COLLINS, Suzanne

Suzanne COLLINS is the author of the extremely popular dystopian trilogy, THE HUNGER GAMES.

When I first read The Hunger Games, it was with the view to see whether it would be suitable for my tweens girls. I decided that it was not at all suitable, I found it terribly violent, teens being manipulated to kill each other in order to survive and an evil, controlling government using people like puppets.

After a while, and much pressure from them for the chance to read it, and discussions with friends who have children of similar ages I decided to let them read and I do not regret it one little bit as it turned out to be an amazing series for lots of discussions.

We discussed the heroine, Katniss, in depth. Was she a hero? She volunteered to take the place of her little sister, whose name had been pulled to enter the fight, in a sort of reality show where teens fight to the death. That was indeed brave but she still entered the game and ended up being 'involved' in some deaths of other entrants. Is it brave to let others die in order to save our own necks?

We discussed some characters who were indeed innocents who were killed in the "games", thus pointing out that in war there are always innocent people with families who lose their lives.

We discussed Haymitch, who had won a previous Hunger Games, and was an alcoholic and still suffered nightmares many years later from his involvement in the games. We discussed 'Post Traumatic Syndrome" and how so many people/soldiers suffer long after wars are ended and some simply never recover.

We also had a big discussion on classism; the Capitol (the government who ran all the districts) and how these fat cats lived very different lives to those in some of the districts that were poor and suffered greatly. Despite the Capitol being a rather futuristic and over-exaggerated city, we talked about the similarities between that place and our own governments and major capitols now.

Don't get me wrong, I still don't think that the books are particularly well written and they are violent but they do have a way of making you want to read them to the very end simply to see what happens. I would definitely recommend letting your teen read them but I would strongly recommend that you read the books yourself first in order to discuss them with the child as you go along. Also if they are particularly sensitive some of the scenes may upset them.  

The Fashionista (12)     -- 3 out of 5 stars
Agent Smelly      (10)    -- 4 out of 5 stars
The Mama   (over 20)   -- 3 out of 5 stars
 

Balloons Over Waikato

If you are a hot air balloon enthusiast then Hamilton, NZ is a great place to visit for 5 days every March. Each morning the balloons ascend over Hamilton and land somewhere different throughout the day - often a primary school. For the past 15 years they have been holding the Balloons Over Waikato and it is quite an event for the town.




Agent Smelly reading and listening to music whilst waiting for dusk to fall.


This year I took Agent Smelly to the highlight of the Festival which is the orchestrated Balloon Glow Show and a dramatic fireworks finale. (The Fashionista was also there with a school friend and her family and we met up afterwards). Whilst waiting for the "Night Glow" there are bands playing live music which I have to say was really very good. A lot of modern yet popular tunes with some very recognisable older and always popular songs. I quite enjoyed watching the small children amongst the very large crowd dancing away to the tunes. 

The balloons glow to orchestrated music finishing with the best fireworks display in town. Here's a picture taken with my phone. It is a huge even and we were quite a distance from the balloons. Unfortunately the weather was starting to change as we were there so the weirdly shaped balloons did not get put up as they were concerned about the weather conditions.

Photo taken from the Balloons Over Waikato website as linked above.

As it was the rain started, albeit gently, just a few minutes after the fireworks finished and we were walking across the fields back to the car. Unfortunately the final lift off the next morning had to be cancelled due to the inclement weather setting in.

Remembering a camera would have been handy ...

Balloons over Waikato

If you are a hot air balloon enthusiast then Hamilton, NZ is a great place to visit for 5 days every March. Each morning the balloons ascend over Hamilton and land somewhere different throughout the day - often a primary school. For the past 15 years they have been holding the Balloons Over Waikato and it is quite an event for the town.




Agent Smelly reading and listening to music whilst waiting for dusk to fall.


This year I took Agent Smelly to the highlight of the Festival which is the orchestrated Balloon Glow Show and a dramatic fireworks finale. (The Fashionista was also there with a school friend and her family and we met up afterwards). Whilst waiting for the "Night Glow" there are bands playing live music which I have to say was really very good. A lot of modern yet popular tunes with some very recognisable older and always popular songs. I quite enjoyed watching the small children amongst the very large crowd dancing away to the tunes. 

The balloons glow to orchestrated music finishing with the best fireworks display in town. Here's a picture taken with my phone. It is a huge even and we were quite a distance from the balloons. Unfortunately the weather was starting to change as we were there so the weirdly shaped balloons did not get put up as they were concerned about the weather conditions.

Photo taken from the Balloons Over Waikato website as linked above.

As it was the rain started, albeit gently, just a few minutes after the fireworks finished and we were walking across the fields back to the car. Unfortunately the final lift off the next morning had to be cancelled due to the inclement weather setting in.

Remembering a camera would have been handy ...

The A-Z Challenge 2015 Big Reveal

For the last couple of years I have been inspired to join the A-Z blog challenge and I start off with great gusto but always something ends up throwing me completely off (an illness or something) and I have not yet completed one challenge. Last years effort was completely abysmal and I wasn't going to bother this year but a fellow blogger suggested this could be the year that I actually complete it.

For those who don't know what the Ato Z Challenge entails, basically you post something every day in April except Sundays and as there are 26 days (minus the Sundays) that matches the letters in the alphabet. So on April 1, the blog will be about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 “B,” April 3 “C,” and so on. You can blog about anything at all as long as it matches the letter of the day.


Having a theme is optional but personally I think it's easier if you do have a theme (especially when I find it so hard to thing of blog ideas at the best of times), so this year I have chosen the theme of "Teen and Tween Books". There might be a slight twist though and I am very much cheating as I have enlisted my two little buddies here to help provide some of the posts. 


It's also recommended that you keep your posts short as what you are asked to do each day, is check out about 5 blogs that are also participating in the challenge (there's a HUGE list of participants). It's a bit of a way to meet some new bloggers and increase your audience I suppose you could say. Frankly, I am not too worried about increasing my audience (if I was worried about numbers I'd have stopped blogging way back ... lol), I just want to finish one darn challenge!  I also quite like reading and finding other blogs from the list. I still follow a few blogs a couple of years later, they weren't even homeschooling ones, which is usually my main focus too.


Anyway if you are mad enough to join me, please do, then let me know so we can support each other ... who's up for it?

Here's the link to sign up, c'mon you know you want to. 

Hard Work and Hounds

I happen to think that one of the best things we can do for our children is to introduce them to a bit of hard work rather than handing them everything on a platter. That is why when recently we were given a free pool the Papa and I told the girls if they wanted it set up quickly, then they would need to step in and give us a hand.

 

 

We decided to set it up where the trampoline which was slowly rusting away was, but the area was filled with stone which needed to be removed first. So the girls grabbed their small wheelbarrow and shovels and set to work. Both of them really worked like little Trojans, in fact by the time the Papa had joined us (he hadn't gotten home until 1am the night due before due to working a late shift so was having a sleep in) we three girls had cleared the whole area. It was a really hot day and it was quite a sizable area and took us a few hours with some little breaks here and there to catch our breath. He was in a bit of shock ... but we are talking real girl power here people!

 

The Papa sent us inside and took over putting a sand base down, etc. and then the three of us popped back out later to help him erect the pool.

 

 

 

We still have to finish tidying up the area but due to two very hard working little naggers we let them fill the pool straight away and they were in it the next day taking advantage of the lovely warm autumn we have been experiencing. No guess where they have spent just about every afternoon since we've had it.

 

 

 

Unfortunately young Rory (our 8 month old German Shepherd/Border Collie) thinks the pool was put there for him and that first afternoon when they were swimming, he jumped in and swam right along behind them. I was hanging out washing and saw the whole thing. They on the other hand didn't realise he was doing his paddle right behind them until I pointed it out. The poor Papa was called out to help him get out ... much to every one's amusement. Then a couple days later whilst I was cleaning the laundry I took a rug out the back door to shake and there he was again, this time all by himself in the pool doing some laps. I was gob-smacked and very happy that this time he managed to simply jump out all by himself as the Papa was at work!

 

Little Scruffie also enjoys swimming with the girls, and managed to get stuck on the ladder recently as he can't quite manage them but is quite desperate to join the girls swimming too. I often wander out and find him on a lilo in there with them. He does this very weird thing as he swims behind them, he tries to bite their feet ... he looks like a snapping turtle and it cracks everyone up. We aren't sure if he is trying to catch onto them or what but he does it at the beach too, where he simply loves body surfing. We have rather odd dogs!

 

 

Glamourous Glasses

We were warned a couple of years back that The Fashionista's would probably need glasses one day. It was suggested that we keep an eye on her and if she ever started to complain of headaches or rubbed her eyes etc. to take her back, otherwise we were to simply have her eyes checked every year or two.

I have been concerned that her eyes have been troubling her as she doesn't like reading for very long periods of time. She complains that it makes her tired. As I was due for a check up I booked her in to take with me. 

She was told that she needs glasses for concentrated work now. Our optometrist was ever so gentle saying how many different colours, types of fashionable glasses there were out there. Little did he know that she was rather looking forward to yet another fashion accessory! Despite being busy he also took the time to point out some diagrams and explain what was going on with her eyes and teach her the parts of the eye, etc. He wasn't talking to me but spoke directly to her explaining everything she needed to know about what was going on with her eyes. I confess I love it when doctors, dentists, etc speak to the children directly and explain to them what is going on.

She is slight shy wearing them but we think they look lovely on her.

When we left his room we were handed over to one of his technicians. My fussy girl took absolutely ages to pick the "right" pair. I ended up apologising to the technician helping us but she was quick to laugh and say she was rather impressed with her decision making and natural talent for knowing what shapes and colours suited her own face. She ended up with a pair that have some lovely fret work along the sides, frankly they are nicer than mine!


Tip: We were told many years ago by our optometrist, who we think is pretty wonderful, that as we are  homeschoolers we need to make sure that our children gets plenty of distance and close work. IE children in a school room setting look up at a board and then back to their work in front of them a lot. This helps strengthen their eyes. We use a white board in our school room to make sure the girls do get used to close and distance work.

Concerts for Kids

We were blessed today with the opportunity to attend a free concert for school aged children, put on by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO), which is NZ's national orchestra owned and funded by the NZ government.
 

Apologies, this was the best photo I could get with the kids camera.


The concert was specifically tailored towards children. The theme was nature and seasons and there was an announcer, Nigel, who explained things to the group as we went along. He introduced the sections of the orchestra, had the members stand up to show everyone each instrument to the children when he mentioned them and in turn each section played a piece of music. It was very well done. He was dressed as some kind of green garden nymph and made a lot of bad jokes which the kids (and OK me) really enjoyed and at times had the kids yelling back in response, as though they were at a footy game rather than a concert.
 
I personally loved watching the conductor, Australian born, Jessica Cottis. She's a tiny slip of a girl who just bounced on her feet the whole time she conducted.
 
We heard works from Vivaldi, Beethoven, Strauss amongst others but one of my favourite parts of the concert was listening to Nigel read the wonderful novel by Margaret Mahy, The Lion in the Meadow, with the orchestra playing a composition by Christchurch composer, Phillip Norman, which he had written specifically to accompany the book.
 
This concert tied in perfectly with the work we have being doing with the book, The Story of the Orchestra by Robert Levine.

This is a great book for anyone who would like to educate their children on what makes an orchestra, some composers and musical instruments.

 

The first half of the book begins with types of music through the ages and has some famous composers in each section. You play the accompanying track on the CD (it says when to in the book) and you hear some of that composers music. The music alone is worth the purchase of the book. The second half of the books talks about the different types of instruments and once again has music to accompany that instrument. It's a very easy to read and an engaging book with appealing pictures.

 

 

I think working on this book helped my children enjoy their first orchestra experience so much more than they would have, as they recognised composers names, some of the music and all the instruments etc. They enjoyed it so much they have expressed an interest to go back and see one again, so a very successful introduction to classical orchestral music.

 

 

 

Beware - Blogs can cause feeling of inadequacy!

As a homeschooling Mama I often find myself trolling the Internet for ideas to make the girls learning experiences more fun and varied, rather than rely on boring textbooks (Not all are boring but some can be sooooo mind numbing dull). I follow quite a few blogs, probably too many but we shan't tell my hubby OK.

Now there are some fabulous homeschool blogs out there where you can get some great ideas and even free curriculum printouts and such, but peeps BEWARE! Some of these blogs cause feelings of inadequacy and awe at what these people are doing with their kids.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 working on a biology project

There are days when I can barely remember my kids name so I really don't need to keep reading these blogs on their "perfect homeschool lives".  Latin, geography, math, English, cooking, sewing and science and that's all before morning tea!  Their kids are sewing aprons and knitting blankets which they are donating to the next big cause in between speaking multiple languages ... sigh  When I start to do stuff like this frankly I end up burned out!

Do they not have days when they want to bash their heads against brick walls because they aren't getting through to their kids, or frankly their kids are being right little buggars? Sometimes I wonder if there is too much pressure for homeschoolers to appear perfect because many people think what we are doing is mad and so it gets hard to share frustrations and bad days. I am not sure why because I can promise you teachers and kids have bad days too. 

I find these days I tend to "follow" people who blog who are keeping it real. They share their ups and downs, without being negative Nellies, and they are generous with their knowledge and friendship. These are the blogs I can resonate with. They are not filled with "awards" or advertising or promoting this or that. They are just people going about their business and I love that they take the time to answer each and every comment, even it is simply to say thank you.

So thanks to my bloggy mates who don't make me feel inadequate (cause although I really would love to make my blog look more professional I just don't have the time right now to learn) and often pop over to read what I have been up to, in what I am sure is simply appreciation for me following their blogs cause frankly folks I am not always sure what the heck I am doing or writing about on my own blog!

Aotearoa Region GirlGuides

This term we had a lot of things planned, a month of holidays with the Papa, down the bach (where we can still homeschool early in the mornings or in the afternoons when it's too hot for the beach), and then a month over in Melbourne, Australia with my folks, whilst the poor Papa stayed behind to look after the livestock.

Sitting out on the bach deck playing cards in summer.

 

As the girls love their GirlGuides and I didn't fancy paying for a full term for the couple of weeks that they could attend, I transferred them to Aotearea Region GirlGuides (formerly Lones in NZ). Aotearoa Region is a section of Guiding for girls who cannot make a weekly unit meeting due to location, the unit currently being full, it's simply it's not on the right night, no transport and so on. Essentially it's like doing GirlGuides by correspondence.

By the way, the word Aotearoa means 'Land of the Long White Cloud' which is what the Maori's called New Zealand way before the before Pakeha (Europeans) settled here.




Working on some badge work



Making  "Biscuit (Ginger) bread Houses"

 



Making and blowing bubbles

The participants work on their badges at home, they receive either a pack at the beginning of the term, to work on throughout the term, as does the Guide age level, or if they were a Brownie they'd receive a badge to work on every fortnight from one of the Brownie AR leaders (I am one of AR Brownie Leader although on leave until May). The leaders touch base via email or sometimes phone the girls to see how they are doing.

Each AR GirlGuide is assigned to a nearby unit and whenever there is a camp, special activity, or special day, etc. they also receive invites to participate with that group so they are still having new experiences and participating with groups at special events.




Selling GirlGuide biscuits with the local GG unit, in 2014

Whilst they have enjoyed their AR packs, they have very much missed catching up with their friends at the local unit but, what a great opportunity for them to try something new and yet being able to continue working on their badges in their spare time. No "I'm bored, what can I do?" is ever heard around here!

Many other countries also offer a similar alternative to AR Guides (could still be called Lones in your country) so if your child simply can't make one more evening out, or there's no unit (troop) in your area, etc. look into it. The girls still get to go on camps and attend all kinds of fun stuff and earn badges at the same time.



The A-Z Blogging Challenge for April 2014 - BRING IT!

As I have been positively slack with my blogging for quite a while now, I have decided to take on the "Blogging from A to Z April Challenge". I will probably start whining part way through when I run out of ideas, so be warned!

 

Basically every day, except for Sundays, you produce a blog posting that begins with the letter for that day. ie April 1st, your blog might be April Fools Day, 2nd April, Brilliant Baby, 3rd April begins with a C and so on. Remember you don't blog on Sundays so you get your 26 days and letters.

The blogs can be on anything but, you can also be specific and write on a certain theme if you want. I am going to be trying to write on things related to my family and home education in our home.

Each day you try and visit five or more bloggers who are also taking part in the challenge and in turn you'll have new visitors to you. There are already 1675 bloggers who have signed on, so there are a few mad people out there apparently!

If you'd like to take the challenge with me (you can start prewriting posts now) then go through to the sign up list here.

and no X, Y, Z ...

Unfortunately I have not been able to finish the A-Z challenge.
 
As I went along I had to wonder if the Gods (well the one I have) were conspiring against me.

Both my daughters suffered severe tummy bugs, one after the other. In fact one vomited so much over a week that she burst the blood vessels in her eyes. Thankfully after she got over the initial shock she saw the funny side of things and delighted in trying to scare her friends last Wednesday at the school holiday by lifting her lids and showing everyone the bloody remains. All class kid! 

But whilst sleep deprived (why do they vomit through the night?) I was able to struggle along with the blog, just missing a couple here and there.
 
Then on Friday my older half-brother died suddenly in Melbourne and so of course it has been impossible to continue. I have been too shocked and upset to even think but I did want to do some of you the courtesy, that I know have been following along, of why I haven't and wont be finishing. 

I would love to honour my half-brother and tell you all about him but right now I can't, and I know you will all understand that.
 
Thank you to those who dropped by, I appreciated your comments more than you know and I really enjoyed checking out your blogs in return.

Maybe I will see some of you back again - I certainly hope so.

God bless, Lisa

W is for ... "Wreaths"

 



Yesterday was ANZAC Day here (and in Australia). Our town held it's annual service in town and once again the girls participated with their GirlGuides unit.

This year Agent Smelly finally got to lay the wreath (she has been complaining for years that she never gets a turn at doing anything on ANZAC Day) at the cenotaph. (That's her on the left in the pink shirt and sash).

 

Here's the wreath the Brownies helped make. We used a glue gun to place a layer of poppies around the top, outside and also inside of the foam wreath. (Photo courtesy of a friend)

I was mucking about with some our handmade poppies and put one in Agent Smelly's hair and had one of those "Aha" moments. I ran off and was off with an old headband and glue gun in hand and Voila, a headband perfect for ANZAC Day. Is there nothing that a glue gun can't do? I wonder if they make cordless one's? I can see me now walking around with glue gun in holster, gluing things around the place left, right and centre ... "such fun!"

 

 

 

V is for ... "Vegemite ... of course"

Many of you may not realise this but I love VEGEMITE!  We are talking love with a capital, L, O, V and E. I eat it, nay savour it nearly every single day.

For those of you poor folk who don't live in NZ or Australia and therefore aren't familiar with it's delights, Vegemite is a black spread that tastes salty and savoury and slightly yeast or malty flavoured. Apparently it is rather strong (not by my standards) but ever so delicious thickly spread on toast or crumpets or with an egg on the Vegemite and toast, or with avocado and toast. For school lunches I used to have a Vegemite sandwich, sometimes with cheese and even sometimes also with lettuce. I still love those sandwiches.

Best ever is when you spread it on crackers that have holes and you squeeze them together and little dark worms appear which you lick off ... oh the Papa just said only kids do that ... oh yes that's right, certainly middle aged women would never be caught doing that. As if!

It has magical powers and can unite Aussies around the world. On a trip around the States many years back there were 3 other Aussies on my tour and on the first morning of our trip we all pulled out a jar of Vegemite! It's a don't leave home without it kinda condiment.

If I was at all poetic I would right an ode to Vegemite but because I cannot wax lyrical about the magic that is Vegemite I will just bore delight you with a picture of all things Vegemite that I collect. Yes I am that dorky people! 

T is for ... "Tea Parties"

Anyone with girls knows that an important part of a their growing up is holding tea parties. When they are little you drink pretend tea and eat pretend goodies that are served on their cute little tea sets. Is there anything more heart melting than watching a male pretend to enjoy a cup of tea whilst a tiny little girls watches and makes sure they finish every little drop and respond with the appropriate comments?

It appears some little girls don't grow out of it but just progress to making real ones.

Today The Fashionista whipped up some ANZAC bickies (biscuits/cookies) made all by herself whilst Agent Smelly taught herself how to iron ... with an anxious Mama watching her in the background. The "look Mama I can iron standing on one leg" didn't help appease any fears!  The pair then sat down to enjoy their afternoon tea that The Fashionista had set out just like any good 1940's housewives would!

S is for ... "Sewing"

I have been meaning to get back into teaching the girls some sewing this year but it kept getting put back further and further as I never seemed to have the time.

Last year when we tried to do it ,my sewing machine broke down and after two trips to the sewing machine Dr, and bills that probably cost more than the sewing machine did in the first place, I gave up.

So this week the girls I finally got around to getting the girls up to finish some projects they'd started and yeah the machine behaved!

Agent Smelly finished her library / ditty bag.

Here it is again with The Fashionista's blue one that she managed to get finished last year. We did them differently The Fashionista's pulls on either sides but Agent Smelly's just has one side she pulls.

and The Fashionista finished her PJ pants.


For their next sewing projects Agent Smelly will complete a pair of PJ pants and The Fashionista is going to make a skirt.