Last year, we gave you some tips to promote your kids’ language development while having fun with the whole family.
Actions speak louder than words. So, this year, we’re keen to practice what we preach.
We’ve instituted family fun days. Every week or two – starting today – we’re going to publish a mini-article summarising where we (me, my wife and our two kids under 10) went and what we discussed. We’re aiming for free or cheap activities in Sydney that you can get to by public transport.
Where:
White Rabbit Gallery, Chippendale
Cost:
Free.
What is it:
“One of the world’s largest and most significant collections of contemporary Chinese art. Founded by Kerr and Judith Neilson, it focuses on works produced after 2000.”
Why did we go:
Art galleries are wonderful places for families to chat about what they see, like and don’t like. The more unusual the artwork, the better! Ask your kids to describe what they can see, smell, hear and how it makes them feel.
What we saw and chatted about:
European and Chinese gods and goddesses stuck together. Shattered shards of glass with UV lighting. Paints and dyes. Smart lighting – stomping on interactive computer graphics. Green laser beam cages: could we step over and around the lights without touching them? Plant warriors, heartbeats, deer herds, some with stag horns, and disembodied, marching legs. Children with disabilities looked up to and respected as people first. Garish red neon, upside down poetry. Lift etiquette (let people out first!). The dangers of smoking – think of your voicebox! The smell of plaster pigeons. Bruce Lee outfits and power poses. Photographing everything you buy to make montage art works. Whirling circles with fuzzy edges made out of ticket stubs. 1980s computer games, The Breakfast Club, and table tennis (free at the nearby Central Park). Community gardens. Different noodle types.
Link with directions:
Related articles:
- Defrazzle and reconnect: tips for families to talk to each other to stimulate language development
- Defrazzling: Family Project Time: The Local Council Pick-Up
- Defrazzle: Convene on the Green
- Defrazzle: Stuck in a rut? Do something random!
- Speech pathology homework doesn’t have to be boring
Banter Speech & LanguageBanter Speech & Language is owned and managed by David Kinnane, a Hanen- and LSVT LOUD-certified speech-language pathologist with post-graduate training in the Spalding Method for literacy, the Lidcombe and Camperdown Programs for stuttering, and Voicecraft for voice disorders. David is also a Certified PESL Instructor for accent modification.
David holds a Master of Speech Language Pathology from the University of Sydney, where he was a Dean’s Scholar. David is a Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP).
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