That time of year again..

Time for footy training to start back...

Card tricks

For a few hours this week, the obsession with Minecraft has been overtaken by a new one.  Learning card tricks by watching YouTube videos..

I'm not sure how long it will last - but he's having fun, learning patience, and the value of practice!

The chip shop saga..

Every Tuesday after homeschool archery, we meet up at the nearby park, have some lunch and the kids play, or wander around chatting - you know, that socialisation thing that everyone is so concerned about with homeschoolers :)

Some time ago, a take-away shop opened up between archery and the park that makes the most delicious hot chips.  It became a ritual for most families to stop there and buy hot chips to take to the park.  A cheap and tasty treat.

A few months ago, it changed hands - and to our dismay, it closed on a Monday and Tuesday.  Disaster!  We had to go back to being organised enough to pack lunch beforehand!

I've been trying to lose a bit more of that stubborn weight around my belly, so I've been trying to eat healthily.  This week, I packed a lovely chicken salad to take with me.  We left archery as usual, and started to drive to the park. 

And spied that the chip shop had re-opened!  I couldn't resist the siren's call (and neither could the other families!) and had to stop.

I ask you - which would you prefer?!

But I was good (ish).  I stole a couple of chips and then sent Billy to sit at the other end of the picnic table so I couldn't have anymore and ate my delicious salad :)

Circus Workshop

This afternoon, Billy went to a circus workshop organised by one of the homeschool mums.  It was 2 hours of fun for the thirty kids who participated - with the opportunity to learn skills such as diablo, devils sticks, juggling, unicycle riding, trapeze / silks, hooping and heaps more, culminating in a small performance by each of them.

Billy used to take circus classes a few years ago but they stopped and we haven't found a local one to continue with.  This one isn't exactly local (an hour's drive), but it may turn into a more regular activity in Term 2 if enough people are interested.  (And if I can rejig the budget and the timetable to accommodate yet another class!)

March writers group meeting

I love my writers group.  We meet once a month for several hours - and then usually carry on with lunch at the cafe next door, where we have the owner very well trained to put up with us! 

Today we went through our goals - those that didn't meet their goals for the month got to wear the 'hat of shame', those of us who met our goals got to choose a small pressie.  (I got a notebook and pen this month - gorgeous!)

We set our goals for next month, helping everyone set SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely).  Erin ran a writing exercise - discussing 'wandering body parts' and tightening up a wordy paragraph. We 'interviewed' Mary's heroine, digging deep into her motivation and brainstorming possible plot twists. 

We discussed and compared what sessions we're doing at conference, had a discussion about websites vs blogs and set our agenda for next month. 

Thanks ladies for a great meeting!

Nerf Day, Clean Up Australia Day, Science kits, Cubs..

Catching up on some recent events in Billy's life..

Another nerf day with homeschooling friends..

Clean up Australia day with the cubs

Finding a Bower Bird's nest

Putting together a time capsule clock kit..

Making a Jungle Book memory game / getting to know you activity for cubs (part of the Grey Wolf Award)

What day is it again?

I'm sitting here rather discombobulated at the moment.  I've got that 'post-holiday' confusion.  Not that I've really been on holidays as such, but I have been away from home for 4 days.

Friday and Saturday I had a committee meeting with the RWA down in Sydney - we started with a meeting at 4-6pm with some external people, then had committee business from 6:30 - 9ish, then up again the next morning to meet 8:30am - 9pm.  (With quick breaks for meals).  It was very full-on, a packed agenda, but we achieved quite a lot.

I stayed down in Sydney on Sunday, with Pete & Billy coming down to join me.  On Monday we went to the Powerhouse Museum and the Harry Potter exhibition!  It was quite busy but well organised so that the crowd flowed well.  We were able to look at everything without having to wait too long.  Unfortunately you couldn't take photos inside but there are some on the official site linked above.

We spent a couple of hours wandering around the Powerhouse museum before our time slot for Harry, so we got to examine steam machinery:

Do some hands on experimenting:

Look at an exhibition on shopping in Australia in the 1880s - 1930s (tying in nicely with our Australian history focus this year):

Revisit the space exhibition:

And have heaps of hands-on fun in the experimentation section:

 

Then it was home in time to get to cubs for more fun - billy carts!

So right at this moment, I'm sitting here wondering what day it is, where I'm supposed to be, and how do I start catching up on the hundreds of unread emails in my inbox?!