Boat Races
“First the worst, second the best, third the ugly princess….”
My ears ring to the constant cries of “It’s Not Fair!” and there is already a bit of competitiveness between the three big kids in our family. Who is the best at this, who should get more of that, who should go first at this, who came last at that. The addition of this lovely little rhyme that recently came home from school did not improve the situation. So I’ve been making a conscious effort to try and realign our ideas on competition and encourage the positives of joining in, doing your best and having fun, rather than worrying about who is first, second, or worse, ugly!
When the sun finally came out after days of rain I asked the big kids if they’d like to make boats to race down the raging river of our drive way. They were very keen!
There was much discussion about how to make a boat that would float the best and go the fastest. Of course the girls thought that their boats would win, because they were much better than their brother at making boats. Muski was unperturbed, he went for a boat with a square sail and high sides, ignoring his sisters comments that it would surely ‘drown’.
There was a lot of shouting as we ran along side the little boats zooming down the side of the drive way. Zoe’s boat tipped over and needed a new sail, and Muski’s boat was slow but certainly not ‘drowning’. Izzy’s boat was in the lead, way out in front, flying along. Zoe’s boat (helped by a little bit of ‘I need to make up time because of my broken sail’ type cheating) was beginning to catch up, and Muki’s boat lost it’s mast and sail completely, but still soldiered on.
Izzy started celebrating her win way before her boat was even close to the gate, but had to eat her words when it hit a snag and went under completely. Zoe just couldn’t keep her cheating fingers away from her boat and ended up capsizing it with her efforts. Muski’s boat sailed past them both, down a treacherous waterfall, and on to cross the finish line first with all of us cheering it on!
As we walked back up the drive way to start all over again Izzy said…
“That was so much fun…. even if I didn’t win. It doesn’t matter about winning when you are having fun.”
And with that the ‘Ugly Princess’ was gone… at least for a little while.
This activity was inspired by a trip to the movies to see Tangled in 3D. It was such a great movie and is now one of our all time favourites.
What’s your favourite Disney movie?
Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue – I believe in Fairies and this reminded me of my dream to see a real fairy.
Fantasia is THE movie to watch in our house!
My (nearly) 4 month old LOVES it!
The music, the animation, it keeps her entertained for so long I can even have a shower, make breakfast AND enjoy a nice HOT cup of tea while she sits there captivated!
Bolt – You have to love the delusional Bolt on his journey to reality, but learning that when you love someone, you can do anything
Finding Nemo, we all adore this movie, we could relate all the characters to our eccentric family members, Nanna got Dory and luckily she cant remember why she should be offended LOL
“Sleeping Beauty”….it steals my heart as a classic, with the dragons, the orginal villain (who still kicks the butt of all other villains!), magical spells, funny moments, touching songs, and the hope of true love. But you know what REALLY puts it over the top? The fairies!.
Lady and the Tramp, was my most lovely Disney movie. Just loved the looks on the dogs faces.
Without a doubt Toy Story there are so many adult jokes in it and life of a toy is fascinating
(B)eing the first movie I saw on the big screen,
(A)ll I remember is his mother dying and I wanted to scream!
(M)y Dad came to my rescue with a big hug,
(B)etter thanks, snug as a bug,
(I) loved Thumper the rabbit the most!
Beauty and the Beast, because I am still in love with Belle’s yellow dress and its a tale as old as time, classic and still one of the best!
My wife and I were raised on Disney films, and we’re raising five children on them. My favourite? Whichever my kids are about to watch for the first time.
Bambi’s beauty lasts generations,
The first movie to make me cry.
Now it’s teaching my niece compassion,
With Little April Showers still lining the sky.
Toy Story – because it never failed to put my toddlers to sleep and we all know how much we enjoy that quiet afternoon time!
Finding nemo, who can resist a naive little goldfish.
Bambi – I just love animals and it just fed that passion, although I couldn’t stop crying when his mother died. Now I’m finally following that passion and trying to become a vet even though I’m a mature aged student
Emperor’s New Groove!!! Kronk is my hero!
The Princess and the Frog gets my vote. It encourages kids to never give up on their dreams and that you should never judge someone by their appearance. A person’s actions towards others will give you a better glimpse of their soul.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST rings my “BELLE” because the heroine knows that the real beauty of a person is found not on the face, but in the heart!!!!
favourite disney movie is Hannah Montana movie as my girls have seen it so many times and i never get bored of it playing
Mine and my daughter’s is The Lion King ,we love Simba even though he did grow up ..he still is cute :)
The slinky dog in Toy Story leaves us ‘barking mad with excitement’