sweet thing(s)

field trip Wednesday: the ROM with Room 300

i went along with Lee's class to the Royal Ontario Museum.  we participated in a special program about habitats, had lunch, and then spent a few hours roaming the museum. 

i am so glad i went!! 

we had been having so many doubts about the decision to send Lee to school in the city this year.  we wondered if the program was what he needed academically, we worried about the many hours he spent getting there and back each day, and we didn't know if  he had found a place where he 'fit.'  after spending the day with his fabulous teacher and watching him with his new friends, i can say 'yes' to at least a few of those questions.  a remaining concern was the ridiculous commute (2-3 hours a day).  i spoke with his teacher and she agreed that he seemed stressed by his long days and that kids should have time to do other things.  she was more than happy to let him stay home (and homeschool) one day a week.  YAY!!!!!   

this is his second week on the new program and he (and we) are so happy.  he has time to play piano, do his homework for the week, and whatever else strikes his fancy.  it is giving him some breathing room that he really needs.  we are playing it by ear- she is willing to be flexible about which day (or no day at all) depending on what is going on in the classroom that week. 

last week we watched this inspiring documentary about AFOLs (Adult Fans of Lego)- inspiring both because of the amazing Lego creations and to watch people doing what they love no matter what.  I highly recommend it!

AFOL A Blocumentary from AFOL on Vimeo.

Passion combines with creativity in this documentary that features a selection of AFOLs (Adult Fans Of LEGO) from the Pacific NorthWest.

field trip Wednesday: G20 gawking- oh and the museum

yesterday we went to the ROM- it was the usual fun it always is!

but on the way home we did some G20 Summit security zone gawking.

(see the massive fence behind us?) 

starting today, the downtown core of Toronto is a police-controlled, ID only, fenced-in area.  our government spent 1 BILLION dollars on security for this event.

 

(Asa entering the still-open, as of yesterday, fenced in area)

there has been so much coverage of this event.  Police are here from all over Canada and boy is their presence obvious.  it will be interesting to see if anything exciting happens.  so far the best thing to come out of it is this very funny parody If I Had A Billion Dollars.

Even Asa has picked up on the buzz-  "Why do They take our money and spend it on things that don't even make us happy?  like the G20?"  A little anarchist in the making....

we, however, are headed out of town to visit my lovely in-laws for 10 days.  I am hoping to post from there, so stay tuned! 

we do have to cross through the Red Zone to get out of town tomorrow...

field trip Wednesday: swimming and city stuff

we went fabric shopping and grocery shopping, went to the library, got some roti (yum yum!) and went swimming. 

i love this perfect 'swimming' mural- right across the street from the pool where we swam.  

oh, and some big news: Asa swam a few feet on his own!

we're winding down- school is almost out for the summer.   today was Asa's graduation from kindergarten!  look for a post tomorrow...

field trip (Friday): historic Toronto post office and schoolhouse

we visited Toronto's first free school, the Enoch Turner Schoolhouse, established in 1848. 

 

the children participated in an hour-long mock lesson with a very convincing school mistress. 

they learned all about 19th century discipline- a child who was slouching had to stand with her nose pressed against a circle drawn on the blackboard, and another who was talking had to stand in front of the class holding a humiliating sign!

next we visited Toronto's first post office, where the children got to write letters with ink and a quill.

i love exploring historical sites right here in our city- one wonderful benefit of homeschooling!

field trip (Monday) part 2: the RCMP Musical Ride

the final destination on our waterfront walk was Fort York, to see the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Musical Ride.  From the RCMP website:

The Musical Ride was developed from a desire by early members of the North-West Mounted Police to display their riding ability and entertain both themselves and the local community. Considering that the original Mounted Police members had a British military background, it was inevitable that the series of figures they performed were traditional cavalry drill movements. These movements formed the basis of the Musical Ride ...the first officially recorded Musical Ride was performed in Regina in 1887. The Musical Ride, consisting of twenty men, was put on public display for the first time in 1901. Over the years the popularity of the Ride has grown and it has become a familiar sight throughout most of the world.

this formation used to be on the Canadian $50 bill:

it was a lot of fun and very impressive.  i felt like a real Canadian (i am a naturalized citizen and sometimes still feel more American than Canadian)

field trip (Monday) part 1: the Miracle Mile

on Toronto's waterfront there is a ton of new construction.  surrounded by rising new condo towers is a new urban park- officially called Canoe Landing Park. 

many of the features were designed by author/artist Douglas Coupland.  (some nice photos from his website are here)  there's a giant red canoe overlooking the highway and beyond that the lake, fun to climb in and fun to go past when you're on the highway- it looks like it's hanging in the air:

cool fishing lure sculptures:

the park also has a fountain (with a nod to a beaver dam), two playing fields, and a tribute to Terry Fox running track- the Miracle Mile.  (i wrote about Terry Fox, Canada's national hero, here and also i highly recommend the book Terry by Douglas Coupland)  It was very hard to get to as it is surrounded by construction but hopefully that will improve.

the kids especially loved the canoe!

field trip Wednesday: High Park

we went to High Park- a huge amazing park here in Toronto- with our friends Lily and Willow. 

the 'zoo' was a bit sad-

 

but the castle playground and french fries were fantastic-

field trip Wednesday: a movie!

after gymnastics, the library, and the healthfood store, we went to see How to Train Your Dragon.   Lee's next research topic is dragons, so the timing is perfect- plus, it looked cute.  it had been over a year since the big kids went to the movie theatre and it was Maxine's first movie!  a good time was had by all-

which reminds me- my three favourite family movies:

The Black Stallion (1979), Fly Away Home (1996), (these two are both sad in the beginning- beware) and The World's Fastest Indian (2005).

what are your favourite family movies?

field trip Wednesday: Fort York

yesterday we visited Fort York- a Toronto historical site just a few miles from our house and never before visited.  Lee and I have been reading Canadian history this year (from The Story of Canada -a great book) and just finished reading about The War of 1812, so it was a perfect time to go. 

Fort York was established in 1793, when Canada was a British colony, to defend Toronto Bay against the threat of American invaders.  The new United States wanted to expand northward, to occupy all of North America.  During the War of 1812, the Americans did invade Canada.  One battle took place at Fort York: seriously outnumbered, the British retreated and blew up their own store of gunpowder, killing 250 American soldiers.  The Americans took control of the town of York (now Toronto) and burned the government buildings.  (The Americans found the ceremonial wig worn by the Speaker of the Assembly, and reported the 'scalp' as an example of British barbarity)  In 1814, the British retaliated by invading Washington and burning the White House!

we had so much fun!  we were pretty much the only people there, and this guide spent a long time talking with us.  he even got out his bayonet and attached it to the end of his musket to show the kids "how to really scare the enemy."  (as if on cue, Maxine burst into tears.) 

the site has some period furnished buildings, including soldiers' barracks and officers' barracks with a working kitchen.  here's Lee checking out a soldier's storage box:

this bunk would have slept 8 soldiers- over 30 people sleeping and eating in a room, including wives and children if they had any.

much better to be an officer, with your own bed and bear skin on the wall:

one building was a museum of weapons, uniforms, and other military items, including period instruments (fifes, drums, bugles, a serpent, and bagpipes)  One really cool display let you listen to examples of period music played with these instruments, as well as the different bugle calls that led the cavalry. (here's a site where you can listen if you are interested)  Another interesting thing we learned is why the some of the wooden buildings (see the picture at the top of this post) were built with the top slightly bigger than the bottom: there were vertical 'loopholes' (slats to shoot out of) in the floor so no one could hide in the blind spot next to the first floor walls.  (think old westerns- one guy pressed up against the wall while another unsuspecting guy walks through the door)

(check out the tail- Asa= "a leopard hockey player wearing sunglasses")

i have always loved history (can you tell?!) as does my dad.  maybe it runs in the family.  i love exposing the kids to the wonders of the past in such a tangible way.

we had a great day-  here's to a new generation of historians! 

field trip Wednesday: a day at the park

this week after gymnastics we met the kids' cousin at Christie Pits park for some playground action.  it was a fine spring day. 

a highlight:  walking the labyrinth.

bears like it, too.

field trip Wednesday: Monday morning jazz

(or, Bears Who Love Jazz)

we had our field trip early this week.  every Monday morning, Ellington's Cafe has live jazz.  the whole family went with our friend/next door neighbour/Asa's godfather, Grahame. 

it was especially good to have Lee see some live music because he spends so much time playing piano every day.  

homeschooling note:  we require Lee to do a minimum practice every day (scales, exercises, and songs for his weekly lesson), but he often plays for hours a day above and beyond that for his own pleasure (pop songs, especially the Beatles, writing his own songs, etc).   he also does a formal music theory lesson with his piano teacher every week.  Piano has evolved into his main homeschool activity- which is wonderful because he loves it and we see how much he is learning, musically and otherwise.  one day he played for 7 hours (with a break for lunch!)

field trip Wednesday: Kensington Market

 
(one of my favourite Toronto landmarks- see the kitty up on the chair?)

after our gymnastics class, we headed to Kensington Market so i could go to the health food store.  i know, lame field trip- i think i mentioned my present level of minimalism around here.  we did go to the library and read a ton of books as well, so no one was complaining.  

i discovered something great-  the little yellow monkey and his brother absolutely love Jamaican chicken roti.  it's my favourite 'street' food. "Mom!  Can you make this at home sometime??!!"  yum!! 

field trip Wednesday: Pop Art at the AGO

field trip Wednesday: the library

the kids have started taking a homeschoolers gymnastics class on Wednesday mornings- easy to head off from there for an adventure. 

yesterday we visited the best children's library in town and spent a long time reading and browsing.  for many of you, this probably doesn't seem like a big deal, but because we have our library bus we don't often make it to the big branch.  i love libraries!!!

Lee has finished his Egypt research and has chosen a new topic: the Elements of the Periodic Table. 

  A while ago I got him this book: The Periodic Table: Elements with Style!.  he loved it- and it started a whole new interest. 

on a funny note, his grandmother introduced him to this song

and a love affair was born!

yesterday Lee got a big stack of books about the Elements and chemistry in general. 

as i write this, "Mom!  Did you know that scientists think there are only about 25 grams of the element astatine on the entire planet?!!"

i am in awe all over again about how fun learning is when you have the interest. 

field trip Wednesday: bear about town

do you know this book?

well---- !!

today we went to the Royal Ontario Museum. 

Asa wore his teddy bear costume (his Ewok costume from Halloween, sans accessories).  He has worn it every day this week, including grocery shopping on Monday:

after the ROM, we headed down Bloor Street (a fancy shopping district in downtown Toronto) on our way home.

we window shopped a bit

and then came upon this very unusual scene: 4 women in space-age style jumpsuits dancing with suitcases (and without any music!) 

my first thought was that they were street performers, but no hat/jar with which to collect money, no music, and no one else was stopping to watch.  then i thought maybe they were promoting something, but they weren't really in front of a store, their suitcases were all sort of beat-up looking, and there were no signs anywhere.  i think this will puzzle me forever.  we all thought it was hilarious and watched for a while.  they were very friendly, and one of the dancers even asked Asa about his bear suit between twirls.

then, home on the bus

i LOVE that Asa is so unselfconcious with his costumes.  i had no idea how much he would wear this costume- i am so happy that he is so happy with it.  he is one satisfying kid to sew for...  i will make him whatever he wants!

field trip Wednesday: the ROM Egyptian collection

when we got tickets to see the King Tut exhibit at the AGO next week, we decided it would fun for Lee to do a report on Ancient Egypt. 

i had in mind that he would choose one aspect of this topic- such as mummies or pyramids.  but the kid seems to have inherited my grand intentions and wants to do ALL of Ancient Egypt. 

homeschool pedagogy note:  i struggled with wanting him to do the traditional research method- i.e. take notes as you read, organize notes into report.  But he wanted to read all the books at once- about 10 books we got gotten from the public library and our local school library- and then just sit down and write it.  my man and i talked it over and decided that until he is more comfortable with writing, we wouldn't 'make' him take notes.  we did have him do an outline first which i think was a really good call.  so he's writing away- starting with what he calls 'Lifestyle'- food and drink, social hierarchy, wardrobe, and pastimes.  i am astounded by what he can remember.  maybe that's the difference- my old brain needs what his young elastic brain doesn't.

so this week we went to see the Egyptian Collection at the ROM while we were on the subject:

when we were at the ROM, he gave me and Asa long lectures (but in a good way) about mummification and the gods of Ancient Egypt.  so cool what you can learn from your kid! 

field trip *Monday*: ice skating

the forecast was great, the kids were excited after their first skating lessons on the weekend, so we did our field trip early this week.  (i think i'm stretching it a bit to call it a 'field trip' really, but we're getting ready for our Christmas Boutique this weekend and we don't have any other outings planned this week) 

this skating rink is amazing- it's right next to the lake and, on a Monday morning, we had it all to ourselves.  being on an expanse of white ice and open sky we were very aware of the low winter sun as it went in and out of the clouds.  

(see Asa on his hands and knees?  he lasted about 5 minutes and tried to convince me he couldn't do it- AFTER i had seen him skate for an hour the day before in his lesson!)

Maxine was on skates for the very first time and she was amazing.  (photo by Lee)

and afterwards we had to get hot dogs as we passed the hot dog stand on our way to the grocery store.

field trip Wednesday: the good old hockey game

the boys went with their dad to a Toronto Marlies game today.  before they left, they listened to this song to get into the mood.  it's the unofficial Canadian anthem.

field trip Wednesday: the Royal Winter Fair

i love love love the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair (and isn't it fun we can live in Canada and go to things that are "Royal")

:: we saw farmers milking cows with velvet-looking fur, and learned that 94% of the milk in Ontario comes from Holsteins

:: we watched the fabulous 'Sheep Shearing Shelleys' shear a sheep (the teenage daughter has been presenting and narrating this demo for at least 6 years now- since she was about 8 maybe? and is such a performer.  they make farming look like a fun family affair)

 

:: we gawked at these prize-winning giant pumpkins

:: the boys raced some mini Nascar RC cars

:: we admired tried out the Japanese tractors, learned about biofuel, and saw the chassis and engine of a big pick-up truck

 

:: we got really excited about dancing and racing dogs

we also--

bought some amazing smoked trout from Manitoulin Island; ate some chocolate fudge, perogies and cabbage rolls, and fish and chips; saw some butter sculptures (!!); petted some goats, sheep, and llamas; tasted birch syrup; learned about urban homesteading; and watched some show horses.

finally, to top off a wonderful day, we had cereal and fried eggs for dinner.  

good night!

field trip Wednesday: Calder show at the AGO

this week we saw:

Alexander Calder: The Paris Years 1926–1933.  this show features the twentieth century’s most celebrated and influential sculptor.

Calder spent his formative years hitting the streets of Paris with a creation that has to be seen to be believed — a magical miniature circus.

Featuring more than 100 works, this exhibition tells the story of Calder’s artistic trajectory — from his early sketches of circus folk in New York and the small wire sculptures he created in Paris to early examples of his famous mobiles. The focal point of the exhibition is Calder’s Circus, a miniature three-dimensional circus that Calder created between 1926 and 1931 and then performed internationally for decades, garnering the attention of the Paris art scene and introducing him to artists whose friendship and influence would change his life and work forever, including Mondrian, Miró and Man Ray.

this was a particularly good show for kids as it was very whimsical. 

here's a snippet of the documentary we watched at the museum that shows Calder performing his circus:

there weren't too many of his fabulous mobiles, but there were a lot of wire head sculptures that the kids really dug.

Lee made a wire head sculpture today- of Samuel de Champlain.  we have been learning about early Canadian history and European explorers.  I SWEAR i had nothing to do with his choice of figures.  i thought he'd just do a generic 'guy.'  this choice was particularly funny to me because often, in school, teachers combine art with other subjects ("choose a figure from history to make a portrait of...") but this was completely from Lee.  he used these pictures as he worked:

i helped him a bit by holding his sculpture as he worked, and helped him twist the wire where it joined to other pieces but the rest was all him.  and, wow, i was blown away by his 3D rendering.  he had it all worked out in his head before he started and he was very pleased with how it turned out.

 

my boy with his arm around Samuel de Champlain!

field trip Wednesday: St-Marie-Among-The-Hurons

On wednesday this week we drove 2 hours north of Toronto to Georgian Bay to visit the oldest European settlement in Ontario. 

St-Marie-Among-The-Hurons was a French Jesuit mission established in 1639 to convert the Wendat (Huron) people to Christianity.  in 1649, the French fled and burned their settlement as they were about to be taken over by the Iroquois (the enemies of the Wendat people.)  The settlement was excavated and reconstructed in the 1950s.  We were with a homeschooling school trip (homeschoolers sometimes  band together to get group rates like school groups do) and participated in a full-day program of activities and a tour.

It was fascinating to learn both about European life and Native American life in the time period.  the guides were dressed as Jesuits, French workers and Native people and were extremely well-versed in the life and times of the 17th Century. 

it was grey and cold and rainy, but we still had a fantastic day.  i was a bit nervous about driving that far for a field trip, but the kids really enjoyed it and, i think, got a lot out of it.  they got to make clay good luck figures, play lacrosse, try out some 17th century tools, and learn about Native children's games.  we learned about the customs and beliefs of both Native and French people and how they compared and contrasted in the way they built their homes, prepared food, dressed, worshiped, and lived.

here are some photos from the day:

 

field trip Wednesday: the ROM and the Wave Deck

yesterday we resumed our weekly field trips with a visit to the Royal Ontario Museum.  of course, we hit the dinosaurs, the knights (armour and weaponry) and the bat cave.  Lee, being the detail man that he is, read on the signage that most of the dinosaurs were "fake!"- that is casts of the fossils.  he was a little indignant.

on the way there and back, the kids collected "subway bubways" (the name Asa gave the transfers you get in the subway station machines).  I always find getting someplace on public transport is half the fun- for the kids at least. 

killing time until the ferry, our last stop was a good long visit to the Wave Deck. 

my camera battery ran out in the very beginning of the day- so here are some dinos, and a picture of the Wave Deck from the summer.

image via

field trip Wednesday: St Lawrence Market

we walked up to the St. Lawrence Market to get some treats and go to the show at the Market Gallery: Toronto Island Narratives, Past and Present.  admittedly this is of particular interest to us, but i really enjoyed it.  (so did Lee, but Asa said it was the "poopiest field trip ever.  this isn't a SHOW!  it's just some stuff."  But i hope he secretly liked it) 

It was a tribute to the recently deceased keeper of the Island Archives - some great historical photos and artwork inspired by Island history.

field trip Wednesday: Captain John's and Redpath Sugar

destination:  the Redpath Sugar factory and Captain John's restaurant.  Captain John's is a 300 foot long repurposed cruise ship that has been anchored at the foot of Yonge St. since 1975. 

view from the ferry: Redpath is on the far right, and Captain John's is on the far left.

both are on the waterfront, directly across the water from the Island where we live.  it was high time for a visit!

first stop: the 'famous' clam chowder at Capt. John's. 

the ambience was not a disappointment.  picture a cruise ship turned into a restaurant in 1975, with fairly opulent decor, and NOTHING changed since.  it was incredibly shabby and charming.  we met Captain John himself and he invited us to poke around the ship.

Next stop: Redpath Sugar factory.

the Redpath Museum had some visual displays that were fairly dull, if well put together, but an eccentric curator and an excellent video showing how sugar is made right there in the factory. 

next to the grocery store (while not technically part of the field trip, I like to do as much as i can while in the city) where we saw this:

how cool for the boys to see the shelves of sugar right after visiting the factory where it was made! 

2 things happened after our visit that in the education world would probably be called 'lesson extensions' or some term like that in the education world:  we tasted some sugar cane and we made brown sugar.  Both of these things happened completely spontaneously and organically and gave me a few chills about our homelearning process.

while we were in the produce section, Lee exclaimed, "Mom!  They have sugar cane!"  We had to buy some of course, but it was so old that we only managed a few chips away at the inside to get a taste of the cane juice.  But i love that he saw it and recognized it and we could buy it right after our factory visit!

when we got home and were putting away the groceries, Lee asked if we could make some brown sugar.  (i had asked about that at the museum- did you know all brown sugar and 'raw' sugar is processed white sugar with molasses added back into it?  i am going to start saving some serious money on my brown sugar habit.  i have it in tea every day and love to use it in baking)

the boys loved "their" sugar on their oatmeal this morning!

field trip Wednesday

now that we're homeschooling again, we've set aside Wednesdays for 'field trips.' 

Today we went to the Art Gallery of Ontario and checked out the Frank Gehry renovation- gorgeous.

 

image via

little Maxine walked up all 5 flights of these incredible stairs.  we got a family membership and i'm looking forward to returning often.

next- a walk through Chinatown to Kensington Market to pick up some supplies at my favourite health food store and a 'treat'- some pop!

 

i am so used to Asa wearing costumes that i kept thinking, why is everyone smiling and looking at us?  (he was a snow leopard today)  some day soon i'll post about his dress-up habit...