The Resourcefulness of Children

It never ceases to amaze me at how resourceful children can be even when they have limited things to play with. Our life last year consisted of a change in priorities and a unique living situation. It meant the children were left will a smaller number of toys to play with because everything was left in storage for a whole year. After a while the same toys get a bit ‘boring’ and lose their appeal. In these instances it was nice when the kids could use their imagination to create different, fun things to do.

Here are a few things they did which I thought was brilliant!

Old plumbing pipes become a super sized marble run!:

A moving trolley is used as a go-kart (glad he was wearing a helmet. You can’t tell in the photo but that is a steep driveway):

Lots of items from nature used to make a habitat for their toy animals:

Sand dunes used as a huge slide:

A few old ice cream containers, some items for mixing dirt, water and bits from the garden and the kids had their own cooking competition:

These are just a few of the things they got up to over the last year.

Just goes to show kids still have a great imagination even when we think they are missing out!

Weather Station Tour

The kids and their Dad went to our local weather station today. 

Here is a recap of what they learnt as told by Master 6:

“The Weather balloon goes up 30 km. It blows up because it’s made from dangerous gas. People filling up weather balloons use weird suits to protect them because if it blows up, the gas can go on your face and gets its skin peeled off. There is a tower your not allowed to go in because it’s all dangerous. ”

Here is Dads take on the same info:

“They release 2 weather balloons a day. All the balloons are released at the same time around the world. It costs $300 per balloon. Weather balloons go up to 30 km high, and can travel as far as 300km across. When filling up the weather balloons with hydrogen the people wear special suits to protect them because if it blows up it could peel the skin off their face. Only the people who work at the station are allowed in the building that holds the hydrogen to fill up the balloons. ”

Here are some photos of their visit:
   

In front of the building where they fill the weather balloons with hydrogen.
  
Watching the weather balloon being released.
  
   

Meet the Troops

Before beginning to share our life we thought it would be a good idea to introduce the “small people” who play such a large part in, well ….. everything Homeschooling! 

Because let’s face it if they didn’t exist neither would our Homeschooling Adventures! 😀

  

 

Master 5 (turns 6 in June) – Year 1

Natural Born Leader of all the other “small people” in his clan! With a passion and love for others he’s a real people person! Takes his job as “big” brother very seriously and loves his “little” brother and sister! Forever curious and highly intelligent, this boy can ask some good questions, which always keeps me on my toes! He thinks, talks and walks 100 miles an hour! Full of energy I get exhausted just watching him go! (Note the eye patch, he’s also a huge Octonauts Kwazii fan! As are all our kids! Also notice the mess, not made by him, and grazed knee … that’s real life people! 😜)

  

Master 3 (turns 4 end April) – Kindy

Our beautiful, sensible, nature loving boy with an awesome sense of humour, who is the perfect compliment and best friend to his “Big” brother! A natural hands on learner with lots of commonsense to boot! Bare feet and mud are his idea of perfection! Wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a farmer one day with his love of the outdoors and animals! He can keep up with his brother in the energy stakes, so glad they’ve got each other to bounce off! He also takes his role as “big” brother to his “little” sister very seriously and always makes sure she’s not left out or left behind!

    

Miss 2 (turns 3 in November)

Our beautiful angel girl! She does her absolute best to keep up with her brothers whom she adores (the feeling is mutual between them all 😊)! Not afraid of much, willing to get muddy, capture wild insects, but also dress up and be pretty! Definitely daddy’s little girl and mums little shadow! She’s very precious! Doted on by all in the family and with 3 “men” in the house to look out for her she’s well protected!

So there you have it our precious blessings who needless to say we love to bits! 

Next up we’ll share what we’ve been doing in our homeschool so far this year!