My Lady's Chateau

by Lana

This is Mum's latest finished cross stitch. It is called 'My Lady's Chateau' - a kit from Dimensions. She purchased this kit about eight years ago and finally started it this year. We thought that we would share her finished work with everyone as well.
The finished size is 18 x 12 inches.

The most exciting part is that she can now start something new!

B8 finds a bird

As mentioned in the rules, B8 has some leeway in participation in B Where's. Here she has discovered how close she can get to the King Parrot without it flying away. She has seen her brother and sister do it before.


(Cross posted at the "B Where's?" blog)

Why we homeschool

Many have asked us why we homeschool and we thought now would be an appropriate time to provide an answer. Each year we review our life situation as the new year approaches and compare it to past years.

We were very fortunate to discover homeschooling when our eldest was around 3 years old. We met another family at a talk we had organised and asked the three lovely young girls what school they attended. "We homeschool." was their simple answer. "What's that?" we cleverly responded. We then began visiting a number of homeschooling families and a homeschooling camp and figured that the children seemed to turn out pretty normal. So we gave it a go.

In the intervening years we have had time to analyse our decision and ample opportunity to use homeschool apologetics with family, friends and work acquantances. We have many clever answers to all the comments, but it all boils down to four key areas:

1. Socialisation
This is one of the most important reasons we homeschool. Once a definition of socialisation is worked out then we can determine the best way to obtain this lofty goal. We consider socialisation to be:

The process whereby a child becomes an active and productive member of society, able to function to the best of his ability and provide support and care for those around him.

Typically this is what most questioners will agree socialisation to be.
"Then," I reply, "The standard school system has failed."
We regularly join with many other homeschool families and our children are constantly exposed to the real world in a multitude of ways. They also miss out on most of the negative socialisation (such as bullying, abuse, bad crowd dynamics and so on) until they are mature enough to handle it. We compare homeschooling to a greenhouse. A gardener doesn't place seedlings in the raw harsh environment until it is strong enough to handle it. One also doesn't leave the seedling in the greenhouse for ever.
Homeschooled children are ready for the real world much younger than those in the typical school. They tend to be more mature and more innocent. The other option is immature and worldly "wise" - a very dangerous blend.
Our children also associate with other children of varying ages and are used to being in contact with adults in positions of earned trust.

2. Family
Homeschooled children are much closer to their siblings and parents. One would hope so, being together so often. The togetherness makes it imperative that each child work out relationships. You can't run away from relationship problems - both sides must work them out. This is done in a loving way with parental supervision. This tends to lead to a world view gap with other parents: "How can you stand being with them all day every day?!" to which a homeschooling parent asks, "How can you bear to be apart from them so long?"
The photo above is a good example of the family bond that develops. Our sand pit is pretty small but all six children are playing together. The eldest is teaching the youngest to put sand on the other's feet and pat it down.
Some years ago we were passing a school during one of their recesses. The school children were all outside enjoying the company of other children and playing on the fine playground equipment. "Wouldn't you like to go to school and join in with them?" I asked. "Oh no, Dad," they replied, "We wouldn't see our brothers and sisters as much, and we would have to do homework!"
Another benefit is that the children are not so tired at the end of the day. When I arrive home they are happy and run out yelling, "Dad! Dad!" and we have time to do many things other than homework.

3. Faith
Our faith is not just a belief which is separate to life. Our faith influences the very way we view the world and our relationships to those within it. We are able to say prayers at appropriate times of day, discuss issues as they arise, consider the glory of God's creation during the day and ensure that the children understand that our faith is not blind - it is a reasoned faith. If it was unable to explain the world around us in accord with logic, true science and our observations it could not be considered true. Many a time we have had the joy of launching into a long multi part discussion arising from a passage in a book or scene from a movie.

4. Education
If you have the first three areas covered, education easily follows. After all, you are teaching the children one on one and tailoring your instruction to the level of the child. The material you present is consistent over time and not changing from year to year. The examples of the parents and other siblings promote positive learning experiences. Younger children learn from their elders, and the older children learn by reviewing lessons with the younger ones. Book work is only part of the education process. Our children have learned how a house is built, how people in other countries live, how to be in business and many other experiences. If they were trapped in a school for x hours per day, plus the homework and extra curricular activities, when would they actually learn anything else?

5. Other reasons
There are lots of other reasons including flexibility, cost, curriculum choice and so on. Plenty of studies have shown the advantages in education, socialisation and other important measures.

The bottom line after homeschooling for the last nine years or so is that we enjoy being with our children. Yes, even with the teenager!

We have some of our favourite posts on the side bar, including a menu for Homeschool and Family related postings over the last two and a half years. You can track back on our blog and see the many things in which we are involved and the experiences our children have had. This blog is a record of our adventures over the last two and a half years. Feel free to browse and comment.

Drive through joy

When we lived in the US the locals sometimes had trouble with what they called our "accent". I tried to explain that Australians don't actually have an accent, only everyone else does, but no-one would believe me.
This made ordering food via the drive through or phone orders effectively a random order generator. Even with what I thought was a pretty bad imitation of a local accent, it was still easier to just go to the shop and talk in person. If all else failed we could point to the item in question. Also we sometimes received free stuff because of the novelty of our so-called accent.
The cinema we visited today didn't have working drink machines or ice because of the drought and water restrictions currently in force in Goulburn.
So today we went through the drive through on the way home to get some ice-creams and a drink. Woohoo! The small pleasures in life.

B4 REALLY liked Narnia

Today B1 through B5 saw The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and throughly enjoyed the film. It wasn't too scary and the children playing Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy were very well cast. The story departed from the books in parts but overall well worth the outing. See Decent Film Guide for a more detailed review.

We promised to mention Lilac City Cinemas of Goulburn and let you know their fine venue and good prices. That mention should be worth a couple of tickets don't you think?

Here is B4 doing his "B Where" thing.

(Cross posted at the "B Where's?" blog)

B5 is very very hot

We have typical Christmas weather and with hot winds, high temperatures and over 20 fires currently active across the state, B5 wanted to highlight the "Fire Danger Today" sign.
These boards are set for each shire/county and give warning to all passers-by to be careful.
B5 is also very happy he had his sunglasses on as the sun was very bright.


(Cross posted at the "B Where's?" blog)

"B" Where?

Following on from the fame of "Where's Jonathan" we will be incorporating "B Where" into Bruggie Tales.
Whenever it seems appropriate we will be featuring a photo of one of us (designated as B1 through B8) according to the following rules:
1. Only one person is in the shot;
2. They will be wearing sun glasses;
3. Their hand will be palm outwards gesturing to something. (B8 may not always comply)


(Cross posted at the "B Where's?" blog)

The Fourth day of Christmas

Today we remember St Thomas Becket - the Archbishop of Caterbury. Originally a "King's Man", once we was ordained a bishop he became a man of the Church and would not let the King over ride church duties.
There is actually an eye witness account of his murder on 29 December, 1170.

Edward Grim, a monk, observed the attack from the safety of a hiding place near the altar. He wrote his account some time after the event. Acceptance of his description must be qualified by the influence that Becket's sainthood had on Grim's perspective. However, the fundamentals of his narrative are no doubt true.

I always find it amazing the things you can discover on the Internet!

Floral Rainbow

by Lana

This is an earlier Fiona Jude pattern I did back in 2002. It was included in Better Homes and Garden and is a lovely array of flowers arranged in rainbow order.

This is just to show that I do quite like Fiona Jude's patterns! In Fiona Jude related news there are lots of her older designs now available as charts and she is gradually converting all her patterns to DMC kits. Woohoo!

Archimedes Death Ray

Archimedes (of Ancient Greek Fame) recorded destroying enemy Roman ships using a "death ray". It has been assumed this is but a myth and the TV show "Myth Busters" determined that it wasn't possible. Aha! Not to be foiled some MIT students wanted to make really sure.

Maybe it wasn't a myth after all? Find out how they went.

Thanks to the Love 2 Learn Mom's husband for the pointer.

Ham Bone Soup

This is our solution to the problem of what to do with the Christmas ham bone. There are always chunks of meat remaining that are just too hard to get out.
Just put the whole thing in a pot of water.
Add Carrots, Zuccini, potatoes, celery and whatever vegetables you want. A little bit of pepper and perhaps bacon for flavour. Don't add salt as there is enough in the ham bone already.
Then boil it and simmer it most of the day until the meat falls of the bone. Fish the bones out and the serve the soup with some hot buttered toast. Very tasty!

The Third Day of Christmas

Today is the third day of Christmas on which we remember the death of the Holy Innocents - the children that were murdered by Herod in an attempt to kill the new born King of the Jews. The third type of martyrdom is a tricky one as the children were undoubtedly innocent and we always remember the loss of innocent lives.

What computer should I get?

As a certified computer geek I have often been asked "What type of computer should I buy?" I figured it would be easier if I recorded my answer here for future reference.
The first step is to ask yourself, "What is the computer for?" That is, for what reasons will I be using the computer - letters, email, research, reading Bruggie Tales, home finance, business tools, and so on. Answers such as "My child needs one for school" or "I don't know - everyone has one." are not valid answers. A computer is a tool to achieve an end. If you just intend using it for games stop reading now. My recommendations are for a multi purpose tool which will help you in many areas. Games are a minor reason for buying a computer.
Children (and adults) need to learn that a computer is best used as a useful tool and not just a time wasting games machine. Computers don't come cheap and you should be able to justify the cost of all your purchases, especially a larger one such as a computer.
To determine the platform to use it is critical to know whether you will need any special software. Do you need to run specific programs such as those used at work or school? If so your choice of platform has been determined for you. If you just need to run word processing, spreadsheets, email, web browsing, design and so on then the choice of platform is wide open.
For the majority of home users I would recommend a Macintosh (such as iMac or Mac Mini) without a problem. The Mac comes with lots of great software such as iPhoto, iTunes, email, web browsing, Appleworks and pretty much most of what you would need. If you already have a PC with adequate mouse, screen and keyboard, you could just get the Mac Mini and plug it in. Otherwise get the iMac. Also, the Mac works very well with PC networks. You can purchase an academic version of Microsoft Office and you will be able to open and save Word and Excel documents with Windows PC users.
At home we have a Mac Mini, an older Mac and four Windows Pcs. Three of the Windows machines are for my work, allowing me to do multiple data processing tasks and testing, whilst the other is an old one that's still working so I let the kids play with that knowing that nothing important is on there. The Mac Mini is for all of our photos and music and everything to do with Lana's crafts and our homeschooling. I do not need to worry about viruses or spyware and it works great. Quiet, efficient and easy to use. (Unlike the Windows computers! Whenever I visit friends with Windows PCs I often have to help them clean up or maintain their computers.)
All the computers (other than the really old Mac) are on the network via the DSL wired router. The Mac and Windows can see each other and share files and printers.
(The photo is of Rose back in May when she was 11 months old.)

Son of the Eye of Sauron

Eric now has conjunctivitus! We have him on the same regimen to clear up the problem as I used - regular clearing out of the eye with cotton balls soaked in salty boiled water and the drops I had from the doctors.
Still it looks just as yukky as when I had it.
He didn't get it from me as mine went away well before he caught it. I suspect it could be related to the strong dry winds and lots of pollen and dust in the air. Something must have got into his eye and caused an infection.
Whatever the cause he is justifiably miserable. I wonder if some of the Christmas Chocolates will help? Worth a try.

Now this is scary ...

According to the "Nerd Test" to determine my level of Computer Geekiness I have scored quite high. Now as to whether this is a good or bad thing....


Useful links contained in the quiz include this gem explaining the product development cycle.

Second Day of Christmas

27 December is the second day of Christmas - The Feast of St John the evangelist.
Day one was in memory of St Stephen - the first martyr - whilst today remembers a different type of martyrdom. St John was the only one of the apostles (excluding Judas) not to be killed for the faith. Instead he was exiled a number of times apparently dying whilst exiled on the island of Patmos.

But I'm not dirty!

I have been told that people have changed over the centuries. Yet reading Tom Sawyer and then looking at my boys reminds me that it isn't so!
Yesterday James and Peter were adamant that they weren't dirty - after spending all day running around in the sun, playing in the dirt and the sandpit and generally being active lads.
This is the bath after just the two of them had been transformed back to their normal skin colour. That water is NOT getting re-used. Euwww!

Diversion Therapy

We learnt very early in our child raising career that of the many times children scream and holler in seeming agony, much of it is fear and uncertainty. When Ariel was very little she fell down some steps and was crying loudly. We picked her up and then pointed to a bird on the neighbour's roof. "Hey. There's a bird on the roof. What's it doing there?"
Ariel looked and stopped crying. We had discovered "Diversion Therapy". Many times we have quickly checked to make sure there was no blood or broken bones and then tried diversions to distract the child.
The other important factor was to not panic ourselves. As soon as a disaster occurs - such as allergic reactions to medicine, broken teeth (Clare), broken teeth (James), broken teeth (Peter), severe internal pains, a breakdown away from home or super glue - there is no point showing panic or else the child begins to panic too! It's our job to stay calm and sort through the problem at hand. Later we can think back and consider what type of calamity we have just been through (or avoided) but panic just raises blood pressure and threatens to mislead our decision making.

(By the way - the photo is of Lana as a baby. She's being pretty cute, but I wonder what would have happened if the bucket slipped, or she caught her finger in the faucet, or even just tripped and banged her head!)

A scary start to Boxing Day

We had a very abrupt awakening this morning with Ariel rushing in holding a screaming Rose and announcing, "Rose has super glue in her eyes!". Boom! Straight awake and into action! Lana picked up Rose and had a close look. Rose was screaming because the super glue was on her hands and she couldn't get it off. Some was on her eye lids and so her eyes wouldn't open.
We immediately placed her hands and eyes in running warm water and realised the glue was only on the eye-lids and wasn't actually in the eye. With a bit of "Diversion therapy" Rose laughed at us and we realised that all would be well. Phew!
The boys had been using super glue to assemble their models and had left the tubes closed, but near the edge of their table. One of the tubes split when Rose played with it with some glue dropped on her hands. She screamed because something was stuck on her hands and then rubbed her eyes. It certainly doesn't take long!
Anyway, all is well and we continued on our lazy day celebrating the first day of Christmas. Today (December 26) is known as Boxing Day in Australia and is also St Stephen's Day in memory of the first Martyr for the faith.

Nativity Play 2005

Christmas day was most enjoyable. After going to bed at 2:30 am (see here) James entered out room at 7:15am wishing us a Merry Christmas! The Christmas Carols were playing but we had a loophole: Clare was still asleep! "Give us an hour" we mumbled and actually had 45 minutes before Clare awoke.
Then we called in Lana's parents who shared in the present opening. Our rules for this are that Ariel and Eric alternate in reading the labels and handing out one present at a time. We all get to see the new present being unveiled and the next one is passed. That way everyone gets to share in the suspense and joy and the whole thing lasts a little longer.
At about 10:00am our first visitor arrived, a good priest friend of ours, so we called Lana's parents back over and performed the Nativity play. It all went well, especially our scene changing fairy (Clare) who announced "The Angels appear to Jofus" amongst all the scene headings.
By Midday Lana's brother and sister and their families had arrived and we were able to sit down for our Christmas lunch. Cold chicken, pork and ham, rice salad, potato salad, lettuce & tomato salad. Yummo. Later we had dessert of Mango cheesecake, Chocolate cheesecake, Broken glass (a jelly dessert that looks like stained glass windows), ice cream, fruit salad cheesecake and lemon merangue pie. Perfect!