Day at the Detroit Zoo

We had a nice time at the zoo with our cousins. Even though it was very busy, hot, and we didn't see everything, we still enjoyed our day. We will try to go in the fall again, when it might be quieter and cooler! Here are a few pictures from our day.

First up: sloth, tree kangaroo, anteater, fallow deer, prairie dogs, and red kangaroo.

In the Arctic Ring of Life, we saw an arctic fox (with its summer coat), polar bears, and playful seals. On the way out from the seals exhibit, they had a wall covered with ice. Princess thought it was the best!






Last, we saw the penguins:

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!

Our Interesting Summer Part 2 : Oceans

We have kept going with our weekly fun theme. Last week Fairy entertained us with a theme of Theatre. She had lots of games and even taught Dragon and Princess a little dance routine!
This week our theme is Oceans. We started by reading "The Seven Seas" by Linda Vieira. This book is a nice introduction to the history and science of the oceans of our world, going from the beginning of time to today, always explaining how important the sea is to our world. The illustrations by Higgins Bond are beautiful and kept the attention of all 3 children!
We also watched a DVD called "The Living Sea". It was originally created for IMAX theatres. We will be doing more over the next few days, so come and visit us again!

A Fun Weekend in the Sun

On Sunday, we spent the day with family for a pool party. It was very nice hanging out with all the cousins, aunts and uncles. It was perfect weather and the kids had a blast in the pool, hot tub, and with the giant chess game.

On Monday, Daddy actually had the day off! We went to check out a new (to us) provincial park and its beaches. We had a wonderful family day, relaxing and playing in the lake and the sand. Fairy loves building sand castles.

Preparing for 2008-2009 ~ Math

This past week, I have been reflecting on our home schooling adventure. Every summer, for the past three years, has been a time of assessment and preparation.

Assessment because I have always thought that, as much as we enjoy home schooling, we would take it one year at a time, and decide at the end of each school year, if we would continue on or not. We will be homeschooling this coming school year of 2008-2009, but with some changes.

So in Preparation, one major change will be with Math.

Part of the daily frustration these past two years has come from using a Math curriculum, that I finally am willing to admit, is not the best fit for us. We used Saxon Math and even though it is one of the top choices for home school families, it might not work for everyone. With Dragon in particular, it has been a battle. I have finally let myself think, that Math can be fun and that maybe, a school-type curriculum is not absolutely necessary. I have also had somewhat of a light bulb moment...maybe the "battles" that Dragon and I have had come from the use of a curriculum that just isn't the best for him. If you are a home school parent, I imagine that maybe you could relate...

Anyway, I have been researching other ways of doing Math. I still need some outline! I have found a couple of interesting options so far, and I will be deciding soon what we will use...

The first one is from the Living Math! website. This site is full of amazing articles, book lists, learning ideas, game links, and math links. The readers lists alone are a treasure! Listed by topics such as multiplication, algebra, and money, the lists give you picture and chapter book suggestions. I am planning on using these for Princess, as we start gently this fall learning about numbers. For Fairy and Dragon, I have been looking at the Living Math History Outlines on that site. Here is a quick description of the lessons from the website:

"Lessons are based on two full cycles of history, of four quarters each, with the focal point of each lesson on an individual(s) who created influential mathematical ideas." Math might actually become interesting! If you want to visit the site, click on here.

Another option I found for Dragon is the Noble Knights of Knowledge Math Program. This looks so much fun! It covers about 4 years of math instructions (grades 1 to 4). Here is some more information from the site :

"The program can also be used to strengthen the understanding of math that middle school students have, especially if they are struggling with exponents, algebra and the like. It builds or reconstructs strong foundations. For this reason no grade level is mentioned in the books. Kindergarten students can also use the program to begin the early stages of counting. Division in the form of "sharing out" is fun for youngsters as is sorting colors, number identification using gems, and Flambert's game for math facts. The learning and introduction of new steps, of course, takes a gentle pace."

I do feel that Dragon could use some reviewing and re-strengthening of his math knowledge. I think that taking a whole school year or half of one would benefit in the long run. This program could be used with Princess too, and Fairy might find it fun also. If you want more info on this Noble Knights Math, click here.

The last interesting Math option that I found is more for Fairy. It is a series of living books called Life with Fred. We would start with Life of Fred : Fractions first. The books tell the story of Fred, after each lesson/chapter there is a chance to try out what you have learned in that chapter. After every four or five chapters, there are more questions that review everything learned from the beginning of the book. The Fractions book covers a whole lot more than just fractions. You can visit the site and download a sample of each of the books. To visit click here.



I will post later about our other subject choices for this coming year.