A DINOmite trip to the ROM!

We took the kids to the ROM yesterday for the first time and actually it was our first visit to Toronto with the kids in quite some time. It was quite an experience and we had two very sleepy little ones on the way home.

We parked at Yorkdale and took the subway down to Museum. I'm sure that this was the highlight for Mason. We saw the dinosaur exhibit and I was surprised at how taken both kids were. Mason knew way more than I expected about dinosaurs and asked a number of poignant questions.

After the dinosaurs we went to the Discovery Kids room where they were able to play with puzzles, dig for bones, dress in period costumes, etc... Next time we'll spend more time here. There were a number of exhibits on animals, reptiles, birds and Canadiana. This of course caught the kid's attention and was quite child friendly. They especially enjoyed crawling through the fox hole!

Before we left, we took a walk through the Egypt exhibit. This was somewhat suitable for children as well. All in all it was a wonderful learning day. We didn't have a focus but picked up numerous facts on a variety of topics. Next time we might go with a theme to study.

On the way home we met a very nice older gentleman on the subway who was quite taken with Mason. He snuck him $2 before he left!

Story Writing with Friends

We were at a friend's house today for a co-op session on story writing. We had a great time. She covered a lot in a short time and the kids were fantastic considering the content. It reinforced why we are homeschooling.

Happy Birthday Mickey!

Since Mickey's birthday was so close to Christmas we we held off on celebrating it until a few weeks after the holidays. Last weekend we went down to the Americana Hotel in Niagara Falls for two nights and had a blast. The kids loved it and wore themselves out! For a special birthday lunch we went to the Rainforest Cafe on Clifton Hill. Very special lunch for the birthday girl.

Hibernation, Adaptation, and Migration

On December 10th I was the teacher of the day for our homeschool co-op. My subject was winter and I chose to focus on hibernation, adaptation and migration. The kids arrived to a tent set up in our family room. They dove into the tent with their blankets and teddies and we settled in for a story and discussion about hibernation. We covered the three topics well and even managed to tie syllables. For our table time each child designed their own cave out of plastercine. This is Mason's. He even included a bear. Loved it!

Our Social Atom

On Monday we were at Tressa's house learning about communities. We discussed business and services in our community and the people who help us. We created our our community by cutting and pasting buildings and vehicles onto streets that we had already drawn. After snack time we discussed people in our lives who make up our social network. We created a social atom.

Trip to Hillsburgh Fire Station

It was Joanna's turn to teach our group today and our theme was community workers. We started off with a trip to the fire station in Hillsburgh run by volunteer fire fighters. They did a great job of presenting the information. Taught the children about dialing 911, emergency escape routes, how to be saved and all about the fire equipment. After our trip we went back to Joanna's house for free play and lunch and ended with a craft which will be given as a thank you to the fire fighters.

Busy day today. Mickey had preschool in the morning. She's potty trained. Yippee!! Did it all on her own! Mason had music class today. He loves music. I must continue this interest. After we picked Mickey up we met some friends at the Children's Museum which is part of the Civic Museum. What a great set-up they have. Us moms were able to sit and chat while the kids explored. Lots of neat stations, including; a kitchen, digging for bones, bird's nest, etc... Two and a half hours later I fianlly peeled two very tired children away. Great day!