Winter Family Fun Day

Sliding down the hill to the soccer field. The kids were really happy to finally get a chance to do some real sledding this winter. It's much more fun at camp than down the little ramp they've made from the top of our deck in the backyard!

Snow angels on the pond.

The pond on Friday, before being partially cleared for skating on Saturday.

The campfire hill was a hit with the older kids. It's steeper and longer, giving an exciting ride. Of course, that means the walk back up the hill is that much more challenging, too.

I only went partially down the campfire hill to sit in a convenient little spot while taking photos of the kids coming down the hill. It was snug there!

Skating on the pond. There was a path shovelled all the way around the edge of the pond that the pleasure skaters used.

The shallow end had been cleared off and the hockey players had a great time. They had even spray-painted a blue maple leaf on the ice! There were lots of spectators sitting on the benches watching the game.

We had a great turnout for Saturday. People enjoyed sledding, skating, snowshoeing and hiking through the trails. In between those activities they chatted and watched others playing. It was a beautiful day, not too windy or cold. Just right for a fun day! Mid-afternoon is when most people headed to the dining hall for a bite to eat. Hot chocolate and cider were provided and whatever food people brought was shared. There was a brilliant fire going and a slideshow of last year's day camp photos playing to a beautiful CD of praise music.

We were all completely wiped out when we got home. This is pretty much how we spent the evening. Matthew was on the other couch across from us, but the photo of him was blurred. The kids just watched a movie. I slept.

Ready for Christmas

Busy Weekend!

Last week was spent getting things ready for a houseful of guests visiting for the Christmas parade Friday evening. The boys were very helpful in getting tidying, cleaning and baking done without too much protest. Wednesday was such a gorgeous day we were able to get decorations for our parade float painted outside in the yard (we have a large patch of silver grass now!) and most of the rest of the bits and pieces were staged in our basement, ready to be put on the truck and trailer Friday afternoon.

Two of Adrian's sisters and their families joined us for the parade this year, along with G&K of course, C&C and their girls (who stayed overnight at house), D (who regularly helps with outreach work here), C and two of his boys (who have recently moved to Canada from England), and after the parade our friends J&B and their kids joined everyone for hot chocolate and treats.

Our float was full this year and it looked so pretty all lit up! That's one of the things we like about our town's parade - that it's held at night and all the floats are so beautifully lit! I love that when we drive by people stop to read the verses on the sides of the trailer. No doubt that we represent a Christian camp! Andrew was thrilled to walk/run alongside the float handing out candy canes with some of the adults. I rode in the truck with G&K. We had to walk from our house to where they were staging the floats and I knew I wouldn't be able to walk/run all the way back, too (ongoing health issues I'll get around to posting about sometime).

Saturday morning four families headed out to a local tree farm to cut down our Christmas trees. We had a great time! Adrian got the tree situated in the stand when we got home and that evening the kid and I decorated it. I love the smell of a real Christmas tree.

The house is mostly back in order now. We still need to put away some of the parade decorations, but that won't take long.

Sunday morning Nicholas and I went to church. I was going to take all three boys with me to give Adrian some peace and quiet to study in (he has another exam this Friday), but Matthew and Andrew have come down with colds so they stayed home. There was a Christmas lunch at the hall after services which was combined with a 90th birthday celebration for one of the men. Nicholas and his friend, J, who are the two youngest members of our church presented the cake. It was a wonderful lunch! Nicholas slept most of the way home and I had a short snooze on the couch when we got home. Early to bed last night for everyone!

Now on to a busy week!

Fall Review

I've been really pleased by the efforts the kids have been putting into their lessons this fall. Not that there haven't been moments of grumbling and days of complete apathy regarding certain areas - there have been plenty of those days! Overall, though, their efforts have been really good. We sit down together every now and then and evaluate what we're doing: what we like and don't like, what we'd like to be doing, what needs changing, etc. They really pack a lot into each week!

Below is a list of what they are each regularly working on right now.

Math:
Andrew - Life of Fred, Beginning Algebra - he's nearly 3/4 of the way through this book, using the Home Companion as a guideline. He took a lengthy break from math in the spring and summer so isn't quite where he had anticipated he'd be right now, but is determined to finish the book before Christmas.

Nicholas is working on Singapore Math 5A again. He was using this text last year, but ran into some serious confidence-killing problems with fractions so we switched gears part-way into the book and concentrated on fractions and times tables for the rest of the year. He's half-way through 5A and should be finished by Christmas. He has gone through the fractions section with no trouble and is asking me why he ever thought this was so difficult before! I still have to remind myself that his learning style is different than Andrew's. Andrew intuitively gets math. Nicholas needs to do each and every step along the way and frequently second-guesses himself. We've found that he shuts down and doesn't take anything in when he reaches a wall-moment and that it is best to let it go for a day or two and try again. He tends to be more of a plateau-style of learner. He plods along at the same level for ages it seems, then suddenly makes this huge leap and is at the next level. This carries over to some other areas, not just math.

Matthew has been working on a grade 3 level activity book that has math, reading, spelling, geography and some science in it. He picks away at it now and then, though it has been on the shelf for a few weeks now. We've been talking about getting out the Miquon Math books again and filling in the areas he skipped before.

Typing - We're using Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing - Adrian had to pick it up for his course and the kids decided to learn to touch-type with him. Andrew is almost finished the Intermediate level and has a typing rate of about 15-18 wpm. Nicholas just started the Intermediate level and has a typing rate of about 9-11 wpm. Matthew mostly plays the typing games on this and hasn't spent as much time on the lessons. He's not as motivated to learn to touch-type as the others are.

Spelling:
All three boys have completed Level 1 of All About Spelling and we're a quarter of the way through Level 2. I started them all at the same time and usually do the lessons with Andrew and Nicholas together since Matthew needs a bit more hands on time for it. This is the first year we've used an actual spelling program and I like the way it is set up. Very easy for me to teach the lessons and review is only as necessary, so no busywork. The kids like the program, too.

Writing:
Andrew and Nicholas are doing a 15-week writing course titled Student Writing Structure & Style. Typically they watch a portion of a DVD then work on the assignments. There are four assignments each week, but they usually combine one of the days and work on writing only three days. One thing I like about this program is that it encourages writers to choose words other than 'said' or 'went' to make their work more varied and interesting to a reader. The boys are keen to get to their writing each week.

Matthew's writing has consisted of writing short letters to his cousins, some comics and ideas for games.

History:
We are re-reading The Story of the World Volume 2: The Middle Ages. We're using it as a discussion-starter mostly and for anything they want to find out more about we order books from the library. All three boys like listening to the short chapters in this book and will ask for me to continue reading!

Reading:
Of course, the kids all read huge amounts on their own, but they still enjoy our read-aloud times. We spend hours each week reading together. Right now we're enjoying The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle.

Bible Study/Devotions:
Andrew and Nicholas are working on a study surrounding the Christmas story. It is called Preparing My Heart For Advent, one that I did last fall and had planned to share with my women's study group this year. We haven't gone back to meeting together yet (totally my fault for not being prepared this fall) so I decided to do the study with the boys instead. They are enjoying checking timelines and thinking more about the characters in the Christmas story.

Before bed we read a devotion together that Matthew can share in. The study is a little more advanced than he'd be willing to get into right now, but the devotions are perfect for including him. There have been many nights where the devotion has led to a fantastic discussion - and a much, much later bedtime!

Fitness:
All three boys take Tae Kwon Do three times a week, which gives them a terrific workout, but beyond that they spend hours each week in the basement or outside working out.

Other Stuff:
On top of their regular studies, the kids dabble in a bunch of other areas, though not through a set program at the moment. They spend time with geography, biology, cooking, drawing/sketching and piano each week and we're hoping to add a regular theatre class in the new year. And they still have hours and hours of free play inside and outside! Yes, homeschooling is still working for us!

Silly Dog!

Panda figures that any blankets or pillows or coats, for that matter, that get left on the floor are there specifically for her comfort. The photos of her sitting on the steps were taken when she was really, really hoping Andrew was going to share some pizza with her.

Green Belt Test

At the end of October the boys did their green belt test for Tae Kwon Do. It was the largest group for testing I have seen! There were 26 students ranging in age from 6 to don't ask (some adults!) and that's not including the 4&5 year olds who tested before this group.

The kids did really well. They were nervous in the days leading up to testing, especially about the board breaking because they hadn't been given much opportunity to practice before the test, but they each managed to make it look easy! The videos for each of them are below. They were pleased to receive their green belts the next week as that was the goal they had set for themselves last winter - to be at the green belt level by the end of this year.

Matthew is in recovery mode at the moment due to landing a kick wrong at last Saturday's sport class. His big toe is still somewhat swollen and has turned from black and blue to yellow and green. He can walk and isn't in a lot of pain, but we've asked him to try to keep that foot on the ground for now. Easier said than done! He is so active that he found it hard even that first day keeping his foot elevated and iced. I've caught him a few times throwing kicks and jumping around. I think he'll survive!

Huge Snowflakes

When I put Panda outside about an hour ago the deck was coated with slush and it was lightly raining. Now, there are huge snowflakes falling and they are actually coating the ground. The kids are excited, don't let Matthew's grimace fool you! They are anticipating a snowman-making adventure today.

Normally, that grimace would be mine, but there are two things working in the snow's favour today:

First, they are my favourite kind of snowflake. Huge. Fluffy.

Second, it's not October, it's November so I can deal with snow now.

Hallowe'en 2009

Nicholas is dressed as a warlord, Matthew as a ninja and Andrew as Sasuke, a character from a ninja comic. They each designed their pumpkins; Andrew and Nicholas also carved theirs. Matthew's is the one at the bottom, losing its lunch. The costumes had to be modified to fit winter jackets and extra pants. It was cold out!!! They went around the block and were quite happy to come home and watch a movie while sorting through their junk. We didn't see many kids on our street and only had perhaps ten to our door. We didn't see as many as usual on the next behind us, either.

Busy Boys!

Last week we took a trip to a fabric store about 45 minutes away from us. I took all three boys with me to give Adrian a few hours to study in peace. While at the store picking out fabrics for costumes they found fleece that they decided they 'had to have' because they each wanted to make their own knotted fleece blankets. I've made several of these as gifts and Adrian even made me one of my own as a Christmas gift one year. They are really easy to make and so warm to snuggle under!

I had made pillows for the kids a couple of years ago and they've been checking for matching fleece any time we've been to the fabric store. Andrew found a matching one, but the others chose different fabrics that they liked. They weren't concerned about matching to the pillows.

I did the cutting and the kids did all the knotting. It was an easy knot for them - it's the same one they tie their Tae Kwon Do belts with. Of course, Panda didn't make it an easy task since she seemed to feel that the material on the floor was there specifically for her benefit. We had to keep shifting her to the centre or off the material completely in order to work. The boys did such a good job on these blankets and they were so pleased because they had done it themselves.

Raking Leaves

Matthew loves to rake leaves. He would be out there every day doing it if he could. I've convinced him that windy days are just not worth the time and effort; after all, the leaves blow right back on the lawn and it looks like you've done nothing! We don't rake the backyard. It's too big for one thing and we'd rather just mulch them with the lawnmower. Our front lawn, however, gets buried in leaves from all the large trees around so it makes more sense to rake most of them to the curb where they are picked up by the county.

Matthew does a good job and he comes cheap! When asked, he told a neighbour (it's their lawn he's raking in the photo) he only charges a dollar. Actually, he doesn't charge a thing.

Dog Tired

Panda and Jasmine were worn out from playing with each other on the weekend. Jasmine is my parents' dog and she and Panda love to play together. They are both Giant Schnauzers, but Panda was recently clipped so she doesn't look like a bear cub anymore. It was very cute to see Jasmine flop down beside Panda and rest her head on Panda's chest!

Scenes from the Countryside

I took these photos throughout the summer and early fall, mostly on drives to and from camp. We live in such a beautiful area! I love driving through the countryside and seeing all the colourful fields. There are many different crops grown in the area and it's neat seeing the colour changes in the fields from early spring through to each harvest.