Kid's Musings December 09

I recently put my two oldest to work road-testing my recent newsletter for kids - Kid's Musings. This is what they were working on: (This is page two. Page one is about different Japanese words and concepts that have made it into the English language) Let me know if you'd like it for your kids too.

Our day at Movie World*

We opened the wallet and went to Movie World yesterday. Yes, it hurt, but we did it as cheaply as we could. We didn't buy any food (except for cheap icy poles) or drink. We took grandparents who bought each of the boys a souvenir (to be fair, we didn't expect that they buy the boys anything - that was their call). But the boys weren't asking for us to buy stuff for them. Perhaps they didn't realise - we didn't take them into the shops? Or perhaps it is because we don't make a habit of buying stuff for them? Low point?

• We lost a boy...and found him again. Even with four adults and a one-to-one ratio on boys (we had my sister's 5 y.o. too), we managed to lose a child. At one of the shows our 4 y.o. and his cousin were at the front playing with bubbles from the show when the show ended and adults streamed past the kids on their way out. Apparently our 4 y.o. got carried away in the flow and ended up somewhere completely different. Thankfully a kind couple took him to the lost child place and we eventually headed there too after ascertaining he wasn't in the immediate vicinity of the show. Always a heart stopping moment, when you lose a child!

High point?

• Seeing our middle child, who is usually first-time-negative (meaning the first time he encounters something new, be it food or people or a place, he is tentative and usually not interested in saying "yes"), warm to the experience and go on most of the age appropriate rides. (That is a shocking sentence, sorry.)

Disappointment?

• The lack of enthusiasm of the park's staff. At such a place, when you've paid large bickies to get in, you expect the staff will embrace you into an exciting experience. Most of the employees, however, seemed like they were counting the time until the end of their shift and they could get away from these annoying patrons.

Take away value?

1. Time spent with extended family is always valuable. Living in another country, we don't get to see them that often. We also never know when their (or our) time on earth will be over, so every moment together is valuable.
2. Building memories for our kids. We don't live a lifestyle that enables us to accumulate heaps of stuff. But memories are totally portable and never need packing or storing.

*For non-Aussies - MovieWorld is a Warner Brothers theme park here in South East Queensland.

You're FROM Japan?

Yesterday we went to a birthday party for a pre-Prep (kindy) friend of our 4 y.o. The first Australian kids birthday party we've been free to attend. It was cute to see two of our children greeted by hugs from (female) classmates. Even more interesting was the opportunity to stand around and chat with parents we've only seen in passing over the last six months. Several had heard rumours that we had some association with Japan, but didn't know what to think. I wonder if that is why they never said much more than, "Hi", because such a rumour is hard to fathom! I found out that one child had gone home and said their new classmate (our 4 y.o.) was "from Japan". You can imagine his mother's face when she saw our son - blond and blue eyed. She thought it was just another 4 y.o. non-nonsensical conversation. Another child brought home the news that our 7 y.o. had been absent for a day because "he's gone back to Japan"...for a day? You can see how our family easily gets surrounded in a mystery that renders casual conversation before and after school (and even at a party) potentially awkward!

Early Christmas present

I received an early Christmas present this week. Our eldest son, who struggled to adjust to his new school these last six months asked, "Will we go back to the same school next time we come back to Australia?" Later the significance of that exchange hit me and I clarified it with him, "Do you mean that you like your school now?" "Yes" they all chorused. Ahh, thank you Lord.

Recipe for fudge

One Bowl Chocolate Fudge 

450g chocolate chips 

395g can of sweetened condensed milk 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

1 ½ cups chopped walnuts (optional) 

1. Add chocolate chips and condensed milk to saucepan. Stir over moderate heat until combined.

2. Stir in vanilla and walnuts. 

3. Spread in foil-lined 20 cm square pan/tin. 

4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and the cut, but leave in pan. 

5. Refrigerate for 1 ½ hours more or until firm, then remove from pan. Hint - cut into tiny pieces because it is very rich!

Joke's on you

I'm laughing on the inside. My 10 y.o. has had a great teacher these last six months in Australia. I knew it but my son just proved it to us. Last night the upper primary school had their presentation evening - when they presented an item (music and drama combined) and they were presented with various awards. The Year Fives did an item about Queensland's history, set in the 1860s. Our son scored an interesting part - an old man of 105 who limped around on the stage and carked it (Aussie for "died") towards the end. He did a good job, better than I expected. I asked him how he'd gotten the role and he said, "When my teacher was allocating roles, he asked the class who wanted to be the old man. No one volunteered." I often read to them towards the end of dinner and our eldest frequently interrupts the story by making wisecracks or miming a particularly graphic part of the story. It turns out this is what he was doing while the teacher was looking for volunteers. The joke turned back on our son as he drew attention to himself and got volunteered for a job he didn't want. He lost sleep over it early on - certain an injustice had been done to him. But after a lot of practise he got over the performance anxiety and did a great job. You gotta laugh when the class clown gets what he is seeking, but in the end doesn't really want - people's attention!

Help to go around the world in 80 minutes

Next month we're helping lead a Scripture Union camp for grades six to eight. One of our responsibilities is to organise and run an International Night, otherwise called "80 minutes around the world". It's okay to volunteer for these things, now we need to get down to details and with only one day left until our youngest is home for the holidays and three days until the rest of the mob turn up, we'd better get cracking. What I'm looking for is some international feedback here. I know that some of you don't live in Australia. Can you help me? We particularly need: 1. Easy international snack ideas 2. Activity ideas for international stations - like the Japan 'station' might have some origami to do and the Chinese stall might have a chopsticks activity. As you can see, I'm a little Asian-biased. How about some European/South American/North American/African/Indian ideas - anyone?