Spikee has started to take a real interest in reading. We spent a whole bus ride today discussing B is for Bus and D is for Dinosaur and so on and so forth, and I had to read all the signs to him. Tonight I'm thinking of showing him the Reading Eggs website and seeing if he's interested.
It's fascinating watching a child start to develop an interest in reading and writing, and not feeling like they need to go to school to learn. Knowing they will simply absorb it by immersing them self in daily life is such an amazing thing!
Stylish's latest obsession is birds and bird nests. She's become a regular bird watcher and can identify different types of birds and their nests. She's learning about which birds are native and which have been introduced, can tell you how long a baby bird stays in its' nest and when it learn to fly, what they eat (pigeons feed their young MILK!?!?!?!), the different names for the birds, depending on what they eat and so on and so forth. She even floated the idea of becoming an ornithologist ... but I'm confident we'll be back to frogs soon.
The maths obsession continues, and her quest to learn all her times tables (up to 12) is going unbelievably well. nearly seven years in a school failed to teach her what she's self taught herself in a matter of weeks. Her confidence in her mathematical ability has sky rocketed and it's really lovely to see the change from "I'm hopeless at maths" to "I can do this now, I just had to WANT to do it!".
We are thinking of moving to Tasmania towards the end of the year and buying a house there. There are several reasons to move to Antarctica ... I mean Tasmania. Firstly it means we can buy a house and have a very tiny mortgage on it, whereas if we stay here we would need a huge mortgage and be unable to afford holidays and other little joys like dining out. Also, the weekly repayments on a tiny mortgage are quite literally only 10% of the cost of our current rental property! Secondly it means we will be able to afford a solar panel! I want a solar panel because a) they're environmentally sustainable and b) it will cut our power bills dramatically - making living even more affordable! I also want a water tank for the same reasons. Thirdly and, possibly one of my greatest motivators, we will have the room for chickens and maybe even a couple of ducks! Plus a big veggie garden and a green house, and a dog! The lifestyle change will be dramatic, from living in a major city to living in a glorified country town (we're looking at places just outside Hobart), and I expect it will do us all the world of good! A move towards a more sustainable lifestyle is the greatest gift you can give your children in my opinion.
6 comments:
wow moving to Tassie sounds like a big one! I can see why you would want to though. I dream of moving inland but my lovely man loves the beach! I just love the country myself.
Isn't it exciting watching the children learn of their own accord? I remember the day Zak finally "got it" with his reading! He was so proud of himself and I was utrerly amazed at how he did it all by himself! This week at our house it has been all about frogs/tadpoles, spiders and Vikings! (Now I wish they would take an interest in timestables LOL, they don't seem to like that one yet!)
We've done frogs and tadpoles lol I wish we could get to the viking books I have! I've picked up so many great viking books second hand, and I don't think anyone has ever opened them!
Pigeons what?!??!?!?!?
Off to google. DD will absolutely not believe me if this is true!
I know hahaha! It's crazy hey!
Tassie sounds lovely...but we would miss you, we just might have to pop over for a visit one time ;)
I will miss myself, don't worry lol It's a huuuuge leap for me, having always lived in a city! Mind you, Sydney will still be here .... and I know I'll be back.
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