family reunion - our March

Bit by bit I have had this blog and my writing percolating in the background of my mind.  I have started five posts, only to not finish and publish them. Time has passed and slipped away from me.  I am determined to get back to writing slowly and surely.

Our March was a very special month as my sister Kathryn, her husband, Tim and their two daughters flew across the world (literally) to visit with us and all of the family.  They moved to Perth, Australia two and a half years ago.  They had an itinerary set and we were very very excited to see them again, and to meet their daughters (the eldest was a baby when they left and I had not met their youngest).  They came to stay in our city for 5 days and we had a friend offer us their house to live in while they were here.  It was generous and amazing to be able to stay all together.  Then I went to Nova Scotia for a week and a half with the girls to visit while they were visiting my parents and sisters.

 first real play in the snow for the Australian girls!

Charlotte was teaching how to move around on the snow without sinking in

 sliding down the hill

my girl adores the snow

 happy cousins

reading one of Lila's school books with auntie - perfect bedtime stories!

We did not check very many things off of our curriculum in March, but we were able to engage in lots of creative play, and lots of bonding time with our cousins, aunties, uncles and Grammie and Grampie.  It was a very special family time.  We hosted an Australian learning forum and got to see real Australian money and eat homemade pavlova! 

We even got an Australian dollar to keep!  We learned about animals and the sound of the kookaburra (Uncle Tim does an amazing kookaburra).  We read lots of stories and built friendships with our family that will last.  We even went to Kings Landing and learning about how they collected sap to make maple syrup long ago.  We went on a wagon ride and got to see and touch a butter churn which we had learned about in one of our favorite school books, "Living Long Ago".  

We ran in fields, explored apple orchards, saw eagles and pheasants, played at an indoor soccer field and attended an amazing story time in Wolfville library all about Dr. Seuss.

It was an incredible month with many beautiful memories made and difficult to be out of routine, away from home for so long.  We are so very thankful to have had the opportunity to visit and get to know our Australian relatives!  (They are almost Australian, in the process of becoming so!)  We are very grateful, and we continue to practice life learning in our homeschool, one that sometimes veers from the curriculum and offers so much opportunity and joy in the process.

T