Hello Again!

I have a dilemma. I blog from my photos and my camera needs new batteries, so I have not been blogging. I will attempt a photo free blog, even though I don't know what the heck I am going to talk about.

First off the reason for the post was Sarah wanted the felt play mats link. Cheryl pointed out that LaPaz's blog has a version of felted play mats. They are quite adorable so here is the link to her playmats. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did. This coming week is dedicated to Christmas crafting , helping others and getting the house ready for Christmas. Perhaps I will get a few playmats done then.

Today the homeschoolers met at the skating oval and it was beautiful. I was surprised how quickly the kids regained there skating legs. We were there for over an hour before my toes started to freeze (which for December is awesome). The kids were warm and could have kept skating for at least another hour.

This Sunday is the homeschooler's Christmas Tea. Everyone had such a good time last year. The kids have been practicing their poems. I said that I would bring a craft and I think I will bring bookmark supplies. But if anyone knows a great children's craft let me know.

This Tuesday we will be heading out to Souris to help my niece get her house ready to sell. She said to not worry about it till after the Christmas Season. But when you think about it, there isn't a better thing we could be doing than helping someone out. So this year our Christmas cookies will be purchased and our home will not be picture perfect (far from it). But our coffee will be Free Trade, our gifts (mostly) homemade and we will make time to appreciate the people we love. It works for us, and that is what matters most.

I hope you find time to enjoy each day this Advent.

P.S. Even if it is ice cube toes and frozen fingers!

P.P.S. If my post is scattered I do apologize, and I will try to purchase batteries this weekend : )

Craft Night Bliss

I was made aware of a serious omission on my part. When I was mentioning what was beautiful yesterday, I failed to mention the amazing group of ladies coming over. Last night I hosted our weekly craft night. It was lovely. Friends bonding over knitting and card making. I believe there might have even been singing. We were only drinking tea or coffee, but a group of mothers out late with only grown ups to talk to ........ well we can get a little giddy. So to the great ladies that I failed to include in my post, you too were a big part of yesterday's beauty ; )

And Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program

After a week of crafting we were already to get back to normal. The kids got so much done! Their Christmas crafts are almost complete. I was not as efficient with my time, but two of three children are now sporting beautiful toques.

This morning we completed our book and computer work, had our lunch, and then headed outside for nature study. The weather was beautiful. At first Evan claimed that there is no nature in winter, and then we went outside and discovered for ourselves. Evan was the one to spot an abandoned bee hive. The bottom had broken off and you could see the honeycomb. We observed the color of snow in sunlight and in shadow, made numerous fake animal prints, and spotted some real ones, we felt the inside of a tree where the bark had separated. We listened to black-capped chickadees that a couple we met on our walk identified it for us. We sat in our favorite spot to draw, which wasn't as private now that it has lost its leaves. Then we headed back home. Now the meatloaf is cooking, the kids have wandered off to play, and I am recording what was beautiful in our day. I hope everyone else has had a great day!

Advent

I corrected the first link, it now links to all her advent ideas.

Well I am looking into ways to celebrate Advent with the kids this year and found a great resource at By Sun and Candlelight. She rocks! So instead of not knowing what to do, now I have to choose what I want to do most. She has great ideas here and here as well. But if anyone else has favorite Advent traditions please pass them along.

Christmas Crafting Week!

Well we have started are Christmas craft week off with a resounding bang a.k.a.(puttering around making tea and plans). Some craft ideas are well on their way, while others were put on hold. The kids dreamed up new plans and couldn't wait to start them. If the rest of the week is as productive (and exciting) as today we will want to do this again very soon : )

We would show you more but well you know.....................

In your face snow!

It is cold outside. Yes the snow glitters in the sun bla, bla ,bla.... but it is also cold, and we are sick. So today I had a show down with the outwear clothing stores in Brandon. I would not give up, my children would have warm coats and ski pants by the end of the day. Winners saved the day. Thank you Winners for carrying warm outerwear. So now we will be prepared to face the cold, as soon as I find touques, mitts and scarves....... But fear not I have a basement full of them. For anyone else not yet ready for the cold, head to Winners and you too can be a winner in the quest for outerwear ;)

Felt Landscapes

The kids are sick today, so I have decided to make it a story/craft day. While the kids are reading and building block towers I thought that I would post the link to the felted jungle. We are thinking of doing these for Christmas gifts.

P. S. I was just surfing and stumbled on yarn balls as well. I think that we will have to try this to.

I hope that everyone is having a great day!

Boy Digs Hole

That's my boy.
M and A are sick today. So after a morning of learning they curled up to listen to Jim Weiss will E headed outside to play. Oh, to see through the eyes of a child again.

A day for rest.

Tomorrow is our rest day. I have been have been working my butt off all week in anticipation of this day. No shopping, no lists, no guilt just a chance to experience the day as it unfolds. I am looking forward to the possibilities of knitting, hot coffee/tea, phone calls with friends/family, crafting and walking with the kids. But best of all, a day without shoulding. Have a great Sunday and I'll see you all on Monday!

Must Embroider Something

http://www.flickr.com/photos/96156254@N00/sets/845915/

I found this sampler on a blog called chloesplace. I feel I must embroider Christmas gifts for someone. My love for crafting and nature are colliding. Hopefully it all ends well ; )

Sketch Shot

Here's a snap shot of an afternoon. The kids spent over an hour sketching in the backyard. This is their official sketch fort.

Che'ryl I'm trying to'do my part to bring back the apo'stro'phe.

Have a great Hallowe'en everyone!

Qoutey Goodness!

"What we want to see is the child in pursuit of knowledge,
not knowledge in pursuit of the child."
George Bernard Shaw

I went on an internet stroll.

While taking an internet stroll I spot many beautiful crafts. I have been thinking of what Christmas crafts the kids might want to do, and then I stumbled upon a blog called In These Hills. She shows how to make balloon lanterns and wet felted cookie cutter shapes. I now have two new crafts for my list, and a Sunday to spend crafting. What fun we will have.

Kia

My daughter the photographer.

Nature Study

I was told that nature study brings a breath of fresh air to your day (no pun intended). I always thought.... yes, yes when I get done this important stuff I'll get to it. Well I finally got to it, and I don't ever want to give it up.

After covering the different kingdoms and how the major eight taxonomic ranks work. We headed off to the great outdoors. The following pictures are from our first week of nature study. I do not apologize for the amount of photos in this blog, for I have cut many great pictures out. We have gone out twice this week, and each time we discover something new.

This is first Fungi spotted by Evan. He found two types. We have not yet found out what kind of fungi he discovered, but we will next week.

I believe that this is common green shield lichen. Lichen is not a plant. All lichens are a combination of two very different organisms, a fungus and either an alga or a photosynthetic bacterium. Just in case you wanted to know ; )

After much deliberation we discovered that this was a female Downey Woodpecker, at first we thought that it might be a White Breasted Nut Hatch. We did spot the Whited Breasted Nut Hatch yesterday though. Along with the bird below. We think it is a female Dark Eyed Junco.


We saw many galls on the leaves of one tree. Evan looked inside a few to check for bugs. Here he is showing his brother the bug inside.




Here are the kids after the first day out. Back home with their treasures and a treat for the birds.

Words of Wisdom From LaPaz Home Learning's Blog

For a Child

by Fannie Stearns Davis

Your friends shall be the Tall Wind,
The River and the Tree;
The Sun that laughs and marches,
The Swallows and the Sea.

Your prayers shall be the murmur
Of grasses in the rain;
The song of wildwood thrushes
That makes God glad again.

And you shall run and wander,
And you shall dream and sing
Of brave things and bright things
Beyond the swallow’s wings.

And you shall envy no man,
Nor hurt your heart with sighs,
For I will keep you simple
That God may make you wise.

She talks about what that means to her. Not to raise kids in ignorance, or to shelter them from the complexities of life, but to live simply. A life of wholesome food, good books, a slow pace and time in nature. Long periods to think and play(free from distraction).

I am not doing her justice. If you would like to see what she actually wrote go here.

LaPaz Home Learning

Field Trip Gone Wild!

Today's post is about our field trip to the Assiniboine Park Zoo.
Having never driven in Winnipeg before I decided to take a chance. Surely I would find the zoo if I drove in the right direction. Unfortunately I was driving in the wrong direction and drove right out of Winnipeg. After stopping for a map, I decided to take the perimeter till I found the street I needed. Unfortunately I once again driving in the opposite direction on the perimeter highway(heading north instead of south).
It was then that we commenced our site seeing tour of Winnipeg. We drove south on Henderson highway, past the The Manitoba Museum , the Winnipeg Forks, and through St. Boniface. It was in St. Boniface that we discover where we where on the map. After this our site seeing trip ended, and our trip to the zoo began.
We made it to the zoo and here are the pictures to prove it.

We spent a lot of time watching the Prairie Dogs. The kids love how playful they are.

This couple spent most of there time kissing.

This little guys ate, and ate, and ate..........

The kids spent time watching the Bison aswell, they are very striking creatures.

I couldn't resist posting this picture.

Last but not least is this little guy. He was so curious.....................

My nemesis is back and it is all my fault!

I have maintained my weight loss all summer. Then someone (me) had a moment of weakness at the grocery store. Nutella my nemesis is back, she whispers to me through the day,

"I'm made with nuts and milk, I'm good for you."

She is attempting to drag me back to the dark side.



I MUST USE THE FORCE!




Force not working, dark side winning............................



CURSE YOU NUTELLA, AND YOUR CREAMY GOODNESS!

Fall my precious.

I'm back. Did anyone miss me? I have been on a blog reading frenzy, and unfortunately my blog postings have suffered. I am in a weird home school vortex, our lives feel full and mostly content, but when I am asked what we have been up to I draw a blank.

Now that Evan does not need training wheels, we go on extended bike rides.
Aidan's AirHog was fixed (by him) and the kids have been spending much of their free time shooting off rockets.
We have just been busy living.

Kia are adorable kitten, has made herself at home. The kids are delighted to have a pet, and Craig's allergies are not to bad. She is still a little skittish, but considering that she was a stray, she is doing great. Yes, the cute little kitten seen above was a stray. She adopted the engine of our van as her home, and then we adopted her.

New Plan

So we have been homeschooling for a month and it is time for me to adjust our schedule. We have been studying prehistoric times and the animal kingdom making notebooking pages as we go. I do not feel that there is enough of a frame work for them to place this new knowledge in. So as of today we are going back. In history we will be focusing on the prehistoric time periods and what developed in each. Or new information will fit into this framework. In science we will be studying taxonomy and how it is used to classify life. We will then look to the animal, plant and fungi kingdoms and place our new information into that frame work. So today, we will be getting a very long piece of paper to make our prehistoric time chart. I am very excited! Hopefully the kids will love it too.

New Goals

This week I will document my days through photos. I found a group on flikr doing this and thought what a great idea. So I will be starting one day late, but better late than never. I also have decided to take the handmade pledge for Christmas this year. Maybe the kids and Craig will join me.

Birthday x 2

We did it. The long awaited birthday sleepover for two has happened. The kids had a blast. We had hotdogs by the fire, the worlds sweetest cake, race cars, lego master pieces, a movie, rock skipping, fossil digs by the ravine, and much celebration.


The kids spent loads of time in the ravine digging away. Who could blame them, it is beautiful down there. For all their efforts, they found numerous bones and not one but two skulls.


The famous four celebrated their great discoveries. They sang, ran, danced and jumped for joy, as all great discovers should do. I just tagged along taking photos. I have to say that it has been hard to pick only six.




Evan finally got a chance to climb Shale Mountain. He has been wanting to all year, but by the time we are leaving the lake, we were always too rushed.


So overloaded on sugar and excitement we headed home. But I must not forget what awaits us next summer. It is far to easy for me to get busy and miss the chance to build memories.

One More Day

Life just keeps getting better. Our friends have returned, giving us one more thing to be thankful for. I feel blessed to have such a great family to share life's adventures with.

So Much Has Happened

We were adopted by a kitten. Actually, our van was adopted, but we decided the engine of a van was no home for a kitten.

Here she is looking oh so adorable.

And here Aidan is looking oh so adorable.

We have read many great books, and had many great walks. In our adventures we have come across many interesting creatures.

The kids were very excited to spot this little guy. Evan spent the next twenty minutes collecting food and arranging it on a bed of leaves.

Mikayla enjoyed trying to identify the birds we found.

Evan learned to ride his bike. Congratulations Evan! He also learned to ride this tree.

Our friends are back from Europe where they spent the summer,WAHOO! They were missed, and it was wonderful to see them again. Aidan didn't think he could survive without his best friend for so long but he did it.

We were recently visited by a hungry rabbit; our overgrown grass has come in handy. We have also been the local hot spot for birds. I discovered if you use a tarp to reduce weeds, you create the perfect breeding ground for garden slugs. As I am sure anyone reading this will agree, this is very gross. It did cut down on the weeds though ; )

These last pictures are from a last minute camp trip we took with Cheryl, Emily and Maya. I have been meaning to post them. So here they are.


There was a field full of frogs at our camp site. It kept the kids busy most of the time we were there.
We aren't sure what this was. We thought beaver but the tail was bushy looking. If anyone knows, please share. And if this is a beaver, please don't judge my homeschooling competence. I do try. : )

Danielle My Hero!

So after a conversation with my niece a language arts pro : ) She told me she would be happy to help us. That night night she created an Elements of a Story breakdown for me.
So as of Monday we will start to make our way through the list, mapping and narrating as we go.
I just have to say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

A Day In The Life of Three Homeschoolers

It was too beautiful to spend the day indoors today. We live in a climate where winter comes early and stays long, so I feel the need to squeeze in outdoor time while we can. So off we went to learn outdoors. To our delight, someone found an egg!


Then we came back for a little history/science reading and crafting. Notice the three dimensional volcano. I'm still not sure how she managed to get it to fold down, and pop up like that.


Poor Aidan spotted a rogue asteroid and was almost hit. Who ever said homeschooling was too protective obviously wasn't aware of possible asteroid collisions.


I am happy to report that he survived and appears to be thriving.


In the last week Evan has gone from ripping up most of his art to proudly displaying this piece. It is the inside of a volcano. The yellow semicircle is the center of the earth. I wrote up his narration and he pasted it on the bottom. It is a very proud boy you see above.