Geography

2019’s Books and More

/ Ms Oh Waily / Leave a comment

I posted earlier this month about what our homeschool core curricula were going to be for 2019.
Today I will share the full list of different books we will be using in our two core language based curricula – Build Your Library and Bravewriter. To make it helpful for you I’ve split them in to their different learning areas, and provided a key for the tags at the end of each title.

BYL GRADE 4 – The Modern World

Build Your Library Website

A – Audible
K – Kindle
L – Library

History:

  • The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 4: The Modern Age
  • Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun (K)
  • Fields of Fury: The American Civil War
  • Where Poppies Grow: A World War I Companion
  • Gandhi
  • Escape from Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy (K)

Literature:

These are books that I will be reading aloud to the kids.

  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
  • The Twenty-One Balloons
  • From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (A)
  • Nory Ryan’s Song
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
  • The Singing Tree
  • Angel on the Square
  • When My Name Was Keoko
  • Redwall  (A)
  • Because of Winn-Dixie (L)
  • Shooting Kabul

Readers:

These are the books that the kids will be reading.  Master Oh may skip some of these, we will see how his year progresses.

  • The Capture (Guardians of Ga’hoole, Book 1) (L)
  • James and the Giant Peach (L)
  • Bull Run
  • Rodzina
  • Stuart Little (L)
  • The Toothpaste Millionaire
  • Maggie’s Door
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • The Water Horse (L)
  • Number the Stars (L)
  • Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes 
  • The Borrowers (L)
  • Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
  • The School Story
  • Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story

Poetry:

  • Knock at a Star: A Child’s Introduction to Poetry

Science:

  • The New Way Things Work (L)
  • 10 Inventors Who Changed the World (L)
  • The Usborne Internet-Linked Science Encyclopedia

Art:

  • Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters
  • The Usborne Introduction to Art

BRAVEWRITER – Arrows

Bravewriter Website

As you can see there is A LOT of crossover between the books studied here and those we will be or have just read as part of our BYL curriculum.  We will marry up the Arrow to the time of year when we are reading the book as part of BYL.   I can’t tell you how happy I am that they are this well aligned.  The amount of reading it saves!

  • Aug: Penderwicks at Last
  • Sep: Redwall
  • Oct: Mary Poppins
  • Nov: Journey to Jo’burg
  • Dec: Because of Winn Dixie
  • Jan: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
  • Feb: Freedom Train
  • Mar: Harriet the Spy
  • Apr: By the Great Horn Spoon
  • May: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The Money

For the full range of curricula, for two kids we are looking at ~NZ$500.

This splits down into:

Book Depository:  $296 – $15 affiliate rebate = $281
Kindle: $29
Pandia Press: ~$60 for Earth and Space; $23 for The Stargazer’s Notebook.
My Pals Are Here! Maths – 3A & B: $54
My Pals Are Here! Maths – 5A & B: $48

This could have been reduced if I had spent the time to hunt for secondhand books, but frankly my time trying to find them would probably outweigh the savings.

I hope you found that interesting.

Hurricanes or Chiefs?

/ Ms Oh Waily / 4 Comments

Changes are afoot in the Oh Waily household.  Big changes.

We are no longer going to be Wellingtonians, or Lower Huttians for that matter.  This time next week will see us packing up and heading north.  After a seven hour or so car journey we will arrive in our new town and have travelled from A to B.

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.03.55 PM

I’ll be sorry to say goodbye to Wellington.  We’ve made lovely friends here and have enjoyed our time in the city.  I can highly recommend it if you are looking for a great city to live in.

But the rest of 2016 will see us become more familiar with the Bay of Plenty.  There should be quite a few field trips in the offing as we see what this new-to-us region has to offer.  As this is the area that some of our family lives in we are familiar with quite a bit of it, but by no means all of it.

We will get to know the locals, like this chap – Tangaroa.

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And hopefully spend a bit of our time here.

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I’m picking that not only will our location be different this year, but so will our regular home ed days. I feel a new vibe coming on this year, so I will write more on that once we are settled in and most of the boxes are unpacked.

In the meantime, wish us luck, we’ll need it to get through the next two weeks without going potty.

 

For those unfamiliar with rugby in New Zealand, the title of this blog post refers to the two local Super Rugby teams for Wellington and the Bay of Plenty.  Oh the quandary of who to support. 😉

 

Travels

/ Ms Oh Waily / Leave a comment

The Oh Waily kids and I made the trip up to see the Oh Waily grandparents yesterday.  This involves us driving the Desert Road and due to the colder weather we played “guess the temperature”.  After managing to drive through last year and the car’s external temperature gauge registering a -1ºC, this has become something of a regular game.  Not to mention the fact that Miss Oh Waily was desperate to play in snow.

Well, we didn’t get to play in snow but there was plenty of leftover crunchy ice on the roadside.  Could I drive by it?  Could I heck.  I was regaled with, “Mum, can you pull over?  Pleeeaassee ?!?!”, not once but multiple times.  Apparently me trying to find a safe space to do the actual pulling over was just too much waiting time.

Eventually I found a good spot and out we got.  It gave me a nice view of Mount Ngauruhoe looking anything but the unfriendly Mount Doom.

Ngauruhoe

Then Miss Oh fossicked around on the ice/snow patches and found really interesting icicles that she picked up.  If you know how these are formed, I’d love to hear about it.  They seem to be full of bubbles when I look close up at the original photograph and also seem to form in straight lines.  Quite interesting really.

Icicle

For the record, the lowest external temperature that the car registered was 2ºC.  And the most fun thing we saw, but couldn’t photograph, were large icicles dropping from the roadside overhangs on the really windy bits.  They looked like a frozen waterfall dropping over the side of the road.  Quite spectacular on a small scale.

Meet “Leafy”

/ Ms Oh Waily / 2 Comments

When in foreign places expect to meet interesting ‘locals’. Here is “Leafy” who provided much interest and amusement one day. He stayed with us until night fell and then wandered off at his own leisure. We have no idea what he actually is, other than pretty darn big – probably a good 10cm long or more – no one was game to measure.

If you know what Leafy is, feel free to leave a comment below so the Oh Waily kids can look up his relatives from the comfort of their computer.

Leafy

 

History here we come

/ Ms Oh Waily / 2 Comments

Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 8.17.24 pmStarting tomorrow we are giving a new history curriculum a run-through.

We did try out a Classical option earlier but found that it wasn’t a really good fit for us. Between the age that the kids were when we tried it and my completely unrealistic expectations of what and how home education would work for us, it turned out to be the first thing to drop from our lives.

Now, however, I have finally figured out that the best way to get ‘learning’ in to my children is to sneak it in, in small doses and with as much fun as I can manage to cram in.  And to be completely relaxed about the whole process as well.

This time around I am giving a secular Charlotte Mason curriculum it’s opportunity.  Hopefully I’m also more aware of what is a reasonable expectation from my kids and their ages, so we are slightly less likely to founder on the rocks so quickly. I already had the two main books that form the spine of the curriculum, so even better from the planning & purchasing point of view.

For this round of learning about the ‘Ancients’ we will be doing lots of colouring in, listening to information and if I can find something on YouTube or Netflix, watching documentaries too.  I’ve also learned to not put pressure on the kids or myself.  I will happily do all of the reading and writing, rather than impose my expectation on them to do that (or parts of that for Master Oh).  Flowing with their interest and skill level is going to be key to following a full curriculum like this, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity to introduce history on an ongoing basis.

I’ve printed out the first lesson’s worth of pictures and text and will be reading sections to go with that.  The kids can colour in the pictures while I’m reading.  I’ve even made the pockets out of A3 paper I had on hand and there’s even some washi tape getting in on the act.  (Only because Miss Oh hates staples after she opened a birthday present that stabbed her mercilessly.  Ah the trials of being young! )

For the record, the curriculum we’re going to use is History Odyssey – Ancients Level One from Pandia Press.  I really liked the fact that the owner seems to have a sense of humour (read their explanations of eBook over printed and the cost of the curriculum soapbox explanation) and that they were willing to let me (and you) have access to a decent chunk of the lessons to help decide if it looked right for us.  If we find that this works well for us, then I may consider their science curriculum too, but that’s a decision for later as we have basic science stuff that will see us through a few more months.

So… do you follow a curriculum?  If so, what and why?

As an eclectic home educator I’m really interested in the choices people make and why.  On a personal level, I love to research and look in to the different options I can present to my kids to keep their minds open and growing, so feel free to go to town with your comments if you have something you love.

Orakei Korako

/ Ms Oh Waily / 2 Comments

A few days after our visit to The Bath House and the Redwoods, I took the Oh Waily kids off to pick up their Nana from Matamata (aka Hobbiton).  Then we took to the highway and headed towards Taupo.

Just before the great lake we took a left turn, and another, then headed up into the hidden valley that ends at Orakei Korako.  It was a pretty misty and grey morning, and for most of the journey it rained on our outing.  When we made it to the end of the valley the rain faded away, but left us with a dull and overcast day.  Still, it didn’t deter us from our walk.

First stop, the boat that takes you across the water.  What a fabulous way to start an adventure.  With a buzzer to gain retrieval when your walk is through.
Next up, the walk through the geothermal area.  Lots of interesting things to see and a surprise for the kids, what with all the steam wafting around us. It also made photography a bit of a hit and miss affair, as I’m still figuring it all out.

Steamy Arrival
As we walked over the first boardwalk we began to see all of the colours of the terrace. Unfortunately the overcast conditions didn’t manage to do justice to the colours and this was the best I could do to capture them.
It was great fun looking at all the algae as we walked along, but I think the kids were just as interested in the boardwalk as they were in the colours.

Colourful Walk
Here they are, admiring the Golden Fleece Terrace. Or, at least, posing for another one of my photographs.

The Silica Terrace
After this it became a taniwha hunt as there was a story to be told and a rock to be found. Instead we found the Elephant Rock, and naturally Miss Oh’s constant companion (Lumpy) had to be compared and contrasted to the rock in question. Quite the family likeness, I’d say.

Elephant Rock
After this we were able to admire the view back down on to one of the rather amazing terraces.

The Pools from Above
We stopped and admired Ruatapu cave and then headed on for the rest of the walk around the grounds.  And what visit to a geothermal park is complete without the obligatory boiling mud pools?  So we were able to see a few of those too.  One being particularly extensive.

Mud pool
After all the steamy walking, then the sun coming out, we headed back to the jetty to find the boat had just arrived and was picking up a number of other passengers.  This was rather surprising because up until the last small part of the walk we had seen and heard pretty much no one.  Yet here were at least half a dozen people!

To finish off our trip we had snacks and drinks in their little cafe before heading homewards.  It was a really long, but nice day.  A huge thanks to Nana Oh Waily for being my second pair of hands in a potentially iffy outing location – small children and steaming hot water, what could go wrong?

I’m looking forward to our next trip north when I think we may take on another geothermal wonderland, either Waimangu Valley or Wai-O-Tapu, and hopefully expand the little people’s knowledge of the earth and it’s sciences.  All while having fun, of course.

The Bath House

/ Ms Oh Waily / 1 Comment

Last month the Oh Waily kids and I went for a visit to their grandparents in Tauranga.  On this trip I finally decided that we would do some day trips while we visited instead of spending most of the time locally.

To that end we headed to Rotorua for the day.  We started with a gentle stroll along the lakefront, a run around in the lovely playground before refueling with morning tea in a local cafe.  We reinforced our recognition of the Scaup from our visit to Nga Manu as there was a huge number of them floating around the jetty.

We then drove around to The Bath House, which now houses Rotorua’s museum.  On the way we stopped and admired the beautiful waka on the lakefront.  You can’t help but love the prow, can you?

Prow

Unfortunately I can’t show you any photographs of the wonderful inside of the Bath House building as you aren’t allowed to take any.  But I can recommend a visit.  It is a small museum, but it is very modern and very nicely presented.  It was especially fun to see the restored and excavated sections of the original bath house stalls.  It was even more fun when we got to walk under the building, hard hats and all, to see all the underground workings involved in “taking the cure”.
Then I took the kids to the top viewing platform, through the attic, looking out for the ghost all the way.  It was a very nice experience all around.

After this we headed out to the Redwoods on the outskirts of Rotorua, stopping for a late lunch on the way.  I’ve driven past this area so many times in the last three years and had no idea that this existed.  What a waste!
So, we started by getting the kiddie’s questionnaire to encourage them to observe their surroundings and then set off for the short walk, Redwood Memorial Grove track.  It’s two kilometres of mostly easy walking, and it takes you through some beautiful parts of the forest.  Here’s a couple of photographs I took along the way.

Redwood Path

Redwood Stand

And when we reached the end, we had to stop and say hello to the Redwood Family. Apparently one of them might have had a bit of a headache the day we visited. Maybe they’d spent all day trailing around after small people?

Oh my Head!

If you are visiting the central North Island, or just passing through, I can recommend visiting both the Bath House and the Redwoods.  By the time we had visited these two spots we were pretty done for the day, with an hour and a bit drive each way from the Oh Waily grandparents’ house to bookend our day.

Following on from our successful trip to Rotorua, we headed out on one more day trip a little later in our stay, this time to a hidden valley just outside Taupo.

Family Field Trip: Cape Palliser Lighthouse

/ Ms Oh Waily / 4 Comments

With the last few days of Mr Oh Waily’s summer break we went on another family outing.  This time we headed out to Cape Palliser.  Not sure where that is?  Here’s a map for you.

At the end of a mix of gravel roads and tar seal we arrived at the first of our stops for the day, the Cape Palliser Lighthouse.   It was first lit in 1897 and was manned for 99 years before being automated.  As you can see, it has a very prominent position.

Cape Palliser Lighthouse

Getting up to the lighthouse involves a bit of courage for those with a fear of heights.

The steps

Roughly 250 steps later you are rewarded with far-reaching views.

The View

I highly recommend getting the stillest day you possibly can as it is exposed and the gusts can be extremely strong. Even on this loveliest of days the wind was gusting quite hard. Not for the feint hearted.

The Oh Waily kids had a good look around the flat platform area, including the rusty old winch.

Exploring the old technology

After we had been blown about a bit and had taken a few photographs, we slowly headed back down the stairs. Our next stop was the beach you can see in the photograph above, to look for seals, walk around the rock pools and see what the locals were wading in to get off the rocks.

Our next adventure is seeing seals.

Neighbourhood Walk Revisited

/ Ms Oh Waily / Leave a comment

No doubt, if you’ve been reading the Patch for a little while, you will remember the fun adventure we had wandering all around neighbourhoods from various parts of the world.

Well, Jo put together a nice pdf file from all of our contributions and today I am going to put it up in the sidebar for anyone who likes the idea of using it with their children.

Hopefully it will be the first downloadable here at the Patch.  Enjoy !