Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Bread

While Audrey was coding Eli and I baked a loaf of bread. It was good fun and he really got into the kneading. We were both chuffed with the outcome, but I'm not sure how much A&E really enjoyed it as it was quite a heavy dough and so took more chewing than the factory produced wholemeal bread they're used to. Still, it was a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon together.
 

Monday, November 6, 2017

Coding for Girls

I found out on the grapevine that there was a 'coding for girls' workshop being run at one of the local secondary schools for girls aged 10 and above, it was run for a whole day on a Sunday.

Both the kids have done a bit of computer coding in the school holidays and really enjoyed it. The day was run by the Department of Defence and was entirely free (including lunch) so I signed Audrey up.

The kids programmed in 'Sketch' and wrote routines to either light up a set of diodes on a circuit board or write code which made words appear onto a scrolling LCD display. Adults were excluded from the room(!) but I was able to see what Audrey had done at the end of the day.

Audrey really loved it and her code was pretty impressive. It reminded me of my ZX Spectrum days (pouring over a home computer trying to key in code from a magazine to make a fairly rubbishy pac-man game). By way of comparison Amy won prizes for her coding at University (far more impressive!) so I guess nerdy computer coding runs in the family a certain amount. It appeared to be a fun and well run day.

Audrey with her circuit board

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Eli's second try of the game




Playing touch football at Deakin Oval #livingvicariouslythroughmychildren

Monday, October 30, 2017

Blueback

Tim Winton is an Australian author and was one of Amy's favourite writers. She was halfway through one of his books when she died and it still sits unfinished by the side of the bed. I'm determined to read and finish it one day. Amy was the reader, not me.

Recently Eli excitedly told me about a book he was reading at school called Blueback. When I looked it up I saw that Tim Winton had written the book (along with another small handful of other children's books). It was a difficult realisation  - was it nature or nurture that had made the book appeal to my little boy?

It's a beautiful book, about a boy (Abel Jackson) who lives by the coast with his Mum (Dora). The boy's best friend is a blue fish who lives in Longboat bay and the short story chronicles both the growing up to adulthood of the boy and the fragile beauty of the seas, which come under pressure from developers, greedy fishermen and pollution. It's wonderfully written and I was so grateful to Eli for sharing it with me.

My throat caught a few times while we were reading it together as when I read the evocative words, I knew with 100% assurity that Amy would have loved the book too.

Solar Vehicles

Another day, another school project...

Monday, October 23, 2017

Ivory Billed Woodpecker

Eli had a school assembly where he needed to dress up as an Ivory Billed Woodpecker!

Of course I could have fashioned something out of coloured paper, but I recently saw a demonstration of mask making using expandable foam (the sort plumbers use to hold pipes in place). When it's hard (it hardens overnight) it carves really well and is easy to paint. Thus Eli and I made a gigantic ivory billed woodpecker head for his performance. He delivered his lines really well as well.



The making of an ivory billed woodpecker head!

Dance Central - Believe

On Friday and Saturday, Audrey took part in Dance Central's dance spectacular - this year called 'Believe'. It's a huge show which they run every year at the Canberra Theatre and something which Audrey looks forward to with considerable delight and anticipation.
 
The production seems to grow larger each year. This year necessitated a day off school and work so the dancers could rehearse and prepare for two shows - one on Friday, mostly attended by parents and a Saturday matinee mostly frequented by the many Grandparents who hold an active interest in their grandchildren.
 
Audrey's been learning 'Contemporary' dance for the last couple of years. She still loves ballet, but the hook of the more modern music and costumes offered by contemporary dance (as well as a much older/teen group of dancers) means that she looks forward to her classes each week.
 
The show was fabulous and a real great advertisement for the school. Friday night's show overran (until around 10.40pm) so I had a very tired daughter on Sunday and Monday.