Mystery Class 2010 :: Our answers

Now that the deadline for entering the answers is passed (April 30), I can share with you our answers...This year was an interesting year again, with some locations a little more tricky than others!

I can't say enough good things about this activity. We love it and look forward to it all year long! It combines math, world geography, science, researching skills (with internet and globe/atlas), and learning about world culture and history. If you are interested, please visit Journey North Mystery Class, it is a free yearly event.

I hope we are correct this time around again...this is our third year participating and if we win, it would be our third win! Each location has a link to wikipedia, so you can find out a bit more about each if you wish.


Mystery Class #1 : Winnebago, USA
Mystery Class #2: Monteverde, Costa Rica
Mystery Class #3: Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica
Mystery Class #4: Christchurch, New Zealand
Mystery Class #5: Kuching, Malaysia
Mystery Class #6: Brussels, Belgium
Mystery Class #7: Princess Elisabeth Base, Antarctica
Mystery Class #8: Barneo, Arctic Ocean Ice Sheet
Mystery Class #9: Pekanbaru, Indonesia
Mystery Class #10: Onjuku, Japan

We will find out the actual locations on May 7th! Only a few days away...

Heritage Village ~ Homeschool Field Trip~ part 2: Recess!

I think the photos speak for themselves...The kids and I had a blast at "recess" on our homeschool field trip, after visiting the school house. We were able to try many different games that the children in pioneer times would have played.

Below is a very short video of Andre giving Celeste a little bow and arrow lesson!

Book Sharing Monday :: Cliff Hanger

While continuing on with the Reading my Library Challenge, we discovered a new-to-us author. I had seen the name Jean Craighead George associated with My Side of the Mountain and Julie of the Wolves, but didn't realize she had written many picture books as well! As I mentioned in my 100 books post for April, we love her theme of nature and adventure. Today I am sharing a book called Cliff Hanger, written by Jean Craighead George and illustrated by Wendell Minor.

Here is the description from the book jacket:

"When Axel's dog, Grits, is left stranded after following two climbers up a mountain trail, danger is imminent as a lightning storms threatens. Kaboom! Can Axel, with the help of his dad, make the difficult climb up Cathedral Wall to rescue Grits before it's too late?"

And a short quote from the book:

"Axel climbed slowly, from crack to crack to ledge to crack, moving like a ballet dancer. His father let out rope as he climbed."

Here are a few other picture books from the same author that we have enjoyed.

We have a few more on requests at our local library as well. I think we will be doing an author study and learn more about this wonderful lady.  I also started reading aloud one of her novels, The Cats of Roxville Station.

If you are participating in Book Sharing Monday, please leave a link in Mr. Linky to your book sharing post! I can't wait to read everyone's posts!

If you are interested in participating, please visit this post.  

Heritage Village ~ Homeschool Field Trip~ part 1: The School House

We spent last Friday at a Heritage Village on a homeschool field trip. It was awesome!

The kids and I have been at similar historical villages in the past and we always enjoy ourselves. Seeing how people lived a long time ago always grabs our attention.

The first part of this field trip was spent in the school house (if you look at the third picture, you can see that my kids weren't too impressed to be in a school at first!). This particular one was built in 1907. Our guide did an excellent job explaining how the school house would have been built, why it was built with many windows, with 2 entrance doors and many more architectural details. He also shared a typical day in the one-room school house, the different ages of the students there, and what the lessons might have been liked.

We all changed our names to popular names of 1900s. Adrienne became Elise, Andre was Winston, Celeste was given Kitty, and I become Winnie!

We were handed out school slates along with a piece of chalk and a piece of fabric. We all practiced writing with our left hand, to feel how left-handed people would have had to cope, since everyone had to write with their right hand in school a hundred years ago.

The guide went on to ask questions and taught the children how to answer properly, standing by the side of their desks.

There were many more fun exercices, even an explanation of the punishments the children might have to endure if they broke the rules!

I will be sharing more of our field trip shortly. The next part will be recess!

100 books-a-month challenge ~ april & reading my library challenge

We didn't read 100 books in April. I think it might be because we were outside a lot more! I also found that I didn't want us to read just for the sake of adding another book to our list, something that I could feel this challenge was turning into this particular month. We read two excellent novels for History, Robin Hood and Adam of the Road this month, along with the excellent A Child's Introduction to Poetry to learn more about poetry.

This month I am able to add Celeste to this list. She has started reading a few easy readers on her own.  It is so exciting to see and listen to her read!

Towards the end of the month, we picked up a bit on the Reading my Library Challenge, and chose authors from the G section. We discovered wonderful picture books from Jean Craighead George, who is famous for the novels Julie of the Wolves and My Side of the Mountain. We love her focus on nature. We are continuing this month with reading more of her titles.

ADRIENNE:
Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
The Traveler by Connie Martin
Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
The Snack Smasher by Andrea Perry
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (The Graphic Novel)
Stephanie’s Ponytail by Robert Munsch
The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs by Robert Munsch
Pigs by Robert Munsch
The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl series) by Eoin Colfer
The Wonderful World of Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman
Yuck, a Love Story by Don Gillmor
Good Night Sam by Marie Louise Gay
A Sam and Friends Mystery: Lake Monster Mix-Up by Mary Labatt (graphic novel)
Benny and Penny in The Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes
Vanishing Girl by Shane Peacok (The Boy Sherlock Holmes #3)

ANDRE
Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
Power and Responsibility (Ultimate Spider-Man #1) by M. Bendis
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (graphic novel)
The Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dahl
Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
Art Fraud Detective by Anna Nilsen
A Sam and Friends Mystery: Lake Monster Mix-Up by Mary Labatt (graphic novel)
Choco Mimi #3 by Konami Sonoda (graphic novel)
Beastly Birds and Bats by Lynn Huggins-Cooper
Yuck, a Love Story by Don Gillmor
Scary Fright, Are you All Right? By Scott Gibala-Broxholm
A Pack of Riddles compiled by William R. Gerler
CELESTE
Peanut and Pearl’s Picnic Adventure by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Best Friends by Anna Michaels
Chicken Said, “Cluck” by Judyann Ackerman Grant
Read Me a Book by Barbara Reid

READ ALOUD
Fancy Nancy’s Favourite Fancy Words by Jane O’Connor
Fancy Nancy’s Explorer Extraordinaire by Jane O’Connor
Maybelle the Cable Car by Virginia Lee Burton
Wake Up House! Rooms full of Poems by Dee Lillegard
Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
Swing Otto Swing! By David Milgrim
See Otto by David Milgrim
Snow Day! A Winter Tale by Joan Holub
Monster Museum by Marilyn Singer
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
Once I Ate a Pie by P. Maclachlan
Food Hates You, Too and Other Poems by Robert Weinstock
Beware, Take Care by Lilian Moore
Raining Cats & Dogs by Will Moses
Rhyolite: The True Story of a Ghost Town by Diane Siebert
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Dirk Bones and the Mystery of the Haunted House by Doug Cushman
Seaweed Soup by Stuart J. Murphy
Midnight Mimi by Marie-Louise Gay
Little Toot and the Loch Ness Monster by Hardie Gramatky
Pirate Pearl by Phoebe Gilman
Jillian Jiggs and the Secret Surprise by Phoebe Gilman
Morning, Noon, and Night by Jean Craighead George
Look to the North: A Wolf Pup Diary by Jean Craighead George
Frightful’s Daughter Meets the Baron Weasel by Jean Craighead George
Air is All Around You by Franklin M. Branley
A Zebra’s World by Caroline Arnold
Henny Penny by Paul Galdone
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni
Caramba by Marie-Louise Gay
Scary Fright, Are You All Right? By Scott Gibala-Broxholm
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
A Child's Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll

MOM
Trouble in High Heels by Leanne Banks
May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris