Wiggly Village

Ivy wrote this puppet play and enlisted Ella to help with acting, props and marketing materials. It is the pilot episode of a show for very young children. After several practise runs, suggestions, and adjustments Jeremy did the filming. He showed Ivy how to use Windows Movie Maker and they edited it together.

Sketch-Up

In addition to playing with Google Earth we've been learning to use Google Sketch-Up to design buildings. We are all starting from scratch but the girls are catching on quickly to the various tools. The biggest challenge has been learning to think in 3D rather than the 2D we're used to on the computer screen. Ivy has had the most persistence in muddling her way through. Mrs. Stewart-Heale (gifted program teacher) has been encouraging and is planning to send us some notes she's made on the program to simplify our learning process!

Here are a couple of screenshots of works in progress.

Ella's Yellow House

Ivy's House #1

Art Inspiration

The girls spend a lot of time doing art, and we did another art inspiration activity where they picked a piece of art out of a stack of prints and art books, then drew and coloured their interpretation of the piece or something that it inspired them to work on. After completing their pictures, they did some research to find out about the original artists and the times they were creating their art.

This video shows their selections, finished works and some conversation about the process:

Ella Art - Winter '10

1. Music - Ella has started to learn both basic recorder and piano. She is grasping the ideas quickly and has an amazing memory for tunes. Like Ivy, she is not focusing on reading music but rather on learning by ear and having fun.

Video of playing will go here

2. Gymnastics - In late November Ella participated in a gymnastics fun competition. She memorized simple routines in all 4 apparatus and performed them well (video in this post). Although she is not in any dance I consider the floor routine in particular to utilize some of the same skills.

3. Art Inspiration - Chinese painting from the Tung Dynasty period

4. Wiggly Village video & accessories

5. Sketch-Up house

Ivy Art - Winter '10

1. Ivy fiddled at the Olympic Torch Relay with the Fiddlekidz and Irish dancers. She also participated in the Penticton School of Music recital in February. Ivy attends Fiddlekidz once a week, has private lessons every other week and practises almost every day.

CLIP of new song will go here

2. Eco-posters on Ivy's blog

3. Art Inspiration - Bosch

4. Wiggly Village video & accessories

5. Sketch-Up house

Canada & Socials

Canada and Communities related work this term:

-Louise Erdrich novels
These books incorporate North American history, cultural learning, exposure to a different language and spirituality and language arts. Last summer we traveled to within a few hours of where Omakayas and her family ended up after their displacement so the girls have a frame of reference for the type of landscape.

- Mapwork
We have worked with blank Canadian maps to learn the provinces (Ivy and Ella) and capital cities (Ivy). In addition we are spending time locating places on our world map. Cardinal directions, grids and scales have also been introduced. Ivy knows the inter-cardinal directions as well. We procured a dated travelogue from the library that was entertaining and somewhat educational. Canada has scenery, beautiful cities and...many recreational golf courses!

- Socials Project
The girls' uncle Mark is traveling over the next few months so we are following him and marking his progress (Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam). We are also making an effort to learn something about each place he's in. Fortunately he's keeping a blog so we can see pictures too! In addition their grandparents are spending the winter in the Dominican Republic working on local projects. They volunteer their time there and have kept us up to date on what is going on in the communities there.

- Google Earth
This program has been a blast to use. Both Ivy and Ella enjoy searching and "zooming" in on specific places. This is the program we're using to mark the locations and trails of various family members over the winter. Ivy discovered the feature that allows you to also explore the landscape of the moon, Mars and some constellations (more solar systems - while I'm on the topic she went through this Cosmic Quest game too).

More Loiuse Erdrich

We continued reading about Omakayas in Louise Erdrich's books "The Game of Silence" and "The Porcupine Year". We are starting to recognize some of the Ojibway words when they come up in the text and don't always have to check the translation at the back!

The relationships between adults and children are very well written and impressed all of us. We had interesting discussions about the responsibilities and expectations of children being so different in that time & culture. We were treated to big laughs as well as quiet, sombre moments. Ivy in particular asked keen questions about "white" culture and showed frustration with our heritage.