Super smiles

Super Mulga getting some exercise on the trampoline - while trying to fly.

Then a spot of balancing beam for some more gymnastic skills.

While Boronia shows off her beautiful toothy grin :) 

City lights

Boronia sitting on the wide windowsill at the Great Southern Hotel, watching the city lights come on, and enjoying Japanese takeaway for dinner.

Negotiation seminar

Boronia helping with the planning for a negotiation scenario at UTS, and entertaining herself pulling coloured scarves from a repurposed tissue box.

Packing

Boronia saw me packing my cases to take into the city for my three day Negotiation seminar at UTS. She decided to lack herself to make sure she wouldn't be left behind!

Desert Biome

Today we continued our exploration of the desert biome with some experiments to investigate how desert plants conserve and create water.

First we wet some paper towels. One we wrapped in rolled up wax paper, one we just rolled up and the third we laid flat. It was a sunny, slightly windy day. We checked back at 10 minute intervals and noted how quickly the third towel dried out, and that the second towel also dried out although it preserved its moisture for longer. The towel wrapped in wax paper was still damp the next day.

Boronia was very fascinated by our next project and quickly dismantled it. We made it again while she was napping, and set it out of her reach.

First we filled a dish with slightly damp sand, and some freshly picked leaves.

We made a space in the middle of the leaves and put in a small pie tin.

We then sealed the project in a ziploc bag and put it in the sun, noticing how quickly condensation began to form on the surface of the plastic.

Finally, we placed a heavy marble on the bag, over the pie tin, to weight the bag down.

The finished project was left in a sunny place for the rest of the day and the next morning. Our aim was to see how much water we could "create" because we had read about this being a desert survival technique.

S1 HSIE: ENS1.6 Demonstrates an understanding of the relationship between environments and people.

S1 Science: PSS1.5 Grows, makes or processes some products using a range of techniques and materials.

S1 Science: ESS1.6 Identifies and describes ways in which people and other living things depend upon the earth and its environments.

S1 Science: INVS1.7 Conducts guided investigations by observing, questioning, predicting, collecting and recording data, and suggesting possible explanations.

S1 Science: DMS1.8 Develops and implements own design ideas in response to an investigation of needs and wants.

S1 Science: UTS1.9 Selects and uses a range of equipment, computer-based technology, materials and other resources to undertake an investigation or design task.

More heroes

Mulga wanted to expand on the superhero dramatic play set he received for his birthday, so he asked for printouts of some more characters. (There were no villains. How can you have dramatic superhero play without villians?) Some good fine motor skills practice for him as he coloured them in.

The boys discovered this cool mole cricket and spent some time observing it 

before releasing it back into the garden.

S1 Science: INVS1.7 Conducts guided investigations by observing, questioning, predicting, collecting and recording data, and suggesting possible explanations.

Boronia helped Waratah and Daddy plant the succulents we brought home from our dinosaur garden day at Mt Annan Sustainability Centre.

S1 Science: PSS1.5 Grows, makes or processes some products using a range of techniques and materials.

S1 Science: ESS1.6 Identifies and describes ways in which people and other living things depend upon the earth and its environments.

S1 Science: DMS1.8 Develops and implements own design ideas in response to an investigation of needs and wants.

Waratah also put together an electricity design project -which required a lot of reading instructions

.

S1 English: RS1.5 Reads a wider range of texts on less familiar topics with increasing independence and understanding, making connections between own knowledge and experience and information in texts.

S1 English: RS1.6 Draws on an increasing range of skills and strategies when reading and comprehending texts.

S1 Science: PPS1.4 Identifies and describes different ways some forms of energy are used in the community.

S1 Science: UTS1.9 Selects and uses a range of equipment, computer-based technology, materials and other resources to undertake an investigation or design task.

Nana's birthday

You would not think it but Nana turned 92 today! Happy Birthday!!!

And guess who has Nana wrapped around her charming little finger? :)

Boronia explores her environment

Boronia is getting much more mobile now, and is starting to want to follow the boys wherever they go. Here she is taking advantage of a cool but sunny winter's day to investigate her surroundings in great detail.

Day trip to the beach

We had an Ebay purchase to pick up on the north side, so a trip to Dee Why Beach was added into the journey.

Boronia seemed to like her first touch of sand and seaweed.

Mulga had a fantastic time playing sandcastles.

Meanwhile, Yeti and Waratah went for a long walk... if we looked very carefully, we could just see them enjoying themselves in the distance.

Veggie Gardening

A lovely sunny winter's day - time to get out in the veggie garden... Boronia enjoyed being more mobile and able to explore areas she could not get to before...

And the boys helped weed among the broadbeans (using some not-so-traditional gardening tools). Did a great job, though!

Green eggs and ham

The boys love me to read Dr Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham, but Boronia and I are the only ones who love to eat it for breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach and bacon bits (with homemade cheese and carrot scones on the side!) YUM!

Soccer

Winter is soccer season for us. Here I model perfect soccer mum attire LOL

Boronia is snug and keeping out of the wind on the sidelines.

Mulga with his adored coach.

Waratah, "eagle-screeching" at the opposition as he prepares to attack the ball. 

The boys' enthusiasm for lego has waned somewhat lately, which has allowed Boronia to step in and explore - literally. Her favourite position is inside the lego box.

I made one final effort to interest the boys in the 2D lego challenge - here I have made a picture of Gollum to illustrate The Hobbit, which we are currently reading. He is lying on his rock in the lake, with his precious and a fish to eat.

Snowflakes

We love using the free brochures you find outside travel agents for our craft and geography explorations. Here Waratah has created a collage showing some of the travel adventures he would like to experience some day.

We have also been using the travel brochures to make "snowflake pictures". Here is one of Waratah's, made from a picture of Chinese lanterns.

One of mine made a church on the Adriatic sea.

Another of Waratah's from a picture of a Thai temple.

Boronia, meanwhile, has been enjoying discovering the Boynton books she received for her birthday.

Flat out!

A miscellaneous collection of photo records of learning today :)

This is a close up of the raw sugar solution. We have been discussing what makes the brown colour, how it is less refined that white sugar, and how as a result it contains impurities which are really left over bits of the sugar cane. This has been graphically illustrated with our raw sugar solution where we can clearly see the "impurities" and how they could be refined out through filtering processes. 

Boronia is recovering very well from her operation to remove the pyogenic granuloma on her forehead. No ill effects from the anaesthetic, thank goodness, and the wound (which we have been asked to leave open to the air) is very clean - not bothering her at all.

This week's lego challenge was to build a flat (2 dimensional) image. The boys were not sure how to go about that, so I made some demonstrations and we discussed the differences in their construction and the effects produced - using lego to make a top down view...

and a to make a side-view picture.