May's Musings

May was a somewhat quite month.  Butterfly did have a birthday but we haven't had her celebration yet.  

This month we had a crotchet class with 2 other home educating families.  The teacher was a lovely South African lady who was holidaying in NZ with her family.

Crotchet class

One of the children was having a bit of trouble understanding place value in maths so I made this helpful manipulative.  Decimal Street is a Math-U-See concept.  

For more about Math-U-See

Bedtime stories with Daddy.

 May gave us our first cold snap and frosts.

Investigating the frozen water and frosty table.

Arrow tipping out the ice.

Looking like glass with pretty, very fine ice crystals.

Crystal and Blossom re-discovering icy car windows.  It was lovely watching them remember this from winters gone by.

Of course they had to taste the ice too!

 Our crafts of the month.

Orange skin candle holder. Instructions

Our table center piece 

~Lorna

Our Coromandel Holiday

Usually we go on a holiday in February, but this year we were delayed until April.  We always have the best time on this annual getaway because we spend it with special friends.  Here is our holiday story in photos.

On the trip up we stopped in Taupo for lunch and to stretch our legs.

Walking through the thermal hot water pools on the lake edge.

After the long almost 9 hour journey (that includes stops) we made it to our destination.  

Inseparable

Hard working lads.

So much to talk about.

So much fun to be had together.

The big children hang out.

Very tired little boys.

The older children were leaders at a holiday program.  Waiting for the bus.

Never to old for a playground!

Over he goes!

Yikes, little ones!

Cedar and Arrow in Whitianga.

Little pirates.

Blossom looking for sea life.

Starfish!

Eagle taking the little ones in a queue for food at the holiday program.

Crystal on the water slide.

Arrow on the water slide.

Blossom on the water slide.

Cedar on the water slide.

Farm life - Crystal feeding the ducks.

Farm life - Blossom feeding Mabel

Farm life - Crystal milking a cow

Farm life - Blossom milking a cow

Farm life - Me milking a cow

Adventures in the hay.

Buddies.

The blending of two families for a week.  Such memories of fun and love.

On the journey home...

Paeroa of course!

And the Hobbit House (Information Centre) in Matamata.

Gathering chestnuts and acorns to plant at home. 

Dinner stop in Taupo 

And even squeezing in a lesson in rock types while we waited for our hot chips to cook.

Dinner on the lake front.

A hot foot soak before the final leg of the journey begins.

Sweetie boy Cedar

~Lorna