Category: Canada

Field Trip: Fort York

12/1/2016

Oh how I enjoyed this field trip. We all did. The cannons, the stories, the walking around. This was a great field trip that I would happily do again. Fort York is a great story about the people at the start of Canada as a country.

I have to admit, I took so many pictures here it's hard to choose which pictures to share with you all. :) When we arrived we were greeted by a friendly lady who gave the boys an activity/remembrance token for coming, she directed us to an information area and told us about a movie that they played.

We first took in the museum information area. There we saw the first stamps of Canada, the coins, learned about First Nation involvement, learned how both sides of the War of 1812 declared they were winners because neither side lost.

After this we took in the movie. It was played over three screens and was quite interesting, giving us lots of information. This led us to part three of the museum, a walk through history. I thought this section really well done.

This walk through history led us to the pathway that led to the restored Fort York. Some buildings were erected from stones found, others were built according to original specs. Almost all held artifacts, and each building had an introductory plaque at the entrance.

Isn't this tree magnificent?

The boys thought it would be fun to pose in the guard house.

Hmm.. let's see what else can I share with you?

We saw the stark difference between the enlisted men and the officers quarters. I found it quite amazing in fact...

enlisted men bunks and eating area.

Officers room and eating area.

Different buildings were dedicated to different pieces of information, from seeing how the officers and soldiers lived, to observing the placement of cannons, learning about the different weapons and uniforms, and bugle calls all had meaning as well.

One of the things that happened in the battle at Fort York was when they blew up the magazine, it killed so many of the attacking Americans, the devastation was so sudden. One of the last areas we visited walked us through the attack and blow up of the magazine. They couldn't let all that gunshot end up in enemy hands.

I appreciated reading the first hand reports of the men involved.

One of the last places we visited was the well. My son was so disappointed as the well didn't work. It was sealed off.

And check out this beautiful tree!!! Yes, the colours were changing and this tree was just so very lovely I couldn't pass it up

I hope you enjoyed this brief look at Fort York. There is so much yet I could show you but why would you have a reason to go visit it yourself? We did a self-guided tour and it was interesting and great exercise transversing the yards.

Price to get in:
Adults: $9.00
Seniors (65+): $5.50
Youth (13–18 yrs.): $5.50
Children (6–12 yrs.): $4.25

Hours of operation vary, so check the website before you go.

Field Trip: Guelph Civic Museum

11/24/2016

One day I had to run up to Guelph. I had two or three rabbits to sell, and the folks could meet me there, so the lad and I decided to make a day of it. Do you know that Guelph has very little in the way of museums to visit? Oh my. BUT we did make it to two museums, I talked about the McCrae House already, so today I will talk about the Guelph Civic Museum.

The Guelph Civic Museum is given over to telling the stories of Guelph. It has a variety of exhibits, from static information, to wildlife displays and more. It is a somewhat larger museum...with I think three floors. If you pay entrance to the one museum, you gain entrance on the same day to the other. It did take us a while to figure out where it was... but obviously we managed.

So if you go, this is the building and location for you. :)

One of the first things we saw upon entering the museum was this neat piece of art work. The lad and I both said "WOW" when we saw it. Isn't it neat? All the swirling motion that gets you all caught up.

One section of the building was given over to clothes designed by a person I can't remember. AH See.. this is why I take pictures... clothes for a wedding back in 1905.

Guelph is a town built on an agricultural background, much in it's current production still reflects that...housing one of Canada's vet colleges, having a research station and what not.

They had this lovely set for a garter snake that my son was quite taken with.

They had this interactive area which my son and I spent a lot of time in. Levers to pull, cranks to turn, dials to spin and they all did something. They didn't all work exactly the way they were meant to due to abuse by other visitors, but it was fun none-the-less.

Guelph Civic Museum. Filled with agricultural tidbits and lots of information about the founders and First Nation relations and interactive elements.

Go on, have fun, learn some local history.

Field Trip: Joseph Schneider Haus

11/16/2016

Taking some time to get caught up on some field trips we've done this year and thought you might like to hear about. We visited Joseph Schneider Haus I think back in August this year. Located in Kitchener, right off Victoria Park, the day was hot, we stopped for a run in the sprinkler pad and when cooled off walked up the museum, and cooled off again on the way back.

It's good to go out with a boy child, just mom and lad exploring. This day took us to the Joseph Schneider Haus in Kitchener, Ontario.

As we walked up along the tree lined road my son exclaimed.."Oh.. Is that where we are going mom? The place with the garden?" When I replied yes, he ran ahead and found his way into the garden. He discovered currant bushes! BUT I pulled him away and said..."let's explore inside first and get cooled off again, then we'll come out later to the garden and get hot before walking back to cool off again". :) He agreed that it was a good idea.

I LOVE when I got museums with my lad and we are the ONLY people there other than staff. I find the staff are more easy going and you learn so much since they don't have to divide their attention. Today was no exception to the rule.

This young man, I regret I can no longer remember his name, was a delightful guide and interacted so nicely with my lad. He asked my son good questions and actually WAITED for a response before continuing his history lesson for us. He was doing a summer internship at the Haus.

Part of the house was dedicated to the Mennonite people and how they can raise buildings quickly. We were able to see a frame model of the haus, and also watch a time lapse movie of a barn raising. It is startling how quickly a barn can go up.

They had a few quilts and pictures up in the area as well.

Going through the rest of the house, we were able to talk with the kitchen staff (dressed in period costume). They were very friendly as allowed us to take a few of their currants, telling the lad he was more than welcome to eat some fresh from the bush out in the garden later.

Then our young guide pointed out some interesting aspects to the kitchen, what they restored, what they guessed at and showed us the inner workings of their clock and how it keeps perfect time...just five minutes off the hour.

Much of this pottery came from the house and/or from relatives of Joseph Schneider.

More scenes from the house.

As interesting as this small museum was for us, my son was delighted when we finally made it outside to the garden. Our guide came along, helping us understand how the garden was designed. He was better informed than many museum staff as he actually knew the names AND uses of the various plants in the garden. As we talked, the lad planted himself near the currant bushes and had a delicious snack.

I found the gardens well maintained despite the heat wave we've been going through (who wants to work in the garden when it's hot out eh?).

Anyways, I've given you a bit of a walk through of the Joseph Schneider Haus, next time you are in Kitchener, stop by and learn some local history eh?

Fall Hours:
September to December
Wednesday to Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 to 5 p.m.

Field Trip: Art With Panache

10/27/2016

From the Open Doors Site: Art with Panache presents the work of London and southwestern Ontario artists. Come and see – and discuss – artwork and jewelry created by local artists. A jewelry artist will be available to demonstrate how to make extraordinary pieces with polymer clay. Also, watch artists in action as they paint a complete canvas in only 40 minutes!

This was a place I wanted to go, I like seeing art being produced, and I thought it would be interesting to talk with the artists. It was a good opportunity to practice speaking English with our student as we mulled over which piece of art we liked best.

This one is called a money drop tree. The artist makes quite a few of these and they all turn out differently as she encourages passersby to help with adding the leaves to it. The leaves are all done in silver and copper tones (like money). She often gives them away as fundraisers for charity. Neat concept I thought.

We were not actually able to take a lot of pictures, for some reasons artists frown upon such activity...I think they actually want people to buy their work instead of take pictures of it. :)

This piece made me think of the work by the group of Seven for some reason. I tried to explain that to my student but am really not sure how much he understood.

It wasn't his most favourite piece (he really liked the money tree and another painting I was discouraged from taking a picture of).

I thought it rather neat myself...something about the curving pattern worked for me.

Everyone seemed to like this painting...the realism, the lily pads.. made my sweetheart want to go fishing. Me of wanting to read a book in silence. The lad to go looking for frogs and my student "walk by water".

There were a few pieces like this one scattered about, my son thought them interesting, but wondered if they could be made smaller. They kinda like like wood but were made out of some type of polymer that I can't recall the name of.

We did the artist who could paint a canvas quickly. He did it with a background of quick blue paint strokes and then added colour over top. It was rather fascinating to watch him...as the colour kinda blended together but not really, we saw a boat house take shape right in front of our eyes. I was too interested and forgot to take pictures.

I spent a lot of time talking with a lady who makes jewelry, and plan to email her about setting up a class for our homeschool group to learn how to work with the material she uses. It's like a very versatile clay and needs hardening in the oven, but it's not really a clay it's a plastic based compound. Interesting how she is able to work with it, the lad saw the possibilities of it very quickly.

You can find out more about Art with Panache on Facebook.

Field Trip: 427 Wing and Spirit of Flight Aviation Museum

10/13/2016

Another stop we made while doing Open Doors London was the 427 Wing and Spirit of Flight Aviation Museum. This was a quieter, look and see type of museum, but it was interesting none-the-less.

This museum used to be part of an active air training centre, however is now used to educate people about the role of the aircraft through times of war.

About half of the education centre was given over to information about aircraft, the other half to the people involved with the aircraft.

First....The aircraft!

The boys spent a great deal of time at this board, trying to see if they could figure out which airplane belonged to each cleverly written clue. They got 5 of 8 correct. :)

Up above and around the room, numerous model aircraft were seen.

The aircraft had various insignia on them, it was interesting to see the colour patterns and types of aircraft that Canada has had up in the air. It would have been neat to have been able to take pictures of all the airplanes and then match them up with photos of actual aircraft.

Part of the museum was dedicated to the people of the air force. One such young man is specially noted. A student, Kenneth Gerald Spooner, who died saving the lives of others. My son was much impressed by this young man's heroism.

The dining area of the museum also housed a hockey memorial.

Andy Gilpin was part of the 1948 Canadian Hockey team, that was not expected to do well in the olympics. They ended up winning gold. I talked with one gentleman there who told me so much about the team, and how he was a good friend of Mr. Gilpin. There was numerous hockey memorabilia in this area, as well as the skates from Barbara Ann Scott, who was a great figure skater who also won at the Olympics.

The individual I spoke to, mentioned how she was lifted on the shoulders of the hockey team and was Canada's skating darling.

It's a small museum, and really doesn't take a whole lot to go through. but it's a good piece of history to walk through, part of the history of our land.

Recipe: Buns for Thanksgiving

10/10/2016

My mom asked if I could make a dessert for out potluck Thanksgiving meal on Monday. I begged off as I dislike making desserts (though today Hubby said.. PIE! We could bring PIE! ... so we bought a pumpkin pie to bring). BUT I was left with my commitment to mom, that I would bring some buns.....since that is what we compromised on.

Since some people like white bread and others like brown, I made two batches of dinner buns. Hopefully they will both be enjoyed. Hubby cooked them as i made them just before it was bedtime for my lad. What did I learn? Dividing dough up in to equal sized buns is harder than it looks.

Original recipe Tasty Buns found here: Tasty Buns.

Ingredients

5 cups all-purpose flour
2 (.25 ounce) packages dry yeast
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Modifications
1 cup whole wheat
2 cup white
1.5 cup multigrain

Directions

Stir together 2 cups flour and the yeast. In a separate bowl, heat milk, water, oil, sugar and salt to lukewarm in microwave. Add all at once to the flour mixture, and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough, 2 to 3 cups. Mix well. Dust a flat surface with flour, turn dough out onto floured surface, and let rest under bowl for about 10 minutes.
Shape dough into 12 slightly flat balls, and place on greased baking sheet to rise until doubled in size.
Bake in a preheated 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Original Recipe to be found here: Unbelievable Rolls

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
5 teaspoons active dry yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup margarine, melted

Directions

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm milk, water, sugar and salt. Remove from heat, and mix in the eggs and yeast.
Measure flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the flour, and pour milk mixture into it. Do not stir. Cover with a lid, and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes.
Pour melted margarine into flour, and mix well. Add more flour if too sticky. Knead lightly. Cover, and let rise for 20 to 30 minutes.
Shape the dough into rolls, and place on a baking sheet. Let rise again for 20 to 30 minutes.
Bake rolls in a preheated 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) oven for 15 minutes, or until done.

31 Days: Thanks

10/10/2016

The original word for the day was "unknown", and yesterday's was supposed to be "Post-it".... but that didn't resonate with me at all, and today is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada, so I thought I'd jump ahead a day and use the word Thanks.

Yes, I know.. we celebrate it earlier than our neighbours to the south. We also celebrate it for different reasons.

Did you know that Thanksgiving Day was first celebrated by the arctic explorer Martin Frobisher in 1578? He was giving thanks for safe arrival for himself and his crew mates. Though it wasn't until November 1879 that it officially became a holiday, being a conglomeration of four traditions: :

harvest celebrations in European peasant societies,
formal observances such as Frobisher's thanksgiving of safe arrival AND
the influence of the Pilgrims’ harvest celebration in Massachusetts
and the indigenous peoples of Canada have long celebrated thanksgiving with feast.

It has gone through changes as to when it is celebrated going from November 6, to the third Monday in October until parliament decided it should be on the Second Monday of October. No more confusion, just a national day to celebrate and offer thanksgiving.
(source) It's rather interesting to think about how our tradition has melded together, kinda like how we work as a nation eh? :)

I just want to take a moment to wish you all a great Thanksgiving. Have fun rejoicing with your families over a turkey (or a pot of soup). The food matters not, just enjoy your day and celebrate it with family and friends, thanking God for all the bounties he has blessed you with.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Field Trip: Black History in London

10/5/2016

You know what I learned on Saturday?

London.. my local city... was a haven for slaves escaping from well.. Slavery! Who would have known? I probably shouldn't have been surprised to learn this but I was.

We were able, through OPEN DOORS London, to visit this historic church.

The building we visited was not the original slave chapel as it's no longer safe to let people into, but was a building used later one by folks who stayed in the area after the civil war in the States.

Beth Emmanuel. They are working at preserving the old chapel.

We first went into the basement of the church which was filled with information about the slaves coming to Canada. The laws at the time allowed slave catchers to follow them up and bring them back, but most stayed well in hiding. This chapel ministered to them.

It also had a section where they talked about the restoration efforts at the original chapel. They had this dear elderly woman standing there chatting with people as they came up to see. She was so delighted in showing how they were peeling off the layers of wall paper. It was neat to see her excitement. They also had the floor plan laid out so that we could see what the buildings design was.

After pursuing the basement information we were encouraged to go upstairs to the meeting area. This chapel is still active. I talked with the parson for a bit and learned that the members are mostly senior, but they have an active children's ministry with between 30-60 children showing up every Sunday. I was impressed. It is by no means a huge building, and that active community involvement.. made me want to start attending because that would just be fun! :)

It was an open area, they don't have the pastor sit or stand above anyone else as they believe all are created equal in the sight of God and that means within the church as well. They had these lovely stained glass windows.

Aren't they nice?

Let's see, what else can I add about this unexpected piece of history.

Pieces of art work were scattered about upstairs as well.

I thought these pieces interesting, what do you think?

Annie PooTooGook has passed away

9/24/2016

Now you might be asking, like I did, when I first got up and saw this headline..."Who is Annie Pootoogook and why is it so important that she died?"

Therefore I went searching for why and discovered that she was an Inuit artist, who changed how Inuit art is done or portrayed.

Usually when on see Inuit/Intuk art here in Canada it's a lot like this: Click images to go to the source for each

Images about their gods or the stuff of old they they had in their lives.

Then Annie Pootoogook came along. Things changed. She did some of this

But she mostly did illustrations/pictures like this, please click images to go to sources, thanks. Ms. Pootoogook came from a family with artist talent, her uncle, her mom, her gramma all "did art" in their own way. So it was "in her blood". :)

See the difference? Modern life and living. Pictures from her life that she was living. Life in the street (she was homeless for a good spell). Places she would go to. Things that she had and what not. She used colour, mostly in solid patterns.

For a glimpse into her life, I found this post interesting reading.

Her work here on earth is done, her body was found this morning in a river. I found the story of her life sad, but her art interesting eh? :)

Review: Discover Canada

8/2/2016

Lonely Plant sent me a lovely book about Canada, it's like a travel guide all about Canada. My international student I had here was intrigued by it, and noted the many things we failed to do in Toronto. Makes me think I'll keep this book handy to show our student next year to give an idea of some things we might be able to do together.

So let me tell you a bit more about this book.

It's a great 365 pages long, comes with a pull out map (Vancouver), and is colour coded per region.

It goes through Canada by regions.

Vancouver and British Columbia
Banff and the Canadian Rockies
Toronto, Niagara Falls and Ontario
Montreal and Quebec
Nova Scotia and Maritime Canada
Best of the Rest

It includes a section at the back of the book called "In Focus" and "Survival Guide".

It's a good introduction to Canada, and sends people toward the best of the tourist areas we have to offer. I learned about a few places in Toronto that I hadn't known about before. Places to visit! :)

The table of contents is clearly marked to help ease of navigation.

Good pictures to highlight different areas one should stop and see. Places to eat and sleep. But mostly...it's about where to go and what to do. Lonely Planet's focus to show the brightest and best places to go, and they have succeeded for the biggest touristy areas of Canada.

Not saying there aren't any gems throughout the rest of the country that they didn't include, but those places weren't the focus of this book. I've found some new places to explore and will keep this book around as reminder and help to our future international students. Will be fun yes? :)