Nov. 23, 2009 - War Memorial Visit ~ 2 July
We were reminded of this scene recently as it was Remembrance Day on the 11th of November. However, I took this photo when we went to the War Memorial in July with one of the local homeschooling groups.
Seeing the honour roll, going into the tomb of the unknown soldier and hearing some of the stories of what the soldiers did in battle is a poignant reminder that our freedom has been bought at a great price, and also that war isn't all that glamourous.
Steve went with the older group and they mainly concentrated on the WWII galleries. The younger group was looking at Gallipoli, the ANZACs and WWI and as I stayed with them, I'll be writing more about that side of the trip. Even though I have a book on Gallipoli and we often talk about this campaign at the time of ANZAC Day, it was great to be at the Memorial and get a broader and deeper perspective of what this meant to the soldiers at the time.
The boys were amazed by this boat, taken directly from the beaches at ANZAC Cove and riddled with bullet holes from the Turks.
The model displaying the rugged and steep coastline and narrows of the Dardanelles showed the incredible disadvantage at which our troops fought.
The ration packs and woolen uniforms brought home other challenges faced by the men in the trenches. Other displays demonstrated the difficulties in other theatres of war. Having recently studied Belgium for the Geography Night held in late June, seeing images of the soldiers in Flanders was a natural integration in their learning.
I could talk about a lot more of the displays but there's just so much at the War Memorial and we did look at so many things! From scaling the heights in the Gallipoli campaign, to being stuck in the mud and filth of the trenches on the western front, to charging into the desert with the Light Horse, we then ended up looking at the skies overhead and the flying aces.
Peter Jackson, of Lord of the Rings fame, has put together an amazing, 8 minute long "dog fight". It's impressive, not just for the scope of the sequence but also because it spans a huge, curved screen, giving an incredible 3D effect. It opened in November last year and is played at regular intervals throughout the day. We were all transfixed watching this! It's a wonderful addition to the War Memorial and we'll go back and watch it again, I'm sure.
We have such a rich, interesting and memorable resource right at our fingertips here in Canberra. Maybe there's something similar where you live. It's great when History can come alive and be made meaningful.
Nov. 23, 2009 - Intentional Training - Bootcamp
This morning I looked through my blog for some links for a friend so I thought I would share them here with you too.
Intentional Training - bootcamp - an intense period of training for a purpose.
These blog posts are simply my thinking processes. I share them on my blog not so much to be copied (as each child will have different heart attitudes) but rather to share the thought process and the intentionality that is needed if we are to help our children succeed.
Training Notes - Boot camp - Obedience
Bootcamp – final report and here
Training notes – Boot camp – Diligence
Nov. 23, 2009 - Australian Science Festival - also in May...
What's unusual about this photo?
Those of you have have been to the ASF will know that this picture is not out of the ordinary... Daleks are common place in this arena. Andrew doesn't usually come with us to the Science Festival because we go during the week. This year, they decided at the last minute to hold it in May, rather than August, so we came on the Saturday to book into some of the things that interested us.
There was still some "fun" things in the main hall. Mark got to dress up at the fire brigade stall:
and NICTA had a great exhibit. The boys tested out their endurance and speed, the results being recorded by use of sensors.
Zac tried to build a sustainable environment on "Catchment Detox", drawing the others into the game.
and the boys got to see how cotton is taken from the plant and processed.
After a short lesson in areodynamics,
and some rocket building,
we went to a seminar on "CSI: Fact or Fiction?", learning about the work of forensic scientists. The boys also went to a session on The Square Kilometre Array.
Unfortunately, Andrew didn't get to the Science of Beer seminar and after a full day at the convention centre, we decided not to go out star gazing that night. They did have some light hearted fun at the end of the day though:
...all in the name of Science!!!
Nov. 23, 2009 - CSIRO Mini Beasts - May
Back in May, we went to the CSIRO for an excursion, looking at "mini beasts". In this category are some rather large insects and spiders! We asked Oma to come along...
and Mark, being the grown-up boy he is, joined in too. In this photo, he's making the sounds of a cricket. It was a "hands on" affair, and some, like Adam, got taken aback at some of the little creatures:
some things required closer examination....
some puzzles had to be solved...
and some things were just a lot of fun...
so, if you are not "squimish" in any way, and want to see some these creatures in action, a hands on workshop like this one, is a great way to learn more.
Nov. 23, 2009 - The Day We Saw "Mr. Rogers" in Church
During this morning's church service, dad and I noticed Biruk was staring intently into the congregation, unresponsive to our attempts to get his attention.
I asked him what he was looking at, and finally he answered, with eyes shining and a quiet voice laden with awe..."I see...I see...Mr. Rogers."
Sure enough, a few rows ahead and to the right, was an older gentleman in a button-down burnt-orange cardigan. He didn't look much like Mr. Rogers to me (except for the sweater), but looking closer, I could see how a two-year-old might think so. A thin older gentleman, with hair just-so, a certain set of the ears, and a softly pleasant facial expression. Combined with the sweater, "just like" Mr. Rogers.
Dad and Mom do live in Fred Roger's hometown (and his show was produced in Pittsburgh, not too far from where we lived before). Once Biruk heard about this, whenever we walk down the street he grew up on, he has to "wave at Mr. Rogers house!". We don't know exactly which house it is, so we just randomly pick one and wave at it. Between the house and seeing the guy "live" on PBS, it's no surprise that Biruk assumed that the nice old guy in the sweater had to be the real Mr. Rogers. I think I'll wait a few years before I break it to him that Mr. Rogers isn't actually our neighbor. For now, he can go on believing that he's seen Mr. Rogers up close and personal, a distinction he shares with former President Bush and his wife. What a lucky boy!
Nov. 22, 2009 - What kind of mother?
If you saw us today and thought "What kind of mother makes her toddler walk half-way around a huge lake in wet clothes and a stinky diaper?"...this would be my answer:
The kind of mother who feels terrible about the fact that her son's pants and boots are soaking wet and probably very cold.
The kind of mother who's son walked the first half of the lake dry and warm, and then disobeyed her and sat down in a stream at the exact mid-point of the hike so that she couldn't simply run him back to the car to change him.
The kind of mother who carefully dressed her children in warm clothes and boots suitable for mud stomping. The kind of mother who made sure to put a whole bag of clean clothes and diapers in the back, for just such an occasion. Only she couldn't get to her car when she needed it.
The kind of mother who never, ever properly gauges the amount of time it takes to walk nearly 3 miles with 3 boys who want to stop and look at every hole in the ground.
The kind of mother who was thinking about this because "What kind of mother...?" is a thought that often runs through her own mind, and a comment that she often sees and hears leveled at other women. Being a mom means it is incredibly easy to look bad to others, very difficult to look good to others (since there are so many ideas of "good mothering"), and easier than I'd like to forget that other mothers also have whole lives that lead up to and include the one bad moment I may see.
What kind of "What kind of mother....?" are you?
Nov. 21, 2009 - Parenting Think Spots
I've just created a new page on my website: Parenting Think Spot - a collection of short parenting tips, ideas and thoughts.
Two short thoughts are already uploaded
5 Keys to Consistency The key to training our children is consistency - but how do we maintain that?
Instructions or Example? When we are teaching our children what is more effective? Our Instruction or our Example?
Nov. 20, 2009 - Internet Reading
I’ve had several pages open in my browser for the last little while waiting to share them with you. Since I have to shut down my computer for a while now seems like a good time to post them.
I love the idea of these Narration bookmarks. These prompts help the children to think as they are reading. Most of my children are sharing their narrations in their reading journals these days, but they go through seasons of needing prompts. This post was listed in the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival – if you haven’t read it yet – there’s plenty to read!
I love this list of what a true friend is like – as per scripture. These are good scriptures to remember for anyone – not just us ladies!
Not sure how I came across this site though it has been open for a week or so – neoK12 – Educational videos and lessons for k-12 school kids. This will be a handy link to keep!
I’ve printed this off to keep in my Bible study folder. Not sure when I’ll get to this study but I’d like to do it myself or help my older ones to do it as their Bible Study. Getting to know God through His Names and Titles. I like the list in that it is just some prompts/scriptures – you have to do the thinking and applying.
Also need to be more diligent with Scripture Memorisation with my younger two – not sure how I’m going to do this yet, but with AmblesideOnline’s list and this one I think we’ll have enough to work with.
Nov. 20, 2009 - Home Spun strip #417
Nov. 20, 2009 - Home Spun strip #416
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