Term Three: Week Two ~ Monkey Turns Seven

Week two was all about our middle man, who turned SEVEN!  We celebrated with presents, a special dinner, and cake on his actual birthday and then he celebrated with his friends that weekend.  Nana was here for the week so structured learning was set aside to spend time with her and enjoy a more natural learning experience.  

Nothing like a bit of sensory play with "instant snow" given to them by a friend from church who attended some of the winter festivities in the city.  The two older boys quickly worked out the the "snow" was actually the crystals you find inside disposable nappies/diapers.  It was messy but LOTS of fun. 

They spent a whole morning playing a card game they LOVE. 

 Our picture book selection.

 Our "school" reading for the week.  This version of King Midas was VERY simplified because it was from the easy reader section of the library - I'm on the hunt for a good full version.

I got this "Mighty Robot" series out from the library with Monkey in mind.  Monster already read them a few years ago, but read them all again (in one day - thus the photo above of all nine together) just for fun.  Monkey also likes them and read the first three (other photo) the first full day we had them.  I love it when I hit on something they enjoy. 

Finally Munchkin's favourite bedtime story for the week.

Term Three: Week One ~ Let the Celebrations Begin

The first three weeks of this new term are going to be CRAZY so expect that photos will be at a minimum.  This first week alone we have dentist appointments for all three boys (check-ups) in the middle of the week, and and 80th birthday celebration on the weekend for one of Charlton's uncles.  PHEW!!  

As the winter wears on and the temperatures slowly begin to rise, the boys can help with laundry again.  Several mornings Munchkin came out with me and would hang the socks and undies on the portable clothes airer while I hung the rest of the laundry on the line.  He was quite pleased to discover that he has grown and can reach the top rungs if he stretches a bit. 

Wednesday after the dentist appointments we enjoyed lunch at the shopping centre and then some special Lego shopping.  The boys had a budget issued to them by mum and dad, and got to use their math skills at the shop when they discovered all Lego was 20% off.  Much comparing of prices and mentally computing the discount was happening in the aisles before they carefully and thoughtfully made their decisions. 

Just some funny photos of Munchkin showing off his Lego mini-figs.  He was thrilled to be allowed to buy his first "big boy" Lego set.  He didn't even mind that his older brother had to help him (A LOT) with the building.  He just likes to display it on his special shelf, and take it out to play with it. 

On a walk to the park on Friday we spotted this hairy caterpillar. 

 Despite a crazy schedule, we still carve out a bit of time to read.

Monster even finished a chapter book.

School Holidays

The boys and I spent the better part of the second half of the term sick with coughs and colds so I decided that the best thing to do over school holidays was to keep things simple so we could rest and recover.  We kept outings and activities to a minimum and just enjoyed an abundance of free and unstructured time.

As is tradition now, we borrowed the iPad from our local library for the holidays. The boys had set amount of time to play each day and all three enjoyed playing Minecraft the most. 

Almost an entire day was spent soaking up the winter sunshine that spills across our dining table, while creating with Lego and enjoying plates of finger foods. 

We attended only one library event this holidays - a Roll the Ball games day.  All three boys participated though I only managed to get photos of two of them.  Our (new) favourite librarian (George) enjoyed being in the photos with them. 

In between the games, Monkey would settle down on a chair with a stack of picture books. 

We enjoyed our school holidays play date with our best homeschool friends and the boys spent the entire day switching back and forth between Lego and the trampoline. 

On a walk home from the library we came across a small flock of Rainbow Lorikeets enjoying some bread a neighbour had put out for them.  They are quite tame and allowed us to get very close.  The boys (and I) enjoyed watching them and snapping photos of them. 

I love to see the creativity that emerges when they play with Lego. 

Munchkin enjoyed the chance to play his favourite board games with daddy. 

Friends invited us to a delicious BBQ lunch that featured this lamb! 

While at the BBQ the boys spotted this strange and intriguing looking bug. 

Monster continued to work on his puzzle on the evenings that time allowed. 

We enjoyed a bonus afternoon with our best friends. 

That night we enjoyed a special family night out to watch game three of the State of Origin rugby series. 

Our friends Aimee (mum) and Ivy (daughter) were back for a visit after moving to Melbourne several months ago.  The kids were thrilled with the chance to catch up. 

Finally, Munchkin and I enjoyed a special day just the two of us while the older boys attended an all day Lego event at Aimee's church.  Since she was visiting for the weekend she attended and helped out and we got one last super short visit before she headed south again.

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday and we were refreshed and ready to tackle the craziness that would be the first three weeks of the new term...