AussieHomeschool has great pleasure in informing you of a new homeschool business and service but even more than that, we’re going to introduce you to the business owner Amanda.  I hope you can get to know Amanda a little bit and learn about her heart behind Butterfly Bookstore.

Hi Amanda, would you tell us a little about your family?

My husband was in the RAAF and has a bachelor’s degree in Electronics. I have an Office Administration background. We have three children: dd9, dd7 and ds5. We live on 20 acres in North-Central Victoria and aim to be as self-sufficient as possible. We are “off the grid” with our own solar set-up and own water supplies. We are getting lots of chickens and planning a huge vegetable garden. We wish to live a simple, happy life in the country.

Butterflybookstore logo

What made you decide that you wanted to homeschool? Have you been happy with the decision?

We decided to homeschool before my eldest reached school-age after seeing the effects of ‘mainstream school’ on both family and friend’s children. The family as a unit was broken with children being rude and unkind to each other, and having a lack of respect for their parents. They were not learning anything of value, or if they were, their retention of the information was non-existent. For us personally the main reasons behind our decision were: bullying, drugs, premature sexualization, poor standards of teaching, and increase in illness/sickness/diseases. Any one of those reasons would be more than enough to take your children out of the school environment, but to have all five occurring simultaneously is too much. We have always said if our children asked to go to school at anytime, we would not stop them, but they have not asked yet.

We have been very happy with our decision to homeschool. Our family as a whole is happy to be with each other and we have more opportunities to do things of interest to our children as we are not tied into the school timetable. Plus we get to go on holidays whenever we like at a cheaper rate and minus the crowds that happen around the school holidays!

How long have you been home educating?

We have been homeschooling now for 3 years as we started as soon as my eldest daughter turned 6. But as most home-educated parents agree, homeschooling begins from birth.

What methods or approach have you used consistently over that time?

I would call myself Eclectic although we do tend towards the Charlotte Mason approach, it just seems to be a natural way of homeschooling. We have a heavy emphasis on good, quality classic literature. With my children being so young we do a lot of lapbooking and notebooking both of which are a great way to involve learning but indulge their creativity at the same time as my children love all things art and craft.

What are you really passionate about now?

Making everything foodwise from scratch. I actually really enjoy making my own bread by hand and the children are enjoying the freedom to have a go and make some interesting bread shapes! Yes, the kitchen looks like a mess afterwards but its all worth it at the end with a big slab of warm bread and jam! Also, the dough is great for pizzas, so we have been having pizza nights more than usual, and trying out all sorts of toppings.

I enjoy geocaching. It is a great family activity that gets you out and about and going to places that you would not usually have thought of visiting. It is essentially an outdoor treasure hunt using GPS coordinates to find containers ranging in size from the size of a 10 cent coin to large 20L buckets. Each cache when it is found has a logbook inside that you sign with your username. Depending on the size of the container it may have small swaps that you can swap of equal value. You then put everything back as you found it, go online to the geocaching website, and then log your find. There are millions of caches all around the world; there are probably caches nearby where you live, a park you visit often, or even a shopping center or at the camping spot that you might take the family each year. Some caches are only accessible by boat, or you might need to complete a puzzle which will give you the coordinates to the cache. All you need to get started is a GPS and a free membership to the website. (www.geocaching.com)

Why Butterfly Bookstore?

I have always loved books, and after a few experiences from various bookstores, I thought I might like to have a go at it myself. Doing it from home gives me the ability to take care of the home and the family without having to leave the house all day which would not be beneficial. Having to wait a few weeks for books to arrive from overseas is frustrating so I want to give fellow homeschoolers the option of buying books that will take a day or two to arrive.

I love Butterflies. I love their elegance, the many different colours and their seemingly carefree and happy life. They also signify ones own personal journey through life…each one of us essentially changing and growing and becoming a better person through the many twists and turns that life brings us all. Life is a learning curve and I hope that Butterfly Bookstore will be an avenue that homeschoolers use to help their children as they embark on their family’s life journey.

Fantastic! So what can we expect to find when we visit the Butterfly Bookstore?

You will find we carry books on all subjects, manipulatives to go along with your studies, games and even cute hampers for newborn babies. We will be constantly adding to the range and are happy to source books or items if there is something in particular someone would like.

If you place your order before 3pm Monday to Friday, your order will be posted the same day. We are here to serve you, and pride ourselves on excellent communication with the buyer from start to finish. We only sell what we have in stock and will not back-order. Postage will always be free for Australian buyers.

Wow, that’s great. And what’s that? A special deal just for AHS members?

[notify_box font_size=”13px” style=”blue”] The Butterfly Bookstore has a special 10% discount code particular for members of AussieHomeschool. Details will be in the forum. (Register or sign in to view details)[/notify_box]

Butterfly Books

Thank you so much Amanda. It has been a pleasure hearing about your family and your new business venture. I wish you and your family every success as you strive toward serving the needs of Aussie families. I hope and pray that you will grow into a well-trusted and reliable business. I’m sure that the Butterfly Bookstore will be a blessing to Aussie Homeschool families.