Buzz, Buzz

Water Colours and Tool Shops

Interesting combination that is ... water colours and tool shops but that was the kind of day we had.

Actually come to think of that is how most of our days are ... combinations of the unlikely ... of the practical and the inspired.

Today at 12:30pm was the end of our last on air lesson for the year so I had children lamenting about how much they will miss their teachers (it is ok we will see them around next year). Nothing says the year is winding down like the end of on airs. Sometime in what remains of this week we will all make cards for the teachers thanking them for the WONDERFUL job they have done this year.

Sooo ....

Today Mr Preppy made a tool shop for everyone to visit.

Best shop ever ... you pay for something and get the same amount back plus more if you want it.

 He also did some wax crayon painting on a fish template.

First he had to trace around the fish and cut it out. Then he had to draw an invisible secret pattern on the fish using a crayon (or you can use a candle). Once he had done that he put a red wash (super runny paint) over his fish so that the pattern would be revealed.

Everyone else got in on the painting caper doing some water colour painting this afternoon. The cool thing about it is you really don't need anything special just mix you normal acrylic paints with water and use that. Also when doing water colours it is much more effective if you paint over your paper with water first.

I hope everyone else had a day filled with as much variety as ours was.

Now I am off to take care of that iced coffee sitting in the freezer, that is in need of my undivided attention while I daydream of cool places like this ...

 

Taking away

On Monday Mr E and Miss S helped their dads take away weaners. So bright and early eager children headed to the horse yards to get ready to go so that they would be able to walk the weaners to the Bore Paddock bore by lunch. They would then be able to continue on to the weaners new new home after their extended stay in the holding paddock down at the yards by mid afternoon. This all went well and Boss Lady R and Boss Lady H drove the old red truck out to meet them so the horses didn't have to walk the whole way back.

Waiting ... come on Dad

What joy ... Mr E having a belly laugh
after Buffit decided to shake herself down with him on her back brrr.



Like father like son ...

 Poor Mr E's pony bolted (well as fast as she can) leaving him in the dust but luckily all that he hurt was his pride. This meant he came back early as Buffit (the pony) was no where to be found.

Father and daughter

Looking forward to the day ahead

Miss S heading off for a days work.



Miss S however stayed out the whole day arriving back exhausted but with the biggest smile on her face, so proud of her days work.

There go the weaners

Boss R bringing up the rear

And just because I can't help myself here are some more photos taken while they were getting ready to leave from the horse yards.

Peek-a-boo

Just hanging around

Little cowboy boot

The Old Red Truck

The End is in Sight

It is official, ALL children are now on their final unit for the year. When this is all over I think we will ALL deserve our holiday and some of us may need to imbibe in something a bit stronger than water, purely for medicinal purposes I assure you.

We now have (including today) 8 days to get our work finished in as the family are leaving on FRIDAY! OH CRAP!

This has been my tightest term ever for timing we have had a good slab of time off that couldn't be helped but we WILL get there, I know we can. See positivity ... 'I think I can, I think I can'.

Today just so happens to also be the first day in over a week that I have all four of the school kids in the schoolroom together.

Please excuse our messyness ...
you will be pleased to know the floor is tidy now
but I had to have picture of all the kids back in the schoolroom

Yesterday Mr Preppy and Miss Yr6 helped their dads take away the weaners (thank goodness they are the two that will have no problem getting their work finished).

Today Mr Preppy played around with paper.
He made sspirals and concertinas and had to put them in order.

Mr Preppy's spirals

Mr Preppy's stairs

We are in the process of making rainbow pompom Echidnas
(because that's the only colour wool we have)

Learning about static electricity

This one speaks for itself

Tailing Weaners

Yesterday was the last day tailing weaners this year.
After taking them of their Mums the weaners are tailed on horseback which basically means they are walked around the fences as a mob. This is so that they are used to horses and so that when it comes time to muster they go into a mob easily ... well that's the idea anyway.

11.11.11

On the 11th of the 11th of the 11th at 11mins past 11am we still had 11 days of school left for the year but when the clock ticks over to 11mins past 11pm we will only have 10. Can I fit any more 11s.

This is what myself and the two healthy children were doing at about 11:11am today ...

Today is Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, the day that the 'war to end all wars' ended in the November of 1918. With the simple signing of paper by a German delegation at sometime around 5am, in a railroad car parked in a French forest, that stated there would be a cease fire at 11am, the lives of many changed.

So if I may ask why, if that was the end of the 'war to end all wars', are we still fighting today?

Today is the day, as a tradition, we as Australians along with many others around the world, set aside a minute from our busy days to remember and be thankful for those who have fought for this country and think of those that still do.

We discussed in our schoolroom yesterday what the significance of the 11 of November and why it is an important day in history.

From this came the discussion about having the day, month and year line up like the 11.11.11. From this came the discovery that after next years 12.12.12 this won't happen again until 2101 when we (unlikely considering I would have to live to 114), or our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and possibly great great grandchildren (could even go further depending) will see this phenomenon again with another 01.01.01. From this we have worked out how old everyone in our schoolroom will be the year this happens again.

Isn't it amazing the interesting incidental conversations you can have with kids that involve learning and thinking outside the box without even thinking about it. Much more fun than schoolwork.

I am thankful for beautiful children

and now that today is finished it is 11

Ah what beautiful children I teach (in between their spurts of causing mischief and frustration).

Today was a great day which I have to admit have been few and far between recently, yes we have had ok days and good moments but a whole day ...ahhh bliss.
I have been stressing, which to be quite honest is when it all goes down hill. This term has been very full on with 12 days fighting fires, mustering, yard work, and now kids off sick and a pile of schoolwork that had to be completed (still has to be but the pile has shrunk considerably) with very few spare days to play around with, none in the case of the yr 3s.
We now have 2 weeks and 1 day left of our school year and it seems that we might finish this unit on time so I see the light at the end of the tunnel and have decided to go "stuff it" and let it be ... and that is when it all falls into place. When I stop worrying about getting things finished (which of cause leads to nagging the kids to speed up) everything settles down and just works.
So my piece of advice for today is if you feel things are getting on top of you, when school is stressing you out throw your hands up in defeat ... take a step back and hey presto it works, it figures itself out. When you stop stressing, so do the kids and everyone is happy. Yes, it may not be the best solution but it works for me (also remember that if you get bogged down in the work there is always a teacher, parent or govie you can vent to or with so that you can get on with the job).
So to finish off here are some pictures of the wonderful workers doing their thing.

Miss Yr3 doing her handwriting book.

Mr Yr 3 working on finding different types of angles in his maths book.

Miss Yr 6 doing her spelling mastery

Mr Preppy writing that the number 5 is 'small'

They are beautiful kids ... personable, as Miss Yr6 learnt today ... even though there were heaps of distractions like this

Horses heading down to the House Dam.

and this

Wobbly heat haze cows.

and this

Taking cattle ... somewhere

and this

A fella came to spray the houses today.

and dreams of doing this

Swimming in the Gorge Dam

the troopers that they are carried on in our sauna and everyone's day ended with smiles (probably with the relief of being released from the sauna).

No on airs tomorrow as we don't have them on a Friday so should be a quiet one ... and downstairs Mr Yr 3 is telling his mother that he needs to have to have some afternoon smoko "to keep his energy levels up"