I have already mentioned the carnivals (i.e. sport competitions) that the kids have throughout the school year. It is the beach/swimming carnival during Term 1. Then, there is the cross-country carnival in Term 2. Term 3, which started July 15th, contains the athletics carnival. This is a competition of shorter distance races (as opposed to the cross-country carnival). Carter missed his athletics carnival as it was held the day after we got back into Australia. Sean and I decided he was still too jet lagged to go off for a day of competitive running. I think that was a good idea considering that he had woken up that morning at 2:30 am.
Aubrey's carnival was later in the week though (they split up the younger kids from the older kids). She had a great time competing in her carnival. She even came in 3rd in the short distance sprint. As usual for the carnivals, they split up in their separate houses to compete. (I have used this reference before, but I will use it again: think Harry Potter.) Both of my kids are in the Fraser (blue) house.
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| Aubrey and her buddy Hugo getting ready to walk to Allan Border Oval. Another friend, Max, was the photo bomber:-) |
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| Getting ready to run..... |
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| And there she goes!! |
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| Aubrey getting ready to compete in the tug-o-war |
Another sporting activity we have been participating in is Carter's soccer. Soccer is considered mainly a winter sport here in Australia. So, Carter has had soccer games on most Saturday mornings since the beginning of April. We either have the games at our home field here in Mosman, or we travel up to games in different locations in the Northern Beaches. His team name is the Cobras. The team consists of a great group of kids and parents. The kids have had a lot of fun within an environment that was not overly competitive. The season just ended on August 31st and the kids are already looking forward to playing summer soccer. Aubrey is especially excited because she is going to start playing soccer as well. Summer soccer is more relaxed and will just consist of 30 minute games on weekday nights against other Mosman teams.
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| Action shot! |
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| End of the season photo with their coach, Dane |
Another topic I want to cover is Carter and Aubrey's news at school. From Kindy to Year 2, the kids have to get up on a weekly basis and deliver their news to the class. This is like show and tell, but more full-on. A list of the weekly topics for the entire term is sent home in the first week of that term. Sometimes they are very simple topics, like tell the class about your holidays. Other times they are more complex, like Aubrey's recent topic was "Composting is Cool". I first had to teach her what composting was.....
Once the kids reach Year 3, they have just one speech per term, but it is a little more intense with more complex topics. During our time in Australia, I will admit, I have not enjoyed helping the kids prepare their news each week, or each term as what Carter has now. But, I have to concede that Carter has gotten much better at giving speeches since first arriving here. He just gave his Term 3 speech this week about the Quarantine Station in Manly. He researched all the facts himself and I was very impressed with his delivery when he was practicing with me. I am pretty sure I would have had no idea how to do this when I was 8 years old.
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| This is Aubrey and Peggy at Manly Beach. Peggy is a chicken from a book they read at school. Each child made a "Peggy" and brought it home. Our news instructions for the week were to take Peggy on an adventure and take a photo of the adventure. |
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| Another photo of Aubrey and Peggy in front of some crocheted trees in Manly |
Another interesting thing they do at Carter and Aubrey's school is that they give out merit awards. The merit awards are to congratulate the kids about something they have done well or something they have improved on. The merit awards are given out to the kids at their weekly assembly, but a child doesn't earn one every week, just when the teacher feels a student is worthy of one. The merit awards then all add up to earning the big reward; a school banner. Carter just earned his first school banner on August 27th. I received an e-mail the week prior so that Sean and I could plan to attend the school assembly to see him receive it. It was a really nice moment in his Aussie schooling.
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| Carter standing up with the fellow banner recipients at assembly |
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| Carter outside the school hall after receiving his banner |
The kids are both really enjoying the school year. Aubrey absolutely loves her teacher, Miss Hesketh. She is really growing up so quickly this year. Carter had a very strict teacher for the first half of the year. He did well academically with her. However, she had to leave halfway through the year for medical reasons (something to do with her voice, which is not a surprise considering how much she yelled at the kids). He now has Mrs. Kingsmill, who is also strict in her own right. But, I think she is a better match for Carter's personality. Carter seems to have relaxed somewhat since the switch in teachers.
We are all still trying to take advantage of the time we have here. Australians consider that Spring starts September 1st. The winter has been mild, but the weather has warmed up considerably in the past few weeks. The air has lost that "chilly" feeling to it. Some days the high has gotten into the upper 70's Fahrenheit and in the sun here, that can feel pretty hot. The sun has also started to set a little later (5:30 instead of 5:00). Even in this mild climate, you can feel the Spring Fever starting.
I am still learning the art of enjoying being a stay at home with both kids in school. I am spending more time going for long walks and reading. I find that the hours of 9:00 am and 3:00 pm go REALLY fast. I am also trying meet Sean for lunch once a week. Since we don't really have a babysitter to watch the kids in the evening, it is our time alone together.
Life is good. We are in the middle of planning all of our trips for the remainder of our time in Australia. There is so much to see and no way we can see all of it. I am very grateful that we are getting to travel as much as we are. I think the entire family officially has the travel bug now! We are always looking forward to our next adventure.......
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