Travels in New Zealand and beyond, going back to 2003!
Term 4 in New Zealand is always a short and fast one. My youngest daughter gleefully reminded me that Christmas Day is fast approaching – and there’s me thinking that surely we’re still in September – but one look at our dog, on pick up from his pre-summer groom, and there’s no denying the festive…
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…
Documenting our learning journey; with two children learning from home and one at school. Last week I visited the ‘Tyrannosaurs – Meet the Family‘ exhibition (currently on at Te Papa museum, Wellington, till 8 February 2015) with my four and eight year old daughters. It was really fascinating to stand up against a real T-Rex…
This week, we’ve embraced both technology and nature in our learning and play. There has been plenty to love in the mix… ⤠Nature putting on a show, a stone’s throw from Wellington city, with Stingrays in the lagoon on the waterfront…. ⤠Technology keeping Shakespeare in vogue and making it all the easier to…
Loving a last blast of summer sunshine (and hoping today’s slightly cooler temperatures ease off for a little longer yet). We enjoyed a gorgeous last few days with Grandma & Granddad, at Scorching Bay on Tuesday morning and Zealandia on Monday, (before they flew home to a very cold welcome in England… thankfully their neighbours…
In my life this week… It’s been a wild week of stormy weather, high tides and huge waves. My big school girl was home on Thursday and Friday, with the cold the rest of the family have been suffering. Having her home was lovely – she is amazing at encouraging and inspiring her home-schooling sister…
Catching up from last week with this post. I’m finding this weekly review a useful exercise. In my life last week… The whole family, except my oldest, had colds. Blur! I only had three days of my homeschooler and youngest at home – what with the long Queen’s Birthday weekend and Diamond Jubilee, giving us…
We’ve had a really industrious week. A little planning on Sunday really helped everything flow this week (and the great weather has definitely helped with a positive outlook!). But though I planned ideas for different learning areas – I kept entirely flexible – gauging where there was interest and pursing only when I saw that…
My two year old is on a growth spurt, cutting her last four molars, and developing her mind at a fast pace – all this makes for occasional wake up calls in the middle of the night. Thankfully, she’s all smiles and easily placated with a couple of crisp breads with Marmite (thankfully we’ve still…
I always think it’s sad that our children don’t remember much of their first years of life. I like to think that all the rich and wonderful experiences we savour together help to imprint a map in the neurons to guide my children on positive paths in the future. Right now, as our daughter Sophie…
Wellington is adrift with flags (it always is…), but never before has it seen SO MANY flags. There is Rugby World Cup bunting hanging from every shop and cafe (in fact the RWC bunting has now sold out, so enthusiastically have Kiwis been hanging it!), giant flags fly along every street and shop windows are…
Two more day’s till we run for the bell. Late night’s of summer reigned in with earlier bedtimes. Farewell to long, amicable days at leisure round the house. Reading together. Learning together. Creating crafts, food and music together. Nurturing the fruit and vegetables growing in our garden. Savouring the sweet taste of summer on our…