Breathe out ...

A couple of weeks ago I took a huge breath in and prepared for the manic last weeks of school. One child finished school on Wednesday and one finishes next Wednesday but given that the last three days of school consist of packing up books, holding a 'talent day' and going to the park I consider it to be more akin to babysitting than school.

This last week has been particularly manic with performance reviews due at the office, speech night for the youngest, concert band performing at the local carols evening, presentation assembly for the eldest and then her clarinet exam today.

On Wednesday night my 9yo was given the above award at his speech night. Its held in a local church with a long aisle and plenty of room for all parents. PL had to walk the length of the aisle to receive this well deserved award.

Blossom was inducted as a school prefect for 2010 at her presentation day yesterday. We learnt that the school will increase to 750 students next year. When Blossom started in 2004 the school had 500 students.

Blossom (R) and Mozzie looking over the examiner's remarks after their 3rd grade clarinet exams at The Con today. They were both thrilled to get a B+.

It has been a long week and I look forward to a sleep-in tomorrow...

Happy 9th Birthday Padawan Learner!

My little boy is nine today!

This afternoon the birthday boy and 15 friends (yes, I know, way too many) will go bowling. Having started at a new school this year he wanted an equal representation of friends from both schools and he has been indulged. Will I survive 16 crazy nine year-olds at a bowling alley? Who knows...

In the tradition started last year I present Padawan Learner's answers to The Birthday Questionnaire:

How old are you? Nine

What is your favourite colour? Yellow

If you could be an animal, which animal would it be? A Cheetah because I'd want to be a FAST animal.

What is your favourite food? Pizza

What is your favourite drink? Milo

What do you want to be when you grow up? Rugby Player (Wallaby) and a Scientist

Where is your favourite place to visit on Holidays? Thredbo

What is your favourite subject at school? Maths

What subject to you like the least at school? HSIE (Human Society in Its Environment, or in 1970s terminology - social studies)

Favourite book? Just Macbeth by Andy Griffiths

Favourite TV show? Ben 10:Alien Force and The Secret Saturdays

Favourite Movie? Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen

Favourite music? Pirates of the Caribbean: The Lost Pearl (theme music)

What or who makes you laugh the most? Andy Griffiths

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Tom

Happy Birthday Padawan Learner!!!!!!

The sound of a cow crying for its lost calf - to the tune of Hot Cross Buns

So, a certain 8yo boy in the EasternMax household started to learn the Trombone today.

He's most excited that he knows how to play B, D and C. Or to the layman - arm right in, arm halfway out and arm stretched as far as you can go.

I've felt it necessary to warn the neighbours. Especially as one neighbour commented today on how well Blossom's clarinet playing seems to be coming along ...

Okay, so we're THAT loud.

I've told Firegazer that he needs to pick himself an instrument and I need to take up piano again and we'll launch the EasternMax Family Jazz Quartet. Maybe next year.

He's with the band

Yesterday was the blow test.

Before you quickly change channels, the blow test is the day where all the interested Year Twos line up and try out lots of different types of instruments to see which one suits them best.

Padawan Learner has been very excited about this. The band program at school is very cool and there is a band camp at the beginning of the year. I'd like to think this isn't his only motivation to join band but being the only camp at school before Year 5 it is certainly an attraction.

So PL turns up with a list of possible instruments he'd like to play: clarinet (like his sister), trumpet, saxophone or trombone. I send him with instructions to try out for instruments that have very small cases (knowing full well I will have to lug this thing around a fair bit).

He tries out the trumpet but only scores 5/10. Not good enough. He scores better on the Saxophone and not bad on the Clarinet. In the end he has a choice of Clarinet or anything he likes from the brass section (other than Trumpet).

So he chooses...

the Trombone.

Big case. Bugger.

According to PL you have to spit into a Trombone and you get to wave your arms around a lot. From an 8yo boy's point of view, what's not to love about an instrument that allows you to wriggle and spit!

* pic from here

Bye Bye Neighbour

The EasternMax family live in a cul de sac surrounded by fabulous neighbours. We all notice what is going on, we have an annual Christmas get together and an organised Halloween spectacular.

On one side we have a family with two little boys who are similar in age to our Padawan Learner. For the last three years the three boys have spent most afternoons travelling from one house to the other playing. If I needed to pop down to the shops or pick up a child from an activity our neighbour would watch over the fence to make sure my kids were okay, we would help out with school drop offs and pick ups. My lovely neighbour has borrowed a cup of sugar, I've borrowed a lemon, we've shared kitchen equipment and we have worked on school functions together. It has been just like on 1950s television. I never thought this would all come to an end.

But it has.

[Our yards are only separated by this pool-style fence, over which we stand and chat]

Three months ago our neighbours were given notice by their landlord to be out by early December. They had been there five years and we suspect it is a capital gains issue for the landlord. Even if they move in they have no children to fill the five bedroom home.

Yesterday the last of our neighbours' stuff was transported to their new home in a neighbouring suburb. We will still see them up at the school but our 1950s TV lifestyle is over.

I can't begin to think how PL will feel once it all sinks in that his mates won't respond to his over.the.fence cry "Guys! Guys! are you there! Wanna play?!"

We will really miss them.

How I know my son is on my side

After dinner last Thursday

Padawan Learner pulled this out from under his placemat

Then this

And finally this.

He's a good boy.

[Now I just need to work on his spelling and apostophe placement]

Boys, Bakugans and the pitfalls of Trading

These are Bakugans. They are about half the size of a golf ball, cost $9.95 each and are the most highly sought after toy for 7-10yo boys in Sydney.

What do they do for their $9.95?

They do this.

This is a photo of Bakugans in battle formation.

Not exciting you say?

That is because you are not an 8yo boy. To PL these are what life is worth living for.

Padawan Learner saved up for these for weeks. Well, actually not these ones exactly because once he had two Bakugans he did what any self-respecting 8yo boy would do - he traded them.

Trouble is PL is new to trading. He went to school with two brand new Bakugans and came home with one with a dodgy magnet and one with a dodgy leg.

Aaaah, the lessons of the playground are sometimes hard learnt.

Caught doing something good

You know they say that you should catch your children doing something good?

I've just come back from dropping Padawan Learner at school. He lept out the car and raced for the school gate, he was in a hurry to meet his friends for the latest installment of the Indiana Jones game - whatever that is.

As he pushed the side gate to the school open he turned to wave goodbye and noticed that some adults were about to come through. He then stood holding the gate open until they went through, smiled and then went on.

Padawan Learner is a shy kid, he can barely look you in the eye. Holding a gate open may be a small thing but it made me feel so proud of him.

I can't wait to tell him this afternoon that I caught him doing something good.

Happy 8th Birthday Padawan Leaner!

These cupcakes are being taken to school today to share with PL's classmates.

My little boy is eight!

By request from the birthday boy there will be no official party. Instead PL is having a couple of friends over after school for a play, some pizza and some extra cupcakes.

In the tradition started two months ago with Blossom's birthday I present Padawan Learner's answers to The Birthday Questionnaire:

How old are you? Eight

What is your favourite colour? Yellow

What is your favourite animal? Dog

What is your favourite food? Pizza

What is your favourite drink? Orange Juice

What do you want to be when you grow up? Rugby Player (Wallaby) or Scientist

Where is your favourite place to visit on Holidays? Thredbo

What is your favourite subject at school? Maths

What subject to you like the least at school? Writing

Favourite book? The Spiderwick Chronicles: Book II

Favourite TV show? Ben 10

Favourite Movie? Iron Man

Favourite board game? Monopoly

Favourite music? Pirates of the Carribbean: The Lost Pearl (theme music)

What makes you giggle the most? Daddy tickling me under the arms

What scares you the most? Missing the line for the Annex (extra play area a short walk from the school)

If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Tom

Happy Birthday Padawan Learner!!!!!!

Help! My son won't ever, never, eat a vegetable!

Padawan Learner is 7 1/2 and still will not, never, ever eat a Vegetable. Or a fruit. Or the crispy bits on chops. Or the skin off a sausage (but that's an entire separate post).

• I have tried hiding vegetables in food.
• I have put them on the plate in appealing arrangements.
• I have made vegetable skewers.
• I have covered them in sauce.
• I have given lots of choice.
• I have given restricted choice.
• I have read him books about other children eating vegetables.
• I have deep fried them, mashed them, diced them and provided dipping sauces.
• I have forced him to eat them.
• I have not forced him to eat them.
• He doesn't care about missing dinner, dessert, his favourite tv show or having computer time restricted.
• He doesn't care about stickers, star charts or pats on the back.

In short I have followed every reasonable and crack-pot idea in every book. I have followed sage advice, and not so sage advice. He just won't budge. The other mothers are starting to notice. And you know how that can be ("ooh, my son has always eaten his vegetables, but you know it's all about discipline").

And this is from a boy who until he was 2 years old ate EVERYTHING. I rejoiced that I had a child who would simply eat mushed or chopped versions of whatever Firegazer and I had for dinner while our daughter sat with her mouth clammed shut to all food. Daughter now eats everything. Mmmm yummy avocado mum. I love the way you do the broccoli mum.

Who or what is playing a trick on me?

And before you ask...no, he doesn't prefer junk food. This boy is not a fan of the pie or sausage roll. He hates chocolate. He only likes vanilla ice-cream. And when I gave him gorgeous bunny-shaped gingerbread for Easter he picked off all the glace icing before he ate it.

So my question is? Did you have a picky eater? And I mean a real picky eater not just a slightly stubborn one. My daughter was just slightly stubborn and all the usual enticements simply worked, after a while.

If you had a picky eater and then turned them around I want to know your secrets. Please. Now.

Baseball Gala Day

Today was the last day of Baseball for the season. The kids played their last games, had team photos and got their trophies.

Kids now get a trophy for every sport they play, every year. Just for turning up. Does anyone else find this over the top? I'm all for a certificate and a pat on the back. Or even just a pat on the back.

Anyway, enough bah humbug, the kids love their trophies and they had a great day.

Now the soccer season starts...

Milestone

Padawan Learner is not keen on home readers. Last year he brought home four home readers in the first week of first term and took the same ones back in the last week of school*. Nevertheless he seems to have learnt to read. A secret he likes to keep from his teachers.

I know he can read because at night-time he can be found reading (aloud) Dr Seuss books, Captain Underpants, Tashi or some movie tie-in book about Transformers, Dr Who, or Star Wars. He also understands all instructions in video games and reads stories out of the newspaper.

However, in my view, the real milestone in reading is when a child chooses a book, then disappears and doesn't re-appear until it's finished.

That happened yesterday.

After a visit to one of our favourite bookshops, Padawan Learner sat at the kitchen table and read until his new book was finished. I know he was reading because he still reads out aloud. I know he was "getting it" because he was laughing and telling me what was going on while I was cooking dinner.

This is the book that has started this next phase in his reading life:

Whatever takes his fancy. If he's reading, I'm cool with it.

*BTW I don't blame him, they are tragically boring and I never pushed it.

Teams and the Saturday Sport Vortex

If your son is more of a one-to-one kind of guy and not that much into groups of people should you insist that he plays a team sport? Do you get sucked into the vortex that is Saturday sport? Because it seems like a vortex when your child just isn't as interested as the other kids; and the other kids (and their parents) all seem so "Gung-Ho" by comparison.

Our Padawan Learner loves to kick the footy, pass the rugger ball and hit tennis balls up against the wall. At home. With Dad. That's cool. He has always said he wants to be a scientist and a Wallaby* when he grows up.

He likes going to training because they play lots of fun games and the canteen sells sausage rolls. But he just hates the games on a Saturday. He doesn't like the competition, the rules, the overwhelming number of kids. When all the other kids are grappling for the ball he's staring into space down the other end of the field.

So why do we do it? Why did we register him for the U8s Junior Rugby (union) today? I guess we just think that, one day, if he ever decided to give it a real go he'll at least know what to do and where to line up. And maybe, just maybe, he'll learn a thing or two about being part of a team.



*Aussie Rugby Union team

Sydney Writers' Festival - The Kids' Big Day Out

Today is the official start of the Sydney Writers' Festival*. It will go until Sunday 3rd June and features writers from all over Australia as well as a number of international ones.

Today KelpieBlossom, and two of her friends, attended a full-day writing class for 9-12 year olds taken by Tashi author, Anna Fienberg. The kids learnt about drawing on their own feelings to make imaginary stories seem real. They were also set a number of writing exercises. KelpieBlossom wrote a great story called The Ball and the Chest but didn't want it reproduced here. She was happy, however, to share this great exercise about an imaginary home.

Home by KelpieBlossom

I have a small home but everyone can get around. I have a small backyard - for my jumbo jet; a little pond - to fit my 300ft yacht; a teeny paddock at the back of my house - for my pony and 3000 of his closest friends.

I have a simple little bedroom to fit 900 of my toys. And a cinema. My bathroom is...o - kay... It only has a TV on the floor, a water feature, automatic toilets, golden walls and a lifetime supply of bubblebath.

The kitchen is only big enough to fit a giant. It has three fridges, two ovens, eight stoves, one tap, a pantry the size of my room and a cupboard - the size of a church.

Did I mention we have a robot that cleans our house everyday? My mum and dad's room is a dump. It only has a king-size bed, a carpet made out of golden silk, a wardrobe the size of a cinema and diamonds, sent from the Queen, hanging up.

Getting onto the playroom. It's messy, it's dumb and I want another one. It can only fit 6,000 of my toys, a huge golden couch, a home cinema and a silky carpet.

Isn't it so embarrassing to have a dump like this for a home?!

KelpieBlossom was so excited by this workshop and said "I would do one every weekend if I could".

At 5pm Padawan Learner and I crossed the Bridge to meet up with KelpieBlossom to go the Kids' Night Out. An event where the kids listen to popular children's authors and illustrators talk about their work. There are also the obligatory book purchasing and signing opportunities...

Image courtesy www.swf.org.au: Bernard Gallate getting suggestions from the audience for his latest book

We listened to Jackie French talk about her pet Wombat Mothballs; we heard Bruno Bouchet talk about how snot can be used as a weapon to fight aliens and helped Bernard Gallate write alternate endings for his next book.

As usual it was a great night out with our library weighing heavy with the new, signed, purchases (Diary of a Wombat, Tashi the Story of a Boy, Lab Rats in Space).


*for those who like to debate the positioning of apostrophes - this is the official placement of the SWF apostrophe.