Homeschool Adventure Week #5

October 14, 2013 by tam

X ended up catching a cold again this week so there was a lot of low energy going around. I brought L to sports class this week while X stayed home with Daddy and played Yahtzee. I really didn’t want him running around being all snot-filled and feeling like he just wanted to lay down and rest. That being said, L scored a goal during their soccer game!

This week was filled with little projects and board games, me second shooting a wedding on Thursday (weird I know!), reading and resting, and Xman really wanting to clean the floors!

X Washing floor

Floor washing attracts a curious Gypsy girl!

L got the Lego Play Book for his birthday and he has been building a miniature town complete with a museum, beach and hover trucks.

The days were beautiful so we took advantage by spending our time outside playing chess, strategizing, snacking and planning more creations.

X won chess pretty much fair and square I gotta say.

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…all while the house siding is being torn down around us to make way for new siding!

L and I played scrabble and I showed him how to incorporate one word into another while utilizing the ‘triple word score’ making him beat me by a long shot. See bottom left where he added ‘go’ to ‘car’ then next turn ‘soy’ to ‘cargo’. Great game!

We read a FABULOUS book by Neil Gaiman which had the boys and I roaring with laughter and enjoying the notion that time travel can make someone be in two places at one time, while flying in a Floaty-Ball-Person-Carrier with a dinosaur. Dinosaurs aren’t really extinct, did you know that?

I just finished reading a wonderful book filled with myth and magic which has left images in my head and set my mind to wondering…and wandering…

We have a cousin arriving today for a week of visiting! I am glad and thankful that Xman was so keen to clean the floors!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend – we bought two Tofurkey’s this time around because last year we found they were so good that one just wasn’t enough! 😉

L’s birthday weekend

October 7, 2013 by tam

It’s been a great weekend for us all and especially for L. This weekend he had his 9th birthday. Wowza!

This is a post with A LOT of pictures for those family and friends who do not live nearby.

We started out at a play café called Rebel Space with friends. They had a great time together and tired each other out indeed!

From there were went for some lunch and then to the library. In the parking lot we found many a fire truck so, naturally, we went to visit some trucks and the boys got to go inside of them and try out the firehose too!

I found it interesting to learn that this particular truck is no longer used to carry more than two firefighters. The seats in the back (sorry I didn’t take a pic!) would have been facing sideways facing each other which wouldn’t be safe if they were t-boned. They changed the truck seating about 6 or 7 years ago. This truck is still used as a support vehicle for extra equipment, communications (they have a fax), and other supplies.

The boys loved aiming the hose (a smaller hose than the firefighters would have used!) at the target. Xman wanted to use the hose twice.

Lucas only wanted to use it once but he hit the target so quickly I only managed to catch the end of it with Stephen untangling the hose.

I managed to get a video of X the second time around!

This truck is used at the interpretation centre to help the public become more aware of fires and fire safety.

Off to the library for a bit of reading…and relaxing…we came home with many a comic books and then some!

On the way home we stopped at the market for eggs and some fun chalk drawing by L. Have you seen a crockasoraus before? If not, it looks a little something like this.

L loves to make long squiggly arrows…

When we left the market the sky outside reflected in this building looked pink in the windows’ reflection. I had to take a pic. Lovely.

Sunday:

Lucas: “I slept off and on like an elephant last night I was so excited!”.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Apparently, he explains, it’s true, elephants only sleep four hours at night and not all at the same time. 🙂

L was so exited in the morning and he brought his favourite stuffy, Milkshake, that has been with him since birth to partake.

“No pictures, please!”
L was specific about the few things for which he asked. This is his first model to build.

I had no idea L already had a hot wheels type Blue Angel which is one reason why he wanted this model. I think there will be more of these!

Lego? Is that Lego? 🙂

This set came with cool transparent stickers!

A new scorpion character.

Lego Galaxy Squad Star Slicer. Pretty cool, I have to admit. Nice mantid!

Our most awesome friend, Sharon, came by for the big day as she has known the boys since they were in my belly. She is totally in love and we love her too! She helped decorate the cupcakes to be Koopa Troopa shells. Xman helped add the white icing too. L placed them aside. A good system going to keep things moving! Oh yes, and these were little mushrooms with eyes! Cute Koopas! Happy Birthday, L! Of course we had to make room on the table for his Lego and winged friends!Xman decided to run over to the piano and play a song for a sing-along. So fun!

After the sweet celebration we went out to the book store and came home with the Lego Playbook that L has wanted for like, foreverrr.

It’s very cool…

We always take a family photo at the end of each birthday. Some nice ones and some fun ones.
Happy birthday, sweet boy! We love you!

Rocks, minerals and fossils, oh my!

August 22, 2013 by tam

Just this past weekend we made a trip up to Parrsboro for the Gem and Minerals show and to visit the Fundy Geological Museum.

The drive was lovely as the tides were in and we could see the beautiful Bay of Fundy just to our left as I drove along the coastal highway. The red earth was so amazingly eye-catching I couldn’t help but catch glimpses as we were driving. We spotted a mound of land sneaking out of the water and the boys saw a bit of an arch of a cave showing just above the surface.

We were all excited to see what rocks and gems were in store for us once we arrived at the show and we were not disappointed! The boys were so excited to buy pyrite and raw rubies as well as sapphire. I must say they are not anything like the cut kind and I think I kind of like the raw form a bit more. We all ‘ooh’ed and ‘ahh’ed at the huge pieces of minerals as the boys were on the search for a big buddha for me. 🙂 I came out with a nice round garnet and an orange half geode. I was tempted by a beautiful turquoise ring but probably a good thing it was not in my size!

From there we went over to the museum and found some great little archeological dig kits for the boys. The kits contain plastic dino bones (miniature of course!) in plaster with a wooden chisel and brush. The boys couldn’t wait to start chipping away! I myself grabbed a geological map of our province and a quartz crystal pendulum that had on its chain the seven chakras in little round gems. I think that’s my favourite find.

I have to say that our gifted museum pass came in quite handy that day and for that we are happily thankful. 😉

Inside the museum we watched a very cool animation of what the world looked like long before Pangea – did you know that Nova Scotia was once where Antarctica now is? – and during Pangea we were part of Africa. There is a beach in Nova Scotia that I’ve been told by a friend has petrified palm trees! We played the video backwards and forwards and watched over and over again how the world came to be as it is today.

Xman and I found a display of fossils and a nearby screen that identified each one. We played the guessing game and after our day at Blue Beach we got a few of them right. I haven’t posted about that trip yet, have I? Okay, that’s next on the list!

L made a beeline for the hands-on archeological dig. We hid plaster casts of rocks with fossils in the raw rice for the boys to find. It was great fun!

Can you imagine that dragonfly zooming by?

By this time the tide was the lowest it would be for the day and looking out the windows of the museum we could see the red earth exposing itself to the sun. It was a beautiful site and a great time to start heading home. And what a time it was! We began our drive with the tides in and now with the tides out we couldn’t help but stop and admire the view. It was amazing indeed!

Remember that mound jutting out of the water? Well, we found a side street that led down to the shore and had an amazing view of this which I believe is called Five Islands.
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I like Stephen’s Instagram pic.

Another pano – those are me boys throwing rocks into the mud!

We took a short stop at Mastodon ridge on the way home to update out pic of the boys being chased by the mastodon and Stephen all chummy. So fun!

The boys a couple of years ago. Love this pic! Stephen used his iPhone so it has a totally different look – plus the lighting was completely different this time around. Still fun!

X: Mastadon whatever!

L: Ya, big deal!
boys-mastadon

L: He’ll never catch us!

X: Aaaahhhh!

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Inside the gift shop we found some great sales including this book that I had borrowed from the library and brought with me for the trip. And this book which I fell in love with when we went to Pictou earlier this year. These gems (the book kind!) will be seeing a lot of love from us!

Stephen also found a couple of harmonicas which just happened to be on sale. He used to have one which I believe is somewhere in the vicinity of our home. Perhaps the house elves have taken it! So he bought the boys each their own. Xman is obsessed with it and plays it every day. Video to come.

The moon kept us company as we drove the rest of the way home. Although it wasn’t quite full it was extraordinary to me and Stephen used my wee camera to get a quick pic of it from the car. Ahh, so purty.

L wanted to take a picture of a car zooming by. It took a few tries but he did it! 😉
2013Aug17__Parrsboro88 Once we arrived home the boys wanted to start digging just a bit before bed. Pretty cool finds!

What a wonderful day it was full of discoveries and beauty! Where will we go next?

Pokémon playing, math and writing fun

August 8, 2013 by tam

I have been visiting this website and reading this book as I prepare for the next school year. Lori is amazing and has wonderful ideas to help me along with creative and gentle ways of introducing project work. Dawn has also given me some great ideas for getting the ball rolling for which I am very grateful! Being new to project work it is something that I think will be a great learning and growing experience for us all. It will be part of not only our ‘curriculum’ but our every day living as well (I hope!). The boys have already begun one project involving automaton which they are excited to be creating – but more on this later… 😉

I have been having a bit of trouble getting the boys to do much more than Lego and Pokémon. Okay, not totally true, but mostly. I am a reader and so luckily for me both boys have become avid readers as well for which I am truly grateful. When they are not reading there are to be Legos found underfoot in almost every room we use throughout the day. The Pokémon cards and characters are part of their daily dialogue as well and when they got their first cards from Grandma they were thrilled and have been playing ever since.

I have read much in Lori’s book about play and learning. I know this to be a valuable part of a child’s every day (and I think it should be part of mine too!). After four years of home educating I am beginning to see just how much their learning has influenced their play and vice versa. For instance, math is a big part of Pokémon. Each character has a certain amount of HP or Health when they begin. They can also lose health when there is damage done to them through certain powers during a battle. (I have to say I like the fact that the Pokémon don’t die when they run out of Health but instead ‘faint’.) Not too long ago as I was listening to the boys play I heard Xman ask L, “What is 390 plus 70?”. I started to do the math in my head and before I finished L said, “460”. Kudos to that boy! I realized that not only were they doing well with their math they were faster at it than me (haha!) and I had never really connected how this game makes them use their brains to this extent. It’s not rocket science but it’s learning and fun and made me realize they go hand in hand.

Just a few days ago I found Xman writing on small pieces of paper. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was making cards for their Pokémon game. They each have a ton of Pokémon character cards but the cards X was making are extra powers and damage cards that each player picks to use when it is their turn. He has taken the game further and I am thrilled. I had to make a copy of his cards so that both boys could have their own set – oh, and two extra copies for when Stephen and I have our own Pokémon sets to play someday. 😉

I think X only asked me twice how to spell a word. The boys are not the best at spelling yet but I have seen that copy work can help spelling if it’s in the right context. I found yet again that the spelling workbooks we used weren’t really helping them learn to spell. They were simply copying words down without paying attention to how the words were spelled. It was just another lesson to get through. When they are writing down something that pertains to a game or other interest, for example, they look at game cards for reference in the case of spelling and manage to remember how to spell those words the next time. I also taught the boys to read through phonics with pronunciation rules so they have gotten pretty good at sounding out for spelling – this is still a process we are going through and the more they write for fun the more they remember.

Those handwriting workbooks became a thing of the past earlier this year as well. I’ve found that the boys write more often and enjoy the process much more when they write what they want (another post on that at a later date). Xman worked on these cards for quite some time, something I never would have been able to get him to do if it were in a workbook.

I am finally letting go of that traditional learning/teaching from when I was in school while in turn realizing learning can be done in so many ways and the best way is simply whichever way the child learns best! Whew, I love it!

Now back to the boy who is waiting at my side to help him with his automaton planning!

Earth Adventures!

July 19, 2013 by tam

Last year we picked up a wonderful book entitled Earth Adventures in the Halifax Region. There are plenty of parks and trails to visit and with the aid of the book we all learn more about the environment and the habitats of animals. There are exercises to do for each trail and a lot of fun learning to be had. At the end of each trail you have to find a small plaque and make a rubbing on the last page of the book for that trail. It is a lot of fun and each time we go we end up spending more time than the book suggests!

This time we went off to Shubie Park. We meant to leave early as the day was going to be super hot, but by 11am when we arrived we were already stopping in the shady spots and bringing out the water.

Along our trek, as we learned about racoons and their eating habits, where they like to hide and live, we found ourselves seeing these trails that we have walked along numerous times with new eyes.

Someone snacking on a mushroom?

Some of the largest plantain leaves I’ve seen! I love these plants and welcome them into our yard for their healing properties.

We came upon some huskies and I felt so bad for them in their heavy coats. One owner was combing and cooling down his big furry friend in the stream. I was tempted to get in their myself!

Can you spot the water striders? There are mosquitoes there too, believe me. 😉

We spotted a little made rock formation someone had made over this pipe. For some reason it reminded me of an inuksuk. I know, totally different. If you peek down the pipe you can see L’s hands giving the ‘I love you’ sign. I had to lean over the water and hope not to lose balance or lose the camera in the water in the process. 🙂

Jul152013_Shubie-Adventure_10

We have a favourite spot at the park where these three huge trees (huge for our part of Canada) stand. We found out that they are hemlocks and a favourite of raccoons as they can easily climb and make a home. Plus their trunks create holes perfect for hiding.

The squirrels like them too. By squirrels I mean the actual animals, not my boys! Although, they too love to climb!
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This is L’s favourite tree, whom he calls Puffy. Something had attacked it over the years and the tree seemed to build up layers of protection. Jul152013_Shubie-Adventure_17 We found many things that raccoons love to eat, from pine cones to seeds and acorns as well as this little guy. I find new snails so interesting with their soft translucent shells. The boys love them too.

Jul152013_Shubie-Adventure_18 Berry season is soon upon us!
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Anyone recall what this is, fir or spruce? I recall one has the flat leaves/needles with the white stripe on the underside.

I love mushrooms.
Jul152013_Shubie-Adventure_23 The boys, red-faced from the heat, taking a break to snack and rehydrate while watching a curious squirrel.

This is as close as he would let me get to take a picture. Plus they are so skittery (new word?) I just didn’t have much time to work with. Yes, the boys are wearing rubber boots in preparation for one of their favourite parts of this trail.
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A leaf I have never seen here before. Any ideas?

Huge bullrushes!
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Can you spot the fish?

Blue bead lily. Yet another great healer.
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These damselflies (?) are amazing. In flight they look like butterflies with their big beautiful, deep blue wings. Magical.

The reason for the rubber boots!
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At this point we were all tired and hot. We had a great time but were happy the trek was almost complete.

On the other side of the pipe L spotted a mink skittering over the rocks. It was too fast for me. I didn’t have time to reach for the camera so you will just have to take my word for it. 😉

I wonder what would happen if a mink met a raccoon?

Home for fruit popsicles!

Starting out slow today… a make and listen…

July 11, 2013 by tam

Yes, that’s right. It’s a bit of a slow one today. Last night was filled with some bed hopping on my part.

A few days ago we all went to see Despicable Me 2. We own the first movie (found it in mint condition at a used store!) as we just loved it. The boys were very excited to see the new one in the threatre and, I gotta tell ya, I even laughed out loud in a couple parts, louder than the kids. Good times. But, there were a few parts that really freaked the boys. I won’t give it away but I can see how it was a bit freaky for them. Let’s just say the minions go through a bit of a change… Those changes are sticking by them come bedtime and emerging into their dreams. Darn minions. Trouble-makers! 🙂

I slept in those narrow beds close to my favourite men. It was totally worth it for the closeness it made and the comfort it created but has made me a tired one today. It will be a slow day. That is okay, because with the lovely rain (yes, I do love love love it), it feels like a cuddle under a blanket kind of day. Perhaps we can read another chapter of this book that the boys are loving just as much as their Legos. It’s the last of the series which L found second hand and has encouraged him to read more of the series on his own. I too, am enjoying the books and it’s so much fun to be able to talk Lego with them and know who is who. Ya, that’s right, I’m cool. Teehee.

I have grabbed my knitting to work on – a free pattern from Craftsy. I am also in the midst of making a turtle neck style cape which I hope to complete for this winter. Fingers crossed. In the meantime it’s nice to have a smaller portable project on the go. Can’t wait to wear it!

As (almost) always, I have CBC2 Tempo playing in the background (competing with a Sonic dvd in the other room). I sip my tea, my lovely earl grey tea. Oh, it just isn’t morning without it. It is the perfect knitting/reading/sewing companion. I think I may need to make another cup…getting kind of low in there…in my cup that reminds me of home. 🙂

Once tea is done and the knitting is put aside, I think we will finish creating our so-much-fun (!) tissue paper lanterns from a lovely book I just happened to find roaming the library. More on that when the lanterns are finished. Then we are off to the library for a book drop-off/pick-up and maybe a little moment enjoying the rain.

What have you been making and listening to today?

For more inspirational making and listening visit Dawn’s lovely blog.

~smile~

Raw Kofta Balls and When God was a Rabbit

June 19, 2013 by tam

Last Saturday our book club got together to discuss this meet’s book, which I loved. This book was the author’s first novel and as I don’t read a lot of fiction these days (I am more of a non-fiction fan lately) it was nice to sit down and enjoy a group of characters that were unusual enough to seem almost unreal but free enough in their ways to make me feel free too. When the main character suggested to her christian teacher that perhaps Jesus were an unplanned pregnancy I laughed out loud. Hey, God must have a sense of humour – he made humans after all. I think we were all split down the middle on our likes and dislikes of the book which was nice as it gave way to some good criticism and interpretation on what the author was trying to convey.

Prior to discussing the book we ate a raw food dinner where each person contributed a dish. I was so excited about this as I am a big fan of raw food and absolutely super-heart my Excalibur. That means I really love my dehydrator. Arms-out-to-here much. We had a delightful dinner with amazing raw food and even more amazing company. What a wonderful group of women who are all so different yet alike in many ways. I have only been a part of two meets so far but I have to say, “Love you ladies!”.

When I was searching for a recipe to bring to the meet I happened upon one that I’d book marked in one of my recipe books. I figured it would be too much prep for the time so I decided to make it for today – which means I had to start prep yesterday. I did however, bring some kale chips and bliss balls to our meet and they were a delightful part of a wonderfully tasty night indeed.

Tomorrow, I make Raw Banana Bread Breakfast Bars! …which means I actually begin prep today with bananas in the dehydrator. I’ll try to remember to post those too, if I don’t eat them all first!

L discovers the cure for cancer of the lungs due to smoking

February 3, 2013 by tam

we were talking about the effect of smoking and L said, “If there was a pill like microphage and neutrophil white blood cells that eat bacteria, we could put the pill in water, wait until it evaporates, then drink it, then it eats up the smoky stuff in the lungs”.

I really didn’t know what to say. cute. then I had to look it up.

~smile~

Calming down before bed

January 13, 2013 by theshards

After a busy day of brain stimulation breaking out the art supplies just before bed seems to calm the masses.

Love it.

Bubbling Wizard’s Brew

January 3, 2013 by theshards

Today we are doing more science experiments. We have been using The Usborne Big Book of Science Things to Make and do. It’s a great book for fun and fast experiments.

We have some colored water I’m the freezer soon to become winter boats for our frigid -10 weather today! Brrr!

Then we took two glasses (please ignore the shape) filled with vinegar, food coloring, sprinkles and dish soap. Hmmm…sounds like fun, right?

We placed the cookie sheet under the glasses for containing the brew to come. The boys each got a heaping spoonful of baking soda and added it to the glasses. Holy excitement!

It’s always fun making a bubbly brew, isn’t it?

Enjoy your day. We are off to make sun catchers!

the shards

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