Virtual Vacation: Destination Australia - Folktale

The Origin of Narran Lake

Old Baiamee said to his two wives, Birranulu and Kunnanbeili, " I have stuck a white feather between the legs of a bee and i am going to follow it so that i may get some honey. While i go for the honey, go you two out and get frogs and yams, then meet me at Coorigil Springs where we will camp, for the water is sweet and clear there."

The wives took their net bags and yam sticks and went out as they were told. When they collected all the yams and frogs they could carry, they headed to Coorigil Springs. They were tired when they arrived and seeing the sweet, cool water they longed to swim. They built a small shade and there they left their net bags and yam sticks with the food they had found. When the camp was ready for the coming of Old Baiamee, Biranulu and Kunnanbeili removed their belts and placed them near the shade. Then went swimming in the Springs. And while they were enjoying the cool water they where swallowed whole by two Kurrias - crocodiles. After they ate the girls the dove under the water and into a narrow pass to the Narran River, they took all the water from the springs with them.

Old Baiamee still making his way to the bee's hive, followed the bee to a patch of Salt flowers where it hid. "Something terrible has happened to my wives, for the bee would not hide otherwise. I must make my way to Coorigil Springs." When he arrived he saw the shade his two wives had made along with the net bags and yam sticks, but he did not see the wives. He found their belts and called after them. When there was no answer he went to the edge of the spring and saw the tails of the Kurrias going through the narrow pass. "This is the work of the Kurrias, They have taken my wives through the narrow pass to the Narran River. Well do i know the the passage and will go there at once."

Arming himself with spears and woggaras, Old Baiamee made his pursuit. Soon he reached the deep hole that joined the Coorigil springs and the Narran River. There he saw the the hole was dry and decided to head to the river to get in front of the crocodiles. Swiftly Old Baiamee sped through short cut after short cut until at last he reached the end of the Narran. He hid behind a dheal tree and waited for the Kurrias to come into sight. As the kurrias came near they separated. Quickly Old Baiamee hurled spears one after another wounding both Kurrias. They wiggled and writhed in pain and lashed their tails about making great big hollows in the ground. The water that which was stopped up by the kurrias soon filled the hollows. Fearing they would get away he pulled them from the water by the spears and killed them with his woggaras.

Baiamee cut open the kurrias and removed his wives bodies, they were covered in slime and very still. He thought they were dead. Soon a swarm of ants came and removed the slime from their bodies. The sting of the ants woke the girls and they rose to their feet. Baiamee came to them and explained how he had saved them from the Kurrias. And warned them about swimming in holes where Kurrias hunt. The bade them look at the water now that killed the area. "Soon will the black swans find their way here, the pelicans and the ducks. where the dry land and stones once were, in the future there will be wanter and waterfowl. From now on, when the Narran River flows it will run into this hole and make a big lake in this place."

And what Baiamee said has come to pass as the Narran Lake proves, with its large sheet of water spreading for miles the home of thousands of wildfowl.

Virtual Vacation: Australia

Australia is the land down under. The only country that is also a continent has a rich, vibrant, history full of twists turns and intrigue. Take this virtual Vacation and learn all about Aboriginal cultural, it's original settlement by British criminals and the long influx of immigrants that make Australia one of the most diverse countries in the world. And multiculturalism isn't the only diversity in Australia, the land has everything from deserts to Rain Forests.

Come taste the fair, play the games and experience: AUSTRALIA!

Language & Culture

Music & Dance

Recipes

Crafts

Games & Activities

Folktale

Deciding on Discipline

One of the toughest jobs a parent has is as disciplinarian. It's easy to get swept up in emotion and add stressed, over worked, and over tired to the mix and you'll find yourself yelling and telling your kids to go to their rooms and not to come out 'til they're 30! Here are a few tips on how to deal with disciplining your kids.

This is not a referendum on spanking and having a discussion on how to discipline your child doesn't have to be a to spank or not to spank talk. What techniques you use, are up to you as parents. But the key to a good discipline is consistency.

• First develop a punishment scale. Not every crime deserves the same punishment. So, don't give small missteps the same consequence as major ones. If you do, there is nothing to keep your child from acting out in a big way; and you'll forever need to think of bigger and badder punishments for them.
• Avoid open-ended punishment. Make sure the consequence has an specific end time. Whether that's sitting in time out for 5 minutes or no TV for a week, having a set ending for punishments makes disciplining easier for you and the child. This helps keep infractions separate and you can be sure you are properly doling out punishment. It also keeps your child from feeling stuck in an endless cycle, where they need to be perfect. For example if you've taken away the TV for a week and your child misbehaves on the next to the last day, instead of adding another week of no TV, trying taking away phone or internet privileges. This way they feel the immediate sting of losing another privilege, in two days they get back the TV but still have to wait another 4 days for the phone.
• Breathe. Take some time before doling out the sentence. In the heat of the moment we may not realize what is actually going on. Take a moment, you may remember that you took the frame off the shelf while cleaning and were distracted by a phone call when you told the kids to go play in the den -- Or that your son only hit his sister after being tormented about his new braces for an hour. Do the kids still need to be disciplined yes, but not to the same degree as if these acts were deliberate or unprovoked.
• Reverse the Strategy. Reward the good behavior with lots of praise and attention. You don't have to bribe them or to shower them with expensive gifts for things like doing homework and cleaning their room. But noticing your kids when they do things right will help keep them from doing things wrong. Try things like letting a avid reader get an extra story at bedtime every day they have their homework done on time and their bed made, or let an outdoorsy kid get ten extra minutes of play just because she asked nicely and didn't whine.
• Stick to it. Don't let your kids out of a punishment just because you're sick of them being in the house, or because you want to go out. This only teaches children that if they make a nuisance of themselves they'll never really have to finish out a sentence. Instead try a "work-release" program, where they can earn time off their punishment by exhibiting not just good behavior, but unselfish behavior. For example, for every hour they help clean the yard, sort recycling, etc., they get back an hour of playtime.
• Don't make family time a punishment. As kids get older time with their friends becomes more and more important, but don't try not to force children to spend time with the family because they acted out in school. The last thing you want is for your kids to hate spending time with you as a family.
• Be a Role Model! Modeling good behavior for your kids is prime. Treat them with respect and they will being to show respect to others, their friends and to you! Kids are smart and they pick up on things very quickly. Soon you will see a positive shift with less and less time and effort spent on correcting bad behavior.

An Afternoon of Summer Fun

With five items that you can find in the dollar store and a hot summer afternoon you can have a world of fun! What you need: A hula hoop, a bouncy ball, a laundry basket, a pack of water balloons, and two beach buckets. Aside from the obvious games, here are a few other games you can play to entertain your little ones!

1) Snowcone Relay: Place the bouncy ball on top of one bucket, set up obstacles -like going around trees, down the kiddie slide, over the laundry basket, hoping through the hula hoop- and have kids take turns going through obstacles and pass the ball from bucket to bucket without using hands.

2)Laundry Basket Ball: toss, bounce, or roll the ball into the laundry basket using the buckets, and the hula hoop as obstacles to make it more difficult. Example, place the basket on its side and place the hula hoop a few feet away with the buckets upside down to form two towers half way between the hoop and the basket. Have your child stand in the hoop and roll the ball between the buckets and into the basket.

3) Target Practice: Place the hula hoop on the ground with a bucket in the center making a target. Standing a few feet away, toss filled water balloons at the target.

4) Dodge Balloons: Place the buckets a few feet away from each other with the laundry basket in the middle and put a bunch of filled water balloons in the laundry basket. Stand next to a bucket, on "Go" race to the basket and grab a balloon, race back to your bucket and toss the balloons into the other bucket, try blocking the other persons balloons from getting into your bucket.

More Water Games to Welcome Summer.

(Photo by Tom Anthony)