Ancient Architecture Co-op

We had another amazing co-op yesterday. We are now studying Greece. I decided to make this month as a study of Ancient Architecture. What a fabulous time it was!!
First I taught the children about architecture through this article.
After we had discussed the types of columns, I had them use this image to colour, cut out and attach to a paper towel roll. This I was hoping would be a reminder for the children to remember the three major types of columns in Ancient Greece. 

I went to various books in our library, as well as online and found examples of each type of Architecture in different temples of different eras. 
We talked about the amazing abilities of the Greek builders including the bowing of the columns to make them look straight from a distance. 
I had sent out a link to Secrets of the Parthenon that the children could watch ahead of time about the work that they are doing on the Parthenon as they restore it. Little One really enjoyed the video. It put the ancient architecture into a modern context. 
The greatest part of the day for me was seeing the children using very different mediums to work on creating their own Parthenon’s (or other temples). They all worked collaboratively and it was really special to see their amazing work during both the process and in the end!! 





Several boys worked together on Minecraft and created Parthenons. They were very impressive based on the short time that they had to work on them!


Several of the girls worked on a Model Magic Temple of Nike. They then made a spoof from it and modelled the “royal shoe” which was inside the temple - they even had a guard inside to guard the temple. 


Another family had been working on their Parthenon before they came and had built it with their Dad and friends. They brought Lego along and set up a scene and performed for us the Battle of Marathon.



Another group of 3 boys did an amazing job of Architecture using cardboard, paper towel rolls and a hot glue gun!



Another group worked on this model Which was quite a challenge! I am looking forward to seeing it next month!!



This was such a beautiful time seeing all the collaboration taking place. I really saw the children problem solving, creating together, supporting each other and above all building each other up!!
Co-ops are such a lovely way for children to learn and share together!! I am so blessed with our group and their commitment! Blessings!!

Field Trips in British Columbia that we have enjoyed!




Here are some of the field trips that our family has experienced in beautiful British Columbia. This is not an exhaustive list but it has been fun to revisit some of the great places we have been over the years! I hope that it will inspire you... maybe even during Spring Break!!


I would say the best value would be The Royal BC Museum in Victoria BC. In the past we have had a yearly pass and used it for everything from photo-essays to special exhibits and group field trips. We have enjoyed just being able to go and concentrate on one floor or one section.



There have been some awesome exhibits that we have experienced! I would have to say that our daughter’s favorite was Titanic Exhibit. This spurred on many Titanic plays, research projects and a great amount of curiosity about the Titanic. The “Behind the Scenes” exhibit was all about the natural history of the museum and was divided up by “ologies” and all the animals classified and displayed. Some of the reptiles and insects were a little “icky” stored in their formaldehyde. The best part of this display was seeing the actual curators.



We have been to Leonardo Da Vinci, First Nations Art, Lego and Physics exhibits and so many more. It is well worth the time spent here!!


The second amazing field trip we took was to the Cumberland Museum on Vancouver Island. This is a very small museum, in a small town, but they did a great field trip for us!! It was $1.00 per person and we learned so much about the Japanese and Chinese in Canada. The internment of the Japanese affected this little community immensely and it was fascinating to learn more about it. We learned about all the people groups that immigrated to this small town to come and work in the mines.



The bottom half of the museum is all about the mining industry and coal. It was very interesting and was great for our study of Natural Resources. Well worth setting up a field trip or visit this little museum yourself.


Small museums in small towns can be such a blessing as ours is. Our little museum is very inexpensive and has passionate volunteers who really love what they are doing! We love going often with a group. There is lots of one on one time with the guides to hear the local history of the area in which we live. 


Another great field trip for us has been Fort Langley outside of Vancouver. What a great trip this was. They had great interpreters that told stories of the people in the Fort. There were many hands on activities including having races with bales of furs. We even watched a blacksmith work with iron! This was a great field trip and well worth the time that we spent learning about the Fur Trade in British Columbia.


Another interesting field trip for us was the BC Forest Museum. This was a great field-trip to learn about both the Forest Industry in BC and the Transportation Industry. It has lots of the history of BC woven in these two important parts of BC’s past. The interpreters first took us into the forest to take a look at different trees and all the while she was talking about the importance of our Forest Industry. The kids had a great time on the train and in the village that is set up. 
What is a exploration of BC’s history without going to Barkerville. It is quite a drive but so much fun when you arrive. All of the actors and actresses in costume, the gold mining, the stores and the many building set up there were fabulous. With my husband’s Chinese heritage it was a real learning experience for our children. It was well worth the drive.

We enjoyed the Plaskett Telescope /Centre of the Universe field trip in Victoria as well. We went on their open house day. This was great as we could take a look close up at the telescope and go into the office of the head scientist as he spoke passionately about his work. There are other activities in the main building but to me seeing the telescope up close and  the equipment that runs it was very interesting!
In Vancouver we have gone to Science World many times, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Vancouver Art Gallery and many other Vancouver field trips. They were great too!! Maybe you have experienced some great field trips in your area of British Columbia - I would love to hear from you!
Blessings!!

Diabolical Chemical Pursuits!



This month we have started the hands-on portion of our chemistry unit. We have invited a friend of “Little One’s” along to join us in our diabolical chemical pursuits! 



I started by taking a look at the Teams Chemistry Unit in Discovery Education (you will need a subscription to Discovery Education). Though it is definitely “old school” I really like the way that it breaks down the steps of each experiment, tells the student where to pause the video and go and do it on their own. When the teacher is leading, he gives the student all of the information as he is showing the students the techniques and outcomes of the experiments.


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There is a PDF that goes along with each lesson with all of the materials that you will need as well as the student worksheets and lesson plans.



Back in the summer I asked other home educators in our area if anyone would like to partner with us in sharing the chemicals for the experiments in these units. Two other families were willing and so I made a list and ordered the chemicals from New Horizons Scientific. They were very helpful as some of the names weren’t the same but they knew the chemicals that we would need. I have included the list as a here as a jpeg so that you can quickly save it if you would like to do this unit. It ended up costing a little over $20.00 per family. 


Some of the other supplies needed are household items like baking soda, cornstarch, vinegar, sugar, fruit juices, steel wool, food colouring, bleach etc. One of the other families is just wrapping this Chemistry unit up. Both of our children have completed the Adaptive Curriculum Unit on Chemistry, have done the Discovery Education Teams Chemistry and are planning to give our children some exposure to the Periodic Table. I was thinking about having little one do this project and see some videos from this site. I was also thinking that this activity would be worthwhile.



Well, I hope that this will encourage you as you enter the world of Chemistry!!
Blessings!

English from the Roots Up


I wanted to do a quick review on English from the Roots Up.
I know this is an “oldie goldie” resource, however, it has been a great additon to Little One’s Language Arts program.I feel that many of the benefits have been tangible - ie - building vocabulary. I also feel that Little One has also just got a much better understanding of words in general. 
Words can be so confusing - the meaning - why they are the way they are - especially in the English language. I think that this program points out with ease how words come from somewhere, they come from roots of other words, they combine together to make new words. Each day Little One goes through 3 roots. We discuss them, look at the words that come from that root and then she does the notebooking pages that we purchased here


She finds the word that sticks out for her and draws a visual that represents that root word.
When our daughter finishes the first volume we will go on to the second. 


Many times we have been reading and come across a word that has been complicated but stemmed from one of our roots. This has helped Little One and sometimes myself discern the meaning. I recommend this resource highly for vocabulary development, word study and an opportunity to understand the English Language just a little bit better.
Blessings!

4 People in a Family - our top 4 apps each!!



Apps our family uses:
There are so many apps out there and with Ipods, Ipads, laptops and desktops in our home, there is lots of hardware to have them on!
I feel though in the app world, I am only scratching the surface. We all have our favorites and I took a poll in our family to see what our favorite apps really are!
Start with me... Mom...



My favorite apps start with Kindle, I would have to say. I have a study bible on Kindle and I love it. I can highlight verses, make notes. Make sermon notes while our pastor is speaking right in the verses he is speaking on. I still use the You Version bible as well. I like it because there are so many translations - I can flip from one translation to another very easily. I just find making notes on it a little tougher. 
I have downloaded and read many books on Kindle and loved that I could make notes. This has been great for leading one of our book clubs at HCOS. No trying to find pieces of paper later!! I also go through bouts of yearning to read fiction and all of the free classics on Kindle make it so easy. 



My second favorite app would be Stickies (or another sticker app). I have it on my desktop and it keeps me organized for the immediate things that I have to do. I use it everyday, somedays...every hour!!



Third for me would be Flipboard - I love that I can visually see Facebook, Twitter and many other focusses with pictures on Flipboard. Though this is a rss feed, I still also use Mobile RSS each day. I enjoy having all of my blog and website feeds in one easy to see format. 



Finally, I would have to say that Dropbox is an everyday thing for me. I am always dropping in documents from one device to another. I am sure that I will get onto ICloud soon which will eliminate my need for Dropbox as much, but right now it has been indespensible.
Now for Dad,



His first choice for everyday apps is the You Version Bible - he makes notes, copies passages, looks up different versions and really enjoys this app on both his Ipad and his Smartphone. 



His second choice is Evernote. He uses it everyday, for all sorts of downloads, notes in meetings and notes to share. 
His third choice is Bloomberg... what can I say... he was a Financial Advisor for 25 years!!



Finally, his fourth choice is Kindle. He has read more this year on his Kindle that ever before with “books”. He loves the highlighting and the note taking features.

Then our 22 year old daughter,
She has a 4th Generation Ipod and uses a computer for her work. I thought that I would include her as she is home on Christmas break. On her Ipod she uses Itunes more than any other app. She enjoys music and uses this application each day. 



Facebook is second for her. This is how she communicates with her network. She loves photography and loves uploading pictures, organizing them and sharing them.



Third for her is the texting app - Heywire. She uses this because she doesn’t have an iPhone. 



Fourth for her is the Grocery Shopping Application -which she uses when she is creating her weekly shoppiing lists.


Finally is our “Little One”. 

She has a Ipod Touch and she sometimes uses the Ipad. Her favorite apps are (in no particular order):



What does my name mean?  - this is lots of fun with friends as well as when her friends are playing in “character” it is great to know what the name of your character means.


Cut the Rope is a fun game that she likes to play. The attraction eludes me, but there you have it - we all use are devices differently!!


Tap Store, Tap Resort, Tap Farm, Tap Jungle, Tap Zoo are great games that she plays regularly. They are setting up and managing farms, stores, resorts etc. The financial aspect of these games, helps in learning how to manage finances. 


Sims is very similar, but a little more detailed. She enjoys making “people” and creating their surroundings. My older children enjoyed Sims as well. 


Fotolr is a photography studio for your photos. You can change them, adjust them, make them rainbow colors or simple black and whites. This is fun with friends as well. 
So as you can see, we certainly use different applications for different reasons. We use our devices very differently, and was a great thing for me to ask!
Blessings!!