Vr-r-rooom

The boys were hard at work this evening.

 The Cub Car Rally is coming up soon and they have plans.

Riddle

The boys did a fun quiz at Grnny's house last night. I felt their answers needed to be shared.

 

If you were stranded on a deserted island what book would you take, what food and what person?

 

E-I would take "How to Survive in the Wild" and I would take manna for food and Grandad.

A-I would take my baby book and I would take brown beans andDad.

 

If you could have one superpower what would you want to have?

 

E-To be invisible.

A- To fly

Persuading

A-Persuasive

Today I’m going to tell you why homeschooling is more fun than school.

The first thing is you don’t have to take the bus to school and you don’t have to get ready. You don’t have to pack a backpack and you’re in your home and comfortable. Also, there’s less school to do so much more free time. And if you have a pet you can bring it to school and just go to the cupboard and grab a snack.

Also, you aren’t afraid to ask a question or make friends. Speaking of friends you make lots of friends in activities. Oh yah about activities you get to do lots of fun things in co-op and activities you do with your friends. And your mom or dad have to get the books that sometimes you pick out!

You get lots of days off like Granny day. Granny day is when you go to Granny’s and do lots of fun things and sometimes go to the museum. And people…..we’re socialized!!!

So now you know why homeschooling is better than school.


E- Persuasive

I’m going to tell you why guinea pigs are the best pet.

Guinea pigs are low maintenance. Cages are pretty cheap if you know where to buy it. You should go to RONA to buy a cement mixing container for 13 dollars. Man that’s a good deal. You only have to clean their cage once a week. And it’s not like you have to walk them every day.

Guinea pigs are very cute. They come in all different colors. They like it if they are not alone as in one. They are very cuddly and my guinea pig loves burrowing in the blankets. So if you like animals that are cute and cuddly and you don’t mind a little shedding you should buy a guinea pig.

You don’t have to walk them. You don’t have to hold their poop in a bag. And you don’t have to pick up hair balls. ICKY!

All these reasons are why Guinea pigs are the best pet.

I Choose

 

Instead of being upset that M has a concussion....I choose to be relieved the injury was not worse.

 

Instead of getting worried about him not being able to work....I choose to be comforted that his work supports him.

 

Instead of being distressed that A is sick with the flu....I choose to be content that he will recover and is a good patient.

 

Instead of feeling exasperated that our washing machine is broken...I choose to be grateful that we are able to replace it....(the sick kid laundry can't wait but the laundromat is open on Sunday)

 

End of Week

 This picture warms my heart. I snapped it at our co-op on Thursday.

It's nice that the kids have the opportunity to spend parts of their day with kids of other ages.

And I think it's good for them too!

 I found this on-line, ........

"because of the mixed age group, the younger children benefit from the positive models of older children, often aspiring to their levels of capability. At the same time, the older children rise to the expectations of the younger children and teacher, being very responsible and having opportunities to lend and use their expertise."

I didn't have the opportunity to read this in its entirety but what I saw looked intriguing.

Today at Sword Class the instructor let the kids try on a reproduction of 14th century armour.

How cool is this?!

 

And here's A....looking fierce.

 

I had promised to make some playdough this week...talk about leaving it until the last minute!

I wonder how old they will be when they are too old for playdough?

Let's hope it's not soon.....now that I've perfected my playdough recipe.

 

Yum

We had a successful trip to a new grocery store today that claims to offer the 'best in Asian fresh'.

We picked out some new cheese crackers to try.

The boys grabbed some sushi for lunch. (They were introduced to sushi by GrndmDrdre and they've loved it ever since.)

And A could not walk away from these mushrooms.

I've never cooked enokitake before but he assures me, after looking it up with Grnny on-line, he can take care of it.

We're also going to take a much closer look at them under our micrscope tomorrow.

I was also able to find a couple of new meat substitute soy products that I'm excited to try.

TickTock

This guy makes 37 look pretty appealing.

A family friend gave us a new board game some time ago but this is the first time we've tried it, it's called Cashflow. It was fun!

We didn't have time to finish a full game though when we stopped M was in the lead.

The kids have been well trained to look-freeze-smile when my camera comes out.
It's pretty funny how they'll stop mid-activity and assume the picture position.

But I noticed lately that E has been making a bit of a strange face when he looks at the camera.
So I asked him about it. He says that he wants to make sure people can see the part of his mouth appliance that goes across his bottom teeth.
So that explains it.



Can You Hear That?

Here's the 3 of us off to Cubs/Beavers.

Yes that's right....the three of us.

I may now always go by my official scouting name....Bubbles.

We are studying the ear this week. This was our experiment this a.m.

How do you get the rice on the saran wrap to move without touching it? See answer below.

We also played the listening game called "What's That Sound?"

I played 20 little short sound clips and they had to identify what the sounds were.

M found a great website with all kinds of sounds.

Too fun.

Blech and Yea!

I've been grumpy this weekend so I haven't posted. Nothing really significant...just a lot of little things. And rather than delve deeply into my complaints I shall list them all quickly and get them out of the way once and for all.

Theabsisstilloninthevan,thedvdkeepsmakingthisloudbuzzingnoiseandthewindshieldwiperstoppedworkingasdidtheturningsignal(thelasttwoarefixednow). Mwasawayforthreeweeks! Wehad2feetofsnowIhadtoshovel. Ehadhisbracesputon. AishavingacavityfilledonTuesday. InsteadoflosingweightasIwastryingtoIappeartohavegained1.5pounds.Mhasaconcussion.Thehandlebrokeoffthedishwasher.Thewashingmachinewon'tdoaspincycle.Thedryertimerdoesn'twork.Theweatherstrippingiscomingoffthefrontdoor.

And that is all I have to say about that.

On the other hand

 

M is making us dinner and........my kids rock.

 



Nana introduced this book to the boys. She had the boys make jars and they have been throwing extra change in there.

Today A emptied his jar into a bag and took it to church.

Un oeil

We have been studying the eye this week and I wanted to give the kids a concrete demonstration.

My fellow on-line homeschoolers turned me towards a great experiment.

I had set it up to use an arrow as what our eye was seeing. Naturally, they wanted to use a mini-fig.

The experiment worked and the kids really enjoyed it.

All day long the kids ask me questions about their mini-figs.

Does 'A' look better than 'B'? Does 'C' look better with sword 'E'?

Do you think mini-fig troll 'D' would beat mini-fig dwarf 'F'?

And they are seriously serious about these questions.

 

School Day

Back to the pool today.

 



"I don't think he knows about second breakfast."
"What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?"
Sometimes the boys remind me a bit of hobbits. They like to eat about every two hours.
This is them having their first snack of the school day.

Often I get the boys to start the car for me while I finish getting ready to leave.

This is how I found A today when I went out....radio BLARING!!!

I remember this summer when the google car went by. We had just returned from the splash park and I was putting out the clothes to dry. We had quite a laugh because I was holding a pair of A's underwear at the time! Luckily you can't see that in the picture.

One Month and My Second Wind

You know how when you are doing something difficult you pace yourself? Well that's what I had been doing while M was away.
Three more drive-kids-to-conflicting-appointments and he'll be home.
Two more taking-out-the-garbage days and he'll be home.
One more Cub/Beaver event and he'll be home.
And now he's home but he's out of commission. And I didn't pace myself for that!! So I need to regroup and find my second wind.

*****Veggie Update*****



It has been one month since this family jumped on the vegetarian band wagon.

So far so good....if you don't count that cheeseburger melt down I had yesterday.

The kids favourites are pizza, black bean quesedillas and veggie noodle soup.

Not surprising since those were pretty much their faves back when I cooked them with chicken!

 

It has meant that I have had to rethink my shopping lists and go-to menu items.

However, I also have been introduced to products I was completely unaware of previously.

 Vegetarians can't eat meat pie? Pshaw...veggie ground and sauteed leeks.



I tried something new this evening. I used a product called TVP that I found at BulkBarn. Essentially it's a dehydrated protein source. It can be reconstituted and added to pretty much anything..taking on the taste of whatever seasonings you use. It is cheaper than veggie ground and easier to keep on hand.

I added it tonight to the fried rice I made (leftover rice, carrots, peas, leeks, egg, tvp and soya sauce). I served veggie spring rolls with it...yummy!

The most interesting aspect of this change in diet so far has been that the kids are willing to eat pretty much anything I make. Maybe because they figure that's the consequence of omitting meat? Maybe their tastebuds are maturing? Maybe the flavors are more inticing?

I really don't know why.....but I like it...a LOT.

Concussions and Cheeseburgers

So here we were enjoying our Saturday.

E had a Cub meeting and then we stopped by AuntieJnn's for a quick visit.

M went to the Beaveree with A for the day.

Unfortunately M slipped on the ice and took a very nasty hit on the head.

The doctor confirmed it is a concussion and has put him on rest for the next 7-10 days.

(This picture taken yesterday before his fall)

And after all that excitement I needed a cheeseburger.

I mean I really needed a cheeseburger.

The children were upset.

I explained that this cheeseburger would make me happy.

They asked if there wasn't something else that would make me happy.

I said no and added further that at my age I had the right to eat said cheeseburger without judgement.

And so I did. And it was delicious. And it made me happy.

So there.

Compositions

E-Opinion

In my opinion people should wash their hands more.

If someone is sick they should not invite anyone to their house because that would cause illnesses to other people. When you sneeze you should grab a tissue or if you have to sneeze into your arm because you could spread germs. In a time where you are vomiting you should probably stay at your house to not spread the illness.

When you go outside and play in the mud like Calvin and Hobbes please wash your hands so that you don’t get anything dirty when you come inside. In a situation Where you come home from school there could be germs on your hands from things like water fountains and you should wash your hands. If you’re done cleaning up an animal cage you should wash your hands.

The difference between germs and dirt is that germs are microscopic and dirt is usually not. Germs can get you ill and dirt can get something else dirty like chocolate on a couch. When you use your hands a lot and rarely wash then they have germs and dirt on them.

Please wash your hands.

A-Opinion

In my opinion Dad shouldn’t go away for longer than a week.

It makes me sad and I also miss him soooooo much! And it makes mom and Eric sad too and they also miss him. I miss our family dinners.

It’s really sad he can’t tell storys and he can’t take us to Beavers! I can’t hear jokes from him and I don’t get a daddy cuddle. One of the biggest things I miss is he can’t tickle me and he can’t babysit us.

And when he’s gone I have to go shopping! And I don’t get to see him at night. There is a lot of it I don’t like about him going away for longer than a week.

So now you know that it’s better if dad stays at home.