Wow! Our school holidays are nearly over and we start the new school year this week. I've had a busy break overseas and have been completely out of touch with the blogging world, but now I am back so you can look forward to more regular blog posts.
Here's a little taste of what my summer break entailed (a trip back home to Canada to visit family and friends, a one-week adventure to Dominican Republic in the Caribbean for some R&R, and a quick stint in Korea on our way back to Australia):
Although I didn't do much school work while I was away, I did happen to purchase some new picture story books that I am pretty excited about. First, I always like to buy a new Christmas picture story book for every Christmas. In 2012, I decided to buy "The Twelve Days of Australian Christmas". My kids and even family enjoyed the humour of that book. While in Canada, I happened to come across a picture story book entitled "The Twelve Days of Canadian Christmas". I had to buy it! And now I have a nice little set to cherish both the Aussie and Canadian Christmas traditions. Even though I won't be able to use this until the end of the year, I thought it was definitely worth a share.
And now for my favourite book purchase... "The Munschworks Grand Treasury"! Now if you are Australian, you are probably unaware of the author Robert Munsch, but he is a legendary children's author in Canada. I have very fond memories of reading his stories as a child, especially Thomas' Snowsuit, The Paperbag Princess and Mortimer. So I knew when I went back to Canada that I had to buy some Robert Munsch books to bring some Munsch into the lives of Australian children. I made a trip to Chapters (big book store) to make my purchases and that is when I found the Grand Treasury, a collection of all his best stories. I knew right then that I must have it. And here, ladies and gentlemen, The Munschworks Grand Treasury has made its way back to Australia!
We begin school again on Tuesday and I am off to an overnight staff residential so I will be sure to fill you in on all the exciting new things that are yet to come during this 2013 school year!!! :)
Welcome to back-to-school mode! As a non-Australian teacher, I was shocked to find out how your school calendar works! I felt so uninformed! But I did some research, so now I feel "in the loop" :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a wonderful vacation - filled with LOTS of traveling!
I LOVE Robert Munsch books and have the Grand Treasury too - my kids laugh and laugh when I read them different stories from it. Enjoy!
~Jessica
Joy in the Journey
It was definitely a big change to get used to a February - December school year instead of a September - June school year. But it essentially means we get a summer holiday as well but in North American winter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great comments! I am so excited to start reading them some Munsch stories too!