Sneakers

Sneakers
 

Oh dear! Is Sneakers in trouble again?

The kids have been asking for lots of new little critters these days, so my latest amigurumi creation is Sneakers!

If you crochet, and are interested in a pattern, head on over to Etsy. You can find it here on
Etsy at Ashton11.Etsy.com

Father's Day Craft

Check out my most recent post to handmadenews.org


It's is a quick and easy Father's Day gift to make!

Mom's are so easy to please when it comes to crafts made by their children. But Dads, well, they like something a little bit more practical. So why not make him something he can use all year. Get it? Coffee can??

Oh, I am so bad! I can never resist a pun!

Anyway. Have a peek at this article and see how it's made!

Do you Google?

Do you use google? Sure you use google as a seach engine... but do you REALLY use google?

Google is much more than a search engine. Their account service i-google wants to be our online solution to a harddrive and computer software!

Google Docs is a feature that lets you create documents for sharing or editing online.

For example, I began this document in my gmail account as an emailand then sent it to my google docs address. From there, I could continue to work on it from any computer that has internet access and finally I could blog it instantly with blogger or send it to a friend for collaboration or sharing! No need for a word processing software on my computer and able to be shared with any other computer (PC or mac.)

How easy is that?

Get your own Google account simply by signing up!

And if you'd like an easy-to-use photo interface that also makes blogging instanateous, then check out Picasa, by Google! Just choose a picture and click blog this! Thanks google.

If you are using google in a way that makes your life easier please tell me, as I have discovered all the things I know about google by accident!

Handmade News

Homeschoolers are always on a quest for creative ways to offer up curriculum.

Arts, crafts, science, math. You name it! We want hands on ways to teach it.

A great place to find for a full range of craft instructions and ideas can be found at handmadenews.org. They have a Crafty Kids department with ideas that kids can do themselves, and there are many other departments which highlight green crafts, craft techniques, business tips and more!

I believe in teaching my kids to be self-sufficient and to work at entrepreneurial enterprises. Handmade news is a trove of resources to help with this. Have a peek if you'd like some inspiration, or just for the plain fun of it!

Oh, and did I forget to mention…I’m one of their newest columnists! Yay for me!

Charles Darwin

Many of us who have studied Biology and Genetics have heard of the famous biologist, Charles Darwin. Well, this past week the 2 boys got a chance to live the history of this famous historical figure.

National Geographic and PBS television have teamed up to begin producing a movie about the life of Charles Darwin. And guess who was cast to play 2 of his sons? That's right - my boys! So, our Biology/History studies this week took on the form of reinactment! One scene at a time.

Keep your eyes out for this as it will be televised on Nova, likely in December of 2009. I'll try to remember to post again when we know a specific air date!

Don't you just love those hats and jackets??

Inuksuk

We've been learning about Inuksuk!  What fun.

In case you don't know what an inuksuk is....It's a Canadian indiginous place marker.

They have been used for thousands of years by the Inuit, Canadian Arctic people, to mark an important location.  

An inuksuk (pronounced Ee nook sook) is used to mark a spot where surplus food has been stored, or to tell about a prime location for hunting or fishing.   They also were used for marking a good resting place, or to indicate a residence.  

Inuksuit (the plural form of inuksuk) were originally built in unique shapes to give specific meaning.  But, more recently, they have come to resemble the shape of stone people. 

We built an inuksuk in our backyard.  

First we collected up the required stones 

Next, we decided on a good way to arrange them.

Next was the tricky part, stacking them!

We wanted ours to look like a person!

And here it sits, to welcome us and our friends!

To learn more about inuksuk visit this site:

http://www.pinnaclefarms.ca/ORIANAsite/AboutNameandLogo/InuksukNew.html#In1

Solar Box Cooker

This a very exciting project that we can't wait to try!

Recently, we have been studying solar radiation and energy conservation. What better way to marry the 2 concepts than by building a solar box cooker?

We have come across many design ideas on the internet and have narrowed our choices down to a box cooker or a parabolic umbrella cooker. Since we live in a cold climate, my son has deduced that the box cooker would be more suited to our cooking needs.

Solar cooking has helped many people in developing countries reduce their dependence on firewood and charcoal for their cook fires. This is a zero carbon footprint approach to cooking food. What a concept!

According to our research a box cooker does all types of cooking like boiling, stewing, grilling, and baking. And, food cooked in a solar cooker reportedly tastes better!

We plan on using the instructions for the Easy Lid Cooker.

Stay tuned for our results!

Homeschooling around the Toddler - 0r - Keeping the Cat out of the Toilet.

Toddlers bring lots of sloppy kisses, big excitement and cuteness to the family. But, if they are not properly attended to they can make homeschooling a bit of a tricky endeavour! Ok, let's be honest they can make it seem nearly impossible!

A few tips can make life a lot easier for you and them!

First of all, make sure that you spend some time one-on-one with your toddler before you begin to work with your school-aged children. If you've just spent 15 minutes playing or reading together, the toddler will be more likely to be ready for a change of pace and will be more ready to spend some time in independent play.

Once you and your toddler have snuggled and huddled for 15 minutes or so, get them settled with a "special fun exploration activity." It's good to have these things organized ahead of time, and only available during "teaching time."

There are lots of things that fit this category, if you think about it. Some of them can be store bought but often the best ones are things that are already around the house.

I stumbled upon this great trick quite by accident at first. It was time to work with my youngest school aged child, who was 6 (and my toddler was 2 ) and so I opened the bottom drawer in the kitchen where I keep all the plastic storage containers and lids. I let my little guy have at it and he was amused for half an hour, safely playing with plastic containers. I made sure we were working in a spot where I could keep my eye on him, and where my 6 year old was not able to see him! After all, it sure looked like more fun than learning ways to "make 10."

Some other low cost and fun things to play with are:

• Shoes and hats
  
• Dry pasta and containers
  
• Cardboard boxes
  
• Water (supervise carefully!)
  
• Finger puppets
  
• Toys that the older children have outgrown, but haven't made their way officially into the toddlers collection
  
• Lace up Games or spools
• Non-breakable Mirror and a hairbrush
• Pots and Pans

The list can grow as long as your arm, but these are some free ways to get started. Post a comment to share ideas that have worked for your toddler.

Happy Homeschooling!