Kindergarten

Hot damn and hallelujah our boy can go to Kindergarten!! Holy smokes, after all that looking at preschools and being so disheartened, I've learned that Cooper IS eligible for Kindergarten this coming school year. Phew!  The statement on the NSW's website is confusing (and not just to me!) so I double checked yet again and yes, he can go!

Plunkett Street Public School

Today we headed to Woolloomooloo, an area of city, where we visited one of the two public schools where Cooper can attend Kindergarten next fall (fall here/February).  Because of where we are located,  we fall in a sort of grey areas as to which school is our "neighborhood"school.  The one we visited today in Woolloomooloo or another in an area called Darlinghurst. Both schools are about 10-15 minute by bus from our apartment.

The school we saw today is called, Plunkett Street Primary School.  The grounds were amazing!  A huge lawn with a great playground, a quaint building and CHICKENS! Yes, they have a chicken coop right on their playground. This is apparently new this year. Cooper was so excited. He loves the chickens at his friend Helena's house so this was a wonderful surprise.  We spent the time there talking with the principal (who was super nice) and learning about the school. It is pretty small. Only about 70 kids in PreK-Year 6.  All the classes are mixed aged except preschool. So they have a Kindergarten/1/2 class, a 3/4 class and a 5/6  class. That may change next year depending on enrollment. The classrooms were amazing. They were filled with children's artwork and school work, tons of learning areas and very, very busy and happy students. The teachers were all very friendly and they smiled and greeted us- very different from all the other places we have visited here. So, overall, I really liked the school and the principal.  As I said to Doug, if I had to drop Cooper off tomorrow, I would feel good about it.  So, I will visit Darlinghurst-- hopefully, and then we will make a decision. I guess we need to be pretty quick about it as the classes fill up and since we are on visas, we are somewhat dispensable.

We had not been to Wooloomooroo before, so I wanted to explore a bit. When walking from the bus to the school we went through a questionable area, but as we left the school and headed the other direction, we came across the wharf and this view. Apparently, Russell Crowe has a 14 million dollar penthouse here.

We stopped at this place called Harry's Cafe de Wheels where they are famous for "pies n' peas." The kids had hot dogs and I had, of all things, mashed potatoes and gravy- anyone who really knows me knows that I am not a huge fan of mashed potatoes so I am not really sure why I ordered them.  They were good though!  I guess this is a pretty famous place for celebrities to visit. Brooke Shields, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Colonel Sanders  and of course, my favourite, Olivia Newton-John (among others) all ate there at one time or another. After we finished our food, it was back on the bus and back home.

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

Kindergarten

Hot damn and hallelujah our boy can go to Kindergarten!! Holy smokes, after all that looking at preschools and being so disheartened, I've learned that Cooper IS eligible for Kindergarten this coming school year. Phew!  The statement on the NSW's website is confusing (and not just to me!) so I double checked yet again and yes, he can go!

Plunkett Street Public School

Today we headed to Woolloomooloo, an area of city, where we visited one of the two public schools where Cooper can attend Kindergarten next fall (fall here/February).  Because of where we are located,  we fall in a sort of grey areas as to which school is our "neighborhood"school.  The one we visited today in Woolloomooloo or another in an area called Darlinghurst. Both schools are about 10-15 minute by bus from our apartment.

The school we saw today is called, Plunkett Street Primary School.  The grounds were amazing!  A huge lawn with a great playground, a quaint building and CHICKENS! Yes, they have a chicken coop right on their playground. This is apparently new this year. Cooper was so excited. He loves the chickens at his friend Helena's house so this was a wonderful surprise.  We spent the time there talking with the principal (who was super nice) and learning about the school. It is pretty small. Only about 70 kids in PreK-Year 6.  All the classes are mixed aged except preschool. So they have a Kindergarten/1/2 class, a 3/4 class and a 5/6  class. That may change next year depending on enrollment. The classrooms were amazing. They were filled with children's artwork and school work, tons of learning areas and very, very busy and happy students. The teachers were all very friendly and they smiled and greeted us- very different from all the other places we have visited here. So, overall, I really liked the school and the principal.  As I said to Doug, if I had to drop Cooper off tomorrow, I would feel good about it.  So, I will visit Darlinghurst-- hopefully, and then we will make a decision. I guess we need to be pretty quick about it as the classes fill up and since we are on visas, we are somewhat dispensable.

We had not been to Wooloomooroo before, so I wanted to explore a bit. When walking from the bus to the school we went through a questionable area, but as we left the school and headed the other direction, we came across the wharf and this view. Apparently, Russell Crowe has a 14 million dollar penthouse here.

We stopped at this place called Harry's Cafe de Wheels where they are famous for "pies n' peas." The kids had hot dogs and I had, of all things, mashed potatoes and gravy- anyone who really knows me knows that I am not a huge fan of mashed potatoes so I am not really sure why I ordered them.  They were good though!  I guess this is a pretty famous place for celebrities to visit. Brooke Shields, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Colonel Sanders  and of course, my favourite, Olivia Newton-John (among others) all ate there at one time or another. After we finished our food, it was back on the bus and back home.

Harry's Cafe de Wheels

Centennial Park

We ventured to Centennial Park yesterday.  Centennial Parks is actually comprised three parks, but we were only in Centennial Park yesterday.  Does that make any sense? Anyway, it is a HUGE system of parks (about 360 hectacres*) filled with gorgeous trees and plants, ponds, playgrounds, athletic field, horseback riding trails, bike trails and more.  We spent a good part of our time there at a great playground.  The playground had a sand pit (also known as a sandbox) which made Cooper super happy. Because Doug was with us, Cooper got to swing and swing and swing- something he does not get to do when it is just me and the boys.  Tucker and I explored every piece of equipment while Doug pushed Coop on the swing.

After playing, we walked to the eating area - probably a ten minute walk with the little ones.  While walking, we saw tons of dogs and even a horse. Tucker said, "Neigh! Neigh!" When he saw it. Phew, he is no longer calling a horse a "moo." We had a nice lunch and I had the BEST chai tea latte I have ever had.  It wasn't so sweet like they are back home.  Tucker even liked it!

After lunch, we played a bit more in another playground and then headed back to the bus. While waiting, Cooper called me over and said, "Mom, I discovered a new bird!"  That is always a goal for us when we are out- to find a bird we have not yet seen.  So he walked me over to where the bird was standing and said. "See, Mom, it is a golden pigeon." That's my boy!

The  Golden Pigeon

*A hectare is a 10,000 square meters or 107,637 square feet.  An acre is approximately 4,840 square yards or 43,560 square feet. If you work out the calculations, you will find that there are 2.471 acres in 1 hectare.

Centennial Park

We ventured to Centennial Park yesterday.  Centennial Parks is actually comprised three parks, but we were only in Centennial Park yesterday.  Does that make any sense? Anyway, it is a HUGE system of parks (about 360 hectacres*) filled with gorgeous trees and plants, ponds, playgrounds, athletic field, horseback riding trails, bike trails and more.  We spent a good part of our time there at a great playground.  The playground had a sand pit (also known as a sandbox) which made Cooper super happy. Because Doug was with us, Cooper got to swing and swing and swing- something he does not get to do when it is just me and the boys.  Tucker and I explored every piece of equipment while Doug pushed Coop on the swing.

After playing, we walked to the eating area - probably a ten minute walk with the little ones.  While walking, we saw tons of dogs and even a horse. Tucker said, "Neigh! Neigh!" When he saw it. Phew, he is no longer calling a horse a "moo." We had a nice lunch and I had the BEST chai tea latte I have ever had.  It wasn't so sweet like they are back home.  Tucker even liked it!

After lunch, we played a bit more in another playground and then headed back to the bus. While waiting, Cooper called me over and said, "Mom, I discovered a new bird!"  That is always a goal for us when we are out- to find a bird we have not yet seen.  So he walked me over to where the bird was standing and said. "See, Mom, it is a golden pigeon." That's my boy!

The  Golden Pigeon

*A hectare is a 10,000 square meters or 107,637 square feet.  An acre is approximately 4,840 square yards or 43,560 square feet. If you work out the calculations, you will find that there are 2.471 acres in 1 hectare.

A Morning Walk and Rainbow Lorikeets

Moon, moon, moon,

Shining bright.

Moon, moon, moon,

My night light.

Moon, moon, moon,

I can see.

Moon, moon, moon,

You're taking care of me.

(Laurie Berkner)

Tucker loves the moon. He looks for it all day long and when he cannot find it he gets a sad look on his face, puts his hands in the air, shrugs his shoulders and says, "Moon?"  We sing the song (above) every night before he goes to bed and when he wants to hear it he says, "Moon, Moon." 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Tucker has been getting up very early these days. Since it is the weekend and Doug is home, Tuck and I have been going out for a morning walk and enjoying some time together.  He is such a happy little boy. He talks almost as much as Cooper (can you believe it?) just without so many words. :)

It was a particularly beautiful morning this morning.  The skies were blue with tons of fluffy, white clouds scattered about. The temperature was just perfect for being outside- not too hot and not too cold. We walked (well, I walked and he rode) over to Darling Harbour. I felt a need to be by the water this morning.  The city was pretty quiet at that hour. The only people out were those doing the walk of shame (hee) and some homeless people.  The streets were littered with rubbish from people out and about last night.  That bothered me, so I concentrated on the sky and the beauty of the water that lay ahead. As we approached the harbour, Tucker got so excited. "Birds! Birds!"  He kept saying over and over. There were a ton of the Australian Ibises flying around and making a terrible ruckus.  Not sure what was going on, maybe they were enjoying the peace of the morning too and having their say!  It is amazing to see such a large and awkward looking bird fly so gracefully and land on a limb of a palm tree with out toppling over. I had to stop and watch that a while.

Darling Harbour at 8 at 7:30 am...

Our first stop on our walk was Starbucks. Tucker walked right in and greeted everyone with an enthusiastic, "Hi!" Several of the employees did a double take when they realised that that little peanut (Tucker) greeted them with such confidence and poise! We sat down and I had some tea and Tucker had a cinnamon roll- a favourite of the boys. We laughed a lot while we sat there.  He is such a character!  He danced to the music, played "Peek-a-boo" with the customers and even grabbed a wipe and did some cleaning.  We then walked around the harbour a bit enjoying the area without the usual crowds of tourists.  

As we were walking home, I heard a bird singing. It was not a sound I had heard since I'd been here so I knew it was not one of the usual suspects. I spent a lot of time looking and listening and then I saw them-- the Rainbow Lorikeets! I have been looking high and low for them wondering just where they could be found. Well, there were! Probably 6-8 of them. They have a beautiful song- very different than the Ibis, Pigeon, Magpie and Noisy Miners that we have become so familiar with.  We watched them for quite some time. They are very hard to photograph since they prefer to be high up in the trees. Thank goodness for my super-duper zoom lens! I was able to snap a few pictures.  Gorgeous birds!

A Morning Walk and Rainbow Lorikeets

Moon, moon, moon,

Shining bright.

Moon, moon, moon,

My night light.

Moon, moon, moon,

I can see.

Moon, moon, moon,

You're taking care of me.

(Laurie Berkner)

Tucker loves the moon. He looks for it all day long and when he cannot find it he gets a sad look on his face, puts his hands in the air, shrugs his shoulders and says, "Moon?"  We sing the song (above) every night before he goes to bed and when he wants to hear it he says, "Moon, Moon." 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Tucker has been getting up very early these days. Since it is the weekend and Doug is home, Tuck and I have been going out for a morning walk and enjoying some time together.  He is such a happy little boy. He talks almost as much as Cooper (can you believe it?) just without so many words. :)

It was a particularly beautiful morning this morning.  The skies were blue with tons of fluffy, white clouds scattered about. The temperature was just perfect for being outside- not too hot and not too cold. We walked (well, I walked and he rode) over to Darling Harbour. I felt a need to be by the water this morning.  The city was pretty quiet at that hour. The only people out were those doing the walk of shame (hee) and some homeless people.  The streets were littered with rubbish from people out and about last night.  That bothered me, so I concentrated on the sky and the beauty of the water that lay ahead. As we approached the harbour, Tucker got so excited. "Birds! Birds!"  He kept saying over and over. There were a ton of the Australian Ibises flying around and making a terrible ruckus.  Not sure what was going on, maybe they were enjoying the peace of the morning too and having their say!  It is amazing to see such a large and awkward looking bird fly so gracefully and land on a limb of a palm tree with out toppling over. I had to stop and watch that a while.

Darling Harbour at 8 at 7:30 am...

Our first stop on our walk was Starbucks. Tucker walked right in and greeted everyone with an enthusiastic, "Hi!" Several of the employees did a double take when they realised that that little peanut (Tucker) greeted them with such confidence and poise! We sat down and I had some tea and Tucker had a cinnamon roll- a favourite of the boys. We laughed a lot while we sat there.  He is such a character!  He danced to the music, played "Peek-a-boo" with the customers and even grabbed a wipe and did some cleaning.  We then walked around the harbour a bit enjoying the area without the usual crowds of tourists.  

As we were walking home, I heard a bird singing. It was not a sound I had heard since I'd been here so I knew it was not one of the usual suspects. I spent a lot of time looking and listening and then I saw them-- the Rainbow Lorikeets! I have been looking high and low for them wondering just where they could be found. Well, there were! Probably 6-8 of them. They have a beautiful song- very different than the Ibis, Pigeon, Magpie and Noisy Miners that we have become so familiar with.  We watched them for quite some time. They are very hard to photograph since they prefer to be high up in the trees. Thank goodness for my super-duper zoom lens! I was able to snap a few pictures.  Gorgeous birds!

Music, Bondi Iceberg Club and More about Preschool

Just a few pic of the boys from music class this week.  Tucker danced most of the time. I got a great video, but cannot upload it to my blog for some reason. Bummer.  Coop keeps asking, "When are we going to go sing with Ruth (the teacher) again?" Love that enthusiasm!

We saw this fireboat out our window this week.  It was so cool to watch it shoot out water! Of course, I did not get my camera out quick enough to capture that....

On Friday morning, Doug stayed with Cooper while Tucker and I took the bus to Bondi (where the beach is) to buy some dog food (that is the only place it is sold).  We waited at the bus stop for quite some time in rain, but it was so much fun watching Tucker get all excited each time a bus stopped and then get really mad that it wasn't our bus.  He says bus like "busssssssth" and his little tongue sticks out between his top and bottom teeth.  He says "ice" and "mouse" the same way.  These are the little things that are so endearing at this age and it is so sad when they stop doing them.

Anyway, we finally made it to Bondi, grabbed our dog food and then headed back to the bus stop. We stopped to look at the ocean for a bit.  The waves were quite big and there were tons of surfers surfing.  We walked a bit and decided to get a closer look at the Bondi Iceberg Club. I know I mentioned the club in an earlier post, but this time we got to see it close-up and on a day when the waves doing their thing!  You can see in the photos that the waves crash over the side of and into the pool. There were a bunch of people swimming laps.  I think I would get a little seasick swimming laps in that kind of turbulent water! It really is a beautiful sight. I could have watched it for hours, but Tucker had other plans....

Next week we look at a government or as we call it a public preschool. The school is currently full (imagine that), but we are going to look at it anyway and talk with the principal about schooling for 2012. For those of you who are dying to know- The school year begins in February here.  In order to enter Kindergarten,  a child must be 5 years old by July 31 of the year prior.  So,  Coop will be 5 in November, which means he is too young to start Kindergarten in 2012, but will instead begin in February of 2013.  That means another year of preschool. Not so different than what he would be doing at home, only if we were home we would be back at our beloved OTCP... Anyway, we are going to visit on Tuesday to see their preschool program for next school year. The principal has gone out of his way to help us and I am really looking forward to meeting him and seeing the school. I love the name of the school, too -- Plunkett Street Public School!  How fun is it to say that name? Sounds like the name of a school in a Pippi Longstocking book!

Let's see, well, we made another trip to the vet today. Dear little Tofie has another bladder infection and an ear infection as well.  Coop and I took her to see the docs there (Doug was with Tucker).  Another good experience with the staff and we are hoping for a speedy recovery for the wee one.

Tucker has decided that waking up at 5 am is a good idea so I am plum-tuckered out (hee).  I am hoping he will sleep in a bit tomorrow to give this mom a break! Sweet dreams all!