Laser Tag at the Waiakto Show

This past week we had the opportunity to attend our local Show (bit like a state fair) with one of the local homeschool groups. We had never been to this one before and as it was only $5 a ticket we decided to give it a try without really knowing what it was all about.

On arrival, each child in our "school group" was given a booklet and inside the booklet were different activities for them to complete in the different areas of the show.

There was an area with clubs and groups (scouts, tramping, doc, etc.), services (diabetes foundation, education dept, cancer group, etc)  a petting area for the kids, international area, safety and emergency services area, alpacas (babies above ... mwaw) and lots of vendors, etc.

Once they had answered the questions, or completed the activities in their book pertaining to that area, they had to find the person (in that area) in an orange vest, who gave them a sticker to say they'd completed that challenge. Once all their sections received stickers the children could place their completed back into a competition bin. We never got through it all but still they had lots of fun working on them.

Agent Smelly and Miss R

It transpired shortly after we arrived that we didn't need to stick with our own groups and could wander around on our own, so we ended up joining some dear homeschooling friends of ours who had come with another group (two of her lovely girls are great friends of mine)and we set off around the place together. Our tickets even included one free ride for the kids. Unfortunately the choices were limited to the smaller rides.

The laser tag course.

At 3pm, when the school groups had gone for the day, we wandered over to the exit, fully prepared to go home once the children had a go on the FREE laser tag course ... hmmm two hours later and we finally got away!!!! The last of the homeschooling families had congregated there and so all but one child was homeschooled ended up on the course. They all had a blast!

Mrs C and I were in fits of laughter watching our mostly delicate girls holding their "first" guns, especially as the gun was nearly bigger than her tiny little six year old. We were being rather silly making jokes about it being another magic moment in a mother's life seeing her wee girls holding their first guns etc. The lovely British guy who was taking the sessions yelled at them as though they were a new set of recruits in the army (he was quite awesome with the kids) whilst Mrs C and I heckled and cheered from the side lines, we assured him that they had heard worse yelling from their mums, much to his amusement. Mrs C even joined in towards the end but I was far too tired to bother. Well that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!

The Fashionista and Miss H

"It was an awesome day" in the words of one of my children.

The Fashionista Turns 12

The Fashionista turned 12 this past week.

 

 

She just amazes, shocks and kind of scares me with how much she has grown in maturity recently. I feel like I am losing my little baby but fortunately I am gaining a really lovely young lady.



 

Happy birthday my first born little treasure.

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.