Sunday, January 26, 2014

Pictures Galore

Lucky us we got to bowl this week.
The boys have really improved their game ..... maybe because they are getting stronger?
 
The body weight to ball weight ratio is more in their favour now. 
 
And finally I remembered to bring my camera to A's gymnastics class. He loves it.
We weren't able to get a spot in the Spring class .... he's going to be disappointed.

 
O.k., so back at the end of September we ordered these free hats from a cereal box offer.
The boys had given up hope of them ever arriving and then ..... voila! 
 
This is just a sneak peek at a LEGO project we have been working on.
More pictures to follow this week.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Hmm

Just some pictures of the kids chillin' here at the apartment.
 
Often when people find out that I homeschool the kids they'll say,
"I could never spend all that time with my kids."
So here are my completely unsolicited thoughts on that statement.
 
#1-Is there something about your children's behaviour that makes them not enjoyable?  Are they whiny, grumpy, obnoxious? If so, spending time with them will allow you to see where the behaviour is coming from and modify it. Are they tired? Frustrated? Sad? Fix it now before it becomes a habit!
 
#2-Is there something about your own personality that doesn't mesh well with them? Are you distracted? Dissatisfied? Tired? Impatient? Well here's that chance to mold feelings/behaviours that have been lurking!
 
#3-Does homeschooling sound like a weird/counterculture thing to do? Then just say it's outside your comfort zone.
#4-Do you want to work? Well then work. Own that. No biggie. There's no judgement here.
 
Finally, think about how that would sound if it was said in the reverse situation. If you said you were going back to work and I said, I could never spend that much time away from my kids. 
Rant over.
 
E has been wanting to try and use batteries to power a lightbulb using an old power cord.
He started working on it while I was cooking dinner. No sooner had he started than M (who was supposed to be doing homework!) had migrated over to the table. A Lego battery holding thing was made .... more wires were teased out of the old power cord ..... smaller lightbulbs located ....
 
And just before dinner was served .... voila ... LIGHT!!!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Merry Christmas Concert

The Christmas concert postponed because of the ice storm was rescheduled for this last Sunday.
It was easy to get back in the spirit once the music started.
 
However, you can see how A started to lose his laser focus during the second performance. 
 
What he lost in focus he seemed to find in attitude. Yeesh!
 
I snapped this picture before E took the stage. 
He did a fabulous job. It was very entertaining.
 

Sunday, January 19, 2014

What?

Stay upstairs and get your homework done I said.
Don't worry about us we'll go for a swim I said.
You'll get some quiet and a chance to focus I said.
 
And yet soon after going down to the pool ..... look who showed up!
 
Ear plugs are in and the track is set. It's time for the Monster Truck Sho-o-o-o-o-o-owwww!
 
So fun. So loud. 
 
They were definitely into it. 

Good thing M took the opportunity earlier in the day, you know ... while we were swimming, to get some homework done.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Crawford Lake






One of the great homeschool moms that we have met since moving had planned an outing to CrawfordLake for a group of us.
The first part of the day was spent learning/exploring an Iroquoian 15th century village. The second part involved snowshoes.




Here the boys are working on a craft before starting a big outdoor portion of the morning.
 
 The longhouses were big! Bigger than I anticipated. It was easy to see how these would have been a warm and welcoming place to be in the winter months.
 
The leader taught us how to play a First Nations winter game. It involved sliding sticks as 'snakes' across the winter snow to see whose would go the farthest.
They had a good old-fashioned brown bag lunch and then were taught some more by the facilitator.
 
 A little how-to on putting on the snow shoes and we were off!

Although it was a little chilly here today we didn't feel it in the cover of the trees.
And putting all that energy into hiking with snowshoes on helped us stay warm too. 
 
Group Shot
I forgot earlier this week to add E's Tuesday dinner info.
Tacos. Very yummy.

Update Dec2020

My Guy A My Guy E School Rooms at Home Deck the Halls It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas