Austyn got this large science kit from his uncle for Christmas when his grandparents got here to visit for a week. You already saw in the last post that he was working on a gem dig. This one is a dinosaur dig. He worked on it one evening and finished it the next morning. Zoe is working on a kindergarten workbook that she got for Christmas.

Here is his first dinosaur bone sticking out. It's a foot.

He is showing Zoe the pieces as they appear in the brick.

Here is a view of the bones in the block. He used a brush to see them more clear.

After he got all of the pieces out he assembled the bones into a full dinosaur skeleton.

A Visit from Family

We moved away from family but we also moved close to family. This is family we now have met and others in our family have not had the privilage of meeting them yet.

The kids had a great time playing together. Here they are eating candy and showing off their make-up.

Look at the bonding going on with Austyn and his science project.

They are hunting for gems. Here is one.

Here the girls are playing musical instruments. It was wonderful to see them and we had a really great visit.

I wish everyone a wonderful 2011!

100 Books A Month / Reading Our Library

I didn't keep track of our reading this month and last month I didn't get a chance to share what we read before the computer was packed for our move. So, here is the list of what we read last month (November).

Read to Austyn and Zoe:

1.       A Apple Pie by Gennady Spirin

2.       A Carol for Christmas by Ann Tompert

3.       All Falling Down by Gene Zion

4.       Animal Moves by Dawn Apperley

5.       Animal Noises by Dawn Apperley

6.       Are You Grumpy, Santa? By Gregg and Evan Spiridellis – 2x

7.       Bad Dog, Marley! By John Grogan

8.       Bear Feels Sick by Carma Wilson

9.       Bear Flies High by Michael Rosen

10.   Big Bear Sleeps by Marueen Wright

11.   Big Fat Hen by Keith Baker

12.   Boo! By Robert Munsch

13.   Boomer’s Bi Day by Constance W. McGeorge

14.   Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See? By Eric Carle

15.   Carrot Soup by John Segal

16.   Cats by Gail Gibbons

17.   Cherry and Olive by Benjamin Lacombe

18.   Christmas by Alice K. Flanagan

19.   City Hawk The Story of Pale Male by Meghan McCarthy

20.   Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Bryan Cauley

21.   Comet’s Nine Lives by Jan Brett

22.   Cool Bopper’s Choppers by Linda Oatman High

23.   Cowboy and Octopus b Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

24.   Danny in the Toy Box by by Richard Tulloch and Armin Greder

25.   Deck the Halls by Sylvia Long

26.   Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime by Bob Shay

27.   Down The Drain! By Robert Munsch

28.   Duck on a Bike by David Shannon

29.   Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert

30.   Flapdoodle Dinosaurs by David A. Carter

31.   Froggie Went A-Courtin’ by Iza Trapani

32.   From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

33.   Grandfather Buffalo by Jim Arnosky

34.   Grandma Chickenlegs by Geraldine McCaughrean

35.   Gumption! By Elise Broach

36.   Harry and the Lady Next Door by Gene Zion – 4 chapters

37.   Harry by the Sea by Gene Zion

38.   Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion – x2

39.   Hat by Paul Hoppe

40.   Have you seen my cat? By Eric Carle

41.   Hippo Goes Bananas by Margarie Denis Murry

42.   His Royal Buckliness by Kevin Hawkes

43.   HopToad by Jane Yoland

44.   How The Grinch Stole Christmas! By Dr. Seuss

45.   If I Were A Tree by Dar Hosta

46.   If You’re Happy and you know it by James Warhola

47.   I’m the Biggest Thin in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

48.   I Really Want a Do by Susan Breslow and Sally Blakemore

49.   I Want My Light On! By Tony Ross

50.   Jim’s Lion by Russell Hoban

51.   Jingle Bells by Playmore/Waldman

52.   Lily and the Mixed-Up Letters by Deborah Hodge

53.   Little Tree by E. E. Cummins and Chris Raschka

54.   Martha Speaks by Susan Meadaugh

55.   May I Pet Your Dog? By Stephanie Calmenson

56.   Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

57.   Sorting Money by Jennifer L. Marks

58.   Mouse in the House by John and Ann Hassett

59.   Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley

60.   Moving by Michael Rosen and Sophy Williams

61.   Moving Gives Me a Stomach Ache Heather McKend

62.   Mrs. Katz and Tush Patricia Polacco

63.   Noel by Tony Johnston

64.   No Roses for Harry! By Gene Zion

65.   Olive the Other Raindeer by J. Otfo Seibold and Vivian Walsch

66.   Outdoor Jokes by Pam Rosenberg

67.    Pooh’s Christmas Gifts by Isabel Gaines

68.   Possum and the Peeper by Anne Hunter

69.   Prairie Christmas by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk

70.   Puss in Boots by C. Perrault

71.   Red Moon Follows Truck by Stephen Eaton Hume and Leslie Elizabeth Watts

72.   Sally Goes to the Vet by Stephen Huneck

73.   Santa Who? By Gail Gibbons

74.   Santa’s New Suit by Laura Rader

75.   Shhhh! Everybody’s Sleeping by Julie Mark

76.   Silent Night A Christmas Carol is Born by Maureen Brett Hooper

77.   Six-Dinner Sid by Igna Moore

78.   Six is so much Less Than Seven by Ronald Himler

79.   Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner – 3x

80.   Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse by Judy Schachner- 3x

81.   Slop goes the Soup by Pamala Edwards

82.   Smart Feller Fart Smeller and other Spoonerisms by Jon Ages

83.   Something Good by Robert Munsch

84.   Sorting at the Ocean by Jennifer Rozenes Roy and Gregory Roy

85.   Sorting by Size by Jennifer L. Marks

86.   Sorting Toys by Jennifer L. Marks

87.   Space elf Sam by Audrey Wood

88.   Spider on the Floor by Raffi

89.   Sweep Dreams by Nancy Willard

90.   Taxi Dog by Debra and Sal Barracca

91.   Ten Terrible Dinosaurs by Paul Sticklard

92.   Termites on a Stick by Michele Coxon

93.   The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza by David Shannon

94.   The Big Yawn by Keith Faulkner

95.   The Book That Eats People by John Perry

96.   The Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse

97.   The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot

98.   The Christmas Story by Isabelle Brent

99.   The Crooked Apple Tree by Eric Houghton

100.            The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

101.            The Dragon Of The North (unknown author)

102.            The Farmer in the Dell by Alexandra Wallner

103.            The First Dog by Jan Brett

104.            The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night by Peter Spier

105.            The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone

106.            The Happiest Tree a Yoga Story by Uma Krishnaswami

107.            The Invisible Moose by Dennis Haseley

108.            The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kevin Hawkes

109.            The Life Cycle of a Crab by Ruth Thomson

110.            The Little Drummer Boy by Kristina Rodanas

111.            The Littlest Sled Do by Michael Kusugak and Vladyana Krykorka

112.            The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

113.            The Owl and The Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear

114.            The Plant Sitter by Gene Zion

115.            The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

116.            The Red Apples by Virginia Miller

117.            The Sea Monster by Chris Wormell

118.            The Tale of Ginger and Pickles by Beatrix Potter

119.            The Tale of Tom Kitten by Beatrix Potter

120.            The Twelve Days of Christmas by John O’Brien

121.            The Umbrella by Jan Brett

122.            This Little Light of Mine by Raffi – 2x

123.            Turn! Turn! Turn! By Wendy Anderson Halperin

124.            Twelve Lizards Leaping by Jan Romero Stevens

125.            We Wish You a Merry Christmas by Playmore/Waldman

126.            What’s For Lunch? By Ann Garrett and Gene-Michael Higney

127.            What Should We Eat? By Angela Royston

128.            Where Are You? By Francesca Simon

129.            While The World is Sleeping by Pamela Duncan Edwards

130.            Who Hoots? By Katie Davis

131.            Woodland Christmas by Frances Tyrrell

132.            Zen Ties by Jon J Muth

133.            Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! By Dan Yakereno

Read to Zoe:

Here comes Santa Claus by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman

My Pet Hamster by Anne Rockwell

Olive the Other Raindeer by J. Otfo Seibold and Vivian Walsch

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers

For the Childrens Hour by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey and Clara M. Lewis

-          The Old Woman and Her Pig

-          The Cat and the Mouse

-          The Little Red Hen

-          Chicken Little

-          The Travels of a Fox

-          The Three Bears

Read to Austyn:

Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin

-          The King and his Hawk

For the Children’s Hour by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey and Clara M. Lewis

-          St. George and the Dragon

From Egg to Adult The Life Cycle of Birds by Mike Unwin

How to Raise and Keep a Dragon by John Topsell – 1 chapter

My Pet Hamster by Anne Rockwell

The Royal Mice by Loretta Krumpinski

GloDOODLE

Zoe is enjoying her second favourite Christmas gift. Her first is her make-up. This is the GloDOODLE.  She plays with it in bed before she goes to sleep.

The light can have different colour settings. She writes me messages on it and pictures.

Telus World of Science

When we first arrived we attended a little demonstration on static electricity and since I was the only one with long blond hair, I ended up being one of the demonstrators.

 After learning about static electricity we went straight to the Lego display since it was the main reason we visited. This display is only on for a few more days.

The theme of the Lego display was transportation. There were boats, trains, planes, bridges, roads, cities, and anything else you could think of.

This was a city built from Legos. They had two displays from past contests as well. In this room there were buildings that people built and just outside of the main room were all kinds of vehicles that people made for the other contest that they had.

In open areas of the building there were all kinds of things to play with and puzzles to figure out. This is a pipe drum, demonstrating how sound changes with the different lengths of pipes.

This is a machine that changes your voice to sound like an alien.

There is a whole display on the human body. This is the very first thing you see. Most kids like to climb on the tongue just like Zoe is here. In this room there are all kinds of interactive displays to learn all about the human body. After this section we went to a display on the environment. We didn't look at everything there so we'll visit that section more intensely on our next visit.

This is in the Space section. We went through this section fairly quickly. On our next visit we'll have to spend more time.

There was a fun room for children to play more creatively. Here is Austyn playing with the large piano. He is running across it and experimenting with different sound settings.

Here Zoe is playing with the puppet theatre. 

We finished off with building this house and a large Lego person.

Four Days Old / RIP Triops

This is how they looked at four days old. You can see the shell forming on their backs. There are many layers of their skin in the tank from them molting so often.

Unfortunately I've had a bad history with fish. I kill them, without meaning to. It happened again. I regret to say that for unknown reasons our fish died on Christmas Day. We will clean the tank and try again. I'll place them in a different location and hope for better results.

Book Sharing Monday - Hat

Hat by Paul Hoppe has a wonderful lesson for young children about finding something. When we find something we want to keep it. Just like Henry, we might imagine ourselves with it and want to keep the item, but we need to think about others. What if someone left that hat there or maybe someone else could use that hat for something much more important than anything we could imagine for ourselves. When Henry asks his mother if he can keep the hat he found his mom asks him "But, Henry, what if someone else needs that hat?" He begins to imagine all kinds of situations where someone else could really need the hat. We are faced with so many decisions in our lives and even a small decision over keeping something we find could make a big impact for someone else. What a great book for learning this lesson.

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

Our Christmas

 

The kids woke up at 3AM to open gifts and instead of listen to them not sleep we all got up to open gifts. After we did that we went back to bed until relatives started to call us to wish us a good day.  

Here is Zoe showing off a new dress and her new make-up.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting our supper ready. We had turkey, cheese potatoes in the crock pot and corn. Supper was early so we could eat with our family back in Ontario on SKYPE. Eating with them virtually was almost as good as really being there and we played a game until some of them had to leave to return to their homes.