Just another busy day of Homeschooling....

With the rare few moments I have this afternoon I thought I'd sit out on my sunny verandah with my freshly made apple, carrot, tomato and ginger juice and let you all know what we've been up to today!

This morning started off with a nice morning jog with Dane. We managed a steady 2.4kms at a very good time considering Dane is only 6 and new to running with me. I stopped at my favourite Little Green Cafe on the way home and grabbed a morning coffee and came home to delve into the kitchen.

First I made a loaf of my healthy gluten free banana bread (MY OWN RECIPE HERE) followed by some healthy choc goodness balls (MY OWN RECIPE HERE), followed by my delicious smoked salmon dip (recipe to come). I served the boys up some morning tea on the verandah and finished up in the kitchen doing the dishes.

The boys ventured outside to play, jump on the trampoline, ride their bikes and came across a grasshopper being eaten by ants. They decided to save him and take him to a safe spot in the garden. A conversation ensued between the boys as to what food insects like eating and where they lived.

Meanwhile I did some blogging on my new Healthy Blog, aptly named ANGIE'S HEALTHY KITCHEN. I started my new blog 5 days ago and it has already had over 400 hits!! I'm very excited about being able to help people to eat more healthily and think more about being healthy for life.

Not long after the banana bread was ready and so we all sat together and ate it for a light lunch before setting off for a fun outing with our Homeschooling friends at a place called Bricks and Fun at Capalaba. The boys joined their group for a 1 hour session viewing the displays and making their own special creations. They enjoyed it immensely and can't wait to go back very soon!

Arriving home Bailey finished off some Christmas craft and then decided to spend some quiet time in the Lego room building an off road camper and 4 wheel drive. The other boys played nicely with some playdough on the verandah before venturing outside to play with our dog Lilly. They have just now come upstairs for a snack of some vegie crackers but I am sure they'll be back downstairs playing in no time. Bailey will do some reading with me later this evening whilst Dane sits in and listens.

Soon it will be time to go cook some dinner for the family and in a few short hours the boys will all be tucked up into their beds ready our new adventure tomorrow!

HOMESCHOOL ATHLETICS CARNIVAL 2012

Last week our boys participated in the Athletics carnival that was held for all Brisbane homeschoolers. The carnival was lead by the staff from Physi Kids, a physical education group that holds health & fitness classes for kindergartens, schools and community groups. They did an amazing job organising and running the program for the children that ranged in ages from 2 years to 15 years.

There were 3 weekly lead up sessions held before the big carnival to give the children a good idea of how best to participate in the sports. The sports on offer were the 80m sprint, 80m hurdles, 400m run, long jump, high jump, shotput, discus and javelin. Novelty races were also held at the end of the carnival. The good old favourites such as egg and spoon race, 3 legged race and the sack race proved to be a big hit with the littlies and the older children. Juniors participated in a special Physi kids class whilst the older children did the more serious events. They played limbo, team sports and a game of tag all to a soundtrack of fun, whimsical music.

Bailey and Dane were really looking forward to the big day in the weeks leading up to the event. They attended all the training sessions and practised at home so they could do their very best running, jumping and throwing on the day. I take them both regularly on runs around our suburb, sometimes up to 3kms at a time so I knew running the 400m wouldn't seem far for them.

Morning of the big day we lathered ourselves in sunscreen and packed our car up with the picnic table/chairs and umbrella for some shelter. I was busy baking healthy snacks for us for the day right up until the last few minutes of leaving! We arrived and were so glad the weather seemed to be holding out for us. The oval was filled with families arriving, setting up their trackside spots for the day and getting kids ushered to the running track for the first events. I told the boys that as long as they tried their very best I would be extremely proud of them. Dane was determined he was going to get at least one ribbon for the day!

Bailey did very well in all his events. His age group was probably the most competitive, filled with many boys keen to give their best. He ended up winning the sack race, placing second in one of the throwing events (he cannot remember which one) and placing third in the 400m.

Dane proved to be a total over-achiever! He placed first in the long jump, high jump, discus and javelin. He placed second in the sprint, hurdles and 400m run. He was very thrilled with his success on the day and delighted to place his collection of ribbons up on the fridge for all to see.

Our family really enjoyed the carnival and hope that the community can come together again next year for another event. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to keep Ehren away from the big kids running events next time though, he's busy practising for now and tells me he can do it too!