Music and Drama - Again! :)

Last week saw our 18 and 17 year olds head off into the 'big wide world' as they began their lives as students at the local TAFE.

Daniel, 18, is completing a Certificate IV in Sound Production, and Helena, 17, will be studying Certificate IV in Music.  We rocked up for the orientation day, handed over the cash, and they were ready to go.

Their first week has been full of wonderful, exciting possibilities, including several people offering to record Helena as she plays the pieces that they have composed.  And Daniel is very much enjoying learning about the physics of sound waves and how to use the sound boards.


We have also started back at the conservatorium, with four of us enrolled for private lessons as well as signing up for several ensembles and bands.  The Con tells us we win the 'Frequent Flyer Points' for attending the highest number of groups - typical - we do tend to do that!

The Conservatorium here is absolutely marvellous.  I can't tell you what a delight it is to walk in, hearing music pouring out of the rooms.  They have the most wonderful, welcoming staff, and fantastic teachers.  We are indeed very blessed to have found them, and look forward to all they have to offer.  

Sing Australia - Our SA Group (We miss you!)

So what else?  We began back with Sing Australia, and each week, attend to belt out lots of our favourite tunes.  They have a most marvellous repertoire, and if there's a group near you, I'd highly recommend that you check them out - you do not have to be a great singer - in fact, you don't have to have any abilities at all - it's all about having fun!

The Grafton group certainly lives up to this reputation, and we're enjoying being a part of the group.  The only 'downside' is that it may clash with rehearsal times in our 'latest' activity, the drama group.  And speaking of drama, the next thing on our 'list' was the audition evening.

The Criterion Theatre held their first auditions for the year - for 'Rockin' Robin' - a musical, and shall we say.....   'entertaining' version of Robin Hood.  Several of us auditioned for speaking parts, while others were keen to help out behind the scenes with sets, costumes, etc.  It was a little nerve-wracking for some, but naturally, others felt right at home on the stage!  I must admit to having one of those 'proud mummy moments' when my children stood up with total confidence and happily rattled off their chosen songs as well as reading through the script with confidence and enthusiasm.  And then, we were done.  We headed off home with the group saying they would let us know.

Fast forward a few days.....   and yep, we have our parts!   Several of us did score a major speaking role, including myself, who, for whatever reason, was given the part of the 'magic mirror'.  Why they thought I'd be good in that role I'm not sure, but I get the honor of sticking my head through a prop to become the mirror, and will be rolled about on stage, rattling off funny lines like, 'Yeh, right', 'Wow!  Check it out', and 'I am not cracked!'.  While dear hubby, who is playing the part of the sorcerer, tells me to 'shut up' - twice! 

Some of the children were also offered speaking parts, and some will have a stack of lines to learn.  And of course, we all will be joining in with the chorus as they rattle off some great old songs like 'Rockin' Robin', 'Johnnie B Goode' and 'Rock Around the Clock'.

Yep, it's going to be a fun, fun, year.......

May God bless your day!

Linda.

Friday's Encouraging Expressions.

Have a Good Friday!

Linda.

Happy Valentine's Day!

With Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease!

Linda.

A Slight Change of Plans – Excellence in Writing

As you may have seen on my previous post, this year I had planned to use IEW’s ‘Ancient History-Based Writing Lessons’ with my three youngest girls.  We’ve had a change of plans.  Last year, the girls completed SWI (Student Writing Intensive) Level A, but unfortunately, with travelling, moving, the fire, and all the other ‘minor’ things we went through, I wasn’t exactly able to supervise as well as I’d like, so a few things were… shall we say….  not exactly completed to their fullest potential. 

So, instead of moving onto a theme-based book, we’ve decided this year to begin with SWI B, which will cover the basics again, but at a higher level.  Another advantage with using SWI B is that the girls will watch Andrew himself on the DVDs, which as many of you will appreciate, is always a hit!  We organised the new folders and pulled our DVDs from  the depths of the yet-to-be-unpacked boxes, and soon we were ready to begin.

Last Wednesday was ‘the day’.  After presenting the girls with their new folders, we settled down in front of the television for their first session.  As always, there were smiles and chuckles as Andrew ‘did his thing’ and taught them all about key word outlines and how to re-write a paragraph.  The source text was a paragraph on ‘Sea Wasps’, which are found in the oceans off the coast of Australia.  I’m always very appreciative of this particular lesson; it’s lovely to begin the year with some Australian content, and to know that Australia has some of the coolest and most deadly creatures in the world! 

As is typically the case, we soon found that we ‘were not alone’.  There’s something special about Andrew Pudewa, and he manages to grab the attention of whoever is about.  Even though our Daniel has finished his homeschooling, once he saw what we were watching, he happily settled himself of the couch to enjoy the lesson as well.  It’s wonderful to have such a programme; one that the older children can simply watch and enjoy, and yet, they are therefore having a review lessons themselves.

Once the DVD reached a certain point, it was time to press ‘stop’ and have the girls re-write their paragraph.  I was pleased to discover that they tackled the task easily, and remembered several things from the lessons of last year.  It was good to know they had retained some information, despite my failings!  The next day involved writing up another paragraph before moving on to the next section of the DVD.  Although the course was originally an intensive, 4-day presentation, IEW now offer lesson plans for 15-30 weeks, meaning we can take our time and allow plenty of opportunities for practicing the various skills learned along the way.

It’s wonderful again to be working through SWI B – I think this is my favourite one of the series.  Next year, we’ll use the Continuation Course, but we will probably use Speech Boot Camp first – another one of my favourites.  For now though, I’m looking forward to using these DVDs again and enjoying the giggles as Andrew takes the girls through their lessons.  We’re off to a good start – just the thing to keep a busy homeschooling mum happy!

Linda.

Our Lady of Lourdes

So I thought I’d write a post on our homeschooling day – because y’know – that’s what we supposedly ‘do’.

Yesterday was February 11.  As my Catholic friends would know, that means it is the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes.  We really do love the story of St Bernadette, and several times now, we’ve completed an activity from Seton’s ‘Art For Young Catholics’, Grade 1. 

I love this book!  Sure, it’s grade 1, and my girls are a bit beyond that now, however, it offers such lovely art projects that we do them anyway.  And I figure if I can get away with a Grade 1 project rather than a complicated Grade 6 or 7 project with lots of materials and complicated instructions, it’s all good!

We set ourselves up outside on the patio.  It’s such a lovely spot for art projects, and of course, tackling art projects outside certainly saves the carpets and other floor coverings.  I photocopied the necessary pages, and we were ready to go.  It was a lovely afternoon sitting there with my girls as they coloured, cut, and glued.  The project was to make an ‘Our Lady of Lourdes’ picture, complete with tissue roses and vines.  The idea is so simple – the roses look wonderful, and yet, to make them, all you do is cut a small square of red tissue paper, crumple it up, and ta-da!  One rose, ready to be glued onto your picture.

I was so excited that this was all going so well, that I just had to take some pics:

 

I even called Bill away from his work to witness it!  He just smiled and gave me ‘that look’ as if to say, ‘Wow!  You guys are actually doing schoolwork today – how about that?’  And then wandered happily back to the office.

One thing about working outside is the animals.  During the day, one of our cats turned up with a lizard in her mouth.  We’ve been told that the cats should not eat these particular kind of lizards, as it can do something strange to their eyes, so I stamped my foot, startling her and making her drop it   The lizard took off as fast as it could go – right in the direction of the doghouse.  At this, the dog, spying a free snack, flew into action, and sprinted after it.  The lizard reached the doghouse and scurried straight underneath, but as for the dog….

Well, let’s just say that if it were possible for a dog to have a massive headache, she’s got one!

Anyways, back to the school work…

After a little while, the projects were completed, and the girls proudly displayed their masterpieces:

 

 

They then headed inside to watch the CCC video, ‘Bernadette’, to finish off the afternoon.  This is another series I highly recommend for young children:  we’ve had the videos for years, and I think they are the most commonly played videos in our home.  Other titles include St Francis Xavier, The Day the Sun Danced, and even The Odyssey.

Our check list for the day:

Art and Craft – tick!

Religion – tick!

History – tick!

Hands-on activity – tick!

Quick, simple and effective – just the way I like it!

Linda.

Pope Benedict XVI

Please join us in prayer for Pope Benedict the XVI, who has just announced his retirement due to ill health. 

The news tonight has come as a shock to Catholics across the world;  and closer to home, it is certainly a shock to our family.  You just never know what’s around the corner, do you?

Pope Benedict is an amazing man, and has led the church since 2005.  He is the first Pope to retire in nearly 600 years.

We pray that God’s will be done, and we pray for those now responsible for electing a new Pope.  May the Holy Spirit guide and protect them.

God bless,

Linda.

Be Back Soon.....

Spending three nights in a row with family and friends dancing, playing and singing has taken its toll......

Have a great week!

Linda.