A Big Weekend

Well -- we had a big weekend!

DH was off work for 4 days because of Australia Day. He spent some time painting. I spent some time schooling. The kids are starting at the beginning of Story of the World (Susan Wise Bauer). So we went to Mom and Dad's five acres in the country to see what it was like to be a nomad. 

Joman7, Lulu8, DH and Dad made a great big shelter from a fallen tree and a lot of branches, leaves and dry grass. It was almost big enough to walk in and certainly large enough to fit 4 sitting adults or so.

They caught wild yabbies in the pond (and ate them for supper),

tracked down 2 lizards and a newt,

found an alternate source of water under the roots of the fallen tree, saw kangaroos (which would have been hunted), and even slept outside for 2 nights (okay, they were in a tent).

They also watched for shooting stars (studying the atmosphere), and saw 4 or 5, and got to ride some neighbors' horses for fun.

On Australia Day itself (Thursday) we made Anzac cookies (yum!) and learned all about the history of our state -- why they needed convicts (labor) and why it's called the Cinderella State (it was very poor but then--the gold rush).