Bike Rides and Bras on Mars

It has been a long wait to begin our Bike skills course. Twice postponed, it seems as if on this first day of spring, all is well and it is time to begin.....

After Chris, our bike skills instructor, checked all bikes for roadworthiness and all helmets for safe fit we were led around to the bus area where we practised stopping on a marker, slalom riding, unexpected emergency stopping, figure-of-eight riding and slow riding.

The children were fantastic...co-operative and very impressive with their bike skills. Chris commented that for their ages these children have excellent co-ordination and physical skills ability.

At lunchtime yesterday all sorts of stories began to be told to eager listeners about just how tall various family members were......but the story that stopped them all was the following:

'Well, my sister is SO TALL, she is even taller than that roof up there. In fact she is so tall that her head is in the sun....AND she buys her bras on Mars!!!'

Meanwhile...the baby teeth continue to fall. The other morning one little girl was showing me her very loose top tooth with Mum standing close by when the tooth began a slow wobble and fell out straight into Mum's outstretched hand. And the beautiful Zahi now has two spaces at the top where only a few days ago there was one!

Another child remarked that she had noticed that her teeth had been falling out in a repeating pattern....something that was introduced as part of a Maths main lesson in term 1. When I asked what that meant she said 'One up, one down, one up, one down!'

In our painting lesson yesterday I gave the children an opportunity to be VERY creative. They collected a few twigs and leaves from the playground and were given a tissue, paintbrush, watercolour paints and a piece of wet watercolour paper. We talked about the magical garden that could have been growing around the ivory tower from our rest-time story yesterday and away they went discovering so many interesting colours, shapes, patterns and textures......

One of the boys was having so much fun he said he wanted to keep on painting for the rest of the day. Now THAT is what I love to see.......total engagement in the activity at hand!