paper box

Recycled box for recycled paper. We go through a lot of paper each day, with the kids artwork and writing, so i always have a box for printed paper with a blank side. I'm hoping the tree cutout will be a reminder to 'save trees'.

the weekend

what we each did on a lazy sunday morning..... followed by a hectic week. Danny's working in the new building that's being built in our backyard, a house for my grandma. Life in a construction site can have a few perks!

long overdue post

Above: Different types of triangles - taste better with lavoshak , fruit rollup
Below: Matching game with animal silhouettes i printed and laminated. Also works as a memory game.


Its been almost 2 months now since we made the big decision to withdraw Danny from school. The reasons are many, but the outcome has been nothing but positive, beyond anything I'd ever hoped.
We arrived back in Adelaide just as the school year began, with no idea as to where we would live and what school he would go to. We pitched camp at my parents' home and frantically started looking for a school, so he endedup going to the closest public school. A very outgoing, bubbly boy nervously started school. Nervous became the dominating feature of his life from then on. He enjoyed some aspects of school, was quick with the academic aspect of things, made friends, but at the same time, his desire for perfection and wanting to fit in were very strong. He became extremely shy, to the point of frequently having 'accidents' because he couldn't ask the teacher that he needed to go, he never wanted to talk about school, and eventually he started telling me about incidents of bullying by his classmates. He also became very reluctant to go to school. I tried talking to his teacher, to the PE teacher whom he dreaded, to no avail.
But the last straw for me was his losing interest in reading. Love of learning is a big deal. Once lost, its very hard to recover, and reading is THE most important skill ever. So after prayers and family consultation, we decided to keep him home for a trial period of 2 weeks to see if there was any improvement. Sure enough, he started begging me for lessons, we did math, reading, writing, science and loads of art and craft (his passion) every day. So that was it. End of that school.
I can't begin to describe the ways in which our life has improved ever since that decision. I thoroughly enjoy teaching them myself, and watching those 'aha' moments when something clicks, when he goes dizzy with excitement to try out a new skill.... its priceless. And I'm not going to share that with a poor, frazzled busy teacher who will probably never notice or appreciate these moments anyway, as part of the conveyor belt style education system, which seems 'the' only way for most. Call me a possessive, over protective, whatever mother, but i know i'm doing what feels right at the moment, and I'll take each day as it comes.

Recent happenings

Pirates and princess event organised by a local city council, a very outgoing princess and a much more subdued pirate who wouldn't be talked into dressing up 'in public'.

Mom's group, in the backyard, which is currently a construction site but fascinating to 3 year old boys. This group started out as a crafting group, and we still slip in some knitting or sewing when we can, but basically its a chill session for over-worked moms to catch up and spend a good part of the day with the kids totally occupied with playing together or admittedly 'the box'. We rotate the location, and will be having more outings as the weather gets better.