New Routines

Well, as a follow on from my Low-Tech Wednesday post yesterday, we've been slowly settling into a new routine. The house is slowly getting more organised, and thus quicker to clean (decluttering through one area at a time, currently working on the kitchen), so morning cleanup goes quite quickly. Then we intersperse the morning with schoolwork, more focused cleaning (like the decluttering), and, of course, playing. After lunch (usually either fresh cooked bread, or sandwiches/toast from yesterday's bread), DD will often settle in for an hour or two's TV or computer games, while I find a little time for catching up with my online communities or writing. Then depending on our mood, we play a little more, do some craft/sewing, or go out somewhere.

Yesterday, we made a simple fishing game. DD drew several fish on blank pieces of paper, and we cut them out and slid a paperclip onto the spot where their mouth would be.

Then with an old magnet off the fridge, we went 'fishing' for a while. DD loved it! She's always wanting to buy these sort of fishing games at the stores, but I think our home made one is much better! (Plus it gave her some drawing and cutting practice!) Once she tires of the plain fishing game, I'll write some numbers on each fish, and we can see who gets the highest score. (Great for maths practice, adding numbers.)

DD was watching a birthday party on one of her TV shows, so once it was over, she decided to wrap up some 'presents' for me. Lovely job I think. Especially the bow, perfect finishing touch.

And, of course, what rainy week is complete without an indoor cubby? DD did nearly all of this herself while I was in the other room hanging washing on the indoor line. She did call me out to help with a couple of pegs, but overall, I think it's a pretty spectacular construction.

And while I was in the kitchen cooking, DD decided to write out her own recipe. I helped her with spelling, and working out what the ingredients were, but all the writing is all hers. She did ask how to write a couple of letters, so I demonstrated on a separate piece of paper.

I'm starting to feel like we really are homeschooling, with all these activities going on. DD is learning things so quickly, and her attention is far more sustained than it was even a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to more homeschooling posts as we slowly find our way into a routine that works for us.

Homeschool Reading Corner

I posted a few days ago (OK, I admit, more like a few weeks ago) about some reorganising going on here. Well, it's still going on, and most of it is too messy to post pictures yet, but some bits are finally emerging in working order. The main reorganisation is in the living room, but it's spilling over into DD's play/school room as well. Given that we're starting the new school year here, I figured an overhaul was in order. We did a big clean up/organise a few months ago, but in typical me fashion, I've decided to change it all around to break the room up into 'corners' (those who've been in a preschool room will probably recognise the tactic), each with a different purpose. This is the new 'Reading Corner', complete with books, and some comfy cushions to rest on while reading.

There will be more cushions, but it's time consuming to make them since I can't do anything in a simple fashion. I could have just sewn two squares of material together, and all four would be done, but no, I had to get fancy. I do think they look rather nice though, and DD loves them. She carries them around the house wherever she goes. Lucky I'm making more...

Adventure Playground

DD has just learnt how to tie a knot. DH showed her once, and she practiced lots. When she got frustrated that they weren't holding, we suggested she tie two knots, and it's taken off. Most afternoons this is what my living room looks like. This was a balloon shop. We've also had flying foxes for the toys and traps to catch dinosaurs. Isn't an imagination a wonderful thing?

We're Home

We took the early train home this morning, leaving at 5:45, meaning we were back in Caboolture by 8:45. I think personally I prefer to drive, but there's no doubt the trip on the Tilt Train is far more pleasant for DD. We read books, colour in, eat the snacks we bring with us, and usually buy one treat (packet of plain chips or juice) from the galley, simply because it's another activity to pass the time.

The holiday was a week of new experiences for DD, beginning with buying her own small fishing rod, and going fishing! She's been playing at fishing for ages, every time she finds, or makes, a fish, she has to make a fishing line and go fishing too, so it was wonderful for her to get the chance to actually try it for real. (And look at our matching skirts! I very carefully resisted wearing similar t-shirts.)

Grandpa is an expert at fishing luckily, since I'm certainly not, and DH isn't keen on fishing at all! He baited the hook for us, and was very determined to catch DD a fish. It's very good to see her taking to him, as she has been scared off by is gruffness up until now. I think it was the My Little Ponies he gave her that did it. That was a great idea Grandma!

And yes, in case you're wondering, our persistence paid off, and we did finally catch this little bream. DD was absolutely thrilled. Unfortunately it was a tad on the small side, so he went back into the ocean, which DD was totally happy with. She wasn't too sure about actually eating a fish.

I actually enjoyed this exercise too, and now have at least some idea of how to set up a fishing line (I'm sure there's a technical term for all that tying lines and putting on hooks and sinkers, but I'm clueless as to what it is), so have another little skill added to my self-sufficiency checklist. Not that I'm sure there's anywhere to catch an edible fish nearby, but you never know.

While we were reeling in lines, baiting hooks, and casting out over and over, we noticed what we at first thought was a log floating past. Then we realised it was moving, and my first thought was "Crocodile!" (Not totally out of the blue, they'd been talking about finding croc's further south than usual on the news the previous night.) Luckily it turned out to just be this lizard/goanna going for a swim. He wandered up the beach, as if he was exactly where he wanted to be. Very strange.

The pelicans thought it strange too, and one even wandered after him to ascertain if he was edible, but decided his size was a bit of an issue, and wandered off again. They were far more interested in the chance of getting thrown some leftover bait.

On the last day of the holiday, we all woke up really early for a visit to Tin Can Bay to hand feed the dolphins. Despite the long drive (over an hour) each way, it was well worth the effort. DD loved it, and was only disappointed that she couldn't line up to do it over and over again, as she does with the elephants at the zoo each year. We've promised to go back soon and take Daddy too.

There is, of course, one more activity we did on holidays, another infamous holiday quilt, but you'll have to come back tomorrow for pics of that.

Not a Garden Post

I had a plan to write an update post on the garden today, but we had a bit of an emergency with an ant bite, and before I knew it, it was too dark to take pictures. And we all know there isn't much point writing a garden update post without pictures, right? So instead, I looked around for something inside to take pics of. So here you have today's impulse purchases. 6 half metres of cotton fabric from Spotlight, all ready for 6 new skirts for DD. I just have to wash the fabric first (to preshrink, being 100% cotton), and I'll be ready to sew. The fabric was marked down to $5 a metre (from $7 a metre), so that makes it about $2.50 a skirt. Pretty affordable huh?

Then all I need is matching shirts. I've been debating what to do about these, since ribbing is a bit of a pain (and very hard to find 100% cotton ribbing, especially in the right colours), when a bit of a Google led me to discover a binding foot for sewing machines! Just like having a little bias binding maker attached to your sewing machine foot, so instead of ironing your binding, you sew it instead! Nifty. I've ordered one (or maybe two...), and hopefully they'll arrive soon, although maybe a week or two, since they're coming from the US. Then I should be all set to make some nifty t-shirts to go with these skirts.

DD has been a busy little bunny too, drawing these beautiful dinosaurs. I wrote the names on them for her. A big improvement over her first dinosaur drawings back in February. I especially love the big smiley faces. Obviously these are friendly dinosaurs.

And inspired by our visit to the Amberly Air Show on Saturday, she's also been making paper planes. She made this one all by herself, DH giving her instructions, after watching him make one. Her manipulative skills are just improving in leaps and bounds lately.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some garden photos taken, and give an update on what is happening outside. Unless I get sidetracked...

A Crafting Day

After picking up my new overlocker after a warranty repair yesterday, today was lined up for some serious sewing. I had prewashed all the pretty material I bought from spotlight a few weeks ago (to preshrink it, it's cotton), and was all ready to go. Of course, I then didn't want to cut up said pretty material straight away, in case the pattern I tried didn't work. So a quick search through my recycled fabric stash revealed this pretty purple floral material. It was an old granny nightie. Much more useful now don't you think? And I was glad I didn't cut up the expensive stuff for this, since it was MEANT to be a dress, but was far too short! The addition of the shorts makes it a very cute little outfit regardless though.

Next I had a go at making a dress following this tutorial (from memory, since my computer wasn't turned on). I'm pretty happy with how it turned out (again from an old granny nighty that I posted about here). I've always wanted to know how to do that elastic gathery thing, so was really excited to find out how it was done (and it's very easy, check out the tutorial). Unfortunately DD has already broken one of the gathers from her habit of putting her knees up inside her dresses/shirts and stretching them. Oh well, no doubt I can fix it if I get around to it.

And finally, I took the scissors to the new material to make this skirt for me. This was actually my least favourite of the material, but I really like how it has turned out. After taking the photo, I added two pockets, as I hate wearing things without pockets. Nowhere to put my keys, and they always get lost in the bottom of my handbag. The pattern for this dress came from my "Stitch House" book, a great book, translated from Japanese, with measure and cut patterns for a great variety of clothes. For those who've seen them, it's very similar to Enid Gilchrist's books, only more modern (it's from the 80's I believe). I think I'm going to be making a lot of clothes from this book (and the other two from the series that I have) because most of the clothes can be made with 2m of fabric or less, unlike the paper patterns I have (and I have lots) that seem to need 3-4 metres for everything. Far more frugal, and usually easier and faster to make too.

So it seems like I've made a good start on our summer wardrobe. I am itching to make more, and have my next pattern already planned out. Well, I might have to make DD a skirt like mine first, as she's already requested one. Luckily I have enough material left over from my 2m to make her one!

And yes, for anyone who is curious, I did do all these in one day. Most of them only took 1/2 an hour to an hour to do, so I even managed to cook some johnny cakes, and do some craft with DD too.

We made these flower collages from cutout scrap paper and other bits and pieces. I helped cut bits out for DD, but she stuck all of it on herself. She's really enjoying these sorts of crafts lately. We made a pirate hat at the library yesterday, which she even cut out herself. While I'm at it, here are some other crafts DD has done in the last few days (not today!)

DD cut out and stuck these dinosaurs all by herself last night from some scrapbooking paper we bought her for her birthday. The one on the left is a velociraptor, and the one on the right is an apatosaurus.

These little paper envelopes she also made herself. The paper is some coloured squares, again bought for her birthday. She did it all herself, just asking me to get some masking tape off the roll for her. All the folding and sticking she did herself.

Her manipulative skills are really taking off right now, so I think we're going to be doing a lot more of these sorts of activities around here.

Beginning Reading

Yesterday, we visited our local library. Every Wednesday and Friday, the Caboolture Library has story time, about half an hour of stories and songs, usually followed by a simple craft activity. As DD has been a little uncertain about being involved in group play and activities, this one is our gentle introduction and some social interaction. Some weeks she doesn't want to go, and a few times when there has been an unusually large group, such as during school holidays, she's wanted to go home, but overall she really enjoys the experience, and always demands that we go to the playground nearby to play afterwards.

It's really great morning out, we get to listen to fun stories, play with the other kids, get some new books/DVD's/computer games, and best of all, it's free! I've been really impressed with the Caboolture library's resources for kids. There are giant floor puzzles for the kids to play with in the library (not a visit goes by that we don't do at least one of them!), a great selection of fiction and non-fiction books for kids, and even an educational section.

Yesterday, among other things, we picked up a beginning reading book. It's quite simple, 3-4 word sentences on each page, and a very cute little story about two frogs jumping. I picked it up on a whim, thinking that DD might just like it. We do have the first level of a couple of different beginning reading series, and DD has practiced many times with them. This book was a little different though, in that it had more of a story than many of the readers we have.

When we got home, we sat down to read it, and DD read it through with minimal help! She was so excited she read it again, then again to show DH when he got home from work. It was a very exciting moment for us all. Of course, we still have a long way to go, but we've taken the first step, and all in all, it was pretty easy.

One of the best things about homeschooling I think, is that we get to share these moments with our kids, rather than just hearing about them later (if they even get repeated). Seeing DD's excitement as she realised that she could read was a wonderful gift, and I look forward to many more like it on our homeschooling journey.

Flying Along

DD came up to me today with this picture she had drawn, and told me they were balloons. She solemnly explained that 'those ones are a long long way away, and these are closer', and that the balloons were really all the same size. I was totally blown away by her grasp of perspective, as although we've probably mentioned it to her before, I didn't really expect her to take in what I think is quite a complex concept.

Sometimes I think we defeat ourselves with our own expectations. We expect a child to be able to do certain things at a certain age, and that is all we see. If we don't listen carefully, we will miss these little moments that show us that a child's mind is amazing, and not something you should ever underestimate.

I have no idea when children normally develop this concept, DD could be right on track with it for all I know, but none the less I am amazed at how her brain develops. It's a privilege to have the experience of watching it as it happens.

And it's so obvious right now, she's jumping ahead in leaps and bounds. Along with her drawing ability (which is sketchy and intermittent!), she's really into constructing things out of blocks, boxes, paper, anything she can get her hands on. We cleaned up these 'pop-onz' the other day in one of our decluttering races (will have to post about those some day, they're fun!), and she's had a wonderful time making all sorts of structures out of them, and putting them together in ways that wouldn't even occur to me. She immediately decided one of the blocks was a window box, and has added flowers to decorate it.

It has also been amazing the last week watching her interacting with her new baby cousin. She's already besotted with her, and when she had a cuddle today, the expression on her face was akin to the expression on my sisters when she first held her too, simple wonder and love. It was beautiful to watch. And she is so gentle and patient with her too, quite different to our usual bouncy, excitable child. I am really looking forward to watching their relationship develop over the next few years.

As for formal homeschooling, we're waiting for next year, when hopefully we'll all be settled into our new home properly, to start. I have lots of plans, but right now we're so busy still, with decluttering, organising, and of course, cuddling the new baby, to really be thinking about schooling. And of course, we're learning so much every day that who has time to stop and do worksheets. Well, aside from mazes, which DD enjoyed the other day, and a few dot-to-dots...

Homeschooling Resources - Puzzles

Since the early days of planning to homeschool, I've put a lot of effort into collecting resources that will enhance DD's experience and learning. We started with puzzles very early on, somewhere between 6 and 12 months (my memory is a little fuzzy at this point), and DD was soon whizzing around doing the simple wooden peg puzzles with ease. These have now been packed away for my niece who is due to arrive within the next month.

Finding more complex puzzles was a bit of a challenge though. They jumped from simple single piece puzzles to ones that were far too complex for a toddler. But persistence paid off, and here and there we found some real gems. My mum found this bear dressing puzzle, with lots of different costumes for the bear family.

These shape puzzles I found for a couple of dollars each at a bargain store. They are surprisingly complicated, and offer a lot of opportunities for developing an understanding of fractions.

These shaped multi piece puzzles we bought at Judius, an educational store that supplies many schools and educational resources (along with some great musical supplies, which I'll detail in another post when I find the box they're all packed in). She loves these dinosaurs. The bird and dolphin aren't quite as popular, but still get done on occasion.

However, my all time favourite are these ones that I bought at Dragonfly Toys last week. To start with, they are simply beautiful to look at. I could stare at them all day, couldn't you?

But more than that, these puzzles offer real opportunities for developing creativity. Unlike other puzzles, there is no right way to put these together. Yes, they come in an original configuration, but the possibilities of these puzzles are limited only by your imagination. They each come with pictures showing some possible combinations, and DD quickly tried out some of these, following the pictures surprisingly easily.

She then quickly moved on to coming up with her own patterns. There is so much to learn in what appears to be a simple rainbow puzzle. The colours of the spectrum, size differences, visual discrimination, manipulation skills, and probably half a dozen other things that I'm not even aware of.

Even I was inspired to try my hand at some different patterns. I think that's the sign of a really great toy, that it's simple enough to inspire children, and even the adults want to have a turn playing with it. We played with these puzzles for nearly an hour when they arrived in the post. The other two puzzles are a little more complicated, and while DD has enjoyed pulling them apart and putting the pieces back in random colours, she probably still has a little way to go before she's ready to start experimenting with colours and patterns. No doubt we'll have a lot of fun with them over the next year though.

With so many puzzles, it's a challenge to keep them organised. Our order to Judius included this puzzle rack, which works really well for the flat A4 sized puzzles, which we still have plenty of. In this stack are some letter and number puzzles, a map of Australia, and some other multi-piece puzzles.

That still left a lot of puzzles with lots of pieces, but no boards. Originally we stored these in plastic cliplock bags, but aside from my dislike of plastic, these would quickly get crumpled and dirty. I wanted some sort of reusable storage for these puzzles. My first thought was drawstring bags, but the fact that you couldn't see what was inside was a definite drawback to that idea. So I decided to make them out of netting. DD loves these, and loves putting the puzzle pieces into them (very helpful when it comes to the tidying up part of the day), and it's very easy to see what is inside of each one. Unfortunately, the netting doesn't appear to be very strong, and a few of the bags have ripped already. I plan to line them with a second piece of (hopefully) stronger material from our mosquito nets, which should remedy this. I'll probably make a few extra bags too, since I think there are a few more puzzles that could benefit from ending up in bags.

Finger Knitting

A friend recently posted a link to how to do finger knitting, so when DD asked me, as she usually does when she sees me knitting, if she could try, I gave it a go with her. If you haven't seen it before, it's worth checking out. It's not knitting in the style of two needles etc, but it does produce a long, knitted looking strip.

DD didn't get quite that far, but she did managed to produce about 3-4 inches of 'knitting', and was thrilled. It became a 'pony hammock', and when daddy came home from work, she made a second one to show him. Best of all, she felt like she had actually achieved knitting, rather than feeling like she wasn't big enough to do it.

The knitting she saw was for these new red slippers, which I finished last night. These are one of the first things I've ever pulled out because when I initially knitted them, they were too big. I did the usual 30 stitches for the slipper pattern, which worked fine for 8ply wool, and the thicker ply I had, but for some reason this bobbly stuff just didn't knit up the same. I undid it (2 nights knitting!) and re-did it with 24 stitches instead. For anyone who's wanting to try different sized slippers (especially for kids ones), the pattern works fine so long as you keep the number of stitches to a multiple of 3.

I'm glad I went to the effort, because they are just the right size at 24 stitches, 30 would have been far too big. Out of all the slippers I've knitted, I think these ones are my favourite. The bobbly wool makes a thick, soft slipper, that really is comfortable to wear. The extra thickness took me a while to get used to though, and I really felt like I was going to slip on the wooden floors initially. I'm find now, but if you think it might be a problem (again, especially with kids), you can get some puffy paint at a craft store to put dots on the bottom, which should lessen the slip risk.

Discovering Money

Yesterday afternoon, DD realised for the first time that she had money. She's had it for quite some time, about 6 months at least, in her little purse that sits in the shelves in her playroom, and she often plays with it in her games, but yesterday it actually hit her that she could use it to BUY stuff. So at 3pm, she got herself all dressed up, shoes and hat on, handbag (from the dress up box) on her shoulder, and asked if we could go shopping. How could I resist?

Our first stop was the second hand shop, where she looked around carefully, and finally chose some huge fairy wings. We looked at the price tag, found out the price (second hand shops so conveniently have round dollar amounts, rather than all those confusing $1.95 type prices), worked out what money she would need, and how much change she would get, then she went up and paid for it.

Onto the newsagent, where she found some balloons and a magazine, then to the supermarket, where she found some chocolate coins. Then near the end of the supermarket, she found a My Little Pony. Now one of DD's favourite things are My Little Pony's. My sister has quite a collection, and DD loves to play with them while visiting. She's started building up a collection herself, all bought second hand at markets or garage sales, her eventual goal being to have more than Aunty Mandy. So I suspected this was going to be interesting.

We looked at the price on the shelf, $18. We counted out her money. She was $2 short. I offered to lend her the $2, but said that she would have to put the chocolate coins back, as she couldn't get both. I expected at least hesitation, but no, she quickly put the My Little Pony back, and said she'd take the chocolate.

I expect lots more fun shopping trips like this one, where we learn about the value of money, both numerically, and in terms of evaluating what we choose to buy with it. Hopefully it will also help at those times when I tell her she can't have something because it is too expensive, or not worth the price that is being asked.

Low-tech Wednesday

A member on Aussies Living Simply mentioned that they were having a 'low-tech Wednesday', where they tried to get through the day with as little use of technology as they could, and I was inspired. I know I tend to get too involved on the computer, and DD watches a bit much TV some days, so I thought a day without could be nothing but good.

It wasn't easy, I have to admit, but in the end, it turned out to be a good day. DD had a few tantrums in the morning about wanting to watch a DVD or play a computer game (not that she would normally do them at that time, but when I said we weren't going to, it immediately became the first thing she wanted to do of course), but she settled down quite well.

It helped that Wednesday is story time at the library, so that took up a large chunk of the day. They had an Easter story, made some bunny ears, and were given an Easter egg, which she really enjoyed. Then we choose some books, and a big set of wooden dominoes, and headed home. We spent a lot of the day reading our new library books (at times when DD needed some restful activities and would normally have watched TV), cleaned the floor (DD loves scrubbing the floor!),

We took the chickens out onto the lawn to run around, and watched them excitedly flapping their wings (they are getting feathers on their wings already! Slow down chicks, you can be cute and fluffy for a bit longer!), and pecking at the grass. We played in the cubby, where DD is loving doing pretend cooking on her toy stove. We planted some seeds (peas and pansies), and watered them. And picked the few ripe tomatoes that were there.

For dinner, we had a barbeque with sausages, and tried cooking some vegies wrapped in alfoil in the fire. Most of them burnt to a crisp, but the couple of potatoes that survived were delicious. DD had an early night, and DH and I stayed up far too late talking, without watching TV or playing the computer! DH enjoyed putting some food on his hand, and sitting with it in the box with the chickens as they climbed all over it and pecked it out of his hands. He is allergic to most animals, thus hasn't been able to have pets, and is really enjoying the experience.

All in all, I think low-tech Wednesday was a great success, and we're thinking of making it a regular event!

32

Yes, that's how old I am! At least, I think it is (without actually doing the sums).

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a wonderful day, even though we didn't make a big deal about it. I visited my sister in the morning, and took her to the dentist to have a tooth out. She didn't want to have to drive home herself afterwards. DD and I walked around the shops while she was in the dentist, and DD was most excited, as it's the store we used to visit often before we moved, so she knows it well. I had promised her some felt pens, so we went looking for those first. The stationary store had two packets, one smaller one for $5, and a larger one for $10. I explained to DD that she had $10 to spend, so if she bought the larger one, she wouldn't have any money left, but if she bought the smaller one, it would only use half her money, so she choose the smaller one. I was most proud of her.

Then we went onto the bookstore, where she went to look at the kids books, while I had a quick look at the gardening ones in the next aisle. A few minutes later, she came over with a book and asked if she could buy it. To my surprise, it was a 2nd grade workbook! I had a quick flick through, but most of it was above her ability level, so I suggested we look at a few others. She finally settled on a counting to 20 sticker-book. I think I'll try to buy her one every now and then, now that she's showing an interest in them. I will also select a bunch of worksheets from Prodigy Pie and print them out and staple them into a book for her, and see how she likes that.

We had a bit more of a look around after that, and a few tantrums when she couldn't have other things that she wanted, but I stuck to the fact that her money was spent, and there wasn't anymore. I had a look at a few gardening books, but they were all about $40, so I decided to wait.

Then we dropped my sister home, and came home. Later in the afternoon, after recovering from her tooth, my sister and her husband came out, and we had a lovely barbeque in the cool of the afternoon. It was a wonderful relaxed evening. My sister's husband started the fire and cooked, and we sat around and ate and talked. I couldn't have asked for a nicer way to spend my birthday.

Free Worksheet!

I meant to do this yesterday, but I couldn't find it. I thought I'd put one of the worksheets DD did that I posted yesterday up here so everyone could have a go.
Just click on the picture to get the fullsized, printable one. Let me know if your little ones enjoy it!

Art and Worksheets

Since starting this blog, I've found so many things to write about, that I'm having trouble keeping up with them. By the time I edit and resize the pics, then write a post and insert the pics in, it gets quite time consuming, so writing more than one post a day really isn't possible most days. So instead of posting every time DD does a beautiful picture or worksheet (which could be several times a day!) I like to pick out the best ones, and post a big picture/worksheet/craft post every week or two.

And in the last week or two she's certainly been busy.

This is a picture she drew for my mum. I was sending her a letter, and suggested DD paint her a picture to send as well. She painted, and I wrote the names on as she told them to me.

This one was drawn outside on the concrete veranda with sidewalk chalk. It's three people. I don't think they're meant to be anyone in particular, just drawings of people.

This is a picture of a statue of Roo (from Winne the Pooh). She tried to write 'statue' above it. The only thing she asked me was what the last letter in statue was.

And this one she did this morning while talking to my mum on the phone. It's a rainbow, with a flower and a turtle underneath, two birds in the sky talking (and a musical note!), and of course, the sun.

She is really loving painting and drawing at the moment. I bought about 20 little palette's of watercolours at a garage sale a while back, which is what she uses, and when all her favourite colours are gone (pink, purple, orange and yellow), we get another one out. In only a few months, she has gone from being not very interested in drawing/painting at all, and paining only scribbles or circles etc, to this! We now paint every day, sometimes several times a day, often several pictures in a row.

We've also been getting into the worksheets this week. She started asking me quesions:
"Mum, what's 6 and 5?"
"11"
"What's 11 and 1?"
"12"
"What's 12 and 4?"
"16"

So I figured that counts as showing an interest in addition.

I downloaded this worksheet from Prodigy Pie, and she loved doing it. It's quite a simple introduction to addition, with them cutting out the pictures on the bottom of the page, and sticking the right number into the space provided. Then this is mirrored by the written equivalent next to them. DD wrote that 4 all by herself!

Then while we were at it, I figured we'd try some numeral writing. She did pretty well on the first 4 numbers, then got a little tired after that. I was pretty impressed that she persisted and finished the worksheet though.

On a more arty note, she loves this goldfish worksheet. You colour the three pieces seperately, then cut (which I did for her) and glue them on the bowl. Lots of fun, and good for young ones, as they don't have to stay within the lines.

Finally, I was reading today on another blog about a child enjoying join the dots, and thought tha would be just the thing for DD. Printed this one off, and she loved it.

Informal Learning

While we're not doing formal homeschooling until next year, when DD will be at the official age for prep, we certainly do lots of informal learning nearly every day. In the last few weeks, DD has shown a real interest in painting. Previously, she has painted scribbles for a minute or two at most, then grown bored. Now, we're getting actual paintings.

This was the first one. This is Harry and his Bucketful of Dinosaurs, just in case you don't recognise it. We couldn't fit all the dinosaurs on one page, so we had to do a second. There are six dinosaurs, and Harry, with his red hair. I was most impressed with these. I helped draw the bodies on a few of them, but she did the rest.

In the theme of dinosaurs, we bought some card and split pins at the newsagent, and made a model "Patsy", the apatosaurus from Harry. She loved this activity.

She then drew the same characters each day for about 3 days. Now she's moved onto other things. Today we have had whales, octopuses, and caterpillars.

This is a mummy whale (top), a daddy whale (bottom right), and a baby whale (bottom left). I just love the shape in the mummy whale, very whale like.

Then, with her new found fine motor skills, she wrote a sign. "Mummy, help me. I want to write stop."
Me: "Well you need to start with a 's'."
DD: "I've already done the 's' and the 't', what comes next?"

And she had too. With me giving her verbal instructions, she wrote this sign all by herself!

For anyone having trouble reading it, it says "Stop at Red Light". I'm amazed. She has written her name a couple of times in the past, and will type simple words like "hi" and her name to my friend in Canada, but this is the first time she's written like this. She has known most of the letter sounds for quite a while from her Jolly Phonics videos, which she just LOVED, and watched over and over, but she has shown a lot of reluctance to put them into words. We didn't push, figuring she would do it in her own time. She is the sort of child who doesn't like to do things until she is sure she can, so I knew she was quietly working away at this, and would seem to go from nothing to everything at once, and it looks like I was right.

She has been 'reading' simple first readers for a few weeks too. A very old set of PM readers that I bought for a song at the markets. I have a more modern set in a box somewhere, but probably she will be past them by the time I find them again. She also loves Dr Seuss, and will recite several other books that she knows by heart.

Also inspired by Harry, in particular the episode 'Origami', we had to look up some instructions for how to make origami critters. I point blank refused to even try a fan (Harry and his friends made a working electric one, beyond my capabilities I'm afraid!), so this was the next best thing.

Who is it that says that TV is bad for kids, look at what it has inspired in our house!