it has been a while since I have had a grade 7. we didn't do time , but amount of schoolwork. they had to do a lesson per day of math, spelling, grammar, writing, read for 30 minutes or a chapter. A section of science, 15 minutes of logic, a chapter of history once a week. We also did Rosetta Stone German for approx 20 minutes a day. I read aloud for approx 1 hour a day a novel. mostly I read right at tea time. I eat fast and got very bored sitting there while every one else eats slowly. it fitted in nicely. it took them anywhere from 3 to 5 hours a day, depending if they wanted to sit there doodling or get on with their work. mostly they were done their main subjects in 3 hours and spent another hour in the afternoon doing either science or history. they could do their reading in the evening if they wanted to .

We did basketball and swimming for PE. The swimming was mostly at the beach. About 5 hours a week cooking about 3 hours a week music. We dropped music at around grade 7, before that we did 30 minutes practice a day

I counted music , PE and cooking , Schools count them all I don't have to record time

so sorry sending positive thoughts

Midshipman Quin series were my boys favourite read aloud of all time when they were early teens

One of our neighbours told dh they have put in 100metre bulldozed firebreak. To try and stop the westerly spread of the https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=2ahUKEwjG7ueN2MjnAhWJXCsKHYFRBJgQwqsBMAF6BAgKEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FDELWPGippsland%2Fvideos%2F227363048260974%2F&usg=AOvVaw1PR72z5JFBSSXk3kqY6k7D if this link works it shows the devastation at Cape Conran.

We got 8 ml rain. Not enough to put fires out. But apparently the fire behaviour is suppressed. There are 4 peat fires in dry swampy heathland. So they have set up carbon monoxide monitors. It stinks

We didn’t get any rain on the weekend, but it is meant to rain today. Hoping it is heavy. About 100 mm would be great. Fingers crossed

We haven’t had any rain. The fire is just very slowly creeping, which is amazing as we have gale force winds today. They have a lot of resources on it (we hope), helicopters, bulldozers, firefighters, the Fiji army with rakehoes . There are lots of dry swampy heathlands that are within the fire area and are burning as well. we are completely frustrated by the lack of information and have turned into crazy people checking wind speed, satellite maps, radar weather maps, hotspots, tuning into scanners etc multiple times a day. I think DH and I can recite what the wind is going to be doing every 2 hours until Tuesday next week. All we really know is the fire ground is still burning and is slowly creeping.

Over $500 per twin for swimming, but we have a grant that pays some of it as it is part of their therapy ( cross brain activity)

One adult ( me) did the University stuff with the child who was applying for uni, and no siblings came at all. There were thousands of other potential students at the Universites , mostly accompanied by one parent and NO young children at all, not a single one.

Huge hugs seizures are scary

Forgot to add, if you have time, you are to block gutters and fill with water, remove everything away from the outside of the house and hose house and verandah down. because we have had time we have also pulled down fences, opened inspection panels on top of water tanks for hopefully fire trucks, cleared more than 100 tea tree , melaleuca and other shrubs, mowed flower gardens, raked, raked and raked. DH has also put gravel along the bottom of exterior shed doors and put. Rock wool around the sides of shed doors to stop embers getting in, plowed a circle in our cow paddock and put tractors and machinery within the plowed area.

Here we are told to take medication 2 days of clothes all important papers including birth certificates, insurance papers etc mobile phone and charger pets carry a wool blanket in car in case you get caught to help protect from radiant heat