Reminiscing at the latest birthday.

Just one more candle...

We celebrated Zach's birthday recently and it was a sort of milestone.  I was chatting with a new acquaintance recently and he mentioned to me that he had 3 children under 7.
I paused for a moment and considered this measure.
"We've had 3 under 7 for the last 15 years!" I replied.  But that is no more.
Now Zach is 4, we have no more nappies, less shared night-times with the Starfish sleeping technique of babies, no night time feeding and many more activities that a 4 year old is now too old for.
He and Martin are playing much more together, rather than having occasional fights for control over a shared toy.
For 22 years of being parents we always have had a new younger one bringing up the rear while we handled new adventures with the older children. We are now in a new phase.  Not better or worse, just different.  Again.

Puddles are for jumping

It is a great adventure, privilege and honour to be able to be such a part of a family.  Being able to share so many of our experiences together, through homeschooling, running a business, and generally living the busy life of 10 people is a great blessing.
Too often we think of family life and children primarily in terms of their costs and responsibilities. But I think this is missing the point.  We are told that children are a great gift and will be of great benefit to us. I suspect much of that beneficial nature is lost when you focus incorrectly.  It's a bit like pointing a camera using manual focus and not knowing you have to move the lens to see better.
Initially the object of your focus is blurry and indistinct, but as you turn the lens you suddenly see all the good bits and soon all the non essential parts can be ignored as the focus is on the gift - and then on the gift giver.

I'm cooking - not doing schoolwork

Real Hot Chocolate

It was a wet and relatively cool day so we were all inside.  Rose figured this was a good time to make something from the recipe book she borrowed from the library.
"It's real hot chocolate, Dad," Rose explained to me, "And it's a cold day so it's perfect."
How could I say no?
So she made it all herself, following the instructions, making enough for everyone, boiling the milk, mixing the ingredients and sharing it out.
It all worked out really well, and the best thing was that this wasn't schoolwork.  It was fun.

Bruggietales in the Carnival of Homeschooling

We were part of the original Carnivals of Homeschooling many years ago but have been quiet for the last few years.
But our post regarding alternative means of qualifying for University/College entrance is included in this week's edition at Corn and Oil at the Post Olympic Carnival of Homeschooling.  Enjoy.

Preparing for the future - but not by doing year 12

Training on the job

When we first started homeschooling over 17 years ago, among all the questions was: "What will you do about year 12 and University?"
At the time we simply answered, "We will cross that bridge when we get to it." and "We just do one year at a time and see how it goes." which deferred the problem until a future time.

We have been quiet on Bruggietales for the last few years because we have been working on the answer to that concern from complete strangers about the welfare of our children.
My theory was that children have the capacity for much more but are rarely given the chance. In the age of sail 15 year olds were lieutenants in the army and navy and were working in responsible positions throughout the economy.  Why not ours?
So we bought a shop.  It is a country store which sells everything as well as being the local Post Office agency and we added in a cafe and restaurant. We then put Ariel (then 17 years old) in charge. My business is integrating business systems so I was initially heavily involved setting up systems and working how the store should run, liaising with suppliers and generally training Ariel how it all worked.  As each child got older, they were added to the employee pool.
The children were also paid award wages and conditions and everything was run as a professional business. In this way they were able to learn not only business skills but also personal money skills.

Perhaps a bit young, but he volunteered.

However, in this world that suffers from credentialism - that is, the requirement that a bit of paper means much more than mere experience - this was insufficient to answer that question from so long ago.
So we utilised the traineeship/apprenticeship schemes in place to foster staff training.  We signed up each of the young people who worked for us full time - both our children and other young people who we employed - into a Level III certificate in Retail Management.  This is equivalent to a TAFE (like a US community college) course.  Not only did this provide the young people with a framework within which all the experience they were getting made sense as part of the greater business structure, it also counted as a study pre-requisite for University enrolment.
Normally children complete a gruelling and stressful year 11 and 12 (called the HSC - Higher School Certificate) which then gives them a score which can be used to get into the standard entry stream of University enrolments. But you can also enter University showing prior studies and this works just as well.  And as the Level III certificate counts as tertiary studies, you're in.  Of course, this depends on the degree the young person wishes to study, but the principle is sound.

I volunteered for my birthday

When Eric was 17 he applied and was accepted to the online open university and they accepted his qualifications.  He worked out that a University degree wasn't for him, but we proved that the Certificate III was sufficient for him to enrol.
Through our store we have now provided two of our children and three other young employees with Level III certificates.  Ariel actually completed a level IV certificate and Diploma in Business management.
Even though the business is basically break even - and a loss in the early years - the net cost was less than school fees for year 11 and 12 and TAFE fees.  And the children earned full time wages.
So now when we are asked what we will do for HSC and qualifying for University we can answer, "We'll buy a business."

Watering the children

I won't get wet.  I have this umbrella thing.

One very important thing I have learned since moving to the country about 14 years ago is that water is a scarce resource and rain is always good.
Our water supply is supplied by the rain, falling on our house and garage and flowing down the gutters into our water tanks.  The tanks' total capacity is around 90,000 litres (about 24,000 gallons) with which our total water needs are met - drinking, bathing, washing - the lot.
We use water efficient devices and turn off taps when not in use and are generally pretty conscious of our water usage. Even though the worst of the drought is behind us where we live, we continue to monitor the water levels.  So when it rains enough that the water tanks overflow, it is an exciting time.  Especially in the warmer days of Summer.
"Go outside and enjoy the rain!" we tell the children and off they go. We figure the fresh rain and clean air helps all the plants grow and it doesn't do the children any harm at all.

Playing in the playground - come rain or shine

Ships ahoy!

By getting the children to clean up the playground and put some effort into the thing, they have started to use it more.
Although the skies were overcast this afternoon, I told the younger boys to "Get outside and run around!"
"But it might rain," they replied.
"When has playing in the rain worried you? Get a raincoat or something."
Martin and Zach looked at one another and ran off.
Next thing I knew when I looked outside were the two boys in the top of the fort, with Martin spinning the wheel yelling "Ahoy!" and Zach looking through the spy glass.  In the bucketing rain storm.
Ah.  They can always have a bath when they get back inside. A bit of rain helps them grow.

Not working. Playing!

This IS playing

Our playground has become a bit neglected over time but it is still there ready for some love and attention.
The other day the children were complaining they had nothing to do.
"Nothing!" said Lana, and that got some action happening.

The children are now looking after the playground.  Today they are weeding and clearing.  The other day James helped and they did a massive cleanup of the clutter that gradually had accumulated over time.  The trailer that is ready for the tip/waste is now quite full.

With a bit more work over the coming weeks it should be back up to standard and we should see the children playing there more often.

Threats of a 3 year old

Do what I want - or else I'll do this!

Zach has decided to issue ultimatums if he doesn't get his way. He has also discovered that the result isn't always what he expected.

1. He was asking "Why?" a lot at one point.  Then he asked James for something and James said, "No."
"If you don't, I'll ask 'Why' again."
We thought this was a clever threat, but he didn't get what he wanted.

2. Zach wanted Ariel to give him some chocolate.
"Give me some chocolate," he demanded.
"No," answered Ariel.
"If you don't, I'll take this." Zach said, holding up something insignificant.
Ariel shrugged and said, "OK"
So Zach took the insignificant thing and walked off.
A few moments later he returned and asked Ariel, "Guess what I've got behind my back?"
He still didn't get his chocolate.

3. Lana was making muffins in the morning and putting the mixture into the trays.  Zach had already licked the beaters and the scrapers.  Some of the mixture had dripped on the tin rather than in the muffin papers and Rose wiped it off with her finger and licked it.  Zach saw this and wanted to be closer to the muffin trays so he could do the same trick.
He demanded to Rose, "Pick me up or I'll do this!" and pulled the face in the photo above.
Lana and Rose looked at each other, smiled and continued on with their muffin task.

I wonder what his next dire threat will be?

A great day to drive

A selfie in high winds!

Lana's Bug (1968 Volkswagen) is back from the mechanics and is running really well.  Starting, on the other hand, is more of a challenge.
Considering the wonderful Summer weather today - a clear sunny day in the mid 20's (70's F) and should be rising to the mid 30's (90's F) by this afternoon - we decided to give the Bug a whirl.
So we took off the top, jump started the car and went for a drive planning on not stopping until we got back home. With sunglasses in place, sun caps on our heads, smiles on our faces and the important jumper leads in the back, off we went.
The drive was great and we thought it would be a good idea to pop past and see Eric so we sent a Selfie and a text.  We told him we couldn't stop - and we meant it literally!

Unfortunately, although we tried to keep the engine running while we chatted, it still sputtered and died.  We tried a push start a few times. Eric and I pushed downhill and then uphill and then sideways.  But we were rewarded with only a couple of splutters of hope, and then nothing. Luckily, a neighbour popped out and noticed the cute bug, looking sad and forlorn, and helped give us a jump start. We were quickly back on our way again!

What a lovely day! Here we are coming home.

The ride home was uneventful, with the normal waving and smiles from onlookers.
Once home the children wanted a ride too, but we told them we would have to wait until we get the car looked at so it would start when we wanted it to.
"OK," they reluctantly agreed.

My own armour - It's my lucky day

Custom made for just your head.

Peter was instructed to distract Zach as he was being a nuisance whilst everyone else was doing schoolwork.  So they began some sword fighting.
Zach had Peter's sword and Peter had to back off every time Zach missed with his wild swings. After each swing Zach sat down.
Peter asked him, "What are you doing?".
Zach answered, "I'm thinking."
After a few of these swing and sit down cycles, Zach decided to go inside and Peter suggested, "How about I make you some armour?"
Zach looked at Peter with a huge smile and said, "This is my lucky day!"
An important part of the art of cardboard armour is to measure it up and use lots of duct tape and plenty of old boxes from which to get cardboard.

A Cardboard Knights Helmet for a lucky fellow.

The hardest part about measuring Zach was keeping his attention. Peter often had to retrieve him from riding a bike, running up and down, standing on his head and more to ensure the right fit.
Luckily Zach's head is big enough that Martin can wear it too.
"How about we make it my armour and yours?" suggested Martin.
"OK" said Zach. So now we have shared armour - double the fun!

Benefits of homeschooling?

I am not sure where we found this fine image but it reminded me of the fun the children have had in the back yard, chasing each other with wooden swords or guns.
Cool.

An Unexpected Christmas

I know this is a little after Christmas, but the children still enjoying watching this great little video performed by a bunch of children about how God's plan for the first Christmas was so unexpected.

It's raining - no watering today!

We love our jobs.  Really.

While Opa and Grandma are travelling the task of watering is taken on by the younger children.  Opa created a detailed list of what is to be watered, how much is required and how often it should be done.  All conveniently located on the fridge.
I don't know why this wasn't done in a spreadsheet, but then I'm just a computer guy!
The most important part of the chart is the top line:
"Unless rain previous day more than 5mm".
Last night, after a long period of hot and dry weather, large drops of water were heard outside.  With an excited run this morning, the children checked the rain gauge.
"Yes! We had more than 5mm.  God watered for us!"
5.5mm is definitely more than 5mm so they had a day off from watering.  Zach still held on to their new duck watering can. He looked up at the gauge and the cheering children and decided he would use his can anyway and poured some water on to the ground.  Cool.

The chart in detail.  Even includes which strawberries to pick.

The original chart was photocopied and placed in a plastic sleeve.  This is taken out with the children when they water so they can't say "We forgot what to do."
If it gets destroyed, we have the original ready to be photocopied again.  Now that is planning based on experience.

4th July in Australia

Just one more Smore!

In union with all of our American friends, we had our own little 4th July celebration by making Smores in front of our heating fireplace on a chilly Winter's evening.
We even put up our US flag to get right into the spirit and are now watching a movie while eating popcorn.
Cheers!

Lying - Am I Really A Ninja?

There has been much talk of late into the morality of lying.  Can one lie "for a good cause"?
Two posts seem to cover the topic well - one by Father Jacob Maurer and another by Kevin O'Brien.
Basically the Church teaches that lying is evil by its very nature - that is, intrinsically evil - as per teh Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone into error. By injuring man's relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord. - CCC 2483

We follow this principle and agree.

Why am I raising this now?

A cleverly camouflaged Ninja.

For some time we have a running story at home that I am really a Ninja.  All the time I am away I am on secret Ninja business.  My apparent inbuilt lack of speed and dexterity are just a very clever ruse (so clever no one has uncovered my secret).  Superman could conceal his identity by wearing glasses, but I go to much greater lengths with a body shape carefully shaped over time with love and good cooking.
The older children don't believe this but Clare and Rose aren't quite sure.
The other day Clare asked Lana, "Is Dad really a Ninja?"
Lana (hiding a smile) replied, "Well, it's hard to tell.  He hides it very well at home, but he is away a lot.  Even I am not sure."
With a slight frown, Clare went away still unsure.

So, the question is, do I reveal to Clare that I may not really be a Ninja?  Am I leading her into error by injuring her relation to truth?

A voting we will go...

Big steps and little steps

Today the local council elections were held, so the village was on the move attending the voting booths in the local Primary school.  In Australia, all voting is compulsory - not voting attracts a $55 fine.
So it is a good excuse for the school's Parents association to sell cakes and have a sausage sizzle, the local village association to sell raffle tickets and for everyone else to go for a walk and meet some of the neighbours.
The sun was shining brightly, but the cold wind dropped the temperature significantly.  Therefore I announced that we were going to walk to the school.  "Get your jackets and hats, we're going for a walk!" I announced and the children scrambled.  Lana rolled her eyes and then shrugged her shoulders, "Why not?" and off we went.
Lana cleverly brought her insulated mug so she could get a hot chocolate from the shop on the way.
Our local elections determine the councillors who are in charge of local services such as maintaining the roadsides, impeding development, waste collection, interfering in local business and so on.  The State government controls schools, police and hospitals.  So the local elections have a direct impact on just living in the area in which you live.
Our local council is famous for having a "development" policy which advocated less development.  This is classic "newspeak" where you call something one thing and then do the complete opposite.  Such as a business committee which makes more red tape to stop business, "Fair Work" Australia which is unfairly run by unions, and the local "Greens" representative who wants to cut down tress he doesn't like.
The general view is that if the ballots had an option "None of the above" that would be the sure-fire winner.
Our ballots are paper based and the system has reasonable checks and balances to ensure fair voting.  We present ourselves to the registration desk and get our names marked off and are given ballot papers to complete.  We then mark down our 1st preference, and then 2nd and so on up to 9 preferences.  When the votes are counted, if my 1st choice doesn't win, then my 2nd choice is counted, and so on, until a candidate gets over 50% of the vote.
It all works reasonably well and gives the local communities a chance to get out and meet their neighbours.

Some days are better than others

Poor Martin.
He was playing on a wheeled office chair and Zach was playing on the back of the chair.  Then it fell with Martin hitting the back of his head and his eye.
This lovely lump developing a deep colourful hue, is on top of the minor illness he has that has been passing through the rest of the family.
Hospital Bruggie is once more back in business for the duration of the action.

Easter Eggs are to hunt

Mine? Eat Egg?

Even Princesses get Easter Eggs.

After we escaped from the shop on Easter Sunday, the men of the household had an important mission.  We were to hide the Chocolate Easter Eggs.  More importantly, we had to remember where they were hidden so no-one missed out.
Everyone involved has 3 eggs on which their name was attached.  All eggs were hidden in the back yard or around the deck.  Only the children get to search, but they can only pick up their own or an adult's eggs.  This year the 3 eggs per person meant hiding 51 eggs.  The difficulty varied depending on the children's ages, but we have found over the years what we thought were easy places when we were placing the eggs sometimes ended up being the last places to be discovered.
Having 3 eggs each allows us to do an audit as the hunt progresses to make sure none are lost.  It also means we don't have a greedy rush and unequal eggs per person.
One year we found a missing egg months later that had been hidden in the roof trusses of our house that had been recently delivered.  When Lana's Dad and brother went to lift the tresses into place, an egg rolled to the ground as a bonus for their fine efforts.
See the costume Clare is wearing? My Mum made this and Clare just couldn't wait to wear it on such a fine day.
Zach has discovered Easter Eggs are pretty yummy and we have had to put them all out of reach as he tries to sneak away with eggs and eat them out of sight.

I love a good Good Friday

Carrying the cross

Every year on Good Friday the local monastery hosts a passion play.  Many actors are involved playing each of the parts from Jesus and the apostles, Pontius Pilate and Caiphas, down to all the Roman and Jewish guards, weeping women and members of the Sanhedrin.  As the weather was so marvellous there were thousands of people from Sydney, Canberra and all points in between.
James was one the apostles and Ariel and Clare were weeping women.  James likes being an apostle as all an apostle other than Peter has to do is eat (at the Last Supper), sleep (in the Garden of Gethsemene and run away (after Jesus is arrested).

Bulk Holy Water

Ariel and Clare started at Palm Sunday waving palms and praising the entry of Jesus, and then were part of the crowd in various scenes. They were also spoken to by Jesus during the Carrying of the Cross when they did their "wailing" thing and finally gathered around the cross during the Crucifixion. You can see from the first photo that Jesus was well costumed.  The "Blood" mixture was a combination of jam, wine and honey which provided just the right texture and consistency.  When a drip ran into Jesus's mouth he was heard to mumble, "That tastes all right."
Our traditional Good Friday involves closing the shop (Yay! A Day off!) and attending the Passion Play followed by the Veneration of the Cross service at 3:00pm.  When we return home, we have some home made Hot Cross buns to break our fast for the day.
Saturday is always an odd, in-between kind of day as we wait for the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday evening.  This Mass goes for around 2.5 hours which sounds like a long time, but so much is happening in the Mass to leave reminders with all your senses that when Mass is over and you check your watch you are surprised.  Mass starts with a procession into the Church carrying candles that have been lit from the specially blessed Paschal candle, lighting a darkened Church with our many small candles.  We hear 7 readings from the old testament, 7 readings from the Psalms, a reading from the New testament and a Gospel reading.  There is even more, but this is the premier Mass for the year.  You should go and be part of it.

Puddles are to jump in

Should I or shouldn't I?

Since the end of the ten year drought we have been blessed with rain.  A lot of rain!
The water tanks catch all the rain from our roof, but as the tanks have been full for so long, the water just goes straight through the tank and out of the overflow. Here is an example of what excess rain is like back from 2006.
But rain eventually stops so we all went for a walk to relieve the cabin fever. Before we travelled 100 metres Zach's boots were already full of water making that lovely squelching sound.
Squelch!  Squelch! Squelch!
"Zach, are you having fun?" I asked, to get a huge grin as he spied another puddle to traverse.
Some way further along we came to the puddle pictured. The photo is worth clicking to get a close up and see Zach's expression as he contemplates a puddle that is so huge.  Notice the toy car in his hand.  This never dropped even during all his running around and puddle playing.
When I printed out the photo for our photo wall I had a quick heart flutter as I thought the photo was all smeared.  Then I realised I had the photo upside down and the smeared part was only the reflection in the puddle!