Starry, starry night

I had to dash out to the shops tonight, and when I got out to unload the shopping, I looked up. Oh my! The waning moon had gone down, and we have few lights out here, so the night sky was glorious! There were stars so fine you could barely see them. You could definitely see the Milky Way, though. Back when I lived in Brisbane, you could see the stars, but the Milky Way was not really defined. Here it was a speckly swathe of stars. I saw Orion, loud and clear, but as that's really the only constellation I can easily define, that will have to be it. (Sorry.)
Oh, and no pics, sorry. My poor little dear of a point-and-shoot can't handle anything like that. Pity.

Busy, busy, busy!

The next 2 months are going to be busy. We *plan* to move to a new place in about a month, so February will be full of preparations - finding a rental, applying for a rental, and (hopefully) moving into a rental. The problem is that we have spent the last 10 years in family-owned accomodation, first renting from hubby's parents' for 9.5 years, and now living at my parents' place. February will be exactly 10 years. Wow. So now we have the whole filling-out-forms and wishing-and-hoping-and-praying thing to do. And once we've secured a place, then there's the moving in and settling down. Yeah. Great fun.
What this all means is that our weeks are going to be unsettled. Today, for instance, I was in the city, looking at houses, leaving the children with my mother who is supposed to be minding, not teaching, them. I do not expect her to teach them, she has enough to do. But it does mean that the week is shortened/disrupted. But we're homeschoolers, aren't we? Who says we have to do school between 9am and 3pm, Monday to Friday only? Especially when hubby is working this Saturday, and the kidlets have no outside engagements at this time? So this week will be as follows: Monday - off, public holiday (Australia Day); Tuesday - school; Wednesday - off (I was in the city); Thursday - school; Friday - school; Saturday - school. Next week will be similar, as I will be away on Monday and Wednesday with appointments with real estates, and house hunting to do. And getting the car fixed (yay!) And other stuff. So for the next however-long, we will be schooling whenever we can, trying to get things done without stressing the children. Or myself.
Wish me luck.

Tangrams

I've wanted to have tangrams for the children for a while, and finally got around to making some today. I have seen suggestions to make them from paper or card, but, frankly, that wouldn't last long around here. Not only that, but they wouldn't be stiff enough to use (to my way of thinking, anyway.) So, anyway, onto the action.

The cast of characters: sticky-back foam, cardstock, ruler, fine-point pen, craft knife and cutting board. You could use plain foam, but I couldn't find any. And, of course, you wouldn't need the cardstock.

Peel off the backing for the foam, and place the cardstock on the surface. I chose blue cardstock for the red foam, and red cardstock for the blue foam. The card was a little smaller than the foam, so I just smoothed the backing back onto the foam.

Flip the foam over, and mark out the cutting lines, using a template. I used one from Enchanted Learning, a wonderful site, well worth the $US20/year subscription. If you're not a member, you could try here. While you're here, you can download some patterns.
Ok, now you have your template, use your fine-point pen and ruler to mark the foam.

And this is what happens when your first one goes perfectly, and *then* you decide to document. Try to make sure your sides are the right length and your corners are good.

And now we cut. Use the craft knife carefully to make sure if doesn't run off and join the circus, or something else a little more ... realistic ... like digging into the sides.

And we're still cutting. On the correct line, you'll note.

As I cut out pieces, you'll note the white backing paper. (Because that's *important*.)

The red set finished - for contrast, I used blue cardstock.

And the blue foam has red cardstock.

Well, now it's done. The girls have already had a go at the tangrams, though Gracey has just been playing, not using the puzzles from here. And for further information, Wikipedia is your friend ;)

The new Schoolroom

The children needed a specific place where they could put their things, and could do their work while we're staying at Mum & Dad's. They couldn't do it at the dinner table, as it tends to be in use a lot already. We can't use the lounge/dining, as Mum uses that for visitors over the week. It has to be away from the tv and computers, as Mark, especially, is drawn to anything with a screen. (It's really bad!) So we've put them in the front hall. It is quite wide, wider than a normal hallway, and Mum had a long, narrow trestle table that I could use. So, I covered it with a long tablecloth, added chairs and stuff, and here we are.

View from the door:

View from the end of the hall.

We try to colour-code the children's things - one girl gets pink, the other gets purple. Mark and Beth both have schedules at their places, showing what is done when. This way, I figure I can get things actually done. This fortnight's artwork is up (Botticelli's 'Fortitude'), as well as the month's memory verse. And a mirror. Because it's still an entry hall.
The boxes have most of the children's books in them, as we have no bookshelves for them. Each day, they have to roll out their boxes, and then push them back underneath the table, otherwise there isn't any room to move in the hall.
Hmm... Mark has a Kipling omnibus (the red and blue book) open at his place, and Grace has "The Kuia and the Spider", a tale from New Zealand, held in place by her Barbie pencil case. Beth's books are all away.
So, anyway, that's me rambling about the children's work area.

Virtual Girls' Night Out

Hopping around the blogosphere, as you do, I came across the Virtual Girls' Night Out, hosted by Ann Again ... And Again. Well, The Name Game looked like fun, so here we go. (I've quoted her rules below.)

The Name Game. Use the first letter of your name to answer the questions. Your answers need to be real places, names and things. Nothing made up :-> (You cannot use your name for #3 boy/girl "name" question.)


1. What is your name: Emma

2. A 4 Letter Word: Ever

3. A Boys Name: Ernest

4. A Girls Name: Evangeline

5. An Occupation: Engineer

6. A Color: Emerald

7. Something you wear: Espadrilles

8. A Beverage: Evian

9. A Food: Escargot (French food to match the French water, neither of which I would consume :p )

10. Something found in the bathroom: Ewer (big water jug for bathing)

11. A place: Elba (Island Napoleon was exiled to.)

12. A Reason for being late: Everyone stopped on the freeway

13. Something you shout: Eek (more of a squeal, but...)

So who's next?

Skywatch Friday

I've been going through my photos, trying to sort them out, etc, without going overboard. Anyway, I found this picture of the storm front going over. It took less than half an hour for this front to go from one side of the sky to another!

Pleasant surprise

We started back this week, after at least a month utterly off school, and probably longer for French. As it was, I wasn't doing French in a full-on manner. I had made some flashcards, which I was using - show it, say it, have him repeat it, mix them up and find the right word, match the French and English words, that sort of thing. Anyway, we started up this week, and I pulled out the flashcards. I only showed him the French ones and asked for a translation - he rememberd all but the last set of 4 words - brilliant!
Now to make the next set of flashcards. Note to self: buy more licence-sized laminating pouches.


This is Beth feeding the flashcards through the laminator. They're small enough to send 3 through at a time.

I ♥ Faces Competition

The iHeartFaces website has opened their first competition, and they have two sections: adults and kids. Guess which one I'm entering?


That's right: adults. No. Wait. Oh yeah - kids. This is my Gracey. Actually, I want to spell it Gracie, but she has insisted, and, well, it's her name, so this is how it's spelled.
We went to Queen's Park, probably the main park in Toowoomba, the local Big Smoke, at the beginning of the month. They have a selection of wonderful playgrounds there, including some big climbing things. In this shot, Gracey was stuck up high on a kind of disc/bowl/thing, and couldn't get down. This is her looking down over the edge at me. Poor thing. I made her wait while I took her picture. Bad mamma!

Scrambled Eggs for Dinner

It was my turn to make dinner last night, and we were just going to have something easy/simple. We were having scrambled eggs. When I make scrambled eggs, it is always going to be a filling, if simple, meal. Eggs, of course, onion is necessary, ham, bacon or cooked chicken is nice, and vegetables, especially if it is for a a main meal. So we begin.

Roughly dice 1 onion and some meat. Don't know how much - how much meat do you want? how many people are you feeding? There's probably 100-200g (1/4 - 1/2 pound) of ham here. Put some butter in the pan and start the onion, then add the ham. Now, if I was using bacon, I wouldn't use the butter, but start with the bacon, and add the onion once it had started to rend off the fat. I cook chicken the same way as the ham, because both are relatively low in fat (compared to the bacon.)
Once the onions are getting transparent, I added about 500g (1 pound) of frozen peas and corn. It could have been anything, but I like peas and corn, and they were right in the front of the freezer. Stir, then cover and let cook 5-10 minutes while you go back and add imperial measurements. (I have been very rough - 1 pound = 450g, and this is NOT a delicate recipe. Go for it, add whatever you like. Though I would not recommend adding chocolate. Not such a good look.)


Look at my eggs. Mine! All mine! Free range, and cheap as chips. [gloat]


Moving on. Look at those yolks. (So I'm not moving on. Deal with it.) I've got 8 eggs, because I plan on feeding the family, and by feeding, I mean stuffing. And maybe some left-overs because I'm the kind of Phillistine who eats left-over, nuked scrambled eggs.


Next is the milk. And cream. Don't tell Mum, but I nicked off with some of her whipped cream. Don't ask me how much, just pour the milk until you cover the pan to a depth of ... er ... 4mm? Which would be 1/6 inch. So not much. The cream is for richness, and I just used a teaspoon to dig out a few good lumps, which would be... maybe 1/4 cup? But then, if you're using half-and-half, you may not need that? We don't have that here. Just plain milk. And skinny milk. And not-so-skinny milk. And lactose-free milk. And rice milk. And ... but you get the picture. No half-and-half, though.


Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble... We did Macbeth at some point in school - possibly in drama, and possibly only the witches' speach. No eyes-of-newt in here, though. So what we're doing here is reducing the milk and cream mixture (see, I can do chef-speak!) It will also take on a caramelly colour as it cleans ... er ... deglazes the pan. Which is actually why I do this. Yes, I'm not just lazy, I do have reasons for what I do. All that lovely fried-onion-and-ham-and-veg stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan need not be wasted.


The milk and cream mix is now reduced sufficiently. When I push it around, it leaves a clean spot for a few seconds before slowly seeping back.


Got to be quick, now. Add the eggs and cheese - as much grated/shredded cheese as you like. I like *lots* of cheese, so i just about filled my grater with the stuff. If you do nothing else for your eggs, add onions and cheese. Yum! And stir, of course, before it all congeals into a misshapen lump.


Serve with buttered toast, and eat. Cutlery not required (unless you're civilised.) Plate of unknown provenance.


I was photographing all this and hubby was on the computer. He noticed one of the flashes and wanted to know what was going on - just photographing dinner. Nothing special.

Oh, and I wanted to add - I got left-overs! :D

So the recipe is:

2 tbs butter
1 onion, roughly diced
200g diced ham
500g frozen vegetables
1/2 cup milk (total guess here)
1/4 cup cream (same with this one - doesn't have to be whipped) (optional)
8 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated cheese

Melt butter, add onions and saute
Add ham and stir for a few minutes
Add frozen vegetables, stir, cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size and type of vegetables used
Add milk and cream (if using - I don't usually have any) and stir to deglaze pan
Reduce milk mixture for a few minutes
Add eggs and stir
Add cheese and stir
Stir regularly for a few minutes until about done - eggs will continue to cook after the pan is off

Serve with buttered toast

Plans for the New Year

Well, the children want to start school tomorrow, so I thought I'd post our plans for the year. Translation: the *girls* want to start school this week, but my eldest is sleeping over at her best friend's tonight, so the only person actually wanting to start tomorrow is the youngest, and the boy is doing what he's told, and Eldest Girl starts on Tuesday. First week of the year, and she's already a day behind :)
So... Plans! Beth is doing a variation of Ambleside Online's Year 4. Technically, she's in grade 7, but Year 4 is a pretty hefty year, so I'm content to slot her in there.
Here is her yearly plan, all of her readings. Some things I've had to replace or remove, and here we are:

Year 4 Year Schedule

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Curriculum Education amblesideonline sche

Being a person without much of a sense of time, I need a schedule to ensure that we do what we need to do, so I've written a daily plan, as well.

Year 4 Daily Schedule

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Curriculum Education amblesideonline sche

Mark is 8, turning 9 this year, and technically in grade 4. (How did that happen? He's just a little boy!) He's not a good reader, though he loves to read, and doesn't always pay attention, so I'm starting him on a combination of Years 1 and 2. I

Year 1/2 Year Schedule

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Curriculum Education amblesideonline sche

Mark's also has a daily schedule:

Year 1/2 Daily Schedule

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Curriculum Education amblesideonline sche

As for Gracey, she has gotten a taste of school at Prep last year, but she's still only 5, and won't be of compulsory school age until December, so I will be doing a form of Year 0 with her. Pretty much this involves phonics, handwriting, a little bit of maths, and picture books. She will also be taking part in the combined subjects, like Artist and Composer studies, songs, Art, Craft, and Nature Study. So, pretty much Gracey's year schedule comprises a booklist that I can tick off when we have read the book. I plan to have a general book, an Australian book, a New Zealand book, and a Beatrix Potter book each week. Since I don't have all the books, let alone have room for all of them, I made a list so that I can take it to the library with us, and can get out the week's books then, and tick them off so that I don't get them out again by accident.
Gracey's booklist is here:

Year 0 Booklist

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Curriculum Education amblesideonline sche

Actually, there were so many great Australian authors, including a number I thought were American, that I just listed the authors' names. I've also got a reading log on my computer so I can list what I have read, and when.

Well, if you're with me at this point, congratulations! And thank you for your attention. Next thing is to see if I can actually stick to this. Also, I have to figure out where we're going to be doing school. I think we will be shuffling around the rooms for the next couple of weeks while we figure it out. And I promise to post some pictures soon :)

Oh, and they have free reading lists. Mark's is basically 15 books our of the Year 1 and 2 free reading lists combined with a list of Australian classics, while Beth's list is 20-30 books sourced out of Mark's list, the Year 3 and 4 free reading lists, and a few more Australian classics, a lot of which were scrounged from my mother's shelves. She has a lot of wonderful books! I'll add those later.

That will teach me!

Honestly, the number of times I write late at night, and had to go back later to insert words or correct spelling! I'm a good speller, honestly I am. But not so much at 2am ;)

Eek!

The garage was going to be empty for a good day and a half, so I decided to get into our boxes. Since we're still living at Mum's place, most of our stuff is still in boxes, including all the books I had set aside for this year's school. I went through every box not clearly marked 'crystal' or 'plastics', etc, and found just about everything. But not Beth's Bulfinch book. This book will be a major part of her English Lit studies for the next 2 years, I purchased it years ago for just this time, and *I* *couldn't* *find* *it*. Not at all. Not in any of the boxes. Nowhere.
Then I glimpsed a plastic crate which appeared to have papers in it. Huh? So I checked. *Someone* (possibly my brother, to whom I will be ever grateful for his help moving - too huge job for words) put books in a plastic crate. Bulfinch was there, along with Mona Brookes 'Drawing with Children'.
Duh!
On the upside, Beth took one look at the books piled on the table, and decided that she wants to start school immediately! Yikes! I'm not ready! I have sales to go to, doesn't she know that? Actually, she does, as she also has money burning a hole in her pocket. So, anyway, hubby has a day off tomorrow, so we're heading up to the 'Big Smoke' to buy things. Oh, and he has uniforms to order for work, but that's just trivial stuff, isn't it?
So, anyway, I have found that I have enough folder-file-box things (1-2cm deep, takes A4 books, clips shut securely, see-through, *love them* .... Sorry, got lost trying to find a pic. Ok. Got them, got writing books, except one or two for copywork, got some writing pencils. Will probably get some new colouring pencils, textas, and ... ooh... art supplies. (drool) And recorders. Yes, I know, not a good look, but they are a good basic instrument. Hubby went from the recorder to the saxophone without lessons, so 'nuff said.

Side note: looking for a Youtube video for "God of Nations" (New Zealand's national anthem - hubby's kiwi) and came across this. (Ok. Hoped that worked. If not, it's the Youtube video titled NZ National Anthem TVNZ Promo. Amazing video. But the one I'm intending to use for homeschool ended up being an All Black rugby version - I was trying to avoid it, but the singers are always clear and distinct in their enunciation, and sing the standard version, while the one I linked isn't. This is necessary when the anthem has more than one language, and the words are not an *exact* translation. There was also one from the NZ Youth Choir - heavenly, but, again, not so good for teaching children.
He he... and maybe a Haka. That'll make hubby happy.

Anyway, better go now. Shopping tomorrow, bright and (gasp) early. For me, anyway.

Gluten-Free Blondies

So, here we are. About to embark on a sinfully delicious recipe which has at least the benefit of being gluten free.

Oh my goodness! I'd forget my brain if it wasn't stitched in! I forgot to talk about the white chocolate at this point, so am adding it now. (For first time viewers, this wasn't a mistake, I am practically perfect in every way, more so than Mary Poppins!)

So, take 375g/13 oz (very approximately, my conversion of weight isn't the best, and besides, it's ...) white chocolate, and melt gently. You could go the whole double-boiler-don't-let-the-chocolate-get-wet-or-it-will-seize route, or you could nuke it, like I did. Nuke and stir, nuke and stir, because chocolate maintains its shape when nuked. So you have to keep stirring it to get it gooey. And then there's the spoon to lick - yum. And you should probably use a bigger bowl, 'cause I can't make a cake in this one. Sigh...

Add one cup of sugar. I use raw, which adds something of a caramel flavour to the recipe. Note the metal bowl. Now I can't stick the chocolate back in the microwave to warm back up. Oh for my big ceramic bowls :( They're in storage :(

Three egg, which are free-range, and I get at an incredible price. (Insert gloating here.)

1 cup of gluten-free flour, because this is a gluten-free recipe. But if you don't need that, feel free to use the flour of your choice. I'm using White Wings gluten free, which appears to be based on rice flour, is *very* white for someone used to unbleached flour, and is... chalky? in texture.

Mixy mixy mixy... And keep mixing. You don't want any unmixed flour, because that would be just ick. You don't want it to end up like this. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the batter after mixing, because it was Sunday morning, and I don't like mornings. I'm lucky I took as many as I did.

Line a 20cm (8 inch) square pan. A little better than this, preferably ;) Ok, so pour it in, and bake it at 180C/360F for about 35 minutes.

And the final product. er... these are the scones. I was cooking for Church, and so I cut the scones with the small cutter (2.5cm/1 inch) and put them all together on the tray to bake. I didn't even have to brush the tops, just, you know, leave them in a little to long. (blush) But they went.

Ok, so *this* is the final product. Caramelised surface, soft interior, absolutely yummy. Tasted just as if I had used wheat flour. Very rich, though, so you don't want a lot. Which is handy, 'cause if you take it anywhere, you won't get a lot.

Ok, so that is:

375g/13 oz white chocolate
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup gluten-free flour

Melt the chocolate, mix in the sugar, and then the eggs.
Mix in the flour, making sure you have it all mixed in.
Pour into a lined 20cm/8 inch square pan, and bake at 180C/360F for about 35 minutes.
Let sit for 5-10 minutes before removing.

Theoretically this should serve 16, but if you eat the lot with ice cream, well you'll be *really* sick, but I'd understand.

So, notes: in Australia we have white chocolate, which is cocoa butter and milk and sugar. Something like that, and it is drool-worthy. I think, in America, you have vanilla chips? They should probably do. Next, the melted chocolate will be warm, which is why I add sugar next. The sugar won't melt, but the process of mixing in room temperature sugar will drop the temp of the chocolate. Third thing to consider is have the eggs at room temperature. You don't want the chocolate-sugar mix to congeal into chocolatey-sugary lumps which will float through the mixture, and become lumps of ymuuy-chocolatey-sugary ... stuff ... in your blondie. Or wait...
Moving along.
Oh, and you can use whatever flour you like/have/need. The White Wings flour, which is made with starch (maize, tapioca), rice flour, and vegetable gum (464), worked admirably in this. I cannot vouch for any other GF flour.
Yeah, and use milk/dark/whatever chocolate you want. I based this on my standard lazy brownie recipe, which is great, even with generic brand compound chocolate which I wouldn't eat directly.

Mysterious happenings

Any guesses what's going on?

The dark bits are magnetised haemitite, and all our wall corners have steel reinforcing strips, so they are just sitting there, half way up the wall.

Yummy posting delayed

I made a Gluten-Free Blondie on Sunday morning, for Church. I took photos and everything, but hubby has my camera, so I can't post it just yet. Maybe tonight I will remember to take it out of the car! Super easy (4 ingredients) and super yummy.

That time of year again

Yep, it's heads-down-bums-up (if you'll excuse the vulgarity, that would be great!) as I plough into planning documents for Mark and Beth. Yikes! I have been planning their curricula for the last 3-6 months, but now I have to formalise it in a manner that the Home Education Unit can access. type type type...
Ok, back to the grindstone. Who needs a nose anyway?

Chicken Confusion

Dad started watching The Good Life again, from the first episode. They bought some chickens, so the camera focused on the chickens for a good few seconds. I took one look at the chickens and decided they were Golden Laced Wyandottes. Stop. Think. No. They were Barred Plymouth Rocks. Or maybe Silver Laced Wyandottes, but either way, I *would* remember the wrong breed when I couldn't remember them last time I wrote about chickens.

Sunset

We had such a wonderful sunset last night, I tried to do it justice. I haven't done much at all to the photos, maybe crop a few - that's it.

I tried to rest on one of the cars for support. That's the shiny thing at the bottom ;)

I did not touch these colours. Such incredible yellows!

Again with the yellows!

There were these amazing little whispy/fluffy clouds. I don't know if they came up but it was an incredible effect.

Walls and floors and skyhooks!

Bethy wanted to know why there were 2 mattresses laying across her bedroom doorway. I said that it's because we have a lot of people staying tonight - it's my cousin's 30th birthday party, and it's here, and there will be 22 people staying the night. She asked where they were going to sleep? I said that I didn't know, but what I wanted to say was: walls and floors and skyhooks!

It's back!

Sorry to do this to you, but I have to say it: So You Think You Can Dance Australia is back! If I have to download it from the website each week, I am seeing it!
The new promo is here.