Photo a Day May 2012

I had read and seen photos from Fat Mum Slim's monthly photo challenges for quite some time, but never found the time to join in.


Well, this month I finally took the plunge albeit a little late - I started on Day 6 and managed to get through the rest of May. I'm aiming to take on the June challenge as well. All the photos were taken on my iPhone.


Following are the prompts for the May challenge and the photo collage of my responses.

Photo a Day May Challenge

If you want to know more information about any of the following photos, you can check them out on Instagram (look for the link in my sidebar or search for camerachronicles on Instagram).

Beige and Boring

"Beige and boring" - that's how my 6 year old described homework when I asked him. Apart from the fact that I was surprised by his use of the word beige, it's probably an apt description. Writing out spelling words, writing sentences using spelling words, writing out mathematical sums...it doesn't scream excitement. Home readers, whilst suited to reading levels, are not the most exciting of literature either.

Denyse Whelan, an education specialist and former principal, wrote a post titled "Is Homework Helpful or Harmful?" and like her, I am torn about its worth. Whilst I believe that homework should increase as children get older, I maintain that it needs to be something more than monotonous revision. Sitting and writing things out over and over is not the only way to revise a concept.

Image found here

I also believe that there is no need for formal homework in the infant years of primary school (Kindy-Year 2) - shoot me now! Apart from reading (reading to them and having them read) and verbal counting, I do not believe it is necessary for children as young as 5 to be coming home and doing written work. Anybody with young children, knows how much energy they have. They learn through exploring the world around them - and using all their senses to take it in. The last thing they want to do after 6 hours at school (where for a lot of the time they are sitting), is sit down and do more work. Even really bright children need a break! Too often whilst I was teaching, I would see children as young as 8 rebelling and playing up because they had been pushed too hard and made to do too much.

Learning is a life-long process. If we want to raise people with a thirst to learn more, we need to stop stunting their educational growth by burdening them with "beige and boring" as their first experience of learning.

Let kids come home and run outside to play - they'll build things, collect things, question you about things. They will be learning - and having fun at the same time! After they wind down, they can play a board game or something on the computer or iPad - again, there are so many great educational games out there that children love! They can then end the night with a bedtime story. Life would be more harmonious, at least in this household.

Don't get me wrong. Of course, children need to have formal lessons to help them learn to read, write, spell, work out mathematical problems and so on - but that's what they are doing at school. Or, at least should be doing.

I don't blame classroom teachers for homework policies as they are often dictated to by principals, but I would love to see more schools like the ones mentioned in the comments section of Denyse Whelan's post - schools that are flexible and provide options for homework.

What do you think about homework?

Do you love it or loathe it?

Is it beneficial? Or just an afternoon headache?

My Favourite 1990s Movie

Lisa from Sweet Little Pretties has started up a new Monday meme titled Sweet Little Things About Me and this week's theme is "My Favourite 1990s Movie".

When I first saw the theme, I had no clue. 1980's movies sprang to mind but which movies were made in the 90's? After doing some Googling, I realised there were a few good ones in the mix, but I picked The Shawshank Redemption as my favourite. Sam loves it too and we've watched it countless times. We never tire of it.

It's a 1994 American film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman - perfect casting! It was actually adapted from a Stephen King novella called "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption".

I was surprised to read that it didn't do well at the box office and whilst nominated for 7 Academy Awards in 1995, it didn't win any. I think that's a real shame because it really is a beautifully written and acted movie - its popularity since that time attests to that.

So why does it resonate? For me, it's just a beautiful statement about how the mind and spirit cannot be constrained by physical barriers. The prison the men are in does everything it can to destroy the very being of its inmates - but Andy and Red demonstrate that the true soul of a person can't always be imprisoned.

 Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies.

(Andy Dufresne)

I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice, but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend. (Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding)

Does The Shawshank Redemption make your favourite 90's movie list?

What was your favourite movie from that decade?

Breaking the Law (Leaving Children Unattended in Car)

Let me preface this post by saying that I love my children to death and would never intentionally put them in harm's way. Of course, every situaton is different and I do have to assess the risks in each case. But what is the law in regards to leaving children unattended in cars?

I had cause to think about this issue (not for the first time) when I read a report about a Brisbane mum who was recently charged and taken to court after leaving her 3, 5 and 10 year old children in the car while she ducked into the supermarket to grab a couple of items. Whilst I would never have done what this mum did (left her children out of sight for "about 10 minutes" with doors locked, keys in ignition and air con running), I really felt sorry for her as it was clear there was no ill intention. Luckily for her, the magistrate discharged her completely.

I have left my own three children, aged 2, 5 and 6 years old in the car at a few places - always within sight and only for very short periods of time. I usually lower the windows a little to let air in but never leave the keys in there. I lock the car from the outside. Of course, if it is a very hot day and even a few minutes would be a few minutes too much, then I don't leave them. The most common time I leave them is when paying for petrol. I dart in to pay, nervously keeping an eye on the car and then dart straight back. I doubt I would even be gone 5 minutes. Whilst some might see it as lazy and shirking my responsibility as a parent, I just feel that getting three young children out of a car at a busy petrol station and then trying to strap them all back in whilst other motorists wait for their turn at the bowser, is not worth the effort. Of course, if I felt they were in any danger, I would take them out. But for the most part, I think they are safer strapped in their seats, than trying to be manoeuvred across what is essentially a busy thoroughfare of moving vehicles.

Some also raise the hypothetical "what ifs" in regards to leaving children in cars at petrol stations - what if there was a hold up? What if something happened to you and nobody knew your kids were in the car? In the former case, again, I think the children would be safer inside the car. In the latter case, I think someone would venture to the car with the thought of moving it out of the way and the kids would be discovered. I'm not saying children in cars at petrol stations are perfectly safe - of course, there are many undesirable situations that could arise. But for the most part, it just seems easier and safer to leave them for a few minutes within sight, than taking them all out of the car.

Sign found here

Anyway, regardless of what I think - it is the law that ultimately matters. It is different in different states, but in New South Wales Section 231 of the Children and Young Person's (Care and Protection) Act 1998 states:

231 Leaving children and young persons unsupervised in motor vehicles

A person who leaves any child or young person in the person’s care in a motor vehicle without proper supervision for such period or in such circumstances that:

(a) the child or young person becomes or is likely to become emotionally distressed, or

(b) the child’s or young person’s health becomes or is likely to become permanently or temporarily impaired,

is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units.

I think reading the above, much would come down to what is considered reasonable in regards to the likelihood of distress or injury. Surely, some sort of logic would have to be applied to each individual case, especially when the Act defines "child" as any person under the age of 16 years and "young person" as any person who is 16 years or above but under the age of 18 years. Taken on face value, you wouldn't even be able to leave your 15/16/17 year old teenager in the car without supervision.

Also interesting is the fact that, as far as I know, there is no specific NSW law in regards to leaving children unattended at home, where there would be a much greater chance of injury occurring.

Have you ever left children unattended in a car?

What about at home?

Does it all depend on age and maturity levels?

Murder by Thumb

Murder is a pretty harsh word.  I think what I've committed is more akin to manslaughter. Yes, definitely manslaughter. Not murder. Terrible accident. Not intentional. Definitely not intentional. And although I've committed this crime more than once, I'm always very remorseful afterwards.

I'm obviously a perpetrator that cannot be reformed. So the fact of the matter is that potential victims should not be in my presence, should not be left in my care and definitely should not be given to me. It's just best for everyone that way.



Sourced here

My husband, fortunately, does not have this same problem. At all the residences we have inhabited, Sam has managed to keep plush green, manicured lawns, neat hedges and various varieties of non-flowering plants. Granted, the things he is maintaining seem simple, but they are not. He does a great job. I, on the other hand, if left in charge of those same plants, would surely kill them.

I've only ever really owned four plants in my life - and they were all gifts. That makes the guilt of manslaughter much higher. To kill someone's gift can't be very good.

The first plant I slaughtered was a Madonna Lily (think that is what it was called...as you can imagine, I'm not that great with plant names). We received it on our wedding day from Sam's aunt and uncle. This Madonna Lily enjoyed a great life for a couple of weeks while we were away on our honeymoon...but then its life became a struggle. To it's credit, it did its best to survive. I would forget to water it and it would literally droop to the floor. Then I would give it some water and back to life it would spring. This went on for some time until that poor plant decided it had enough of going up and down...and just stayed down :( 

Picture found here. Not what a plant is meant to look like. But it's likely that
a plant of mine would end up looking like this...actually, probably worse.

It was a similar story with a small plant/tree given to us by an aunt and uncle of mine. I don't remember much of this plant, except for the fact that it was outside. I'm not sure if it started off there, or was moved there when all hope was lost. I can vaguely recall Sam's words ringing in my ear, "Did you water it?" Gosh, I can't remember everything.

The last two plants to be killed by me were both given to us by my good friend Geni. She obviously forgot about the first one when she gave us the second one. The first was her and her husband's gift to guests at their wedding - one of those small, beautiful, "impossible to kill" good luck bamboo plants. I kept it in our bathroom at our first home. I was chuffed. It was green and alive and I was doing so well. It was low-maintenance. My kind of plant. Apparently, it has a certain life expectancy...but it didn't quite live that long. I honestly don't know what happened. It just met the same grizzly end as my other plants.

Finally, when we moved into our current home, Geni and Paul gave us a beautiful plant that would flower if treated with love. Geni jokingly (well, I hope it was jokingly) said it would represent our friendship so I was to keep it alive! Again, things started off very well. The plant flowered with beautiful petite pink flowers last July. I took photos. I was so proud. I sent them to Geni! The photos have since been lost because I lost all the data on my phone but believe me when I say, the plant was healthy and gorgeous!

Then suddenly, one day a little bug started eating away at the leaves. But alas, with a friendship at stake, I didn't give up. I asked Sam to save it. And he did. He bought a spray of some sort and sprayed the leaves for me. And slowly, it started to regain its form. Relief.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I then don't know what happened. I kept watering it as per the instructions. It had sunlight. But something went wrong and slowly, it slipped away. It sat in my kitchen for the longest time, obviously not alive but with me unwilling to admit that that was so. Eventually, I knew I had to remove it...and once I did, I messaged Geni to tell her about what I had done. The guilt...it still eats at me. But I think she's still my friend...

Hopefully, we can avoid all pain and suffering in the future by not putting me in charge of any living plants. I'm convinced that I'm the person who could kill a cactus in the desert...

So how about you? Do you have a green or black thumb?

No Training Wheels

I really, really wish I had got my camera out and taken some proper photos. Unfortunately, all I have are these few grainy shots taken on my mobile phone.

Suffice to say that on a gorgeous Sydney afternoon, Sam finally taught the boys how to ride their bikes without training wheels. They were very proud of their efforts and I was happy that there were no injuries!

At first, Sam was only going to teach Thomas, thinking that Daniel was too small...but Daniel wouldn't have a bar of that! When I first went out, I spotted Daniel sitting and as he watched Thomas wobble and fall, he called out "Just get back on and keep going". I guess you have to know Daniel to picture how he said it and how cute he sounded <3

The boys also had their first win at soccer yesterday. They both played extremely well, as did all the boys - only one member of the team had played soccer before this year and it has taken them a few weeks to gel, but they are finally starting to play like a team. They won 8-2 with Thomas and Daniel scoring a couple of goals each and we were all pretty excited to see them notch up their first win!

Linking up with The Sporty Mummy for her Active Kids Weekend post :)

How did you all spend your weekend?