Family Shots....take 10!

My family have been saying for years now that we should get a family photo taken. Plans get made and postponed. It dawned on me when they were visiting that I could use the self timer on my camera and take that elusive photo. Without getting anyone changed, faces unwashed, hair untidy, I got everyone to agree to a spur of the moment photo shoot.

It was a hilarious process. The smoke from the fire kept getting in the way, the kids kept moving, people were shuffling. In the end we got some nice photos (the bottom one is my favorite). Definitely not studio quality, but it definitely shows ''us". And the memory was worth it.

A Fair Trade

Before we headed to the science centre I noticed on their web site that you can bring nature treasures to trade. You are awarded points for the treasures you bring based on how unique it is and how much you know about it. We took with us a chestnut, two shells, some quartz and a river rock. The kids took them up to the interpreter, shared what they knew about their items (with gusto!) and were award 900 points in total. They opted to split it evenly into three, giving them 300 points each. They could then go into the nature section which is part of the centre, and pick items that were worth or totalled their point value. There were items that ranged from 5 points (pine cones, pebbles, broken shells) to 5000 points (whole snake skin, dead and dried millipedes, huge shells, rare minerals). The kids were in a tizzy, bouncing from one drawer to another. It was a really tough choice to narrow it down. They came home with new items for their collections that they treasured; a piece of garnet, three different types of shells, a piece of ocean crayfish, fossilized leaf, horn fossil, a large insect fossil (cant remember its name) fossilized comb coral, dried coral, and a new piece of quartz.

"Wow Mama, that was way better than any gift shop!"

Science North

With rain in the forecast we decided to take a spur of the moment trip to Science North in Sudbury. We had been years ago, with everyone remembering very little other than we had enjoyed it. That didn't change. We had a fabulous time, often running in different directions, following what caught our eye and our interests.

The top floor was every one's favorite. A room filled with Duplo Lego blocks of all styles, on tables, the wall, a pit, bins. In another section was K'nex, you could choose to free build a pulley/battery operating car and then race it on the track. The three older kids attended a Lego Mindstorm robotics workshop (needless to say this is now an even more highly desired item!). There were workshops, information sessions and demonstrations throughout the day. We were really impressed with the interpreters, they were knowledgeable and very friendly. We noticed that most of them were volunteers in their teens or early twenties. What a great opportunity that would be.

The other highlights was the butterfly room (where Shai let a Blue Morpho out accidentally oops), the nature display, the porcupine, the human body tests, an erosion table, a deep sea exhibit and a 3 d movie about Jurassic sea giants.

Birthday Festivities

A visit from my sister, niece, nephew, and parents was perfect timing for Aria's upcoming birthday. It was especially wonderful to watch the cousins run around with each other. Going from beach to playmobile, to magical worlds. There were lots of birthday festivities including a pinata, a pop shower under the spraying mentos/pop experiment, making ice cream in the ball, boccie ball, peanut toss, swings and animals. Sounds like a mini carnival?!

What fun!

How does your garden grow?

I started gardening when I was in university, I called it my wonder garden because I would put the plants or seeds in cross my fingers and wonder what would grow. A friend who is also a serious garden used to call me a kamikaze gardener! Every year I plant a garden I learn a little more, I read a little more and while I am always in wonder at the growth of my garden it is less to do with crossing my fingers and more about how great it is to have our own food at the table.

It is a busy time; picking, gathering, canning, freezing. With all the rain we have had the crop hasn't been as plentiful as I had hoped. The tomatoes and peppers had some root rot problems and have produced very little. This has been a big disappointment and a bit of a shocker as they are usually my bumper crops. Hmm. The lettuce, onions and herbs have done fabulous and the cauliflower and pumpkins are coming along beautifully.

Nature has given us a huge crop of raspberries, chokecherries and different plants for remedies. It has been a huge learning this year with lots of new plants and more accessible ones for us to harvest.

Our fall plans include building more beds, for more crops. I would love to give lasagna gardening a try.

A little Shadow Puppetry Anyone?

A few resources we have been exploring I thought I would share.

animal shadow puppets how to

getting set up

an impressive video

international puppetry resources

One Leads to Another

a visit to the pioneer village for the play is inspiration to learn how to use the drill and build a 'classic' swing of their own.

visiting the boating museum is inspiration to use a nautical knots to tie their swing up in the tree.

learning a little about the history of boats leads to discussions on the dock about all the different types of boats driving past and what style they might have been modelled after.

watching different types of boats driving around inspires us to build boats out of wax paper and experiment with which ones would float.

our attempts at floating our boats lead to discussions about why certain things float and others don't

learning about pioneer settlers in our area with a neighbour leads to a visit of the pioneer cemetery down our street

attending the play about how this area was founded leads to seeking out and finding a display at town hall about Captain Hunt

a new list for the library, art work of lakes and boats, seeking and pricing different types of boats, dreams set of owning one one day, discussions of stars as a compass, sailors then and now, a boat license, vikings and being buried in your boat, never stopping.

The kids passionately chase what interests them. It is for me to follow them, seeking out answers to their questions, providing the tools needed along the journey. Our style of learning is again affirmed, that it not only works for us but we thrive with it. As September nears closer and the buzz of school is all around, I am filled with gratitude for our path.

The Ball is Bouncing!

The road trip we took on the weekend was a wonderful addition to our current interest in local history. We were reading up on what some of the local museums had to over and found that this one focused on local settlers and the history of boats and boating. They offered an afternoon children's program which took the kids (and me!) through the different exhibits. Although it was a small quaint museum they did an excellent job sharing the history. Our guide did a fabulous job of answering most of our questions with stories, giving it such a living flare.

At the dock we spotted a beautiful small boat that looked perfect for cruising the lakes on a Sunday afternoon. It was beautifully crafted wood. It was over one hundred years old and the owners have had it in their family for over forty years. It is a steam powered boat. The gentleman was loading the boiler with wood and pine cones to get it read to go. It was a full circle moment to see some of these boats in the museum and then to watch one in action.

In the town there was a beautiful mural of a steamship on the side of a building. When you got closer the mural was comprised of individual pictures both from private collections and public records. The towns people put it together, creating a beautiful piece of history. There were loggers, boats, families, all ranging over a hundred year span. The photos were also put in chronological order.

The Ball Drops

Friday afternoon a local camp gave a free performance of a play they had worked all week on with an alternative theatre group from the area. The play focused on our town's namesake and the settlers who created the town. The performance was both informative and entertaining.

The audience was physically lead through each of the acts, which took place at different locations in the heritage village here.

The children used song and dance (great cabaret style), puppets, art, shadow work, audience participation, historical information and original ideas. The shadow work presented in the barn showed how the travels took a ship, trains, wagons and when the roads ended they were on foot. Using overheads for different backdrops on the shadows gave it a really polished effect. My kids walked away from this portion of the performance talking big plans using this method.

It was interesting to learn that the original settlers were offered 200 free acres, with the agreement they would build a small home and clear 2 acres off of every year for 5 years. This area was advertised as prime farming land, ridiculous considering the layers of rock. Many people came and left, only 1 in 4 made their homes here. The mosquitoes and black flies, the lack of roads and poor farming conditions were obstacles.

But for those who made their homes here, they embraced the winter, the bugs, found ways to garden, and many have a left long line of family still here today.

A friend of mine describes the type of learning that often happens in homeschooling as "following the bouncing ball". It can be a crazy zig zag path as you follow what inspires and interests, never knowing where it may lead or land. The play really has been a new ball dropping for us. We have been inspired to learn more about the local history, Captain Hunt the town's namesake, and how time has changed things.

Road Trip

It was one of the first weekends we have had without visitors or a busy agenda. We decided it was the perfect day for a road trip, packing the car with;map, picnic supplies, swimming gear, rain apparel, camera and coffee, we were off! One of the great finds was a large wooden play ground. It was built like a castle, with turrets and corridors to hide and climb. There was ropes to climb, bridges to bounce, tires to manoeuvre. It was cool.

We live in an area where there aren't a lot of parks. Lots of trees, lakes, waterfalls, ponds and rocks, but not a lot of parks. So this was a gem of a find!

Too Fast

Before long she will be 7 years old. So much growing seems to happen over the summer. All that fresh food, fresh air, extended boundaries, challenges faced and conquered. Many people can't believe she is only 6yo, her size and her ability with words lead many to believe she is much older. But to me, she is that chubby baby, chattering toddler, playful little girl. Sigh. She is growing fast.

Living Dangerously

No encouragement is needed for our kids to push boundaries a little, try new things. Whittling with knives, climbing trees high, exploring in the woods on their own, chopping wood. A little bit of guidance, usually in the form of a one time safety outline, and they have been good to take it from there. Building Big fires has been a part of this exploring.
The kids were thrilled to have built a combo- tipee set up inside of a log cabin. All their reading on outdoor survival has been coming in handy this summer. The result was a big and very hot fire. And some very thrilled kids.

Sounds of Summer

Splashing water, distant giggling from the yard, cicadas and crickets, these are some of the classic sounds of summer for me. The steel drums aren't a sound I hear often, but regardless the time of year or where they are heard, they definitely sound like summer. The beat, the need to move in time to the music. Among the play list wasDancing Queen, Three little Birds, Yellow Bird, Tally Me Bananas, you couldn't help but groove along. It was a fabulous summer concert along the water.

Busy Bees

Summer has arrived and is quickly fleeting all at once. That list of summer activities is out, trying to fit as much in as possible. It's been busy. Summer kind of busy. Beach time, lots of beach time; castles, dock fishing, canoeing, friends.

During a few quiet moments amongst the business, the kids got around to setting up some of our summery things on the nature table. We even found the motivation and time to do a little bit of crafting for it. These bees were super easy and really cute. We found them in All Year Round, a book which takes you through the rhythm of the seasons.

You roll some brown or black felt in between your hands to make a kidney bean shaped body. With yellow embroidery floss you tie off a head, make stripes and sew on antenna. We used thin white cotton scraps for the wings. They are such a hit they don't stay on the table very long.

Dock Jumping

Ready, Set.....JUMP!

Over and over again, it never gets boring.