Secret Forts!

Our family has just purchased some property and we're planning on building a house there sometime in the next couple of years.  Matt & Bekah have already planned out their secret fort (with just a couple of spelling issues)!

Science World

Taking the skytrain downtown.

How high can we jump?!!!!

How hard can I squeeze?

An easy fit.

A tight fit!

Fast & Furious

Making some LOUD music.

Finishing off the day with some building

and a smile!



Shopping

Bekah and a friend braved the mall this week armed with numerous gift cards (some from several birthdays ago!).  I never knew one could spend almost an hour in Claire's (an accessories store) but I found out it is possible - especially when you are trying to stick to your budget ("Mommy, what is the tax if I have a hat that costs $12 and a necklace that costs $7?").  Yippee for mental math! 

Bekah leaned over to me right before going up to pay and whispered, "Mommy, I really don't like paying tax!"  I confessed that I don't either. 

Organizing their money and receipts after several purchases.  "It is good to keep the receipt to make sure that the store doesn't cheat you!"  She didn't learn that from me.

Sarah patiently waiting while the girls shop!

Isaiah 58:6-11 by Bekah

Here is Bekah (looking a bit pale!) with her latest version ....

Isaiah 58:6-10 by Matt

When I told Matt it was time to record his latest version of Isaiah 58 he announced to me that he had already recorded it :-)  It is definately a "boy version" (complete with lots of motion and walking around).  Enjoy!

Wildwoodville 2012

The kids just completed their 6-week Wildwoodville adventure where they were part of a group of kids who ran their own town complete with cinema, bank, store, bakery, cablevision company, art studio and newspaper. The town elected a mayor and then each week the citizens participated in town meetings and ran their respective businesses (including receiving loans from the bank and then repaying the loans at the end of each business day). 

For the second year in a row, Bekah was the proud baker for the town

and Matt was the enthusiastic owner-operator of the town's cinema (here he is victoriously holding up some of his earnings from the day and sucking on a lollipop he just purchased from the store).

On the last day the citizens celebrated with face painting and a town parade!

History Comes Alive!

I love it when I walk into one of the bedrooms and find something like this (an intricate castle from Medieval times complete with knights!).

Properties of Light

After conducting an experiment to see what happens when light strikes different objects (opaque, translucent, and transparent) everyone chose the most transparent material for lenses and made binoculars or telescopes.

Boxcar Child?!!

Matt has been reading "Boxcar Children" and decided to make his own boxcar.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a refrigerator box so he had to make do with a "mini" version (he didn't seem to mind).

First Nations Unit Study

We are nearing the end of Donna Ward's "Canada's Natives Long Ago" unit study (fabulous resource for learning about the First Nations in Canada) and we are eagerly continuing to prepare for our year end potlatch.  This week we learned about the Natives of the Plains and made headresses (for groups like the Cree, warriors who were brave in battle or hunting were awarded a coup feather to be worn with pride in their headresses).

All the Colours of the Rainbow

As part of our science unit on light we have begun diving into the world of colour.  This week's challenge was to create 100 different colours using only red, blue and yellow paint (they were allowed to wipe their brushes with a paper towel but no rinsing with water). 

Predictably, everyone attacked this challenge in different ways:

Dane was very methodical and carefully explored his colours on the paper towel before to committing to them on his paper.

Bekah did her colour mixing directly on her final paper

but gradually used less paint on each square.

Levi did a dry-run on his paper towel first (mixing the colours in a square shape) and then did an exact replica on his final paper.

Matt went for lots of colour on his paper towel and final paper.

And, Sarah, she just went for it!

Ancient Rome

Bekah, Matt, Dane and Levi began their journey back in time to Ancient Rome yesterday at Wildwood.  For the next six weeks they will learn how people lived, ate, fought and learned in Ancient Rome.

Proud bearers of their "Standards" - did you know that during battle the standard of a fallen soldier couldn't fall to the ground with him so those around him had to catch it quickly?

Today I have been hearing random thoughts on Rome ....

"Mommy, did you know that Romans developed pipes for carrying water but they were made out of lead so it poisoned the water?"  They then dragged out one of our history books to show me a picture of an aqueduct.

"Hey, Mommy!  Did you know the Romans had the first shopping mall?"

I'm sure there will be many more interesting tidbits of information during the next few weeks.  Stay tuned!

What We Are Listening to Right Now

I was looking for my kids this morning to start school and found them cuddled up in sleeping bags listening to "Dewey the Library Cat" (I haven't had the heart to interrupt them yet!).  This is the delightful, true tail ("tale"!) of the small kitten who became the permanent resident at the Spencer, Iowa's library after being abandoned in the book-slot one cold, winter night.  Definately worth reading (or listening to).