I am reading....  Understanding ADHD by Dr Christopher Green

 I am hoping.... That the rain stops and the ground dry's out before our upcoming birthday celebrations.

I am hearing.... Children rolling a ball to each other down the breeze way, the phone ringing, sounds of dinner being prepared in the kitchen along with a somewhat intense conversation between siblings.

Around the house.... Mike and the children are wading through mud to feed and milk the animals

A few plans for the rest of the week.... Doctors appointments, catching up with the laundry and trying to get some pre birthday party cooking in the freezer.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you....

Flood Photo's

As you may be aware the last few days have seen South East Queensland and Northern NSW deluged with flood water as storms move through the regions. Here are a few photo's of the flooding in our area.

Michael has been off work since mid morning Thursday and the above photo shows why the school is still closed today (Monday). This photo was taken from a service station across from the school and shows just how much water is covering the road into the school.

Another view from the service station near school.

This photo was taken from behind the presbytery Fr always has a wonderful view of the river but this is probably a little close for comfort.

These steps usually lead down to a grassed area beside the river.

This is taken from behind the Catholic church

So you can get an idea just how high the water came up here is a photo taken on Good Friday this year of the area behind the church. To take this this photo yesterday you would be standing in water.

If this photo had been taken Good Friday you would be able to the see the grass cross on the river flat that is now covered in flood water.

The local sporting fields resemble a lake.

Making A Hanging Bird Feeder

First smear an empty toilet roll with peanut butter.

 

Then roll it in bird seed

 

Thread string through the middle.

 

And hang in a tree, make sure your feeder is out of the reach of the family dog because he likes them to.

 

I think he's wearing most of his peanut butter!

Encouraging Independence in Learning

A few weeks ago some friends had quite a discussion on using workbox systems in their home schools. The whole thing was intriguing but seemed quite overwhelming to me. With eight children from pre -school and to year nine I would need 96 box's to implement this system within my homeschool. I thought about using with only some children but I new the others would want to join in as well. We have a variety of special needs in our family ranging from Down Syndrome to learning difficulties such as dyslexia and this system seems ideal in encouraging those children that are easily distracted to stay focused and complete their set work.

The workbox system is a set of organised activities/school subject area's divided into 12 shoe size box's everything the child needs to complete the activity is found inside the box and the child moves from one activity to the next through out the day. As I said this was just to over whelming for me, I couldn't imagine where I would fit those 96 box's. The more I thought about it though the more I liked the idea of having a number of activities ready and organised so that when I was busy with one child the others would have work to carry on with.

This is what I came up with

A cardboard archive box, brought in a pack of ten from Big W. We then covered the front of each box with craft paper and each child decorated their own box. I then used twelve hanging file folders and numbered them. Each night I place an activity into each folder along with any materials need to complete the activity. Any items that are to large to fit in the folder gets placed into the box behind them. When the children complete their work it is placed into a completed work folder to be checked by mum and to be filed away according to the board of studies subject areas. These are then easily paced and stored at the end of the school year but are still organised and accessible when our bi - yearly registration for home schooling comes around.

As I mentioned before we have a variety of needs within our family and for those who are not reading yet I have taken photo's and used the pictures to show them what is required. They in turn can complete a project taking photo's as they go in order to record their work. As for high school instead of numbering the folders I have labelled them according to the board of studies subject areas each day they take their daily assignment from the folders and work their way through each, again when the work is completed it goes into the completed work folder to be checked off by me and filed away.

Today is the first day we have used our new system and despite a day that held more then it's fair share of outside distraction most of the children were able to happily complete their set work and enjoyed the extra activities I included just for fun. Let's hope they are able to keep it up.

 

A Simple Woman's Day Book - May 18th

Be sure to stop over at Peggy's and check out this weeks Simple Woman's Day Book.

Out side my window....This mornings clear blue sky is giving way to grey rain clouds. The house cow and her calf are bellowing to each other one on either side of the house as we endeavor to ween the calf

I am thinking.... About what I need to pack for our trip to Brisbane

From the learning rooms...I have been trying to encourage the children to work more independently. I love the workbox idea but the reality is that I would need at least 96 boxes to cover the twelve learning activities for my eight students. I have mulling the whole concept over and hopefully come up with a system that will encourage the children to be more independent, and will have them all working even when mum is busy helping another child.

I am thankful for...  For hospital staff that are flexible and willing to change appointment times so that I need only travel to Brisbane once in a month.

From the kitchen....Yummy chocolate muffins, marinated chicken and baked veggies

I am creating....   A least I hope I'm creating a life long love of learning in my children.

I am going....    To out to milk the cow

I am reading....  St. Francis Salano by Mary F. Windeatt

 I am hoping.... That we don't get to much rain in the coming weeks, heavy rain is forecast for later this week and we are only just starting to dry out from the floods a few weeks back. We are putting in a new septic system and it installation has already been postponed twice due to the weather.

I am hearing....  Children playing and singing in the family room, two mournful cows calling to each other and some baby goats bleating in the paddock.

Around the house....I have completely emptied and cleaned the the kitchen cupboards and with any luck I will have everything put away before we need to use the table for tonight's meal.

A few plans for the rest of the week.... A midwifes appointment, an overnight stay in the Mater Children's hospital followed by a day of specialist appointments. Plus our regular home school activities on Friday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you....

Getting Organized

Baby is due in 10 weeks and well, I'm nesting, Cleaning like mad, throwing out and putting in order. My children are hoping that when the new baby arrives my attention will be focused on our precious little one and they will be able let things slide er relax a little in the house keeping department. I on the other hand am endeavoring to put into place some sort of system that will encourage the children to continue with their new found cleaning prowess. When my eldest children were younger we had a point score system that allotted points for chores completed these points were then redeemable for computer or TV time. They have been urging me for some time to implement something similar with the younger children to encourage them to attend to their chores in a more timely manner.The system I used in the past was time intensive for me and as time is of a minimum (I have added at least four children to the mix since then) I have revised the system some what. The chore board above is the result, each child is identified by a colour and the laminated business size cards have been printed with various chore reminders. Each morning I place the appropriate chore cards on the board and as the children complete each task they remove the associated card and place it in the envelope at the bottom of the row. In order to get their allotted time on the computer they must have all their chores completed each day. I should add that not all the cards contain chores some are printed with reminders to clean their teeth or practise the piano things that they need to do each day but find hard to remember unless mum nags  gently reminds them. So far the system is working well, I can see at a glance who has done what and the children have a constant visual reminder that they have certain responsibilities to attend to each day.

Fun time photo shoot

Erin started a photography coarse a few weeks ago and has been madly snapping photos at every opportunity. Here are a few she took of Brigid earlier in the week.

Our Sweet birthday Boy

!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! dear boy. You bring so much laughter and joy to our home each and every day. We love so very much.