Where were they for the bird count?!?!

Sheesh!!

'A' Final Champs! What a game :)

Today was the playoff day for the boys hockey team. They all played so well together all year and they won their final game in a shoot out. It was such an exciting game. I think when I look back on things it will be those moments (small as they may seem), that stand out. To feel the togetherness of the parents and children during that finale was wonderful! We were very fortunate to be surrounded by families who just wanted their kiddos to be happy and cheered them on rain or shine.

Here are some pictures of the party afterwards. I had to do them with my iPad as I forgot my camera :s And seriously any pictures during the game would have been blurry as I was jumping like a crazed woman most of the game :)

Mr. Thumbs Up (on the left) is Mr. Monkeys defensive partner, they make an awesome team! They both scored goals today which made it all the sweeter for them both!

Super excited!

Winter Nature Study - Moon

This week we looked at the moon and its different phases. Our friends made a pretty awesome box which allowed us to view the moon and its different phases first hand. It was a REALLY cool box LOL Pictures below will show you what we could see when we looked inside.

We did a few other activities around the phases of the moon: The children spun around a lamp and where able to note the different shadows.

And the most prized of the activities was to shape the phases using the cream filling of an Oreo cookie :)

Lots of fun!

Box of Awesomeness! Each little hole was covered with some play dough You uncover one at a time to see that particular phase.

Inside the box

Moon phases by lamp

Moon Phases by Oreo Cookie!

Winter Nature Study - Chickadees

This is the first project of our Winter Nature Study - Chickadees!

The children did drawings and paintings of this lovely little bird. The compared our local chickadee with those around the globe. The listened to the difference in call from one species to the next.

It was a great start to our Winter Nature Study!

Chickadee in our feeders last year :)

Journey North Week 2 & Bird Feeders!

Today was week 2 of Mystery Class! We were able to separate the Northern and Southern Hemisphere locations, with the exception of one. We think it may reside near the equator as it did not gain or lose time but it did shift in it's sunrise and sunset. So we'll see how that one goes!

We also did bird feeders today to prepare for The Great Backyard Bird Count! Here's how you can participate: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/howto.

Completed Mystery Locations

Separated by hemisphere, with the exception being the bottom one, it's still a mystery :)

Winter Nature Study - Quartz

Our next study involved investigating Quartz! They had to investigate the properties of it and see if they could scratch it, or if it could scratch and mark other things. We also took the opportunity to grow some Aluminum Potassium Sulfate crystals on rocks and some Polymer Crystals in test tubes :)

Journey North is UNDERWAY!!

That's right we are on it!! I like this project because it reminds me that week by week we are getting more and more sunshine dang it!! It brings hope of a warmer season, that and I like to colour :p

If you are unfamiliar with the project you can find more here: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/mclass/About.html, it covers so many areas it CRAZY!!

Gathering sunrises and sunsets for our Mystery Locations

Colour, colour, colour

A few additional exercises with the project!

Home and our 10 Mystery Locations!