New Art Materials

Yesterday I went to our favourite art store looking for watercolour crayons. No matter what the age, I believe that children should be using the real deal and I also needed something that we could take on hikes. The sales people at this store are fantastic and know their stuff. I mean, they REALLY know it! Anyhow, they recommended this product:



These are watersoluble wax pastels. You can buy them individually at $1.95 each or in metal cases of 10, 15, etc... They are not inexpensive but I'm hoping they'll have some longevity. They can be used in numerous ways (see company's website) but we bought them for the following uses:

1) Take wet watercolour paper and draw on top with the crayons

2) Draw on dry watercolour paper and use a wet brush to create your desired effect

3) Use a wet brush and take colour right from the crayon in the box (similar to painting technique)

4) As facepaints - they're non-toxic (although I don't see this written on the box)

Anyhow, thought I'd share my find and I'm sure that I'll be posting some of our artistic results in the future.

Interesting Video Interview

A friend linked to this blog and on it is an interesting video post. Check this out.

Algonquin Park

We just spent a week in Algonquin camping. It was a week filled with adventure, challenges and new experiences. We enjoyed...

...a trip to the Algonquin gallery

...some painting on canvas, experimenting with watercolours and of course tie-dying

....many, many, bike rides through the forest

...the challenges of starting a fire with wet wood (and no stove...long story)

...a hike on the Lookout Trail

...a view that took my breath away and caused me to squeeze the life out of my children's hands



...interesting attire

...learning a new skill and enjoying new found freedom

...visiting with good friends


...dancing in the woods

...and sleep after a long hard day!

Not-Back-To-School Blog Hop - Curriculum Week

Every summer I dread Aug. 1st. August signals the start of school for me. As a teacher I relax for July and then do my planning and classroom preparation in August. Now that I'm part time my planning is not nearly what it once was but I am preparing for three subjects, one of which is new. As a homeschooling mom I'm so excited about the new year. We're trying new things, and have a brand new crazy schedule ahead. Up until now I've never been completely sure about which homeschooling style suits me. I've spent a great deal of time planning out our year. As you'll see it's more structured than not. This is because I work two days a week (with 5 people helping me with childcare) and if I want to get anything accomplished I need to have a game plan.

Printing:

- copywork (passages taken from Story of the World, jokes, books we're reading)

Reading & Writing:

Resources:
Explode the Code 3x/wk
Progressive Phonics (I really like the simplicity of these online books. They can be printed or read on-line. The books focus on one sound at a time. Subsequent books build on previous knowledge). Thanks Karen.
First Language Lessons for Grade 1 (Mason only) 2x/wk
Learn to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Mickey only) 2x/wk
Spelling Power 3x/wk
Spelling City (great website for practicing words of the week).
Reading Response Forms Grades 1-3 - occasionally

Math:

- finish Math 1 with Mason and start on Math 2. These are from Bob Jones Press. Daily
- Math 1 with Mickey
Side note: I love that the Bob Jones math books are so colourful. It makes a difference. In my opinion if a grade 1 math program requires a teacher's manual then there's a serious problem. It should be straight forward. With my grade 8s I cover Number Sense and Numeration each term and then one of the other strands. Each additional strand must be covered in two terms. Ideally there shouldn't be huge gaps of time between math subjects. While doing number sense and numeration you should also be covering some geometry, measurement or data management. Mixing it up also makes it more interesting for your child.
- clock unit from Currclick
- math games and math manipulatives
- supplement with Miquon for both. Miquon isn't thorough enough to use exclusively.

The Arts:

- Mickey just completed a summer camp in dance, story telling, art and music
- for Music we'll focus on one genre per month (classical, opera, folk, jazz, blues, pop, rock etc...)
- Art - we're doing Artistic Pursuits with a friend and I'll be expanding on the program in the book. We're doing one lesson per week. I'm trying to tie the activities into what we're doing in history or our nature study.
- Drama - we're hoping to take the drama classes again. The kids loved them last year.

History:

- Story Of The World - volume 1 - 2x/wk
- Pioneers
- Family Tree - this will cover some family history, interviewing skills, writing & recording, & math (graphing similarities, comparisons, etc...)

Geography:

- Canada study with friends
- geographical features
- map and globe reading
- Japan (for yearly Around The World Expo)
- as mentioned in SOTW
- study of Scotland with Grannie
- Standard Deviants DVD - World Geography

Science:

We're going to get a membership to the Ontario Science Centre and plan a visit to Science North in August. We will enjoy these centres and will follow up on any specific interests that come up during visits. We'll also explore animals in more depth, mechanisms (levers, pulleys, wheel & axels, etc...), magnets, weather and possibly astronomy (thanks to our new Galileoscope).
- a watercolour nature journal will be started.

Language Study:

German - I'm crossing my fingers that Daddy will teach the kids some basic phrases and words (counting, colours, etc...)
Japanese - Mason has shown an interest in Japanese (from exposure in an Aikido class). We're going to learn the words (50-100) he'll be hearing in class.
Sign Language - hoping to do this with some friends

Mickey's Extracurricular Activities:
- gymnastics - 3 hrs 2x/wk
- swimming (maybe)

Mason's Extracurricular Activities:
- piano lessons (1/2 hr once a week)
- Aikido (once or twice a week)
- Indoor soccer (winter)
- swimming (maybe)


As you can see we're following a variety of methods. A bit of Classical Homeschooling for Language Arts and History, some Charlotte Mason for science and geography, Ontario Curriculum and unit studies for math and unschooling for music, some math and science.

Day 4 in Morrisburg

On the way home we stopped in at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg. It's about an hour from Ottawa, east of the 416 on the St. Lawrence. We spent most of the day there as there was plenty to do. Highlights included the boat ride towed by a horse, the school house filled with pioneer children, the Family Centre, the bakery, carriage ride, and a romp through the farm chasing and being chased by 6 squealing and playful piglets. Us moms were sure that we would have sleeping children for a good portion of the ride home but no such luck!

Day 3 in Ottawa

Our day started when we picked up our friends. We went to Parliament Hill and watched the changing of the guard. We then proceeded to the Parliament buildings for a tour. If I were to do this again I would probably book a private tour. This tour was very "adult" but the kids did well.



Next we went to the Museum of Civilization. This was our second or third visit. We spent most of our time in the Children's Museum but did manage a quick walk through of Canada Hall. On our next visit we will leave the Children's Museum until the end. Once the kids are there they don't want to leave. The wonderful thing about Ottawa is that most attractions are reasonably priced. At the Gallery, the kids were free. Some of the highlights at the Children's Museum were the ship (of course), the house under construction, the theatre, pyramid, and the special exhibit (until Sept.) on Architecture.





After 5 hours at the Museum the gang was ready for dinner. We met more friends at the Market for a dinner at Zak's. Fantastic day.

Day 2 in Ottawa

Day 2 was spent visiting friends and checking out their new digs. At night we had our girl's dinner out. Thanks Brad. Why do I always forget my camera?