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- Played ‘pass the pigs’ – Daniel got very lucky, Alex got annoyed! Alex added up his scores himself.
- Alex helped Daniel play the Dude perfect trick shot game, and explained trajectories to him.
- Watched the Nut Job 2, Alex had loved the original. I think they liked this one better.
- I got a new toy – brackitz. I’d been waiting to get them out and this quiet afternoon at home seemed perfect. The kids loved them. Alex made an aeroplane, and Daniel made lots of little devices.
- The kids helped us in the garden with some hammering.
- We got out the slip n slide -summertime! Kids had loads of fun. Alex slides along on his shoulder blades, it makes him go faster he says. We also bought a pool! Spent many hours outside playing.
- Both the kids are into watching beyblades at the moment. it’s quite scientific! talk about airflow, air pressure, friction etc.
- I started freezing some water in containers to be smashed by kids. I got one out to see how frozen it was. It turns out just the top layer and the sides. I showed Alex and we discussed this as the process of freezing. We checked another container to see if the same thing happened too.
- Photoshoot! I promised the kids beyblades if they helped me with the photoshoot to run smoothly. It went well, we headed to Toys r Us and then had McDonalds – because sushi sushi was closed! They deliberated over the beyblades stamina, attack, defence, balance. I mentioned that the stadium needs to be treated carefully else it will crack. Daniel said it should be made from strong and solid material. Alex added suggestions (metal) but there would be a weight problem. The beyblades were a hit, but Daniel got upset at his multiple losses. i was impressed by the differences in the beys – not just aesthetics.
- Watched ‘Home Alone’. Alex thinks the kid is a genius for all of his traps!
Alex
- Discussed Hebocon robot some more. Glued some knives on as weapons. Outlined a shape on cardboard, modified a little. Once he’d cut it out he realised it wasn’t as strong as he’d like, so he decided to reinforce it. He asked for lolly sticks, I offered some match sticks. I told him about aeroplanes doing that on thin sections of metal – they’re called stiffeners. He suggested that’s why there are so many bumps (rivets on skin). He added another knife to the tail, deciding that a lighter one would be best after some testing. Though it does slow the car down a little.
- STEAM gaming – tried plants vs zombies. Loves rocket league.
- Asked me to make 4 toasties: 2 1/2 for him, 1 1/2 for Daniel.
- Watched Men In Black – loved it. Watched the sequels the next few days! He’s not scared, follows the storyline really well. Asks loads of questions and makes lots of inferences.
- Playing PC minecraft mods. I gave Alex some instructions for changing gamemode. He’s recognising the letters and remembers the command now.
- He talks about dragons being immune to fire and so you have to kill them in other ways. he has a minecraft dragon mod. For them to evolve and grow you have to feed them – Alex anchored a book on the keyboard to constantly feed them as he got bored of doing it!
- He had a big cry at bedtime one night, was quite overwhelmed. I just listened, hugged him and gave him a back rub. He needed to connect. He’s been quite aware of this when he gets overwhelmed and seeks me out.
- A football friend asked Alex his thoughts on marriage equality! Alex said ppl should be able to marry whoever they want and would’ve voted yes. They also talked about Alex’s birthday, even though it’s months away and the friend suggested that he shouldn’t invite another kid that left him out of his party. But Alex said he doesn’t want him to feel bad. So amazing.
- He had me write a birthday invite list. He saw the Andre started with an A but commented that it didn’t sound the same as the A in Alex.
Daniel
- Read hungry caterpillar and did puzzle whilst Alex was out
- Playing ‘Dude Perfect’ app
- Playing ‘Cooking fever’ app, Daniel likes me to help and we share the jobs.
- Watching songs on Youtube and singing away!
- He insists upon dressing himself, taking great pride in it!
- Painted with acrylics on canvas
- Asked if he could sit on my lap whilst i did my analysis. I laughed, he told me he knew what it meant!
Out and About
- Headed to a new park in Braybrook – looks like an aeroplane. It was amazing! The kids loved the climbing and really tested their abilities. Alex found some other kids to play with, though we also met up with some newer homeschoolers. Even though they were younger, Alex in particular was very kind and respectful.
- Play at the park and fish n chips with cousins. Kids are playing well. Alex found other kids to play with (as usual).
- Skate park visit but Alex’s bike had a flat tyre, neighbours came with us. They were running up the half pipe but Alex was the only one that could pull himself up, and he shimmied the entire length of it.
- Visited grandparents. they have cute little chicks. Alex was predicting the gender by looking at their necks. He also helped Gigi with the pigeons. there was a dead one, and Alex was very curious about it.
- I took kids to playground with their cousin Jacob. The little ones were making kombucha (?!) in the sand pit. Alex was doing parkour and climbing everywhere.
- Took train to city to see MSO. it wasn’t the best but it was funny in places. We had lunch and went to Birrarung Marr playground. Alex bounced between groups of kids, he was a bit off and asked to go. On the way back to the train , a lady showed the kids a dried up seahorse!
- Went to Hadfield park with fiends – what a disappointment! Alex was very emotional too. Thankfully we had friends to play with. We went to McDonalds afterwards!
- Went swimming – Daniel swam with a noodle the whole time! He even put his head back in the water and did backstroke. Alex treaded water for 3 1/2 minutes.
- got up early to take car to toyota. I treated kids to breakfast nearby, they asked for fanta! We had to wait a long time, and the kids got restless and irritable. Fortunately we had internet!
- Went to zoo, had a nice afternoon. Alex wanted to know how the shell grows so we googled it. He also said the lemur alphas should be named King Julian 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. Interesting idea! the kids loved the chameleon, and Alex knew most of the reptiles names.
- We met a dog called Gizmo, so i told the kids all about my dog!
- 4 days of parties! Went to Emily’s birthday party at Bounce. the kids didn’t like that it was hosted and did their own thing. Attended Andre’s party at the park. 2 more – Zara and Eden.
- Amazon Adventures at IMAX was amazing. Alex really enjoyed the story and we’ve been discussing Henry Bates’ quest to prove natural selection. Went into the museum afterwards with friends.
Socialising
- Homeschool park meets – Daniel played with a new kid, Alex spent a lot of time throwing boomerangs. He even helped another child with their technique. Kids scooted, played, built shelters, climbed trees and socialised. On another occasion, Alex asked that we only stay a short time so he could go home and play minecraft. However when it came to it, he didn’t want to leave and spent time climbing trees, building shelters, playing football – Alex vs everyone else!
- Neighbours came over. Alex had bought some warhead lollies for a ‘try not to laugh’ challenge. But it turns out everyone likes them so it wasn’t much of a ‘punishment’! On another day they visited, they helped Alex make a sign for Hebocon.
- Friends over – playing minecraft, roblox, wild kratts and dinosaurs.
- Cousins house to play.
Activities
- Futsal – Alex played as GK for a half. It’s a bit different to football and we’re slowly getting used to the rules. On another occasion he did really well in a tough game. he’s understanding the change of pace. On another occasion he scored a goal.
- Little ninjas. Alex suddenly anxious about backflips, even though he’s done so many before! He’s starting to hurt himself which is making it worse. After a week or two he found his backflip abilities again. He did 50 in a row and landed them all – hoping he won’t forget again! Daniel is doing front flips into the foam pit. The manager told me how polite Daniel was – she couldn’t believe how he asks her every week for a lollipop and pays so confidently. Alex helped with the Christmas decorations at the end of the month.
- Lego class – Alex made his piece mostly unaided.
- VFS – Alex had a good session. Vio had a part of the session where each kid rated the others. It was very enlightening, Alex holds his teammates very highly, and was less influenced by the voting of others.
- Parkour session at RCH nature playground.
- Basketball after a few ‘breaks’. Alex keeps having a run in with a kid that thinks he can boss Alex around. He”s standing his ground, but it’s really put a dampener on the experience. A week later Alex decided that he doesn’t want to go anymore.
Hebocon
- What a huge day! The kids enjoyed Robotica at Scienceworks. They played a flight sim, saw R2D2 and stormtroopers, the Dance Nao robots were awesome, they played with Cosmo and the code-a-pillars. At the Hebocon event, Alex was amazing! His robot didn’t do so well, but he took it all in good spirits. What a great experience.
Sandy Point
- Long drive. We stopped in Korumburra for a play and stretch. When we arrived, Alex said ”number 3, just like our house!”
- We went for a walk on the Roy Henderson path to Shallow Inlet. Daniel enjoyed all the butterflies. At the inlet, there were lots of shark heads and spines, we found insects and crabs too. The kids were fascinated. They played football on the beach with Vio.
- Drove to Wilson’s Prom – did a wildlife walk where we saw kangaroos and emus. Spent time at Squeaky Beach – the kids loved it! They played in the sand, swam, jumped waves, explored the rocks. Later we had a picnic at Tidal River and went for a walk. We spotted Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo!Daniel fell off a ledge which was really scary, but thankfully he was ok. We headed back. the clouds over the mountains were amazing.
- We watched Transformers movie on TV – Alex commented on the frequency of irritating ads! So used to Netflix.
- Left early to drive to Inverloch. We had a lovely play at the beach. Alex spent most of the time snorkelling whilst Daniel played on the sand. We were there for hours! We watched as some kite surfers came – Alex wants to do it. And wingsuit flying – brought up because of transformers. Alex had previously ask how they stop, and suggested a parachute which we then saw to be accurate.
- We bought cake and ice cream for my birthday at the supermarket. Alex asked what C-O-L-E-S spelled. I didn’t know that he knew all the letters.
