Libraries I Have Known

I think that anyone who knows me knows that –
I love books!

I enjoy reading – stories that take me into other worlds, texts that show me things I never knew, words of comfort or inspiration…
But I also love the feel of (actual) books – the paper, the covers, the illustrations. Physically flipping pages, not quite sure what might be on the other side.
I don’t think I’ve ever been quite this fanatical.
(warning – there are flashing lights in parts of this video, in case that affects you)

He made that for you…

I have full bookcases, and will continue finding spaces for newly acquired books, but I still love the library!
I have browsed the stacks in many libraries in my lifetime.
In my childhood, I remember them being caverns of wonder, even if the spaces were, perhaps, smaller than my imagination made them. Both my primary and high school had their own library, which is as it should be. Useful for study, but also introducing us to literature we might not have come across otherwise.

I also used to ride my bike to the public library on a Saturday. I would sit and read – in my memory, until closing time. Then I would collect my bike, and hurtle down the spiral concrete ramp outside. Reach the bottom, and go back up again.
The freedom of the 70s…

When my oldest was born, we signed him up for a free book programme, and also a library card. That library was in a run down estate, and consisted of one small room in a parade of shops. We always found books to read, though, and stories to sink into!
My youngest was born after we came back to Australia to live. Our library has gone through changes over all the years we’ve been here, but the boys were always in and out – for storytime, or creative workshops, or just sitting with a book, enjoying the air conditioning. It was a great place to go to in all our homeschooling years.

They said, way back in time, that some day we would be a paperless society.
Doesn’t seem to have happened…
Libraries do a lot more now. Computers with internet access – wonderful for those who can’t afford it at home, or need help in some way. There are frequent workshop or training options. Places to hold meetings, or just be alone for a bit.
And above all – books!
Yay!! 😀
Our library has the facility to request purchase of books they don’t have. I’ve just requested three, which have been accepted and ordered. I read a wide range of topics, fiction and non-fiction. Some book series have been so enjoyable, I’ve started collecting them for my home library (especially since some older books are taken out of circulation, due to space constraints 😦 ).
And it’s all free!

Go find your public library!
Take out books!
Support your librarians!

I am aware that libraries are not, globally, available to all. It’s worth looking for literacy projects to support, if you can.
Don’t run the risk of losing a great resource from lack of use.
Go – read a book!
You’ll be glad you did 🙂

Published in: on October 25, 2025 at 9:06 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Dancing Into The Future

We have been having a quiet day, after two days in Brisbane preparing for and going to Sweet Bean’s graduation dinner. Parents were invited as well, although we sat at a different table.
Here he is in his new suit.

Isn’t he gorgeous?
❤

I may have spent too long taking photos…

We stayed overnight in an airbnb near the venue – basic, but adequate. It was like a mini-holiday 🙂
Ended up being a bit late. The battery in the car decided to give up completely just as we got in, ready to go off in our finery. Trying to push start a car, or work on the engine, while dressed up in our formal gear, was…interesting!
We had some help from a couple of people also staying there. They tried to jump start the battery, but when that failed they gave us a lift to the dinner. Such kindness, just when we needed it!
Here’s Sweet Bean, just about to go in.

He got to finally meet some of his teachers, and catch up with those he had already met. There were various speeches, and they each went up to receive their graduation gifts – a lovely folder with their final reports and other documents, a gift that turned out to contain a devotional book for next year, and a special “graduation” pen. There was lovely food (although not quite enough for my hungry boys), and everything was decorated beautifully.

Afterwards, there was dancing!
Sweet Bean joined the throng – mostly students, but some parents as well.
They danced for ages, everything from the Nutbush and Footloose, to Uptown Funk and Shake It Off.
We finished late, and thankfully got a lift back with his area teacher, so we got to have a chat with him.

The moon shone brightly, as the evening rolled on towards midnight.

And then – it was time to go home.
Take a deep breath, glance lightly at the past, and turn towards the future…

Published in: on November 20, 2021 at 5:04 pm  Leave a Comment  
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To Be Continued…

Today was the last ever school day for my Sweet Bean.
It was a double exam day (both for physics), so he was busy, and a bit stressed…
All done and dusted, though – all the assignments, task sheets, and assorted admin bits of paper are in! There’s only the graduation dinner next week to go to.

It’s a bit hard to believe that my funny little boy is now on the brink of launching in to the big, wide world.
We are so proud of him! ❤
Right now he’s just feeling the release from twelve years of study, deadlines, exams… we’ll take it easy for a few days before looking at the next steps from here. He’s got a suit for his graduation dinner which was partially chosen for its dual potential as a suit for interviews.

Wednesday was his business studies exam – only one shortish exam, but the first external exam for this term. We got him a rainbow biscuit to enjoy when he got home 🙂

Onwards and upwards!
…at least, after a rest.

Published in: on November 12, 2021 at 9:00 pm  Leave a Comment  

Motherhood And Exploding Bottles

Yesterday was Mother’s Day here, and I had a nice day. Nothing earth shattering, and I didn’t really spend a lot of time with my boys, but they remembered the day ❤ We were able to get to church, as well, so that was fun 🙂

Today was a school day… my Sweet Bean is in his last year of school, so he’s pretty much self sufficient with schoolwork. I’m just there to keep track, check everything’s going well, and pick up the pieces when necessary.
Today an important experiment had to be done. It’s for this term’s assessment, and it has had its problems so far. This was the last chance for testing and collecting data, so the pressure was on…
Due to various reasons, my Babe has been unable to drive us places as often as in past years, so that can make it difficult to get things done. We’ve had to rearrange schedules a bit to add in the time needed to get buses and walk. This morning we were down the road on the hockey fields, which was the closest area large enough to fire off a rocket (basically a plastic soft drink bottle with modifications). We got a lift down there but had to prepare to walk home, hauling everything behind us in a trolley.
Here’s the set up –

A contraption made from pipes, a foot pump for pressure, a bag filled with dirt to hold it all down, and a bottle with a tennis ball taped to the end and filled with varying amounts of water…
There were problems to overcome and modifications to make, and it seemed for a time that nothing was going to work. Eventually we got some good results, and had fun firing the “rocket” as far as we could.
We were hot, thirsty and slightly sunburnt by the end.
But I enjoyed being Mum, once again needed to play my part to help things run smoothly (I timed the flights and made suggestions to fix stuff). Biggest Boy was there to help – he kept Sweet Bean from meltdown, made good suggestions, provided “big brother” pep talks and made us all laugh.
Then we trundled off home for a late lunch and lots of water!

Published in: on May 10, 2021 at 11:51 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A Good Year Awarded

Yesterday evening was awards night for Sweet Bean – he even dressed up for it!

❤

It’s lovely to get recognition for all the hard work over the year. One of the things I like about his school is that they give recognition for scholastic achievement, and also for character growth as well 🙂
The awards are interspersed with items showcasing students’ talents, so we were treated to some wonderful songs written by students, and beautiful dancing as well. Sweet Bean even got a shout out (and had to stand up for applause, which embarrassed him hugely 😀 ) for being the only student in this area to finish a couple of Year 12 subjects.
And after all that, big slices of cream cake.
A good night was had by all!

Published in: on December 4, 2020 at 2:32 pm  Leave a Comment  

Here’s Looking At You, Kid

😆

It’s been one of those days where the success of each activity depends on everything being on schedule – if one thing’s a bit late, everything else just goes out the window…
We got everywhere on time 🙂
The last thing today was a catch up with our area teacher. Classes finished last week, and we’ve been enjoying holidays this week. This meeting, and Awards night later in the week, are our last school things to do. We talked through what’s needed for next year, and what’s been good this year. Sweet Bean has done very well (99/100 for his final physics exam!). Next year may not be so hectic, or it may just be hectic in a different way… it’ll be interesting, either way!
It struck me today that next year will be my last year with a school child in the house. It doesn’t seem quite so long since we were learning ABCs and counting/simple maths with rocks or Legos. Soon Sweet Bean will be in the next phase of his life, as I will be in mine.
Who knows what’s ahead?
Onwards and upwards!
😀

Published in: on December 1, 2020 at 10:31 pm  Leave a Comment  

Pausing The Adventure

Last day of this school year for Sweet Bean.
He’s happy! It’s been a hard year for him in a lot of ways. Time to stop for a bit and breathe more freely…
This is (I think) our 13th year of home schooling. There’s one more to go, and then the grand adventure will move further out still, at least for Sweet Bean. Both boys are pretty much adults now, and I’m so proud of them both!
❤

Time to pause, and rest.
Soon it will be time to run forward again…

Published in: on November 26, 2020 at 6:07 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Growing Out Of Sight…

My lovely garden is doing fine right now – the rains we’ve had have been just right to keep it alive and flourishing. Even the plants I thought would die (they didn’t seem to have a proper root system) are standing up happily.
The frangipanis by the pool are finally flowering…

…and my zinnias have suddenly burst out with a profusion of flowers.

I kept a close eye on them for a while and nothing much happened, but when I took my eye off them, everything seemed to open at once!

It feels like the same is going on with my boys – sudden leaps in maturity, just as I’m looking in the other direction for a second. 😀
Sweet Bean has been doing external exams this week – only three days, as he’s doing two Year 12 subjects. He went to the huge school up the road from us, where he had to navigate classrooms and large numbers of strangers on his own. It’s the first time he’s had anything to do with mainstream school, and it was hardly a stress-free situation… I am so proud of the way he’s managed so well ❤ He’s very glad to have finished those ones. Next week he’ll be doing his Year 11 exams – still important, but lower pressure.
Biggest Boy is studying at uni at the moment. It’s been a while since he’s done formal schooling, as well! He’s been very conscientious about homework and assignments, and has learned to deal with the issues that crop up with group projects – working with different personalities and levels of commitment. I’ve watched him mature and grow in ability just in these last few months ❤

They’re both so gorgeous! 😀
I love to see my garden flower and thrive, but I love even more seeing my boys launch out into the adult world, forging their own individual paths…

Published in: on October 30, 2020 at 10:02 pm  Leave a Comment  

Learning At Home With The TV On

So we’ve been doing this learning at home thing for a long time now, and the self isolation hasn’t changed a lot of how we do it…
For those who are trying to find their way outside of school, there are lots of resources being shared online at the moment, and there’s always documentaries and kids’ shows on TV (check out ABC or SBS).
I just thought I’d share a few shows we’ve watched, or are still watching, that you may not have thought of 🙂

For English and maths, there’s “Letters and Numbers” on SBS. It’s probably better for older children, but have a look. It’s a game show with sections on making words from random selections of letters, and sections on using a selection of numbers to come up with an equation to get to, or nearest to, a randomly generated number. These are timed, but we pause to give us a chance to think about it more.

For more maths you can watch Bargain Hunt, at the moment on  7Plus Catch Up. This has two teams competing to buy three items with £300 and make the biggest profit. They have an expert with them, who chooses another item, which they can choose after the initial items are auctioned. I enjoy watching it because you get to see a range of antiques and collectables, and hear about them – after a while you start to understand different time periods, such as Art Deco, Victorian, Georgian… The auctioneer for the day will then appraise each piece and its possible sale price at auction.
For the maths –
– add the purchase prices for each item, then subtract from £300 to see what the expert’s left with.
– compare with auctioneer’s estimate.
– work out profit or loss as each item is auctioned.

“Antiques Roadshow” is another favourite, although there’s not as much opportunity to use maths skills – it’s more for learning about antiques and different time periods. Some episodes have valuations in both British pounds and Australian dollars, so it can be a way to talk about exchange rates and try to convert pounds to dollars.
At the moment you can find it on 9now or ABC iview.

For music history (and just plain fun!) we watch “Spicks and Specks”, a game show where two teams compete to answer questions about a wide range of music genres and eras. Some of the humour can be adult, so check it out beforehand if that might be a problem for you… we watch it with Sweet Bean and talk about it all. I get to reminisce about all the great songs and bands of my childhood! It’s amazing how much Sweet Bean has learned – he went from knowing practically nothing to having a fairly wide knowledge of all different types of music 🙂
There’s not a lot on ABC iview, but at the moment it’s on every night on ABC2, at 7.30.

What else?
We always love “Time Team” for history and archaeology, although it’s UK centred. I don’t think it’s on TV at the moment, but there’s a YouTube channel.
We’ve also been watching “Science of Stupid” – particularly good if you want to learn physics and like blooper type shows… At the moment on 9now, or it’s on YouTube.

These are just some of the things we’ve come across over the years, and we learn a lot from them. But – above all – we watch them because they’re FUN! If you’re tearing your hair out because you don’t know what to do, and everything’s topsy-turvy, it’s OK to just stop. Just for a bit.
Spend time together.
Just have fun ❤

 

Published in: on March 21, 2020 at 9:57 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Staying Home

Another day in the continuing coronavirus saga…
Went shopping to pick up some essentials today – no toilet paper, which we expected (we have enough at the moment), but when we tried to get some mince for Biggest Boy’s birthday dinner tomorrow (he’s 21!) – a vast expanse of empty shelves! We’ll improvise…

How shall we proceed?
None of us in this family are in the risk groups for complications even if we catch the virus, so we’re not worried there. But in our various social circles there are those who are. There seems to be some evidence to show that younger age groups (and possibly older but basically healthy?) can be carriers while being asymptomatic, so waiting until we feel sick to self isolate may be too late for others who are vulnerable.
We are in the fortunate position of not having to go out much – our normal life is fairly isolated. There are still some situations where we’re out of the house, or people come to us. At this point it’s a case by case decision as things unfold…
There are many who don’t have the luxury of staying home – those in essential services, those who can’t afford it, service industries… for those people, and the ill, elderly and immunocompromised, we have a responsibility to do what we can to reduce the spread of the virus.
What to do while we’re isolated?
There’s always books! My answer for everything 😀 Use your local library (before it may need to shut down?) Get as many books as you can. Have a look for books online.
Create. Write that Great Novel you’ve always wanted to. Or a poem (it doesn’t have to be “good”!) Bake cakes with the kids. Dance round the living room until they need to take a nap 😉
There are also free courses online, or movies, in a variety of subjects – some are always free, some may just be for this period of time… also some suitable for school age children.
I’m looking forward to browsing what’s on offer!

If you’re still unsure why it’s beneficial to self isolate or practise social distancing, here’s a clip from one of my favourite shows, which demonstrates how disease spreads…

Published in: on March 17, 2020 at 11:26 pm  Leave a Comment  
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