Thursday, February 27, 2014

Another One Gets the Bug

Last night I went downstairs to do a yoga practice. There's a small gym above the exercise room that is open for personal use. I asked the boys if they wanted to join me so they could burn off some energy tumbling on the mats. 
Lucky me they joined me for the end of my practice. Mr. Fidget (A) was unimpressed. But E seemed to really get into it.
Maybe we have another yoga person in the house?

Monday, February 24, 2014

Highs and Lows

We don't normally have outings on Monday but today was an exception.
There was a class organized at the Science Centre at 11:15 and since we arrived early the boys explored a little. See E working there? That's what happens when you stray too close to Mom at the museum. If you can't find anything to do and hang around me .... I give you math to work on.
So if we're ever at a museum together .... look busy.
 
This was the Chemistry workshop. So ... so .... good. The scientist was super engaging and the kids were completely enthralled. 
  
During the presentation A kept asking if they were going to blow something up.
And they did. A balloon filled with hydrogen. Very cool.
But not everything they learn seems to stick.
I feel strongly about the kids learning French and as a result it has been something we have invested a fair amount of time and money on. Workbooks, speaking French at home, and tutors. Oh the tutors. We had a tutor come weekly the three years we were in the states and the first year we were back (the second year we did Latin). So that's four years of one hour a week, subtracting holidays etc., so let's say about 140-150 hours of tutors. Plus they have been doing Rosetta Stone this year.
On the way out of the museum I was saying it was important to know certain common French phrases, for example, Do you speak English?, or, English please.
At that point A said, "I know how to say that. I think it's englishpleaseaurevoir."
And he was serious. Actually serious. Two english words and the word good-bye.
140 hours of tutoring and he says, english...please...au revoir.
Le sigh.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Second Half

On Thursday the boys were treated to a great outdoor fun day.
 
They had good weather and friends for the day too.
 
Then on Friday, it was babysitter time for the kids while M and I went to the mess for a little shindig.
It's time to get dressed up every once in a while.
 
If that wasn't enough fun for one week ... we started our weekend with a walk for the Toronto Zoo polar bears. AuntDonna came up for the morning and we exercised our 'paws' for a good cause.
 

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Up To Stuff

When we're not watching Olympics .....
... we are working on school.
We're finishing our mini art unit. This week we're drawing pandas a la Pablo Picasso.
If you check out this website you'll see a series of bulls that Picasso drew, slowly moving from realistic towards more abstract. That's our plan with the pandas.
That's A's work on the left and E's on the right.
 
These are pictures from a scene A set up this weekend. It was quite involved and the battle lasted many days.

In the end, the tan army won.
 

Monday, February 17, 2014

School Year

We were behind schedule for our back-to-school pictures this year but we got them done.
Look at those handsome boys!
  
Let's pretend that 'Start' is September .... and the X is the end of the school year.
That straight path would involve us following a chosen plan/curriculum for ten months.
Our path is more like the orange line I've drawn. We meander through the school year with a plan in sight but not always directly in front of us.
We're at one of those turns right now.

Usually it's pretty easy to tell when it's time to make a change. If when talking about upcoming activities I find that A is doing this behaviour below .... I know it's time to shake things up.
Our next unit, starting Feb24, will be on ocean creatures at the suggestion of 'A'.
I think that will bring him out from under those pillows.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Today?

Hmmm .... I wonder what is special about today?
Oh ya, it's this guy's birthday. Around here you get to call the shots on your birthday.
So that meant a swim and hot tub, pizza, chocolate fondue and a family movie.
Good choice M and Happy Birthday.
 
I found this photo on my camera. It was taken the night I cooked K's favourite dinner.
This is when I was bringing out the fruit in phyllo pastry with yogurt.

Sunday, February 09, 2014

Rules and Regs

The boys have created this army game. It's quite complicated. They use three dice and use them to determine whether any attack is successful. There are intricate rules about what can attack and when and with what results. The game can continue for hours. 
I have to admit the homeschool mom in me takes great pleasure in this. I love that they have the time to do this kind of thing.

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

ROM

As E gets older he is starting to look more closely at the museum exhibits. Of course, he still likes to hit the kid area.
  
I think this was A's favourite thing yesterday. He couldn't get over how incredibly tiny the little people were. E said it reminded him of an exhibit we saw back in 2010 of Willard Wigan.
 
While passing a wall of Egyptian mural A spotted some hieroglyphics he thought he recognized.
After going down to the kid section we were able to find the hieroglyphics and confirm he had spotted the letter 'A'.
This is totally not related to our museum trip yesterday .. but it's still cute.
When M gets home at night the kids are waiting to pounce on him and get his attention. The other night he didn't even get a chance to change out of uniform before they surrounded him.
 

Saturday, February 01, 2014

We Built This City

Well we finished it. The three of us have been working on a collaborative effort. Duties were divided based on our strengths. I worked on the main structures, walls, windows, roofs. A worked on special projects like the fountain and the pet store. And E pretty much took over the rest. Details, mini-figs, furniture, cars. It was about 15%, 15%, 70%.
And now I present .... Our City.
It's a busy place. Always some cleaning going on or parcels being delivered.
 
Not that they don't have time to relax. They stop for ice cream and/or tacos ... or sit on their outdoor balconies.
 
The main floor features a clothing store. You can check out the mannequins and then make your purchases.
 
E told me he modeled it after an OldNavy kind of idea.
 
If you don't mind line ups then you can grab a coffee at the coffee shop next door.
 
Or if you still have the shopping bug you can visit the computer store or the pet store.
 
The second floor boasts three separate apartments. Each decorated to suit the tastes of their owners. Whether you're sitting down to eat, reading a great book or getting some work done at home you'll find space in these apartments. Each with their own balcony!
  
The entire third floor is reserved for the penthouse suite. It has a much bigger kitchen, dishwasher, leather couch ..... and a soaker tub in the bathroom!!
 
This was really fun. The details came together to create something really unique. Next up for these LEGO builders ..... a church.
 
Thankfully we still have the construction crane that E made for the apartments to use on the church.

Update Dec2020

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