A brace and a birthday

September 17, 2013 by tam

I guess you could say I’m posting this one for me because it may not be of any particular interest to anyone else other than immediate family. For us it was a big day.

Yesterday was Stephen’s birthday. Yay! Happy birthday, my love! You are my most wonderful partner and I am blessed that we were led to each other.

The birthday plan was going to be breakfast out and maybe a café, a nice walk or something in the lovely outdoors and mixed into this was L and the removal of his brace after one year. So we were out to celebrate both. As it turned out all boys ended up with awful colds. So the breakfast, café and outdoor excursion were crossed off the list. Pizza and a movie at home instead. Still fun, just more on the ‘lay low’ side.

But, we did still go into our dentist’s office to have L’s brace removed that has been in place for just over a year now. It’s a different kind of brace from what I have seen before. This one was inserted to help his front teeth grow down and not out. You see, L tends to sleep with his tongue pressing up against his teeth and he does still have a bit of a lisp which is now much better and his teeth have managed to grow down straighter than without the brace. It was awkward for him at first, especially eating as I can only imagine, but he was a trooper for a whole year. Very proud of him.

L said to me yesterday morning that he was going to miss being able to cut through bananas with his brace. It was like a knife in his mouth. Kids are amazing. One positive thought just erases all the others. So wonderful.

So this is L, filled with congestion and looking like he just woke up, getting ready from his brace to be removed. He did a great job staying still. There was some difficulty at first as the brace was cemented on and at first didn’t want to budge.

Ah, there we go!

Ya, we have like the best dentist everrrr….he’s awesome. Really.

Cleaning the cement, well scraping really, the cement off the teeth was a chore and called for a bit of hand-holding by Daddy.Whew! All done! 2013Sep16_L's-Brace_09

“It feels so different in there!” 2013Sep16_L's-Brace_08

My sleepy happy boy.

Still energetic enough to run around with his brother. I managed to get him to stay still for just a moment.

All in all it was a wonderful day.

Happy birthday, my sweet husband, happy birthday.
You all may be been snotty but that doesn’t make the day less important.

Oh, and the cake was so yum (and not just because I made it!). Using coconut oil in place of margarine for icing is amazing, just saying.

Can you guess how old Stephen turned? I had a bit of a scrounge for candles…plus Xman thought to put them on backwards for fun.

Xman wanted to learn to play this for Daddy so Steve figured out the keys for him.

~smile~

Homeschool Adventure Week #1

September 16, 2013 by tam

Happy Monday! Today is my wonderful husband’s birthday and all my boys are down and out with a wicked cold. So here I site with stylus in mouth, hands at keyboard and wine at my side.

I’ve decided that I will be posting every week our ‘happenings’, ‘learnings’ and ‘creations’ during the course of this school year. It’s a great way for those friends and family who do not live close to be a part of our lives and learning as a great way for us to record what’s been going on with The Shards in homeschool land.

This is my fifth, yes fifth year homeschooling. And this year I have decided to forgo the Classical teaching method which for me was The Well-Trained Mind. Although this classic method was amazing and there is much that has been learned I find that it is not the best route for me and my boys. Earlier this year we mixed in a little unschooling and PBHS with our classical and I found the boys were much happier than they were with their workbooks and rote learning. So was I. Totally.

Now we say Hello! to a new way of learning with an entirely new curriculum which I find is more organic and the hands-on side is essential to us all. So far so good! I do still have some changes to make to fit in our writing program and PBHS but for the first week I’d say it was pretty successful, mostly because the boys say they enjoy it much more than the way we did things previously. If they enjoy it they will learn more, this I know.

A great portion of our work will now be hands-on creating which also means more time-based meaning once the ‘work’ is done it’s recorded then discarded/destroyed to make room for more. We use chalk for instance to illustrate stories as we learn, as well as clay and beeswax, paints and other mediums. There is a huge emphasis placed on the earth and nature which was a big draw for me toward this curriculum. The boys learn woodworking, housebuilding (and history of), weaving, knitting, cooking and farming for instance along with math and language arts, history and science.

Here are some samples of what they boys have produced this week.

The boys learned to hand-knit and they were so excited to see how quickly the results came. The green pouches were hand sewn last year and this year we added them to the fronts of their nature bags with their hand-knitted straps. Then we immediately went out for a walk and collected some nature samples for another project. Can you tell who’s bag is who’s?

They did a pretty good job with the knitting and X even made himself a bracelet after he finished his strap.

We read a story titled, “Why evergreens keep their leaves” and the boys created these chalk drawing illustrations. I am going to take pictures of work we cannot keep and at the end of the year print up albums as keepsakes of our schooling year.

I had purchased a Martha Stewart kit for knitting and weaving. I had taught the boys to knit but they were getting frustrated with the time it took and all the stitches they would drop. We started with weaving and Xman made this little blanket and pillow for his Pikachu.

L is making a blanket for his beloved cow stuffy, Milkshake. He is almost done. He just needs to finish off the ends! Not once were the boys frustrated with the work of weaving with this kit. I think it is a kinder introduction to the art of yarn!

I may have to make this now that I have seen what can be done because one cannot have too many projects on the go! Haha!

So for a first week of schooling I’d say we are going pretty well. Goodbye Week #1, hello Week #2!

Any new projects you’d like to share? Be careful! I may have to add them to my list! 😉

Schooling the World…

September 3, 2013 by tam

Oh my goodness…this is good. I have watched this in multiple sittings as there are seven parts but it’s so worth it. Take the time.

Trail spottings

August 23, 2013 by theshards

A short post today while I’m waiting for dinner to cool.

The boys were super antsy and though we have much to do before Nanna and Pappa arrive tomorrow (!) I thought a trail walk was in need for the boys and myself as well. It was a beautiful day with the sun sparkling down through the trees and the breeze blowing gently. Weather like this makes me feel like these are the best moments ever! We all felt much better after taking the time to take time – you know what I mean. 😉

Heavenly.

Have you ever seen a mushroom growing from a tree?

A little inchworm friend.

Poor little grasshopper. What’s he missing? We found this guy on our house when we arrived home. I know there are many cats in the area but I wonder if this one had a run-in with a bird perhaps?

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!

Blue Beach, NS

July 31, 2013 by tam

This weekend we went to Blue Beach Fossil Museum and had a great time rock hounding! I decided I would take a bunch of images and merge them in Photoshop to show the landscape. The image turned out quite small in height to fit in this post and I had to laugh. That being said, I think it still gives feel for the stretch of land and the lovely red beach.

I am still in the process of editing the rest of the images and sizing them for the blog but hopefully I will be sharing more images (not as panos!) soon! Don’t worry, they will be ‘normal’ size!

Pano_Blue-Beach-blog

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. 🙂

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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!

Medicine Wheel update

July 17, 2013 by tam

I have been going through my files trying to (yes, it’s never-ending!) keep up with cataloguing, backing up and blogging. If I keep taking pictures this will never end – Haha! I still have images to blog about from over a year ago – really those are just for our sake. We don’t print any longer and I really do love this way much better as it’s so nice to have a story to go along with the pictures.

When Mom visited in May she and I went searching for some shade loving plants to add to the medicine wheel. Mom had suggested these nettles (not of the stinging variety). They are beautiful with tiny little flowers and when the sun hits the leaves they have a silvery glow. Hmmm…maybe they are moon plants!

I am falling in love, no, I have fallen in love with the wheel. I am drawn to it. It feels like such a sacred place to me and every time I visit it the birds gather around. To walk bare foot on the moss that the boys lay down, which has grown wonderfully, has such a calming feeling. The soft coolness of it underfoot is soothing indeed.

The plants have started to spread since this picture was taken and the moss has become a bright green. Sadly, the nettle in the bottom corner has died. Super big sad smile inserted here. I don’t know what happened but I think I will try to transfer a bit from one of the other plants to this area as it is at an imbalance now. One of our neighbours gave me some of her Solomon Seal (in the back with the little white flowers) and some Lilly of the Valley which have taken well. All of the plants surrounding the wheel have grown wonderfully and seem to gather themselves around the parameter.

I am so happy that the boys took part in this special corner of the garden. It is truly lovely.

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.