Your Christmas Present!

Hi Kris,
In case you are missing Canadian Christmas...

And here is your Christmas present this year! We will put the mask up in the hallway to join the others, and the book will be waiting on your shelf for your return! (Incentive) The mask is hand painted and from Indonesia, or so I was told, but I liked it regardless.

Merry Christmas!

-from all of us!

The night before the night before Christmas!

We have been busy this past month with lots of events, get together's, and a week of the flu! Luckily we have all come through (unlike last year), and are gearing up for the fun filled days ahead spent with family and friends.

But before that, here is a picture overview of our last few weeks:
Making our Gingerbread House at Grammies House

Taking an evening trip to "sparkles in the park" a large lights and decorations display at a nearby park. They also had the carousel open and the girls enjoyed a winter ride. The girls also spotted these ducks by the river's edge and close by, 2 raccoons slinking around in the dark. I was lucky to grab this pic, because as soon as my flash went, they were off!

Christmas is coming!

We are starting to feel the bustle of the Christmas season, as you can probably tell from the quantity of blog posts lately.

The girls' excitement is growing daily, and we are trying hard to balance the meaning of the season with the glamour of commercialism.

We have been reading quite a few bookies and stories based on the Christmas season including;

1. The Animals' Merry Christmas - Richard Scarry


2. Mouse and Mole and the Christmas Walk - Doug Cushman


3. Night Tree - Eve Bunting


4. Franklin and the Christmas Gift -Paulette Bourgeois


5. Dora's Starry Christmas - Christine Ricci

We have been working on quite a few crafts, both for the girls' Christmas tree which they have set up in the basement, and for the Christmas market (an evening put on by our local homeschooling group) we attended last week.

The Christmas market involved kids from approx. 12 homeschooling families with tables set up in a local recreation center selling their homemade wares. The girls made button star ornaments, wrapping paper, Christmas card ball ornaments, Christmas cards, and Christmas tree cork stands and offered everything on their table for sale at 50 cents each. The client base included other homeschooling families and the onlookers of a nearby hockey game. After an exciting profit of about 12 dollars (thanks again Grammie and our other awesome supporters), the girls got involved in bartering and shopping and came home with handfuls of treasures and tasty treats (and one lone twoonie!).
The girls deemed the evening a great success and are looking forward to their next attempt at entrepreneurialism.
I am definitely visualizing a lemonade stand parked on our front lawn next summer!

We also took in a play put on by a local theatre group aimed specificlly at school age kids. The play was titled "Holiday dream" and for the short version involved a boy who wished everyday could be a holiday instead of a school day. Even though the girls obviously didn't have a great attachment to the idea of "no school" they seemed to enjoy the theatre atmosphere and the experience of being part of a larger whole in responding to the actors.

Well, these are just a few of our latest escapades, and we have many more events planned as we gear up to the big day... gingerbread houses at grammies, our early learners Christmas party, gift exchanges with friends, Christmas baking with Aunt Pam... the list goes on...

We will keep you posted :)

Hibernation

There is something really special about heading over to a friends house for our Early Learners Group with special bear and blanket in hand and being confronted with a tent set up in the living room!
The girls spent the morning learning about hibernation, getting fat and then skinny again in their "cave" as one of the moms explored with them the lifestyle of bears preparing for winter, while the other moms, including myself, chatted quitely and munched on fresh blueberry muffins, oranges and tea.

Have I mentioned how much I love homeschooling?

After a full morning of dabbling in hibernation, migration, adaption - some talk on syllables and creating caves out of margarine containers and plasticine, the girls were comfortable spending a quiet afternoon at home together hibernating ourselves from the winter weather.

Not prepared!

Well, I'm not prepared for the onslaught of winter, but the girls sure are. I think we may need to keep a snowman tally this year, as the girls are bound and determined to create one at every opportunity.

Even after a conversation about the different types of snow, the girls were not to be put off, so we managed to create this little guy!

The rain that followed didn't help his longevity, so we rescued his button eyes, and left the carrot for any industrious animals who might pass by.

I'm sure there will be many more, but we will remember him as our first of the season!

A look back at our week...

We started our week off with a get together with our Early Learners group where we talked about "Communities". The kids were able to start by chatting about our greater community, and all the resources available to us by way of this map.

The kids then had the opportunity to draw their own communities and cut and paste the buildings and vehicles onto their own roads.

After a snack and some free play, the idea of a social atom was introduced, and the kids got to work on their own starting with their families in the middle and growing out to all the people and friends that play a role in their lives.

I was very excited about this topic, as we have done very little, except in passing conversation, in talking about all the people and jobs that play a role in our health and well-being.

I am hoping to revisit this idea a bit and even snagged the group map to put up at our house!

On Tuesday we had a great chance to continue this idea, when Aunt Pam gave us a tour of the bank she works at. The girls were very excited to be allowed entrance into the bank vault, and to see what Pam's "office" was like. Not too long ago, we opened bank accounts for the girls where they got to bring in their rolled change ($75 each!!) and talk with a representative about where their money would be kept, and now they got to see it first hand!

Pam was also able to show the girls large paper rolls of money before they would be cut, and chatted with them about how it's made, what country it is made for, and the amount on each role.

I don't think they realised the significance of the bills, but did enjoy pointing out the robin, the word Canada and the queen.

Tues afternoon was spent playing with lego at a nearby lego store. The girls had a great time creating and racing lego cars down this track. One the left is Aislinn's creation. Once she had the base of the car, it was all about the decorations! I think she takes after me! :)

Wednesday we spent the morning running some errands, and spent most of our time browsing the used book section of Value Village looking for a new series of books I have just fallen in love with. They are the Serendipity books, and have great pictures on every page, fun words, repetition of phrases, and a morale to go with it.

There are apparently about 50 and we are now proud owners of 2 for 50¢ each.

The afternoon was quiet, but quick, as we did some reading together (the newest of our books above included), and spent some tie at the table colouring and doing mazes and worksheets. Aislinn flew through about 7 mazes in approx. 7 minutes. She very hard to keep up with nowadays. When I am done here, I am off to replenish our supply!

Today was one of those days, where my desires for finalizing Christmas shopping came before activities for the kids, but it surprises me how much they still experience even in a trip like that. After gymnastics, we ate an early lunch and picked up Aunt Jenn and drove the hour and a bit to a large mall! In the process of shopping, the girls got to bond with Aunt Jenn (as they were physically attached to her in some way the entire afternoon), wander through a pet store, visit Santa's village, take part in finding the perfect Christmas gift for their grandma and a close friend. It's also great exercise, as Jenn and I definitely didn't slow our speed for kid sized steps!

As always I look forward to what tomorrow will bring, and am sure whatever the activity the girls will come away with a valuable experience.

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely...” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Flower girl updates

So Jenn got her pictures back, and I just had to share as they came out so much better than mine!

Updates

of a few events the girls have been involved in that I haven't blogged about.

Monday Nov. 19 - A visit to the fire station.

We visited a local fire station with our Early Learners group ( I forgot my camera), and had a great time chatting with Firefighter Ryan and Firefighter Donny. They talked with the kids about when and how to phone 911, discussed escape plans from their homes, and showed them all the gear they wear. They then took us out into the garage area, where the kids got to sit in the fire trucks, and view the equipment including an infrared camera. Awesome field trip and one that is worth repeating as they get older!

Sept -Nov - Swimming lessons

The girls just finished their fall session of swimming lessons. Tara's first time, and Aislinn taking Sunfish. Both girls will redo their level, Tara needing to develop her comfort level with putting her head underwater, and Aislinn just needs to get a bit bigger and stronger. (She was quite a bit smaller than the rest of her class). Both girls had a great time and the instructors were fabulous. It's a great way to get them some exercise in the winter too, so we will be putting them in the next session again regardless.

Sept - Dec -Highland dancing

Asilinn has progressed to dancing the Highland Fling, and has learned half of the Swords dance. She seems to really be enjoying her class which includes her and one other girl, and is looking forward to the recital in December.

Sept -Dec - Gymnastics

Gymnastics are still underway, and the girls are having a great time. It is really helping Tara's gross motor skills although she still refuses to do 2 foot jumps off of the equipment. It's been great to see her Independence from Aislinn take off in this class.
Aislinn's group is doing more skills work than I have seen them do yet, and Aislinn's upper body strength is slowly improving. (We are hoping her climb into her bunk bed is helping too!)

November - Local Children's museum

We recently picked up a year family pass which gives us access to some local museums, and one in particular the girls have quite taken too. They have costumes to wear, a sand table with hidden dinasoar bones, a restaurant set up, a fish tank, fossils to look at, a display case full of mounted birds and small mammals and so much more. We are looking forward to exploring it more when we have quiet afternoons this winter.

October -Rock and Gem show

On a quiet weekend, we took advantage of a free Rock and Gem show being held at a local university, and spent a couple hours exploring the rock exhibits. The girls had a chance to pan for gold and chatted with some very friendly vendors who were happy to share their knowledge with them. They each got a twoonie and were able to choose a specimen to take home.

October - Halloween concert

We spent a morning attending a concert with Halloween music as the means of introducing kids to the different instruments and sounds of the orchestra. The music and approach was a bit much for Tara, but it was an interesting experience as we don't often have much exposure to music of that kind.

Mouse Hunt

So we had an interesting morning today! We had recently discovered the presence of a mouse in our kitchen so Jeff and I had been working towards a humane way to remove the intruder. Jeff spent some time sealing up the holes in our kitchen cupboards around the pipes, and picked up some humane mouse traps. Last night was our trial run, and low and behold we had one trapped by morning.

Thinking all was well, I was moving through our morning until I spotted a small mouse (very cute) standing on the stairs. The girls were immediately intrigued, and after a discussion about why the mouse was not allowed to live with us, helped me to contain the little guy. I myself am not scared of mice, but I do find the speed at which they run startling, so being my brave self, I hopped onto the couch for a better vantage point, and directed the girls in our plan of attack. We managed to follow the mouse to our front closet, and the girls proceeded to place our peanut butter enhanced traps nearby in order to tempt our new housemate to enter.

Once we realised the mouse was not likely going to take the bait in a quick and orderly fashion, we decided more drastic measures were to be taken. The girls slowly emptied all the coats and shoes from the closet- to offer us a clear view- as I opened the front door and stood at a respectable distance with the broom at the ready. After an impromptu wall of Lego containers to persuade the mouse to choose an easier path,we deemed ourselves ready. With cheers of encouragement, I gently persuaded the mouse into motion with the broom, and after a few tense moments, he choose the path of least resistance and flew out the door. I leapt to close the exit and the girls and I savoured our victory with a phone call to Jeff to brag of our bravery and skill in extermination.

All in all our adventure lasted at least 1/2 an hour, and we felt a well deserved snack was in order (after we replaced the closet's contents).

Unschooling at it's finest- an up close encounter with a mammal, a discussion on its proper habitats, a chance to study it's flight patterns, an introduction to the mechanics of a mouse trap, a lesson in cooperation, and practise in the retelling of an event step by step.

A visit to the vet...

This past Thursday, we were given the chance to tour a veterinarian practice by a friend of mine who works as a vet technician there. It was so cool! I am and always have been an animal lover, and think it's so awesome to see all the equipment and procedures they use to heal the animals. (Starting to re-think my past choices to bypass veterinarian schooling in exchange for Stable Management.)

The girls were obviously enamoured by the X-ray of the puppies and of course the spoon.

8 puppies (left), 2 swallowed golf balls (center), 1 swallowed spoon (right).

They also found it very cool that animals go to the "dentist", and the 4 month old sheltie puppy who enthusiastically welcomed them in the back office was received well also.

Thanks again Trina, you did an awesome job of explaining everything, and the girls had a great time! (We appreciate you bypassing the morgue for us too!)

Marco Polo

My sister who had been home for a year and a half visit, recently left again for a teachers position in Chendu, China.

Over the year, Aunt Kristel developed an interesting relationship with the girls, who she had never met before. Kris and Tara especially hit it off, coming up with a game where they would race around the house (Tara in Kris' arms) and poked whoever was in their path.

When Kris was ready to head off on a new travelling adventure, I knew it was going to be hard for the girls to understand the disappearance of their well loved Aunt. Kris came up with Marco Polo, a small stuffed mouse to join her on her adventures. Now, through her blog http://marco-polo-too.blogspot.com/ the girls can follow Marco's adventures through China, and take part in Aunt Kristel's life and experiences.

It's also great for Geography as we have already looked up Sichuan Province, and Chendu, and located Aunt Kristel on the world map. Aislinn is also very excited about the Panda pictures, so maybe we will take some time to explore them in greater detail.

Oh, Kris, Aislinn would also like to know what Marco has to eat. ( A picture would be great, but nothing too exotic please ---I'm not so sure about the dog livers thing, even as a carnivore.)

Pumpkin pics

Since I am trying to pretend that I don't just use my camera for kids shots, here are a few of my attempts at photography. (Snapped at a fast walk while trying to keep up with the group during our pumpkin patch visit.)

Pumpkin Patch tradition

Every year, we take the time to spend an hour or two visiting the Pumpkin patch with Grammie and Grandad and Aunt Jenn, and any other family members we can coax into it.

We get the girls dressed up into their Halloween Costumes for which they get many oohs and aahhs, and snap pics

among the pumpkins. How many more years they will let us do this, we are not sure, but for now, it is great fun braving the chill air, tasting the hot apple cider and popcorn, and savoring the fall atmosphere.

Fall 2006 (above) Fall 2005 (below)

Bunkbeds

Well, we did it! After repeated comments on the greatly sought after bunk beds, and a few days of pondering, we took the plunge. A few dollars in home depot supplies later and a handy husband, the girls beds have been turned into a brand new bunk beds and they are thrilled!
And to make things even better, the girls have started sleeping in until 8 or even 8:30 everyday! I guess I should check how long they are staying up chatting under the new arrangements! :)

I am very excited too that Tara's room will now be made into our "Activity room". A place to leave out projects, start and not finish puzzles, and have better access to some of the new items we have our eye on for Christmas.

(Our biggest purchase we hope to make will be a computer microscope, and now, we hope it will have a permanent and accessible home! How can I not be excited!)

The elusive Autumn...

No, not fall, this would be Aunt Pam's cat. The main reason the girls love going to Uncle Chris and Aunt Pam's house!

Sorry guys, the girls are definitely drawn to your dwelling for the sheer mystery of this cat they can't coax out of hiding.

Even after Halloween cookie decorating and chocolate milk, they keep coming back to the cat, but thanks for the nice relaxing afternoon and for letting the girls pre-make their dessert!

(By the way, the girls are counting down the days to the "sleepover", and their next chance to glimpse Autumn)

The girls results

Great new book!

Signed out this book from the library during a tour where it was highly recommended, and I have to agree.
Cats, Hats, and Hippos -Ruth Thompson- (for ages 3 to 5)

This book is great for spurring on conversation about the pictures. It includes ideas at the bottom of each page for questions to ask, and gets the kids chatting about different subject matter and expanding their vocabulary.

We didn't try every page, as some didn't hold our interest, but our favorite page was definitely the Story Map, where we got to follow paths and make up a story about the items and characters we came across! Great fun. It reminded me to keep the girls involved in what they are reading, by requesting their participation in the story!

Other titles in the series:
Spotted Dogs and Messy Monsters (Age 4 to 6)
Yackety-yak, the Alien's back (Age 5 to 7)
Chatting Cheetahs and Jumping Jellyfish (Age 6 to 8)

Pumpkin Decorating...

How to decorate pumpkins with a group of 8 kids, with out involving knives! That was my dilemma for our Early Learners group who met at our house yesterday. But we managed, and the kids did great. Each pumpkin came out unique, and the kids really took to working with the supplies to develop their characters.




The rest of our morning involved investigating the pumpkins that everyone had brought, chatting about colour and texture and size. We spent some time measuring the circumference using string, and estimating the weight (since my scale broke at that exact moment).
We also went through the life cycle of the pumpkin, using the resource found here http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/assets/PDF/Life_Cycle_of_a_Pumpkin.pdf

We used small laminated cards to work out the order of the life cycle, and then used them again later to do patterning. The kids were also sent home with this poem:

Pumpkin

Pumpkin pumpkin
big and round,
I'm glad you grow
upon the ground.
I'm glad you don't
grow in a tree
for then you might
fall down on me.
-author unknown-

I oddly found it very hard to find quality pumpkin print outs to compliment our morning. I was quite surprised as this seems to be such a popular learning theme for the fall season! (Lots on Thanksgiving!) So if anyone knows of any (for future reference) please leave a comment!!

Link for free curriculum

Cool new link for free curriculum for the grade 3 to grade 8 age range.

http://wwf.ca/schools/

I haven't been through all of it, and although it is quite schoolish, it looks like it has great information. Have to sign up, but it is free!

Conversation with Aislinn

Conversation with Aislinn tonight:

Aislinn: "Mom, I really like bunk beds"
Me: "You do?"
Aislinn: " I think I would like to sleep in a bunk bed where I could have the top and Tara could sleep on the bottom"
Me: "You sometimes get to sleep on the top bunk at K's house"
Aislinn: "Well how much to bunk beds cost?"
Me: "Well, you and Tara each already have a bed."
Aislinn: "But how much would they cost?"
Me: "Ummm, probably around 700 dollars"
Aislinn: "Wow, that would be all the money you have right?" (thoughtful look)
Me: "Well, we would have to save up for a purchase like that, but you and Tara each already have a bed."
Aislinn: " k, good night Mom!" (she made it quite clear that we were done chatting!)

I am curious to see what her game plan will be in acquiring this coveted bed. She had the look that means it won't be the end of this conversation. Keep you posted...

(It actually struck me as funny as I was just today, in my head, playing with the logistics of putting the girls in one room and making the other room an "activity room".)

Experiencing a Streetcar

Since we have just the two girls in our family, and just one niece besides, we have had to live the train obsession vicariously through 1 lone 4 year old male friend of the family -Matthew. Through him we have learned about the Thomas world of Sodor and with it the names and attraction toward these small brightly coloured engines.

So when we had an opportunity to visit a Streetcar museum, I thought sure, why not! The girls might not be fanatics, but I am sure they will appreciate the experience.

Well, they seemed to, even though Tara spent the entire 2 rides snuggled up against my arm with her eyes half closed!

It was quite interesting! I have to admit that I can not recollect ever having been on a streetcar, sad since I have lived in quite close vicinity to them all my life, but being from the country(ish) we always seemed to drive in the downtown core.

The oldest model which we were given a ride on had a fabulous interior and sported adds from the 1920's. The second car dated back to 1950's but was not nearly as appealing. Although I am a huge fan of technology, in this case it was rather dismal.

We ended our tour by exploring a train station, in which the girls enjoyed the company of other home schoolers more than their surroundings, but I guess they are a bit young to delve into the mysteries written on information blocks on walls or hidden in glass cases. The time will come.

While the girls were excited that they had finally had the opportunity to ride on a "train", I think they are still yearning for a more in depth experience. Aislinn's thinking - Train ride across Canada -that should only take an afternoon.

Early Learners...

One of the great privileges of being a parent is witnessing, close up, the flourishing of a young mind. But that’s not the only benefit. In trying to make the world a more interesting and comprehensible place for their child, parents often find their own intellectual interests rekindled. - Michael Schulman


Our Early Learners group has been busy the past week, with a get together on Fri (to compensate for the holiday Monday), and one today. The group is really starting to mesh and the comfort levels of the kids are really starting to increase.

We spent some time chatting about Canadian birds on Friday with a morning mixed with both hands on and circle activities. I was amazed at how much the kids already knew about a lot of the bird species, and it reminds me of just how much kids absorb in everyday life. As far as I know, none if the families had done any previous "study" on the topic, yet the kids all had different and interesting information to share. The kids all participated in a show and share, we listened to bird songs on cd, and viewed accompanying pictures. Then we jumped into a hands on "Bird French Toast" recipe and Pine cone bird feeders. The weather was still nice enough to accommodate a bit of outdoor running around, so we played a few rounds of bird freeze tag, and "What time is it Mr(s) Bird?"
The kids did great, and are really getting the feel for and gaining ability to work within a group structure.

Today, we spent the morning engaged in pretend play. Our leader ran the kids through a series of games to get the using their imaginations as animals, the weather, feelings and using props. She also introduced the kids to the idea of an imagination envelope where they could place their hand inside and pull out whatever they wanted, and an imagination crown where when wearing it, you could be wherever you wanted to be. It was excellent. Pretend play is really not a strong area for me and Aislinn and Tara tend to be very realistic in their play possibly due to this.
I am amazed every time we drive away, at the different things the girls are given the opportunity to experience, especially when different adults lead them in activities!
I am already planning ahead to next year about how fun it would be to revisit a lot of these same ideas and see where the year has taken them in their learning maturity!

All in all, I am really enjoying our group, and Tara begged me (in tears) to stay today! I can't remember how I managed to distract her, but I know both girls will be raring to go again next week!

Pistachios

Experiencing pistachios for the first time with Uncle Nunz (Jeff's Italian uncle).

Not often do you find a man happy to do the twist with his 3 and 4 year old grandnieces in front of everyone at a wedding!

Cheers Uncle Nunz, for making the girls feel so special!

You infuriate Aislinn every chance you get, but she obviously loves you regardless! :)