Overview of the past two years
Stage 1 (Year 1-2)

We relocated to Wonboyn October 2019, settled in and had an Au-pair from the Netherlands join our family.  She taught Remy Dutch, and they looked at Maps and cooked together and she shared a lot of her culture with him.  He commenced Wild Cherry Nature Connection Group – one day per week. He continued receiving Kiwi Co “Atlas Crate” in the mail (targeting Geography).  He also continued Violin lessons.  The last day of December saw us evacuated from our property for Bush Fires, and we were evacuated for 2 weeks – we returned to a very different home and Village.  We lost our shed, and many homes / sheds in the village were affected, as was the National Park which surrounds our Village.  Remy was interviewed by the Library to share his account of the fires, and this document is available in audio in NSW libraries. Remy was engaged in a lot of discussion on wind, geography and history of previous fires in the area during this time.  He watched an Eden Whale Documentary and attended the Eden Whale Museum three times over the year.  We visited local National Parks regularly and observed and discussed surrounding nature, geography, and history.  Remy is a very interested boy and loves watching documentaries and learning new skills eg. Driving a boat, learning to wake-board, mountain biking, fishing, whittling, hunting, skim boarding and snowboarding.  We had a washed-up Whale carcass on our local beach in February, sparking interest and researching of whales, museums and zoos in Australia / the world.  March 2020 brought on the introduction of pandemic conversation and we started researching other pandemics over the years.  We talked a lot about hygiene and have been following along and discussing how other countries approached the pandemic compared with Australia.  Whenever a new interest sparks, he researches it close to home / within Australia, and continues to broaden his search to other countries.  His attendance at Wild Cherry Nature Group changed from in person to online.  He was involved in an online musical, as the lead role and as a 7 yr old he was the youngest in a group of 10-12 yr olds.  This involved weekly group zoom meetings, as well as individual lessons.  There were children from Australia, Singapore, and New York, he had a mentor for comedy in New York.  He interviewed his grandparents as part of this musical, he made videos of his everyday life, he participated in group discussions, and conducted himself appropriately for all situations.  He memorised his lines and performed online with the group.  This was a pilot program for “Sparkle”, which will hopefully be introduced into Primary Schools.  Wonboyn has experienced three floods since December 2020, and with one road in and out of the town, we have been flooded in each time.  We explore and investigate past flooding – changing landscape post recent fires. We have listened to every ABC Imagine This podcast.  We listen to Audio books, and I read aloud everyday to Remy.  He now reads aloud to his siblings and his reading, comprehension and interest in literature is above satisfactory for his age.  We observe a lot of nature in Wonboyn, and bird watch. Remy welcomed a new baby brother in May 2020 and this brought on a lot of documentaries, and reading aloud for our family. Remy receives MEL Science kits monthly in the mail to complete.  He has hiked to Merrica River with his Dad.  He was lucky enough to get a personal tour of Navy ship A195 when it came to Eden. We went to Thredbo for a snow holiday where he had snowboarding lessons, and he has kept the map and talks about which runs he went on.  He regularly completed ArtVenture classes.  He draws a lot of superhero comics, narrates stories for me to write, which has progressed into him writing himself.  He also worked together with a friend to create a comic story, which involved in-depth discussion, planning and collaboration.  He is involved in group French lessons.  He participates in Karate, and Gymnastics, and on Thursdays at Homeschool group in Bega plays Soccer, he has also had Horse Riding, and Tennis lessons in Wonboyn.  At Karate, Gymnastics, Tennis and Horse Riding it is always noted by the trainers that Remy is an active listener and quick learner. He loves comedy and purchased a Ventriloquist Dummy – he read a book on ventriloquism and watched endless youtube clips on “how to”.  In December he had an accident resulting in 12 staples in his foot – sparking discussion and understanding around healing and rest for our bodies.  He’s watched the grass trees flower in abundance post fires, he’s researched local mushroom varieties, he has kangaroos, king parrots, galahs, swallows, lorikeets, lyre birds, bower birds, sea eagles, kookaburras, goannas, snakes, lizards, echidnas, wallabies, and wedge tailed eagles all around his village.  We have a National Geographic rock tumbler and research geology / petrology.  On our ‘home’ days; we read together, write, play Minecraft, talk online with friends, cook together, and play games.  On our ‘out’ days; we listen to audio books, take nature hikes, do groceries, and see friends.
 
Upon reflecting, it has been two years of intense change and growth – in the nature around us, our family unit, the world, and Remy personally.  We are looking forward to a slower pace of life, and the time to engage in more documentation and writing and will work on this side of academics with Remy.

Even though it has looked different with Covid restrictions affecting his regular life, and our life living at the caravan park, he satisfactorily completed all Stage Outcomes for Stage 1 (years 1-2) in all learning areas of English, Maths, Science, History, Geography, Creative Arts, and PDHPE.  His life is abundant and full of new experiences, great friends, and learning.
Example record of learning for Remy
Example of Photo Journal record for Remy
Stage 2 - Remy Burch
Plan / Resources / Documentation
We follow Stage Statements for Stage 2.  We refer to the documents regularly to make sure we are meeting the NSW Schoolboard Learning Outcomes.
 
English:
  • We use Brave Writer Program - we have Jot It Down to use - a 10mth long language arts program incorporating copy work, poetry teatime, nature exploration, art, music and movie appreciation, handwriting, reading aloud, and learning to read.  We will produce a new project each month - including fairy tale booklets.
  • We will be focussed on Wonboyn - he will make a photo journal, an animal mini book, and maps
  •  Post letters, create a life-sized poster of himself and fill it with a collage of all of the things he knows / likes / that are personal to him.
  • Cursive writing book
  • Read aloud (me reading to Remy, and Remy reading to me)
  • We will do weekly poetry teatime with friends
  • Spelling lists
  • We will move onto Brave Writer program (Dart or Arrow) if / when he is ready for it.
 
Maths:
  • We use study ladder, Singapore maths, Smart Rs Maths Book, Base Ten Blocks / Cuisenaire Rods
  • Remy helps in our family Food Van regularly and takes customer money / works the Ipad till, gives change / etc.
  • Remy loves Sudoku, lego, pattern blocks, baking, rubicks cube, we play card games, and he wants to learn Chess
 
History:
  • Remy will make a family tree
  • We will research the History of Wonboyn, including Indigenous History for Yuin Country
  • We watch documentaries, and he is interested in Egypt so we will do a unit study on Egypt
  • We hope to visit museums, and visit the library
 
Geography:
  • Remy is creating a fact book for Wonboyn, to include maps, walking trails, surrounding attractions, etc.
  • We will be looking at different locations from local to national scales
  • We watch documentaries, look at Maps, do puzzles, etc
  • Kiwico Crate Atlas Crate Box
 
Science:
  • Biomes Ecosystems Study (Schoolhouse curiosities)
  • Rock Tumbling and recording
  • Notebooking / birdwatching
  • Nature Group
  • MEL Science Boxes
  • Audiobooks / podcasts / experiments
 
Creative Arts:
  • We will meet creative requirements through Jot it Down projects
  • Masterpiece Society (online art classes)
  • Outschool Classes
  • Guitar Lessons
  • Museum and Library Visits
 
PDHPE:
  • Big life journal (resource)
  • Cosmic Kids Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Karate
  • Nature Hiking
  • Fishing
 
 Languages:
  • Participating in group French lessons
  • Using Aboriginal language resource and having discussions with local Yuin people


Documentation:  Remy has numerous notebooks of his writing, narrations, and copy work, he has maths text books, as well as online learning documentation, I write in a day to a page diary, take photographs and use notes on my phone.  We have daily / weekly and seasonal rhythms as things are ever changing. He has emails from his Nature Group with learning outcomes, and certificates from classes he has attended.  I collate it altogether in a folder for each Stage of school.
Example of recourses we intend to use for Remy, Stage 2
Early Stage 1 - Louie Burch
Plan / Resources / Documentation
We follow Stage Statements for Early Stage 1.  We refer to the documents regularly to make sure we are meeting the NSW Schoolboard Learning Outcomes.
 
English:
  • We use Brave Writer Program - we have The Wand for learning to read and write.  Louie will also participate in Jot It Down program with Remy - a 10mth long language arts program incorporating copy work, poetry teatime, nature exploration, art, music and movie appreciation, handwriting, reading aloud, and learning to read.  We will produce a new project each month - including fairy tale booklets.
  • I refer to the suggested texts on the NSW Schoolboard website for books to read
  • We will be using sight words, practising copy work, and letter formation
  • Library / Audiobooks
  • Reading Eggs

Maths:
  • Homemademath.net Beginner Maths Unit
  • Fitzroy Maths books
  • Study Ladder
  • Base Ten Blocks / Cuisenaire Rods
  • Louie helps in our family Food Van regularly and takes customer money / works the Ipad till, gives change / etc.
  • Louie loves lego, pattern blocks, baking, we play card and dice games together
 
History:
  • Louie will make a family tree
  • We will research the History of Wonboyn, including Indigenous History for Yuin Country
  • We watch documentaries and read books
  • We hope to visit museums, and visit the library
 
Geography:
  • Louie is creating a fact book for Wonboyn, to include maps, walking trails, surrounding attractions, etc.
  • We will be looking at different locations from local to national scales
  • We watch documentaries, look at Maps, do puzzles, etc
  • Kiwico Crate Atlas Crate Box
 
Science and Technology:
  • Biomes Ecosystems Study (Schoolhouse curiosities)
  • Rock Tumbling and recording
  • Nature journaling / birdwatching
  • Documentaries / books and experiments
 
Creative Arts:
  • We will meet creative requirements through Jot it Down projects
  • Masterpiece Society (online art classes)
  • Outschool Classes
  • Guitar Lessons
  • Museum and Library Visits
 
Languages:
  • Participating in group French lessons
  • Using Aboriginal language resource and having discussions with local Yuin people​
Examples of resources we intend to use for Louie Early Stage 1
*We will be doing unit studies together – Remy Stage 2 and Louie Early Stage 1 and adapting for their individual learning abilities.
Examples of resources we intend to use together