I first stumbled across the enticing play areas of the Matairangi Nature Trail, along the ridge line of Mt Victoria, on one of my long runs. I couldn’t wait to grab an opportunity to bring my two youngest children to explore, climb and play. I’ve always loved walking and running the town belt trails of […]
In February I had the pleasure of taking a small ferry to Matiu/Somes Island, in the middle of Wellington’s harbour. Matiu/Somes Island is a predator-free scientific reserve. It is also a historic reserve with a rich multicultural history. I took my youngest daughter with me, and joined a group of Wellington Home Educators. It was a beautiful […]
One day we are tucked up indoors playing LEGO, reading, baking and making toy boats to float on the bath tub, the next we are walking in the sunshine, picking sweat-peas, and paddling our toes in the sea. We are definitely ‘going with the flow’ this spring in Wellington (not to mention keeping sane with […]
It’s been a whirlwind month and we are getting back into the home education groove with our two natural learners, Alice, aged 6, and Sophie, aged 10, whilst our oldest daughter, Charlotte, aged 13, is thriving at a lovely girl’s school in Wellington, which suits her brilliantly. She sings in two school choirs, has performed […]
In the planning of our visit to the UK we’d set aside ‘Thursday 15th September’ for taking a walk on Snowdon – without setting any expectations about how far we’d walk (since our group of four included my 6 year old daughter, Alice, and we had no idea what the weather Gods would have in […]
There are certain events in history, such as the Olympics, that come as natural markers of time when raising a family. Every four years our television screen beams into our living room inspiring stories of courage, dedication and commitments. Each time our children are four years older and the host city is somewhere new. The […]
It was such a mild Autumn that I wasn’t prepared for winter and its dark nights. I always struggle when there’s less hours of light in the day to play with. If I don’t get out for a day or two I feel like curling up in bed and not emerging till spring. It’s a […]
It’s the second week of term 1 and we are getting well into our stride. Thankfully the first two weeks of this term have been short ones – four day weeks (if only all weeks were four days on, three days off!). We headed over to Martinborough for a couple of days this weekend, to […]
The New World Little Kitchen is continuing to inspire and prompt experimentation in our kitchen at home. We had a lot of fun boiling up a red cabbage to make a dark red, nearly black, liquid. We used the liquid, once drained, to make some colour changing drinks and ‘potions’ ! We experimented with milk, […]
Walking down the New World supermarket aisles it is impossible to miss the ‘Little Kitchen’ inspired products, merchandise and ideas at every turn. Throw in the cute ‘Little Kitchen’ collectables at the counter and my children are hooked and wanting to know more. My youngest daughter, aged 5, proudly tells people, ‘I was born in […]
We nipped away to Martinborough this Saturday and Sunday. The winter weather wasn’t too harsh, milder than it has been, but there were still plenty of showers between the sunny moments. The lambs in the fields and rainbows in the sky definitely hinted a change in the seasons. Spring is coming… (just hurry up already!). […]
It’s been a busy week in the household with the mid-year reports arriving home and parent-teacher interviews to coordinate for all three girls. Thankfully the reports have left us with no concerns and we’re really delighted at how our older two are doing; considering they had a good year or so gallivanting in the USA, […]
The past couple of weekends have given us some calm, sunshine weather to get out and enjoy the outdoors, despite it being the onset of winter here in New Zealand. We live near the south coast of Wellington and since getting our puppy, in October last year, we have good reason to get out for […]
I have friends that would be shocked at how a person could go through nearly 12 years of parenting without a sewing machine in the house. I have often held friends that can sew (or knit or crochet!) in high esteem, as well as being in awe of the amazing things they create. When I first […]
