Water Scootering!

Being so hot on board the boat at the moment we decided that we would head to the Wind Tree down in Wynyard Quarter for a cool off.  We had friends over for lunch who also came for a walk which was a nice treat for them too.  The kids had already spotted the Wind Tree and got their bodies into the cooling of the water as quick as possible.

Seagulls at one side, and kids on the other, it's a multi-use pond that is chlorinated.  It's often cleaned so it's great for the kids around the city to have a dip after playing at the playground right next to it in Wynyard Quarter.

 Just a dip turned out to be a great fun and games with the scooters!  Instead of just riding them about the playground, they decided to use them to scoot into the water and had a great laugh racing in from up on the grass hill.  It was very entertaining for both me and others who were watching the new adaption of 'water scootering'.

To see more about the Wind Tree by Michio Ihara click here.

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!