Transitions

It started on Friday with Isabelle's last session at Playcentre. The whole family attended. The sun shone, which always makes for a good session. Isabelle seemed happy. She got presented with a card and leaving certificate at morning tea, and gave Playcentre a present (a dress-up - rabbit ears and a fluffy rabbit tail). Her friend Matthew wore it for the rest of the session. Playcentre gave Isabelle blue butterfly wings (which she also wore for the rest of the session). Isabelle and I had made a cake on Thursday, and that was eaten too.

On Saturday, we had Isabelle's parties - friends in the morning, family in the evening. A few friends came over for a party lunch. We put up decorations that Isabelle and I had made on Wednesday. We started with presents, then had pass-the-parcel. Isabelle won the pass-the-parcel, which was sort of embarrassing as I was playing the music! It was genuinely random though - I knew it was the last layer, so I turned my back and did not have any idea who was holding the package when the music stopped.

After food and a birthday cake (which we made on Friday afternoon), we had a treasure hunt. Then it was home time.

Grandma and Grandad arrived between parties. Nana Pam and Uncle Shayne arrived in time for a birthday tea. We had cake number three - an ice cream cake bought from the supermarket!

So, a good day had I think. It took a surprising amount of thought and organisation, but I think that Isabelle had a good time.

And so today, Brendon, Isabelle, Orla and I walked to school. It was a beautiful morning - mild, sunny, and so little wind that the Brooklyn turbine turned so so slowly, and later in the morning stopped altogether. Isabelle and I sang songs and skipped. When we arrived, she hung up her bag on her named hook - an already familiar ritual thanks to her three school visits. "You're finally here!" said the big sister of one of her Playcentre friends (who I found out later looked after her at lunchtime). We took Isabelle into her class. She was greeted by the teacher. I took a couple of photos. The bell rang. And it was time for us to go.

Just one more big hug, then it was out the door. I did cry a little. I knew that she would be fine though.

Meanwhile, Aidan took Grandma to Playcentre. I think it was really nice that he had something special to do today as well.

I thought of Isabelle often during the day. I wondered what she was doing, but more importantly, how she was feeling.

Orla and I walked back this afternoon to pick her up. I was early. It was a long wait. Then there she was again! She was a bit quiet, but seemed to have had a good day. I tried not to ask too many questions. We held hands all the way home. Sometimes I carried her backpack for her. It seemed like a long walk - one that we will repeat many many times.

She wasn't as tired as I thought she was going to be. But she did go to sleep very quickly! Before she went to bed, Isabelle read me a book. The words of the week are "the" and "to". Letter of the week is "br" - which of course isn't a letter, but I understand what they mean. I pointed out to her that "br" is for Brendon.

We do it all again tomorrow.

Five years old

Isabelle got a bit over-excited during the treasure hunt at her party.....



Actually no, this photo was taken today and shows Isabelle giving a helping hand with the renovations that have started. We are turning our back room into Isabelle's new bedroom, complete with pink walls and insulation.

Tomorrow is the big first day at school for our five year old. I'll blog more about this later - too tired now and I need to get to bed to be fresh for tomorrow morning! Suffice to say she's excited, and she's ready.

My young apprentices

We have just finished watching, as a family, Episode One of Star Wars (The Phantom Menace). We watched a few chapters every night. This took quite a few nights.

It is possibly the Star Wars episode most suitable for family viewing. No attempts at emotional depth, not too much death and destruction (and it's mainly droids getting smashed) and not much that is potentially scary for the young. Darth Maul wasn't even frightening ("Look Mummy, he's wearing face paint!"). It also has a young child in it (doing impossibly precocious things). Jar Jar Binks's antics, as painful as they are, were enjoyed.

Isabelle and Aidan liked Yoda, and have resumed pouring over Brendon's Revenge of the Sith sticker book.

Placenta

We finally got around to burying Orla's placenta yesterday (spurred on by the breakdown of our freezer...).

Here is Brendon putting her plant on the top - a Coprosma flat freddy (brunnea x kirkii hybrid). Apparently this plant is wind hardy and "one of New Zealand's most amazing ground covers".

This time it is in a pot (unlike Aidan and Isabelle's placentas which are in the garden itself).

I just have to relay a story about placentas that I read on my internet group a while back. This person was shifting to Wellington and was wanting the removal company to transport two pots, each containing a placenta and a plant. The removal company suggested taking out the plant, removing the dirt and transporting just the pot.

Customer: "But they have placentas in them!"
Company: "Can't you buy those in Wellington?"

Sitting up ready for school

Orla had her first sit in her highchair tonight. She can just sit up enough to make this feasible. She seemed to enjoy being up at our level during dinner.

Isabelle is slightly outraged that her friend gets to start school a week earlier than she does.

Meanwhile, Aidan is insisting that he is soon to turn five.

School update

Isabelle had her final school visit on Tuesday. It was fine. She seemed to enjoy herself, and she's looking forward to starting Monday week.

On Wednesday we picked up some party supplies. We are definitely into countdown mode now.

Je m'appelle Barbie

Isabelle and Aidan like to watch Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper (one of the few dvds we can play on our computer), almost on a daily basis. Both are quite expert at navigating the menus, playing the movie or just selected scenes. Sometimes they just play the songs (it's a musical). Sometimes there's subtitles, sometimes not. It is very cute to hear them sing along!

Yesterday Isabelle decided to explore the languages menu. First we had Barbie singing in Dutch. I sang along too (not that I speak Dutch, but as the children can't read the subtitles they didn't know that!). Then Barbie tried French. Today, she settled on German.

Each language has a slightly different take on Barbie. For example, one of the characters has a line in the English version that goes "I'll be [as] big as Charlemagne!". When speaking Dutch, he'll be as big as Caesar. I couldn't catch what was in the German version. Unsurprisingly, the French character also went with Charlemagne. The French title directly translates as "Heart of a Princess". And in the French version, Princess Anneliese's breakfast is served on a golden tray - it's a silver tray in English.

Yesterday at dinner Isabelle asked me if I spoke "all the languages". Strangely, I can understand why she would think this. She hears me speak Maori phrases at Playcentre, and sing in Mandarin. I (apparently) can sing in French, German and Dutch at home, and point out Arabic script to her on the computer. I disabused her of any such thoughts though!

Being in a monolingual household, the children don't really have much of a sense of adult fluency in other languages. What a gift a second language would be.

Fair

It was a busy weekend for us. On Saturday, we had our Playcentre fair, which, despite rain and wind, was quite successful.

Today we returned Orla's baby capsule and snap and go wheels. She seemed to enjoy riding in what was Aidan's seat. Aidan now rides in the middle, an arrangement he is very pleased with. Meanwhile, Isabelle has learnt how to unbuckle her own seatbelt.

4 2 the zoo 4 2 times 2

Yesterday was another zoo trip day. During August, on Wednesdays it is only $2 per entry. Under threes are free. So the four of us got in for $4.

We took the bus and arrived around 10.00. The sun shone. A phalanx of prams crowded the entrance. Not quite every preschooler in Wellington was there, but it felt like it at first! Once inside, everyone spread themselves out quite quickly though.

Orla alternated between the sling and the meitai. Most excellent for public transport, stairs, and feeding on the move.

We met Susan and Iris there. A lovely time was had.

My favourite display was the bats. Isabelle liked the bats and the sun bear. Aidan liked the ice creams.

Two fluffies and a runaway

Aidan doesn't like Isabelle being left at Playcentre without him. So this morning, I had some activities planned.

I had a voucher for two free fluffy's (sic! Arggh!) at a local cafe. So, in the car I asked Aidan if he would like to go to a cafe and have a fluffy. (A fluffy is basically warm milk with froth on the top, maybe a marshmellow or two and chocolate sprinkles). "I want two fluffies!" he said.

Aidan never gets two fluffies, but often asks for them.

When we arrived, I passed over my voucher and ordered two fluffies, but asked for marshmellows for one (so as not to overload the treat with sweetness!).

Two fluffies arrived for Aidan. One had one pink and one white marshmellow on top. The other had a little chocolate fish.

Aidan could not believe his luck. He kept asking if the second was for Isabelle.

Next we went to the supermarket. Aidan raced up ahead of me and darted out of sight. I hurried along, calling for him to wait at the top.

When I got to the top he wasn't there.

I looked here and there. I looked outside in the car park. I started worrying. I looked into the supermarket.

No Aidan.

Just as I was starting to panic, a trolley attendant told me that there was a small boy hiding between the trollies. I saw him peeking out cheekily, giggling. He had seen me walking up and down looking for him and thought it was great fun.

I'm sure he didn't understand why hiding like that was a seriously bad idea, but my genuine relief at finding him he found interesting. We will debrief on this later....

After the supermarket, we did the chemist, duck feeding and a playground.

He's asleep now!

Shake, rattle and roll

Orla has crossed into mid-babyhood.

She smiles and beguiles. She grasps hold of rattles and shakes them vigorously. She looks around. Everything goes into her mouth. She is sleeping less. When I come back from putting her nappies in the nappy bucket, I find that she has rolled over onto her tummy, and is gurgling happily.

Orla enjoys tasting different solids, and even ingests little bits here and there.

We are about to return her hired capsule seat. She will get Aidan's seat. Aidan has moved into Isabelle's seat (which he used to covet). Isabelle has a brand new booster seat (which Aidan now covets).

This presents a minor problem. At this age, the older two were sitting independently, so could sit in cafe high chairs no worries. Orla cannot yet do this. Baby on knee = no coffee....

Impressions of a school visit

Lots of little girls wearing pink running around.
Isabelle confidently showing me her named hook for her bag.
Lots of children wanting to look at my baby.
In class - the children are amazingly compliant!
The teacher says "says", not "sez".
There is a grammatical error in the Acting Principal's newsletter entry.
Class is highly structured.
Big boys in the senior section on the cusp of adolescence.
Big girls in the senior section clearly well into adolescence.

Well, I did my first and Isabelle's second school visit on Tuesday. It was fine.

The children sat on the floor and studied the letter "k". They looked at, and read books. They had sharing time with the year 1 classes next door.

Isabelle and her two other inductees had a special task. First, they were to write their names on a large piece of paper. Then, they were to make the letters "fat letters" (so that they could be coloured in). Then, they were to colour in their names. Next week, they will dye the pictures. The pictures would then be placed on the wall.

Isabelle appeared totally confused by the "fat letters" thing. I asked her if she knew what she had to do - she shook her head. So we broke it down into steps. She wrote her name. I demonstrated the "fat letters" thing. She made her "I" into a fat letter. Then she drew a circle around the "s". Then she drew circles around all the rest of the letters. She coloured in the "I", then coloured in the circles. Then she started drawing an elaborate map-like structure over the letters "to make it look prettier". Her art was colourful, interesting, original and fitted exactly into her dominant schema interests. It was also illegible! I felt a bit caught between wanting her to do something "nice" like the teacher had asked, and feeling proud of her for doing her own thing! I came out firmly on the side of being proud of her.

I do hope that the structured learning won't squeeze all the creativity out of her. Every day, at home and at Playcentre, she is making, doing, experimenting. I know they have "choosing time" on Thursdays, where children can do their own thing. But most of the work on the walls seemed to be "colouring in" or realistic according to adult models - bees with careful yellow and black stripes, self-portraits that all looked the same.

And they have homework every weekend!

Card

Today I finished making Isabelle's Playcentre leaving card.

Tomorrow it's my turn to do a school visit with her. We will be visiting between 11.00 and 12.30. Aidan will stay at Playcentre without any other family member for the first time.

Meta poem

I heard about a new form of poetry on the radio the other night. It's called the prose poem. It seems to be like a very short story. Perhaps a slice of life. Maybe some thoughts on this or that, or a stream of consciousness. It doesn't have line breaks or rhymes.

Except...

You seem to read it with that poetic lilt in your voice, taking your time over the words. Maybe with your head tilted to one side.

Kind of. Like. This.

They're missing the point

I see that the Green party's Sue Kedgley is revitalising her push to get country of origin labels onto food that is sold to New Zealand consumers. Despite an apparently enthusiastic public, New Zealand's Food Safety Authority is very lukewarm on the prospect. They cite costs (which of course, the consumer eventually pays). They say that, well, it's not even a food safety issue - food sold in New Zealand must meet this standard or that standard etc etc.

They're missing the point.

They may well be right. It may not be a food safety issue at all.

It's a consumer rights issue.

If consumers want to know where what they're eating comes from, then that information should be available. Consumers don't have to have a rational reason for that. Sure, some people will take country of origin labeling as an excuse to exercise a bit of xenophobia or racism in the guise of national pride. But others will be interested in the human rights record of some countries. Maybe some consumers care about the environmental record of some regimes, or about oppressive work practices. Still others will realise that food safety standards, in terms of permitted chemicals and the like, differ around the world.

And no, this is not a veiled slight at China, or even any third world producer. Even our neighbour to the west allows certain chemicals in their pork production which are banned in New Zealand (and that encourage me to buy New Zealand made).

So in lieu of any rules about this, consumers can make their voices known by not buying goods that are not properly labeled - and by enquiring at point of sale when the labels aren't clear. Smart producers and retailers will react accordingly. If they can sell more to us (and be more profitable) by giving us the information we want, that's the ultimate incentive - with or without regulations.

The challenge too is to ensure that when we are forced or requested to label our produce as "Made in New Zealand" that we can do so confident that the label represents quality produce from a country with pride in its workers' and human rights record, and from a clean environment.

So it may not be a food safety issue. And it might not even require regulation.

But it's a fine idea.

Kitten story

A little anecdote about a kitten....

We went out for a walk the other day after lots of inside time due to bad weather. We ended up at one of the local playgrounds. Just as we arrived, a man ran down the road opposite us, dressed in exercise gear. Behind him ran an extremely cute, very small little kitten. The joy of life was in its eyes as it galloped - I could almost hear its kitten voice saying "Daddy! Wait for me! I want to come too!".

Look children, I said, what a cute kitten!

The man quietly cursed. He then stopped running, looked behind him, and with a smile scooped the little cat (who had by now caught up) into his arms. He started trudging back to his house.

We saw him again a few minutes later - sans kitten. He gave us a sheepish grin as he passed.

Addendum

I forgot to say on my last post that Isabelle fell asleep in my arms at 4.00 o'clock that afternoon! She normally doesn't have a nap in the day anymore.

I suspect that school is going to be really tiring!

School visit

Yesterday was a big day.

Isabelle had her first visit at school.

The visit started at 9.00. Brendon was going to accompany Isabelle - it was duty day at Playcentre for Orla, Aidan and me.

Isabelle seemed excited about going. She had selected a special dress to wear, and packed her bag with great care.

I was jealous! I wanted to go too!

Brendon dropped us down at Playcentre, then off they went.

Isabelle returned around 11.00, looking very pleased with herself. They had met the teacher and hung her bag on her very own named hook. (She was visiting at the same time as a friend of hers, which is nice for both of them). Isabelle was introduced to the class. They had sung songs. She drew a picture, and did some writing. Isabelle saw a friend in the playground, and had some morning tea.

She is keen to go back.

Next week, it's my turn to go along for a visit starting at 11.00. Aidan will stay at Playcentre (for the first time, he'll be left without any family member present).