For both of the kids, the grade four curriculum has included a Medieval unit, culminating in a trip to Medieval Times and the creation of a “medieval castle” out of recyclables. Toby had a friend from school come over a few weekends back to complete their grade four castle project. As they worked, and as […]
It’s been an ongoing project for the kids to “photograph the season.” When Bea also got an assignment from school to photograph everything “here and now,” we made sure we kept up with our efforts. Of course, when asked for a destination “here” and “now” the first place Bea thought of was the Zoo. Here […]
Inspired by … Book Lists This December, I read through several amazing lists of “Books read in 2014” and other year-end reviews by movers and shakers in my own little literary community and beyond. I was awe-struck by Nathalie Foy and Vicki Ziegler‘s lists of books-read and favourite reads for 2014. Greg Zimmerman’s singular account of reading Jane Eyre for the […]
Bea had an assignment for school in which she needed to create a vehicle that uses air to carry at least 10 grams of “passenger” or “cargo” weight a distance of 20 centimetres. Amazing assignment! And a great opportunity for Bea to expand her horizons, physics- and engineering- wise! Bea decided that she wanted to make […]
Happy Halloween 2014! Bea’s a cat this year, and Toby? some sort of Robot Space Avenger… And who are you? Here’s wishing you a day full of Treats! And here’s a round-up of our recent Halloween posts…. [Just click on the image! It’s a link!] Ready for even more? Check out these Awesome […]
We did some free writing over the weekend, and I asked the kids to write “Night Poems.” Usually, I have little prompts for them, encouraging them to write in a certain style or to choose a specific image to concentrate on … i.e. “Make a List of Things You’d See in the Sky” or “Write from the […]
On Saturday evening, we had the pleasure of attending a one-night-only pop-up show of the collages of artist, poet, and family friend, Ludwig Zeller. We travelled over to Bathurst and Dupont to take part in the launch of The Year of the Quiet Sun, a project of Someone Editions, a small letterpress operation in Toronto. We […]
We’ve always been amazed by the paper-cutting talents of our collage-artist friends. And, we’ve had our own successes making window silhouettes for Halloween. So, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, we thought we’d try our hands at making Papel Picado (perforated paper) and stringing a garland across the dining room entranceway. You most often see Papel […]
We recently entertained a Flat Stanley from Illinois at our home here in Toronto. We had a great time, and we’re hoping that his buddy Martin and the rest of his class will be happy with the results! Here are our 10 Best Ways to Entertain Flat Stanley in Style 1. Take extraORDINARY Pictures In the […]
That’s Right! And you can make one, too! Over the holidays, I decided that I wanted to have a little photo book of the kids and their artwork to carry around and to adore. So, not long after Christmas, I made this 1.83 x 2.83-in Mini Photo Book, pulling portraits of the kids from our […]
Happy New Year! As is our way, we took the first few weeks in January to re-group after our outrageous 2013 Family Advent Calendar escapades. Of course, we haven’t actually had much time to rest. We’ve had the usual back to school rush, albeit with a bit more snow and ice to tackle along the […]
Halloween is coming! Here are 12 of our best Halloween and Halloween-Friendly Posts and a bonus 13th contribution from our Sister Site! Just click on the image and be transported!!! SNACKS: 1. Quick & Easy Mummy Cookies A Halloween Themed Lunchbox Treat! We make sugar cookies with our ginger-people cutters and ice them to look like mummies! […]
I had originally planned to take the kids outside to “sketch the season” on Saturday. Then, it rained…and rained…and rained. The kids were sitting at the dining room table, twirling the tips of a couple of little white pumpkins, looking miserable…until it dawned on me…we could sketch the season inside, too! We could do a […]
While, these days, the calculator may be king in the classroom, we’re still a little “old school” at home. While I do actively drill the kids on their multiplication tables, I’m also keen on finding ways to have them practice math without necessarily “studying.” This has resulted in various challenges in which I ask them […]
For years, the kids’ teachers have been suggesting that they keep track of their after-school and weekend reading in little notebooks. This year, however, we seem to be at a crossroads. Now that Bea’s a little older, her teacher expects his students to be independent in terms of their reading habits. Still, Bea likes to […]
This Saturday, we had a great time completing one of the tasks on our Fall Bucket List: Building Robot Birdfeeders! Below, I’ve posted a little visual DIY for how we made TWO different types of Robot Birdfeeder. First, we made robot birdfeeders to last at least a decade using sets of wooden craft boxes [3 […]
On the way home from school, the kids were getting a little…well…to put it mildly….”restless.” They were, however, looking forward to watching the newest episode of Survivor, and so we got a little mileage out of making predictions for what would happen to the “tribes” later on in the evening. Unfortunately, the train ride became […]
Taking a cue from some of the awesome cartooning workshop that Blaise held for the kids a few summers ago, the kids decided to have a look at their old cartoons from 2011, and to do a bit of fresh cartooning. As one practiced piano, the other began to create a one-page, six panel cartoon […]
