September is OVER!! Where on earth did it go?? We've been busy with new schedules, habits, and expectations for this year. Had a visit from my folks (miss you already Nana & Poppa!) which was so very nice ~ morning coffee with them, they'd help taxi the kids, and even cook meals for us! I was definitely spoiled and miss the grandparents around for the day-to-day-nitty-gritty stuff! They reminded Trev of what his Grandma Olive was like when he grew up ~ always her presence in their childhood home. 💝Family💝 In addition to gifts for the classroom they brought, my mom even helped cut & glue the calendar dates for the month of September! It really is the little things that make my heart smile ~ thanks, mom!
First off, I'll start with the Terry Fox Run as it coincides with Greta's 9th birthday!
Greta had gone hunting and left me to task preparing and distributing invitations. Her requests were simple enough. Sleepover. Wonder Woman Cake. And a movie, a cartoon, at the theatre.
Well, we began with a sleepover and made homemade pizzas from all kinds of goodies on english muffins ~ a trick my mom taught me when I was a little girl.
Then the girls watched Wonder Woman as they turned my living room into a cozy place to slumber. In the morning, I made waffles with berries and whisked the girls off to the theatre for a 10:00 a.m. birthday party!
We were set to watch Disney's ~The Lion King~. The kids lined up for popcorn and a drink from the concession ~ we had the whole theatre to ourselves!
We were set to watch Disney's ~The Lion King~. The kids lined up for popcorn and a drink from the concession ~ we had the whole theatre to ourselves!
Spencer Bell (of the Phoenix Theatre) kindly put the movie on for the girls and we had 90min of Disney magic! Most hadn't seen that classic ~ it was a good choice!
After the movie, presents and cake! Lindsey Cooper made Greta's beautiful Wonder Woman cake! Vegan t'boot!
At 1:00 p.m. we left the theatre to head over to the Credit Union for the Terry Fox Run. This isn't the first year Greta's birthday party was taken to Terry's cause. And it happens to be the 2nd time Nana & Poppa joined us! We raised about $200 of the $800. We even made the front page of the Fort Nelson News with Connor cutting the start ribbon!
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| Greta's birthday party team 💝 |
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| They start off from The Credit Union 5k and a 10k |
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| Front page of the Fort Nelson News 👀 |
I should enter here a few work samples so I'll add Ellar & Astrid's Math. Ellar is working from Singapore Math G2 and Astrid, Jump Math 1.1. They both work independently on this first Unit. It's simple review.
And Ellar's...
We use Power of Ten as well as Base 10 and other math manipulative to help the kids' understanding of numbers. They are finding their grade levels more than comfortable. In October, we will be including Mathletics and Reflex Math which they both enjoy very much! We try to strive for the Daily 5 in math as well as Reading. (1) Math by myself (2) Math with someone (3) Math technology (4) Math games/number strategy (5) Math with teacher
Taekwondo/Hapkido!!
Expect to see a lot more posts about Taekwondo!! Ellar's been waiting for years for it to work ~ Fridays are tough in this household as it's Daddy's 1st night off. But Ellar is old enough to join level 1 group Mondays & Wednesdays!! Because he also LOVES hockey (it's his middle name, he says!) which is also Mon/Wed/Sat...he will do TKD once a week on Mondays and hockey Wed/Sat.
As I mentioned in last 2-week blog, I was privileged with helping to coach the Homeschool kids Basketball and Volleyball. These last 2 week of September we focused on Volleyball. Brought me back to High School Volleyball and the UofC! I taught them about the proper way to forearm pass (of course there were still bruised thumb knuckles!!), underhand serve, and setting. Just simple rules like you cannot hit the ball twice in a row ~ only 3 players can hit the ball before it HAS to go over the net ~ 6 players on either side and how to rotate when he serve is lost/point made, etc etc. There's FAR too much to teach in just 2 hours! But the kids had a lot of fun, I believe.
Connor & Greta started a new novel study, Sugar, by Jewell Parker Rhodes ~ A tale of a strong, spirited young girl who rises beyond her circumstances and inspires others to work toward a brighter future ~ she's living along the banks of the Mississippi River after Emancipation and still picks cotton for her living, although she's no longer a slave. She's an orphan, however.
I will be blogging the end of this study the first 2 weeks of October. The kids do a lot of writing, journals, creative writing, and they will be starting Easy Grammar in October. They do like Explode the Code for how easy it is to work independently after a simple lesson. Astrid is on 1, Ellar 2, Connor 7, and Greta 4.
Astrid lost her first 2 teeth! About a month apart...and the first person she wanted to tell was her Kindergarten teacher, Mr. Gough. So, she wrote him a postcard and mailed it to him.
Autumn Art & Colourful Play
After collecting a bag full of various leaves, the kids started with their favourite which is the shading collage using the leaf backs underneath the paper. Then, with the help of pinterest, I asked them to find a leaf, paste in onto a white paper, and draw an animal from it. Astrid drew a bird, Ellar drew a butterfly (symmetrical!!), Greta drew an elephant, and Connor a panda bear!
Examples of Connor's 1st week assignments I thought I'd keep in case I didn't have a lot for these last 2 weeks...I won't do that again! I've got SO MUCH to report! So here are Connor's "I can..." and "Words of Wisdom" for his teachers. Following that, are his and Greta's S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timed) Think sheets about their grades as well as one subject. The kids amaze me with their thoughtfulness.
Connor and Greta are both following Singapore Math as well as Montessori curriculum (of course). Connor's work examples are in the green and Greta's, pink. These blogs serve as a means to communicate with their teachers in Vanderhoof ~ so that's why I include work samples 👌 
RECYCLING
The kids will be doing, as always, the recycling in our house. Once a month, we take what we've sorted at home to our local waste & recycle depot, Widesky. The kids know what goes where ~ it's nice they're becoming independent and work together as a team. We try to recycle, reduce, reuse, repurpose everything we can in our small community ~ we believe that if every one did their part for sustainability we'd reduce carbon emissions and the toll waste takes on our lands & oceans. Way to go, guys! Proud of you for making a difference! We'll be doing some 'eco-art,' too, so stay tuned!
LITERACY SOCIETY MONTHLY ENTHIC THEMED POTLUCK DINNERS
We committed to participating, as long as we're in town, in the monthly dinners hosted by the Literacy Society. It's a really great & fun way to meet people in the community! It happens on the last Wednesday of every month. August (I've included it!) was Greek and September was Syrian to help welcome a new family, the Sarkiyes, that moved to Canada recently. We were overjoyed to meet them! The kids always help plan, prepare, and cook them dishes we bring. I'll begin with Greek!
We made babaganoush, which is a staple in our home. Made from eggplants & garlic ~ it's plain but a delicious & nutritions change from hummus (which everyone in the Western world seems to be obsessed with lately!) Couscous stuffed peppers, and a pasta salad. The kids wrote a journal entry about Greece...I've not taken a photo of it!
Connor (2yo), Greta (6mos), and Megan (15yo) have all been to Greece! Here we are in 2009 visiting the Temple of Poseidon!
We made falafels, roasted sweet potato with roasted chickpeas, and ful medames! We love middle eastern cuisine, so this was a treat to share foods we love at home! Because we rely on beans, lentils, legumes for our protein ~ foods regularly found in the middle east, Asia or latin America are great go-tos for us! Lots of spices & herbs, lemon, cumin, cilantro, chili powder, garlic, fresh veggies ~ DELICIOUS! The sauce I make is not dairy based but hummus based ~ lots of garlic, dill, and lemon and to thin it out a bit of rice milk. My babaganoush would have been a nice addition, too!
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| Greta drew a picture or her, Connor, and Hulud. The last sentence of her journal really impressed me, "I feel so angry and sad that they had to leave their home, I hope I can help them." 💕 |
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| Connor wrote "we watched videos about the Syrian civil war when we got home it made me feel sad thousands of people were killed...I'm glad they moved to Canada" 💕 |
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| Astrid's journal "I feel happy to meet them"💕 |
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| Ellar's journal "I like that they are my friends"💕 |
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| Me & Marwa! Two moms just enjoying each other's presence 💝 smiling is our common language! I respect her so much as a mother. |
We had a wonderful time visiting Isam, Marwa, Hulud, Sihad, and Adnan Sarkiye. There were other new families to the community, too! I am looking forward to seeing them out-and-about and perhaps helping them become more comfortable with our little town.
Greta started Girl Guides, her first her as last year she was a Brownie! Astrid is in her 2nd year as a Spark! I've become the District Commissioner, so I have a lot of paperwork to take care of. I'm looking forward to a great year in guiding with a great team of guiders! Greta and her Guide friends talk about the Guiding Code of Conduct and they brainstormed when favourable conduct looked like:
ORANGE SHIRT DAY ~ Sept. 30th
Every Child Matters.
The date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year. It also gives teachers time to plan events that will include children, as we want to ensure that we are passing the story and learning on to the next generations.
Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come."
This information & more can be found from this website ~ Orange Shirt Day Information
We did our best to dress in our orangest shirts! After struggling with trying to find orange...I realized this day was to acknowledge that something someone loved & owned was taken away in an unkind and uncompassionate manner. In the end I decided the colour of our shirts didn't matter as much as our presence, showing up to listen to the stories of survivors and their children & grandchildren.
So, I decided to take the kids to see the documentary We Were Children
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| Lyna Hart, residential school survivor and story told in the documentary |
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| Glen Anaquod, residential school survivor and story told in the documentary |
I recommend this documentary. There is going to be a lot of discussion about the Residential School crisis in this house. We are very open with communication and I believe it is best to communicate truths to our children. (They were not privy to the couple of instances of adult content/sexual abuse material.) The extent of the isolation, physical, emotional, and psychological abuse registered with all 4 kids however. I cannot ever imagine one human being ever de-humanizing another in the name of God. Unfathomable. Yet it happens still today, in all cultures, age groups, tax brackets, around the world. Cultures and people are being challenged to assimilate still today to a dominate group. We must learn from our past, for our children's sake.
Every child matters. Take a stand.
~For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in~
Matthew 25:35
~But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.~
1 Timothy 1:5
~If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.~
1 Corinthians 13:1,2
~Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth~
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
~Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God~
1 John 4:7
~Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.~
Colossians 3:12
~ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.~
