Category:

FMF: Common

11/10/2016

This week Dad had sometime off work so we pulled our student out of school and took three days away.

We went up to the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto where I had a chance to observe something in common between two lads of different lands.

Other than the obvious, of them both being boys under the age of 16, what could these two have in common?

Patriotism.     OH MY!!! It came out in spades. :)

In polo we had Canada up against the USA... cheer loudly my boy did and Canada came SO CLOSE to the win...but alas.. the final score was 11-10 in favour of the USA.

In the horse jumping competition we had a number of different lands represented, but one of them Brazil.   My having fun but not thrilled student perked up quickly. He clapped and cheered on his rider. Who, like the Canadian polo team, came SO close to making it through to the final few...but knocked one jump unexpectedly.

Two boys.
Cheering madly.
Two boys.
Disappointed.
Two boys who handled their disappointment well.

It's one of the joys of hosting an international student... seeing the similarities as well as the differences.   :)   It's a good thing.

This #Fmfparty is hosted by our dear Miss Kate. You can find her blog right over here. Do join us won't you for a five minute free write on the word COMMON this week. Write for five minutes. Link up. Encourage those who have gone on before. :) You will find it becomes a great part of your week. :)

Field Trip: Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory

11/10/2016

Have an international student? Want to see him smile? Take him to a Butterfly conservatory and stand back and watch.

Then watch an 11 year introduce that student to a walking stick...and be happy. It's a rather cool thing to let a love of bugs cross a language barrier.

We had a great time wandering around and noticing the different butterflies and finches they had flying around. There was this one VERY determined finch that I watched for quite some time trying to get a picture of him, but just couldn't manage. He'd fly down, rustle in the bushes, come out pulling on a vine/twig/or something like that and try to fly up to his nest and everytime was pulled short as it just wouldn't pull free. He did this over and over again. Very determined little beastie.

My son asked about why they have all the finches and learned that they are given to them. They eat seeds and eggs and help keep the place tidy. They add a touch of colour and flash and they are fun to watch.

Isn't this Emerald Butterfly gorgeous? The brillancy of the colours is an indicator it hatched on the day. We saw three of them? It's hard to know for sure since they are very good at flying around. We did have a chance to see a variety of butterflies.

I must not forget to talk about the bugs and butterflies with the boys. :)

The waterfall was lovely even though this picture is rather meh. The staff were wandering about and the lad asked if he could see the stick bug pulling our student along with him.

They transferred Ms. Stick Bug from one hand to the next, I even held it for a bit. Very gentle but with slightly sticky feet.

I really like this picture of our student.

Want to know what my lad is watching so intently?

This pair of quail. About six of them wander around, usually in groups of two. They are fairly tame, but aren't keen on being caught. The conservatory hosts butterflies, finches, two sizes of quail, turtles and koi. Just fun to set and watch them and hope that one will land on you. :)

Hubby in his element...looking for things to take pictures of. He's way better than I am at photos..has a natural eye for a good photo.

The Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory is a great place to visit. Located nearish the airport outside of Cambridge, Ontario. I hope you have enjoyed this brief look .... you really must go and see it for yourselves though, its a great place to spend a good hour and a bit.

Recipe: Feijoada (black bean stew)

10/2/2016

So I was chatting with my student this morning at breakfast and I learned that in Brazil he goes to school 730-5, and takes 14 courses!!!! He also gets fed lunch by the school, often a black bean stew with rice or noodles for lunch. Since this lad has been looking a little lost lately I thought I'd surprise him with black bean stew. I made it somewhat differently than the recipe called for, but this is the original recipe.

Ingredients:

1 (12 ounce) package dry black beans, soaked overnight I used two cans of black beans
1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
1/2 cup green onions, chopped Didn't have, didn't use.
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 smoked ham hocks used one big one, precooked.
8 ounces diced ham
1/2 pound thickly sliced bacon, diced used pancetta
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 bay leaves, crushed
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional) Used dried parsley
added some mixed spice herbs for different flavour
also used chicken broth

thickening the sauce

Directions:
1. In a crock pot place, diced onion and black beans. Add the minced garlic.
2. Remove meat from ham hock, removing as much fat as possible. Add to crock pot, dice the ham, add to crock pot as well.
3. cover the crock pot mix with chicken broth, adding the bay leaf, parsley, salt and pepper.
4. Let cook for two hours.
5. Add pancetta, diced in small pieces as it's quite salty.
6. taste test the sauce, realize something more is needed, add a red pepper mixed spice and go MMMM... :)
7. Let cook for another 2.5 hours.
8. Realize the liquid has not cooked down, so remove liquid, put into a pot and thicken with some flour. Put back in crock pot and call it good.
8. Cook some rice on the side (I made four cups of cooked rice).

Reactions:
I liked it.
My student did his slow smile and had seconds.
Hubby liked the flavour, but I missed some fat and he said "I can't do this".
Son didn't want it, but tried when I said you must, liked it until like his dad he got a bite of fat and said "I can't do this".
Student made himself another bowl for supper. :)

Rabbit and Rice Casserole Supper

9/27/2016

So I've been trying to come up with meals that our Brazilian Student might like beyond hamburgers and pizza (which he adores) and I've been well... watching his face and noticing some unhappiness lately, so I thought I'd try something different tonight.

I grabbed some rabbit out of the freezer this morning (front and hind legs) and thought, perhaps I can tempt him with these.

This is what I did.

Brown rice (cover bottom of casserole dish well).
Cover that rice with rabbit.
Cover the rabbit with a mixture of cream of mushroom condensed soup + one can bouillon + 1/2 can water.

Stick in oven, 350 for about an hour and a half.
Put some veggies on for a side dish KNOWING that your student won't eat them but wanting the colour on my plate. :)

And watch one 15 year old take THREE HELPINGS!!!!!

Success. This is the most I have seen him eat in one sitting. :)

Summer Students from Away

7/23/2016

When I was younger I read a book, about people who lived in a village, where some people came to visit, and they were greeted as "Strangers from Away" and introduced to the other villagers as "one is from away".. that expression has stuck with me throughout the intervening years.

The Canadian Homeschooler is running a blog theme " Summer Learning. Ideas for how to provide learning opportunities throughout the summer. " One of the learning events we have done for the past few summers is have an international student stay with us. We work with Nacel Homestay. They do pay us a stipend to help with costs of hosting a student (extra gas, food etc.. you won't grow rich, but it more than defrays costs).

I would strongly advise anyone to try hosting a student, we have found them to be delightful young people, and it is lovely to see our homeland through their eyes.

Our student this year comes from France.

We have introduced him to the joys of archery. He told us: "I like this sport, it is harder than I thought it would be".

Working at the Foodbank helped with discussions on how Canada cares for the poor and how France does. "We do nothing like this in France, sometimes restaurants will serve meals to poor, but no one helps them. The government helps them the medicine. But no thing else, This is good to do."

He wowed my son with his Knowledge of Minecraft and Pokemon. My son has recently discovered the joy of playing Pokemon Go...and to learn that there are tons of characters yet to be discovered has him totally amazed and wanting to know more about Pokemon. :)

The beach was "too cold" for this land from southern France, but he managed to show us his form in skipping stones. I can usually get four skips to a stone, but he was regularly getting seven skips. So he is definitely much better than I am. :)

He joined us for several bike rides, and I rediscovered how much fun it is to bike with a young fellow. My hubby likes to bike faster (which is good because he pushes me), my son is learning to bike faster and our student bikes at a perfect speed with excellent control. :) He also pushes me, but in a softer way than hubby does. :)

We learned that he likes the beauty of biking in the woods and gets contemplative easily.

Camping overnight filled him with a complete joy. A time to swim (jumping off a platform several times) followed by a chance to read for an hour. Hotdogs for supper with fruit (this boy eats like I DO!!!! A first!!!) Followed by fishing.. YAY!!! A first with a rod and reel, a time to think and read. It was good and he even found it funny that a fellow got all annoyed with him for fishing in "HIS SPOT" by the river...though he was very polite and left.

Our camping trip led to a day at Niagara Falls. Fun but busy day. We stopped at the Welland Canal, good time to ask questions about how the boats come in, to listen, question, read and learn. He has progressed so much in his English since coming here.

Part of hosting a student is to help them learn English better. We are required to teach 15 hours of English in the first two weeks they are hear. Our student this year made it easy for us in his wanting to read books, in talking and asking questions about what items are called, and in his willingness to write. I won't say that every student is willing to read, write or talk well...but this student was a joy to teach.

He was able to order his own meals when we went to Niagara Falls. A first! :)

By the way... the Create Your Own Burger "is the best hamburger at a fast food place. This is SO good."

This week will bring our student having lunch out with a friend, a day at Canada's Wonderland (someone else driving), hopefully a meal at a friends house, working at the Foodbank and if nice in the afternoon a trip to the Pinery to swim or bike and maybe kayak (if we can sort that part out). And he leaves on Friday. We'll miss him, he's been a good "second son" for these past couple of weeks.

Why not try it yourself?
You'll learn about another country, have the joy of seeing your land through the eyes of another (like we have BIG cars) and lots of space and the houses, they are big! You'll learn something about yourself as well, and that's an excellent thing in and of itself.

So if you have an extra bed, give it a whirl...you'll be glad you did. :) Take in a student from away, it's a good thing.

To go the link up (live July 27) GO HERE.

Recipe: Pork Roast Soup

7/12/2016

I absolutely LOVE soup. It's my go to food whenever I am stressed or feeling poorly. Love soup, even basic chicken noodle, or broth and noodle soup. Every once in a while I'll make up a fancy soup... with different stuff in it.

Yesterday we were going to be out all day so in the morning I put a soup together with my international student and the lad.

What did we put in this soup?

Pork roast - I made this the night before with cranberry sauce and broth. Very simple.
carrots
barley
hard wheat red I think
green beans
corn
onion flakes (dried)
broth chicken and beef
green peas

tossed in some different seasonings
Garlic

Put it in the crock pot and left for the day.

As to who did what?
International student learned how to chop up roast into soup sized pieces and how to operate our can opener.
Son added the broth, spices and onion flakes.
I added frozen veggies, barley and wheat.

I love family cooking and it gives confidence to the less sure members of the family. :)

Came home to "Mmmm.. something smells good".
Two hungry boys and a mom dug right in.
It was good. :)

We have enough left for lunch on Wednesday, unless we have it for supper tonight.

Boy + Rod = Fish

9/18/2015

It's no secret. We like to fish. We mostly do catch and release cause the fun is in the catching more than in the eating...

Add this to mix a boy who is staying with us until mid-January and who has never fished and you get a great deal of skepticism until.....

He replicated this catch a few days later and my son had the fun to letting it go.

Now when we ask one Brazillian student if he wants to go fishing, we get an eager YES I come too? :) It's been a delight introducing him to this favourite hobby of ours... now to convince him to go out in a boat and fish.... :)

Two Boys

10/30/2014

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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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Tree Trunk Tour London

8/24/2014

We had a student from France staying with us for three weeks this summer.

We didn't get out and show him around Ontario that much, but he enjoyed his stay. One day I sent him to Niagara Falls and he thoroughly enjoyed his time away. Another day I sent him out with a friend for the day as we were otherwise occupied. He mostly hung out with us and relaxed, did some walking, some shopping, some language learning so it all worked.

ANYWAYS, enough of that. One day I said.. We have GOT to go see the tree trunks in London. Let's go see what those artists did. So.. off we went. :)

We started off the tour here:

A collective favourite was the fine fellow

I made the fellows pose by one I thought my lad would like. I was right, this picture caused one nine year old to say "I want to do this too!"

Below is a slideshow of some of the others we saw. We cut the tour short as my bum ankle thought that being a bum was an excellent idea. My disagreeing didn't make a difference in it's opinion though.....

Butterflies and the Market

8/16/2013

Today we took our international student to the Farmer's Market in St. Jacobs and to the butterfly Conservancy in Cambridge. I had intended to get pics at the market but it was extremely busy today so that just didn't happen. We talked a fair bit... learned that in France they sell things by weight or by the 10's. So he found it quite interesting that we do it differently here. He finds there is good in both systems. Our way is easier, but their way is more accurate.

We had a good day.

my son looks for quail...and found a butterfly in the process of dying. :(

my careful and very gentle lad caught one of the quail. It was rather neat watching him with it, but then he needed to let it go as we don't want the quail thinking people contact is a good thing.

On a further note, the quail are there because they are scavengers and so will eat the bugs that come from having a hot humid environment, and they will also help clean up the dead butterflies. They have three kinds there: common, chinese painted and freyal? I'm not sure on the last one.

My Student really likes this fig tree, he likes how the roots go down to the ground.

aren't the butterflies pretty?

I talked with one of the staff for a while. Learned they do homeschool programs. She talked about them for a bit and my son got quite intrigued by one of the classes she'll be offering, so we will most likely do that. We learned that most of the butterflies come from farms in the Philippines and in rainforest areas. This encourages the farmers to buy sections of the rainforest and protect it from destruction. It's a good sustainable agriculture for them.

They have a fellow (Craig?) who's whole job is to hang the cocoons. They hang them or place them in the same way they are found in their natural habitat. So some are placed flat, others are an angle, and others up and down. Some cocoons wiggle when you pick them up and that makes it difficult to place them on in just the right spot. Putting the glue on the wrong spot will kill them.

this pretty lacewing was VERY hard to get a picture of. She moves VERY quickly and only lands for short periods of time.

My student intrigued by butterflies.

My son fascinated by the birds. :) Both needs met, fun had by all. :)

They had this display of African (I think) nymphs. The females are very large and green, the male (you can see the antennae) are so much smaller and are brown. I never would have thought they were the same type of insect.

they had a whole whack of these finches. They add them just for colour and flight. They mostly eat seeds and just keep things busy.

They had this poster up of the types of butterflies they get in. They rarely get in Atlas Moths. They also don't like the butterflies to lay eggs because they simply can't keep up with the amount of food some of them would naturally eat.

We did see one of the butterflies laying eggs on the citrus tree they had up though. It was rather neat watching her. She'd lay one here and there. all these little bumps of yellow in the edges of the leaves.

We finished up our time looking through some of the interactive displays they have set up. Here's Dad looking through a display with son. :)

the lad here is being a bit of a goob. He so enjoys being an eight year old. :) i really liked the wall displays, and my student mentioned how much he enjoyed them as well. He said "It was very pleasant to look at all the displays."

Needless to say, I took tons of pictures but I can't post them all up here. :)

We had an excellent day, and life experiences help us to learn more about each others countries and how they operate. A slide show to finish us out I think would be good. Enjoy. :)