Math games and pancakes!

Liam and Teigan having fun with math. Here they are building the numbers with tens and ones. When there are ten popcorn kernals those go into the "tens" container and into the tens column. (Making sure to write one more group of ten.

They would build a number with the 1000, 100, 10 and 1 chips and the other would write down the number.
She actually has it right, you just can't see the piled chips!
Our "Fraction Action" game that we play with the geometric blocks. You have to use the real shape names and the fraction, (hexagon, rhombus, trapezoid and triangle), the hexagon = 1, the rhombus = 1/3, the trapezoid = 1/2, and the triangle = 1/6. When you roll the dice you put on what ever fraction piece you roll. You can make "trades", and you have to say what the trade is. Example: "1/3 + 1/6 = 1/2". Or "1/2 + 1/6 = 2/3". When you fill up your hexagon - one whole - you get a point.

Other fun things the kids like to do with those blocks. Building symmetrical rocket ships...
And symmetrical, three dimensional bugs - (that get bumped!)
Banned from my own kitchen again. This morning I was not allowed in at all, so went to practice piano with Teigan. Completely on their own, the boys made pancakes from scratch, with a little extra vanilla and a hint of brown sugar. Delicious! I was only allowed in at the end to take a few pictures!
I've got some great little chefs happening around here!

Playing with motion

When left to their own devices... the experiments always come out!

This time they built a "track" and were experimenting to see how far they could roll this seat pad. It went through various stages of creation and then various rolling objects. "We need something wider! That'll be more stable." "Hey let's take this part out of the track, it's slowing down the momentum."


Force and motion anyone?!

The MacMillian Pumpkin Farm

A beautiful day for a pumpkin farm! This was a new farm for us. We hadn't heard of it before, but we will certainly be back.

Teigan held her lamb above her head in the hay maze so her friend could find her! The corn maze however was WAY too high.

Some of the girls on the hay ride. We had a big hay ride all around the property. Besides cows and sheep, we also saw blue heron and heard about how they are now hunting the mice in his fields.
Some of the boys...
Having a great time in the corn box.
The corn maze was fantastic. We all had fun and the kids went through it numerous times. We only lost two kids. (Of course they were the three year olds!)
Teigan and Ariana heading in...
It was a gorgeous farm. The only disappointment was that the pumpkin sling shot was broken. We might just have to build one of those!

We bought lots of different little pumpkins, gourds, corn cobs and other things for a fall table. The kids of course had fun taking the wagon back from the car.
And time to go!

Abbotsford Game Farm

The best part of the game farm was the raptor show that the trainer did just for us.


The face of this barn owl acts as a parabolic dish enabling it to hear better.
All raptors who are born in captivity must have a gold ring on their leg to show this fact. This hawk and his brother were named Frodo and Sam (Lord of the Rings) because they carried the ring.
I got to hold and pet Frodo. His beak and his talons were very sharp and a little intimidating close up!
This llama certainly enjoyed the attention that it got from the kids.
While the older giraffe didn't come close to us, the young one was very friendly and curious. This is quite a young giraffe, as his spots are still very light. They go darker and almost black as they age.

Fort Langley and the Voyageurs

While the weather wasn't the greatest, it didn't dampen any enthusiasm or excitement. This was a great trip with some great friends.

Teigan helped with the flag as the parents sang God Save the Queen.

We got to feel and check out lots of different furs that would have been traded and hauled up the rivers for the fur trade with Europe.
Boxes of course would be harder to move so fish, cranberries and other supplies were packed in crates. The kids all tried their hand at barrel rolling. Girls vs. Boys!
My littlest voyageur. Notice the rain drops on the river! And of course the high fashion black garbage bags. (Some things were authentic.)
Samuel digging in on the 20-20-20. We learned different strokes and songs that the voyageurs used.
Liam working hard. Some of the kids just gave up on hats and keeping their heads dry.
The voyageur's salute!
A really great trip! The next day was bright and sunny, but Samuel thought that this day was more authentic to what the voyageurs would have experienced more often than not. Great attitude.

Steamboat Rock and the Grand Coulee Dam

Our great crew of kids. What a fantastic time together. Lots of creative play, joy and laughter.

Jayden and Samuel doing the dishes - chores don't stop just because you're camping!
One of the many games...
Liam, of course, helped with the cooking. Here he is preparing the peppers and onions for the fajitas.
The Grand Coulee Dam at night night time. The water is coming down and the blue and green are lasers. They did a wonderful presentation on the history of the area and the dam.
Liam and Grant checking out the model of the dam and how it works.
Samuel and Teigan "flying" through the dam and area.
Teigan and a model of one of the turbines.
Fishing is always a favourite.
In this picture you can see more of the geographical land formations of the area.
Boys and fishing.
All seven kids.
They drew cities and roads with the sidewalk chalk and had a great time playing together.

Back yard Archaeology!

What a fantastic afternoon this turned out to be! We are studying explorers and right now we are looking at the Vikings. We were reading about the settlement that was discovered in Newfoundland and how the archaeologists uncovered it, proving that there was a viking settlement there right about a 1000 years ago. So today we set up our own dig, and pretended that we were looking for evidence that people had once lived in this area. What fantastic artifacts we found.

Ariana sifting through the dirt, being careful not to damage anything.
The dig site and archaeologists from above.
In Ariana's quadrant she found what everyone decided was one of the most important discoveries. A coin showing that the people who did live in this area had some kind of money system.
Each archaeologist dug in their quadrant and recorded what they found. Then we all got together and shared what each one found, speculating over what something may have been or what it was used for.
Teigan carefully cleaning the dirt off one of the found "artifacts".
Liam and Ariana, finding one of his treasures to share about.
Teigan filling in the rest of her grid, while Ariana is showing her the exciting coin!
Samuel showing Liam one of the finds so he can draw it into the proper quadrant.
This whole activity took about two hours and the kids were right into it the whole time. What a great afternoon!