Not a woolly bear but a ??(Week 35)

After such a warm winter we are now flush with caterpillars to study. But what kind are they? We've definitely got an abundance of tent caterpillars in our apple tree. Leif and Hannah and Ivy spent hours up in the tree trying to collect and remove them. But we've run across a caterpillar that I recognise from childhood, it must be a common BC bug, but we cannot find it in any books or websites. When we search for 'orange hairy caterpillar BC' we only get returns on the woolly bear caterpillar, which is not the one we're looking for. No, I did not remember to snap a picture of it to show you.

We are all about celebrating the arrival of Spring around here. We finally cleared off the table and are really working to keep it clear, and our motivation for this is our lovely spring table display, some found nests, my first knit and felted nest and a newly knit and felted bunny.



Inspired by this, Hannah made a sign for all of us to remind us of the celebratory feeling of a new season



(Throw off your coats it's springtime!) (with a drawing of Leif about to fall back into a lawn chair under an umbrella, Happy birds and Ivy floating through the sky.)

And what is Spring without May Day? The complementary celebration to Hallowe'en, May Day is a celebration to bless the coming growing season and celebrate all growth, from plants to baby animals. We have a homeschoolers May Day each year out in Saanich and this year was as lovely as always.



One part of May Day is the pocket lady, who has an apron full of pockets with little treasures inside. You reach in and get a surprise. This year I had such fun making these super-cute pinecone necklaces (based on these) for the pocket lady. I love the fat little pinecones with their crocheted tops!



Another new, spring-like thing that happened this week was this:





My darling fellow got a haircut (at mama's salon of course!). His long hair was beloved, but hard to take care of when you are forever losing the hair elastics you need for aikido and soccer (we're talking 3 elastics a week). We found a style that blended the familiar longer hair in the front with much easier-to-care-for short hair in the back and sides. It looks awesome!

His first appearance with his new do was at his first soccer game on his new team. He made a fantastic save as keeper on a corner kick, tipping it up and over the net with his fingers. The crowd cheered!

Leif's been challenged this week with the concept of disappointment. He learned of a local street hockey league that he'd LOVE to join, but it is impossible with his other classes to fit it in. And his team jersey for soccer most likely will not have his chosen number on the back. :( These are big things for him. But the upside is that over time, the disappointments do not seem so huge, and do feel manageable, which is exactly the lesson to learn from them. Sigh. Growing up can be a bitch at times.

I scored this brain teaser at a yard sale and Leif works on it a little each day.



Hannah is bursting with creative ideas these days (when is she not?). This resulted in a new necklace for me:



And one for Ivy:



And a simple lunch time meal was another avenue for Hannah to think outside the box. Who wants a boring old plate of veggies and tofu when you can make it a forest of intrigue and design?



Through some ingenious re-arranging on my part (I split our L sofa into 2 sofas. Not possible? I beg to differ!) Hannah's drum kit could get space front-and-center in the living room.



Now there is light and an audience, and Hannah (and others) are inspired to experiment on the drums throughout the day. Woohoo!

We've been soaking up the Sun whenever we can, and this includes 3D puzzles and boardgames on the finished front patio.



This T-Rex puzzle posed some challenges as it was bought used and so came without any instructions. I actually thought this was good, as we had to think about his body and relate the bones to our own bodies, and then group them by shape and size. Now that he's built, where oh where to put him?



This is Ivy's favorite game, Peter Rabbit's burrows and paths (think snakes and ladders), and it is challenging, both numerically and spatially. We play it any chance we get!

Happy May!!

Caelen

Time apart makes the heart grow (Week 34)

We had a lovely new experience this week. Kit had the camping bug on the weekend, and Leif's weekend was full of soccer meets, so we split up. Kit and Hannah went on a Gulf Island camping adventure, and I had a slumber party weekend with my two Capricorns. We got along famously. :)

First, Hannah's campsite pics:





She really liked being part of the whole scene: choosing a site, setting up the tent and chairs, cooking the meals. And the S'mores, both before bed and after EVERY meal. She's a Campfire Girl alright. They skipped rocks and checked out the forest, and just had a darned good time together those two!

Over here we did the soccer thing, the Thai take-out thing, and then headed out to Saanich to a fave walking spot, in Gowlland Tod Park.









I love this smokestack off in the forest. The park is the site of an old quarry, so there's bits of buildings here and there.



At home, Hannah became interested in a science kit we were given ages ago. It's a batteries-out-of-nature type of thing, and goes something like this:



It was a really tough concept to explain to her, but she liked doing the experiments, and we got all of them to work except the power-from-water one.

In other news, the second hand fairy has been kind to us this week. I scored 8 of these fantastic glasses at the thrift store. I LOVE them, so much that I've made an adults only rule about them, because I really, really don't want them to break.



And we scored a used games table with various surfaces to play on, and now they can play:





And I can craft:



And we can all be together in the same space. Nice.

Some great articles and links have come my way lately, and they're worth the time to read or watch.

One is about how children (and adults) should really learn math, by how they use math.

Another is a documentary I'd love to see called Race To Nowhere. It's incredible what we expect of our children, and how we see it as a reflection on ourselves.

Leif and Hannah were talking about who they would be in gov't (harper vs. Campbell based on their roles, not because they like either of them or not) and this lead to Leif wanting to give examples to Hannah of the different types of gov'ts there are in the world. This lead us to Wiki and my trying to explain how Canada's Constitutional Monarchy style differs from other similar Parliamentary styles. it was tricky, but I think we'll revisit it later in life. :)

We've had some great chats about gender this week. The kids have asked why is it so important to everybody, why is it only what's between your legs when you're born that makes such a difference? That it *should* be up to the person to choose which one they want to be (and i say yeah, but we're born already one or the other), which lead to Can you do or eat certain things to change your gender, and that lead us to people who are neither male nor female, and how we lack the necessary terms and acceptance for these other genders, that we still aim to put everyone in one of two boxes. Oh, how I love these out-of-nowhere chats.

I'll leave you with some funky, cool and kinda' haunting music that Hannah has created. She's taken tunes she knows how to play, but used different keys, not played the 'correct' notes, and thus created her own songs. See if you can pick out the 2 familiar tunes in this piece.



C

Yeah, we're polluters (Week 33)

We've been reading and talking about the environment this week, as part of an overall discussion for April about the earth and sustainability. I've found that so much of what we do to lessen our footprint is 'normal' to the kids that they do not actually *see it* as a conscious choice that we make. It's just what is done. That we only buy toilet paper made from recycled paper, that we use cloth napkins and dish towels, not paper products. We recycle anything we can, from the foam trays for take-out sushi to the little foil wrappers from their granola bars. We ride our bikes as much as we can, and combine errands in the car to drive as little as possible. We eat local, organic chicken and use bulk beans that need hours to cook.

Then a windstorm blew out our power early in the week, and guess what? Every single thing in our house is electric, right down to our smoker wood pellet BBQ. Our wood stove is an insert so you cannot use it to cook on or boil water. The firewood we have is too big for our stove, so we had no heat either. How green are we?

We watched a video this week on pollution, everything from factory and car pollution to noise pollution. And we read story books about fossil fuels and how we are both polluting the earth at the same time as we rely on a fuel source and a lifestyle that is unsustainable.

Then we plugged in our BBQ. When you first use it, for the first cook out of the season, you load in fresh wood pellets. And when you turn it on, it creates a massive amount of smoke.



We found it hilarious as usual, until Hannah asked "So we're polluters right?". Ugh. Yes, we are. And it sucks.


There's no easy segway from that, but I'll try. On the one hand I want us to live the life we preach. I also do not want to bury our children in guilt for a problem *they* didn't cause in the first place. I'm not making excuses or trying to shirk responsibility, but I think the real responsibility is to us adults, to model a conscious lifestyle, not just preach to them and ignore the struggles they face. It's about balance. And speaking of balance (did you see that segway coming?) . . .



Who couldn't feel at peace with some Yin Yang cupcakes? Hannah's fab creation this week with Grandma.

Other things we've been up to? A bunch of park days this week. Check out Hannah's determination:



And Leif's save:




And Ivy has her own park scene;




In other news, Leif has begun guitar lessons. Perhaps seeing him strumming at home will inspire Kit to pick up his guitar or banjo and strum along with his boy.

And both kids are still enjoying their science classes at Swan Lake. This week it was extreme environments and who lives in them.


C

He may not be able to grow a playoff beard yet . . (Week 32)

. . but he can still join in a playoff pool. Leif has put together his dream players for a little hockey pool with some adult friends. Here are his predictions:


Roberto Luongo (goalie)
Jonathan Toews
Wojtek Wolski
Alexander Ovechkin
Henrik Sedin
Daniel Sedin
Evgeni Malkin
Duncan Keith
Chris Pronger
Keith Yandle
Sergei Gonchar


Want to join him? Send us your list and we'll hang it beside ours, and track 'em all.

On our wee getaway last weekend, Leif and I headed off to Vancouver for the last Canucks game of the season. We had a grand adventure. Shona and Ryan opened their home to us, so we had a lovely place to rest after our days of roaming town on the transit system, which Leif wholly enjoyed. We hit up Science World and took in all the exhibits. Leif tried to power a laptop with his legs



and fit into a tiny box



and ski a course on a simulator. For a boy who's never skied in his life, it was tricky indeed.



We took in an Omnimax film while there, which was both amazing and scary-in-a-I'm-never-going-to-do-that kind of way. It was about finding organisms that live in extreme environments (extremophiles) so this involved caving in very hot and dry areas, and cave-diving in areas where freshwater meets salt water. It was crazy, and very cool.

The hockey game was great, and Leif bought himself a Canucks jersey with the last of his birthday/paper route leftovers. He really struggled with the unfairness that a plain jersey was $80 but a jersey with Luongo's name on it, the one he wanted, was $180. We talked about did he think Luongo's name was worth the added $100, and he felt it was so nasty to create such a huge gap in the pricing. And all this time we were passed by kid after kid in such $180 jerseys. It was really hard for me not to just give him the extra $100, but I had to remember how ludicrous such a price was in the first place. Credit cards can inspire really stupid ideas. In the end he was happy with his choice, and is debating having me paint Luongo's name on the back of his $80 jersey.

Once home, as he counted out his cash and lay it all in my palm (he was short $2, but I let that go) he and Hannah both suddenly asked "Can we get a paper route again?". Leif wanted his old route back, 64 papers and $40 a month, and Hannah asked for a smaller route, after Leif refused to share his route and earnings with her. On the one hand I was happy that they were willing to earn the money they sought. They've never simply asked for any, nor said 'other ids get allowance, birthday money, etc', they've aways accepted that this is how life works. You want some money, you need to go earn some. But the other part of me wilted at the thought of once again dragging Ivy and now 2 wagon loads of papers around the neighourhood twice a week, having the debris from the paper delivery all over the front yard, and just generally not wanting to o this gig again, never mind do it twice! So I talked it over with Kit, and we decided if they shared one route, we'd match their earnings by 50% each month. So less work, but still a decent pay (Leif would've earned $40 a month on his own, by our matching it, he'll do half his old route and earn $30, as we'll cough up $10 more). Plus, I said in 6 months we'll match whatever money they've saved so far. That got their attention, and both vowed to save, save, save. Time will tell. I'm just glad I got out of doing a second route!

Our other adventure in Vancouver was a stop at the aquarium. Leif captured many fish and beings on the camera, and we tried to re-create a great shot of him at 2 years old, in the aquarium in Maui, underneath a sting ray. This shot's close, and man has he grown!



One of the best moments? Getting his fave smoothie from Cafe De Soleil and perusing his newly bought (thanks mom!) Hockey News, which had the playoffs guide.



Hannah's been thinking about habitats this week. That was the topic at last week's science class at Swan Lake. So she took all her info and built her own (plastic) habitat, for her critters.



At the bottom is the baby habitat, complete with babysitter (for a gal who's never had one, what's up there?) and then a labyrinth of ladders leads you to the adults habitat, complete with pond and food supply.

During said nature science class, the kids were scooping up stuff from the lake, and Hannah caught a stickleback fish. Class mates had caught invasive fish, and they were fed to the turtle who lives in the classroom, but Hannah's fish got to join a few other stickleback's in the class aquarium. Proud moments my friend. (And yes we're leaning towards an aquarium at home).



Why a home aquarium? Because if you'll recall, our pond fish are all gone, and a fabulous tribute has been created by Hannah.





Hannah's piano playing has expanded for a new song this week. The theme song to Avonlea, and it sounds lovely!

Ivy has been getting her own quiet moments, watching her favorite video rental, (The Seasons of) Ludovic. it is the best movie for little ones, no whiney cartoons, but stop motion toys, with the main character Ludovic (a bear) having the sweetest, whispery voice and kind disposition. Look for it at your local indy video store.

And Ivy and I are learning all about waterfowl these days. While the older two are in the class at Swan Lake, we grab some bags of flatted oats and go feed the ducks.



Mallards, widgeons, wood ducks, white ringed ducks, plus some coots, cormorants and hissing Canada Geese. It is good times on the water.

At home, she's doing stuff like this:




Maybe I can dress her up as Sheena Easton for Hallowe'en? I doubt she's channeling Lillian Van Der Zalm here.


xoxo
C

I don't even know where to start . .(Week 31)

The kids were just up to SO much stuff this week, it feels overwhelming to try to tell you about it all. But I'll give it a go.

Hannah decided to tackle a 3D puzzle we were given this winter. It was a million tiny foam and paper pieces. She worked on it when she woke up each morning, while the rest of us slept. she employed some duct tape (atta' girl!) when things just would not stay put.



When it was finished, it was ready for an attack by the people of plastic.



It now sits atop her new dresser (yes, we finally have new furniture) and she gazes at it each night as she falls asleep. Love it.

As her brother had made up a quiz of his own (more below) Hannah got into it and made up her own soccer quiz. While it may be hard for you to read, I get it. Questions like "who is my favorite player on my team?" "What colour team do we usually play?".



In a fabulously new turn of events this week, I snuck off with Leif for a few nights, and Hannah and Ivy went to the cabin with Kit. While there Hannah hauled buckets of fire wood, built a math tool for me (more later on that) and built a humongous fire with Al. She was useful and capable, and loved every minute of it. Plus they roasted marshmellows. Yummers!

Leif's week was full of hockey. He befriended a boy down the street who plays street hockey too, and many 3 person games were had with he and Hannah. Hours of it!

Then he concocted the hockey quiz, which Hannah and I scored poorly on (but we did much better than Kit, ahem!).



We explored stats in hockey, and how an average can be calculated. While he 'got' the formula, the concept was too big and I failed to come up with a way to explain it. He wanted to figure out who was a better player, based on the stats in his magazines. So buddy A played for 2 years and scored 37 goals, and buddy B played for 11 years and scored 200+ goals. So I said divide each total by the # of years, and you'll get a yearly average, then you can compare them. Sure it works. But to explain why? Yeesh.

We spent some time looking at this book together. It shows how people around the world dress, play, live, pray, eat and believe. The kids were curious about practices that seemed foreign to them (body modification) and we talked about how what seems 'normal' for us can seem utterly odd in another context. How so many games around the world seem connected, seem to have similar roots. Leif was interested in the ranking systems (of such things as religious groups (diocese, pope, monsignor) and the Navy (seaman, lieutenant) and class systems in some cultures.


Leif's houseplant got a much-needed re-potting, though I did it, and I am the one who remembers to water it. That's alright though. I am the one who chose to give him a plant, so helping take care of it is my own thing. It is striking in it's shiny black pot no?




The other plants I gave the girls got a needed re-potting as well, and were added to our spring nature table. Don't you love the little pine cone bees?



I played some fabulous MIA tunes and it inspired these great costumes and a musical show. LOVE it!









We put together a terrarium this week, using a bit of Ivy's spring ivy plant, plus some found rocks, baby tears, sticks and gems, in an antique terrarium thingy I've held onto for years for exactly this moment. Let's hope we don't kill it.



And speaking of things I've meant to do for years, I finally gave up my ideas of sewing this, or quilting it, or embroidering it, and just bloody painted it quick. It's a wheel of the year, showing how the seasons fit together and where the solstices and equinoxes are, and what we look forward to in each one (strawberries in June, corn on the cob in August). It's crudely simple, but at least it finally got made!



And Ivy? Well, she's outside most days, in her new (to us) wool english coat, a gift from our dear friend who has held onto it for ages. She plays hockey in it, rides her bike in it, and in this shot, maintaines her worm farm in it (a hole I dug in the path garden while I weeded the other side). I love the pairing of the tartan wool coat with the yellow zebra gardening gloves.



Hope you've managed to get outside and enjoy the sunny weather.

C

What, are you yella'? (Week 30)

Yellow belt that is. Yes, much pride is afoot in our house. Leif and Hannah's dojo had it's seasonal gassuku (aikido training intensive and belt challenge) this week. They spend about 4 hours together, learning new moves, practicing old ones, playing outside and in. Then they test for the next level. Hannah has a yellow stripe on her belt tip now, which signifies that she has attended the gassuku, and is working on her yellow belt. Leif passed his belt test and now is a yellow belt. They are both very proud of themselves. We are too!



Also this week they both had their soccer tourney that marks the end of soccer season (why on earth we have soccer in the winter, while the rest of the country has it in the spring, I'll never understand). They got little trophies with their names on them, and they now adorn our simple springtime mantle.



We've had this website on often this week. It is an owl-cam in an owl nesting box up in a tree, in california. We watched the owl eat some so of meal, we guess a squirrel, and we saw one owlet and three eggs as-yet unhatched. Pretty dang cool huh?

We have also all been having a lot of fun with this way cool music site. You click on the little squares and it creates tones in a repeating rhythm. Then you can alter it, unclick some, add some others . . . even Ivy's grooving on it. It's provided hours of creative musical output for all of us.

Speaking of winding things up, the drop-in ice hockey sessions stopped this week as well. It is so cool to see how far they both have come since November. They are quick and confident, and fall with smiles and without getting discouraged. Too bad the rink will now sit empty all summer.

We've gotten back to reading our Ramona Quimby novel. The kids really like hearing about the hijinks of Ramona as told from the perspective of her older sister Beezus. I remember reading all her books as a kid, and look forward to sharing all of them with the kids over the coming months.

We came up with a great April Fools Day prank this year. Since we're renovating our bathroom, and we have all the fixtures piled up in the yard (pretty huh?) we decided to go set up an outdoor toilet in Kit's business parter's back yard. We took the toilet, some TP, the plunger and a magazine, and it was waiting for him when he came home from work. Nice huh?



Sadly, we end on a grim note. This week, late one night, a ravenous raccoon gobbled up all of our pond goldfish. We found severed bodies and guts all over the property. We're working on a fiting remembrance ceremony. I'll keep you posted. Poor fishies.

C