Australia Lapbook

We finished our unit on Australia. School was officially over but I told the girls it would be nice if we did a little summary of the first continent we studied since we will be doing all the rest of them next year. Then they would have something to look back on to review and compare. Both girls willingly spent an entire evening cutting out pictures and designing lapbooks. Liana wanted no help from me and no suggestions from anyone on how to plan it or lay it out. While they worked, I played around with youtube and found some Australian songs to add to the atmosphere. They especially liked "Waltzing Matilda." Arielle didn't finish hers, but I have included pictures of Liana's book.

At the homeschool conference I found a great game. I hesitated buying it because it was $20 and what if it wasn't any good? But it is good! We played it several times over the weekend. The game is called "10 Days in Asia." The gameboard is a map of Asia! You don't need to know Asian geography to play it, but you will learn it while you play without even noticing. It is a good thinking game to get your brain sparked up. The company also makes "10 Days in Europe" and "10 Days in Africa" and also one for the United States. We want them all!

We're Finished!

Where has the month of June gone? We finished school the second week but the next week was very busy getting ready for the 4-H Fashion Revue and the homeschool conference that it didn't feel like summer yet. I was frantically finishing up the portfolios that have to be turned into our school district's administration office because the week after that we had camp at our church. Last week we had to get up and leave early each morning. On top of that, the girls and I had some virus to contend with.

With relief, I unloaded the burden of the two portfolios and turned them in a couple of days ago. Freedom! This task weighs me down for at least two months at the end of every school year. I really need to be more organized and work on it little by little during the year. Now I get about a month before I have to worry about next year's objectives that have to be turned in on August 1st.

As usual, I had big summer academic plans for the girls. And already, as usual, my plans seem to be falling apart. I want them to read every day and I want Liana to do some math every day. We have several craft and sewing projects we never got around to doing during the school year. But nothing got done with our illnesses and with camp. In two weeks my son is getting married and we have lots to do to prepare for them. I remember idyllic summers of my childhood. Being outside in the dry Arizona heat, nothing to do, carefree. No activities to run to, no events to attend. Just endless summer days. Time moved very slowly. What happened?

State Study

Our homeschool law requires that we study the history of our state. So each year we include a topic, usually one tied in with our American history lessons. Since we are in Pennsylvania, it is easy. Our state was pivotal in much of the history of this nation.

As a field trip, the girls and I took a walking tour of Philadelphia's historic section, visiting Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Franklin Court, and Christ's Church. Costumed tour guides that day were recruiting for the Continental Army. The girls love this sort of "school."

We also used Abeka's My State Notebook. It is part of the 4th grade curriculum but I used it for my 3rd and 5th graders. The girls worked on this all year and it is suitable for any state. There are 83 colorful pages. The girls researched and recorded such things as state song, tree, flower, flag, etc., plus there are pages on early settlement, historical figures, famous landmarks, government, weather, industry and agriculture, wildlife and plant life. The girls made several kinds of maps and filled their books with pictures from travel brochures and internet articles they read.

We will be studying the Civil War this fall so I think a trip to Gettysburg will give us good material for our state study to meet the requirement next year.

Great Films

We are wrapping up our study of Australia and I ordered a couple of DVDs from the library. The first is one of a series called "Families of the World" and we brought home "Families of Australia." It was only 30 minutes long and showed a day in the life of a child in rural Australia and one from the city of Sydney. It was excellent! The back of the box says, "Each DVD focuses on a different culture, their way of life, family interaction, foods and celebrations." It is not a lecture but rather a visual glimpse into other lives. The girls noted interesting facts, such as the Australians driving on the opposite side of the road and how the toilets were different from ours. They loved listening to the dialect too.

Yesterday we started to watch the other DVD called "Australia the Beautiful." It is a Reader's Digest film. Since it is 170 minutes long, I figured we would just skip around and watch a little bit of different segments. But we were absolutely mesmerized by the gorgeous, breathtaking photography! Australia's landscapes and wildlife are fascinating. We only saw the first third--"Treasures of the Coast" about the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree, Lord Howe Island, and Shark Bay. We are looking forward to the rest--"Riches of Deserts and Wetlands" and "Marvels of the Mountains". Highly recommended!

Finishing Up

Three more days. "How much longer?" Liana asks continually. According to state law, we have to complete our 180 days, but besides that, we need to wrap up a few things before taking a summer break from school.

Liana finished her study of bats but never finished the lapbook she started. In May I bought a social studies series called Around the World in 180 Days and it looked so interesting I decided to do a short unit before school ended. We chose Australia. The girls (and I) have learned so much about this fascinating continent. Liana wants to visit Uluru someday, after her tour of India. We left our study of the Civil War hanging but I think we found a good stopping point and will continue that in the fall.

Arielle worked very diligently this year and completed Abeka's Language Arts for 6th grade. She will take her final science test on electricity today. She found out a friend of mine who homeschools her children plans to continue their school work one morning a week throughout the summer. Arielle asked if we could do that too. The girls both like Teaching Textbooks, so it will be an easy way to keep up their math skills by doing those lessons. Liana spent the year memorizing the multiplication tables and it would be such a loss to let them go for three months. And of course, there is reading. I couldn't stop Arielle from reading if I wanted to, but Liana will need a little prompting.

With every day revolving around school, I always feel a little lost when the year ends. There are plenty of activities ahead and there is always my house that needs attention after nine months of neglect. But it's a shock to wake up to a day without a schedule.

Transition

I took a class at church and since the girls are homeschooled, we had no choice but for all of us to go together for these three mornings. Their regular classwork was postponed until afternoon while some real-life work was done at church. The girls were asked to help in the nursery.

Arielle loves little children and I knew she would be an asset to the women caring for the little ones. But Liana? I had my doubts. She never seems interested in babies. But the first day after class, the women said she was a big help. Liana entertained babies and fed babies and rocked babies in the rocker. She went home feeling useful and proud of herself. She's growing up. My own baby is nine, after all.

After lunch I found Liana in her room. She was dressing her Bitty Baby, cuddling the doll in her lap. "Doesn't she look adorable?" she asked me. Liana carried the doll around all afternoon, even preparing a dish of "food" to give her. I treasure moments of watching her play like this because these times will soon be gone.

This little girl rejected books in favor of her own imagination played out on the carpet in her room as she created Polly Pocket towns and Polly Pocket lives. Liana would lie down, eye-level, and I would hear the dialogue she invented for each of her tiny dolls. She still does this occasionally, but more often she wants to dictate stories to me as I try to type as quickly as her words tumble out. The girl who delighted in dressing up as a princess now draws her royal designs on paper and reproduces them on her sewing machine. She dresses up in heels, with attention to coordinating accessories, but still loves her tiara.

Liana enjoyed her new responsibility in the nursery, but she isn't ready to leave childhood behind. And I'm glad about that. I'm not ready to give up my little girl.