163/365 Byron Bay: Rainbows in Paradise

3:45pm | Byron Bay Hinterland. 

I don't have anything else to say (except that Blogger doesn't let you upload portrait images at a high enough resolution!!). 

140/365 This World is a Dewdrop World | Issa Haiku

"this world
is a dewdrop world

yes... but..."

.露の世は露の世ながらさりながら
tsuyu no yo wa tsuyu no yo nagara sari nagara

~ Kobayashi Issa, Haiku poet. 1819. 

Wikipedia link here. 

69/365 The MONA Bar

We went to MONA. 

T had been before but I hadn't. This is my first trip to Tasmania and I'd been waiting to get to MONA for what felt like forever. Or at least since 2011 ;)

If you haven't heard of it yet, it's an über-cool privately-owned world-class art gallery here in Hobart. MONA stands for Museum of Old and New Art and the story goes that collector David Walsh (who describes MONA as a "subversive adult Disneyland") funded it all with his hard-earned gambling profits!

I have more to post, but here's a taste for my #photoaday2014 challenge. x

24/365 Yurt Life

Green Camp. Green School, Bali.

18/365 Bangkok Airport

Travelling monks. Bangkok airport. Thailand.

14/365 And We Are Go!

We left Rome this morning. A 7am bus. An 8am train. 

By lunchtime we found ourselves in Malpensa, to the north of Milan. Ready to fly in the morning. Out of Milan. Out of Europe... Goodbye London, Oxford, Carbis Bay, Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague, Paris, Bern, Lucca, Florence and Rome. Sob. You will all be missed!

As Australan citizens we have been constrained to a maximum of three months in the Schzengen / European Zone - the month we spent in the UK didn't count - and sadly tomorrow is D-day.

These next few weeks will however be full of amazing contrasts as we travel from  Milan - Abu Dhabi - Dubai - Abu Dhabi - Bangkok - Singapore - Bali - Sydney - Gold Coast - and... home.

That list still seems completely surreal to me but, deep breath, we're ready. Bring it on. X

The Imagination Foundation and Caine's Arcade

Hug wanted to watch Caine's Arcade over lunch today.

So we did. And discovered there is Part Two!... the response to Caine's Arcade.  I still choke up watching the first film. This is a lovely follow up featuring Caine and some of the kids around the world he has inspired. My kids certainly have been!

So, I was very excited to see the magic of this story continue with the launch of the Imagination Foundation. 

The Imagination Foundation's mission is to 

find, foster, and fund 

creativity and entrepreneurship 

in kids. 

Rocking core goals:

1. Instill Creative Thinking as a Core Skill and Social Value
2. Give Kids Opportunities to Create and Learn Based on their Passions 
3. Foster a Community of Creative Makers
4. Introduce Social Entrepreneurship at a Young Age
5. Use Storytelling to Celebrate Exceptional Kids and Inspire Communities

Watch Caine's Arcade. Part One:

And, Part Two:

Want to find out more about the Imagination Foundation? You can also like The Imagination Foundation on FB or follow @imagination on Twitter. 

Blessed. Our final days with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet.

I don't have the words.

To do these sweetest of days justice.

Blessed. And to-be-forever-remembered.

So I am just going to let the photos speak. x

Mapping The World with Art and Montessori Links

Yesterday turned out to be a big day of mapping around here. 

Hug wanted to draw a map of Europe using our Montessori Continent Puzzles which got me all excited (throwing out our scheduled Craft afternoon). I printed out a blackline master for him to label his map as he went. 

edit : A reader has pointed out that Hug has incorrectly labeled his map with Yugoslavia - which no longer exists. This happens when you have a second hand set of *old* continent maps which came with the country names actually written on the back of each piece. Whoops.

Then we completed the 3rd drawing activity from Mapping The World with Art, which tied right into both our study of Ancient Greece AND our travel plans for modern-day Greece. Yay! 

We played the video files on my mac. So cool being able to pause and rewind as necessary.

I pulled out the travel guides to add some extra details to mine :) 

Hug also drew and labelled two maps of Australia. 

While Lovely spent ages pouring over the rather tricky African puzzle, colouring each country on the blackline map in colours to match our Nienhuis puzzles as he fit in each piece. I love how kids choose to approach tasks sometimes :)

Here are a few links to other mainly-Montessori-inspired geography activities on my blog:

+ Continent Pin Map

+ Montessori Puzzle Maps

+ Our Sandpaper Globe! 

+ French map and flag plans

+ Our Continent Boxes

+ Continent Box: Antarctica

+ Continent Box: Asia

+ Continent Box: Australia

+ Continent Box Swap (Australia) 

+ Art, History, Geography in Action

+ Orange Hemispheres

+ A Walk in Our Neighbourhood

+ The Florida Parcel

I also like this site for printing maps :) 

What have you been enjoying at your place? x