Blog Archives

Two Boys

10/30/2014

So I'm getting used to the sound of two boys running around the house.
One 16 year old Brazilian student and one nine year old Canadian.

They shoot off guns, they wrestle...they find ways to communicate despite the lessening language barrier. :)

They sometimes eat the same, they also sometimes eat completely different.
When it comes to pancakes they have the same reaction.. YUM!!! But only with cinnamon sugar.

We have discovered that ketchup with where it is at for much of our student's eating. :) Where my son will gravitate to cheese... is how he gravitates to ketchup.

Our student told us the other day that like we have corn fields they have banana fields in Brazil.   My son was surprised. Shouldn't they have cornfields everywhere?   He can't quite imagine a field of banana trees. :)   Fresh banana are apparently way better, but he likes my banana pancakes VERY GOOD.

Having an older boy around is good!   I'm glad so far that we tried this.

I asked our student what school was like in Brazil.   In class from 7 to 5 pm.   12 subjects.   Gets home and is tired from the long day.
So I asked...which is harder?   Home or here.
HERE.   English makes it harder!
But he likes that when he is home from school here he has time to go for a hike, bike ride, skating (a new skill that he loves), and such like.   That free time is a new and good experience for him.   So far, he likes Canada and would like to come back someday.

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Review: Clued In Kids

10/29/2014

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When I talked with my homeschool associates about Multiplication Dragons and the Winter hunt, they wondered what I was talking about.. at least until I got their children helping me with them. :) Oh.. What fun! These treasure hunts from Clued In Kids are a hit in this household (as well as in the households of his friends). :)

Walking you through the product.
Clued in Kids treasure hunts (the products that we reviewed) came as PDF downloads.   They were easy to print off and make ready for the treasure.   It is SUCH an easy product to work with.

First off a bit of background    Created by Helen Bertelli, who has developed various treasure hunts for years... starting with her own children and the neighbourhood youngsters as well.    Scavenger hunts promote (in Helen's words)

* Treasure hunts are an incredible, memorable way to teach;
* They appeal to my deep conviction that to stay healthy, children must have the opportunity to move, not just sit at a desk or in front of a screen.
* They are a reminder that life is a journey to treasure; that if learning and laughter occur along the way, the destination doesn’t really matter.

Let me show off some of the highlights for us.

Printed up on 8.5 x 11 inch paper the cover paper easily folds in half for transporting else where. This holds all the clues in one convenient self made envelope. This was important to me as I have one child and doing a treasure hunt is more fun if you can share the treasure with others.   This way we could print, tear pages in half (as they came two clues to a page), fold cover in half, stuff and go.   No pages lost and so easy to just run and go.

The clues are clearly labeled as to where they are to be hidden. As well as coming with a master list to help you out if a clue proves to be elusive or too difficult to solve. Mom can help out! I found this useful with one clue where you needed to read the clue in the steam and the children were a bit flummoxed so I gave a hint to help them and voila! Clue solved! :). Many smiles resulted.

hiding clue in the dryer.

As you can see, where to hide the clue is clearly printed on the clue. As well the clues are numbered in order making it really easy to keep track of where the children are at.

Set up time shortest was eight minutes in our home, setting up for one child. Longest was 20 minutes with the help of one six year old still learning to read.

The clues are easy for the children to read and answer, though occasionally they may need to think hard.

The only ones that gave the children who reviewed these scavenger hunts were the ones that you needed to figure out the word based on other words all lined up in a row. But thinking a bit harder never hurt anyone and the amount of joy that the children had when they solved the harder ones makes it all worth while. :) T'is a good thing yes?

Multiplication Dragon: Five treasure hunts that help children either review their multiplication facts, or gives them an incentive to learn them. Aimed at children 7-9 years old, reading, math, problem-solving and team work skills. 2x-6x tables are the focus of these scavenger hunts.

Winter Treasure Hunt: A perfect way to keep 1-10 children busy on a play date, cold winter day or even during a party. :) Dress up and be silly, figure out the clues, and enjoy a reward at the end of it all.

Reactions from Children
From an almost 13 year old: "Can I help set it up? I don't want to play, but I want to watch the kids figure out where I hid things."   This said with a grin on his face (and he hid some clues in tough places)
From some girls: the girls loved the treasure hunt! They solved all the clues without getting stuck except for the clue that said pjs - she said "mom, it doesn't say anything just puhjuhs". But when I told her to examine the answer, she figured it out (as we always say pajamas. For the words that she should hold in front of the mirror to read, instead she held it up to the light and read the back of the paper as she could see right through the paper.
From six year old:"Do you have another one?   Can I help??" And giggled as he ran through the house hiding clues.
From my son (after doing the HARD for him 6x's tables): "YEAH!!!!   I figured it out!   I get free time on the x-box!!!!     I did it mom!!!"
From 8 year old: "I like doing them. It's neat to see what we have to do. and I can play it with my brother".
From 10 year old: "Some of the things are silly and I am glad that I can get my younger siblings to do the silly ones. I like the ones where I can draw".
From other moms: "look at how much fun they are having!" "This is great!" "Oh, I wish I had the time to make a treasure hunt!".

From Me: Excellent resource.   I could totally see laminating these and providing children with crayons to be able to use them. I have NO issues recommending you look into these treasure hunts byClued in Kids.

I liked running around! (the youngest). I liked finding the clues! I want to do it again! (older children).

Product Details:
Vendor: Clued In Kids
Product: Multiplication Dragons * and * Winter Treasure Hunt
Price: Dragons (five hunts) $19.99. Winter: $5.99.

At this time, you can receiveHomework Reward Treasure Hunt for free by signing up for the newsletter.

Age: A wide variety of ages... like seriously...who doesn't like a good treasure hunt?

For news about the Christmas Special Clued in Kids is having check out this blog post.

Titles available
Holiday/Seasonal:
Halloween Treasure Hunt
Thanksgiving Treasure Hunt
Winter Treasure Hunt

Nutrition-Themed (for Allergies, ADHD, etc.):
Happy Tummy Treasure Hunt
Gluten Free Treasure Hunt

Educational Related:
Homework Reward Treasure Hunt
Multiplication Dragons (this is a series of 5 treasure hunts, teaching the 2x-6x tables)

Sports:
Baseball Treasure Hunt
Soccer Treasure Hunt

Clue Pad Products (Physical):
Christmas Treasure Hunt In A Greeting Card
Playdate
Pirate
Princess
Slumber Party

To read what other reviewers had to say about these wonderful treasure hunts, go ahead, click on the banner below. :)

Clued In Kids on Social Media

Twitter: @cluedinkids
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cluedinkids
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cluedinkids/

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K'nex Wheels, Axles, Planes

10/29/2014

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So you start with one K'nex education kit and one boy child who goes hmpf.
You add one mother who builds the first model.
You add oh.. "what's that mom?" and interest follows.
Add frustration. "MOM!   it doesn't float!!!"
You add encouragement... so what do you think will make it float?
One receives "I don't know" as the answer.... to be responded to with "so, think on".

The next day a lad has thought on it and so tears off the top of the model (which he has deemed as useless and turn it upside down).    Tries that.. still doesn't float.

Then he breaks into our "build stuff with in bins" and pulls out a jar.. this might do it mom!

upside down and not floating...

What else to do what else to do.. the lad searches determinedly...

He comes across some foam.. think think.. will it float. Test out the foam first. YES!!! it floats!

Cut it to size and voila!

Mom! LOOK! It floats!

Now.. will the paddles work?

A wee bit but not much... hmm...what to do.
Together we did some problem solving. We saw pictures of what real paddle boats look like and how they move water...how can we do this using ONLY K'nex (I suggested using tape or paper but NO we were to use only K'nex).

The lad's solution

And it worked.
Our various efforts changed the forward motion of the boat from 1 inch active movement to about eight inches...with floating lasting a good half length of the bathtub. This was deemed a rousing success and promptly lead into a battle twix the birds and the pigs... The pigs ended up having better guns so they won.

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Gym Time at the YMCA

10/29/2014

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My son is taking part in a weekly gym program run at the YMCA for homeschooled children. $50 for 10 weeks of activity.

On Monday he did high ropes, low ropes and rock climbing. Forgive the less than stellar quality camera pictures please.

High ropes below.

The wall was a horizontal one rather than vertical. the children needed to go across rather than up.

Someone explained to me that the low ropes helped you balance on the beams but they seemed rather pointless to me and my son son "they made it hard mom". They also did the beams using a partner.

It took the organizer three years to get this program together and she made it very affordable. It is a popular program. Do you take part in a phys ed program with your children and other homeschoolers?

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A Revelation

10/27/2014

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My son the other day gave me a revelation about how he sees homeschooling. He's fairly determined kind a child so I don't think I can change his mind. This is how he sees homeschooling.

This other stuff that we do is not homeschooling. It's just fun with maybe a bit of learning thrown in.

So I asked him, why do you think we do the other stuff?
"Because mom, you decide we aren't doing homeschooling today and because you want me to have fun too".

Well.. what can I say. That was a bit of an eye opener.   Here I was thinking I providing a good learning environment and well.. he doesn't consider it school and it's just fun so the learning doesn't matter.   hmm....

Do you think perhaps I need to give him worksheets to fill out when we go on field trips or do fun stuff like build catapults?

I don't know.   I don't much want to do that either....

Sure gave me food for thought though. :)

So tell me something.   How do your children view their schooling?

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Field Trip: Royal Canadian Regiment Museum

10/26/2014

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Our field trip this past Wednesday was to the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum. You can also find them Facebook.

From the website:

The RCR Museum is located in beautiful London, Ontario, near the intersection of Oxford St and Adelaide St in London. The Museum occupies the west wing of historic Wolseley Hall, the first building built by a Canadian government especially for the new standing Army in the late 19th century.

Walk through the timeline galleries, following the path of Canadian history since 1883 as you learn about The Royal Canadian Regiment in service to Canada. View the silver Regimental Memorials, honouring the Regiment's actions in conflicts in Canada and abroad. See medals awarded to soldiers of the Regiment, and a variety of weapons and equipment used by Canadian soldiers for over a century
Discover one of London's best-kept secrets and explore one of Canada's finest regimental museums!

I have to admit, this was an interesting museum. It was good to go and remember the cost of our freedom and to learn a bit more about our military.

A mother had this window done in honour of I think it was her son who died in battle.

My Son was disappointed when he climbed up into this military vehicle to discover that they has removed all the things that made it run.
"MOM! Why would they do that? Why couldn't they just take out the motor and leave all the rest in?" was his plaintive cry.

Some of the pictures from the museum, I forgot my new camera at home so you'll need to make do with pictures from my cell phone.

It was a good museum to visit. The lad got antsy part of the way through, but they had a variety of dioramas to maintain his interest. And the UN section thoroughly intrigued him. He also enjoyed trying on the helmets. One of the dioramas showed the progression of a battle which was interesting to see. I appreciated seeing what trench life was really like... after reading some of O Canada books, and learning that so many soldiers were lost due to the conditions in the trenches, it was good to have that in the back of my mind as I went through the display. An older fellow there mentioned it was hard work building the trenches and having to live in them.

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Short-tailed bat, an orphan

10/25/2014

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This fellow is a short-tailed bat.
They are primarily found in New Zealand in the forest.
There are about nine distinct species of them.

They are omnivores and are opportunistic hunters, eating whatever they happen to find in their territory.
Their wings are very flexible enabling them to hunt on the forest floor as well as hunting insects via flight, or landing on plants to eat from them.

They have large pointed ears, and a free tail. They are an important pollinator.
Rats and loss of habitat are major threats.

"Short-tailed bats are the only species of small bat which carry out lek mating (where males assemble in a special area and compete for the attention of females). During late summer, male short-tailed bats gather at strategic trees near communal roosts and attempt to attract females with prolonged singing bouts"
.
Sources:
Wiki
New Zealand Government.
Teara.

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Five Minute Friday: Dare

10/24/2014

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Kate's post is here: the word today is DARE. The rules are simple. Write for five minutes. Don't worry on the editing or rewriting.. it's just a spot of free writing for a measly five minutes. The point is to write NOT to stress. Go on.. I DARE you. :) Oh.. and when you are done.. go and have linked up, take the time to be an encouragement. Go to the blog who linked up before you and DARE to be an encouragement. Offer some hope or blessing into the life of another who DARED. :)

And Go

Today was a good homeschool day. it really was. We learned, we enjoyed each other and time passed well.

We had our first homeschool group skating today and it went well though muscles we haven't used are a wee bit tired now. :)

Part of what made this day good was being able to talk about a hard subject this morning.

We were reading about a missionary family who were ministering to some Indian folk and a misunderstanding had developed and by the end of the story one man lay dead who shouldn't have been killed, but was due to the hatred and stubbornness of the one opposing him and I fought not to cry about the pain that family would have gone through.

My lad noticed.
And had this look of what's up mom?

And so I dared to be honest with my lad and I told him how my heart was breaking over the families who lost loved ones through persecution. Like this missionary family who lost their husband/daddy. Like families who are attacked and their children killed because they won't deny Christ and my heart weeps for these people.

Our brothers and sisters in Christ dying.

And so I dared to talk to my lad about how we live in a land where it's so easy and free to live out our faith and how others who also believe in Jesus live in a land where they can DIE for their faith. DIE, as in DEAD not coming back, no pretending. And how I want my boy to be that brave if he's called to it...and how that scares me as a mom for him.

And so my lad and I talked. And it was good. But it was also hard.

Let us DARE please.. to raise children who will die for their faith.
Let us DARE to have our hearts broken as we lift those families who suffer up before God.
Let us DARE to be real in our faith shall we?

Let us DARE.

Stop.

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Huron County Historic Museum

10/22/2014

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I've been making a point lately of taking my lad off to visit some of the different museums around the area. Gives us a chance to explore some of the history around us, and to do some learning away from books and the houses and various other distractions. :) Does the lad always appreciate the experience? No... sometimes he still has his mind on playing Minecraft, but it gives me a break from the conversation in the house and a chance to encourage conversation in other directions. :)

One of the trips we took was to the Huron Country Historic Museum up in Goderich. We took this trip last week right after going to the Gaol. Doing two museums in one day was too much for the lad but he did find things that intrigued him. Below is one of them. :)

checking to see if the two-headed calf had two butts as well. This calf had two digestive systems, two hearts, two brains, two spines, but only one butt hole.

he also found it fun to climb up on these rocks. "MOM! See me!! Take a picture mom!"

One of the shows that we enjoy watching has a character named Ton in it. It's called "Auction Hunters". Anyways, in one of the storage units they found a music box type thing that was rather cool to see. They had one at this museum as well and one of the restorers managed to rig up a motor to make it work. And SHOOT, I thought I had gotten a picture of it but apparently missed it. :( it was something that intrigued all of us, I'll have to see if hubby got a picture taken of it. AH!!! i found the picture of the motor at least! it was apparently quite a challenge for them to take a 3 HP down to a 1/2 HP to work it at the right speed. See that happy visage?

Some more of what you can see in this museum. Enjoy! :)

It was quite an interesting museum to walk through. I would like to do this again sometime, perhaps with a tour guide to give us more background information to some of the exhibits. The audio tours are nice but very quiet players, makes it hard to hear when minding a boy child.

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Catapults and Chess

10/22/2014

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One of the very best reviews we ever did was for Chess House. My son takes that chess game all over the place. To Gramma's, Oma's, cadets, friends house, on vacation. It's become a part of our lives. (good thing we like playing it too). :)

Anyways, the other day he set out to build himself a catapult. Well what does one do with a catapult when it's all set up? You hit the wall a few times, you chase the cat (as long as it's not set hard), and then you go huh.. built a catapult.

NOT my lad. :)

He now plays catapult chess. :)

It's a wee bit complicated at times...he normally plays with a team (usually white) and it means his side always wins, but sometimes the teams gang up on the catapult..and then WATCH OUT! It's all out war! :)