Our Pace

World Math Day 2012

2012-02-01T04:37:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years we have participated in World Math Day. It is a worldwide, online contest that is hosted by a different city every year. You can register your children or class room and on World Math Day, which will be held on March 7th, 2012, they have 24 hours to answer as many questions at their current level as they can. They are competing for their country and the program keeps track of the amount of currect answers. Kids can start to practice on the online site well in advanced. There is also an app that can be downloaded so that they can practice and participate on an iPod or iPad. Funds can be raised to be donated to UNICEF if it is a classroom registering. Registration and practice starts today! Click HERE for more information or to register.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

2012-02-01T04:20:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in birds as much as we are, you'll love to get involved. The Great Backyard Bird Count will be held from February 17th to 20th. There is an instructional video to show you how to do it. Find out more about it and join in for The Great Backyard Bird Count HERE.

Book Sharing Monday - The Trouble With Dragons

2012-01-30T02:43:00.000-08:00

If you talk about the importance of doing things that protect the environment this book is a wonderful choice to read to your children.

This story is all about how dragons took over the world and mistreated it. They disliked the changes and needed to learn how to be more friendly to their world so that it was a happier place to live.

Book Sharing Monday - When It's Six O'Clock In San Francisco

2012-01-23T03:20:00.000-08:00

For Mystery Class this was a recommended read.

It was a pleasant surprise when we read it and found that it was a story of many people, all at the same time, at different locations around the world, but the time at each location was different. It gave a glimpse to those moments in each child's life.

Less Blogging

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-08:00

We've been looking for somewhere to live. It's been a much more difficult task than we thought it would be. We are narrowing the scope and may have a more final decision soon. Blogging will likely seem slower right now since we are in and out so much and we are trying to implement a different type of bedtime with the kids. Changes sometimes equal less blogging. I'll keep blogging but there may not be as many posts as I like.

For those who don't know our situation. We are living with relatives in a small farm house in Southern Ontario. We moved here last minute from Edmonton, Alberta to be closer to my Dad who has cancer. We have been here for months. Homeschooling has been a challenge. Wish us luck!

Book Sharing Monday - Chester

2012-01-16T04:32:00.000-08:00

Melanie Watt has such a great sense of humour. My kids love Chester and his funny power struggles to take over the story. He tries to change the authors words and she tries to get the story back.

In the end Chester is usually more sorry than the author and we are all laughing hysterically! This is a funny, feel-good book that you really should share with your kids.

Nature Study Continued

2012-01-15T17:10:00.000-08:00

While comparing differnt textures of bark we noticed fungus growing.

Some of the trees had moss on them. This one that is rotting is covered in it.

Some of the trees that were down had signs of insects.

This tree told a story. A woodpecker was here.

This tree was wet on one side. This is when I pointed out that all of the trees had more moss on the north side.

We had a wonderful hike. It was well overdue and now that it's cold again, it makes it that much more meaningful.

Bark Study

2012-01-15T04:40:00.000-08:00

Studying bark was an idea that came while hiking and we didn't have any guide book with us. We just compared each bark and plan on returning to do more detailed study later. Here are pictures to show you the different textures of bark we found.

This is one of my favourites. It has such cool shapes on it.

This one is cool too. It looks like paper.

It looks like some of these are the same kind of tree, but with age they look slightly different.

Nature Trail

2012-01-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

With all of the mud that just seems to not go away, we are long overdue for a nature walk. The fields are still too muddy to walk back to the trees behind the farm we are staying at so I found a nature trail nearby. When we had a warm spell, we decided to take advantage of it and visit the trail.

There is a trail with a large pond. I thought that these shallow water plants made a good picture.

I just love the swirl pattern on this stem. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of this. An insect lives inside. I find with so much on my mind, I'm more forgetful. I can't even find this online right now. I have lost my resourcefulness, temporarily. A nature walk can be so helpful when times are tense.

I have read that nature walks help kids with behavioural problems. Lately that would be my kids. None of us have been ourselves, but I think there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Things will change soon.

The trees have such a simple perfection to them. There is just something so perfect about this picture. Don't you think?

Austyn and I decided to study the bark of the trees since that seemed to be the most noticable thing while we walked. It seemed like a good time for a comparison. I will post a separate post on this. We also found other things to look closely at while studying bark. I'll do a post on that as well. Here is a stick that Austyn is holding up so that he can see the moss close up.

Zoe decided that she wanted to climb this hill.

Austyn noticed the base of this tree and wanted me to take a picture of it. It looks so cool!

Austyn noticed that most of the pine trees had their branches come off of the trunk in a perfect circle around the tree. Check out how the branches come out of the trunk in a ring around the tree, then no branches for a couple of feet and another ring of branches. It was like this all the way up each one of these trees.

The large vines growing up through the canopy are great for trying to swing on.

Zoe is too noisy for us to get close to any animals but we could still see tracks. Here is a deer track.

Some of the trees had this black stuff on it. It kind of looks like the left over of a cooked marshmellow on a stick and then burned. I've seen these on trees before. I'm not sure what it is. These walks give us more questions. This is one of those questions for further research.

We couldn't decide if this is one tree or many.

We will likely return to this trail. I think this hike calls for more research and also for a return hike to look for more interesting things. I was told that there are lots of fish and turtles around the pond in the summer.

Bark study post to follow and also a post on other things we found while studying the bark.

Catapult

2012-01-14T05:14:00.000-08:00

We have been doing a great deal of school type activities the past while but we still fit in random things that show up because of interests. In the background of this picture you'll see Austyn's newest, homemade toy. It's a catapult made out of large popsicle sticks.

The instructions on how to make it are in this book:

Birthday Party

2012-01-12T04:00:00.000-08:00

Zoe attended a birthday party this week. My cousins daughter is around her age and invited her over. Zoe had a great time and behaved well without her brother there. It was interesting to see how she was without him around. They really have been bumping heads hard lately.

It was a good time and well needed.

Lego Quest

2012-01-11T20:57:00.000-08:00

We haven't been doing the challenges for a little while but this time we finished in time and I was able to submit Austyn's entry to the blog. Here is what his entry said:

by Austyn, age 8, Ontario, Canada.

“This is a bridge between two towers. The black and white piece in front is a skyscraper. This gives you an idea of how large this bridge is. On the left side there is an opening at the bottom for cars to drive in and that is where they catch the massive elevator. It holds 50 cars at a time. They go up to the top and can cross over the bridge. The bridge takes about 25 minutes to cross at 100 km/hr. When they are finished being in the right tower they cross back over and go back down the elevator. There is a ton of parking in the towers and people can go there to work, live, shop, take vacations and there are very high viewing areas at the top of each tower.”

After viewing all of the other entries from around the world he decided to make another bridge. Below he is illustrating that the bridge is almost as long as he is.

HERE is the link to this challenge. Austyn's is closer to the bottom.

Book Sharing Monday - The Three Grumpies

2012-01-09T04:20:00.000-08:00

This book was a perfect pick for Zoe. She can be so grumpy somedays! The Three Grumpies by Tamra Wight is a cute story showing how three grumpy monsters follow a little girl around.

She tries to get rid of them, but in the end the only thing that works is a smile that turns into full out giggling.

After reading this book, everytime I see grumpy monsters following Zoe around I smile and then I start to giggle and I tell her that I'm giggling her grumpies away. She smiles and starts to giggle too. It REALLY works!!

Our Holiday Season

2012-01-07T05:38:00.000-08:00

We have been involved in the French Story Time at our local library. The teacher is amazing and the kids have learned so much. Here is a song they sang infront of a bunch of parents for Christmas. Austyn has taken an interest in singing and was asked to sing a part of the song solo.

We really never stop homeschooling. Our life is full of learning and educational activities. We learned about Christmas past, other religious holidays, watched movies, made crafts and much more. The kids made these pictures to give as gifts. Austyn ended up liking his too much to give away, but I thought that the concept was creative. I didn't give them the idea to do these pictures this way. They did this on their own. Zoe's is the one covered in tape. She still really enjoys using tape over glue.

We have been visiting family more since we've been here in Ontario. My mother got a few visits from us. We can't paint in the house we are in, easily so we go to her house to paint and do other crafts. The kids got to choose things around the house to give to people. These two boxes are gifts they chose for eachother.

What did we do with our Christmas crafts? We decorated Grandma's tree!

We are still living with relatives, but this didn't mean we stopped some of our own traditions. We made cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. This always includes a great deal of joking around.

We took the time to write Santa letters and then we also did a letter to keep with the cookies. Zoe did the top part and Austyn did the bottom.

One of the most memorable gifts that they got first thing on Christmas morning was the Bell off of Santa's Sleigh. Austyn had the great idea of asking Santa for this on his letter because we read about how the little boy got a bell in the book Polar Express.

Above are a couple of the surprised looks they had opening gifts Christmas morning. Nanny, Papa, and Grandpa were all there.

We went to more relatives for supper.

Zoe enjoyed doing make-up and hair.

Austyn enjoyed singing to everyone.

On Boxing Day we saw more family. This is the first time that everyone was together (except one person) in many years. It was nice.

100 Book Challenge - December 2011

2012-01-04T06:52:00.000-08:00

We didn't make it to 100 for December. I am sure I missed some books and some of these books were long, but we still did fine. If'you joined in on this challenge, post a link comment.

1. 365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental and Joelle Jolivet

2. A Christmas Carol by Disney

3. Aesop’s Fables for Children by Milo Winter - 5 stories – Audio Book

4. Alphabet of Dinosaurs by Barbie Heit Schwaeber - Audio Book

5. Alphabet of Space by Laura Gates Galvin – Audio Book

6. Animalia by Graeme Base

7. A Pioneer Christmas by Barbara Greenwood

8. Beatrice Doesn’t Want To by Laura Numeroff

9. Bedhead by Margie Palatini

10. Bing and Chutney off to Moosonee by Andrea Wayne von Konigslow

11. Blue Horse by Helen Stephens

12. Celestine Drama Queen by Penny Ives

13. Chester by Melanie Watt

14. Chicka Chicka 1 2 3 by Bill Martin Jr, Michael Sampson and Lois Ehlert

15. Ella the Elegant Elephant by Carmela and Steven D’Amico

16. Eloise at Christmastime by Kay Thompson

17. Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox

18. Ghost Gets Dressed! By Janee Trasler

19. Have I got a book for you! By Melanie Watt

20. Henry Bearès Christmas by David McPhail

21. I can be Anything! By Jerry Spinelli

22. If You’re Happy and you Know It by James Warhola

23. If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by laura Numeroff

24. Is Your Mama a Llama? By Debarah Guarino Audio Book

25. It’s A Miracle! A Hanukkah Storybook by Stephanie Spinner

26. La Noche Buena by Antonio Sacre

27. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber – Audio Book

28. McDuff and the Baby by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers

29. McDuff Comes Home by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers

30. McDuff’s Wild Romp by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers

31. Merry Christmas, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt

32. Mommy in my Pocket by Carol Hunt Senderak

33. My Father Knows the Names of Things by Jane Yolen

34. My First Baby Brother by Eve Marleau and Michael Garton

35. My Mom and Me by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

36. Once There Was a Christmas Tree by Jerry Smath

37. One Special Tree by Olena Kassian

38. Oops! By Jean-Luc Fromental and Joelle Jolivet

39. Owl Babies by Martin Waddel

40. Panorama A Foldout Book by Fani Marceau and Joelle Jolivet

41. Pas de taches pour une giraffe by Lucie Papineau et Marisol Sarrazin – Audio Book

42. Petit Papa Noel by Tino Rossi – Audio

43. Pirates Don’t Take Baths by John Segal

44. Santa Calls by William Jo6yce

45. Santa Claws by Laura Leuck

46. Santa Surprise by Keith Faulkner and Jonathan Lambert

47. Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner

48. Skippyjon Jones Class Action by Judy Schachner – x2 – Audio Book

49. Sleepyhead Bear by Lisa Westberg Peters

50. Sophie Peterman Tells the Truth! By Sarah Weeks

51. Super Hero A B C by Bob McLeod

52. Ten Timid Ghosts on a Christmas Night by Jennifer O’Connell

53. The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

54. The Bakers Dozen A Saint Nicholas Tale by Aaron Schepard

55. The Christmas Story by Gennady Spirin

56. The Christmas Witch by Steven Kellogg

57. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

58. The Knight Before Christmas A Goblin Tale by Clement C. Moore

59. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein – Audio Book

60. The Nutcracker by Wren Maysen

61. The Popcorn Tree by Carolyn Mamchur

62. There was a Cold Lady who Swallowed some Snow by Lucille Clolandro – Audio Book

63. The Santa Trap by Jonathan Emmett

64. The Scarecrow’s Dance by Jane Yolen

65. The Three Grumpies by Tamara Wight

66. The Twelve Days of Christmas by Justin Todd

67. The Twelve Days of Christmas Dogs by Carolyn Conahan

68. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams – Audio

69. This is the House that Jack Built by Simms Taback – Audio Book

70. Trixie Halloween Fairy by Daisy Meadows – 5 chapters

71. Twas The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

72. Two eggs, please. By Sarah Weeks and Betsy Lewin

73. You’re Different and that’s Super by Carson Kressley

Austyn

1. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss – Austyn Helped Read

2. The Elson Readers Primer by William H. Elsonand Lura E. Runkel – 5 Stories( Austyn read)

3. The Reluctant Dragon by Robert D. San Souci

4. The Spirit of Canada – 2 Stories

5. The Story of Canada – 2 Stories

6. Viking Tales by Jennie Hall – 2 Chapters

French Story Time – 2 Books

Zoe

1. Bob Books Set 1 Book 1 – Zoe Read

2. Bob Books Set 1 Book 2 – Zoe Read

3. Bob Books Set 1 Book 3 – Zoe Read

4. Bob Books Set 1 Book 4 – Zoe Read

5. Five Little Monkeys by Eileen Christelow

6. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

7. Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee

8. Skippyjon Jones Mummy Trubble by Judy Schachner

9. What’s Wrong with my Hair? By Satoshi Kitamura

Book Sharing Monday - I is for Inuksuk

2012-01-02T01:14:00.000-08:00

I is for Inuksuk is a great way to look at the alphabet in the Arctic.

Many Inuit words are used.

Mystery Class 2012

2012-01-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

We may try and do the Mystery Class this year. I learned about this from Alex over at Canadian Home Learning a couple of years ago. I have watched through her blog how much her children enjoyed this clallenge. Basically, from what I understand, there are ten cities around the world. These cities document their sun rise and sun set over a period of time. The participants in this challenge document each city and their own sun rise and sun set and when the time period is finished they compare them all and research it to try and make an educated guess as to which cities the mystery locations are. It starts January 30th so click HERE to learn more or register for Mystery Class.

Book Sharing Monday - A Bad Case of Stripes

2011-12-26T01:27:00.000-08:00

A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon is about a little girl who, out of the blue gets stripes and ends up not being able to go to school.

The doctors were amazed and just couldn't figure out what was wrong with her or how to get the stripes and other designs on her skin to go away.

This is a cute and well illustrated story that is sure to impress.

Christmas at the Museum

2011-12-22T03:17:00.000-08:00

I'm getting a bit behind in posting. Things have been getting a bit busy here.

We went to a Christmas at the museum field trip put on by someone on one of the local homeschool groups.

We could only stay for half of it because we made other commitments for the afternoon. We chose to do the indoor section since we forgot to bring mittens for the outdoor part. We went around the world and learned about holiday celabrations in different countries.

There were stations set up with different crafts, reading and games to show examples of things that are different from place to place.

Book Sharing Monday - The Lion and The Mouse

2011-12-19T01:51:00.000-08:00

We borrowed this version of the popular Aesop's fable from our library. It was more than interesting because it had hardly any words. This audio version was mostly sounds.

Don't get discouraged about that. It was well done and we enjoyed it.

Decorating the Tree

2011-12-16T04:56:00.000-08:00

We have started to get ready for Christmas. We are a bit late this year.

It seems a bit strange having Christmas in someone else's house, but I think it'll be fine.

We gave our tree away when we moved back to Ontario because it wouldn't fit in the trailer. This isn't our tree, but we are using our decorations.

Putting the decorations on the tree wouldn't be complete without a bunny ear picture.

Have a happy holiday season!

Christmas Parade

2011-12-15T17:40:00.000-08:00

Small town Christmas Parades are fun, free and it's easy to have a good view.

While waiting the kids played on the stairs of this old building.

The pigeons seemed to know that something was going on.

I thought that these dogs were so adorable!

Santa made an appearance. Life is good in small town Ontario.

Book Sharing Monday - The Little Crooked House

2011-12-12T01:25:00.000-08:00

The Little Crooked House by Margaret Wild is a fun book about a little man and his cat who are live in a crooked house. If they become unhappy about where the house is, the house gets up and moves.

It's a fun book with silly illustrations. We rather enjoyed it and recommend it.

First Holiday Craft

2011-12-08T04:18:00.000-08:00

I remembered doing this craft at a Homeschool Co-Op a couple of years ago and decided to pull it up on the iPad and do it with the kids. We are a bit limited because we don't know where many of our craft supplies are, but this craft just requires, paper, scissors, a stapler, and tape.

Mine is on the left. I followed the directions exactly. Zoe did the one on the right. I'm so proud of her because she did it all by herself except for the stapling. Austyn's is in the middle. I helped him a great deal. The cool thing about Austyn's is that his has more ribbons cut and a bigger center, on each arm of the snowflake. It looks different than ours and turned out amazing.

HERE is the link to make them yourself.

Homeschool Gymnastics Ends

2011-12-06T04:24:00.000-08:00

Austyn graduated from his level.

Zoe graduated from Advanced Preschool level 1.

After the class was over all of the kids went to McDonalds to eat and play.

I will be taking this activity over since the family who was in charge of setting up times with the gymnastics club won't be attending the next time. I'm glad my kids want to sign up again.

First Snow Fall

2011-12-06T04:23:00.000-08:00

Here in Southern Canada, the snow falls a bit later compared to most other Canadian locations.

This is another picture illustrating the difference in my kids from a small urban back yard that they never wanted to go out in alone to this huge open space that they are drawn out into.

Book Sharing Monday - Badness for Beginners

2011-12-05T04:07:00.000-08:00

Badness for Beginners by Ian Whybrow and Tony Ross is a book that may seem backwards because it's about a wolf family learning to be bad. Apparently it's desirable to be bad, for a wolf.

This book is another book to question our societal norms. What is bad and good? What are manners? Why do we even have manners? Who decided what is bad or good? Isn't it just what we label it? Should we be concerned about insulting others?

Math Manipulatives

2011-12-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

Why not? Build things with them!

100 Book Challenge - November 2011

2011-12-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

Guess What!! I'm the new host of this challenge! I asked Leslie over at Home Grown Love if I could take this challenge over. She said "Yes". So here it is! For the time being just comment under my post with your link sharing what your family read over the month. Keep in mind that you never should feel pressured to reach 100 books if it doesn't feel natural in your home. If you only read 20 that is wonderful. I would love to see what you have read. If you would like more information on this challenge visit our information page HERE.

Here is our November List. Counting all chapters and the books that were bilingual we have made it to over 100!

Both:

1. A Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na

2. A Christmas Wish by Marcus Sedgwick

3. A Gaggle of Giggles – 2 chapters

4. All Kinds of Families! By Mary Ann Holerman

5. Angel Coming by Heather Henson

6. Animalia by Graeme Base

7. Barn Dance! By Pat Hutchins

8. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman

9. Boo to You! By Lois Ehlert

10. Cat Dreams by Ursula K. Le Guin

11. Cat & Mouse by Ian Schoenherr

12. Clarice Bean That’s Me by Lauren Child

13. C’mere, Boy! By Sharon Jennings and Ashley Spires

14. Counting with Apollo by Caroline Gregoire

15. Des requins! By Catherine Nichols

16. Dogs Don’t Brush Their Teeth! By Diane deGroat and Shelley Rotner

17. Fat Cat by Margaret Read MacDonald

18. Five Little Ducks by Raffi

19. Floppy In the Dark Floppy dans le Noir by Guido Van Genechten – Bilingual

20. Fortune Cookies by Albert Bitterman

21. Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London

22. Froggy Plays T-Ball by Jonathan London

23. Froggy’s Day with Dad by Jonathan London

24. Froggy’s First Kiss by Jonathan London

25. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

26. Hanukkah Lights by David Martin

27. Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

28. Holly by Ruth Brown

29. Hurry Up, Molly Depeche-Toi, Molly by Lone Morton - Bilingual

30. If Wishes Were Horses by Sibley Miller – 9 Chapters

31. I Have Feelings by Jana Novotny Hunter

32. I Kissed the Baby! By Mary Murphy

33. In The Woods: Who’s Been Here? By Lindsay Barrett George

34. I See Animals Hiding by Jim Arnosky

35. Jen the Hen by Sue Graves

36. J’Observe les métiers de la nuit by Gallimard

37. Junie B. Jones Is a Beauty Shop Guy by Barbara Park – 9 Chapters

38. Just One Goal! By Robert Munsch

39. Knuffle Bunny A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems

40. Let It Snow by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

41. Little Quack by Lauren Thompson

42. Mabel’s Magical Garden by Paula Metcalf

43. Martha Doesn’t Say Sorry by Samantha Berger

44. Memoirs of a Goldfish by Devin Scillian

45. Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards

46. Mrs. Clause Takes a Vacation by Linas Alsenas

47. My Dad and Me by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

48. My Father the Dog by Elizabeth Bluemle

49. Night Flight by Robert Burleigh

50. One Duck by Hazel Hutchins

51. Pablo Goes Hunting by Hannah Giffard and Keith Tutt

52. Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie DePaola

53. Perfect Puppy For Me! By Jane O’connor and Jessie Hartland

54. Petit Papa Noel by Tino Rossi – many times!

55. Piggies in the Kitchen by Michelle Meadows

56. Sailor Boy Jig by Margaret Wise Brown

57. Sally Goes to the Beach by Stephen Huneck

58. Save The Tree! (Wonder Pets)

59. Sky Blue Accident Accidente celeste by Jorge Lujan – Bilingual

60. Sloppy Joe by Dave Keane

61. Stick by Steve Breen

62. Such a Prince by Dan Bar-el

63. The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires

64. The Night Eater by Ana Juan

65. The Magic Rabbit by Annette LeBlanc Cate

66. The Mitten by Jan Brett

67. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

68. The Shortest Day by Wendy Pfeffer

69. The Trouble with Dragons by Debi Gliori

70. Take Me Out of the Bathtub and other silly dilly songs by Alan Katz

71. The Block mess Monster by Betsty Howie

72. The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thopson

73. The Fuchsia is Now by J. Otto Seibold

74. The Hair of Zoe by Fleefenbacker Goes to School by Laurie Halse Anderson

75. The Little Reindeer by Michael Foreman

76. The Sheep Fairy by Ruthy Louise Symes

77. The Sneetches and other stories by Dr. Seuss – 4 Stories

78. Three Little Mermaids by Mara Van Fleet

79. Viking Tales by Jennie Hall – 2 Stories

80. Walking through the jungle Marchant a trafvers la jungle by Debbie Harter

81. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury

82. Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

83. Woodland Christmas by Frances Tyrrell

84. Zomo The Rabbit by Gerald McDermott

Read Story on Air Plane

French Story Time – 4 Books

Austyn:

1. Petit Papa Noel by Tino Rossi – Many times!

2. The Elson Readers Primer by William H. Elsonand Lura E. Runkel – 13 Stories( Austyn read)

3. Viking Tales by Jennie Hall – 7 Stories

French Story Time – 2 Books

Zoe:

1. A Dragon in a Wagon by Jane Belk Moncure

2. Angelina Ballerina by Jane Belk Moncure

3. Angelina’s Christmas by Katharine Holabird

4. Angelina’s Halloween by Katharine Holabird

5. Down By The Bay by Raffi – Zoe read

6. Five Little Ducks by Raffi –Zoe read

7. Got to Dance by M. C. Helldorfer

8. How Do I Love You? By Marion Dane Bauer

9. Hush Little Baby by Shari Halpern

10. Just Enough Carrots by Stuart J. Murphy

11. Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

12. The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Mary Ann Hoberman – Zoe read

13. Three Little Mermaids by Mara Van Fleet

14. To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda

15. Trixie and the Halloween Fairy by Daisy Meadows

Farm Cats

2011-12-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

Is that 7 cats? 8 cats? Hmmm... I don't know... LOL!!

Krimpy!

2011-12-01T04:47:00.000-08:00

Zoe has been doing her own hair and she uses a Barbie book we use that was purchased at a local used book store. She can put her own hair in a bun, pony tail and she can also braid her own hair. I unpacked my old crimper that I use to use when I was in highschool so I used it on her and knew she'd get a kick out of it. I think it looks great. She loved it!

Small, But Convinient Library

2011-11-30T04:45:00.000-08:00

We discovered that at one of the arenas that Austyn plays hockey at there is a small Library. Zoe took full advantage of it with a friend. It's likely the smallest library branch I've ever seen, but it sure was convinient for us.

Lego Guns

2011-11-29T04:41:00.000-08:00

Austyn has been playing a hunting game on the iPad and was inspired to make some guns. Here are three of them.

At Lego Club Zoe made one as well.

Book Sharing Monday - Tess's Tree

2011-11-28T01:49:00.000-08:00

Tess's Tree by Jess M. Brallier is a book about a little girl named Tess who grew up playing around a tree in her yard. It was much older than her and one day it had to be cut down.

Tess was very sad and she decided to hold a service for the tree. To her surprise many people showed up for the service. They all loved the tree as well and had stories to tell from their experiences with it.

It's a wonderful, book about sharing memories and the loss of something that touched many people's lives. The tree may have been taken away but they all became more connected in their loss.

Alpaca Farm Field Trip

2011-11-26T14:50:00.000-08:00

I set up a trip for our homeschool group to go to an Alpaca farm in our area. The kids were shown what machines are used to prepare the wool from the Alpacas.

She showed them some types of yarn and felt that have been made.

The kids were shown things that are made with the wool. Here are some felted items that were made by hand. If you want a good blog that features alot of home-made felting projects a good one to visit is The Magic Onions. She also sells felted toys and other items.

These are the boys. They are kept on their own.

The kids got to go into the barn with the animals and outside with them. The animals seemed so friendly and many of them were timid.

Math is different

2011-11-25T16:03:00.000-08:00

What may look like a regular math worksheet to one person is something completely different for someone working on RightStart Math. In fact, someone came over and saw what Austyn was working on and proceeded to show him him the procedures she was taught in school on how to do the worksheet, but this is not the intention of the program. This program isn't about memorizing and learning proceedures to do math. It's more about TRUELY understanding how math works. It's hard to understand this, for some, especially if they were good at memorizing and learning proceedures (were good in math).

This lesson was taking two 4-place numbers and adding them using the base ten cards and trading with a bank. So, instead of learning to carry the one or two or whatever, he is truely learning that there was a place value to it that is moving along. Here is what the book says about this lesson: "This purpose of the leson is not to teach the child paper and pencil procedures, rather she is to experience trading on a more abstract level."

While Austyn worked on math Zoe had a snack that turned into an art project!

Hugo!!!

2011-11-25T04:47:00.000-08:00

Austyn can't wait to see this movie!

We read the book after being told about it from Alex who publishes the Canadian Home Learning blog and it was amazing! I recommend it to anyone with a child who loves suspence and adventure. An obsession with tinkering with things couldn't hurt either.

I wonder if the movie will be as good as the book. If you have seen this movie and want to comment, please share!

Nature Behind the Farm

2011-11-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

We went back to the bush behind the farm where we are currently living.

Zoe and I took the golf cart and Austyn drove his dirt bike. I explained that with all of the noise the animals won't be out for us to see, but they insisted. After all, it is a very long walk to get all the way back to the trees.

There were deer tracks everywhere and we saw some close to the farm as well, which surprised us.

This little guy stuck out like a sore thumb on the dull ground.

We looked at different weeds of the area.

The cat tails were spreading their seeds.

The milkweeds were fluffy as well.

We helped spread their seeds by making wishes and blowing them toward the ditch.

We looked at different leaves and tried to identify which trees they fell from. They decided to make leaf rubs from some of the leaves.

We looked at the shapes of the trees.

After spoting a hunters tent we decided not to enter the trees incase someone was there hunting.

We spoted a sea gull and these Canadian geese.

This Queen Annes Lace had an insect nest in the middle of it.

This fungus looked bright on the dull bark of this tree.

We saw many kinds of nuts. Here is an acorn that lost it's cap.

There were many berries. Some looked like a dark purple/black, as well. We liked how these berries were so bright.

This flower was still alive.

I'm not sure what these marks on the ground are from. Maybe deer antlers rubbed here? There were many tracks here and an opening into the bush where it looked like the deer frequented.

Zoe grew antlers.

We found this balloon.

This is a spot where a tree fell and the combine ran over it. The beans here were still on the plants.

This grasshopper looked pretty healthy.

This one didn't look so healthy. Zoe was able to pick him up without a fight.

I thought it was cool how this maple leaf fell right in the middle of this large weed.

It was a great day for some nature. I think that if we ever own land and have a bush we would make it free of hunting so that we could explore the trees without having to worry about being mistaken for a deer.

Book Sharing Monday - Creature abc

2011-11-21T01:28:00.000-08:00

A simple book with a few words from the animal kingdom and the alphabet.Creature abc by Andrew Zuckerman is full of stunning, close-up photography of animals.

Because of the photography, I'd say that this book is interesting for young and old.

Simple, but beautiful!

Petite Papa Noel

2011-11-16T03:59:00.000-08:00

Austyn is learning this song to sing at the library. Zoe is learning the chorus to sing with the other children and Austyn is learning as much of the song as he can to sing on his own. This video is Celine Dion's version of it and some of it is translated into English. I think it's a very pretty song. Here are the actual lyrics and the English.

C'est la belle nuit de Noël
La neige étend son manteau blanc
Et les yeux levés vers le ciel
À genoux, les petits enfants
Avant de fermer les paupières
Font une dernière prière.

It's a beautiful Christmas night
Snow spreads its white coat
And eyes lift toward the sky
On their knees, small children
Before closing their eyes
Say a last prayer.

Petit papa Noël
Quand tu descendras du ciel
Avec des jouets par milliers
N'oublie pas mon petit soulier.
Mais avant de partir
Il faudra bien te couvrir
Dehors tu vas avoir si froid
C'est un peu à cause de moi.

Little Santa Claus
When you come down from the sky
With thousands of toys
Don't forget my little stocking.
But before you leave
You should dress well
Outside you will be so cold
And it's kind of my fault.

Le marchand de sable est passé
Les enfants vont faire dodo
Et tu vas pouvoir commencer
Avec ta hotte sur le dos
Au son des cloches des églises
Ta distribution de surprises.

The sandman has passed
The children are going to sleep
And you will be able to begin,
With your sack on your back,
To the sound of church bells,
Your distribution of surprises.

Refrain

Refrain

Il me tarde que le jour se lève
Pour voir si tu m'as apporté
Tous les beaux joujoux que je vois en rêve
Et que je t'ai commandés.

I can't wait for sunrise
To see if you brought me
All the lovely toys that I see in my dreams
And that I ordered from you.

Refrain

Refrain

Et quand tu seras sur ton beau nuage
Viens d'abord sur notre maison
Je n'ai pas été tous les jours très sage
Mais j'en demande pardon.

And when you are on your beautiful cloud
Come first to our house
I wasn't always very good
But I ask for your forgiveness.

Refrain

Refrain

Math that is so much fun?! It's true!!

2011-11-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

I know I've said it before, but our math program is way too much fun! We use RightStart Math and do the lessons at our own pace. This lesson that is finally finished was in a previous post and is made for a group of kids to do. We did it on our own. It took some time. This is called the Cotters Fractal Ten Triangle. It is meant to be stuck on a wall and ends up being 6 feet tall when finished. HERE is a recent post I read on another blog that features this triangle on their school room wall. I love their description and details about fractals.

We didn't put our triangle on a wall because we don't have a house to put it on the wall of. We are living with relatives and they don't want this big triangle thing on their wall. The floor was the next best place. There are tiny triangles that we coloured and cut out. Then we took ten triangles and pasted them on a larger triangle so that they were edge to edge to make a larger triangle. Then we took the larger triangles with ten triangles on them and pasted them onto a larger triangle in the same fashion making one large triangle with ten medium triangles that were made from ten smaller triangles. This project helps children understand how tens make up larger numbers and how equilateral triangles can be placed together to make larger triangles.

I have read that some people didn't like this project because it was tedious and time-consuming, but Austyn loved it.

Following Interests for ANY Age

2011-11-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

When people ask about our homeschooling they usually ask us if the school gives us their curriculum. When I tell them that we don't follow the school curriculum from our area they usually look surprised. I do remind them that the curriculum isn't free, we pay taxes and don't get any of that money back for school tax (in Ontario) and I probably wouldn't follow the curriculum if it WERE free and delivered right to my door. I generally get a really strange look by this point. You know the look! The one where suddenly I must have three heads.

They usually ask more questions. "What curriculum do you follow?" "But what do we do for math?" "Do they learn to read?" "What grade would they be in?" "Do they get tested?" "What about socialization?" "Why do you homeschool?" I will answer any questions asked very politely, even if they seem a bit defensive or rude. Usually people just sound surprised and confused. I explain that we follow the interests of the kids and I don't make them do anything they don't want to do. They love to learn, they love our math program, they don't get tested and that the socialization I see my kids experience everyday far exceeds what I remember experiencing in school. Usually by this point my kids are talking the parent's ear off and telling him/her things that they do and know.

I think that the concept of following the child's interests is fairly easy to understand, even for a main-stream or traditional type of person. Most people show signs of seeing some benefits and even give me examples of how their kids or grandkids lost interest in a subject or something wasn't taught in a way that they liked and turned them off of school. I think that if more people knew about child-led learning there would be changes in the system to be more flexible to the needs of every individual child. At least that would be my hope.

I am no perfect homeschool mom. We have bumps in the road, but here is an example of following an interest. Some unschoolers who are more radical than I would just leave kids and let them explore on their own in the world. I think this is great if it works for them. I will introduce subjects in our house and see if there is interest. I just don't force anything. This can be done for any age, but sometimes you don't even really have to introduce anything, or at least not intentionally. A good example of this is Zoe's interest in mermaids. She is only 5 and if you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she will answer quickly because she already knows that she wants to be a mermaid! I would never tell her that she can't. Why should I?! It's a great thing to aspire toward! Why can't she set her sights on being a mermaid? She is only 5 years old. And I know I met someone before who became a mermaid when she grew up! Yup!! I did!! Really!!!! Haven't you ever been to Disney World?!!

This is an interest that can't be passed up in our homeschool. I looked for printables on the internet, she draws mermaids, makes mermaids, watches mermaid movies, and reads mermaid books. The librarian went to work for us, after learning of Zoe's interest and came up with some really great mermaid books and some so-so mermaid books. These three were our favourites.

The Mermaid Secret is a story of two sisters who found out that they had a secret past and their whole view of their world and themselves ended up changing as they went through a strange adventure. The cool thing about this book is that the author is from Alberta and the places mentioned in the book the kids knew well. One of those places was the West Edmonton Mall! So, according to this fictitious story... mermaids have been in the pool there! Both of my kids loved this story.

The middle book is a book all about the history of mermaids and their myths. It's a beautiful book with many fold outs, flaps and much more. We are still getting through this one because it is long and a bit more time consuming than the other two.

The book on the right was a fast read with some of the facts of mermaids that people claim to have experienced. There are sightings, some examination, and a bit of mystery left for the reader to wonder.

Even though this was Zoe's interest, both of my kids loved this subject and even if your life is busy, reading books cover many subjects all on its own. Math, geography, history, myths, reading, language, and much more can be learned just from reading books. Reading can create enthusiasm and ideas in each child to do other things related to what they have read.

I don't know if you noticed this or not, but these three books are not your average 5 year old picture books. They are probably rated for a much older child and are almost novels. I know that even some homeschool families follow age ranges of books very strictly. We don't!!! At all!!! Some of the best books are geared toward older children, but if my kids want to read them, and they don't appear to have any inappropriate subjects in it (eg. sex, drugs, extreme violence) I read them!! The vocabulary is usually more advanced and the stories are more detailed and my children have become accustomed to this. If I never did this they may not have the vocabulary that they have or understand as much as they do. They take in what they know from more rich material and ask questions when they want to know more and leave what they aren't ready for behind until another time.

Well, that's a little more about us and how we homeschool and follow interests.

Book Sharing Monday - The Marshmallow Incident

2011-11-14T01:50:00.000-08:00

If you liked the book Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs you will love this book. The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett carries on the same bizarre twists as other books written by this author.

It's a story about two towns separated by a guarded dotted line that nobody was allowed to cross. One day something strange happened and the people from both towns began to question this law.

I bet you are wondering where the marshmallows fit into this story. Well, I may just have to keep you hanging... ;)

It's a great book to illustrate how our world may have some silly laws and if people don't question them sometimes life may not be as great as it could be for all people. It is always okay to question these things.Yes, this also stands for parental laws. LOL!

Beginner Hockey Fun!

2011-11-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

I think these pictures speak for themselves.

What fun Zoe gets to have.

First Goal!

2011-11-12T04:48:00.000-08:00

Austyn is doing great in hockey. The coaches seem great. He loves to pose when he sees me with the camera.

He is already starting to make friends on the team.

I almost didn't get it because I was a bit slow with the camera and it ended up being a bit blurred due to me hurrying. At least I got it on video!

Going Home

2011-11-10T04:41:00.000-08:00

Our vacation was too short. We met this Canadian family who were on the flight with us. The kids stood at the window and watched as the ground crew helped to bring the plane in. There were marks on the ground. One long line that the middle wheel stays on and three lines across that line. The plane stopped on the middle line. Interest can be sparked or something can be learned from just about any moment of our lives.You just never know what we will learn tomorrow!

Nature in Florida

2011-11-09T16:06:00.000-08:00

We like to watch the turtles and fish when we go to Florida. Here is one big turtle we saw.

They come close to be fed.

There are many kinds of ducks and other water birds all over Florida. These ducks were at Magic Kingdom.

This interesting bird was flying over our pool and I got a picture of it because Austyn and I were keeping an eye for them and trying to figure out what types of birds we were seeing. It appears to be a type of gull but it flew and dove more like a raptor. I tried to look it up. I thought it was a kite, or a gull or an osprey. I can't seem to find it. If you can identify it, let me know what it is.

This looks like a vulture. There were many American Black Vultures around.

Every year the kids try to catch the little lizards that run around all over the ground.

I think these are brown Anoles. We even watched their behaviour with eachother and saw a couple of them puff up their chins until the chin was big and bright red. Here is a link.

This one had a short tail. I think it's tail has been pulled off and it is now growing a new one. More information on them and their tails can be found HERE.

We are pretty sure we saw other raptors while driving around and we found some cool clusters of orange toadstools, but I didn't have my camera. We learn something new every time we go to Florida.

Halloween Party at the Resort

2011-11-09T04:47:00.000-08:00

Our resort hosted a Halloween Party. Someone took a picture of us on our way. We were on our way to the other side of the resort for the kids to trick-or-treat with super heroes and villains.

Batman and Captain America gave every child a card that explained what super power each of them had.

They went up in front of the crowd and shared their costume and their power.

Zoe explained to her spokes person that her costume is Lady Kate from Shakespeare.

After they got a certificate they got to walk around the large pool to each super hero station. There were games to play and many of the super heroes gave candy and toys out. Here is Cat woman showing Austyn one of the games. It's a cross bow and he is to try and hit a target.

My favorite was Harley Quin. You will know her if you ever play Batman Lego video games. Her costume was fabulous. Too bad you can't tell by this picture. She was passing candy through bars. What a great set-up!

I'm not sure if we were suppose to or not but I had them pose in front of a backdrop that was there.

After their bins were full of candy they started the music and everyone danced. I danced with them. We had a good Halloween! It's a great time of year to be in Florida.

Resort Fun

2011-11-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

There are always many things to do at the resort we stay at.

There are many pools to choose from.

There are always crafts, board games, movies, and other activities to do.

Austyn made a couple door hangers for when he gets his own room again.

Zoe made a craft and coloured.

They met some friends and one friend they want to keep in touch with.

This is daddy's splash at the slide.

We needed this vacation. I wish it could have been longer, but with my Dad sick I didn't want to be gone too long.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

2011-11-08T04:41:00.000-08:00

We went to the Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. I loved the decorations!

We sat behind the castle this time to watch the fireworks.

It was a good time and we left with a bag full of candy each.

He is now 8 Years Old!

2011-11-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that he is eight years old! Where does the time go?! We celebrated his Birthday in Florida with a Captain America cake.

Book Sharing Monday - Why War Is Never A Good Idea

2011-11-07T01:13:00.000-08:00

Why War Is Never A Good Idea is a poetic journey in the sad reality of war around the world.

The visuals show both the innocence and ignorance of those in areas about to be hit by war erupting a feeling of connection with those who seem the same as us and are unaware of what is about to happen. We also see the sad outcome of war through the after effects and destruction.

New Travel Experience

2011-11-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

We have traveled in many different ways, but one thing we have never done with the kids is take a ferry. Instead of waiting at the bridge we took the ferry to get to Michigan. We were on our way to Detroit so that we would be on time for our flight to Florida. The kids thought this was pretty cool!

The GPS shows that our car is in the middle of the river. All you see is the car on blue.

Early Birthday Presents

2011-11-05T04:10:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our vacation. Austyn had his birthday on vacation so before we left he got presents from grandparents and then from us. He opened up some gifts from Zoe.

One gift from her was home-made. This is a pig nose.

We are really tired of purchasing toys for birthdays, so this year we did something different. We got him a dirt bike. We felt that he was ready and that it would be something that he could learn about and take responsibility for.

Daddy had to take a spin first, just to make sure it works properly. I think he is having a little too much fun, though. LOL!

Austyn got a few lessons from Daddy about how to run it and maintain it. They also changed the oil before running it.

It wasn't long before he was driving it all over the yard and in the field. He loves it!

This is just another benefit of living in wide open spaces instead of in a city or town.

100 Books a Month Challenge - October 2011

2011-11-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that there are books that I missed here, but this is our list. It is a bit shorter than usual. We had a vacation in this time and we have been doing more social activities than normal to get to know some homeschoolers in our new area. If you look at the chapters and count each of them as well as what was read at the library programs we reached 104, so we still met our goal!

Austyn and Zoe:

1. Aaron’s Hair by Robert Munsch – Audio Book

2. Abel and the Wolf by Sergio Lairla

3. A Job For Wittilda by Caralyn and Mark Buehner

4. A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer

5. Always by Alison McGhee and Pascal Lemaitre

6. Ant Grasshopper by Luli Gray

7. Ballroom Bonanza by Nina Rycroft

8. Bear on the Train by Julie Lawson

9. Bobby Bramble Loses His Brain by David Keane

10. Boo! By Robert Munsch – Audio Book

11. Born to Be a Butterfly by Karen Wallace

12. Button UP! By Alice Schertle

13. Can You Growl Like a Bear? By John Butler

14. Celebrations in My World Thanksgiving

15. Chicken, Pig, Cow and the Purple Problem by Ruth Ohi

16. Chicken, Pig, Cow On the Move by Ruth Ohi

17. Clifford’s First Valentine’s Day by Norman Bridwell

18. Come On, Rain! By Karen Hesse – Audio Book

19. Corduroy Gets a Pet by Don Treeman

20. Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

21. Daffodil by Emily Jenkins

22. Dora the Explorer Dora Saves Mermaid Kingdom! By Michael Teitelbaum

23. Dracula’s Daughter by Mary Heffman - 4 chapters

24. Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott

25. Fairly Fairy Tales by Esme Raji Codell

26. Fat Cat byt Margaret Read MacDonald

27. Follow The Line through the house by Laura Ljungkvist

28. Fortune Cookies by Albert Bitterman

29. Fraisement merci par Meigan E. Bryant

30. Go Away, Big Green Monster! By Ed Emberley

31. Happy and Max The Sunken Ship Adventure by Kris Jamsa, Ph.D.

32. Hattie Hippo by Christine Loomis

33. Hush Little Dragon by Boni Ashburn

34. I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose Lewis

35. Jimmy Neutron Return of the Pumpkin Head by Jenny Miglis

36. La drole de nuit du Pere Noel by Gwenaelle Boulet

37. Mabel’s Magical Garden by Paula Metcalf

38. Makeup Mess by Robert Munsch

39. Marttha Doesn’t Say Sorry! By Samantha Berger

40. Meraid Dreams by Mark Sperring

41. My Pig Amarillo by Satomi Ichikawa

42. Napping House by Audrey Wood – Audio Book

43. Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel

44. Open Wide by Laurie Keller – Audio Book

45. Pancakes for Supper! By Anne Isaacs

46. Pirate Pete by Kim Kennedy

47. Rattlebone Rock by Sylvia Andrews

48. Rose by Night by Mireille Levert

49. Shake dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa

50. She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain by Chris Demarest

51. Skeleton Meets the Mummy by Steve Metzger

52. Skelly the Skeleton Girl by Jimmy Pickering

53. Song for a Princess by Rachael Mortimer

54. Spot’s Halloween Party by Eric Hill

55. Tell Me A Scary Story... But Not TOO Scary! By Carl Reiner

56. That’s Hockey by David Bouchard and Dean Griffiths

57. The Best Birthday Ever! By Charise Mericle Harper

58. The Block Mess Monster by Betsy Howie

59. The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse

60. The Flea’s Sneeze by Lynn Downey

61. The Great Divide A Mathematical Marathon b y Dayle Ann Dodds

62. The Great Graph Contest by Loreen Leedy

63. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

64. The Little Bit Scary People by Emily Jenkins

65. The Long Weekend by Troon Harrison

66. The Mermaid Secret by Vicki Blum – 13 chapters

67. The Mushroom Hunt by Simon Frazer

68. The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey

69. The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett

70. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell! By Lucille Colandro

71. The Squeaky Door by Margaret Read MacDonald

72. The Teeny Tiny Ghost by Kay Winters

73. Timothy Cox Will Not Change His Socks by Robert Kinerk and Stephen Gammell

74. Up in the Tree by Margaret Atwood – Audio Book

75. What Do You Do With A Kangaroo? By Mercer Mayer

76. Wild Witches Ball by Jack Prelutsky

77. Wolves by Emily Gravett

78. World of Moths by Martha E. H. Rustad

79. Would You Rather be a Pollywog? By Bonnie Worth

80. Yuck! By Mick Manning

Story Time October 4 – 3 Books
French Story Time October 5 – 1 Books
Story Time October 11 – 4 Books
French Story Time October 12 – 1 Book
French Story Time October 19 – 1 Book

Austyn:

1. A Natural History Dragons and Unicorns by Paul and Karin Johnsguard - 15 chapters

Zoe:

1. Horse Happy by Sibley Miller - 3 Chapters

2. How Emily Blair got her Fabulous Hair by Susan Garrison

3. Princess Poppy Mermaid Perincess by Janey Louise Jones

Me:

Golf for Enlightenment (don't ask... LOL!)

Zenschooling by Tammy Takahashi (I finished this book)

Book Sharing Monday - I Love the Rain

2011-10-31T01:49:00.000-07:00

I Love the Rain by Margaret park Bridges is a story that I love because it shows how just by changing your perspective, something that you may not have liked becomes likable. The other lesson learned in this book is that if you have a positive outlook about something sometimes it's contagious and your friends will also gain a positive outlook.

Molly hates the rain, but by the end of this book she is singing "Sun, sun go away!"

Pumpkin Carving with Grandma

2011-10-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

Grandma brought over a couple of pumpkins for us to carve. The kittens wanted to help.

Both kids took turns getting messy.

We saved the seeds and toasted them with butter and salt in the oven afterward.

Zoe took a little break to take a drive with the kittens.

She decided to add some details after her pumpkin was carved.

The pumpkins turned out great. Austyn's is on the left and Zoe's is on the right.

Happy Halloween!!

Insects still to be found.

2011-10-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

It's getting cooler outside but there are still insects to be found. Here is an interesting moth.

We still see bees and wasps now and again.

Legos Again

2011-10-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Lego Club renewed his interest in Legos. It took me some time but after going through a bunch of boxes I found some.

Book Sharing Monday - Mostly Monsterly

2011-10-24T01:59:00.000-07:00

Bernadette is a little girl monster who doesn't fit in with other monsters in this book called Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer.

She love to do un-monsterly things like hug, pick flowers, and sing.

Eventually she finds a way to be more monsterly but still be herself.

To join in on the fun of Book Sharing Monday or to read other entries visit http://canadianhomelearning.blogspot.com/

Fun Math and a Little Distraction

2011-10-22T04:53:00.000-07:00

We skipped a park day because we were having so much fun on a math project. We are working on Triangles for Cotter Tens Fractal. It may sound boring but Austyn loved it. It will be 6 feet tall when we are done.

While we sat there cutting and gluing, we chatted and out of that chat the kids learned of my pet rock when I was a kid. So, they headed outside and picked out stones to colour on and name. They also made houses out of cups.

It was a fun distraction!

We are more than half way through the project now. It's a long project if it's only a couple of people doing it. This project was meant for a classroom of kids, I think, but we are still plugging away.

Lego Club

2011-10-21T04:06:00.000-07:00

Moving to a new area and taking over the local secular homschooling group, I set up some activities. One of those activities is Lego Club. We attended a Lego Club in Edmonton and we loved it so I set one up here. We still don't have our own full stash of Legos, but with the word out I'm hoping to get some soon.

One of the Moms in the group offered to let us use her son's Legos for now. It was a hit! We had five families and I know that many families couldn't make it that day, so I expect that the next meet will be doubled because I reserved it for a day that works better for everyone.

We showed the group some of the Lego Apps we use on the iPad. Zoe took a picture of her friend's creation with an iPad before we had to take it apart and put the pieces away.

Kids are welcome to bring creations from home and do a "Show and Tell" period. They can also show the creations that were made during our time at Lego Club. What a great way to practice speaking in front of people!

First Hockey Practice

2011-10-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Zoe decided that she wants to play hockey now. She never wanted to before and had almost no interest in skating, but with going to Austyn's hockey practices and starting the Homeschool Hockey and Power Skating in this area, she now wants to play. So, her first practice was at 7AM! Yup!! They were the first kids on the ice. It wasn't easy getting her up but she went out there and was one of the best skaters of her level. Grandpa and Nanny came to watch.

She was a pretty good skater. She is in goal in the picture above.

She enjoyed showing off for us and looked our way often.

Playing Outside On Their Own

2011-10-18T16:47:00.000-07:00

One of the complaints that I always had about my kids is that I could never figure out why they wouldn't go out and play without me. We have always lived in subdivisions and for some strange reason they wouldn't go out to play unless I came too. If I couldn't go out they wouldn't go.

When we are out in the country it's a different story! Here is a picture of them running through the fields. They love playing outside here and who needs parents!? There are wide open spaces. They seem to be drawn outdoors here. They spend hours wandering, playing together, looking for insects, or playing with the farm cats.

Time Apart

2011-10-18T04:33:00.000-07:00

While Daddy and Austyn took the beans to the mill we went to visit Grandma. It was interesting to see Zoe away from Austyn. They really don't do much apart. Zoe seemed so quiet without Austyn there. We had a good visit. She spent time learning how to play the piano with Grandma.

As you can see, Zoe did her hair before we went to Grandma's house. I think she did a great job!

Harvesting Beans

2011-10-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of living in the country is learning about where our food comes from. Thanksgiving Weekend is when farmers take off the beans.

The fields around us were no exception. Since Daddy was home he offered to take the beans to the mill for the farmer who does the fields here. The kids got a look in the wagon and felt the beans.

Daddy and Austyn got their snacks and water ready and loaded up into the tractor.

Off they went to the mill! Now Austyn wants to live on a farm and Daddy thought the experience was relaxing. We are now looking at farms. LOL!!!

Book Sharing Monday - Scary Stories and Songs

2011-10-17T01:45:00.000-07:00

We thoroughly enjoyed Diane Goode's Scary Stories and Songs from start to finish. It's a book that you absolutely have to read with a Southern Accent to fully respect.

After reading this book we started to use a saying from one of the stories (shown in the picture above) called "Tain't So". It's a story about a man named Old Mr. Dickins who died but didn't know it since they didn't have his grave stone marked yet. He sat on the fence at the grave yard and greeted towns folk as they passed. Each person said that they heard that he had died but Old Man Dickins kept replying "Tain't So!"

This book has proven to us that the Scary stories from the American South are the most entertaining!

Thanksgiving with Family

2011-10-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful warm Thanksgiving meal with family. The weather was so wonderful that we had our meal outside! The kids had a great deal of fun playing.

Zoe met a new friend. She has already been asking when we'll see her next.

The Great Dane was so much fun and taking it for a walk was odd since it usually took people for walks instead.

I am amazed at how great the weather was and even into the night. It was so warm. What a great time!

Secret Princess Diary

2011-10-12T04:06:00.000-07:00

At Toys R Us we found a Secret Disney Princess Diary that was on sale. I bought it for Zoe and she has almost finished filling all of it in in only a couple of days. What a great way to get her to practice spelling, printing, drawing, and imagination. We took the diary to hockey so she could work on it when Austyn was playing. She has been hiding the key and she calls it her "Homework Book". What fun!!!!

Dance Lessons with family

2011-10-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

The same day as Track and Field I let the kids play as long as they possibly could at the park and then we went to Zoe's dance lesson. We had to drive hours and who knew what type of traffic we would encounter since it was a different direction compared to going home. So, we ate on the way and I got Zoe dressed at dance. It was funny because she had sand falling out everywhere. I wondered if the teacher would notice. Here is a picture of her with my cousin's daughter. They are both in the same class now. They just met a week ago and I think they will become good friends.

It's so nice to have some familiar people around. We are so use to moving around to places where we don't know anyone. Who would have guessed that we would choose the same dance studio as family?!

Track and Field - Where we use to live

2011-10-11T04:40:00.000-07:00

On Friday we drove a long way to join in with our old homeschool group. We haven't seen our old homeschool friends for almost a year. The kids are growing so fast! There are two groups that get together and they are open to homeschoolers from their groups and surrounding areas to come out and join in on the fun. We all gather at a large park in the far South of Ontario and use items that families bring to set up track and field activities. This year was a huge turn-out. It was so much fun and something that we needed for a long time. It has been a while since we have been around that many familiar homeschoolers and having that much fun.

The weather was unusually warm. I think the temperature got up to 25 degrees Celsius! What a treat to be able to be out with friends in this weather and having this much fun while all of the school kids are in school. Who ever heard of playing in the water at the beach in October!! This sure isn't common here in Ontario!! I think the pictures speak for themselves, but where needed I'll add more information.

If you are wondering what they are doing here... it's a rolling race.

This was a crab race.

This is racing with a partner. Austyn picked a friend he has missed and talks about often.

There is a Blue Heron in the top left corner of the picture. They usually share the beach with us when we come here.

The kids can sometimes get close to the Egret and a ferry is running not far away.

There was a sand castle contest.

It was a wonderful fall day that seemed more like summer. What a treat for us since we have been in Alberta all summer and missing the beaches. This was our beach time and we savored every minute of it. It was a refreshing day in many ways!

Physical Education for Homeschoolers

2011-10-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

Do your kids go to school? Do they do phys-ed? We do! We have joined in with another local homeschool group for gymnastics. Zoe and Austyn love it! Zoe was too advanced for the younger level so they moved her up to the higher level with Austyn.

We started Power Skating and Hockey with one of the local groups. It's extra ice time for Austyn and Zoe loved it so much that she decided that she wants to do hockey now.

I went out and got her some hockey gear. This is her first time trying out hockey with the group.

She really didn't know what to do and skated around everywhere, but it was cute and she had fun.

We plan on doing some swimming soon. There is an indoor pool near us and they have a good deal of public swim time during school hours.

Some days I feel a little bad because I feel like my kids have an advantage over other kids because my children can choose an activity and do extra classes of it during the day to get good really fast or they can choose many activities and do some at night and others in the day. I see that other children are restricted to only night time and that limits their time on these types of things. But then I think about the fact that kids in school do phys-ed and my kids don't, other than running around outside and whatever they do on their own. So, for us, this is our phys-ed class. And yes, in some ways my kids do have an advantage. They could choose to dedicate more of their time on a subject or activity that they are interested in. They have a bit more freedom. It's wonderful!

Book Sharing Monday - Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich

2011-10-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

We borrowed the audio version of this book from our library. My kids loved it!! It's a fun, creepy mix of poems, stories, and songs.

The pictures are extra scary and the voices on the cd are perfect. There are many different monsters throughout the book. When we finished Austyn said "Wow! We have to get Daddy to listen to this one!"

Park Day

2011-10-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

After much thought I have decided that instead of doing a weekly wrap-up, I will just do posts on the things we are doing. It seems to work better for us and makes more sense right now.

I may have already mentioned that I took over the secular group. I think that it is very important for all areas of Canada to have public homeschool groups that are accessible for anyone moving to the area or just starting to homeschool. So, the moms who were in charge passed the group off to me so that I could get it going again. There has been no activity for a very long time. The first thing I started was Park Day. Our family and one other family seem to be the regular attendants so far and we have met two other families at park days.

This week Austyn drew some pictures inspired by Dragon books and this book by Emily Gravett called The Rabbit Problem. He made a little booklet called the Dragon Problem and a picture to give to a friend at park day on the same subject.

I didn't get as many pictures this week but we did find something interesting at the base of this tree. We couldn't determine if it was a type of fungus or if this was something a person put here. It was kind of hard but reminded me of spray foam. It was much more metallic looking than this image shows.

Zoe brought her camera to take pictures. They played around this tree and on the ball diamond a good deal this week. It is nice to feel like we have a bit of a schedule even though I have booked more activities than normal right now. We want to get out and meet other homeschool families in this area and then we expect to slow down by December. For this reason we haven't done as much academic (at home) this week. Next week we will have two less activity and the week after that one more less. So, we will be home a little bit more. It's important to get out and meet some regular friends.

Book Sharing Monday - Elbert's Bad Word

2011-10-03T01:21:00.000-07:00

Elbert's Bad Word by Audrey Wood is about a little boy who snatches a bad word out of the air and keeps it in his pocket. Without warning he uses the word.

This story shows one example of how a child might stop saying a bad word.

Our kids are not innocent. They have used bad words before. My husband and I are the type of people who question things about parenting and society. We discussed bad words and had many questions. Who decided that it's a bad word anyway? Why is it a bad word? Why do we have bad words? Is it for authoritarian power over others with the use of guilt? Some may say that it's just plane rude, but isn't it just rude because society has told us that? Isn't it just our perception? Although we shouldn't dwell on others think, we also don't want to insult others.

Our kids know our opinion on this and found this book funny and interesting. Zoe also pointed out that the author never says the bad word in the book. I think she was hoping to know what the boy said. LOL!