Clean Air Day

It was Clean Air Day today, a day you are encouraged to use alternate modes of transportation. The kids and I have been mourning not being able to ride our bikes as a family, as Shai is to young to ride in the trailer. We also haven't been taking the bus very often, I find getting in the car all the challenge I need!

The buses were free as part of the awareness day so after dinner we all hoped aboard with no plan. We decided to get off near a hidden fountain and make a few wishes. We had a short walk along the river and hoped on another bus home. It was a great evening!

Butterflies

It has become part of our spring traditions to have painted lady caterpillars and watch them form their chrysalis and then emerge as butterflies. It is a cycle we never tire of watching or one we cease to be amazed with. We had six this year and it was the first time all size emerged intact. In the past some have died or emerged with malformed wings. This year the butterflies had a quick visit crawling on hands and then were off to visit our garden flowers and catch a ride on a current.

So much more than just Toads

We have been doing lots of gardening lately as it hasn't been scorching hot. Part of this has meant lots of toad finding, which something to celebrate in this house! A good friend recently gave us some toad tadpoles that we are watching grow bigger. We expect them to be getting tails and legs shortly. I love how things come together; some of it intentionally and some by coincidence. We have a unit on the frog life cycle (and butterflies) that combine nicely with watching the toads. We recently attended the frog frolic night, with the Nature Centre program we are a part of we also did a water study and have held different types of frogs and toads. It really is coming full circle.

We've Been Inspired

A local art gallery held a grand opening of their new show recently which I had hoped to attend but wasn't able. As part of the display one of the artists created this nature web using hand dyed wool. We went to visit it after seeing the work in the newspaper. We all fell in love with it and have been inspired to try something similar of our own. Although we don't have two trees this large we thought we could create a frame with our large collection of sticks...we will keep you posted.

On that note we have been talking about having a week of experimenting with sculpting art. The summer gives us more space to think big. On brain storming we thought of

*air drying clay

*using recycled materials to build a statue
* paper mache

*large wire and material garden fairies

*mosaics made of stone, sand, flowers, sticks, etc.

*pouring cement into different molds

*carving poured plaster

*inviting friends and their material to create a sculpture

*wind chimes with different materials

*asking friends to each create a piece of art work in their garden and have a garden tour

Soccer Begins

My little girl has been so excited for soccer to start, to have her full uniform, her fancy soccer shoes and a whole group of new people to play with. She checked the mirror twice before leaving the house, to "see how great" she looked! She is priceless! I overheard hear explain to her teammates how to combine karate and soccer together to get some special moves that involve spinning and using your heal. I have no doubt it will be an interesting season.

The Good Ol' Days

We were excited to return to this Historic Pioneer Village. We have thoroughly enjoyed their program on Maple Syrup, their hands on activities and the excellent staff, which really combine to creating an engaging program. (that sounds almost brochure-ish!!) Today we went dressed in pioneer clothes after searching through some resources and listening to The Little House on the Prairie Series on audio book (although Elias and I read through the series last year) to figure out the 'perfect' look. I must say out of all the costumes my kids have created and worn these ones were heart melting adorable! There is something about a little boy in suspenders and a little girl in a bonnet!

There were four different stations, at each the children got an opportunity to experience a different aspect of pioneer life. We started visited with the lady of the house, having a tour of the garden, collecting water from the well, doing some laundry, looking in the one room house which all seven children and parents stayed in. The second station the children were divided into boys and girls for a barn raising bee. The boys put together a barn with pieces that connected together while talking about the importance of a barn. The girls built and laid a table for a hard earned meal. To celebrate their accomplishments there was some fiddle music and dancing.

We moved onto the town school next, which was complete with a bell they all rang at dismissal, a strict teacher and stern rules to follow. After filing into the building, first girls and then boys, the children were given a task to follow of folding paper into an envelope that would hold the seeds of the three sisters; corn, beans and squash. When the children were spoken to they needed to stand up, give their name and answer clearly. It was amazing to see how quickly the kids responded to the required behaviour, sitting still and standing to talk.

The last stop of the morning was to the field. We began the session with a talk about loyalists, taxes and farming. The kids took the place of the oxen, as it was something many newcomers didn't have access to. They pulled the plow through the field twice which was enough to give them the idea of what hard work it would have been. The little kids followed behind picking up any over turned rocks. The kids were shown how the three sisters would have grown and worked well together.

We enjoyed some running around time and lunch afterwards, collecting tent caterpillars ( a few came home in the car and silly me was surprised!) and climbing trees.

We have decided that over the summer we will explore the world of pioneers, as a strong interest has resurface.

The World of H2O

We returned to fondly remembered Ground Water Festival with some friends. The kids have talked about pumping the well, running through the sprinkler and the memories of last years visit

since last year. They were thrilled to be heading back. There are about 30-40 stations all focusing on water, held at a Pioneer Heritage Village. Many had plastic models of towns which demonstrated the importance of wetlands and what happens in their absence, the purpose of a dam, how the actions on the earth
effects the groundwater. The kids enjoyed trying to wash oil off a feather, washing laundry with a wash board, in awe of the amount of water children collected a hundred years ago per day (100), the pump, the farm animals and the sprinkler. We also ate lunch by the river which was perhaps the highlight, you can't beat crayfish searching and walking up and down stream which is a great highlight to have!

An Afternoon of Science

After viewing the surprise parade we headed to our planned destination which is a scientific learning centre that opened their doors for the day.

There were various stations set up for interactive learning. These included magnets, prism glasses, balloon races. obleck, wind socks. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Full of Surprises

We headed out to a nearby city today for an open house. When we arrived the streets were packed with people, police were stopping traffic. Once we parked we realized there was a big fancy parade celebrating the city's 150 anniversary. There were floats, antique cars and lots of marching bands, which of course are our favorites! It was grey and cloudy, threatening eminent rain, but thankfully waited until we were inside and the parade was over. One of the kids commented on the greatness of stumbling on a parade which is so true!

Birthday Fun Poolside

Today we celebrated my two nephews birthdays who were turning 1 and 9. They have a pool, so the kids had a great time being in the water outside (its been awhile!). They were diving, trying out pool noodles, playing water tag, coming out only for hot dogs and cake and even then they were resistent! It was a nice gathering, and we left with an open invite to enjoy the pool...which the kids totally plan on taking advantage of.

Happy Birthday Naithan and Aidan!

Am I in a Circus?

A good friend of mine and I have been creatively arrange time for our kids to be together and for us to have time to refuel. This has taken different forms, depending on the stages of our kids and the needs we have had. When our second children were babies we read an excellent article in Mothering Magazine written by another friend about create 'tribes' as a way to support each other. We implemented this by taking turns at each others houses, to get through the day together. We gathered with kids in pjs, had breakfast together, cleaned out the fridge in between nursing and story time, we had lunch and playtime. We have cooked, sorted baby clothes and Tupperware, organized closets and filing cabinets. We have given each other time on their own to take classes, go to the gym and driving lessons. We have taken younger ones to playgroups and had special time with the older ones. Its been ever changing in the form it takes, yet constantly meeting different needs.

This week we decided to hold camp. On Tuesday all but Shai went to her house for a bone museum day. The day consisted of a bike and hike, digging in the sand, painting a clubhouse, playing the pizza shop game, making a video to advertise the museum and of course some lego because what would a day without lego be! They were exhausted but raved until bedtime of all the fun they had.

Today her kids came to our house. The theme; circus fun. We biked to the park to test our acrobatic skills, returned home for a cool down with water ballons, we tried a parachute, pool games, face painting, training the dog, painting a sign, making tickets, decorating clown ice cream cones.

It was tiring. It was long and hot. The house was a disaster zone afterwards. Would I do it again. Yes. But not for awhile.

May Your Aim Be True!

After lots of talking, planning, procrastinating (you know who you are!) , building, a rain delay, the much anticipated catapult night arrived. We put out a call for our homeschool group to meet us at a local park with homemade catapults for an evening of shooting peanuts and sharing dessert. About 10 families came with all different types of amazing catapults. They creatively made them using lego, tinkertoys, spools of thread, there was a vegetable shooting trebuchet, a few who needed to be transported on the roof of vans! A friend brought her families stomp rocket that kids and dads lined up to give a try. There was a grand firing of all the weapons, lots of running around after a helping of cookies and the parents even got to chat!
It was an event that really brought together the whole family. Dad's; who did much of the construction compared notes and shared suggestions for tweaking the construction for fine tuning. It's a personal goal to try and create similar opportunities for whole families to gather who share homeschooling as a lifestyle. It was lots of fun, and no one lost an eye!

Whooo...Whooo...

While exploring the forested section of the hiking trail a few days ago Elias discovered an owl pellet at the base of a red pine. Having the strong love of birds of prey that we do, this was extremely exciting. We have actually taken apart owl pellets before, but never ones we came across in the wild. Today we separated all the grey fur, put the bones into groupings and got out the nature books to try and decipher what small animals this owl enjoyed. A vole? a mouse? a bird?

He's Rolling!

Magical places and Blessings

We returned to our new favorite hiking trail today. The kids were disappointed that we didn't bring nets, buckets s=and rubber boots yesterday, so we returned prepared. The trail is on the land owned by a religious community which has a strong focus on eco spirituality. Many hikers walk the path as part of retreats or meditation. Hidden among the trees, in the fields and along the pond are solitary benches and chairs, calling out to be used and admire the beauty around. There were two particular surprises we stumbled upon that were re-fueling for us all. The first was a picture of a heart, a cross and the four corners, made out of rocks, pine cones, cedar and sticks that someone created in the middle of the path. The kids felt moved to stop and each create their own 'painting' from nature. As I sat and nursed on the cedar covered ground, the kids collecting and creating hearts and pictures I couldn't help be thankful for what a great life I lead. How many people get to be with those they love most of all, under a canopy of cedar, with no time line to follow, no agenda to meet other than to be.

On our way back to the car, after seeing a northern oriole, watching the goslings, finding an owl pellet at the base of a tree, holding a few frogs and peeking into a nest, we stumbled onto another very cool spot. There was a ring of fully grown cedar, perhaps 10 or 12 of them, with a fully grown silver birch in the centre, creating an enclosure with a roof. Hanging from the birch tree was some wind chimes and two muskoka chairs inviting you to sit. One of the kids commented that they felt like a fairy in a large fairyland and another thought they should say a prayer and ring the chimes to let all know. It was a very cool afternoon. One leaving me feeling refreshed and so blessed.

Here a Chick There a Chick

A friend called this morning to let us know that the chicken eggs she has been watching have begun to hatch. The kids were delighted to be invited over to watch and even hold some three hour old chicks! This family has been turning the eggs over every day, monitoring the temperature and preparing for the chicks arrival. Apparently about half of the 24 eggs are expected to hatch and the ones which are darker in color are usually the more likely to survive. It was amazing to watch little beaks stick out of the shell, hearing them peep through their shell before they even hatch. It was amazing to see. The talk of having chickens has begun again, but the idea of just having them until they hatch has become an interesting possibility....the wheels are turning.