Biomes

We just found a great interactive site with lots of biome info geared for kids.

Wild Classroom "Biomes of the World"

Ivy book list winter 2011

Mysterious Benedict Society x3

Percy Jackson x5

Cat Warriors x 6 or 7?

We lost track of the  many single books she read but somehow she fit in all these series' too!

Daily Math

We've been trying to integrate our math into daily activities to put it into context (and to provide a reason for learning it!). Ella and Vanessa went out on an errand to buy us some apples from the "Apple Barn" down the road. They knew that apples would cost 50 cents per pound, and that we had $6. They set off and came back with the perfect amount of apples and big smiles. It was a great snack, thanks!

Ivy and her friends have also done this errand for me with fabulous results but sadly, I didn't take photos! 

Ella Fine Arts Winter '11

Ella loves graphic novels and cartooning. She's even written her own first comic! Here are samples of the kinds of things she's been working on.


1. There is a story to go with this lovely girl, I'll see if I can get Ella to re-tell it for the blog...

2. Photocopied cartoon

3. Ella continues to go to voice lessons one time a week and practices her songs and some basic piano 4 days a week. Her favourite song she's worked on so far is still "Sally's Song" from the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas", but she's working on some new ones, including Weird Al!

4. Kerpoof

5. DSi animation

6. Mini-clips

7. Sketch-up

Ivy Fine Arts Winter '11

1.  Ivy made a set of three cartoons, each depicting her with a different friend. She's really developed confidence in her style and has fun with playing with settings, colours and fashions.

2.  The following is a portrait of the "Terran Oracle" from Ivy's planet of Terra.  She has developed an extensive library of information on Terra, including cities, maps, costume, diet, housing and language!

3.  Ivy's Christmas performance with the Fiddlekidz at the Opus Coffee House.

4. Sketch-up

5. Mini-clips

6. DSi animation

7. Kerpoof

Sushi Experiment

We picked up this fancy sushi maker in the kids section of the thrift store (who knew?).  It took us a good hour to figure it out, with the instructions primarily in Japanese.  We did manage to make some and even more exciting, eat a few!  The kids were game to try although the nori does take some getting used to for these Canadians.

Habitats & Animals

We are re-visiting the Planet Earth dvd series this month to learn about both animals (Ella) and habitats (Ivy).

Overview of Planet Earth

Overview of biomes
Ivy has copy of the biomes sheet and matches the episode to the corresponding category.  We look it up on maps to see where in the world they are located.

Planet Earth animal guide
Here's a great animal guide to go with the series. Ella is specifically watching for the different animals in each episode and we discuss how it is adapted to that particular habitat.

Animal & Habitat Games


Deserts
More info on the desert biome


Jungles
Rainforest biome

Solar Kit

Ella was inspired to want to build herself a remote control vehicle this last week! It's beyond my skill level but we were all interested in what kind of parts you might need and how it would work. We looked up a few ideas online and then decided to start with a kit. We also downgraded from a remote to a simple motor!

We picked up this kit and assembled it together. We got all the wires right and the wheels spin when the panel is exposed to sun and held off the ground but it's not powerful enough to actually drive, which is a bummer. We'll try some of the other variations and see if we have more luck!



Ivy has also shown an interest in electronics in the past so we'll revisit the kit parts we have and see if we can learn something new.

EECO Centre

After the Club Penguin visit, we made our way over to the EECO Centre (Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan) in Mission Creek Park. Their current theme is "Wild Neighbours" and the kids played games to match local animals with both their footprints, skulls and scat. There were dioramas of various animals in their natural habitats.

Club Penguin

On Friday,Ella,mom and I went on a very special field trip;the club Penguin headquarters in Kelowna! We learned how to draw club penguin characters(penguins and their pet puffles)and got cool little sketchbooks to practice in.
then some game programmers came in and showed us how they programmed the games on club penguin. then, they used us to demonstrate how they made up the games,like we were a human computer! it was very fun and exiting and at the end we got to sit on giant puffle-shaped beanbags!
by Ivy



Mom's notes: The blue puffle pictured on the side was drawn by Ivy on our new computer stylus. We're not sure why he insists on standing on his side. Unpredictable creatures. Ivy arranged a penguin drawing contest for the family and handed out custom step-by-step learning sheets. We all did pretty well I think!