Posts in Category: Uncategorized
Cowgirl Kate
What’s a weekend without a birthday party? Fortunately the Newberry community never fails to provide a good party, and a good time with awesome people.
I’ve got a smile all over my face. William is thinking, “Is there egg in that cake?”
Photo-op gathering
The hotdog stand ladies making sure that no child goes hungry
Maya & Aran
The boys mowed the lawn..
…and the girls did some art (amongst all the swimming, playing and having lots of fun)
Holy flying buzzards, Batman!
I was working in my office and Donné comes running outside, making the very particular noise she makes when some sort of creepy crawley has freaked her out. I ask, “Is it a snake or a spider?” I’m really hoping for spider.
“It’s a bird.” Oh, okay, nothing serious. Well, it was a bit bigger than I expected, like bird of prey big, flapping against our window. My natural reaction was to grab my camera and take a UFO certified blurry photo. I wanted to get a few more shots, but then it started to try getting out again.
I went to open the door fully, and as I did that it bolted over my head, through the garden on it’s way. After some Googling, I think it may be a Steppe buzzard.
Donné had been sitting on the couch sending a message, when the buzzard flew in through the back door and past her head before getting stuck. Definitely a big surprise.
As my colleague Charl says, “You’re living in nature here.” It is exciting to have a bird of prey zooting around our house.
Here comes the beach dude
Adam, ready for a little swim, which he seems to enjoy once he gets over the adjustment to the water temperature
The noshy bits
Adam is grabbing things, bringing them to his mouth and loving exploring them. There is still work to do to get those arms and hands doing what he wants, but he is getting there. Not long before our food is in danger when he sits on our lap at supper time…
Destructive forces
I was sorting out my shoes after some gardening and a quick swim, when I suddenly asked myself, “What exactly is Eli doing at that chair?”
What he was doing, was poking holes in the dining room chair with a paint brush. Hmm.
The damage and the weapon
I surprised myself by remaining calm in the light of serious damage to our chair. Normally he would have been shouted at, given a smack and sent to his room. I thought, “How would a Montessori teacher handle this?” I spoke to him calmly, but seriously and told him that I was very upset and explained why, and then sent him to his room to think about what he had done.
He came down and apologised, but seemed to have a bit of a destructive vibe about him, so Donné redirected that into some hammering.
Working the need to bash things
And giving his brother some entertainment
He spent a long time hammering nails into the polystyrene. He eventually hammered an entire bag of nails into it, and then set out trying to pull them out with the back of the hammer. A while later and he seemed to have worked out that destructive streak.
Star Wars and Olaf
We joined Gabriella and Serena to celebrate their birthday – and with twins comes two themes…and two cakes…
Chewbacca and the Darth Vader pinata
Olaf the snowman (melting away on this hot summer day)
Richard prepares the children for the pinata attack
Slip ‘n slides, swimming, good food and friends – a lovely afternoon.
Scroll making
Grace: “Shandre and I were looking in a book today and there was a picture of a scroll and we decided to make one. Chloe gave us paper, and we got sticks from outside, and we painted the paper and glued the sticks onto the paper, and we made a scroll.”
In so many ways that seems to capture some of the essence of junior primary Montessori – pick up a thread of interest, follow it, learn, create, pick up a thread of interest…
Chopping things is dangerous work – requires hard hats
Waking up the children
If you want to wake up children without them being grumpy, just sneak their baby brother in with them
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