September - October 2011

  Again, life has got in the way of blogging, but I at least had the foresight to make notes along the way this time ;)

OK, here's a summary of the last 7 weeks.....


- Upon our return from Darwin, we decided we needed a fun family day.   Having enjoyed her time in the motel swimming pools in Darwin, Jasmine was insanely keen on going to the Hobart Aquatic Centre.  She has gained so much water confidence lately - although not enough to enjoy the large water slide.  Still, the fact that she was willing to try was a huge step for her :)  I think we'll be at the local pool a fair bit this Summer!


- A few weeks ago, the movie 'Hairspray' was on TV.  Jasmine was questioning some of what she saw, which lead to a lesson on racism & segregation.  Such concepts were quickly deemed to be "stupid", which was a proud Mummy moment.


- She's been gorging herself on Mathletics, particularly counting by 2/5/10, probability, mass, data and capacity in the 'Rainforest Maths' section.  She found most of the Gr 1 level too easy, declaring, "I'm a little bit older, you know". :D  So she's sitting somewhere between Gr1 & Gr 3 concepts.  Mind you, I tried suggesting Mathletics & Spellodrome to her today & she stormed off because I was "trying to make her do spelling", after which she had no interest in maths, either.  


- Jasmine has discovered Science and LOVES doing experiments.  She particularly liked the 'peeling a raw egg' eggsperiment using an egg & vinegar, which was a good chance to talk acids, bases, CO2 production & ion transfer.  

We also grew a stalactite & stalagmite using epsom salts.  I'll have to get some copper sulphate crystals to make some pretty blue ones like I used to do as a kid :D  We also tried making a cloud in a jar, but that was a flop, unfortunately.

Other adventures include....

Making lotsa lasagne 
                                                                             

 Losing teeth (with another lost since this pic)

                          

                                 Random pheasant visitations

Playing with slaters (wood lice)

Slightly overcooked Gluten free pizza base for a picnic lunch

Playing with grasshoppers

The solar system model we painted months ago has finally been assembled, sans Saturn.    I think we'll need to get a replacement as I can't find it anywhere.

Sales Assistant at my market stall

Amongst all that frivolity, there has been more sadness for our family.  Jasmine's Nonno passed away, 2 months & 1 day since the accident that killed her Aunt & Uncle.  We travelled to Sydney last week for the funeral.  Despite being a sad occasion, it was great to see Jasmine playing with her 8 cousins.   They are all early-mid teens, but throw a jumping castle into the mix & age is irrelevant ;)

Now we're settling in at home again & just hoping that there are no further tragedies for some time!  Jasmine has changed from trampolining to rhythmic gymnastics this term & is absolutely loving it.  Another new activity is gathering with other unschoolers at the Hobart Natural Learning Co-op.   This group is the brainchild of some lovely Owlets and I think it's going to be a great addition to our weekly schedule.  Our first meet went really well & we took advantage of a gorgeous Spring day to make & fly kites.  The wind was slightly lacking, but there were occasional gusts to get them airborne.