The master and ruler of our home – he who must be obeyed.
Many, many years ago… in the age of dial-up connection. Remember that?
Month: February 2012
Yr 9 Daily Schedule Term One
Falcon’s Schedule Term One 2012
A few weeks ago I posted the subjects that both boys were studying – at school and here at home. This is Falcon’s schedule. It looks pretty heavy but he devised this schedule (and tweaks it to suit) pretty much by himself.
Falcon is a stickler for abiding by the schedule… almost down to the last minute. You can imagine that this trait drives me batty. But it’s how he works best.
Download the pdf of his schedule: mon-thur2012yr9
Our schedule this year looks completely different to any other year. But, this is the first year that we have ever had only one child at home! I always knew this child liked learning and liked schedules but it’s not until this year that I see him thriving in his new environment!
I think his workload is quite rigorous. Others may not think so but I do. However, it goes hand in hand with our goals, for this child, for this year. Not bad, considering that he was pretty much unschooled for the most part of his life so far.
Breaking Out Of The Bubble
Bubbles, Censorship, Filtering, Personalisation, Relevancy… I’m tired of it all. Tired yet mad.
- Personalisation is the process of tailoring pages to individual users’ characteristics or preferences.
- Censorship is the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society.
- Filtering search results is a fancy way of saying censorship.
When I search the Internet I do NOT want results tailored to me. I want real information presented to me without bias. If and when I want biased information I can and will search for it. I’m quite capable of doing that. I am a free thinking person who is capable of searching and discerning what to read or not read. I don’t want a 3rd party (google/facebook/BB) censoring, er filtering information for me.
I used to like Google, I really did. It wasn’t all that long ago when they respected users privacy and the search results were unbiased (not tailored) and impartial but now they seem to care more about competing with facebook and other social media than being the best search engine. The new Google motto of Search Plus Your World has changed everything.
John and I noticed a trend with our searches so we deliberately and intentionally tested it. Obviously we both have different tastes and this was being reflected in our searches. Our search results were filtered/tailored based upon our gender, our search history, our click history. The problem with this is that as I click on things that I want to see and I agree with, I just keep getting more search results geared toward that. All the other results gets demoted (filtered). I wanted to know what I was missing out on!
I don’t want to live in a bubble that only shows me things IT thinks I will like or want to view. When I search for information I don’t want the results to be filtered UNLESS I intentionally filter them with various options. I want to do my own processing and filtering, thank you.
TedTalk – What FACEBOOK and GOOGLE are hiding from the world
Breaking Out Of The Bubble
Breaking out of the bubble and away from the grasping claws of Google isn’t easy. It is something that I’m looking into. So feel free to share any ideas with me.
Want Out But Still Want A Good Search?
StartPage: startpage.com/
When you search with Startpage the Web results are generated by Google but Startpage does NOT record your IP address! Nor do they share your personal information with any third party.
DuckDuckGo: duckduckgo.com/
Provides a clean interface together with a no-tracking privacy policy. Offers keyboard shortcuts to navigate and zero-click information sources. See their privacy page for more info.
Bing might be a good option for now… but I can’t help but wonder if they will end up going down Google Street too?
And Just for The Conspiracy Theorists…
Did you know that both the big G and FB (along with those in Amazon and LinkedIn) attended the Bildeberg Conference 2011? If you don’t know what I’m referring to… then StartPage is your friend. 😉
I know I might sound like a crackpot to some… and if you think I am that’s okay. Simply disregard this post as the raving of a mad woman. But don’t say you weren’t warned. 😉
Acquainted with the Scriptures from Childhood
Lend me your ear as I share yesterday’s Bible reading with you. I am not claiming to know everything nor have all my theological ducks in a row… I just want to share with you.
As Falcon and I were reading in the second book to Timothy yesterday I happened to backtrack a few verses and I was greatly encouraged by the passage below. (Any emphasis is mine)
I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:5-7
The Apostle Paul is writing to Timothy, his son in the faith. He mentions how Timothy has been raised in the ways and knowledge of God by his Grandmother Lois and his mother, Eunice. He says that this faith first dwelt in these women and it has been passed on to Timothy. Timothy has received a very rich faith. He has been instructed from childhood and, no doubt, much prayed for. Oh what great encouragement I take from that.
Looking further I read…
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
~2 Timothy 3:15
From childhood… acquainted with the sacred writings, from childhood.
Shortly after Falcon through me for a loop and asked as to the whereabouts of Timothy’s father? We talked about the possibilities. Of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone. Enquiring minds need to know these things. What about Timothy’s father? Was he an unbeliever? Was he dead?
Acts 16:1 gives a little insight about Timothy’s dad. He was a Greek. However, we still don’t know if he was alive or dead during Timothy’s childhood. Either way, Timothy was taught the Scriptures and had a rich heritage in the [Christian] faith.
Should our goal be to raise godly children (outcome based goal, over which we have less control) or to acquaint our children with the Scriptures… exposing our children to a rich faith and the word of God. (Focusing on the process.)
Are you encouraged by these verses? What have you been reading in God’s word this week?
First Day Back 2012
Last week was our first week back at school lessons. Rambo started in Yr 11 at the local school and this particular school starts a week after the public schools. So Falcon and I also started back at establishing a whole new routine. This is the first time I have ever homeschooled one child at a time. It’s all a bit new to me. It’s all new to Falcon too as he is the youngest child and has always had his older siblings around to keep him company and provide lots of distractions.
First Day of School 2012
Yr 11 – Rambo
Even though Rambo isn’t specifically homeschooling this year, we still take great interest in his education so I’d I’d like to share his subject choices.
- Faith Studies (all students have to do this subject)
- Maths
- English
- Physics
- PE
- Outdoor Ed
- Business & Enterprise
- Automotive Studies
- IPP
- Psychology
In his spare time he keeps fit, is learning to drive, is experimenting with DJing and mixing music, gaming, game mapping, photoshop and is a Corporal in Air Force cadets.
DS isn’t set with his future yet so is keeping his options open as to his interests. He’s going for good grades in Eng, Maths & Science if he wants to apply to ADFA but he’s also doing OE, PE & Psychology in case he decides to become a PT or work in the fitness industry. He’s continuing to work on his IT skills and do Business and IPP in case he wants to work in the IT industry.
Yr 9 – Falcon
Bible:
- Bible readings
- Bible Study Techniques
- Christian Biographies
- Hymns
- Catechism
Personal Development:
- Public Speaking unit
- Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations
Current Events
Maths:
English:
- Literary Lessons through Lord of the Rings
- Jensen’s Vocabulary
- Jensen’s Punctuation
- Two Shakespeare plays
- Various Research Projects on National Holidays
Science:
- Basic Science Mysteries
- Supplement with videos from the Kahn Academy
SOSE:
- Literature selections, Poetry, Research papers on significant days, and Movies for Australian Studies
Photography:
- Photography unit from CurrClick
- Weekly photograph uploaded to blog
- Process two photographs using LightRoom or Photoshop per week
Art Appreciation:
- Weekly study
Music Appreciation:
- Informal weekly study
Falcon may attend the same school as Rambo next year for Yr 10 so we are preparing for that. I am considering adding Skwirk to our program to supplement English and SOSE. Have I overlooked anything? Any thoughts?
Why You Should Not Read My Blog
I can think of several reason why you would not want to frequent my site.
1) My grammar and sentence structure is atrocious.I vacillate between ‘we’ and ‘I’ and at other times I get my tenses all confuddled.
I (Susan) write the posts on this site. All of it. However, when it comes to matters of family and whatnot it is ‘we’, as in John and I or John, I and the family. This blog originally started as a compilation of forum posts and then it grew to include my own personal thoughts and some of our family life which means that sometimes I write in the first person (singular) and other times I write as plural (we). Be assured that this site is a joint venture between John and myself and nothing is published here without his knowledge, consent or against his will. Whew! I’m glad that’s out of the way…
2) I can never quite decide what to write about. Do I write on homeschooling, Bible study, cooking, photography, coffee, softball, theology, social media or website design? I just can’t make up my mind!
3) I don’t post regularly. Apparently, to be a successful blogger one should aim to post daily (Gasp!) or at the very least, regularly (Say what?). Well, I guess I’ll have to hand in my pro blogger card, hang my head in shame and have another latte.
Okay, three points qualify as several, don’t they? If you want to know more, subscribe to the blog and be notified of every riveting post I write.