Beach Weather

 One thing we missed last year, while living in Alberta, were the beaches. I kept seeing Facebook posts with pictures of all of our friends on the beach and felt strange that we couldn't go to one. There are beaches in Alberta, but they aren't the same. Many of the lakes are not okay for swimming and aren't large. I loved Alberta, but this was one downfall. The upside was that the temperatures never felt hot enough to need the beach. 

 We visited the beach for the first time for our Co-Op end-of-year picnic. The weather was extremely hot. It was in the 30's and humid. This is strange for May weather.

 The water was still cold, but the kids enjoyed looking for interesting rocks and shells.

In the distance, over the lake, we could see other people enjoying the lakes and the early hot weather.

Science Sunday - Weather Study

We haven`t posted Science Sunday for a while. It`s nice to start getting back to updating our blog. 

One thing we`ve noticed so far, living here, compared to back in Ontario, is that there is more sun, less rain, and usually there is hardly any wind. This past week we`ve had a good deal of wind so we made a wind sock, two weather vanes, and two paper windmills (seen above).

I did not take anymore pictures but I did use The Curiosity Club Kids`Nature Activity Book again. We are in the middle of the weather section. We also did the experiment to learn about condensation and humidity but it did not work. We put cold water with four ice cubes outside and on a warm morning and waited to see if any water drops formed on the outside of the glass but nothing noticeable happened. I guess it just was not humid enough that day here in dry Alberta. :)

To join in the fun visit Adventures in Mommydom.

Spring Snow... Living in the moment!

Snow again... This is mid-April, for crying out loud!!! Right!?? Most people are sick of this by now, but kids are okay with anything as long as it's fun. Zoe knows how to see the upside. Adults should take note and learn from this behaviour. I know I'm trying. She truly knows how to live in the moment.

No Snow Park

 We went to another park a few days before this and saw that the snow was not deep and it was melting before our eyes. Walking on ice as we arrived, our feet were squishing through slush as we left and everyone got a bit wet. This day was dryer and even less snow. The wind was stronger than usual and it got chilly as the sun went away behind the clouds.

 This seagull was happy that I threw food down, but he/she was too shy to get any closer to eat.

 Austyn played with sticks and Zoe liked the equipment.

Austyn made up a game of throwing the stick through the hoop. 

Beautiful Spring Day at the Park... In The Wet Snow!!!

 The last few days have been warm and the weekend will bring more snow. We are witnessing a spring thaw. We walked to one of the parks near our apartment. 

 Getting over the snow piles to get across the street was a challenge. Once in the park walking became difficult. The snow was almost to the top of the garbage can. It hasn't snowed much the last few times that it did snow.  This is accumulation from the huge amount of snow that has fallen here all winter. Locals assure us that this wasn't a normal winter. 

 As we walked on, the kids were able (for the most part) to walk on top of the snow, but I wasn't as lucky. I had knee high boots and with just about each step my feet fell through the snow past my boots. It was very wet (like slush) and my boots were soaked through in no time, so I couldn't play much with the kids. Here is the park bench I sat on. I had to sit on the back rest.

 It was nice to get out to the park. When I asked the kids if they wanted to go to the park they said, "There's a park?" There are actually two playgrounds that I know of and I chose this one to try on this day. 

We couldn't stay too long, and we all left with wet pants, socks, and boots, but it was worth it. I hope to get to the park again while the weather is warmer and before more snow comes.

I didn't get pictures of the kids who came to the park but they met new friends and we have kept in touch.

Weather

Being Life Learners we use life as the guide sometimes. In our area we've had a terrible summer for storms. There have been many tornadoes and this opens up a new subject, weather. Where does rain come from? What makes a tornado? What do we do if there is a tornado warning? What do the watches and warnings mean? What happens when a tornado goes through? We've had many discussions, experiences and experiments.

We visited two locations with serious damage and passed through an area that had a micro burst just minutes after. We have learned so much. Even us parents! For example, when we saw the aftermath of a micro burst, it was like the ground was painted in leaves. There were leaves covering the entire road. The damage all seemed to be in one direction. Trees, fences, road signs were all bent over and broken in the same direction. When we visited the tornado areas things were twisted all over the place it seemed and trees were displaced in strange places. One man on the news said that his tree is gone, roots and all, and they don't know where. That was a tornado. He was lucky that big tree didn't go into his house, like many in the area did.

We've learned about how trees damaged and pulled by a storm changes the landscape so much that it's almost like you can't recognize that familiar place. Although there have been bad storms, we've been lucky in this area. I think I only saw one or two houses that looked completely unlivable after a storm. It could have been much worse and nobody has been killed.

Visiting the Geese!

After the Co-Op some of us stayed to visit the geese. They weren't as social this time of year and many of them had babies. The kids fed them but it was more challenging than usual to get close to them. The turkeys had chicks as well. I have a picture of the chicks. They parents were loud and trying to intimidate anyone who got close to their pen. It turned out to be a beautiful day after the Co-Op.

Our Rockets!

So proud with his rocket! Zoe was a bit under the weather during all of this. Poor kid!

Preparing one of the rockets.

Setting up the rocket on the launch pad.

One of the launches.

The parts falling from a puff of smoke after it's flight.

The fun of running to find all of the pieces on the ground.

The part inside the rocket that blew up. You can see the bottom is burned and if you looked inside it it's hollow. Everything inside has been blown out like a fire cracker.

The launch pad complete with burn mark from launches.

“Patience is the ability to count down before you blast off.” ~ Unknown