Friday 18 March 2016

Weekly Review: a first and some changes...

A prayer for the start of the day:

Lord I commit this day to You;
All I am and all I have belong to You.
Help me today to seek Your face,
Believe Your Word 
And trust Your grace.


*  After a previously unsullied record of no broken bones - a pretty good achievement I thought, with four boys who play soccer, ride skateboards, unicycles, and generally horse around - Hoggy is now in plaster. A 'friendly' game of soccer and an awkward fall resulted in a broken hand bone. Fortunately, he hasn't needed surgery. I said to him, "At least it isn't your right hand." He replied, "Mum...??" I forgot he was left-handed. It's like going back in time...this morning I tied his shoelaces for him & turned up the cuffs in his shirt. Moozle was buttering his toast & slicing cheese for him the other day.





*   I've written a few posts on the transition from home education to tertiary education. Australian Universities usually require some formal evidence of a student's education and we've gone about that in a couple of different ways (see the 'Graduating from Homeschool' page at the top of this blog).
We were planning a similar approach with Benj, but an opportunity came up for him to study a Certificate IV in The Liberal Arts two days a week through the Augustine Academy. It's the first time something like this has been offered in Australia, that I'm aware of, and it's exciting to see other pathways opening up for homeschooling students & especially one focussed on the Liberal Arts. Yippee!!

The chief aim of the Academy is to cultivate a love of learning and of its end, the Truth. Its secondary purpose is to provide students with an entrance into university.


Benj has had an orientation week and completed the first week of lectures. They are starting with Ancient History so I'm changing our AmblesideOnline plans to fit in with this which means using selections from Year 12 instead of Year 11 at this point. We will adjust as we go depending on his workload.
I'll write more about this later on!

*  Progress! Almost done. I just have to sew the binding on now using the dark blue material. This is Zana's 21st birthday present (she just turned 23). It's taken me three years to get to this point. A lovely lady I know did the quilting. I've only done hand quilting and if my poor girl had to wait for me to do it myself she would probably be 33 before she got it.
Dresden plates - lovely, but a real pain to sew!










Detail of the off-white border


*  We're in the throes of planning Hoggy's 21st Birthday party. Actually, he's doing most of the planning and organising with help from Dad. I'll just have to bake a few hundred muffins and mini quiches.

*  Our reading:

Moozle is reading through the Ann of Avonlea books (yet again) and re-reading The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge for the third time. We're doing quite a bit of Australian History which I've adapted to fit AO Year 5 and I've been pleased with our book selections. Engaging with just the right level of challenge. The most challenging book in this year would be 'Passion for the Impossible: The Life of Lilias Trotter,' by Miriam Huffman Rockness but being the story of a woman with a great artistic gift, Moozle's quite happy to listen to me reading it aloud.




Benj - he recently finished, I Will Repay by Baroness Orczy and The Odyssey, and has started The Spartan, an AO Year 12 book which fits in well with the history he's studying in his course.
While on the subject of Ambleside Online Year 12, I listened to this TED talk by Mike Rowe today which is scheduled under Supplementary Speeches: Learning From Dirty Jobs.  It starts off with a description of sheep castration (!!) but progresses into some very interesting observations regarding physical work and our attitude towards it. What really grabbed me was his comment on the pervasive idea in our society that you 'follow your passions.' This is something we've given a lot of thought to as it has related to our own children finishing their home education and looking at a future vocation.

 Follow your passion -- what could possibly be wrong with that? Probably the worst advice I ever got...that's all I heard growing up. I didn't know what to do with my life, but I was told if you follow your passion, it's going to work out.

As Rowe observed (paraphrased), 'Step back and watch where everyone else is going and go the other way.'



Me - I managed to finish some books on our holidays: I Will Repay; Cover Her Face by P.D. James; Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh and Dombey & Son by Charles Dickens, which I started last year.
And I've started some new books: Consider This by Karen Glass and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.






*  Dinner Prep - I really have to start this early in the day and using the crockpot is the easiest way for me to do this. I tried this chicken dish that my friend Donna has on her website, Aussie Mamas, and it turned out well. Next time I'll try using thigh fillets as my crockpot is all or nothing heat wise & chook tends to dry out. I also adapted it to bake some barramundi in the oven & that was delicious. Donna has recently changed her blogging platform and has to update her recipes so keep checking back - she has some good ones. Check out her easy peasy ice-cream, one of my favourites.


*   Hamlette at The Edge of the Precipice is hosting a Poetry month in April which I'll be participating in. See here for details and come and join us!


O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows
lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is
hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done.
Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest,
and peace at the last. 

Amen.



Linking up with Weekly Wrap-up

17 comments:

Silvia said...

Sorry about the injury.

I'm so glad about that opportunity. he'll do great, I'm sure.

I'm also glad for Moozle, I also have a girl in year 5, but it's a different year 5 at home, yet she is also loving it.

I read your Brideshead Revisited review, but I have not read it, or any of the ones you finished during your holidays. I have read Consider This and The Remains of the Day, and, swoon, in their category, they are some of my favorite books ever.

Cleo said...

I hope your son heals soon, as I'm sure he will, as resilient as kids are! :-)

Wow, Augustine Academy looks wonderful! I wish we had something like it here. Does it have a Charlotte Mason-y type style or is it much more rigorous?

I have to read The Spartan soon! I just love Snedecker. Perhaps I should read that one for the Children's Literature challenge?!

Cleo said...

Oh, and the quilt looks just BEAUTIFUL!!!

Unknown said...

I just love that poem at the end there, Carol. Really resonated with me! I use my crockpot CONSTANTLY here...try to have it going by noon, or even earlier if possible. Takes all the trouble of dinner out of my day! I loved reading about what you are doing with your children's schedules and all the good bookish-ness. The quilt is just GORGEOUS. Makes me want to take quilting back up! Someday! :)

Unknown said...

Oh and I'm a HUGE Lilian Trotter fan, I've read Passion for the Impossible...did you hear of the new documentary out of her life? I hope to see it soon! :)
http://www.amazon.com/Many-Beautiful-Things-Vision-Trotter/dp/B01BCNJ856/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458333453&sr=8-1&keywords=Many+Beautiful+Things

Carol said...

Remains of the Day wasn't quite what I expected. I was wanting to read some books by Asian or Indian authors & decided to start with Ishiguro, but he is so English!! It's almost like reading something by Austen or Anne Bronte. Not that I'm complaining; it's beautiful writing.

Carol said...

They seem to have struck a good balance in that they require a certain amount of rigour but the environment is relaxed and friendly. I was pleased to hear that the boys are required to cook dinner next week & the girls the week after. They've done quite a few classes out of doors and Benj came home after the first week saying how much everyone enjoyed the Philosophy discussion. He's had his first essay this week.
Snedecker is such a good writer. It would be a great book to review. I'm going to review Sir Nigel by Arthur Conan Doyle but not sure of what else.

Carol said...

Thanks for that, Amy! I'd love to get hold of it. Quilting both inspires and frustrates me. Sometimes I think 'Why on earth am I putting myself through this?' but then I see (occasionally!!) a finished piece and I think it's been worth the time & effort.

Carol said...

Thanks Cleo. Hopefully I'll get the binding on in the next week or two & finish the saga.

Anaise said...

Quilts are worth waiting for, and yours is truly lovely. Wishing your boy a good recovery. We had 2 broken bones, a sprain, and soft tissue damage all last year--and I have girls!!! :)

Carol said...

Thank's, Anaise. I hope this year proves less traumatic for you!

Silvia said...

Yes, he grew up in England. He has a subtle Japanese quality, but he is English. (Sorry, I did not know you were reading it for your reading from other countries challenge).

Carol said...

I'm not, Silvia. Just for pleasure :)

Anonymous said...

Where did the poem come from? It's lovely! Lori in Wheaton

Carol said...

I first found it in a novel by D.S. Stevenson & discovered it was a prayer written by John Henry Newman. It is lovely. I think the title is A Prayer for Holy Rest & it's in the Common Book of Prayer??

Unknown said...

I pray your son heals quickly and well.

The quilt is beautiful! My grandmother hand quilted and told me it took her at least a year of work to create each one... and that was with no children at home. Quilts are a work of love. :-)

Carol said...

They certainly are. I'd never make any money out of them at the rate I complete them!