Following Our Dreams

Sidney has a joy of life that Ken and I want to celebrate. When she is moved by an idea, a passion, a dream, she embraces it and "goes for it!". She is here teaching us as adults that we too can do the same.

Sidney strolled into the kitchen with all her science stuff and said. Today we are being scientists and doing experiments! So we did.

.
Invisible Ink Experiment. Lemon juice and q-tips on paper. Lemon juice mixed with water dilutes the carbon and it will come out almost clear on paper.

When heated the carbon in the lemon juice turns brown and the writing can be seen!

We also spent some time turning the wick up on the lantern and playing with the smoke patterns. So cool!

Then for something really cool... snow art and colour mixing. What happens when......

This was just plain fun. We hypothesised about what would happen once all the snow melted.

Our answers were recorded then it was off for some silliness while we waited for the snow to melt.

Cat Ballet / Tap which is why there are four sets of shoes of course!

Look Mom, I am a Barbie!!!!

Ken is embracing his dream to share his music with the world. He is working so hard at his business during the day and playing and rehearsing many nights of the week. He is going for it and while it is time consuming and work it is also rocks his soul and grounds him.

Hahaha, an old picture of Ken and I at Rick's Place when we used to gig as Acoustically Challenged.

I have been driven to needle felt almost everyday because I find joy, calmness and pride in the work. I buy my supplies at a wool store which embraces spinning, weaving, knitting and felting and got brave enough to bring in my wares this week. They always ask what I am making but I never go into much detail so Friday I brought a small sample of the things I can make. The store owner was really impressed and one of the employees commissioned some work from me. To top that, I have been asked to teach needle felting workshops. Yup, they are going to pay me to teach workshops at their store on the weekends. :) I am thrilled, shocked and also confident that this is what following your passion is about.

This is a recent commission called Angel Face. She is a Leucistic Black capped Chickadee which means she has an albino gene that causes white pigment in her feathers.

A friend of the client who commissioned this work, used to see this bird daily on his walks for the last 9 years. He became quite attached to her and would feed her and she would fly to him when she saw him coming. She has not been seen in the last three months so they suspect she has reached the end of her life span. This replica of Angel Face will sit in the gentleman's home to remind him of this friendship.

My newest creations that are turning heads are these Wee Beasties with the Wee, Wee Beastie Babes. I have been trying to make a few different ones for stock for a craft fair this year and I have been getting some commissions from them! They are unique and draw a lot of ooohhhh's and ahhhhh's. Marsupial Monsters, check them out!

Babes in pouch.

Babes out of pouch.

I have also started to plan for Valentines day. Here is what I have come up with so far. I hope to bring them to the workshops and sell them there. They will be 8.00 a piece or three for 20.00. Roses that last forever!

So thank you Sidney for showing us what life learning is about, for teaching us to be passionate about what moves us and for guiding us in our own journey to find our dreams.

Brrrrrr

It was -31 when we woke up this morning! Holy COW! It is the coldest it has been so far this winter. By the time we headed out to play we decided on boots and jackets for the dogs. It is the first time this year they have had to wear them and they were great about it. We managed to stay outside for about and hour and a half.


Maggie testing the footwear. "SUPER MAGS"

All tuckered out, but warm!

A few weeks back I struck another Freecycle gold mine. A 6ft wooden toboggan in awesome condition. I picked it up during our big thaw and have been really anxious to give it a go. Ummm I mean I have been really anxious to let the kids try it out :P

Last week with snow really here to stay, Magda and I took the girls out for a touch of sledding.

The hills was steep so Sid wore her helmet. She really wasn't too sure about the entire thing. It took some convincing but finally she sat in the middle and braved the hill.

Here I am shocked as the sled had been pointing down hill (all the way to the left in the above picture) but just as we came into camera range, right on cue, the toboggan spun counterclockwise to provide Magda with the perfect shots!

And then we wiped out!

This is what it is alllll about :)

Heading back to the van, the girls got a free ride which was well deserved after all that hill climbing. Great shots Magda thank you! And also a SUPER big thank you to the kind family that re-homed their lovely toboggan with us.

On Wednesday our beautiful Groovy turned 8. Now that she is an older gal perhaps I should introduce her with her proper name, Princedale's Wildflower Groove C.G.C.. Eight years, wow! She really has mellowed into a beautiful friend with a huge heart. For Groovy's present Sid selected 3 small Kong squeaky tennis balls. These are perfect because Maggie does not like any other dogs having fun and will always take Groovy's toys from her when she is trying to play. These little balls tuck right into Groovy's mouth where Maggie cannot pull them out. Happiness is.....

Today I got an interesting link about whether to teach young kids math. I laughed because I happened to sign Sid up for Dreambox math online today. LOL never fails... Anyhow I thought it was worth passing on.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201003/when-less-is-more-the-case-teaching-less-math-in-schools

And finally something else schooly, a cool parenting quiz to see how you parent/teach your kid(s). Who doesn't love quizzes?! Enjoy!

Edu-Parent Quiz provided by DreamBox Learning a kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade math game.

About the Edu-Parent Teaching Styles
As part of our commitment to support parent involvement in their children’s education, DreamBox Learning has sponsored the development of this Edu-Parent™ Quiz. It’s designed to help parents assess the style with which they interact and engage with their children on variety of educational topics. The Edu-Parent Quiz was co-authored and compiled by recognized educators and experts on parent education with over 30 years of community leadership.

The Edu-Parent Styles
There are a range of edu-parent styles, and each offers benefits and presents unique challenges. Here are the different styles that our experts have identified.

Coach
Coaches expect their children to always do their personal best and become successful learners. They talk with their children about school and steer them towards situations that play to their learning strengths. Children come to coaches to brainstorm ideas. They help their children “practice” and encourage them in any endeavor, offering reinforcement, advice and praise. The feedback coaches give helps their children course-correct, and learn from any experience.

A Coach’s challenges are:

•To recognize when to let their children take the baton and run on their own.
•And to realize that not everything in life has a game plan.


Historian
Historians share both knowledge and confidence borne out of a wealth of experience. They want to save their children the trouble of re-inventing the wheel — they’ve learned what does and doesn’t work and want to pass this along! Historians want kids to understand and benefit from valuable lessons they learned growing up. They take time to explain how to complete tasks and projects, and show their children how to take proven and effective approaches in their life. Historians are available to provide guidance and direction when needed and their children may seek out their tried and true advice and support.

An Historian’s challenges are:

•To recognize and adapt when their children prefer their own unique and effective solutions.
•And to let their children learn about the process of discovery instead of prescribing the outcome.


Mentor
Mentors are focused on preparing their children for life-long learning. When talking with their children, they listen and guide with questions, often providing choices and decision-making opportunities. While strategies and boundaries they establish might be invisible to the casual observer, they ground their parenting style. By modeling independent thinking and problem solving, Mentors hope their children become independent learners and thinkers in their own right.

A Mentor’s challenges are:

•To listen to what their children are saying, rather than listening for what they want to hear.
•And to respect their children’s independent thoughts and ask the next question—even when they disagree.


Observer
Believing that children learn from their experiences, and with a high tolerance for mistakes, Observers feel children do best with minimal parental interference. Sometimes they stand back and let the situation unfold in its own way — thinking they may not have the right answer — knowing the more experiences their children have, the more confident they will be as adults. Assuming things will work out, as they should, Observers believe the most valuable gift is letting go.

An Observer’s challenges are:

•To recognize when their children need them to be available.
•And to help their children know when they need to ask for assistance or advice and whom they might ask.


Superhero
Superheroes understand the value of hard work and persistence, and have high standards. They teach their children to always do their best, and that it never hurts to have an extra set of eyes double-check their work to eliminate errors. They have that eye for detail and help their children by showing them where something might need a bit more work or attention. Because Superheroes are dedicated to the end result, they will help their children finish projects and provide encouragement, guidance and assistance to make sure their best is always represented in everything they do.

A Superhero’s challenges are:

•To recognize how mistakes can become steppingstones to learning.
•And to help their children decide when and how to be independent with their work.

Snowshoeing... finally!!!

Our snow came back with a vengeance. Although it made driving tedious on the weekend and we missed going into town for our Friday group, we are thrilled to be able to play in the snow again. Sid and I decided to go for a late night snowshoe with the puppers.


The snow wasn't too heavy but snowshoeing is a lot of work for little legs!!


Time to head home.

Meet Sid's new friend Rosebud (I don't know why she named her that!!) I call her a Wee Beastie with a Wee, Wee Beastie Babe. Obviously this cuddle creature is a marsupial Mama (or papa!) who is filled with hours of endless imaginative play. Sid helped me design her by picking the number of eyes, how they were positioned, arms, hair instead of horns, number of dots etc. It was a really fun project. What has been so amazing is the amount of play Rosebud has inspired. Many of Sids toys have been "rescued" and popped into Rosebud's pouch for a safe return. Rosie, the baby, always seems to get herself into trouble and Mama Wee Beastie needs to keep better eyes on her!! Last night they slept with Sid and got two thumbs up for the cuddle test. So 100% Wool, 100% customizable Wee Beasties are now available for order through my website http://www.naturesplayroom.com/.

Oh Deer!

My Lil' Tree Hugger :)


After a nice long Christmas and New Years break with family we got to reconnect with some of our friends this week with the first Nature Club meeting for 2011! We decided to meet at Old Quarry Trail where the deer are quite tame. We loaded our pockets and backpacks with apples and carrots and hit the trail. It was quite nice at only -2 but the wind was deceptively chilly. We had 5 families show up for a total of 7 kids and 6 adults.
Not exactly a small quiet group to entice deer, however, we did get them to come close enough to sample some carrots. There were at least three other people there separately trying to feed the deer with one photographer chasing them through the woods so they were really timid. Maybe we will go back alone with just one friend in a week or two and try our luck again. The company was fabulous and it was really nice to be out in the woods again.

These two deer were the brave ones that sampled our treats. We saw at least 4 others including a mom and fawn.

On the lookout for deer.

Bella decides this bush looks like a good spot for a snack.

Cool fort. Sabine climbed so high we lost her for a bit :)

Heading back to the car, after about an hour hands and feet were getting cold!

Back at home we have gone back to enjoying our woods now that there is snow again. Lots of fox, deer and cotton tail tracks to follow here. Due to the thaw there was a lot of ice in the low spots and in the ditch. Sid discovered that she could be pulled across the ice by the dogs. The pups weren't to pleased with the idea.

Once the holidays were over and we had no more guests dropping in I told Sid she could set up her Playmobile land. The first thing Monday the 3rd she got right to it!

Sid just loves playmobile and can play with it for hours. We have all the components for the vet clinic, and we have the zoo and horse wash. For Christmas Uncle Rick bought her the Dragon Castle and she was ecstatic with the new edition. The castle guards the town of course and it shoot rubber tipped arrows so she can keep the dangerous Bairedales from attacking the village.

Five is soooo funny. Sid is full of tales and stories and made up things here is one that she came up with the other day. I happened to be at the computer so started taking dictation. Now, keep in mind, this is soooo five year old......

Sid:
Have you ever heard of the country called Fartingparlour. It is this place where every two minutes people fart, every two minutes! So it is really stinky there. And there is rotten banana peels, rotten oranges and all sorts of stinky stuff and farting people. Even the governor general actually farts every two minutes. Every person in that country farts every two minutes unless they are from this country and that is just where their cottage is.

Kenny is working hard trying to lean 24 songs in 6 weeks. He has been asked to join 4Way Street, a Crosby Stills and Nash cover band. He has played with many of them in the past but they want to back him with his originals so they are going to do a few gigs together, the first is coming up on February 12th.

Here is another one of Ken's originals, written over 20 years ago called Sentimental sweetheart.

This next song has great potential to really rock with the full band and harmonies behind it. It is called How Low, totally different from the first two I have posted. Enjoy!

A New Year and a New Decade

As I reflect on 2010 I think of growth. Sidney is 5 now and with that comes new challenges but also new freedoms for her parents. She is more capable of doing routine things on her own which gives us back a small piece of who we were B.C. (before child!). Not that helping her is a bad thing just that the past 5 years have been dedicated to her and now she is blossoming into her own capable little person.

For me the theme of 2010 is friendship. I have made some very incredible life long friends this year and what is most magical is they are not just my friends, their Sid's friends, Ken's friends, family friends. From the moment we decided we wanted to homeschool it was a struggle to find a place where I felt I fit. It isn't just that our schooling choices were different but our parenting styles varied so much from most main stream friends. We chose to be life learners with Sid, grasping any opportunity to learn something new while embracing attachment parenting. Until 2010, it was a lonely road. This year we have found our "pack". Like minded friends and families who strive to set the same kinds of goals and relationships with their friends and families. In 2010 I have started to build the village that will help us raise our child and it is home. I still have great relationships with my hockey friends and some past work friends but nothing touches the bond I have created with our new "families". You know who you are ;-) and I thank you for your love, support and mostly your friendship. We LOVE you guys!!!!

This year Sid was also able to connect with a very, very best friend who she seems to share so many interests with. I am so happy for her and her "sister" as she calls her. I truly hope it is also a life long friendship so they can be pseudo siblings to each other. There to support, love and advise as needed.

And now 2011 is here and fresh as we watch it unfold I think about what we might just accomplish this year. I asked Sid what her goals were for 2011 and she said to see her cousins more, learn to skateboard and hug mom and dad more! For me I want to laugh more, play more and not get so upset when we are running late (this will be hard for me!!!). Also I really want to build stock for my http://www.naturesplayroom.com/ store. For Ken, well, this is his year. He hasn't gotten back to me on his goals but I think for him it is like the magical birthday wish, if you tell, it won't come true. So I am going to guess at Ken's goal.... He is going to record and release an album this year. Yes, he is that good. You will be shocked and awed at the skill and talent of this man. He wooed me with his good looks but he melted my heart with his voice and song writing talent. To celebrate Ken's goal (which I made up!!!) I am going to upload a video link to a song with every post until I have them all uploaded. Ken ended 2010 in studio with some musician friends from way back. They opened up a studio and had ken come in and lay down just a basic guitar and vocal track. These are unproduced demos to get the music down, just Ken and his guitar. As the year moves on you will hear many of these tracks produced with more vocals and full bass, drum and guitar tracks, they will be ready for album release. Ken has waited years for this and now the timing is right.

To celebrate our year of friendships, I chose Ken's song "Nothings Wrong". He wrote this one in September. Enjoy!!!



And a last note is one of thanks for Ann, Dirk, Grandmama, Grandpa Bill, Laura, Sophie, and Julia for joining us on New Years eve. Emily was here in our hearts but was babysitting so was unable to come. It was suppose to be a New Years Eve skating party but with the HUGE thaw we would have had to change it into a swimming party. Loads of fun was had in any case and we thank you for helping us to ring in the new year. Some pictures below are from our cookie face races and Wii challenges. Everyone seemed to have a sport they excelled at. It was so fun. If we get ice back this year we will have a skating party.





Happy 2011 everyone. Wishing you a magical and joyous year.
Steph, Ken and Sidney