Tag Archive | science

The November Nutshell

And now for November… another month in a rather long nutshell!!! I have to admit… with all the Christmas stitching, school, swim lessons (cooking for the twins) and actual sales and commissions… my blog has languished a little.

Of course November is the month of AMERICAN Thanksgiving… ever confusing on a THURSDAY no less. This was an unusual one for us as Nana and Baba headed off to Florida to spend it with the other grandkids… but we persevered.101_9983

Thankful hands tree

Thankful hands tree

We had leaves to bag up still… great exercise for the boys and they were even relatively willing. Of course you can see the amazing colours better on a previous entry where we had the whole family out there dealing with the leaves on the ground HERE.101_9987

101_9989We did leave time for some mini fashion. Trinity is already able to wear some of the rather funky and fun clothing left to her by her cousin Gabriella when they left for Florida!101_9996

Of course we had to take advantage of the week of free online books through Bookit this month as well. Each one narrated with terrific pictures.101_9999

We had a blast learning about and building our own volcano. Science has always been the one thing we have struggled with in our homeschool life. Getting enough in, being organized but the whole family is quick to jump on board with a good craft and activity… add in chemicals (even ones as benign as vinegar and baking soda) and a little explosion and even Echo was there for the fun. This was the first time I sat down and talked to them about things like earthquakes and really looked into what damage a volcano can do to the land and the people around it.102_0015

102_0017IMAG0512Our November was full of visits with our favourite baby and his brothers… Jeffrey is definitely growing like a weed!102_0030

102_0032102_0037We also made it outside to enjoy the snow. What a difference from last year’s excessive cold and snow!!!102_0005

102_0064At the end of the month we pulled out the tree and fixings which of course is one of my favourite backdrops for photos. It always feels like the season is coming when we bring out the stockings. I am very proud of how they turned out. Though Ken STILL does not have a special stocking. You can check out the full blog post of family photos HERE.IMAG0517

IMAG0521IMAG0532A few helpful Thanksgiving books:

Our Thanksgiving was spent with Aunty Judy, Uncle Jim and Cousin Robbie. It was quiet and fun and full of delicious food! We were so thankful they could make it to the meal that the kids planned and shopped for! The twins were real troopers making up the grocery list and doing the choosing at Sam’s Club themselves!

Zander and the twins' Thanksgiving grocery list

Zander and the twins’ Thanksgiving grocery list

IMAG0478IMAG0480IMAG0483I snuck in a ladies outing with Nana over at Renee’s. We made woven fabric baskets and played with Mystro. Not the simplest craft but not impossible. You can find the instructions HERE thanks to Terry Atkinson. IMAG0391

IMAG0390School wise we have seen an influx in art interest. Art for Kids is win win with us!102_0019

102_0001

Echo's more free style work using photopaper and sharpie

Echo’s more free style work using photopaper and sharpie

Add in some completions and workbook interest…102_0006

102_0020And some rather amazing Halloween lapbook completions! 102_0010

102_0011102_0047102_0049I think we accomplished much of what we had hoped to this November. Add in swimming and scouts, Sunday School and choir and we have become way more busy than we expected! Thank goodness the arctic chill has not appeared! Do enjoy the overflow images for the LONG belated month of November HERE.

Emanuel swimming with a noodle!

Emanuel swimming with a noodle!

St. Mark’s VBS

July 14-17

Monday the 14th was the first day of our VBS at our own church. We did make sure to go over on the 13th after all the other fun stuff and help set up.101_8542

The whole experience was pretty amazing. We had a Monday through Thursday program of half days. 9am to noon. One thing it DID show us is that we really do enjoy our flexible beginnings in our mornings. Our homeschool day starts BETWEEN 8:30 and 9… depending on our eating schedule and if we all have a late evening.101_8548 101_8550

The kids were broken up into 4 groups and we had kids in each one. I was in charge of following along with the littlest ones. Ages 3-5… lots of adorable energy. By day 4 they were rather fed up with the routine. I think it was really the little guys’ limit at that point. It was nice though, while the twins were together it was fun for the other 3 to spread their wings a little. And since Echo was only MOSTLY potty trained I really had to be there anyway.101_8552 101_8657

We had various stations… science, craft, storytime, music, snack and games. I was the only one who was attached to an age group and not a station. Each day there was the same rotation for each group so it was nice and consistent.101_8553 101_8599 101_8609 101_8651 101_8652

There was lots of creativity… snacks were themed as well and the pastor was there to open 3 of the 4 days. We had one day with no water due to road work but we managed! And the science teacher brought owl pellets for the big kids to dissect (just like we had seen on Dirty Jobs… the boys were so excited!).101_8607 101_8598 101_8604 101_8600

So here are the pictures… I tried to get a bit of everything and everyone. So much fun!!!!101_8547 101_8545 101_8560 101_8557 101_8559 101_8608 101_8647 101_8610 101_8668 101_8654 101_8656 101_8660 101_8661 101_8665 101_8669

And So We Continue

January 6-10

The weather has gone cold cold cold… so cold in fact, that it has been declared ARCTIC! SO of course we had to try the boiling water thrown into the freezing air. Yes, instant steam and an impressive sound to boot. Ken was the adventurous one who ventured outside to do so.101_5817 We also did up New Year’s Resolutions and pictures of some of our favourite Christmas moments in our journals.101_5814 We did ATTEMPT a balloon left out in the cold but we did not see a dramatic change in its shape sadly. It was worth a try.101_5815 The kids and I did an afternoon movie in bed – BRAVE! It was fun to snuggle and hang out together in our own little world.101_5820 The twins also did another Christmas related drawing from Art for Kids. Seriously, click on their link on the right and enjoy the free art lessons!101_5821 The next day we started storytime up again. I am determined to keep us reading. We lucked out over Christmas and ended up growing our book collection and of course there are always random stops at the library to find some seasonal gems.101_5822 And lately, our day is never complete without a fairy!101_5824 With all this cold weather we decided it was time to take on our next Little Passports country – Mexico! I did order some extra books from the library:

  • Mexico in Pictures by Janice Hamilton
  • Mexico by R. Conrad Stein
  • Christmas Traditions Around the World by Ann Ingalls
  • Countries of the World: Mexico by Beth Gruber

And of course we used Activity Village (search under Mexico) for some print outs. 101_5825 101_5826We found this great Animal Planet show – Treehouse Masters. After watching a few episodes the boys decided to create some joint masterpieces of their own using their imaginations and Gavin’s art book. 101_5827 On Wednesday Trinity figured she would come up with some dreams for 2014 and did an amazing job colouring the page up afterwards.101_5828 In fact, everyone did some winter or New Year’s themed papers. All printed out from Activity Village (link on right).101_5829 101_5830Emanuel and I took on reading about dinosaurs from a Christmas present. I have sorted through all the books I could in the house and have put everything dinosaur into a box. I am hoping we can vary up our dinosaur learning. Of course I still have backlog to share once I get off my bum and link everything up and all that fun stuff. Emanuel’s love of dinosaurs has not faltered. We are just reaching the end of our easily researched dinosaurs. Time to get more creative! 101_5831 We had more storytime and more treehouses. Both Wednesday and Thursday.101_5833 101_5836As well as a closer look at the amazing microscope bought with Christmas money. I cannot wait until summer when it is easier to get specimens for slides!101_5834 Ken and the kids took on one of their new science kits and cracked open the magnet box. 101_5840 We also got a good start on Chinese New Year. This year we are making a poster with our findings again. Lots of books and online hunting. This is one of the kids’ favourite celebrations. And this year it is the year of the horse. 101_5841 With cousins coming Friday afternoon we rounded off our school week with the creating of our own ice rink. A really simple craft you can find HERE. We also made our own little critters out of magic clay and spent some time discussing how they would skate together and play. 101_5844 Treehouses of our imagination… magnets… Chinese New Year… add in some interesting government stuff to accomplish – American passports, Social Security numbers and various medical appointments for Ken and we are keeping our 2014 active and exciting!!! 

And we keep on reading!

And we keep on reading!