On Thursday Cheetah received an achievement award in class (these particular awards are handed out each week to children who have achieved something special that week).
And the reason for the award...
"for his 'Swift Swivels' during dance class".
This is the first time he has received an achievement award that relates to a physical activity.
I was very proud of him and can't wait to see these 'swift swivels' at the end of year concert.
At the moment I am cleaning up & sorting through old junk. I came across this project that Cheetah did in Grade 3. We don't really have room to store it forever, so I figured storing it for 2 years was enough & now we would take some photo's, so we could get rid of the clutter.
I am assuming that this was a science project, but I am not entirely sure what the requirements of the assignment were.
This creature that looks somewhat like an alien cockroach is actually a device for testing how well various materials conduct electricity. His antennae are part of a circuit that is connected to batteries (in his belly) and a light bulb for a nose. The idea is that you touch the antenna to something (making sure they are not touching each other), and if that something conducts electricity, then his nose will light up.
The photo below is Cheetahs explanation of how a circuit works and a simple diagram for the visual learners out there.
This next one was a last minute idea. I got Cheetah to collect various small objects from around the house & glue them onto a piece of paper. He then glued that onto cardboard. If you look carefully, you will notice the writing is not Cheetah's (in the diagram above, that is Cheetah's writing). This is because this was so last minute, by the time the glue had dried, it was very late at night & the project was due the next day, so I did that bit for him.
He really is a clever little tacker when he puts his heart into it. Pity we can't harness this enthusiasm for all of his schoolwork!
Cheetah has been missing out on the spotlight a bit lately. Mostly because him playing computer games or reading are not really Kodak moments.
This was definitely a Kodak moment though....
This is Cheetah's diorama he made for a school assignment. As you might have guessed, they were studying the gold rush at the time.
First they had to draw a sketch of what they wanted their diorama to look like, then plan how it was to be constructed & finally to make it.
This is completely Cheetah's own design. He also decided what materials would be used (except for the 'dirt' which he was going to use cardboard, but I suggested playdough).
It is amazing how much like his original sketch this actually looks.
For the close ups...
This is the miners tent, made of sticks & calico (with a bit of kitchen string holding it in place). The flag is Lego (Cheetah assured me lots of the miners had flags up in their campsite, identifying it as theirs - he also assured me that lots of miners had dogs).
This is a miner standing at the top of the hoist (Cheetah had another term for this thing, but I can't remember what it was). Unfortunately he wasn't sure how to make a handle for the hoist in the limited time that he had (2 nights because Cheetah had been procrastinating & I didn't realise that it was an at home assignment).
This is the poor little miner at the bottom of the shaft. The 'bucket' is actually one of the parts of the kids painting sets. It used to hold the green paint which you will notice became the grass in this diorama. I think the Lego miner is holding a light sabre with a piece attached which might have been part of a Lego boat once. Looks like an allright pickaxe to me. The veins of gold in the dirt is gold glitter mixed with PVA glue. You can't see in the picture, but there are gold nuggets in the bucket (small balls of playdough painted gold - you can see more of them at the feet of the miner manning the hoist).
This bit is my personal favourite. A miner panning for gold. The pan is made from playdough & the gold is glitter & glue.
He doesn't look overly enthusiastic, however he was very proud of the finished product & so he should be. I would like to add, that while I helped a little with the most fiddly bits (& making the playdough), this is his own design & his own work & I was very proud of him.
Unfortunately the report that was meant to go with it was not properly completed so I don't know how that is going to affect his marks. Cheetah is not the most consciencious student & we are working on that. In the meantime, we will praise the victories and continue to encourage him to strive for greater things.
Today I visited Mummy McTavish, & the clan (except for Lion who was at Kindy).
While I was there, I got lot's of cuddles with Little Monkey McT. And I got to leave with a few goodies - namely tupperware & Little Bear's birthday present from Aunty McT. (Her birthday was in June, but given the beautiful cake Aunty McT made her & the fact that A.McT has also just had a baby, & the fact that the present was home-made I think she can be more than forgiven)
Anyway, this is the present....
Conversation this morning between DH, Little Bear & her Poppy:
DH: Do you want to listen to some Nora, Little Bear?
LB: Dora!
Poppy: Not Dora, Nora !
LB: Not Dora, Dora!
Poppy: No, not Dora, Nora !
LB: NOT Dora, DORA !
Poppy: 'N' 'N' 'N' 'N' NORA !
LB: 'N' 'N' 'N' 'N' DORA !!!!
Seeing as I missed posting about Little Bear's birthday like I promised, here are some of the better photo's of her birthday at home.
This one deserves the top honours. Little Bear is showing her appreciation to Aunty McTavish for making such a beautiful birthday cake. Feel free to leave Mummy McTavish/Aunty McTavish some comments on this blog oohing & aahing over such a beautiful cake. She will read them & she deserves it !
The favourite toy of the night - a Bubble Machine. Also thanks to the McTavish clan.
Little Bear & Dragon were in raptures over the bubble's.
And of course, how better to play with bubbles than with a racquet of some kind. And even better than 1 racquet is 2. Lion is showing off his Bubble Badminton skills. That's my ambidextrous nephew !
And how better to finish a birthday than falling asleep on Daddy's lap. This is a special treat reserved for those really special occasions. (For those who regularly visit, you might notice the wear on this couch getting more obvious with each post it features in. We are hoping to get a new one really soon)
