It was going swimmingly. Our first day. Actually it wasn't their first day of home learning; it was my first being home with them. Elsie was kneeling in front of the fire balancing her computer on her knees. Maeve had set herself up at the kitchen table. Perhaps tomorrow we could set up something a … Continue reading An apple for the teacher
It was a fun party after all
It feels a bit like musical chairs at a birthday party. All the kids run and squeal and when the music stops they plonk down on a chair and hold the seat of it with both hands, joy and pride clear on their safe little faces. And the one kid who misses out smiles weakly … Continue reading It was a fun party after all
Mother duck said ‘Quack, quack, quack, quack.’ But none of the five little ducks came back
Maeve has waited her whole life for this day. Today she started school. Last night she set out her things. A new bag, new knickers, new socks, new shoes, a new hair clip and a hand-me-down dress (that has seen a few years of school already, and quite a few kinder sessions last year too … Continue reading Mother duck said ‘Quack, quack, quack, quack.’ But none of the five little ducks came back
Getting up earlier? It works.
When I went to put Elsie’s lunchbox in her backpack yesterday morning, I found in there her reading diary from last year, a few sheets of colouring in with Indonesian words and phrases written on them and lots of worksheets, mostly unfinished. (No lunchbox though, thank heavens. I have taught her to do that much.) Things … Continue reading Getting up earlier? It works.
A letter to the woman who drove our children to town this morning
Dear Nasty Lady, How are you? I’m fine. Actually, I take back the ‘how are you?’ because you’d have answered with some sort of pained statement containing an expletive about socks or something about needing a stubby. We really enjoyed the school holidays. It was all very relaxed and fun. I’m sorry you missed it … Continue reading A letter to the woman who drove our children to town this morning
I did up her buttons. Apparently I just ruined our child.
We’re late. We need to be out the door. But you’re doing up your buttons. There’s three of them. So we’re going to be at least 30 more seconds late. And I still have to strap you into your carseat and unstrap you when we get there. That’s another 8 seconds. I’ll carry you to … Continue reading I did up her buttons. Apparently I just ruined our child.
Is your glass half full?
There’s an old saying, 'Why use a picture when you can say a thousand words?’ Some people get it around the wrong way. This month, Fat Mum Slim has a photo-a-day challenge. She’s given a list of 30 prompts and is encouraging people to get on board and take a photo a day using the … Continue reading Is your glass half full?
Leaving things til the last minute
Take a rubber band. Stretch it. Now place it over an empty toilet paper roll. Staple it there all the way around. Now try to stretch the rubber band. This simple experiment would have helped me last night before I sewed the ruffle on the elastic neck of Elsie's Book Week Parade costume. Three weeks … Continue reading Leaving things til the last minute
And the gold medal goes to…
I was really bad at running cross country at school. It made me sick with anxiety. It was a cruel thing to do to kids; make them leave the warmth of the classroom where they were learning good lessons about the placement of the apostrophe and 'it's' vs 'its', to go out into the bush … Continue reading And the gold medal goes to…
