Reading

http://www.ishmael.org/Education/Writings/unschooling.cfm

Broccoli 2

I've never had much success with broccoli, cauilflower or cabbage...I must admit the few times I've tried have not been in sink with the cabbage moth, really de-caterpillaring them, getting the right season or keeping our goat out.

RIP Billy but he did come along and eat the middle out of each plant one year.

Also my children and their little mates often walk through my garden collecting things for their 'soup'...a few florets ended up as play soup off of this plant. "ohh its a bit spicy" we were told afterwards.

Some people ask why I bother. 

1. Knowing I can...sooo important to me. All the little parts of growing from seed, right seed, right time, right care.

2. Also since reading Kay Baxter from Koanga gardens write up on nutrient dence food has really sparked my intrest.

3. Since eating more paleo type foods I've more intrest in these plants where as before I'd buy one and it would die slowly in our fridge...now we rip through 1-2 a week.

4. I know what's on it...just rain.

Learning cobbling together ideas from square foot gardening and Gia's garden (I could of spelt all that wrong at the moment as head is not good). I've started to understand different layers of planting. Very cool.

So while I've got a little ways this season I hope to do better next season.  

Round town

Learning about town..in the past we have done a big walk with the Home Ed unit looking at all the historical sites that the museum has information on. DD6 was probably a bit young but DD9 remembers most of it. Today we took some current photos.

We've also been having some fun with the deciduous leaves we've found too. DS6 has been thinking that the trees are dead and I'm not sure he's convinced yet that they are not.

So looking forward to showing him the apple blossom in spring.

Loving it

Fresh 1 minute ago eating soon

Books books and more books

http://astore.amazon.com/christopherus-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=32

We love books and have shelves over flowing with them.

I have a few books now days but they are not for me as user friendly especially recipe books or reference books where you need to put your finger in one page or more and flip back and forward a lot.

Good old mind drivel that takes no effort is great on ebook and 95% of the time you will only reread the whole book not look for specific parts.

Anyway

We get heaps of books. Currently we're doing the mind body thing and learning so much there.

I've got my eye on a new stack by Kay Baxter ...mostly cooking, permaculture gardening type books.

For the kids I've been getting ideas from the above link...very close to Oak Meadow.

Mum and Dad are on holiday at the moment so have asked for a book list for the kids...neat!

Watercolour oil pastel

While on holiday I found some oil watercolour pastel which I think are pretty cool...and so does DD9.

DD9 has never really been keen on the whole art thing but sometimes she'll break out and WOW 

This drawing was a part of another question on what animals would you like as pets...Chickens! And a goat.

I'd been working with DD9 for a while with punctuation and grammar and she really didn't get the point hating it. So I wondered if I used one of the kids movies dictated with no punctuation or grammar would DD9 get the point.

I think so

She did pretty well too.

Our nature table had been neglected over the past few months as I have struggled with health issues...but now new energy and a re vamp is great.

Our family of mice (we have rats too but they are not as cute) but truely both are pests! But the kids love playing with the little mice. We have them here arranged around the fire. It's been great over the last few weeks being able to light the fire and keep everyone warm.

Maths art...has been great fun to the point that DS6 took it on his own to re do this on his own...so impressed...one of his first big self directed projects he's taken from start to finish.

We've also done a bit of beeswax model stuff too...sometimes you need to have a cold just to direct everything down another path for a while. Here we have a fox - from the Enid Blyton story and a lamb from...I have no idea where

Minecraft

http://www.teachergaming.com/

and, this is even better:

http://www.learntomod.com

Dave's been getting into minecraft from a different angle...our kids just love it

For so long our kids have been wanting to mod mod mod

Beeswax and toadstools

All I'm fit for at the moment is stories 

Cutting back on the chicken feed

http://imaginacres.com/urban-chickens-how-to-rid-your-coop-of-a-rat-invasion/

So the bottom line is don't feed the rats!
Work out how much food the chicken needs...be sure to add in heaps of greens for them but no 'food' for the rats.

We've had rats since we've had compost and even more since we've had chickens.
Ever had a rat up your trouser leg...YUCK! Was not a pleasant experience. We have used poison but really I think its terrible and I really worry about all the other animals around when we put out poison so we hardly ever do it.

So we need to cut back on a few things.
I know what we need to do but its getting round to doing it.

1. Coops need to be bird proof and easy to move and clean.
www.omlet.co.uk

This design I feel is answers to many problems we have...moving them easily, cleaning them easily, feeding them easily, sleeping purch up and away, nesting boxes...oh it makes me dribble and babble on. The other big plus is it looks good too. So Dave when should we do it?

2. Chicken food can not go on the ground!
We have used a 'grandpa's feeder' but our chickens don't seem to understand how to stand on them to open them and not freekout ...but maybe we just have to work at it.
The other option is use a pipe feeder with a cap? Not sure how this would work and if the kids would be keen to put the cap on at the end of chicken feeding time.

Updated...

Oh oh DINE A CHOOK could be the answer...because Dave and I have so much time and money to waist lol...and our kids are old enough not to chop off their foot while working on a project (not looking at anyone in particular DD9) we'll look at buying one ready made and see how we go. http://youtu.be/lzSNtbqn5-8

3. Food scraps (for now) have to go into a worm farm. Where?...in the top garden the pumpkin patch corner.
I've seen one on www. growing a greener world which used a metal rubbish bin drilled with holes through and sunk into the ground...fitted with a tight lid on top.

www.growingagreenerworld.com

If you fast forward to about 9mins she'll be talking about the compost worm bin I'm thinking of.
www.bunnings.co.nz
Pick up one of these

4. Chicken health
We really need to get back to the point of letting each family out to graze for greens and bugs everyday...we've had a few baby roosters which need to be tamed.

5. Removing the chicken's which we don't really have any love for :-( we got these chickens as old hens so never really bonded with them.
We have some really large black orpingtons that are toooooo large for our kids and our garden and we can't free range them as the hawks get into them and they are not tame. So we have to put them on trade me :-( feeling very sad but truly we have to downsize and cut back.

6. Ultimately I would like to be like my hero Kay Baxter...

www.koanga.org.nz

And work my whole garden into becoming self sufficient

7. Make garden closh as a polly house and a

So lots of work to do...

June with colds

The weather is cold and we've had I think a few cold which have been end on end and really driving me nuts. We've been so well for a long time so I'm pretty grumpy about it.

We've been really hitting the Jolly Phonics. DD9 is not all that keen on working with worksheets but thats ok...I don't think they are a great idea either. But we take the idea and work out something which  works best for us and twist the whole lot together to make a bit of a project or block of work.

Here DD9 is getting to draw her animals she would like...chickens and a goat on her farm.

Toadstools again to see how long the take to grow

I felt that we needed a quick walk to the letterbox and back...which is how the  toadstools got their photograph and then how they started climbing trees.

DD9 had her pet rooster Rosey under her arm...

about 10seconds later after this photo DS6 coughed himself out of the tree...I was thinking oh my goodness broken leg from the way he fell...but it was only an egg on his head.

My two lovelies looking a little dozy

DS6 has done his first part of weaving..

Working on Jolly Phonics 

YouTube on health and permaculture

http://youtu.be/hs0Uzn1lyF4 

Primal body primal mind...very Cool book which Dave has read and I've just started.

http://youtu.be/zDLY2FWPBSw

Grain brain not read it yet but in the line up 

http://www.thehealingpartnership.org/pdf/pyroluria_handout.pdf

I've also been reading up on pyroluria and taking supplements which I have found to be a great susscess for me...just have to remember them. Zinc and b6...and I'm sure once I've knocked this cold I'll really start to feel great!

Weight of a tomato

This morning we've started very slow. DS6 had a cold last week and is just finishing up and now DD 9 and I have the cold and are very foggy with our brains.

We've just come back from Paihia a lovely little trip which I hope to write up soon...

But on with this morning.

I've started my over hall of my curriculum with the Start Right books from ESA just while I find my feet and write up some plans.

I've been looking with a good home ed friend on how to use Pinterest and Waldorf curriculum...I'm pretty excited about how this could all work out.

I'm going to really work in the Jolly Phonics and Grammar books and then really look at the rest of the natural science and social studies.

All just takes time...and a well brain which i do't have at the moment.

Dave is down in Auckland seeing Grandma today. She has been in hospital with pneumonia.

DD9 has been working through her homework book to see how big the tomato was in the question.

Even the poor old cat had to get in on the act to see if we cold find something which weighed in at 3.5kg...DD9 started taking bottles out of the box until she could start adding back in smaller things.




I knew there would be a catch...now we're drinking ginger beer at 10:30.