A Prime Mover

The idea that vivifies teaching ... is that 'Education is a Science of Relations;' by which phrase we mean that children come into the world with a natural [appetite] for, and affinity with, all the material of knowledge;  -Charlotte Mason

The above quote has been on my mind for a while and one of my goals has been to get out at least once a month to explore and do with Sir N. The window of wonder and enjoyment for the simple pleasures of life is a very limited one with children and this too has been driving me to find things to do together. One of my frustrations is that a lot of things are really expensive to experience and we just simply can not afford to do them.

As I pondered the words "Education is a Science of Relations" I realised that there are a lot of people we know that work in a wide variety of fields out there. 

Our friends Mr & Mrs R are an example of this. M*** drives a Prime Mover here in Australia and part of his portfolio is that he drives interstate.  He has been driving prime movers for over thirty years and has some very interresting stories to tell. 
A few months ago he invited Sir N to see his prime mover with it's trailers and then yesterday we went over for lunch and M*** had brought his prime mover home for the weekend (without it's trailers) and Sir N was itching to take a second look.  M*** graciously opened her up and let Sir N climb in and explore.

Here is a photo story of Sir N's first encounter with M***'s truck and yesterdays explorations.  M*** generously and patiently answered all of our questions and helped us understand a little more about these huge trucks that keep our country moving along.  Thank you so much M*** and K**** we really enjoyed our visit yesterday.

A few things we found interresting:

• Each tyre costs around AU $ 300
• Prime Movers have Federal Interstate number plates
• Interstate drivers have interstate truck licences.
• The mud gaurds are over 1 metre high.
• A prime mover weighs over 7 ton.
• There are gauges for brakes, fuel, temperature for each axle, normal temperature, speed etc
• There is a high demand for good drivers in Australia
• Drivers can park their trailers for free at any truck stop.
• Most truck companies do not allow drivers to have any passengers.
• There is a bed for the driver behind his seat.
• Truck drivers need to do a special course and get a special licence to be able to drive longer than a standard days driving. On this course they learn to recognise their signs of fatigue.
• Drivers are responsible for tying down their own loads.
• M***'s truck features in the K & S Freighters website.  Wonder if M*** knows ?

Who do you know that has an interresting job and would be willing to show your children the ropes or simply allow your children to explore their particular field ?

Blessings

Some Encouragement.

My mom shared this on her Facebook and it so impacted me I wanted to share it here with you.



For those of you who would like the words:

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully.
Before it blossomed, he examined it. He saw a bud that
would soon blossom. He also saw the thorns, and he
thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant,
burdened with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this
thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was
ready to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul, there is a rose.
The "God-like" qualities planted in us at birth, growing amidst
the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and
see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking
nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to
water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never
realize our potential.

Some don't see the rose within themselves. It takes someone
else to show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person
can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns and find
the rose within others. This is the truest, most innocent, and
gracious characteristic of love - to know another person,
including their faults, recognize the nobility in their soul,
and yet still help another to realize they can overcome their
faults. If we show them the rose, they will conquer the
thorns. Only then will they blossom, and most likely,
blooming thirty, sixty, a hundred-fold, as it is given to them.

Our duty in this world is to help others, by showing them
their roses and not their thorns. It is then that we
achieve the love we should feel for each other. Only then
can we bloom in our own garden.

Author Unknown
The Parable of the Rose

As a mom I have had those moments where I look at the world around me and all I see are the thorns but it has been my friends and family who have helped me to see the roses.

Do you have any special people in your world who help you find the rose within ?

Blessings

A visit to Australia Post Sorting Facility

About 12 years ago my Dad had the priviledge of going to a post sorting facility and told us all about it, because of his interresting storries it is something I have been wanting to do ever since.  Whilest in New Zealand we tried to organise a trip but could not get permission for our group to go on a tour. Two months ago I saw the trip advertised on a homeschool email letter I jumped right at it and reserved a spot for Sir N and myself. 

Unfortunately we could not take photographs on tour but I did manage to take a few outside and of the models of the facility.

Some of what we learned:

• Post that is unusually shaped is still hand sorted today.
• Hand sorters sort mail at a minimum rate of 25 letters a minute.
• Post has a 24 hour turn around in Melbourne.
• There is a substance embedded in stamps that the machine can read and know if the correct amount of postage is attached to a letter.
• The facility works mainly at night.
• They process on average 6 000 000 items per night.
• This rate climbs to 11 000 000 items per night during the Christmas season.
• The facility operates six nights a week.
• The facility operates Sunday night till Friday night.
• Parcel post as a bussiness is growing by 15 % a year.
• Standard personal mail is dropping by approximately 4 % a year.
• Unclaimed mail is kept for a year. 
• After a year unclaimed post is sent to auction and the proceeds are donated to charity.
• Last year this auction collected AU $ 3 000 000 for charity.
• The strangest item posted and delivered was a banana.
• Redirection orders are handeled by the postie on your round.
• Around 20 USB keys are destroyed in each sorting machine each night due to being to thick and posted in a standard envelope.

Here are our photos:

Painting in the reception area

Olde post box at reception door.

We had to wear visitor safety vests.

Facility Model

Australia Post trucks at the depo.

What was Sir N's favourite part ?

• When we saw the letters shooting past on one of the machines.
• Looking at the model of the facility.
• Seeing the man polishing the sensors on the post carrier up near the roof.
• Being allowed to play with the rollers on the table
• I liked seeing the outside where the trucks come to fetch the post.
• I liked the lift which took the boxes of letters up to the roof to go on the conveyer.
• I liked looking at the conveyer up near the roof.
• I liked that they still hand sort today.

 Blessings