Back Yard School

 This is our curious little friend who visits our fence everyday to see what we are doing. 

 Austyn has expressed that he wants to do more structured school and part of unschooling/natural/child-led homeschooling is that I make sure he does what he wants to do. So, if he is asking for more school activities and structure this is what I'm going to provide. 

 With the weather so nice, we've taken much of our time out-of-doors. Here Zoe is working on a paint project that we picked up at the dollar store.

Austyn and I work on his Hawk lapbook that never got finished last year.

A New Park

 A new house means a new park. We invited another homeschool family to meet us at the library and at the park. The kids really enjoyed exploring the new park. 

 They seemed to like the zip-line the best.

 Austyn wanted to play on it the most.

 Zoe explored on her own for part of the time.

 She liked this spinning seat.

Zoe and her friend helped each other to use the zip line since they are a bit small on it still. It's great that they can reach it on their own. Most of the parks that we've been to, I need to lift Zoe to reach the zip line.

Another Move...

 We have moved so many times. It is hard on children no matter what. This move was only to another area of the city, so the transition is much more smooth compared to the last move, which was across the country. We moved from an apartment to a house this time. The kids see the gains; space, a yard, near more friends, and it's a nicer area. 

Zoe used her creative juices on some boxes. We all had a seat and she got us all to sit in our assigned seats so she could tell us the story that she drew all over the box. 

Daddy showed Austyn how to put his bed together in the new house. 

There is still so much to do, but it will get done eventually.

Book Sharing Monday - Out On The Prairie

 Zoe loves singing books. This one is set to the tune of the famous poem "Over in the Meadow". Our interest lies with learning about the animals that we might see and since we've moved out west, learning about prairie animals has become an interest for us. Out on the Prairie by Cora Taylor and Pat Stephens introduces some of the Canadian Prairie animals and their babies in a fun way. 

A meadowlark would be fun to see! The pictures are well done and the text fits well to the song. We enjoyed reading this book. If you want to learn more about Canadian prairie animals this is a fun introduction.

100 Books a Month Challenge - April

I'm a bit late posting this. We've been extremely busy with looking for a house to live in and packing. Here is what we read and as you can see it's much lower than our usual book lists. I hope that things will improve as things get put away in our new home which is much bigger than the apartment.

Both Kids:

1.       As I Went Over The Water by Maurice Sendak

2.       A Special Day For Mommy by Dan Andreasen

3.       Backyard Bear by Anne Rockwell

4.       Barn Dance! By Pat Hutchins

5.       Beans to Chocolate by Inez Snyder

6.       Berries to Jelly by Inez Snyder

7.       Big Little Monkey by Carole Lexa Schaefer

8.       Boogie Knights by Lisa Wheeler

9.       Brewster the Rooster by Devin Scillian

10.   Bunny Cakes by Rosemary Wells

11.   Canadian Holidays Easter by Jill Foran

12.   Cat & Mouse by Ian Schoenherr

13.   Chick ‘n’ Pug by Jennifer Sattler

14.   Dad, Aren’t you Glad? By Lynn Plourde

15.   Daddy’s Girl by Carrison Keillor (4 songs on CD)

16.   Franklin’s Big Dreams by David Teague

17.   Groundhog Day by Michelle Aki Becker

18.   Grump by Janet S. Wong

19.   Hector Protector by Maurice Sendak

20.   Honk, Honk, Goose by April Pulley Sayre

21.   Horton Hears a Who! By Dr. Seuss

22.   How to Clean Your Room in 10 Easy Steps by Jennifer LaRue Huget and Edward Koren

23.   I Am  I Am a Dancer by Eleanor Schick

24.   I Had Trouble in getting to Solla Sollew by Dr. Seuss

25.   I Love Daddy by Lizi Boyd

26.   Just for You by Mercer Mayer

27.   Leo’s Tree by Debora Pearson

28.   Little Raccoon’s Big Question by Miriam Schlein

29.   Lord of the Sky by Linda Zeman Spaleny

30.   Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo and Harry Bliss (3 chapters on CD)

31.   Lost in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick

32.   Love Your World by Dawn Sirett

33.   Maybe A Bear Ate It! B Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley

34.   Me and My Dad! By Alison Ritchie

35.   Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer

36.   Mother, May I? By Lynn Plourde

37.   My Daddy Is A Giant b Carl Norac

38.   My Favorite Thing (Accordin to Alberta) by Emily Jenkins

39.   My Mum by Anthony Browne

40.   Oscar and the Mooncats by Lynda Gene Rymond

41.   Other Goose by J. Otto Seibold

42.   Pamela Camel by Bill Peet

43.   Petite Rouge by Mike Artell (CD)

44.   Piggies by Audry Wood and Don Wood

45.   Pop & Squeak by Ian Schoenherr

46.   Sap to Syrup by Inez Snyder

47.   Saving Sweetness by Jane Stanley and G. Brian Karas (read by Tom Bodett) – CD – x2

48.   Shark and Lobster’s Amazing Undersea Adventures by Viviane Schwarz

49.   Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones b Judy Schachner (book on CD)

50.   Squawking Matilda by Lisa Horstman

51.   Sylvie & True by David McPhail

52.   Tales From Parc la Fontaine by Roslyn Schwartz

53.   The Adventures of Isabel by Ogden Nash (Book on CD)

54.   The Big Bunny and t Magic Show by Steven Kroll

55.   The Cat Came Back by Fred Penner

56.   The Elves And The Shoe Maker by Ian Back (CD)

57.   The Mitten by Jan Brett

58.   The Mother’s Day Mice b Eve Bunting (illustrated by Jan Brett)

59.   The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg (Book on CD)

60.   The Pup Speaks Up by Anna Jane Hays

61.   The  Village of Basketeers by Nicoletta Ceccoli

62.   There are no cats in this book by Viviane Schwarz

63.   Tomatoes to Ketchup by Inez Snyder

64.   Wanted: The Perfect Pet by Fiona Roberton

65.   Wax to Crayons by Inez Snyder

66.   Where Does Pepper Come From? And Othr Fun Facts by Brigitte Raab

67.   Wopper Cake by Karma Wilson and Will Hillenbrand (Book on CD)

68.   Zen Ghosts by Jon J Muth

Austyn Read:

1.       Arrow Hawk b Lola M. Schaefer

2.       Dragon Egg by Mallory Lochr ( Austyn read)

3.       Grains to Bread by Inez Snyder

4.       Horace and Morris but Mostley Dolores by James Howe (CD)

5.       Red Sled by Patricia Thomas (Austyn read)

6.       Saving Sweetness by Jane Stanley and G. Brian Karas (CD)

7.       The Greatest Goal by Mike Leonetti

8.       Time Flies by Eric Rohmann

9.       Wendel and The Great One by Mike Leonetti

Zoe Read:

1.       Eats by Marthe Jocelyn and Tom Slaughter

2.       Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein

3.       So Close by Natalia Colombo

4.       The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard by Gregory Rogers