Below are some talking points and activities to pass the time, all relating to today’s story.

Talking points

Discuss the ideas presented in the story with your family—at home or over video conferencing. Find ways to involve as many people as possible, especially those who you know are isolated by the lock-down.

• Do you enjoy watching families on YouTube? Have you ever watched The Bushman Family? What does it sound like it’s about?
• From looking at the photos in the article, what aspects of living in this family look fun or exciting to you? Does anything look challenging or unpleasant? How does their part of New Zealand look different to yours?
• A lot of people watch YouTube videos about Josh James’ family and wish they could have the same lifestyle. Why do you think this is? Why do people who live in cities often wish they could move away? What are some of the things this family has to do without?
• Josh James has been the star of a Discovery Channel program and has lots of followers but he has to work hard. He learns as much as he can about making videos, and spends hours producing them. Is being a YouTube star a job that is easy to succeed at? What could be some of the down sides of the job?
• Josh James talks about how it’s “so important for kids to take responsibility, to do things without being asked, and to realise they’re capable of a lot already.” Are those things that you feel are valued in your family? How about at your school? Why do you think these things are good for kids?

Activity: Cook up some wild food from the garden

You are very likely to have onion weed growing at your place. Look in shady spots for a clump of green strap-like leaves. Onion weed plants look a bit like daffodils and a lot like snowdrops, but a difference is that each stalk has three corners rather than being rounded. The final test is to break a bit off and smell it—does it have an onion or garlic smell? If so, it’s onion weed and you can eat it.

Onion weed fry-up

Harvest some onion weed leaves and wash them.
Chop them into small pieces.
Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan.
Saute the onion weed pieces.
Add a cube of chicken stock for flavour.

They will taste like tender, sweet pan-fried leeks. You can also eat onion weed raw, adding it to smoothies and salads. It is full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In spring, when the plant produces flowers, you can pick them to add to salads—they have a crunchy texture. The onion weed bulb is also edible.

Send us a picture of your onion weed fry-up!