Ivy's art submissions for the term:
1. James Ehnis review (folder)
2. Windmill painting
3. Puppet show
4. Violin
5. Phys. Ed & Health drawing (folder)
Ella's art:
1. James Ehnis review (folder)
2. Tree painting
3. Tree life cycle
4. Stump photo
5. Puppet show
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Osoyoos Field Trip
Ivy, Ella and I really enjoyed the field trip to the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre on June 1st with the HLP. We learned a lot about rattlesnakes, local ecology and the Nk'Mip culture.
These signs were everywhere and it was almost enough to make us paranoid. The one snake we saw (other than the ones that were being released) was lounging under the walkway with a big bulge where it was digesting a small rabbit!
Witnessing a rattlesnake release!
A short learning time in the big pithouse. It was cool & shady after a warm hike.
We took the opportunity to celebrate the end of the school year. We had ice cream, spent a few hours at the beach and enjoyed the mini-golf and bumper boats at Rattlesnake Canyon. We finished up with supper at one of our favourite restaurants - the Best of India in Oliver. A wonderful end to a fun & successful year! The girls did a fantastic job of figuring out this home schooling thing.
These signs were everywhere and it was almost enough to make us paranoid. The one snake we saw (other than the ones that were being released) was lounging under the walkway with a big bulge where it was digesting a small rabbit!
Witnessing a rattlesnake release!
A short learning time in the big pithouse. It was cool & shady after a warm hike.
We took the opportunity to celebrate the end of the school year. We had ice cream, spent a few hours at the beach and enjoyed the mini-golf and bumper boats at Rattlesnake Canyon. We finished up with supper at one of our favourite restaurants - the Best of India in Oliver. A wonderful end to a fun & successful year! The girls did a fantastic job of figuring out this home schooling thing.
Best Circus Ever
Here's the script & photos for a puppet show the girls created with their grandma this term. Their goal was to use every single puppet which is no small feat!
Script for scenes:
The Best Circus Ever
1. Sunny and Kangaroo
Kenny the Cartwheeling Kangaroo
Piggy the Villain knocks over flowerpot
2. Flower princess and Dimbo
Dimbo the tree-climbing dinosaur
Piggy chops down the tree
3. Fairy and Dragon
Dirk the Daredevil Dragon flies around the world
Piggy goes in spaceship and knocks him off course
4. Pirate and fish
Finny the flying fish
Piggy knocks out flying fish with submarine
5. Clown and Bee
The bee is called Minnie the Mindreader
Piggy interrupts the silence by going lalalala and acting silly
6. Princess and Frog
Froggy the juggler juggles one ball
Piggy knocks away the ball
7. Pop-up guy and mouse
Fernango the fortune-telling mouse
Piggy says, Forget it, your fortune is nothing. You are unfortunate.
8. Gnome and Ted the Bear
Ted the Bear is the One with Hair. He is a wig-maker, whose wigs “never” fall off.
Piggy knocks the wig off and puts it on.
Script for scenes:
The Best Circus Ever
1. Sunny and Kangaroo
Kenny the Cartwheeling Kangaroo
Piggy the Villain knocks over flowerpot
2. Flower princess and Dimbo
Dimbo the tree-climbing dinosaur
Piggy chops down the tree
3. Fairy and Dragon
Dirk the Daredevil Dragon flies around the world
Piggy goes in spaceship and knocks him off course
4. Pirate and fish
Finny the flying fish
Piggy knocks out flying fish with submarine
5. Clown and Bee
The bee is called Minnie the Mindreader
Piggy interrupts the silence by going lalalala and acting silly
6. Princess and Frog
Froggy the juggler juggles one ball
Piggy knocks away the ball
7. Pop-up guy and mouse
Fernango the fortune-telling mouse
Piggy says, Forget it, your fortune is nothing. You are unfortunate.
8. Gnome and Ted the Bear
Ted the Bear is the One with Hair. He is a wig-maker, whose wigs “never” fall off.
Piggy knocks the wig off and puts it on.
Windmill
Ivy painted this windmill & scene from her imagination. I love the tethered horses kicking up the desert sand and the bright colours of the windmill.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Trees
Ella enjoyed going through her "Trees" unit in science this spring. It was fun to watch trees go from dormant, to budding and then to leafing out. Ella learned the life cycle of a seed using the apple tree as an example. We live beside an apple orchard so she has had the opportunity to see the cycle several times. The book How do Apples Grow by Betsy Maestro was a great supplement.
We planted a small spruce tree in an area that is likely to lose most of it's pines in the next few years. The avocado we tried to sprout for the unit hasn't done anything - yet.
Ella's art has reflected the focus on the tree unit and she's made some wonderful paintings. Jeremy took her on a photo walk where she had her own camera. She has a good eye for catching repeated designs in things and got this interesting shot of a tree stump.
dandelion science
Our family is making an effort to become more familiar with the local ecology and make use of naturally occurring plants, particularly edible ones. Ivy found a great recipe for dandelion fritters so we tried it out. The girls collected the heads and Ivy mixed up the ingredients. I fried the battered heads in oil and we snacked on them. They got mixed reviews but it was a very cool way to make use of them! We also pick and wash the greens thoroughly to add to salads.
Music
Earlier this spring the girls attended a James Ehnis concert (violin with pianist) and the students performance of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra. They wrote brief reviews on the James Ehnis concert (included in portfolio).
Ivy has put great effort into improving her fiddle songs this term to the point where she has been invited to perform with the "FiddleKidz". She attends a private lesson twice a month and goes to the home learners group lesson on alternate weeks. Friday afternoons she practices with the FiddleKidz. She performed with the home learners group at Carmi Elementary. She had an opportunity to play with the FiddleKidz at the Okanagan Children's Festival, both in their own show and as live music for the celtic dancers. Ella enjoyed attending the shows and is going to pursue highland dancing in the fall.
Ivy has put great effort into improving her fiddle songs this term to the point where she has been invited to perform with the "FiddleKidz". She attends a private lesson twice a month and goes to the home learners group lesson on alternate weeks. Friday afternoons she practices with the FiddleKidz. She performed with the home learners group at Carmi Elementary. She had an opportunity to play with the FiddleKidz at the Okanagan Children's Festival, both in their own show and as live music for the celtic dancers. Ella enjoyed attending the shows and is going to pursue highland dancing in the fall.
yard play
These are some of the ways the girls have been getting exercise this spring. They have been playing tag, skipping, making obstacle courses, playing on the slide, gardening and generally running around!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
plants
Ivy and Ella each have their own garden box this year. They've planted their favourite vegetables and have taken pleasure in watching them sprout. We're trying to get into the habits of watering and weeding proactively!
Ivy's garden
Ella's garden
In early spring we picked up a few special indoor plants. A Venus Flytrap and a Pitcher Plant. They are both carniverous and quite unusual looking. We picked up the book Fly Traps! Plants that Bite Back by Martin Jenkins, to learn more about them.
Ivy created a science activity centre for us. The project was a caterpillar planter. It was well designed and prepared and it was a bonus that the dill and basil seeds sprouted easily.
Ivy's garden
Ella's garden
In early spring we picked up a few special indoor plants. A Venus Flytrap and a Pitcher Plant. They are both carniverous and quite unusual looking. We picked up the book Fly Traps! Plants that Bite Back by Martin Jenkins, to learn more about them.
Ivy created a science activity centre for us. The project was a caterpillar planter. It was well designed and prepared and it was a bonus that the dill and basil seeds sprouted easily.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Dragon of the Red Dawn
Ella has recently discovered the Magic Treehouse series and we finished Dragon of the Red Dawn (#37) last night. The artwork was beautiful so we were inspired to do some drawings and paintings of Japanese gardens today. They were so pleased with the results that they proceeded to play an imaginary game involving the family traveling to Japan, based on Ivy's interpretation of the Imperial Gardens from the story. We followed up with trying our hand at Haiku and short poems. The girls are developing a base of knowledge about the Japanese culture this year, including popular motifs, plants, architecture and artwork.Ella's poem
Imperial Garden - Ella
Basho's House - Ivy
Imperial Garden with Friends - Ivy
Koi
The golden koi fish
Swimming in it's rocky pool
Quietly waiting.
-Ivy
The golden koi fish
Swimming in it's rocky pool
Quietly waiting.
-Ivy
EECO Centre - Birds of Prey
In early March we spent part of a morning at the EECO Centre at Mission Creek Park in Kelowna. Their current display is "Birds of Prey". Ivy and Ella spent most of their time looking at the various stuffed owls, noting the differences between them and listening to the sounds they make. They also leafed through magazines, did some puzzles & colouring and took advantage of the "hands on" exhibits.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Pottery
Ivy and Ella have both been working with clay over the past few weeks and are loving it. Their first items came out of the kiln today and the second batch will be fired this week.
Ivy
Ella
Monday, February 16, 2009
Gluep & Ooblek
Ivy is enjoying some free science time, meaning she's free from curriculum and can explore whatever she's interested in. She came to me this morning with recipes for gluep & ooblek. It was a smashing success and we had a lot of fun doing it.
Gluep
Dissolve 1 tsp borax in 6 tbsp water. In separate bowl mix 1 tbsp white glue with 1 tbsp water. If you want it coloured, add one or two drops of food colouring to the glue mixture. Add 2 scant tsp of the borax solution to the glue. Mix until it turns into gelatinous goo and then play with it.
Ooblek
This was was a little trickier as the instructions were vague. Fill a small bowl half full of cornstarch and add water. There's a magic sweet spot where it's in limbo between solid and liquid. If you try to stir quickly it chunks up like a solid, but when you put it back down it oozes together. Ivy's assessment was that it was like it was "...on a timer for solids. It's solid for a few seconds and when time runs out it turns into a liquid".
From the book: Science Smart: Cool projects for exploring the marvels of the planet earth, Gwen Diehn, Terry Krautwurst, Alan Anderson, Joe Rhatigan, & Heather Smith
Gluep
Dissolve 1 tsp borax in 6 tbsp water. In separate bowl mix 1 tbsp white glue with 1 tbsp water. If you want it coloured, add one or two drops of food colouring to the glue mixture. Add 2 scant tsp of the borax solution to the glue. Mix until it turns into gelatinous goo and then play with it.
Ooblek
This was was a little trickier as the instructions were vague. Fill a small bowl half full of cornstarch and add water. There's a magic sweet spot where it's in limbo between solid and liquid. If you try to stir quickly it chunks up like a solid, but when you put it back down it oozes together. Ivy's assessment was that it was like it was "...on a timer for solids. It's solid for a few seconds and when time runs out it turns into a liquid".
From the book: Science Smart: Cool projects for exploring the marvels of the planet earth, Gwen Diehn, Terry Krautwurst, Alan Anderson, Joe Rhatigan, & Heather Smith
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
web games
Several times a week we spend about half an hour on the computer playing games that we feel are both fun and educational. Here are some of the most recent favorites.
Science - Matter
or link to game
Typing practise
Story making (mostly Ivy)
Math patterning(Ella)
Science - Matter
or link to game
Typing practise
Story making (mostly Ivy)
Math patterning(Ella)
Custom Oven
Ivy was inspired to devise her own oven in January. She had been hoping for a kid's oven for Christmas but didn't receive one. Jeremy worked with her on the basic design. They brainstormed, experimented and modified numerous times until they came up with one that worked. Ivy is delighted to report that although we burned her miniature brownie, her marshmellows toast well in it! The attempt to make popcorn was not successful but enjoyable anyway.
Drama
The girls have written and performed several skits together. Ivy tends to do most of the writing but they collaborate on ideas and making the props.
While they were still working on their unit on Animals in science, they were inspired by one of Ella's assignments in which she was asked to colour an animal and then cut it out and find places in the house where it was well camouflaged. Ivy wrote a play and they made puppets and a backdrop for it. Here's the video:
Ivy ad Ella occasionally spend days with their Grandma who helps facilitate some of their learning. In January they co-wrote and performed " Alice Saves Coneland". We regret that we did not take video or photos of the performance but we have pictures of the props. (note the cursive writing Ivy is working on!)
While they were still working on their unit on Animals in science, they were inspired by one of Ella's assignments in which she was asked to colour an animal and then cut it out and find places in the house where it was well camouflaged. Ivy wrote a play and they made puppets and a backdrop for it. Here's the video:
Ivy ad Ella occasionally spend days with their Grandma who helps facilitate some of their learning. In January they co-wrote and performed " Alice Saves Coneland". We regret that we did not take video or photos of the performance but we have pictures of the props. (note the cursive writing Ivy is working on!)
Pets
We finished our "Animals" units a few months ago but have only recently acquired some small pets for the girls to observe. Ivy has successfully raised a family of sea monkeys to the point where they are reproducing and we've found them surprisingly compelling. She feeds them herself on a carefully noted schedule. Ivy took them to her Brownies class for pet day and earned a "Pet Pals" badge.
We purchased a small fish tank and the girls actively participated in planning and choosing fish. Sadly we are down to 1 out of 3 fish but it has lead to teachable moments.
We purchased a small fish tank and the girls actively participated in planning and choosing fish. Sadly we are down to 1 out of 3 fish but it has lead to teachable moments.
Origami
Ivy and Ella have been experimenting with Origami since December. They have enjoyed making "balloon" covers for the Christmas lights, Japanese dolls and small puppies, among many other projects.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)