by Kelly | Aug 18, 2011 | Featured Fridays |
Check out our recent interview with “second-year” homeschooler, Jill Schmidt from Richmond, British Columbia. Tell us a bit about your family My kids are: Theo 7, Eva 5.5 and Kezia 2.5. Theo is going into grade 2, Eva going into K, and Kezia still officially a toddler! We are a family of 5 who are stumbling through this thing called life – together. We are very involved with the co-op where we live and the church that we attend. Have you always known you wanted to homeschool? I NEVER thought we would homeschool. I knew of some people who home schooled. I thought they were weird and crazy for homeschooling. “How on earth could someone spend so much time with their children and still be sane????” “They obviously have fears about the real/outside world, or else they wouldn’t be sheltering their kids so dramatically!”- Those were some of my thoughts prior to homeschooling. After all, I am an educated public school teacher. I “believe” in the system! Once my son entered K, and we were talking about moving, the idea of homeschooling (rather doing distance learning) popped into my head and never went away. We started homeschooling my oldest in January of his grade 1 year. So that means we have only been at this whole homeschooling thing for two terms. But we LOVE it, and plan to stick with it! The system wasn’t working for him, and I knew I could do a better job of teaching my son in the way that he needed to be taught. I knew that he would be happier if...
by Kelly | Aug 14, 2011 | Inspiration Mondays |
At some point during my childhood, I became entranced with the idea of a reading space. A magical corner of my home, in which to read to my heart’s content. My best friend had a reading nook: the roof of her house! There was a little ledge just outside her window, where she would sit in the sunshine and become absorbed in her stories. I should point out here that her mother was not overly pleased with her chosen nook, being somewhat on the dangerous side. Regardless, something about her spot captured my imagination. Ever since, I have dreamed of a bay window in my home, or a cozy window seat. When given the chance, we created one in our home. We call it the “cozy corner,” and many happy moments have been spent reading together here. My other dreams for a reading nook, include a garden bench (surrounded by hedges, a la The Secret Garden), and a converted attic (beams exposed, and sunlight streaming through the dust). A few weeks ago, I discovered this magical reading nook at Belle Squeaks, and fell in love. A reading tent! What a fabulous idea! Want to do it yourself? Check out these step-by-step instructions from ana-white.com. I salivate. Unfortunately, this reading nook’s footprint is 6 feet wide. Which is a little too big for our children’s rooms. However, with a few alterations, I’m sure the idea could stand. A tent over my son’s bed, perhaps? Or maybe a giant tent in our living room? There is something entirely magical about a reading nook. Whether it be a special place at home, or...
by Kelly | Aug 12, 2011 | Learning Librarian, Librarian's Picks: Early Learners, Librarian's Picks: Intermediate Learners, Librarian's Picks: Teens |
As a children’s librarian, I have had the opportunity to explore and recommend all kinds of wonderful books. As a parent, I have come across even more. One of my favourite things to do, is recommend picture books to older children. Often, people assume that once a child is reading, picture books are no longer necessary. I would like to reiterate just how wrong they are! Especially in this day and age, there are so many absolutely wonderful, beautiful picture books for older children and adults to enjoy. One picture book series that has captured my heart of late is the Henry series, by D.B. Johnson. His picture books tell the simple tale of a bear, and his days living in the country, at a place called Walden Pond… Sound familiar? These books are delightfully illustrated, with a cubist influence, and the rich, deep colours of nature. Each page is full of little details and creatures to spy. Henry the bear is a delightful character – modelled after Henry David Thoreau himself. He is friendly, neighbourly, and quirky, in the way his namesake must have been. One book (Henry Walks to Fitchburg) tells the tale of Henry’s walk to Fitchburg. His works all day to pay for the train to Fitchburg. Henry decides to walk there instead. They both arrive at the same time, but you can guess who had the more rewarding day… Another, Henry Works, is all about perspective. Henry spends the day “walking to work,” only to end up back at home, to begin his work – writing. His whole day, of course, has been spent working...
by Kelly | Aug 7, 2011 | Inspiration Mondays |
A few weeks ago, I was trolling the aisles of our local thrift store, when I discovered a $3 bargain. A lovely paper-making kit – obviously never used. Sure, it looked to be a number of years old, but the process of paper making hasn’t changed much recently, has it? Anyways, I picked it up, and knew it would be a blast. My son is only 3 1/2, so I was wondering if it would be a little old for him. But, we decided to try anyways. Turns out, my baby loved it, too! Paper making is easy. All you need is paper (yes, a little redundant to make paper out of paper, but that’s recycling for you!), water, a wire screen and a place to lay out the finished project. Tear the paper into little squares (about the size of postage stamps). This is a great exercise in both patience, and endurance. But, it can be fun, especially if you’ve got some steam to burn off. Mix your paper with water (just covering your torn paper works fine, as you can add more water if needed later). Using a blender (in our case, a hand blender, but whatever you’ve got works just fine) grind the paper into a fine pulp. This was my son’s favorite part! Get out the wire screen. This looks easy enough to make with a sheet of fine wire, laid into a wood frame (an empty picture frame would work like a charm). Pour the pulpy mixture onto the screen (over a bucket/bowl to catch the extra water), and squeeze out the moisture, smoothing...
