In science we have been talking about rocks and how they are broken/eroded in nature.

And I'm happy to say we have been diligent in our music practice again since Christmas.

Sorry about the sideways viewing.

New Lessons

The boys are expanding their repertoire of meals. E can now do hard-boiled eggs. And both of them are working on pancakes(I bought ready mix batter).

Freedom!! I think they like being able to work the stove and have more choice as to their breakfasts.

I Don't Get It

Most people know how much I don't like electronics. M and I have a long standing tension about how much is too much computer use.
This week he has been on vacation at home with us and the electronic usage has been WAY up.

The three of them are hooked on a medieval game. Apparently it's educational as they need to develop and plan their communities and lead their men.

Hmmm. Educational, eh?

You'll notice if you view the progression that it started with the three of them playing together around the laptop in the diningroom. Then they moved to the livingroom and hooked it up to the television so they could have a better view

And this is where we've ended up. We now have two copies of the game; one on each laptop. And they can play on-line simultaneously as allies or enemies .

For the Birds

After church yesterday we visited the MusmofNtre. And I asked the boys to pick out their favourite bird.

For E, that was the Trumpeter Swan. The world's largest waterfowl was once hunted almost to extinction for it's feathers (used to make quill pens). These swans usually mate for life and are typically migratory.

M picked the barn owl. This bird is one of the most widespread birds and pound for pound consumes more rodents than possibly any other creature. Contrary to popular belief they do not 'hoot' but instead screech.

A picked the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. This bird's wings can beat up to 75 times/second. And because of the special way the wings connect at the shoulder it can fly backwards and hover in front of flowers.

If you're interested in seeing more pics of E's hockey tournament....click over to Grnny's.

Best Case

Recognize these guys? Did you say the Mycenaeans? If you did, you were right.

And these folk? The Barbarians. We were doing a little history today.

All did NOT end well for the Mycenaeans.

We were almost finished our day when E had a great idea for science. They made a model of the soil layers.

Pink playdough for the molten core. Rocks, dino bones, ash (from the fireplace), more rocks, sand and greenery (the top of a pineapple).

Great idea E.

Dino Field Trip

We took a field trip to a museum that has dinosaur exhibits.

A pointed out that this dinosaur was missing its front teeth-just like he is!

I can remember when E used to play here when he was 4 years old. His head pops up quite a bit further now.

There is a lot of new stuff since we were here last. Like this research boat exhibit.

One of the great things about being in the D.C. area was that the museums were free. Not so much here. Though I was lucky to discover that you can borrow a museum pass from the library. That saved us $25.

Grnny was game to try one of our favourite activities. Weighing yourself in birds instead of pounds or kilos. Do you know how many hummingbirds you weigh? Grnny does.


If you want to see pics of one of the last times we were here (one month short of four years ago)......click on this.

Redeemed

Sometimes we call this guy 'electro'. He loves playing any kind of game....unfortunately he doesn't always have a willing partner....that's when he turns to electronics. And he'll play anything....DS, laptop or Wii.

We have all really been enjoying our dinosaur and rock units.

Today they worked in the kitchen so I could bake while I supervised.

And I redeemed myself after a disappointing showing as a hockey mom on the weekend. (I couldn't find his stick before his 7a.m. practice and he had to go on the ice without it.)
When I dropped him off at Cubs we both discovered it was game night. But voila! I happened to have a game for kids in the van....my 'office' on wheels.

Make It Up

The best games are the ones we make up ourselves. The kids had friends over on Thursday.

And while E was the only one who wanted to skate they all wanted to play on the rink. So they made up a skating/shuffleboard game using shovels and their own bodies.

Later that evening they were out in the yard with some other friends and I could see the game had changed again. The rules of this game were not clear to me. Perhaps like long jump in that distance traveled was the goal.....but sliding like penguins on the ice.

Ssshhh

It's been a quiet week.

In a Nutshell

We had a yummy dinner with friends on Friday night.

And hockey on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday night we took the kids to try Indian food. They were not impressed.

Let's Call This Recess

After we practiced music this a.m. we made a quick run to the bulk store. While I was grabbing granola A found some dinosaur shaped candy and seeing as how we are studying dinosaurs....

The backyard got some good use today. We were out there for a couple hours.

Since it was the last day of our neighbour's Christmas vacation he came to join us. The boys are going to miss him next week when he goes back to school. They'll be back to pressing their faces against the front window at 3pm waiting for him to get off the bus.

G2K came by this evening for a couple hours of board games. So fun.

Wiggles

We had a rousing game of Twstr night before last.

There were some clear leaders in the balance and flexibility department.

This afternoon is was like being in a snowglobe. The snow was coming down so softly.

Lots of fun.