Pioneers

Our pioneer unit started out of a love for the Little House series and a few Dear Canada books, thrown in with a good dose of passion for costume dress up. It was one of those things that had a life of its own, and we truly followed our interests. Below is a list of some of the things we did on our journey back in time, combined with several village tours. I can't say we are finished exploring but our interest isn't intense. It's been fun.

making butter
making jam, biscuits, freshly squeezed lemonade for snack time
drying herbs from the garden

whittling wood
making corn husk dolls
tin can lanterns made with nail hole patterns

visiting a local pioneer cemetery
visiting pioneer villages

graphing the growth of Ontario from the 1750's- present day
tracking on a map where people came from, how long it would have taken and comparing it with today
learning who came to settle, from where and why they might have left

costumes
sewing pillows

listing children's chores and responsibilities
attempting dinner where children are seen and not heard (you can imagine how long it lasted! LOL)

a few we read
Barbara Greenwood series, especially A Pioneer Story; the daily life of a Canadian family in the 1840's and Pioneer Crafts
Sisters in the Wilderness DVD (a favorite)
Little house series
Dear Canada
House Calls; the true story of a pioneer doctor by Ainslie Mansun
Rough Tough Charley by Verla Kay
Pioneer Girl by Mary Caswell

A Marsh Adventure

After being on a schedule, taking in lots of information and surrounded by business we decided to try and balance out the weekend with a long swim at the pool followed by a hike outside. It was perfect, especially before our long drive home. We went to Cooper Marsh, conserved marshland by Ducks Unlimited. Some of the trails take you by boardwalk through the middle of the marsh. There are viewing areas scattered along the trail, allowing you to look and watch without being seen. Posted inside are identification posters. The highlights where a golden eagle, black ducks, grebes and an american bittern. During a nursing break we were lying down on the boardwalk and much to our delight we watched migrating Canadian geese in three v's formed into one, numbering no less then 1000! It was incredibly to watch them shift into place. It was a wonderful end to the weekend.

You would never believe it without a picture....

Did you ever think the treadmill was used during pioneer times? For a horse? You read that right, a treadmill for a horse. We went to the farmstead to see the grain threshing demonstration while at Upper Canada Village and were totally surprised to find the machine powered by a horse on a treadmill. When the horse walked the belt moved, in turn operating the motor of the threshing machine...and what an amazing job it did! Ben was adamant about getting some photos "Because mum, who is going to believe we saw a horse on a treadmill!"

The interpreters were amazing. They really knew what was involved in the station they were at, they encouraged us to engage in the activities and invited questions. It was great to see the kids conversing with the adults, curious about what was going on and sharing information they had learned. For all my local friends I highly recommend this for a great trip!

A weekend back in time

To complete our unit on pioneers we decided to venture to one last 1860's replica pioneer village. We have been to three others this past summer during our study, this one being different by its size and the degree to which it operates. Upper Canada Village was recreated, the houses and buildings were brought in from surrounding areas. It truly is a village, complete with all the essentials; a sawmill, a gristmill, a blacksmith, working farm, bakery, cheese making shop, dressmakers, upper class tenant farm, tow boat to ride, the shoe store, signal tower, textile factory....I could go on and on but the most impressive part was that each shop or store was working, complete with interpreters who were really an artist in their craft. The tin shop was complete with a gentlemen who has been perfecting the art of the past ten years, the cheese shop was making curds which went on sale in the general store at 2pm, the bakery make loaves for sale at noon (which meant a delicious lunch!).
We had the opportunity to see life come full circle. For example, we walked in to see the sheep in the fields and the shearing of the fleece. In one of the homes they were cleaning, carding and spinning the wool which we could watch. The factory which put the thread onto spools; something new in the 1860's, was working. We saw the incredible machinery separate the threads into colors on spools. Upstairs they were weaving blankets, that we later saw on the beds in the tavern. In the general store we bought some of the carded roving and could have bought one of their blankets.

At the farm we saw the animals in their pens, we helped make apple cider in the press, we saw them stoking the smoke house, we watched the farmers turn the soil and thresh the grains, we walked into the farm house when the farm hands were eating pork chops from the previously smoked meat, potatoes, carrots and beans from the garden, all cooked in the summer kitchen which we also toured.

We left with a real appreciation for the hard work settlers put in. Seeing all the machinery in action, the sweat on the brow of the person, trying out the bed mattress at the main homestead and then at the tenant farm and noting the difference had an impact. Its the difference between reading things in a book, then seeing it in a museum to seeing through a window back in time to a working village.

Fort Henry

This weekend we went away for some time together and to explore some sights. Our first stop after a long drive was Fort Henry. This fort was built to defend upper Canada during the war of 1812. It took four years to build the initial fort and wasn't ready to be used in the war. In fact, even though the British occupied the fort and were prepared to use it, the fort was never used in any war. It has since been restored and rebuilt for the public to see.

It is ridiculous to say "it's a shame it was never used, it was so well thought out", however there are times on the tour when that thought enters your mind. The entrance to the fort is hidden in a hill, if an intruder does find it and happen to enter, they get stuck in a dry trench. It is in this place that they designed to ensure the ammunition bounced off every wall trapping the intruder.

The living quarters, the disparities between the different ranks and the cost of moving up positions were all interesting tidbits from the tour. The kids loved climbing up to the top level of the fort to have a look at the cannons up close, see the hollowed out iron balls to be filled with ammunition and of course the firing off of some rounds. Top off the visit with cannon ball candy (flavored popping sugar with a black gumball at the end) an empty shell casing and it was a good afternoon.

After running around we headed to the beach! It's the end of September and we are hanging out at the beach, swimming and playing. Crazy!

Fall Fair

We love the local fair. Every year we participate by entering in our crafts and creations to be judged. It is a yearly tradition. We have a routine of checking on how our entries did first. They all did incredibly well. Aria placed first in a bracelet she worked hours on, fourth on an animal collage, 2ND on her handwriting and an honorable mention on a picture. Ben placed first on a totem pole made of tin cans, 1st on a pioneer scene, 2ND on a butterfly and 4Th on his handwriting. Elias placed 2ND on his totem pole, 5Th on a mouse pad design and 5Th on a boat.

Afterwards the kids participated in a tractor pull, Ben came in 1st for the third year in a row winning ten dollars! They all got ride coupons for participating. After a whirl on the swings and bumper boats it was off to watching the crash up derby! Of course we didn't leave without some caramel apples and cotton candy!

Edible Plants

The nature centre program we attend never fails to teach and entertain us. Today we focused on edible plants. We took a walking tour of the area stopping to learn about rosehips, wild asparagus, cat tails, sumac, milkweed, cedar and pine trees to name only a few.

The highlight was watching a daring few try a grub from the centre of a burr. A hidden delicasee tried by a friend age 3, followed by her brave mum! The morning ended with a visit by the house corn snake and a picnic lunch.

Time away with friends

Good friends. September. A beautiful cottage. A warm fire. A dock to fish from. An offer of a canoe ride. Surprise spotting of deer. Flashlight tag. Sleepover with late night talks. Rescue games. Boat building. A boat ride. Necklace headbands. Raft adventures. Cold dips in. Beer bottle collections. Time to swing. Yummy food. Tall tower. Beautiful view from the first platform. Knife darts. Kumbaya. Grateful hearts. Happy Memories.

Life at the Beach is Fitting

Our little co-op decided to celebrate our choices for education, the freedom to home school by spending some time at the beach. It was a hot and windy day. There was lots of time in the sand, mixing and mingling with different friends, a little snacking and painting cloth napkins (for future potlucks). It was a wonderful afternoon.

A Homeschooler's Chalk Board

Today we did our 'so glad to be homeschooling day'. Our tradition is to bake cookies the day before, place them beside the bed with a flask of something to drink and a stack (ten books each...40 books in total) to read. When we all wake we have cookies for breakfast and read through all the wonderful books. It took awhile, but the cookies lasted as long as the books. We had lots of distractions mostly running after Shai. Even with the new twists it was a great way to start off. Its a reminder to me to live intentionally, simply, slowly.
Ben has a very strong motivation to up his reading ability. He really wants to read The Wandmaker's Guidebook on his own. The weather was beautiful so we went outside. I grabbed the chalk and we played on our 'chalkboard'. I wrote out the alphabet and the kids took turns spelling things out by jumping from letter to letter. They would have each other guess what word they were righting, I would challenge them with words and of course we sang the alphabet jumping style.
This lead to hopscotch. After regular hopscotch the kids wrote out paths with only even numbers, others with odd numbers, counting by tens, going backwards. The sidewalk from our house and half way around the court was full! We had a blast hoping our way around!

Tonight's Headliner.....

Bionicle Rock Band, complete with Lead singer, electric guitar, bass and drums !

Amazing Realizations

Aria "How many years ago was I born?"
Me " Five"
Aria "wow, that's the same age I am turning today!!!" (pause) "How old are you?"
Me "34"
Aria "How many years ago where you born?"
Me "34 years"
Aria "Wow, that's the same too, that is so cool"

Happy Birthday!

Aria's birth was wonderful, she entered the world with such an amazing strong presence and this strength and amazement as been with her everyday since. She is quite a character. I don't know anyone else quite like her. Without a doubt our lives are richer, more interesting with her in it. You are our buttercup.

Today, her actually birthday was filled with presents (the boys got her a giant bubble maker, which was a huge hit), a trip to the (empty) park, ice cream cones with a candle in it (a girl can have only so much cake) and a game of hide and seek in the flower garden.

Labor Day Tradition

Its become a bit of a tradition to visit a local park on the Monday night of the Labor Day weekend to ride the carousel, the train and the paddle boats. Its the last day its open and since we have a pass the kids rode each five or six times. The photos are a bit blurry, I don't think it was the camera, I think it was how I was feeling after watching them go around five or six times!