Biomes

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

Wild Classroom "Biomes of the World"

Preschool Homelearner

Ezra has been stoked on spelling lately. He's very keen on knowing which letters start different words, and the girls have been helping him too. Yesterday he asked me to do some spelling while I was cooking, and I got three words recorded in a short video:

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!

Mars Base

Mars Base: "

3D model by ivy

kids space base

"

Ella Krazyklub base

Ella Krazyklub base: "

3D model by turkey hawk

kids space base

"

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!

LA Fall 2010

Ivy

Writing:

- lyrics & music for "Bounce" band she's started with 2 friends
- as many forms, notices, newspapers and posters as she can find content for!
- reflection on the dance class she tried
- Storyworld playing cards for creative writing/storytelling.


Comprehension:

- Artemis Fowl book review
- Accelerated Reader quizzes


Partial book list:

Secret of the Sirens, Julia Golding (of the "Companions Quartet")
Icefire, Chris D'Lacey, of the Last Dragon Chronicles
Septimus Heap, Syren



Ella

Writing:

• Kerpoof story
• Halloween poem
• Planet anthem
• Storyworld games Ella got a pack of these cards for her birthday and both she and Ivy have been involved in creating stories using these visually rich cards and their imaginations. Fun!
  

Comprehension:

• Ruby Gloom book report
• Accelerated Reader quizzes

Book list

• Amulet

• Ivy & Bean, Bound to be Bad and Doomed to Dance

Magic Tree House:

• Viking Ships at Sunrise
• Polar Bears Past Bedtime
• Ghost Town at Sundown
• Day of the Dragon King

Tashi Series by Fienberg, Fienberg & Gamble

• Tashi and the Giant
• Tashi and the Ghosts,
• ...the Baba Yaga
• ...the Dancing Shoes
• ...the big Stinker,
• ...the Demons

• The Cool, Krazy,, Crickets, The Cool, Krazy, Crickets to the Rescue

• Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye (Geronimo Stilton)
  
• Amelia's 5th Grade Notebook
• My Father's Dragon
• Tiny Tyrant

Throughout the summer and fall Jeremy has been reading the Harry Potter series to the girls at bedtime. They are very excited to be starting book 7!

Ivy Fine Arts

1. Claymation project at HLP

2. Journal Entry - Experience of trial hip hop class (hard copy)

3. Sketch Up space shuttles (online)
- space camper is a downloaded graphic that she has modified, space ship 1 is her own creation

4. Bounce Band (hard copy)
- Ivy and two friends have co-written 2 songs. They have the lyrics and melody for the choruses. They have parts for vocals, guitar, piano and violin! Sorry, no footage yet.

5. Drawing - Pixie (hard copy)

6. Short Story - "The Eternal Flame", inspired by Storyworld cards (hard copy)
- used the cards "Youngest Son", "Cat", "Eternal Flame", and "Wild Beast".

7. Ivy is taking violin again this year. She attends Fiddlekidz once a week and has a private lesson every other week with Liz Lupton.

Active Fall

Although we have missed recording some days, the girls have been busy this fall! Their most recent discovery was rollerblading. The thrift store was kind and provided 2 sets of skates and pads that (mostly) fit. They diligently swept off the cul-de-sac and started experimenting with the different feel of the wheels compared to ice skates. They both did fantastic and are putting on speed.

One of our favourite activities continues to be swimming. Our last dunk in the lake was about the second week in October. On Thanksgiving we spent the weekend in Canmore with family and they spent hours in the pool with cousins. We also went for a long walk that included an intense staircase. Certain members of the family were sore for days afterwards! The girls have also enjoyed the Summerland pool where they can swim independently.

Biking has dropped off a bit now that the temperatures are lower but through to the middle of October we were riding a couple of times a week (mostly Jeremy & the kids). There are a few special spots in the area that they like to ride to: the ball fields, Apple Barn, Shrek's House, and the Car Museum parking lot where they demonstrate their newest tricks.

Ivy and Ella both showed interest in hip hop this fall. Ella went to a gymnastics/hip hop combo class for a month but found that it wasn't as challenging as she expected (or at least not in the ways she had hoped). It was an interesting experience but she decided not to pursue it after the month was up. Ivy watched a class of hip hop as well and was invited to try it out. I have great admiration for the way she went in and gave it her absolute best, even though it was really tough. She hung in there and learned some fun moves. At the end she chatted with the teacher who told her at that point that the other kids in the class had all been dancing for 3-4 years and that she'd done fantastic for a first go! She did decide that it wasn't going to be a priority for her either but was glad she'd tried.

Our family enjoys the home school skate every Wednesday at noon here in Summerland. Many of our friends go as well so we get to have a social event in addition to our active living. We all love skating and look forward to our own rink in the yard again if the weather cooperates.

Ella Fall 2010 Art

Ella set up a new desk station this fall and has been enjoying the relative quiet of her new spot. She's spent hours drawing and listening to her favourite music.







1. Ella started weekly voice lessons this fall and has connected really well with her teacher, Rochelle. (hard copy of practice list)




2. Hip hop - she attended four classes in September and learned a short routine.

3. First Friday at the Penticton Art Gallery. (hard copies of journal entries)

4. Sketch "Funky Star Girl" (hard copy)

5. Poem/Song (hard copy)

6. Kerpoof - story intro emailed

Hiebert Science Fair

Here are the photos from the inaugural Hiebert Science Fair. Special thanks to Jeremy Hiebert for being the official judge who asked great questions and had insightful feedback.



Grandpa won "Excellence in Electrical Innovation" prize for his lemon powered battery (later combined with the light up lollipop experiment for true learning on the fly).




Ivy did an experiment based on the warning on jello boxes not to use specific fruits. She took the prize for "Food Chemistry".



Grandma grew numerous Sweet William plants under different conditions and carefully recorded when they sprouted and how well they grew. She is planning to update her findings in spring. Her project earned her an "Excellence in Horticulture".



Not to be left out, Ezra helped mix up a batch of play dough from scratch, after carefully selecting the fruit punch flavour of kool-aid to add colour and scent to his creation. He earned the award "Excellence in being Ezra".



We didn't get a shot of Ella's rocks, but her project included a description of some of her gem stones as well as a matching game to test our knowledge of them. She was awarded "Excellence in Geology".


My (Tannis) light up lollipop involved soldering wires to an LED light and slipping the wires through an empty pen tube. I followed a recipe for a large lollipop and placed the LED end in the mold. When it was firm I used electrical tape to hold a watch style batter in place at the base of the pen ( we also managed to run it off the lemon battery although it wasn't very bright). Ezra helped us prove that yes, the lollipop was indeed edible. I don't remember what my award was called!

the grande rendezvous

Or something like that. We called it the "fur trade party".




Step 1

Come in costume. Some participants were representing the First Nations, others were voyageurs. We also had one native guide and one bourgeois shop keeper.


Step 2

The voyageurs and guide grabbed their packs and canoe (wagon) to do their trade route. Along the way they encountered rapids, lost a pack overboard, took wrong turns and had to portage.









They did finally find the village where the First Nations were patiently waiting to trade their furs for shiny goods. This village was particularly friendly and gave them a generous gift of pemmican and dried berries for the return trip.




On the journey back there was more bad luck. A raid by an unfriendly tribe resulted in the loss of several furs, most of the supplies and an injured voyageur. The last push back up the rapids was cold and tiring.


Step 3

All of the participants earned the right to trade goods. The store was stocked with basic items ahead of time and everyone came with items to trade. The number of trades was unlimited and numerous side deals were cut outside the confines of the post.


Step 4

No party or end of fur trade season celebration would be complete without food. A warm soup made from local ingredients (trademark recipe of the JEB club, original made by Ivy, Cassandra & Jessica) was complemented by hot bannock. The baked beans with pork, "pemmican" (beef jerky) and creamed corn may have had a more authentic vibe but were less popular on this particular day. A beautiful wooden box contained a wonderful variety of nuts and dried fruits. There is little historical precedent for apple and rhubarb pie to finish it off but it was appreciated anyway!




Step 5

A creative mother & daughter team brought a guitar and music along and taught us several French songs. The voyageurs often used songs to keep rhythm for paddling and also to pass the time.

Socials & Science With Friends

Seasons

As today was the first day of fall we reviewed the position of the earth and how the angles mark the changing seasons. Ella, Vanessa and Leigha also completed a fall crossword puzzle.


Animals

Ella and Vanessa finished their project on beavers. They made a posters showing what kind of homes they live in, their life cycle, what they eat and what is unique about them.


Fur Trade

Ivy, Cassandra and Jessica did some research for our fur trade party next week. They looked at authentic foods and how we might adapt those to suit our current tastes. So far we're thinking about beef jerky, dried fruit and bannock. That may not be exactly authentic but it will be fun over a fire.

The girls decided what role they wanted to play and started to consider what they would wear. Using a measuring tape, ribbon and stakes they marked off the size of a northern canoe to get an idea what it would have been like (sneaky math...). The biggest challenge now is deciding what we will trade next week and how the system will work!

Last week the focus was on the First Peoples and what their lives looked like before contact.