Creative Projects

Sometimes just getting out craft supplies but providing no instructions can create the most interesting things and can occupy the kids for hours. We do this often and I recommend it.

Austyn experimented with materials to check flex (idea from hockey sticks). Here he put a weight over some different kinds of Popsicle sticks that are glued together to help them stay together tightly while they dry. He is looking under to be sure that they are sitting properly under the weight.

Zoe tends to make puppets, doll accessories, hair accessories and things like that. I didn't get a picture of hers. She made some great stick puppets though.

Bird Watching

There are many activities to get involved with to help out scientists. Sadly, this year we didn't do well with these activities. 

There is Project Feeder Watch. This is for families to watch for birds, identify them and report the findings to the website. 

There is Backyard Bird Count. For this one it's only for select days and you can take a walk or report where ever you go.

I thought it wouldn't be too hard to do either one, but it turned out that our Christmas tree blocked our view of the front feeder for a very long time and for Backyard Bird Count we went for a walk for the first day, but after that we were way too busy to do anything else. We had way too much hockey that weekend.

We may not have reported, but it still did get us out looking for birds and identifying some. So, it wasn't a complete flop. We have a couple of house sparrows who like our front feeder and hang out in the rims of our vehicles. We have gotten used to seeing them. Hopefully we will do better next year.

Seeing Things Other Kids Don't

While we were at the library one day the kids and I used a small office room there to work on Mystery Class. While there we noticed something big happening. A crane showed up and took part of a building off and placed it in a parking lot. We got to see the whole thing from the best seat in town. We were warm and cozy inside and checking every few minutes to see the progress. All of this happened while 99% of the kids in this town were sitting in a classroom. This is one of the wonderful benefits of homeschooling. They are living and learning in the world so much more then the average kid.

Microscopy

Here is Austyn looking at cells from the inside of Zoe's mouth under the microscope.

He looks at many things. Sometimes we try and get a picture, but it's tricky. I don't remember what this was a picture of, but as you can see, the pictures don't really turn out well anyway.

HERE is a great link for microscopy.

Storm Glass

This is a Storm Glass. Austyn got it as a gift from his grandma. It seems to really work. When it's full of crystals it means snow and when it's clear, it's sunny. It's interesting to watch when the weather changes fast. It does change and fairly quickly.

I found a LINK to make your own. I've not tried it so do it at your own risk. It also has a small explanation of how it works.

Book Sharing Monday - Rickie and Henri

This is a true story about a young orphaned chimp named Rickie who was rescued and became close to a dog named Henri.

We love to learn about the behavour of animals. True stories are the best!! Jane Goodall and Alan Marks did a great job with this book!

Hockey... the dream...

 My kids love to play hockey. Austyn loves it more then Zoe, but she enjoys it as well and is very good at it when she wants to be. One thing that hockey provides is a dream for Austyn. We always encourage dreams no matter what! Some parents tell their kids that they aren't good enough, but all possibilities should always stay open to all people. A person's true potential can only be reached when options are left open and accessible. Watching hockey on TV, playing on a team, practicing during the day, reading hockey books, playing hockey trivia, working on a hockey lapbook, watching games live, and meeting professional hockey players are all ways to encourage an interest. This interest may go somewhere and it may not, but it will be up to the person with the interest and not his parents!! The picture above is taken with Connor Murphy and his medal!!

Last year I feel that I posted too much about hockey and sports, but took it a bit easier this year. This is a proud boy after getting the game sheet when he got the only and winning goal in a game and playing well. 

 We all try to go to every game. It's not often that there is only one person watching him. Grandpa even comes as much as he can to see both kids play. 

 Being one of the smallest players, he is still working on how to be more aggressive, but he has the second most goals on the team for the season.

 Zoe loves hockey too. She is an amazing skater!! Next year she hopes to join a girl team.

 Her team didn't travel much this year, but they still had fun.

Austyn plays mini-sticks everyday and has been learning how to tape his own stick. Mini-sticks are a great start!

 Being that they are homeschooled, they can skate during the day, when other kids are in school. We have even used the ice on our own. This picture was taken when they were getting ready to skate at our weekly homeschool skate. Both kids can tie their own skates, but dad does a better job. One end of the rink they play a mini hockey game and the rest of the rink is for people to skate around. It's been a great year for our skating. Many homeschoolers take advantage of this time and it's usually busy!

Their dad played hockey this season as well. This is only his third year of hockey!! It's something he learned as an adult. I'm so proud of him and we go and watch him play when we can.

Austyn also loves to go watch his cousin play. It's much more rough watching these games, but still great to watch.

 Watching OHL games have been fun. We have been to many Sting games this season! We usually only miss them when there are other sports scheduled at the same time.

 It's nice to get to know the players and how they play. We can see their good days and their bad days. The kids have learned by watching them and have copied some of the moves that they have seen.

 We got to skate with them!! This is the second signing we've been to. It's nice to get pictures before they go off to the NHL. This is Charlie Sarault. He is Zoe's favourite player and Austyn's second favourite.

Learning their personalities is sometimes fun and it teaches the kids that they are people and can have a sense of humour just like anyone else. Here Josh Chapman is making the skater on Zoe's shirt with angry eyes before signing it! What a fun personality he has!  He is my favourite player. He always hits the kids hands, even after a bad game. I think he is one of the best skaters on the team, and is constantly looking in every direction.

 The kids really enjoy these events. Hopefully we can do all of this again next year.