Singing teacher Cecilia led us through a few breathing and relaxation exercises first, some of which were very funny – blowing raspberries in a room full of other adults is more entertaining than you might think!

After that we sang some nursery rhymes, an indigenous ballad, spiritual songs and Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” (you probably know the version recorded by James Taylor). A very enjoyable way to spend the morning.

If you missed the show, you can see the works in the virtual exhbition.

This article appeared in The Chronicle on 19 January 2009.

View the virtual exhibition here.

Clicking on the description of an artwork will take you to a separate image of that artwork, and clicking that image will enlarge it. Many thanks to Ann McMahon for the wonderful photographs.

If you need a pdf reader, you can download a free one from Adobe or Foxit.

A lovely occasion!  We’ll scan in the article from The Chronicle soon.

AND AN IDEA OF SOME PREVIOUS SESSIONS FROM TERM 1 …

4 February – INTRODUCTION AND BOLLYWOOD DANCING
After an introduction to the Majura Women’s Group, we step into a year of fun activities with an introduction to Bollywood dancing. Wear comfortable clothes and learn how to groove to the latest Bollywood tracks. All welcome.

11 February – BACKYARD PROJECT – BASKETS
First session with artist Ann McMahon to introduce our basketry art project for the year. Throughout the year we will learn about the art of traditional and modern basket making and work towards a group exhibition. This introductory session will involve thinking about the meaning of baskets and still life drawing. All welcome.

18 February – GRAFITTI AND STENCIL ART
Street art can transform urban landscapes. Come and have a go at learning how to do your own grafitti and stencil art. An artist will work with us to create some large fun images using spraypaint on paper. All welcome.

25 February – BACKYARD PROJECT
Artist Ann McMahon will work with us drawings and developing personal themes for the basketry art project. If you can, bring in a special object – some kind of container – and short piece of text that are meaningful to you. All welcome, it’s not too late to join in.

4 March – CAPOEIRA
Come and experience this fun energising Brazilian art form involving dance, acrobatics, martial arts, music and song. Simon is back with us by popular demand. Wear comfortable clothes. Also have your say about activities for next term.
All welcome, no experience needed.

11 March – BACKYARD PROJECT – BASKETS
This week we will be using recycled fabric, yarns and threads and learning how make coiled baskets. All welcome.

18 March – NATURAL COSMETICS
Learn how to make your own natural cosmetics. A teacher will show us the techniques needed to make simple cosmetics at home, such as moisturiser and lip gloss. You might even get to take a sample home. Newcomers welcome.

25 March – ASIAN COOKING
Have you ever explored the range of ingredients available in Asian grocers? Learn about some of the more interesting and exotic ingredients and how to use them through our cooking demonstration. All welcome.

1 April – CREATIVE STORYTELLING
Come and be inspired about the art of story telling to children. An experienced story teller from the ACT Storytellers Guild will run a creative storytelling session about how to tell wonderful stories to children. All welcome.

8 April – BACKYARD PROJECT – BASKETS
We will continue to learn the art of making coiled baskets from recycled materials, and add a new technique of looping. All welcome

I took away that PET is different in that it is more about building positive relationships with your kids rather than using rewards and punishments to manage behaviour. Building these relationships involves active listening, communicating your needs/feelings as a parent and problem solving. We discussed scenarios like battles over tidying rooms, sibling rivalry and just plain old grumpy moments.

I think one key difference in PET is rather than asking questions, use statements combining feelings and facts to communicate with your kids when they are unhappy. eg ‘looks like your knee really hurts (because you fell off your bike)’ or ‘ You seem frustrated because you want to play with the toy your brother is playing with’.  Easier to think about these responses out of the situation than it can be in the heat of the moment.
PET approach appeals to me on first glance so I was glad to have an overview and some hints about using it. Members were also interested in having more sessions in PET related stuff- so there may be more opportunities next year to hold some related sessions.  I also just found some free resources on the web

- Regan

The launch of our publication “Beyond I’m just a mum” (resulting from our Narrative Therapy Project) took place one ordinary Wednesday morning in our Downer Community Centre where we always meet. We had decided against a flash place in town and in favour of having it “at home” to give participants a real flavour of what we are about and what we tend to do on a Wednesday morning. A bonus was that we had access to our wonderful childcare arrangements next door.

The launch was a lovely ending for this heartfelt project we had been through. The room was filled with beautiful garden flowers, yummy treats, and wonderful people (I think the entire listening team plus most participants were there). The display of our hoops from the Backyard Project added extra colour and showed that we did more than “just” talked about ourselves this year. It felt very homey – quite similar to the actual gatherings of the project we had in this room. It was lovely to see everybody again.

Our dear Sue Hoffmann who had started off the whole project now brought it to a closure. She thanked everybody, outlined the process and described what it had meant for her. Jess followed with a passionate speech about her experience as a participant. [Was there another speech that I have forgotten???] Finally Kerry Tucker provided a moving speech emphasizing the importance of taking time out when having young kids and that people need to be supported in their decision to take this time. The point I remember the strongest is that she said that she would have never gone into politics if she hadn’t had kids and hadn’t spent time at home with them. She said this time actually helped and refined her career. It made her realise what really mattered to her and made her become active about things she was passionate about. She then launched the publication. A lot of happy mingling and chattering followed.

May I just add that I absolutely loved the whole “Beyond, I’m just a mum…” project. I loved to participate, I loved being involved in the editing and layout process, I loved getting to know women from the BWG much more through the process, and I certainly adore our publication, it is so ours and yet what we say in it resonates with so many beyond our circle.

There have been two major things that I have done for myself in 2007 (apart from being at home with two kids and a major house renovation…) – that is this Narrative project and the hoops for the Backyard Project with Julie Ryder. I got so much out of each one. I would like to thank everybody involved for making it all happen. I am so happy to be part of this group.

This article about the launch appeared in The Canberra Times on 6 December 2007: