Bribie Island Beaches

Staying on an island there is definitely no getting around the fact that you are pretty much surrounded by beaches.

Bribie definitely offers plenty of them and right across the road from our apartment was this perfect spot that the kids loved. Most days it provided only knee lapping waves, just right for a three year old!

On Christmas Day the waves were a little bigger, perfect for Little Surfer Dude to try out his new boogie board he got for Christmas.

All he needed was a push off from dad

and he was grinning from ear to ear! Excited or what!!! So was dad for that matter ;-)

It wasn't long before he really was living up to his blog name of "Little Surfer Dude", catching those waves like a pro.

He was pretty chuffed to catch one all the way up onto the sand.

The bigger kids enjoyed the feeling of being 'way out' , but really they are only waist deep. Looks like they are in the middle of the ocean here.

This large wall has been built to protect against erosion. Fairy Princess enjoyed being thrown into the water and all the kids had a great deal of fun jumping from the staired wall.

It provides a great place to crawl up and down.

The sand is really very good, considering how sheltered this part of Bribie is. Little Surfer Dude sat and played for quite some time.

Further inland across the small dunes Fairy Princess went exploring, as she always does, looking for exciting nature finds. This pretty yellow flower caught her eye.

And of course seaweed, you simply cannot play on the beach without some seaweed.

It took the boys awhile to warm up to the seaweed idea, but eventually they did!

The jetty is pretty much the focal point of the beach area and in fact closer to the jetty area you will find wider expanses of beaches. The jetty is very popular spot for fishing at night.

Come late afternoon, as the tide faded, the same beach, right across the way from us became a whole new area of exploration. Piles of seaside treasures were found here, shells, bones, bits of crab, shark teeth you name it they found it.

I think exploring on low tide is often way more fun than swimming at the beach itself.

We were blessed to witness some great sunsets during our stay. The kids are with their cousins here, not that you can tell who is who.

These couple were taken on my iphone whilst waiting for our Gourmet Pizza and Risotto at Brennan Park.

Bribie also has great surf beaches, I'll show you some of them soon :-)

Calling All Aussie Homeschool Bloggers

 Thought I'd post a reminder about the Aussie Homeschool Blogger List.

Are you on it?

 The code for the button has been updated so that if someone clicks on the button on your blog it will take them directly to this list. You may want to update yours if you have one on your blog.

Are you living in Australia?

Do you homeschool?

Do you blog about your homeschool journey?

Would you like to share your blog with others?

Then please spread the word!

Grab the button code below and place it on your blog.

<a href=" http://ourworldwideclassroom.blogspot.com/search/label/Aussie%20Homeschool%20Blogs/ " target="_blank"><img src="http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk224/realworldlearners/125pxbuttongHomeschoolBloggersInOz.jpg" alt="Our Worldwide Classroom" /></a>

How do I that? Simply copy and past the HTML code that you see to the right of the actual button image. (I am assuming you use blogger here). Go to your blogs dashboard, Choose Design, Choose Add Gadget (generally in the right or left column sidebar area), Choose Add HTML/Javascript, Paste the code into the box that opens up, Choose Save and that's it.


Then simply add your blog details to the list below so other bloggers can find you. Feel free to add a word about your style or your location if you wish, you have 70 characters to play with.

Exploring Bribie Island

We spent our Christmas/New Year break over at the beautiful Bribie Island. A relatively small sand island of only 34 kms long and 8 kms wide. Although it is an island it is actually easily accessible via a bridge that crosses Pumiceston Passage from the Caboolture area.

It's always exciting arriving at a new holiday destination for the first time.

Pelicans love to sit atop the light poles that run all down one side of the bridge. Every time we crossed the bridge we would play a guessing game of  'how many pelicans'.

This was a great destination for a quiet family holiday within an easy drive from Brisbane.

With protected beaches this is a fabulous spot for small children and for those that aren't particularly fond of surf.

The opportunity to four wheel drive through the bush and then out along the kilometres of white sandy beaches was loads of fun.

 

Being a family holiday destination there are several playgrounds over the island and within short driving distances of the surrounding area.

Walking paths that run all along the foreshore are a great place for a stroll or for some more rigid exercise. That's my mum and great aunt heading to meet us at the beach on Christmas Day.

  

It's only a short drive to the other side of the island to catch some larger waves.

There is quite a large amount of War Hisotry scattered around the island also, which Lego Lover was very intrigued by.

With museums scattered around the place, I love being able to combine the relaxed nature of a beachside holiday with some fun educational content.

Some of the accomodation on the island have pools, we were lucky enough to have a small swimming pool perfect for late afternoon dips.

It's easy to find a spot for beginning anglers to throw in a line and catch a fish or two.

We were pleasantly surprised at how varied but yet relaxing our holiday was on Bribie. With near perfect weather we really had a great time. I want to record some of our memories so will be posting more indepth about our adventures over the coming week or so.

Christmas - New Year Blogging Break

I'd like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year.

Thank you all for another wonderful year in the land of blogging. The inspiration I glean from all of you is nothing short of incredible and for that I thank you.

The connections I have made with people far and wide really does make this world seem so small. What a blessing the internet is to us homeschoolers.

Thanks to those of you that took the time to link up all of your Christmas posts. I know they will be a great help to others in the future.

I'm taking some time out from blogging and all things computer related. Hoping for some sunshine, because right now things aren't looking so great in the weather department!

See you all soon.

Christmas Books: The Christmas Story and Printable Nativity

Of course at this time of year one simply must read the Christmas Story together and that is exactly what we did.

I found the cutest nativity printable for the kids to colour and put together.

We grabbed our trusty Golden Book Christmas Story and cuddled up on the couch. The kids coloured in between chatting about the story as I read.

I love this hand drawn nativity, coloured by the kids. We have it sitting right alongside our nativity set.

Grab your own copy over at Catholic Icing, you still have time to complete one before Christmas.

Peg Reindeer, Footprint Reindeer and a Santa Card

Aside from the adorable calico Angel decorations that the kids made at their extra curricular days, they put together these little cuties.

Yet another simple craft, isn't simple generally best! Yet it looks so effective. Three pegs, painted brown, glued together. Add a couple of pieces of felt, a pom pom nose, googly eyes and some ribbon.

And hang them on the tree!

I love this Handprint/Footprint Reindeer, "Happy Holidays" wall hanging. These would make gorgeous gifts.

Fairy Princess made hubby and I a Christmas Card. Hand coloured, decorated wth glitter and of course Santa's Beard. She was very proud of this one and was excited to give it to us.