Child's Play

I'd like to write happily about Anna's preschool. I looked and looked for a preschool for Anna. I read the Early Childhood Curriculum; I knew I wanted a place where children are physically and emotionally secure and safe. If these (quite substantial) needs are met, they are able to grow socially, physically, and mentally. Living in the suburbs of a city far from family, I also wanted us to be a part of a community, not just a "school."

We found that "perfect" ELC. Anna has been attending preschool for 6 months, and I've often visited and played with the children. I have never seen them being cruel or aggressive or crying uncomforted. The teachers are strongly attached to the children, and the children are attached to each other. When I drop Anna off, several girls always rush over to give her a hug, and they spend a few moments admiring each other's sparkly clothes/necklaces/shoes, etc. At the end of the day, children smile at me and say "Anna, your Mum is here." If Anna is outside, they tell me where she is.

The teachers describe how the children help and encourage each other. Everything indicates that the children are emotionally secure enough to make new attachments, and I think that's an essential life skill that many daycare kids lack.

They are also able to play creatively, and they have the space and time to do it. Today, Anna told me about a new game the children have been playing this week. The girls hide in a magic tire and run screeching across the playground. They say "monster" and a designated boy is the monster. The boys sometimes play and try to catch the girls with hula-hoops, but mostly the girls run and squeal and retreat to the magic tire or the playhut. It's really really cute and a sight for rock-weary eyes. Children playing securely and creatively... another one of life's joys.

Summer Crops

Our garden is starting to produce its summer crops, and tonight I spent some time doing something I love...gathering food that I planted and weeded and watered and grew. I especially love unearthing root vegetables. Tonight, I dug up carrots, potatoes and beets. I roasted them all together with a bit of rosemary and served them with lamb chops (grass fed, free range like all NZ meat). Anna and James had fun shelling the peas, and I cooked the beet tops slowly for 30 minutes with a rasher of bacon, salt, and butter. Even James and Anna loved them! Hooray for home gardening, pastoral farming, and southern cooking!

Taylor's Mistake

You know when you think, Gosh, we're doing a lot, maybe we should slow down? Well, I'm not very good at listening to that advice, so on our first day back from our 5 days, 5 bays adventure, we headed out to Taylor's Mistake for more sun and fun. There were paraponters:

sand and surf:

And a big metal post. Anna will show you how big it was and the size of the dent it left in our new car:

Yes, really big. Some days, you're better off just staying home, or at least not going to a beach named Taylor's Mistake. The surf was great, and with the tide going out, once I swam past the breakers, I just wanted to stay there forever. I very nearly did until a couple of big waves sent me back towards the beach.

The rest of the week, we spent a lot of time hunting for things hidden by Anna. She thinks it's quite funny to hide our favourite things and make us find them. She's also decided that while I am, as a whole, not very fashionable, I have a few good items of clothing that belong in her room, not mine. She's only 4 1/2!

5 days, 5 bays

Wow, what a New Years! Last year, we did a 5 lakes trip through Central Otago and braved the rain, wind and sun to swim in 5 alpine lakes. Having a bit more wisdom, we beached it this year. We took our trusty (pre-loved) new tent, the dog, and a good map and traveled up the East coast of the South Island to sunny Blenheim. On the way, we spent 2 days on Pegasus Bay at Waikuku Beach (who needs Waikiki?):

Goose Bay near Kaikoura:


The seal colony at Ohau Bay:

White's Bay near Blenheim (named after an American slave, Jack White, who jumped ship and lived there with Maori in the 1860s):


and Kekerengu:

Apart from the dog chasing cats through the campground at 1 am and chewing through much of our gear and my half marathon (where's that shortcut I saw on the map?!) through the vineyards, it was relaxing. With all the other Kiwi kids in the campground, Anna made friends quickly and let me know that my adventures in search of rocks, geographical oddities, rare birds and new beaches are not nearly as fun as playing Barbies. Oh dear.