Homeschooling Exemption - Done!

Today we received our Certificate of Homeschooling Exemption from the Ministry of Education in New Zealand!!   I didn't realise how excited and slightly elated it makes me feel, not only to know that I can actually write something that is coherent to award an 'approval',  but also to have the power to enjoy teaching my own children!!  It was a great moment to open it and see that our decision to homeschool had been granted, as the kids helped me post the application merely 3 weeks ago, so thank you to the Ministry of Education for your speedy reply!

I must thank my friends and family who have helped and encouraged me in support and reference material to keep the 'ball rolling' so to speak. Everyone has influenced my (our) decision to homeschool so a HUGE THANK YOU!

Some of the websites that have been a great help to me include:

Learnex - Applying for Homeschooling Exemption

Home Education Foundation - Exemption Tips and Ideas

NZ Home Education - Legal & Administrative Issues

Home Education NZ

There are other ways to help you out in your Homeschooling Exemption and these include:

• Unlimited resources online
• There are some small businesses that import educational resources and can recommend materials to help.  At www.home-education.org.nz they have a list of resource suppliers.
• Once you have applied for your exemption and it has been approved, they Ministry of Education will make the New Zealand Curriculum available for you to view.
• Guidance from friends who have already applied and had their Exemption approved.  (Note:  This may be too personal for some, but if you have friends who are willing, it certainly helps and takes feeling of been overwhelmed!)

So that was our day!!
Good luck to those who are applying!!

Welcome to Homeschooling Onboard!

Welcome to Homeschooling Onboard!

This is where I will be sharing thoughts, ideas and generally stuff we do with the kids on board our catamaran.  It may be stuff we do while tied up at the dock, or while we are sailing or even anchored in a bay.  That's the whole beauty of it!  Each day is different, and each moment is different and to be cherished.

It thought it was appropriate to start the first post with a poem that I came across which summed up how busy we can get and how we have to SLOW DOWN to enjoy the time we have with our beautiful children.  

SLOW DOWN MUMMY by Rebekah Knight

Slow down mummy, there is no need to rush,
slow down mummy, what is all the fuss?
Slow down mummy, make yourself a cup of tea.
Slow down mummy, come and spend some time with me.

Slow down mummy, let's put our boots on and go out for a walk,
let's kick at piles of leaves, and smile and laugh and talk.
Slow down mummy, you look ever so tired,
come sit and snuggle under the duvet and rest with me a while.

Slow down mummy, those dirty dishes can wait,
slow down mummy, lets have some fun, lets bake a cake!
Slow down mummy I know you work a lot,
but sometimes mummy, its nice when you just stop.

Sit with us a minute,
& listen to our day,
spend a cherished moment,
because our childhood is not here to stay!

Rebekah.Knight (c)2011

Lower & Uppercase Matching

Being able to match the lower case alphabet to uppercase alphabet is often confusing for some kids, and what I decided to do was to take the 'Apple Alphabet' and chop them down the middle.  This makes a lower case on one half and an uppercase on the other half.  I don't necessarily bring out ALL of them at once (having limited space on board), but maybe 10 so they are achievable before the children get bored.

As seen here, Blake then gets the white board marker and writes over the top of them to practice the letter! I didn't even ask him, so it was great that he chose to do it by himself.

'Christmas Wonderland', Rawene Centre

Poppa Steve invited us to the "Christmas Wonderland".  It is New Zealand's most spectacular christmas tree trail that takes you through a vast amount of intricately decorated trees. The kids loved it, and recognised some of their favourite characters.  Unfortunately photographs weren't allowed, so the only thing I could find that gave you a glimpse of what it was about was their promotional video from the website.




Freya then got her face painted, and Blake his arm!

Sustainable Coastlines - Plastic Mosaics

The Sustainable Coastlines team are often doing Workshops in Wynyard Quarter at their Sustainable Coastlines Education Station to get young ones to understand the implications of rubbish in the water. They have gone all over the world collecting rubbish from beaches to minimise the impact on the marine life.  They do an amazing job, and if you ever get to come to one of these workshops, you will be amazed at the amount of rubbish they have collected already!

So with the plastic rubbish the kids get to make whatever colourful artwork they want to from any of the plastic waste they have collected into bins.  Freya chose a template that was already drawn on the wood, but then went for a three dimensional look!

For information on their events click here.

Workshops on the Waterfront - Cork Boats

Another of the Workshops on the Waterfront workshops was the making of cork boats that could then be put into the pool under the Wind Tree to be raced.  They were made out of plain corks, skewers, ice block sticks and square pieces of paper to make the sails. Some very imaginative boats were being made!

M.O.T.A.T

M.O.T.A.T = Museum of Transport and Technology

While in Auckland City we decided that a trip to Motat was a great idea, and we asked our friend Bob to come along as well as he is keen on all the inventions and development of technology.  There is SO much to take in once you are there, so plan for a whole day if you can!  We took a packed lunch, and the kids coped surprisingly well for the 4 hours we were there.  We will definately go again, and look at the things we just brushed through briefly.

The main areas the kids were interested in were Transport (ie. trams), Electricity (the bright lights and interactive display), Lights & Mirrors (prisms, reflections etc), and Kiwi Identity (brands they recognise, kiwi-styles they are aware of in their own everyday lives).

Transport 
After looking through the plane museum we then took a tram ride to the other part of Motat.  It is very exciting for the kids, and having explained that this was the mode of public transport (not too many) years ago, they found it fascinating that our grandparents and parents used these.  There is a recently opened Wynyard Quarter tram ride, which we were able to go on before going to Motat, so it was nice to compare them both.

Click for the Transport resource PDF booklet.

Lights & Mirrors

Lights and mirrors have always fascinated me, and it was very exciting for me to see the kids enjoying them too!  Freya had a great time using the prisms, and Blake found it great seeing his legs disappear! 

Click for the Lights & Mirrors resource PDF booklet.

Electricity
The kids were very interested in the Electricity and Science part of Motat, where they can experience a 'hands on' approach in making electricity, watching electricity going through a circuit, and recalling what they have in their own home (or boat in our instance) that uses electricity.  Bob was especially excited by the thought that his own hands could charge the batteries in his boat!

Click for the Electricity resource PDF booklet.

Kiwi Identity

Both Freya and Blake loved the little "BBQ table" which is very "Kiwiana".  They also saw things that they have seen in the street and at the supermarket, ie. white picket fence, Marmite, and Tip Top (most recently the Tip Top ice cream shipping container at the Viaduct).  They also loved the display of pavlova and the living room which had an old style TV and couch in, a typical "kiwi as" living room!

 Click for Kiwi Identity resource PDF booklet