Photo of the Day ~ Dec.15

Fairy has a dress rehearsal for the school choir show today, they are all supposed to be dressing like who-ville people from the Grinch. We were told to use lots of stripes, and try to do some wacky hair do...not sure if hers will do. I guess I will find out at 3:30 today!

Photo of the Day ~ Dec. 13

Brought to you by .... Fairy!

** Updated tonight - I didn't have time to add much more this morning, besides the fact that Fairy took this photo of her cat Clara. That green little thing with the cat is her favourite toy. It is just a little stuffed Neopet from McDonalds. I honestly think she is confused about her identity. As someone commented on a previous post, she missed the "cat 101" class! This is what she loves to do with the toy: one of us "humans" will throw the toy and she runs after it. We all thought this was too funny and cute, so we used to go and get the toy for her and do it again, and again and again. Well, for the last few days, she now brings it back herself, in her mouth, drops it back down close to us, and just waits. She will play for a while doing this, running and fetching! Down the stairs is her favourite, she just flies down them, and runs back with the thing in her mouth...too cute! I have been trying to get a picture of her and as soon as I get one that isn't blurry, I will share!

Photo of the Day ~ Dec.10 @ the high school !

Fairy performed with her school choir at the local high school tonight, as part of their Art Night. It was great to listen to the elementary school kids (including Fairy) singing Christmas songs, and also to hear the high school band play. My favourite from the band was a number that had a superhero theme, a medley of Batman, James Bond and even Austin Powers. There was a solo, a violinist that was amazing. The last performance was the choir again, with the high school band!
After the show, we walked around the school looking at their art display, photographs, drawings, paintings, and even murals. I could tell that Fairy was interested in this high school!

Photo of the Day ~ December 6

We are out all day on Saturdays, because Fairy has a Tumbling & Trampoline class and since we only have one car, that means we are out for the day. We drive Dad to work in the morning and pick him up in the evening. We usually plan something to do on that day, even if it is just grocery shopping! Anyway, all that to say that I forgot to bring my camera along, and only took my picture of the day now. The Christmas tree is right behind my computer desk, so I thought I would share one of my favourite ornaments on it. It shows a picture of Fairy taken close to her first Christmas, in 1997. A wonderful memory of Christmas past!

I also wanted to share another one of Fairy's cat...taken last night. She went in the bath again, with Dragon. She just jumped right in! Really hard to take a picture of a wet cat though, she wouldn't stay still!

Parent-Teacher Interviews and Report Cards

This past week, the kids came home with their first report cards and yesterday, I went to meet each of their teachers. All three brought home excellent report cards. I do have to say that I don't agree with the way the report cards are worded, and that it seems to me like pre-written comments that the teachers just cut and paste. Dragon and Fairy had the exact same comments for Drama & Dance for example "name of child communicates for different audiences and purposes with a high degree of effectiveness. Keep up the great work!" I realized that teachers are very busy, but it would be nice to have a bit more personal comments. I remember my report cards when I was little, it was completely personal, maybe a little too much...I always had "talks too much" or "could do better"!
I went by myself to the parent-teacher interviews while Dad stayed home with the kids. I wasn't sure what to expect, I wasn't concerned about their academic performances, having kept track of their progess since their start in October, but I was more curious to hear what the teachers will comment on. I prepared myself to be patient if I heard comments from them about how surprised they were that my children did well in school academically or even socially...
The first teacher I met was Dragon's. She told me how well he was doing, getting along with others. She even shared with me how she had been worried at first that he might get bullied by the other kids since he had never gone to school. I did correct her that he had attended JK and SK. She went through the report card a little bit, and told me about her surprise on his first day, when she had planned a math quiz for the class and decided to give it to him anyway, to see where he was at. He had done perfect on the quiz, and she told me that I had obviously been doing a very good job at home with him. She repeated that compliment a couple more times, assured me that Dragon was doing great, and that there were no concerns for him. I walked out of the first interview with a smile on my face...
The second meeting was with Fairy's teacher. She seemed a bit cold to me at first, but Fairy told me she was nice in the classroom. She told me how well Fairy was adjusting to the class, but that she was a bit too quiet, and not participating enough in oral discussions. On the positive side, she did say that she was doing very well in all subjects (she did get 7 "A" out of 14 marks, the rest were "B") and that she works well without supervision, and is always willing to help others.
She also told me that I had done a really good job at home with her! I thanked her, and I thought we would get back to Fairy's report card, but instead she wanted to know more about homeschooling, where did I get my curriculum from, did I follow the Ontario government recommendations? I didn't get the impression that she was "testing" me, she seemed to be genuinely interested in how it worked! After I explained to her briefly, she told me that it was obvious that I had enjoyed that, and that maybe I should consider going to Teacher's College! She even added that she thought I had missed my calling, but that it was never too late! One major point that I walked away with, besides the compliments (lol), was that grammar and spelling are not covered in school. I was shocked to hear that, I had kept on asking Fairy about it, but thought that maybe she wasn't recognizing it, because maybe it was just built in within her language arts subject. But the teacher told me that no, they don't do it, she agreed with me that it was ridiculous to not cover the basics, but that is what the government has set at this time, and she has to follow it. I told her that we will be doing grammar and spelling at home.
I left that meeting with an even bigger smile on my face, but at the same time, realizing how much I miss homeschooling, and knowing how important afterschooling is, to cover what is lacking in the classroom.
The last meeting was with Princess's teacher, and she started by saying how sweet and wonderful Princess is. She is also adjusting very well, participating, and helping others.
It was nice for me to finally see where my children are spending most of their days. I had been to the school, but not in their classrooms. I am proud of their great start!

Shhh...

I am trying to keep quiet...need to talk about Christmas presents. For Fairy in particular. She has been asking for a digital camera for almost a year now, and we will be trying to get her one for this Christmas.
I was thinking, that maybe some of you wonderful visitors might have some suggestions for me...She is 11, and usually very careful with her things, but we can't spend too much either.
She likes to use mine (Sony DSC-H2), but I think it's a bit too bulky for a young person. If she wants to take her camera along on a field trip for example, it would be nice to have one she can just tuck in her pocket...
Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion, thank you!

Spoiled Kitten?

This is a favourite spot for Clara and Fairy, they both love it! I interrupted her nap by taking the picture...sorry Clara!
Below is another favourite spot of this spoiled kitten. I keep telling Fairy that she can't be carrying that cat around all the time...

Dragon has his share of cuddles too. You can see their favourite spot, and this happens quite often. Clara likes to stretch her paws against him, for some weird reason, this is comfortable and she'll sleep like that until Dragon moves!

This past week...

This past week, Dragon was at his camp, and it was incredible how quiet it was around here! I always find it interesting how taking just one child out of the mix creates a different atmosphere. Please don't get me wrong, I would never wish to change anything about my children or how many I have :) but it is something I notice every time one is away. The same thing happened while Fairy was at her theatre day camp last month. This week, the girls played many "girl" games with their dolls, read or listened to "girl" stories, painted and even made some felt play food...which the kitten got a hold off and pretty much destroyed!

I took advantage of the quiet times to finish off my planning for the school year. I had already decided which curriculum/resources to use, but now is the part when I sit down and work out the schedule. The schedule I make is more of a helpful guideline. I basically look at each subject and see how many lessons or chapters we want to cover over the year. I also plan out how often we will do each subject, daily or 2 or 3 times a week. I try to plan out the whole year and fit in special projects, such as the Iditarod or the Journey North Mystery Class. I can also see how much time we can plan for breaks or vacation...I am still debating over following a different schedule this year, maybe doing school for 5 weeks and taking the 6th week as a break to do something different (a unit study or special project). We are almost ready to start again...in September!

Kids Love a Good Storm!

We have had quite a few storms since we moved here, and it's the same thing every time! The kids get all excited! I am glad, better than being scared of a storm...

Tonight we even had some hail...so out the bowls went (not the kids, I draw the line somewhere) and when it slowed down after a few minutes, the bowls were full and the kids were amazed. We still had more lightning and thunder for a little longer and then back to sunshine.

One of Fairy's favourite topic to learn about for the last few years has been weather but in particular storms, tornadoes, hurricanes...the natural catastrophes get her interest. She was the most excited tonight!

A Day at Point Pelee National Park

First stop was the visitor's centre, with a fun kids' area (costumes, a really cool microscope that Dragon just loved, turtle shells, antlers...all kinds of stuff to touch!). There is also a small walk through area with history about the park, Daddy and I couldn't believe that in the 60s there used to be over 6000 parking spots at the park! I am glad it is back to being a park and not a parking lot...

We then took a shuttle that brought us closer to the tip. Point Pelee's tip is the most southern point of mainland Canada! You actually cross the 42nd parallel, as the signs says, we were as far south as Rome and Barcelona! It was very windy and even raining lightly at the tip, so we didn't stay very long.

There are different trails in different parts of the park. This time, we decided to explore the Marsh Boardwalk after walking to the Point. We climbed the marsh tower, walked the boardwalk and looked at the wildlife. Next visit we need to bring our pocket guides so we can identify what we see!

Birthday Girl!

Our first baby is 11 today! WOW!

I looked through her baby scrapbook and thought I would share a couple of pictures with you...

Being that she is the first, there is a ton of pictures of her! But I thought I would keep at only 3 for this time, one of her birth, a cute one, and a funny one. Below is one from today...and yes, we now have a kitten in our house (without a name so far, it's a girl, any suggestions?).

More Art by Fairy

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about a drawing kit and showed the princess Fairy and I drew (here). While I was working on a fabric thread holder yesterday, Fairy did a new character from the book. I think it turned out great again! She just follows the instructions from the book. I am encouraging her to do more!

Drawing with Fairy

Fairy and I spent last night and part of this morning drawing together. It is so nice to have these moments together. We had found a "Manga Teen Characters Drawing Kit" on clearance at Zellers yesterday and just had to give it a try! The instructions were clear and simple to follow. We both did the Princess character. I really like the way the eyes and the outfit turned out on Fairy's picture. Fairy is the first picture, then mine. I am looking forward to trying other characters from this kit with Fairy!

Fairy and Princess...

Fairy was helping Princess out this afternoon with her drawing. Princess was so careful drawing her little stick man and those other shapes (whatever they are!). Too cute!
Fairy did another watercolour painting. She had asked me for inspiration, so I had answered "how about a garden?" She still wants to outline the butterfly, the cart and the plants, but it is still a bit too wet right now. I think it's already beautiful.