Smarv

I didn't know that there are free tennis courts for public in Melbourne.  Recently, cycling around the neighbourhood, I found a free public tennis courts next to a playground.  This is awesome. Here are some of them: Canterbury Gardens, Allambannan Drive, Bayswater North (2 x plex pave multi use courts. Only one of the courts has a net. BBQ, playground and toilets.) Glen Park Reserve, 40 Glen Park Road, Bayswater North (1 court. Playground, shelter, tables, BBQs, water tap, toilets, oval, basketball court, outdoor gym, learners bike track.) Middlefield Reserve, 28-32 Middlefield Road Blackburn North  (1 asphalt court. Next to small play ground and half basketball court.) Boronia Radio Controlled Car Club Track, Cnr Dorset Road and Park Crescent, Boronia (1 court which is not available after 6pm on Wednesday evenings) Koonung Park, 30-34 Ferneaux Grove, Bulleen (there are 3 courts - 2 x hard court, 1 x synthetic grass. Available during daylight hours. The floo...

Someone shared with me today about Blake Education which offers over a hundred of books free to download. http://www.blake.com.au/pindex.asp?Page=5 http://www.blake.com.au/pindex.asp?Page=6 Check it out.  Kids will hate it, but parents love it.  :)

During this COVID-19 isolation period, I feel that the way of our lifestyle advances to the virtual world dramatically.  The creativity is blooming.  Self-learning is at all time high. At this point of time, we got to enjoy the time we have with our family.  We finally have an abundant of time to do things together.  For me, I got a chance to learn a new way to make a special cheesecake with my daughter. Thanks to Molly's detailed instructions .  This Basque Cheesecake is exceptional easy to make and outstandingly  delicious.  If you have a chance, try it out.

No outings during the Covid-19 isolation. This is the difficult time for everyone.  My kid is getting bored and a friend of mine shared this with me.  This might help out a lot. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.

Website 1:   https://www.nap.edu.au/ online-assessment/public- demonstration-site This site contains lots of sample exams for each year and each subject.  It can help you practice taking the online exam. Website 2:  https://www.acara.edu.au/ assessment/naplan/past-naplan- papers/naplan-2012-2016-test- papers This site provides the NAPLAN test papers from 2008 ~ 2016.  There is no answer supplied here, but if you like to validate answers, you can visit this site:  https: //www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/p-10/ naplan/test-reporting- analysis/state-reports   The state report provides the analysis of each question with the correct answer.  Website 3:  https://www.qcaa.qld.edu. au/p-10/naplan/test- preparation This site provides the practice tests for each subject and each year.  It is good for doing some practices. Website 4:  http://www.smeebu.com This site provides the practice to do online tests for each subject and each ye...

Find your local school Use  findmyschool.vic.gov.au  to search for your local government school. This is the official and most up to date school zones map. Visit  Catholic Education Melbourne  and  Independent Schools Victoria  to find Catholic and independent schools.

Dive into an adventure at one of our four SEA LIFE Aquariums, discover Australia’s big Aussie 5 animals at WILD LIFE, take selfies at Madame Tussauds Sydney, enjoy breathtaking views from Sydney Tower Eye, play and learn at LEGOLAND ®  Discovery Centre PLUS much more! Annual Pass $65 per person.

Received this great article in the email.  Love to share it here. People often tell us that their biggest worry is what will happen to their children and their grand-children when they are gone. It is one thing to hand on a substantial estate – generally built through years of hard work, discipline and planning. It is another to be confident that our children and grand-children will themselves have the discipline and the emotional resilience to make the most of the opportunities that they are presented. Family counselling expert, Bernie Bolger, has drawn on her clinical experience, together with cutting edge psychological research, to compile a list of the 8 mistakes parents make and the key strategies they can use to grow resilient, passionate kids who have the discipline themselves to achieve and maintain financial success. Growing resilient, passionate kids in affluence. In a world of material abundance, we all as parents are doing our best to raise self-disciplined, ap...

The 'Kids Fun Run with Thomas' is an annual fundraising event organised by the Rotary Club of Emerald and District Inc. This year's event will be held on Sunday 26th of November, 2017 at Puffing Billy Railway Station Gembrook and raise much-needed funds for Insight - Education Centre for the Blind and Vision Impaired, Berwick. All children aged 3 to 12 years are invited to take part in the exciting fun run alongside Thomas the Tank Engine and Puffing Billy! All participating children will receive a show bag and certificate! In addition to the exhilarating fun run, children can enjoy Thomas train rides from Puffing Billy Railway Station Gembrook, join a Thomas-themed treasure hunt, have fun on rides and attractions, and meet Lizzy's Lizards and new furry friends at the animal farm. There will also be market stalls, roving entertainers, plus lots of yummy food! Registration is $20 per child (includes show bag, participation certificate and a bottle of water) a...

October 27 @ 6:00 pm - October 29 @ 8:00 pm Entry by donation The Village Festival is part carnival, part village fair and part arts festival. Enter through the impressive façade and discover an alternative utopian world chock-full of of music, theatre, visual art, installations, puppetry, story-telling, cooking, workshops and a whole lot more. This year The Village has a special focus on works by young, emerging and experimental artists. Students from Fitzroy High School and Alice Miller School in Macedon lead Maze of Motions, a creative collaboration looking at the depth and complexity of our emotions. The festival also features a preview performance of The Garden of Sorrows: Snuff Puppets’ giant puppet adaptation of the illustrated book of fables by John Hughes and Marco Luccio in which iconic Australian animals take on human qualities. The Main Stage music program will feature the best of Melbourne’s emerging and established musos including Masco Sound System, The Number Ni...

The Rotary Eltham Festival is being held on Saturday 11th November and Sunday 12th November 2017 around Eltham, including the Alistair Knox Park and Eltham Central Park Oval and you can find out more about the festival on the  Rotary Eltham Festival website . The  Eltham Festival Fireworks.  Launching at 9pm on Saturday, the night sky will become centre stage with a spectacular explosion of colour.

Halloween 2017 at the Mooroolbark Miniature Railway is being held on Tuesday 31st October 2017 from 4.30pm to 8.30pm at the Kiloran Reserve, Hawthory Road, Mooroolbark.  The Miniature trains are great fun for people of all ages. Tickets to ride are priced at $2.50 each and payment is CASH ONLY.

To protect our family, watch out for the recalls on the products that we purchased. https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recalls/browse-all-recalls?source=recalls

Selling chocolate for fundraising again?  It does not build community, creativity, a connection to nature, a love of reading, or benefit for our health.  The only thing good about chocolate selling is encourage kids to talk in public and to learn money matter, but only if kids did sell them.  Not just eat them all. Here are some fundraising ideas to do: Grow The Seed fundraising.yates.com.au Grow herb, veggie, flower to sell. Do The Read scholastic.com.au Earn free books for the library School Family Cookbook createacookbook.com.au This one has nothing to do with kids.  Parents will be the one to organise it.  With the advertising sponsors, the risk is low.   It's all about arts. www.crazycamel.com.au Turning kids art works into calendars, towels, notepads, etc. Look for professionals?

10am to 3pm. Celebrating and giving thanks to the good earth, our farmers and the cycle of the seasons. Entry is $5 and kids are free – all proceeds go towards keeping CERES awesome. Cnr Roberts & Stewart Sts, Brunswick East, VIC 3057 Australia Visit here for details.

The Saturday festivities begin with a  10am Street Parade  down Brice Ave. Classic cars, schools, marching bands, community groups, fire engines and more will march from Station Street to the the festival at Red Earth Park. Upon arrival the festival will be opened at the main stage, with a Welcome to Country by Aunty Dot and the parade costume competition winners announced by Tony Smith MP, before Melba College Band fill the air with their big band sounds.

The SkyHigh maze is not part of the free activities and costs $4 per child and $6 per adult. All the activities below are free of charge but the gate fee of $6 per car still applies. Monday 3rd April - Nine hole Mini Golf 11am to 5pm - Ruccis Circus workshop with juggling, hula-hoop, devil sticks and more 3pm - 5pm - Igor the Giant’s Treasure Hunt from 11am to 5pm - Stilt walkers from 2pm - 4pm - Bouncy Castle from 11am - 4pm

Discover thousands of valuable up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers for many of the best restaurants, cafés, arts, attractions, hotels, travel, shopping and much more – choose your way with the following: The traditional  Entertainment ™  Book Membership  that comes with the Gold Card and Vouchers. The  Entertainment ™  Digital Membership  that puts the value of the Entertainment ™  Book into your smartphone! To order your Book or your Digital Membership securely online visit: www.entbook.com.au/1848q68

16–26 JAN 17, 10AM–3PM Daily Free Activities There are eleven days of free artist-led workshops and spectacular performances for kids. Presented across both sites, contemporary artists, designers and creative groups will lead a wide range of activities at NGV International and NGV Australia. Daily program is available for download .

The Portarlington Mussel Festival is held from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM on the second Saturday in January every year in the picturesque village of Portarlington on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria. The festival will be on Saturday 14th January 2017. Since its inception in 2007, the festival has grown year on year and now attracts around 30,000 people. Initially established to promote the Portarlington Mussel Industry, the festival now boasts a full day of activities including: Live entertainment Kids activities Cooking demonstrations Art & Photo exhibitions Classic car displays Food & Wine producers Products to try and buy! Plus plenty of mussels!!!! Over 10 ton of mussels were sold on the day and all mussel sellers were kept extremely busy. With 100 food and drink stalls, market stalls,  great local musicians playing across five stages, roving entertainers for the kids, plus art shows, cooking demonstrations and local beer and wine tastings, it was a great da...