Blog Posts

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: Apple Pandowdy

11/8/2016

Our recent review of Cooking through History by Homeschool Legacy, inspired the making of Apple Pandowdy. I have to admit, we haven't done the full lesson yet, but we made the pandowdy anyways. The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients Any changes I made will be highlighted in red.

4 apples, Granny Smith, peeled, cored and sliced
1 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon Couldn't find our cinnamon so substituted 2 tbsp cinnamon sugar.
1/4 cup orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
Basic Sweet Pie Crust, recipe follows
Whipped cream, for serving
Caramel ice cream, for serving

Directions   Any changes I made will be highlighted in red.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl combine the apples with the lemon juice, cornstarch, and salt and toss to combine. Add 1/2 cup sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon and stir well. Toss with the orange liqueur. Transfer to a heated, large skillet.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pie crust to a thickness of 1/8-inch and transfer to the top of the fruit mixture. Trim the edges flush with the edges of the skillet. Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut several steam vents in the top of the pie crust. Bake the pandowdy uncovered for 30 minutes.

Remove the pandowdy from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Use the edge of a metal spatula to cut the crust into 1-inch squares, then press the crust down into the filling. Return the pandowdy to the oven and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes longer. Let cool 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Serve the pandowdy warm, with a dollop of whipped cream and a scoop of caramel ice cream.   We only served it with ice cream.

The original recipe included a recipe for making a pie pastry. We cheated and used a ready made store bought one. It used 1.5 pastry shells.   If you want to make one from scratch go back to the original recipe to find it. :)

Verdict

Our student liked the ice cream, but like all our Brazillian students, isn't into veggies or fruit.
I liked it, next time will cook in smaller circumference pie plate as I found it a bit thin.
Hubby liked the flavour on it's own.
Son enjoyed it.

Review: Marie Curie for Kids

11/7/2016

Did you know that today is Marie Curie's birthday today? Doesn't that make it the perfect opportunity to talk about this great new book meant for children to learn all about Marie Currie?

21 experiments in the book allow children to jump into different aspects of Marie Curie's life.... like working on experiments that do the unexpected... shall we make elephant toothpaste perhaps? Or make a write a letter, make a vision board, make a little curie or split water as you learn about the atomic bomb. I love that the experiments engage the children in different ways. Not all science experiments or language arts activities. Variety is such a good way to keep the interest alive.

9 chapters, 131 pages, filled in information, broken down into an easy to understand format and language. So many pictures to make it all come to life.

See Marie working in her lab, growing up in her family, meet her parents, the places that she worked at and musicians she listened to.

I've reviewed another Chicago Review Press book called Michelangelo for Kids. I need to tell you how much I like how these books are set up.

Timeline at the front of the book so you know how the person's life progresses.
Chapters with enough information to help you feel informed about an area in the person's life, with a great activity or two, to follow it up.

Clear easy writing style.
Tons of pictures that fit and aren't just filler.
21 different activities to do and experiments to conduct

This book is written by Amy M. O'Quinn and she's done a great job of introducing me and my son to Marie Curie. I am looking forward to one day using this book as part of a co-op class with group of children. It will be fun to do. :) Almost all the work and research is already done for me. Such a great resource to add to my collection of "ooh... I want to do this in a class someday" books.

The only thing I can think of to make it better would be a list of questions for students to answer at the close of each chapter.

A courtesy inclusion of the amazon links to aid in you finding your own copy of this great book. An excellent resource for your classroom. They are affiliate links and only help support my blogging habit, and will be much appreciated if used. :) They do not affect your bottom line in anyway.

Amazon.ca Link: Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, with 21 Activities and Experiments Amazon.com Link: Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, with 21 Activities and Experiments (For Kids series)

Hymn Study: There is a Fountain Filled with Blood

11/7/2016

A fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. Zechariah 13:1

Lyrics

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away,
Washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more,
Be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave,
Lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.

Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared,
Unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward,
A golden harp for me!
A golden harp for me,
A golden harp for me;
For me a blood bought free reward,
A golden harp for me!

’Tis strung and tuned for endless years,
And formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears
No other name but Thine;
No other name but Thine,
No other name but Thine;
To sound in God the Father’s ears
No other name but Thine.

The last two verses of the lyrics above are new to me. I found it interesting how the verses changed depending on where I found them.   Some lines were reversed in order.   Just interesting.   Other changes in this hymn can be found here.

William Cowper is the author of this beautiful hymn, when I read the story of how this hymn came about, suddenly it had more depth to it.   Oh, how Cowper struggled.   You can read the full story here.

Imagine, being in the depths of despair, knowing that you face an examination that fills you with such dread, wanting to end your life and not being successful. Imagine than having the knowledge impressed upon you about how God can erase the stain of any sin.   And thus a hymn was born.   Oh ... so many heart cries come out in hymns don't they?   When we realize fully a truth from God.

This hymn is one of them. Go on....go read his story.

Another article I read changes the story a bit...so it's hard to know what details are accurate. In this story, Cowper wrote this hymn shortly before his death after he was released from the sanitorium, when he was living a little house, with the words of Zech 13:1 filling his mind, writing this Spirit inspired hymn. (source)

Regardless of the truth of how this story came about... Cowper was a man with a delicate spirit and mind, easily moved to depression, with good friends able to help him recover.   People who cared, but more importantly, a God who kept him close, teaching him what he needed to know of him, and it came out in beautiful words.

Good eh?

Review: One of The Few

11/6/2016

Jason B. Ladd has written a compelling story about his life as a pilot, Marine and Iraq War veteran. His life was changed when his life was touched by God.

Throughout this book we caught glimpses of Jason's life as a Marine.

He presents a compelling defense of the Christian faith.

It took Jason a while to form a Christian worldview. He didn't start life believing in God until he was married, his wife a believer. As he formed his Christian Worldview, he took to heart the message of the gospel, and through this book he pushes people to take their faith seriously, to let it make a difference in their life.

In One of the Few you will find a book divided into three sections, 27 chapters. 297 pages long.

Life lessons through real life stories with strong encouragement to consider what your faith means. Lessons that delve into the nature of God, who he is. Lessons about how we show what's important to us.

Sentiments like these are laced throughout the book. Then we get to see those principles in action, shown through the life that Mr. Ladd lived. He lived a great life, and he learned well the importance of living a life bent for God.

My Opinion:
There is much about One of the Few that I appreciated.   I read almost half way through before I started to lose interest. And I'm sorry, because I really wanted to like the entire book.    I really liked the first half of this book, seriously. It made me think and ponder, rejoice over lessons learned and his coming to faith.

I wanted a book about a man of faith, who lived his life by that faith, and interspersed wisdom within those stories. This is how the book started for me. As the book progressed I found that wisdom taking time away from the stories that showed his faith in action. So instead of having a book about his life with wisdom interspersed, I started to find a book about how to live the Christian life (non-fiction based) with stories inbetween and it started to feel more preachy and less life-lived.   And that is NOT a bad thing, but just not where I am at right now.

Right now I wanted the encouragement of a life lived in faith, not a "this is what you should be mindful of" book.

There is SO much to learn from Jason Ladd and I will be keeping this book and I will be sharing it with others, and in time I will complete and I will write a different review.   But my headspace isn't where it needs to be right now for this book.

One of the Few
Author: Jason B Ladd
297 pages.
Available also as ebook
Booksite: One of the Few
Website: Jason B. Ladd
Media Kit: available here.

Days of November: Colour

11/6/2016

Colour is the word of the day.

Colour Seen

With wondering eyes
A boy, he sees
international traveller
The colour of the trees.

Before his eyes
the change they make.
He's delighted and curious.

Its so fun to see.

And before I know it
with wondering eyes
a woman, she sees.
homegrown citizen
the colour of the trees.

The colours delight
And memories they make
even if they cause one
to pick up a rake.

Days of November

11/5/2016

I so enjoyed the #write31days challenge last month that I've kinda been missing it. I mentioned that to a friend who said "why don't you use the words from the instagram challenge from the crew?"

I got to thinking about that and thought, well.. that would probably work. I won't say that I will write every single day, but when I want to, I can write, right? :)

Ergo.. I give you the Days of November. :)

Book Review: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

11/5/2016

I wish I could remember who recommended that I read this book with my lad. But wow... WHAT A GOOD BOOK.   Seriously.   Go read it.

Joan Aiken wrote a compelling story based loosely on early industrial England. The timeline isn't real, but that's what was drawn to my mind as we read through this book. The chapters are long so we often stopped half way through a chapter otherwise bedtime would get far too late.

Your child (if like mine) will get very angry during the story.   There are some horribly nasty events in the book that had my son (and my own to be honest) blood boiling. We so wanted to give Miss Slighcarp a good talking to.

We were horrified at Mrs. Brisket and how she handled Sylvia, we wept with the children over Aunt Jane, and rejoiced with Simon being able to help Bonnie and Sylvia escape.

We learned how good it is to have people in your life who love you and care about what happens with you.   Those people will risk much for you.

My son has informed me I am NOT to put this book into our sale or giveaway pile, because apparently he wants to read it again sometime, for himself.

That my dear readers, is the sign of a good book in my son's eyes.

Amazon.ca : Amazon.com:

Journey, a #fmfparty post

11/4/2016

Five Minute Friday word is brought to us by Kate. Today's word in Journey.
Rules are simple.
Free write for five minutes without worrying about what you are doing. Just write on the word prompt. Then link up. After you link up make sure you encourage the person (or a few persons) who linked up before you. Be the heart of our community eh? :)

Go

Journey.
I've had this word on my brain today as I've gone about my daily tasks. I wish I"d had time to write this morning, but just couldn't squeeze it in.    My journey's have taken me away from the house this morning and into the helping hands of my hubby in the front yard and then calling for helping hands into the backyard.   It's been a solidly good day.

First we had HOPE days where I led an art class and helped in a birding class.   Then home for lunch, with hubby calling me out to help clean the trailer.   The day was so lovely that once we had the trailer washed off I headed into the backyard.   Since we have a move coming up I want to get things in good order in backyard. Today's task: Tidying up the wood and junk piles under the hedge.   I'd already gotten out most of the garbage so now I just needed tidy up the woodpile.

I called out the boys to help with the light stuff, and they had it all tidied up in about 15 minutes, leaving me to get to work restacking wood into a more compact space. Tidying up found bricks and removing all lumber into one compact area.

It is SO GOOD to have that all done.

STOP

Field Trip: Homer Watson Gallery

11/3/2016

The other day we were out in the Cambridge Area showing our student some of the local sites (did the Butterfly Conservatory, Fort York and the St.Jacobs' Farmers Market)...and I said "Hey, I know this small art gallery we could go to". So off we went.

Homer Watson was a self-educated man who liked to do art. This museum is partially dedicated to his life and works, and partially supported by the art gallery in the other rooms. They sell the art and they also conduct classes. If I lived closer I'd be taking the lad there for some art instruction fun.

Anyways, Homer Watson was "the man who first saw Canada as Canada" painting landscape paintings in his own style not in the European manner. He loved Canada and painting scenes from around the Grand River.

Anyways, Three paintings there. The lad, Our Student and myself talked over which one we liked best.

our student

the lad

We saw various artifacts from his life and read his biography. They also had a variety of his paintings up beyond the three above.

The rest of the gallery was dedicated to works by other artists. Some of them are below.

They had a small gallery done up around the theme "THE BOX".

I wish I could have taken pictures of everything I saw, but I was limited to three pictures in each area. So you'll have to be content. The exhibits change all the time.

Suggested donation is $5 to go in. There's plenty to see but it IS a small gallery. The staff are friendly and helpful, especially if you ask anything about Homer Watson. For more information see their website.