active living

This fall Ella has been enjoying gymnastics every Saturday. Other activities the girls like to do include biking, scooter, hiking, skating, swimming whenever possible, playing in the yard, raking and climbing around at various playgrounds.

Ella got home from gymnastics on a sunny day and immediately set to work raking leaves. She loved the new suit too much to take it off!



Ella took Irish Dance in summer and loves it. She was very disappointed that the teacher she had did not continue teaching this year. She continues to dance to Ivy's fiddle tunes when she's practicing.




We like to hike down the hill behind our house on the "secret trail". On this particular day the girls spent some time exploring the orchard. This trip involved checking out spectacular icicles made by sprinklers that were left on through a cold night. At the end of the walk they were rewarded by watching the small herd of alpacas that live on a farm down the road.

Click, Clack,MOO

Ivy and Ella adapted the storybook "Click, Clack, MOO: Cows That Type" by Doreen Cronin, to a short play. They wrote down the revised script with colour coded entries to match the character speaking. Ella made a marquis for the doorway and they practiced multiple times before politely inviting the Thanksgiving guests to attend the performance. It was well rehearsed and executed!

Props will be submitted as part of the art portfolio for the fall term.

Island of the Blue Dolphin

This was a read-aloud novel that we went though together (link in LA post). In summary, it's a story about a girl who survives alone on an island for over a decade. She builds her own shelters, finds food, builds canoes, makes tools and learns to appreciate animals as companions. This book was a great complement to the First Nations topics and histories we have covered so far. We were fascinated by the descriptions of her different dwellings for the various seasons of the year.

Ivy used ideas from the novel to make various beach villages during the early fall.

Stuctures

Ivy read the story "A Summer In Shapeville" from the text and found that it did not contain concepts that were new to her. She reviewed the "dictionary" section and found 4 words that were entirely unfamiliar, which she studied (buttress, chassis, gusset, strut). After that point we moved on to different resources to better support hands on learning on this topic.

The two books that we found most helpful were:
- The Ultimate Building Book by Stephen Caney and
- Arty Facts: Structures, Materials & Art Activities by Barbara Taylor

Other books we dipped into and remembered to record:
- Great Wonders of the World, Russell Ash
- Bridges!, Johnmann & Rieth
- Egypt in Spectacular Cross Section, Stephen Biesty
- Castles, Christopher Gravett
- The Great Pyramid, Elizabeth Mann
- Empire State Building, Elizabeth Mann


Here are some samples of work Ivy has done on the topic of "Structures". There were many others and she has listed most of them in her review of the unit (handed in).

Stick House
The Stick House idea came from the "Arty Facts" book. Ivy chose the materials and design to match a tropical location (the Amazon). Her ideas on why the house might be on stilts included protection from animals, floods and to catch breezes. Other features she noted were the open doors and windows because it's warm and a ladder to the loft in case it was better for sleeping.

Some of the bigger challenges she faced were finding a suitable roof material, attaching the siding and making sure it would balance and be sturdy enough once the stilts were on.


Ivy continued to add to her Stick House scene. The little shelters were made from popsicle stick tripods, covered by tissue.


Ivy likes to skim through the SAS Survival Manual we have at home. Along with great information on edible plants and first aid, it has a section on making your own simple shelters. She asked if we could try one so we chose the "tripod" shelter with tarp. We used bamboo poles for our three legs, lashed them together with twine and placed the tarp over top. The edges are held down by stones and logs. It didn't stand up all through a windy night but all the pieces were intact and it was easily reassembled. Nobody volunteered to sleep in this one.




A highway scene with overpass and scenery. This project was promptly donated to Ezra who enjoyed zooming his cars and airplanes
around it.



See also Island of the Blue Dolphin post for beach house.

trading post

Ivy and Ella independently set up their own trading post one afternoon after covering some fur trade history and reading the Birchbark House novel. They were careful to initially only trade supplies that they had found or made themselves. The early offerings included hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, carrots and windfall apples. The girls had to consider the relative value of each item and decide how to trade it. They also figured out how long their supplies could last, depending on how much they would eat or drink each day.

As they began trading with various family members the options became more colourful. Their grandma heard about it and brought some true treasures to trade with. She has worked extesively with the Mishkegogamang First Nation in Northern Ontario (Ojibway) helping them to record some of their history in writing. She brought two small booklets, one contains stories from an elderly man who used to be a fur trader and the other is a book of traditional legends for the area. She also gave the girls a carved bone pendant made by the fur trader.

The Birchbark House

The Birchbark House, by Louise Eldrich

This novel follows a year in the life of Omakayas, an Anishinabe girl of 8 winters. The girls and I used it as a read aloud book so that we could talk about new ideas together as they came up.

Throughout the book we are exposed to the many ways in which animals are used and shown respect. Many different plants and their various properties are discussed. Canadian history is reflected in the life of the village, their Deydey's (father's) work as a voyageur, and the exposure of the village to smallpox. The culture of the Ojibway comes through in the language, stories, spirituality and relationships.

The girls and I made charts to keep track of some of the many ways in which animals & plants are mentioned. There is also a poster to show the different stories and legends that are told. The story is broken into very distinct seasons which we noted for Ella's science unit.

Fort Langley & Science World

In September the girls and I took part in a trip to Fort Langley that was arranged by another home schooling parent. We covered the bases of BC & Canadian history as well as getting some good exercise! The group arranged to add a voyageur canoe trip up an arm of the Fraser River. It poured rain but the kids were good sports and so were the adults. The hot tub was all the sweeter at the end of the day.






We swam in the hotel pool every day. The kids got a full workout on the waterslide while we supervised from the hot tub.


On the way to and from Vancouver we enjoyed listening to Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism on CD.


Since were were near the big city anyway, the girls and I navigated our way to the King George skytrain station and rode it downtown to Science World. It provided a great hands-on boost to our science learning, particularly for the "Structures" unit.

The Eureka Gallery
This area commanded most of our attention and the girls had a blast playing with all kinds of force, motion and water based activities.

Our World
In this gallery we experimented with different ways to generate electricity. Solar, wind and a crank come to mind.

-from the website:

Our World encourages us to find solutions for a better future—while examining the environmental, social and economic factors that all need to come together to make for a sustainable society. Through colourful, bright and imaginative exhibitory, Our World engages our attention, while focusing on the everyday choices that we make and how those choices will impact our lives, both immediately and in the future.

Search Gallery

After a bit of time in the main areas we were all ready for the quiet of the Search Gallery. It ended up being one of our favourite spots. It wasn't the flashiest by a long shot, perhaps that's the answer. It's hard for us to learn in environments where there is a lot of noise and activity.

A world of discovery awaits you in our newly-renovated
Search: The Sara Stern Gallery. Gaze in wonder at a T. rex skeleton, climb inside a giant 800-year-old Western Red Cedar, crawl through a real beaver lodge, stroke a collection of animal coats, hear vibrations travel through rock, visit the poison dart frog and discover our updated discovery boxes.

This calm, contemplative gallery will mesmerise you on a journey through the past and present of some of nature’s magnificent wonders.

gifted program

Here is a link to the topics Ivy has been working on in her Tuesday afternoon gifted program, AIM.

Art, Term III

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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