Track and Field

The track and field event, which is put on by a local private school and includes the homeschooling community  caught us off guard with the timing. Where did May go?
But no one hesitated joining and participating in all the events.  For the three older kids there was relay races, running races, long throw, long jump, triple jump.  Aria was very successful at the obstacle course.  Elias was thrilled to have completed his mile in 7 mins without any practice.  Ben out threw boys twice his age.  They all ended the day with ribbons, tired and a bit too much sun.
This was the first year they offered the younger children junior and senior kindergarten, an activity.  Shai loved it.  There was bean bag toss, jumping, walking on lines and throwing.  The races were by far his favorite.  His little arms just pumping away as he ran.  So much fun.  

A few more

Science Day

Science day was lots of fun! We invited the homeschool group over to our house for some science experimenting.  Stations were set up around the yard for trying out.  We had oobleck  in one area, with items to test if they would sink or float.  There were hoop rockets vs. paper airplanes for distance.  Once the kids learned to through these straight into the air instead of on the grass the bubble bombs became a hit.  Before we moved inside (the black flies were starting to become bothersome) we did the favorite mentos and diet coke and elephant toothpaste.  The latter didn't have the effect it did in the video unfortunately, but most of the kids hadn't seen the mentos so that made up for it!

The kids had a chance to try mixing oil and water together while painting some paper, getting a marbled effect which the younger kids enjoyed.  Everyone was really impressed with themselves when they mastered this cool experiment.  The last experiment, hover crafts, were fun to make.  They were a little temper mental, requiring really, really flat service. Once we figured that out we were set.
It was a great morning.  Some kids did a few of the activities, others did all of them.  A few kids altered the experiments for different results.  The parents were placed at different stations to guide or give a hand. My kids never get enough of these kinds of activities, so it was nice to finally give a whole bunch of them a try.

Reading Challenge

We did it! We met and exceeded our goal.  Everyone read feverishly, soaking up every book they could.  We got together for a celebration with friends for themed snacks (ie. little itty bitty cookies for the Littles).  It was a challenge my kids loved.  Books on their shelves that hadn't been read were taken out, recommendations were being shared and new styles of books were read.  I hope this becomes a yearly event. 

Joining Us at the Table

Shai asked the other day to have some 'work' of his own.  The thought of sitting with us during our 'table time' doing what the big kids do is so appealing.  He practiced the letters of his name for about 30 minutes, in a book of his own.  I thought it was cute. 
It got me thinking how different my hopes, expectations and concerns with my first child differ so greatly in many ways then with my fourth.  I had a shelf filled with workbooks, a list of objectives and a bucket full of shoulds in regards to learning.  Time and trust in my kids as given me the confidence to follow his lead.  Perhaps his interest in writing will stay and he will want to keep at it, or not.  Perhaps he will want to learn to read in the next year, or not.  I know those things will come. I don't have that same list of objectives, they have switched to reading together more, bringing out the playdough more often, getting to play group every other week. 
This reflecting isn't so much about Shai, or any of my kids.  It is about me, the place I am in our journey as homeschoolers and as a parent.  I have fewer worries for him, because I have more confidence in me. I can just enjoy his dabbling in writing without making it about the end product.  It's a great place to be.

Reading Challenge

Around the dinner table our conversation very often is sharing what adventures we have been transported to through the books we have been reading.  There has been lots of reading happening, especially in these cold dark days.  One of our conversations led to wondering how many books our family thought we could read in two months? or a year? With some more exploring around this challenge we decided it would be fun to start off such an idea with company.  We invited our homeschooling group to join us in this challenge.
We met at our house; readers, pre readers and those who are being read to. We set goals for our families, how many books we would read over two months and then added our totals together.  With 9 families our combined goal is 1200 books in 8 weeks.  After we worked out the specifics of numbers we set to work on some books of our own.  Each person made a book of their own to record the books they read and perhaps a few words about it, or a rating of sorts.
We also made tree branches of our own, to place leaves for each of the books a family member reads.  When we come back together for our celebration we will assemble our reading tree as a visual of our accomplished challenge.
I better get reading!

Christmas Around the World

At the last minute we decided to host an afternoon travelling the globe exploring Christmas traditions.  We made some poinsettia magnets after reading a little bit about their significance in Mexico.  The craft took longer than I anticipated- but the kids enjoyed it so much we went with it!  We divided into two groups, one where the kids could play with a dradel and another to play tradition twister.  We used a floor map from another game, it is similar to twister.  You spin the needle and it lands on a body part and a continent.  For this days game we added one part; traditions.  I gathered traditions from different countries and sorted them into continents.  When you landed on a continent we read out a tradition while you positioned yourself on the map.  The kids loved it. Of course.
There was snack sharing with chocolate letters from the Netherlands, dried fruits from Northern Africa and the Middle East.  I personally loved the shortbread with creme de leche from Argentina, the stolen from Germany and a special cake made in a coffee tin from Italy.  Throw in some music and carols, sharing our own traditions and friends making it a great afternoon.

Craft Friday

I often don't decide until last minute what crafts we are going to tackle on our friday gathering.  I organize the morning with a few things in mind.  While it isn't a coop in the sense of sharing the organizing, that isn't to say we don't pool our supplies and share. It is important to me that the morning is inclusive, that there isn't a cost to the morning which may be exclusionary this time of year especially.  When I choose the crafts I try to pick ones that have supplies to be found in peoples craft cupboards at home.

Everyone has either scissors, glue, paper, tissue paper, glass jars, etc.  Sometimes there are a few individuals who have special tools, ie snowflake punch for gift tags that can be shared with everyone.  I also hope to make crafts together that can be used, either as decorations or gifts.

This week we worked on 3d snowflakes. The kids (and mamas) made really incredible snowflakes, they totally took them up a notch.  Families brought scrapbooking paper, wrapping paper, wall paper.  They were stunning, with coordinating colours and patterns.  Beautiful.

Thanks to lots of scrapbooking mamas, the kids worked with some very cool tools.  There were different shape gift tags to punch out, cards to adorn with stars and snowflakes, letter punches etc.  With a stack of cards and tags we are one step closer to being ready.

Craft Friday

We continue to enjoy sharing our space with friends for craft Friday.  This week we made solstice lanterns, using glass jars, tissue paper and beaded handles (a family tradition).  Our second craft was 3-d stars.  Both crafts were a hit.  The kids loved hanging out in the yard afterwards.

Craft Group

The Craft group kicked off this past Friday, with 36 people in attendance it was a great success.  Lots of friends who joined us last year came and we were joined by new faces.  We have the usual age spread 1-15 years old, the crafts therefore need to span abilities.  This week we worked on weaving. There were three stations for the kids to rotate through; weaving bookmarks with paper and ribbon, weaving mats on a loom, weaving scenery's on branch looms.  It was a great start. 

We Are Digging It!

Together with two other families we have been meeting to explore the topic of archaeology.  It has been great exploring this science with lots of hands on activities.  We have been exploring possible stories with different artifacts, learning about the different tools used, using these in actual digs.  It is giving us a new appreciation for history and the combining of science and stories comes together. Of course its been a lot of fun too!

Steps to Change

With the G8 being held in our backyard we have been trying to take in all the events that are taking place as a result. A call was put out to artists around the world a few months (perhaps longer) ago, for original postcards to be sent in that share a message the artist wants to express to the G8 leaders. The postcard could be done in any medium, on any topic that the individual felt was important, the only requirement was the size.
A local gallery displayed the collection, which were made from material, birch bark, recycled material, leather to name a few. The art wasn't limited too, but included quilting, photographs, pencil drawing, water colour, oil painting, embroidery, collage. The messages for humane fishing, community focus, peace, fair trade, women's rights, embracing nature, ending hunger, the waste of money on the G8 were among many. The diversity represented was fabulous, not to mention the high quality of art.

Another display that came to the community was one that focused specifically on peace through children. The local Buddhist community worked with the national Buddhist community to bring the large screens to the library for people to enjoy. The large material display touched on the components of peace, the difference between peace and its absence. Examples of children around the globe working towards peace were highlighted, empowering the reader to make another step to make a difference.

Bear Wise

The Ministry of Natural Resources invited our homeschooling group to participate in a bear awareness program offered to school age children. The kids learned about bear behaviour through an interactive presentation. We heard stories about bears from our area, got to handle tracking collars, different skulls, furs, look at paw prints and teeth. Most importantly we learned about bear safety, how to keep them away from our homes and what to do if we encounter one.

A black bear can smell just over a kilometer away, which often means a barbecue can draw in a hungry bear. They also have incredible memories, if one year they find a bird feeder at some one's property it is highly likely they will try again the next year. This includes hummingbird feeders, providing a nice drink to wash whatever snack down. Black bears eat dead things....so don't play dead. Be clearly human sounding; talk instead of growl if you are scaring it away, you don't want to be confused for another animal (or meal). Make yourself big and back slowly (don't run...they like to play chase) away.
We have bears in our neighbourhood, so its an important reminder as to what we do.

Track and Field

A local private school invited our local homeschool group to participate in their track and field day. We didn't have enough time to do much preparation, so some of the events were being introduced for the first time. It was such a nurturing and encouraging environment the kids felt confident to give everything a try. There was long jump and the tricky triple jump, obstacle courses for younger ages and shot put for older kids, relay races, long and short distances, and free time for just a few. It was a full day.

There were lots of familiar faces and a chance to make new friends. Each event had ribbons, although the competitive feel didn't accompany it. Elias, who has been known to say running long distance isn't something he enjoys, lead the pack on the long distance run. Aria who has taken people out with crazy throws during family baseball got the red ribbon in long throw. Ben blew everyone away with his distance at standing long jump. Everyone walked away feeling accomplished.

JUMMMMMPPPPPP !

Experimenting

We are all about being hands on. For lots of reasons, but a big one being it's fun! The kids wondered what would happen if a glass bottle was buried in the coals of the fire. So we tried it. That led to experimenting with putting the glass in the flames vs the coals, submerging it in cold water afterwards vs. slowly cooling it down. They created some cool pieces of sculptured glass and we have a new you tube topic.