Planet disco

On Friday I took Isabelle and Aidan to the school disco. They have them about three times a year.

I was interested to see what all the children wore. Some were in what could be called Sunday best. Others wore dress ups (ballet tutus, superman outfits etc). I suspect most ensembles were carefully chosen.

My children's interpretations of "disco best" were as follows. Isabelle wore her ballet character shoes (that have little heels), black mini skirt with black leggings, a white top made by her cousin with matching scrunchie, and her new African butterfly hair clip.

Aidan wore his rugby shorts and his rugby top (turned inside out). I saw at least one other rugby top there.

The disco passed in a blur of sausages in bread, flashing lights, sugary treats, high-pitched screaming and whirring light sabres (the latter being glow sticks, but really, how could they not be light sabres?).

Unfortunately for me, already my children are too old to want to dance with their mother. So I had to do the YMCA all by myself, which was probably far more embarrassing for them.

Fortunately Susan and Ruth let me dance with them down the back at the end.

Open day

Isabelle and Aidan's school opened the classrooms for a few hours after school so parents and family could view their work.

Isabelle used her light sabre to point out which art on the wall was hers.















But one of my favourites was her simile.

















Aidan took some photos too.















Apparently the floor was extremely interesting!














Aidan had done a multicolour P.

School boy

And in other news...

Aidan's first school visit is not far away. Orla had her first official drop off at Playcentre today - apparently it went very well. Ewan has croup, but is improving.

A long wait

"Mummy, I want to be five! I want to go to school TOMORROW!"

Cross country

Yesterday was Isabelle's cross country run. In her year group, the children had to race around the nearby park four times.

Except for Isabelle, who went around five times.

The problem seemed to be that because they were going round and round the same course, many of the children were lapped, making it very hard to keep track of things. Isabelle completed her fourth lap running about third, but kept on going because the girls around her still had a lap to run.

Here she is in action:



So fast she's just a blur!






Here she is finishing the fifth lap:











And returning to her classroom, hugging her friend (understandably feeling a bit shattered!):





It was quite fun watching the children, most of whom seemed to be enjoying themselves. Hazel and Iris seemed to smile all the way around the course, as did H and K. It was fair to say though that for some, a cross country is a huge struggle. The looks of pain on some of the faces were hard to watch, and a couple of the children broke down completely. Thankfully, support was at hand.


The start of each race was an all-out sprint. Parents, armed with wisdom gained from hard-won experience, hoped the children would pace themselves. They were certainly moving a lot slower on the repeat lap!

We reminisced about our own cross country experiences from the sidelines.

It was fun cheering for the Playcentre alumni as they went past. They would turn in a slightly confused way to see who it was, then I'd get a small smile of recognition before they turned back to the serious matters at hand.

Next year I'll have two to cheer on.

Aidan is already looking forward to it.

A nice day homeschooling

I gave Isabelle the option of staying home from school today. She wasn't sick, but she was snotty (which can be unpleasant for all in a classroom environment!). She chose to stay home.

The children started the day with the art curriculum, drawing at the table while I did the breakfast dishes. Isabelle then drew some columns into a notebook and did some literacy work, practicing individual letters. (Both activities were fully child-initiated).

Then it was into the garden for some dramatic play (the photo shows my three little gardeners at work) and exploration of the science curriculum. The children called me out from my fascinating job cleaning the shower as they had found an interesting something that they couldn't identify. We looked at it together and classified it on the basis of what they knew (how many legs? Where was it found? Describe what it looks like in detail). After a detailed examination I said that my theory was that it was a baby cicada. I suggested that we have a look on the internet to confirm.

Big sister read a library book to little brother while the computer fired up (literacy/technology curriculum). The usually extremely helpful Landcare Research bug identification site wasn't as user-friendly as it normally is, so after we found cicadas on it I went to google for some extra information. Then the children were convinced that they had indeed found a cicada nymph. We learnt about the New Zealand species and their life cycles, what they fed on, and what adults sounded like. We remembered all the cicadas last summer and wondered if their nymph would come out this January or so when the weather was warmer. Finally, youtube provided us with a little documentary (just 6 minutes) about cicadas in North America.

Over lunch we did the biology curriculum, discussing exactly how the baby got fed when I ate cheese on toast.

After lunch I read to big sister while the younger two slept. Isabelle read to Orla when she woke up.

As the afternoon wore on, the physical education curriculum came to the fore as the children raced around outside with motorbikes, hula hoops and balls, up trees and round and round the house.

As we folded the washing, Isabelle asked some questions about the earth's rotation around the sun and why the days were getting longer. Once again, I didn't regret the purchase of a globe last year! She told me that it was just the morning now on the other side of the world. She was right.

On a slightly different topic, dramatic play over the last couple of days has meant that I have overheard some interesting conversations! Here's one:

I: ....and we live in apartments next to each other. We used to live with our mother, but not now.
A: Yes.
I: And we are teenagers.
A: I am 20.
I: No, you can't be 20, you have to be something-teen.
A: OK. Then I am 12.
I: And I am 16.
A: No, I am 14.
I: Yes. My name is Starlight. Your name can be Cloud fluff.
A: [pause] I don't want that name.
I: Then you can be......Cloud rocket.
A: Ummmm....Star rocket.
I: Yes, Star rocket. You can cook me dinner now.
A: Well you have to come to my apartment to get it.

Big girl

The steps to independence are slow yet steady.

Today I walked my big girl just as far as the crossing. She waited until it was time to cross, then skipped across the road and up the path to school, without looking back once.

Earlier she had said: "Mummy, do I have to wave when I say goodbye?"
"Ah, no, not if you don't want to, but I will stay watching you until you get inside the gate".

Apples

Our school sells fundraising apples at the moment.

I've noticed that after apple pick-up day, the children waiting at the bus stop put apples out on the road for cars to run over.

On Friday I took the car. As I drove towards the bus stop, I noticed a solitary apple sitting in the middle of the lane. A group of children at the bus stop looked hopefully on.

I swerved slightly to ensure that the apple crunched dramatically beneath our tyres.

The children jumped up and down, whooping and cheering with delight! I chuckled.

(Policy makers take note: you can't really make people do anything. They have to have incentives that make sense to them in order to act in the desired way. Merely making healthy food available does not mean that children will eat it - especially when there are other, more entertaining possibilities!).

Overheard...

Overheard recently:

"I am your stepmother".
"I am your stepbrother".
"No, you can't be my stepbrother because I am your stepmother".
"OK. I have two stepsisters. But they died. I was just a tiny baby. They were 100. But they died".

Play has been very peaceful and co-operative here for the past couple of days. I am sure it is directly linked to Isabelle having two days off school convalescing from an ear infection. She is less tired, and more eager to make social links at home.

Aidan basks in the glow of his older sister's attention.

Isabelle still seems to process school in her play. Her stepmother is teacheresque - she's mother-like, in charge, and speaks in a commanding voice as if addressing a group.

Aidan embraces Isabelle's play offers and fits them within the fairy story that is already ingrained in his consciousness - yet adds his own twist!

The dog ate my homework

Today I sent a note to school with Isabelle along these lines:

"Dear teacher, could you please send a new alphabet chart home with Isabelle today. Her sister ate the last one".

Actually, letters s to z were retrievable. The rest was in little pieces, or already being digested.

In the car.....again

I am using the car a lot more than I wanted to ferry Isabelle to and from school.

First - the drop off. As Aidan does Playcentre three times a week, from the start I'm doing one big trip from school to Playcentre then back home in the car. It doesn't make sense time-wise to walk to school, walk home, then get the car. Walking to school then to Playcentre is too much to expect a 3 year old to do. Wednesdays is Daddy drop-off day (yay!) which is a walking day for Isabelle. So that leaves Thursdays. We managed the walk today (and it was a beautiful day for walking!). But Aidan was very tired by the time we reached our street. He sat at the bottom of the hill and refused to climb. I lured him up using the promise of jelly beans for morning tea.

As for the pick up - well, ballet on Thursdays means the car is a must. And most days of the week, I find myself with either one, or two sleeping children to wake to take to school to pick up big sister. After having experimented with waking Aidan then attempting to drag him onto a bus (which we missed), I've realised that I'm far better off letting him sleep and waking him and/or Orla up just in time to sweep them into the car and off to school.

(Yes, Aidan at 3 still has daytime sleeps most days. Not all 3 year olds do. But not all 3 year olds wake at 5.00 am either!).

We took the bus home once. This was the first time Isabelle had ever had to pay for a trip. She handed the bus driver her brand-new bus ticket herself.

I notice that I am a lot more tired too if I walk to and from school. Exercise is good, but life is tiring!

I'm sure this will change as the children get older.

There is a walking school bus near us. But I have decided that it is not for me - at least not yet. First, I would have to send Isabelle off with a group of people she barely knows when she is still so fresh and new at the school thing. Second, I would have to do duty on the bus. I do Playcentre duty once a week. This is no trouble. But I am not keen to take on additional responsibilities involving taking my baby out in whatever weather happens to be there, and managing the behaviour of other people's children who may or may not share my ideas about behavioural management.

So, what if I had no car and just had to manage? I guess I would do just that. But it is nice to be able to make the trade and grab a bit more quality of life.

Actually, I'm pretty sure I wrote a very, very similar post about taking the car to Playcentre not so long ago.....