13th October is a big deal - it's my birthdayThis is the first birthday with Freddie by my side! It was an absolute cracker. Sarah, Freddie and I went to the park early in the morning for coffee, cinnamon scrolls and dog watching...Freddie loves dogs so this was a special start. Then it was off to the zoo. This was Freddie's first visit. I was kindly given a years membership from the parents of Room 17 so I am sure it wont be the last. We visited the penguins, saw some snakes and said hello to lots of African animals like Elephants, Giraffes and Rhinos.
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After 6 huge weeks with Freddie. I feel like I am finally getting the hang of being a stay at home dad. Here are 6 things I have learnt so far! 1. Make sure you put him on tummy a lot!2. Try lots of different foods with him    3. Make sure you read with him4. Take some time in the pool
5. Give him lots of opportunity to play6. babies love bouncingFreddie and I journeyed around the northern suburbs yesterday to pick up the restaurant vouchers and give out the thank you cards and gifts to everyone who donated or was involved in the restaurant experience!
It is with a sad feeling in my stomach that I say goodbye to Woodlands and start a new whirlwind adventure with Freddie. Lots of challenges and experiences ahead and I can't wait to share them all with you. For now I want to thank all the students and parents from Room 17 for their support in me taking this leave. I will be back as much as I can to say hey and share some Freddie cuddles.
Starting my countdown to leaving this class...it is a bittersweet feeling. On the one hand I know I will be have the best time with Freddie. Exploring new things, discovering new skills and taking time to raise my son as best as I can. On the other hand, leaving a room full of keen, happy and exciteable students is tough. Room 17 have voted to not put a countdown up in the classroom BUT I feel this is a great place to keep the story going. When I leave, this will also be a place I update you all on my goings on. Freddie is now 5 months and he is learning so much.like...don't eat the 5 month card - it tastes baddddd He is learning to eat other things!His first solid food...pureed sweet potato and beef mince. NOM
The Easter Holidays are a chance for everyone to reset and enjoy some time with family and friends. I thought I would do a Freddie holiday update and hope to hear from all of Room 17 about what they have been up to.
What have you lot been up to?
With only 24 hours until I am saying hello to you all in person, i wanted to check in with some of the fortnight's updates. My wife and Freddie got home on the Saturday before last and since then it has been a constant cycle of sleep, feed, change that nappy and back to sleep.
The routine is monotonous, it has been tiring and tough and a little disgusting but through all of the tasks, I have been completely addicted to seeing my son. He is an absolute gem of a human. SERIOUSLY HE IS AMAZING.
It is a bitter sweet feeling, I can't wait to get back and start smashing Year 5 with you but equally I will miss the days spent with him. It is going to be tough to balance the two but I hope we can overcome the challenge together.
See you tomorrow.
The day was a long one, Sarah (my wife) and I went to the hospital at about 10am and she started to try and have our baby at the hospital. In the end, we managed to meet our son at 6.50pm after a small operation to help him arrive into the world.
Freddie is doing really well but is still at the hospital as Sarah needs to recover from the operation. It is a strange feeling because I couldn't stay with them both and will go to hospital again tomorrow morning (Friday) to see them.
I can't wait for you all to meet him and I know he would love to see any drawings or cards you would like to create for him. (Maybe I will plan some time next week for you to create something if you all would like). I will keep posting on here with some updates and FEEL FREE to comment appropriately with your thoughts and feelings!
I am here at the World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) so for my last post...I need to talk about themThe games have been held and organised every two years, this is the 18th games so can you work out what year they started? Answer at the bottom of this post. The USA was the first country to suggest the idea, they had a Police Olympics dating back to the 1960s. Over the years the idea to increase the participating countries evolved into what is now known as the World Police and Fire Games. They have been held across the continents:
Even Australia has hosted on two occasions. This is the first time it has been held in Asia and Chengdu residents seem pretty happy to be involved.  The games, is the second biggest international sporting event on the planet, second only to the Olympics. Every event garners over 10,000 athletes, competing in a range of individual and team sports.
This is my final blog post! You can check out the WPFG website and I'll be back blogging and travelling soon. See you later alligators.
As most of you know. I have two passions in my life. One is educating the young minds of tomorrow as a primary school teacher. The other is being an MC, a compere, a host! Call it what you want, my second love is entertaining a crowd on the microphone. This trip to Chengdu has allowed me to craft my hosting game even more as I attempt to entertain people from across the world and engage an audience that potentially doesn't understand what I am saying. Each evening I have worked alongside a range of hosts from across China to bring games and events to the crowds of athletes who have finished their sports for the day and want to spend their Chendgu nights being entertained. The night starts around 6.30pm when I get given a heap of prizes to award (merchandise, tickets, food and drink). It is my job to create and play games to find winners for these prizes. So far my activities have ranged from skilled tasks to group games, including...
Once all prizes are given out and the seating area is appropriately filled, it is time for the party to start. At 7.30, the organisers have planned lots of different performances and shows for the stage. So far I have seen:
Through all of these performances it has been a real thrill to MC the evenings alongside Chengdu residents, most of whom work for the local TV network. I am the English translator for their Chinese interjections (As I don't speak Chinese I just make my own up as we go along). This has been a huge experience for my resume and I hope it paves the way for more international opportunities in the future. The most important lesson I have learnt is, the best way to overcome a language barrier and the only way to teach is by demonstrations and modelling!  |
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