Happy Australia Day!

To my fellow Aussies:
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!
[Oi! Oi! Oi!]
... Just one of the gems I taught my daughter today. Others include "how's the serenity" (although she says "how senity" - just remember, she's three!), "bonza" and "maaaaaaate"! Couldn't help myself.

To my non-Aussie friends:


Today was Australia day, a national holiday celebrating what it means to be Australian and how fortunate we are to live in our amazing country. Now that we're on the same page, here's how we incorporated a bit of Aus into Eden's day (Ava's a tad small to appreciate Australia Day, she's 9 months old)....


We took a day off our 5-a-day-books challenge, and instead we read some Australian Children's classics:

Possum Magic, by Mem Fox

Magic Beach, by Alison Lester

Grug, by Ted Prior

Eden did her Australia puzzle, and we talked about the people we know who live interstate:

And lastly, we made our own Aussie Akubra hat complete with dangling corks to keep the flies away. Well, not exactly, we actually made a paper hat complete with wooden pegs to keep the flies away. Same diff.

To make your own, simply follow these instructions for making your paper hat, and knot the ends together of some short pieces of yarn/wool. Then attach the pegs to the yarn/wool loops, and tape the loops to the brim of your hat. Of course, you could always use actual corks, but where's the fun in that?
Happy Australia Day! ~ L.