Home Sweet Home

The more time we’ve invested in our home, the more there is to do and see. Now we’ve been here 5 years, our trees and plants are really mature and we are beginning to see an even larger variety of birds and butterflies around us.

And now, we’ve realised we have honey bees forming a hive on the roof; between the creeper and the balcony. Some would be horrified but we are delighted. Even though I am allergic to bees and will need to carry some kind of drug around to ensure I don’t asphyxiate the next time I am stung, I couldn’t be happier.

At first I was worried they’d be an aggressive species but after consulting knowledgeable people (via Facebook of course!) we are fairly certain they are Apis Cerana or Asian Honey Bees.

Our chickens have begun to lay too! Behold, the first egg.

All around us Nature is fighting this uphill battle. Ancient forests are burning, bees are dying by the millions yet here is our little slice of paradise, all is well. These little joys are what keep us here.

Now to go and buy that life saving drug for just in case 🙂

Homeschooling 3 to 5 year olds – Things you can do monthly

For those choosing to homeschool with little ones, good on you. Kindergarten fees are getting steeper by the day and it isn’t always value for money. Here are some ideas to help you get started plus an overview of what we got up to when the kids were little.

Petrosains

We went to Petrosains a lot. The Family Membership (2 adults + 3 children) now costs RM106 . One of our favourite perks is general admission to more than 300 participating science centres and museums worldwide (please refer to ASTC). (Membership card must be presented on site.) We went to the Singapore Science centre for free a number of times on this.

They now also have cafes inside so you can stay on instead of having to rush out for lunch. My kids are the hangry type and you are not allowed to bring food in so our visits were rarely longer then 3 hours.

Lots of HSers must go because check this out!
http://www.petrosains.com.my/programmes/creative-teaching-workshop/

Lake Garden

Lake Garden was another favourite. The playground was so much fun when they were little. Please bring your own water and remember that the toilets are far away so if you need to go, don’t wait! It took us ages to explore the whole thing and because it is often improved, we keep finding new stuff to enjoy. There is a nice section in the middle when you can use your scooters and other wheeled implements.
http://www.klbotanicalgarden.gov.my/guide.php

Zoo Negara

We also went to Zoo Negara a lot too. It was a lot cheaper, rates have gone up but you can register for membership and receive 10% off future visits. The membership is per family basis, so if you are going with friends remind them to get their own membership cards.

I find zoos in general depressing and sad. Living so close, I have heard my share of horror stories. However, this should not stop you for taking your children. Maybe while walking about, you might be inspired by a brilliant plan on how to improve of help zoos.

Other Fun places and things to do include FRIM (website broken), Pusat Sains Negara (under renovation), Bukit Kiara Skate Park, Islamic Arts Museum, Butterfly Park and the KLCC park. The important thing is to do a little research, make a few calls and see how to best maximise your time.

Your neighbourhood playground is also perfect. And if you think it is crap, improve it. Grow a garden, get some friends to help improve the facilities of write to your council and ask them for help. We also make it a point pick up some rubbish where ever we go. We never manage to clean the entire place, maybe just a few square meters, but it still counts!

Pascal’s triangle

We use Maria Miller’s Math Mammoth for mathematics. We bought it online and downloaded it. I print off the work books as and when required.

If you look at the Homeschool Buyers Co-op, the sometimes run group buys for this syllabus and you can get a nice discount. They run great discounts on load of other homeschool stuff too.

Today we are looking at Pascal’s Triangle which is a fascinating mathematical triangular array of binomial coefficient.

Pascal’s triangle

We use Maria Miller’s Math Mammoth for mathematics. We bought it online and downloaded it. I print off the work books as and when required.

If you look at the Homeschool Co-op, the sometimes run group buys for this syllabus and you can get a nice discount.

Today we are looking at Pascal’s Triangle http://ptri1.tripod.com/