My 2016 Students

Monster - Year 5 

Monkey - Year 2 

Munchkin - 4yr old Preschool

Summer Holidays

The summer school holidays have come and gone, so I thought it was high time to put together a selection of photos to show you all what we've been up to.

January always seems to be a busy month for us, and flies by, even though I make sure not to overschedule anybody.  Lots of natural learning takes place, we enjoy playdates with friends, and I relax the rules and routines.

We started off the school holidays with a trip into the city with some of our best friends for our annual "Christmas in the City" adventure!  It took some work (and continuous mode on the camera) but this is a pretty decent photo of all five boys on the train. 

This santa claus, made out of milk crates, was on display at Darling Harbour. 

I only got this fantastic photo of Munchkin, but all five boys enjoyed the water park. 

The beautiful new tree at Queen Victoria Building (above) and the tree at Martin Place are always a highlight of our trip. 

The window displays at David Jones were pathetic this year... 

But the light display at St Mary's Cathedral was beautiful as always.  It was a VERY late night but well worth it.

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There were presents... 

Lots of food... 

and time with extended family. 

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Lots of time for playing games and of course time for constructing the MANY Lego sets they received and/or bought for Christmas.

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We had our annual night out to look at the neighbourhood Christmas lights... 

And Munchkin moved out of our bedroom and into the bedroom with the older boys.

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We enjoyed wildlife visits in our yard... the boys are particularly happy to see that the Blue Tongue Lizards are still around...

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Some outdoor play at the local park... 

games... 

puzzles... 

and more games!

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We ended the year with another trip into the city to watch the fireworks... 

And started off the new year with a picnic BBQ at the beach with good friends. 

Many afternoons were spent with puzzles, games, and memory matching cards. 

and there was even a boys afternoon as I baby-sat for a friend's two boys as she prepared to move.

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We've had a VERY rainy and stormy summer this year... a reminder that YES we are in a subtropical zone.

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The boys enjoyed an afternoon climbing and swinging at the park near our church. 

We celebrated my birthday at an iconic location I've wanted to visit ever since moving here. 

A "new to them" op-shop find provided them with hours of fun one afternoon. 

Another play date with their best friends was filled with pretend play and dress-ups. 

Monkey experienced a "coming of age" event (of sorts) when he lost his first baby tooth. 

A lovely craft afternoon that produced these wonderful little super heros. 

Playing at the park on a hot afternoon (above) warrants and icy pole (popsicle) to cool off later (below). 

Our local and not so local library hold lots of wonderful school holiday events.  This was the games day (photos above) and the boys enjoyed mock darts, egg and spoon race, and musical chairs (not shown due to other children in the photos). 

Finally, I devoted portions of school holidays to life skills and increasing the boys independence. They are learning to serve themselves and some meals, wash dishes (Monster only at this stage) and completely care for their laundry (sort, wash, hang, fold, put away). Some of these activities have been met with more enthusiasm than others, but we forge ahead. My plan is to have both Monster and Monkey able to fix/prepare simple meals by the end of the year.