Brazillian Jiu Jitsu Tournament!

The Boy was involved in his first Jiu Jitsu Tournament this past weekend!  He did really well and had a blast with the other boys from Musashi Martial Arts in Barrie!

Warm up!

First bout!  We have video for the rest but this is just before the action started!

Metals!

Proud Dude!

Nature Study ~ Robins

Today's Nature Study was about Robins!  The kiddos did their investigation sheet at home and then we got outdoors to enjoy the sunshine!  My camera decided it was all done after a few pictures outdoors but we managed a couple before it died! 

Surprisingly we saw more Robins outside our front door than we did in the forested area we visited!  So that was a neat finding :) 

Robin Sketch

Robin Sketch #2

We were pretty pumped to see the Trillium's getting ready to bust open.  This one was early but the rest were wrapped up still.  We are heading back to enjoy those in a few days!

Run, run, run!  I think they forgot the idea of bird watching...  being quiet and observant will have to be worked on LOL

Winogradsky Column ~ April 2012

Here are some new pictures of our Winogradsky :)  Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Science Fair!!

Each year I organize a Science Fair for the homeschoolers in the area.  This year we had a huge increase in participants, it was pretty exciting!  I won't post all the pictures here as I don't have permission from parents to do so but here are a couple of my kiddos :)

The Boy did a project called the Leaky Bladder LOL  He took baggies filled with water and lanced them with a skewer in set out directions to see which would yield the most water loss.  He really just liked poking the baggies the most LOL

Little Miss did her project on Tornado Science!  A friend lent us their tornado tube and she showed how to make a watery tornado.  Lots of people liked giving it a go!  She also included Tornado Safety because you can't be too careful LOL

Fort York!

We went on an overnight field trip to Fort York last week!  This was a really fun outing :)  Here is a little information about Fort York:

The settlement of modern Toronto began in 1793 when Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe built a garrison on the present site of Fort York. Fearful of war with the United States, Simcoe planned to establish a naval base at Toronto in order to control Lake Ontario. Simcoe also moved the Capital to Toronto from the exposed border town of Niagara. Civilian settlement followed and a community named York began to grow two kilometres east of the fort (York was renamed Toronto in 1834). 

In 1812, the United States declared war and invaded Canada. On the 27^th of April 1813, the U.S. Army and Navy attacked York with 2,700 men on 14 ships and schooners. The defenders put up a strong fight but fell back to Fort York in the face of overwhelming odds, eventually abandoning the fort and town to the enemy. In the autumn of that year, the British returned to Toronto and built the fortification that stands today. Fort York’s cannon and earthworks became obsolete in the 1880s, although the army continued to use the fort for training, barracks, offices and storage until the 1930s. 

Fort York opened as an historic site museum in 1934.Today, Fort York is home to Canada's largest collection of original War of 1812 buildings. The Fort is open year round and offers a number of services, including tours, exhibits, period room settings and seasonal demonstrations. During the summer months, the site comes alive with the colour and the pageantry of the Fort York Guard. The Fort also provides a wide variety of education programs for groups of all ages.

Here are some pictures of the fun!

That lady is real LOL  We all thought it was a statue!!

The end result of all that hard work, and they were delicious!!!

The most brilliant bowl EVER!

Soldiers barracks

 

Officers Barracks ~ MUCH nicer!

Archeology Study

 

This was a lot of fun, who would have thought a whiteboard could be so exciting.  The children got to play out the battle of the War of 1812.  In our game the Canadians actually won!  The organizer said that was a first ever for him!  The kiddos leading the Canadian side did exactly as they should have in the actual battle and stopped the Americans getting a foot hold.  They were all pumped LOL

 

Marching practice!  This was a lot of fun for the kiddos...  The Solider kept saying, 'I'm yelling at you but I'm not angry!' LOL

Little Miss had her rifle upside down most of it, so funny!

Attention!

 

The next few pictures are of the children and the Man Hunt game they created on their own with their free time!  They all played so well together and most of the kids didn't know each other.  This is one of the many benefits to homeschooling that I see.  Children playing with each other and no drama involved :)

YUMMY Dinner! And with friends it's even better!

In the bunkhouse!

The morning after!  It's such a contrast of old and new with the highrises all around the Fort!

Easter Egg Hunt!

Friends of ours let us know about an Easter Egg Hunt happening at a local park!  So here are a few snap shots of the kiddos :)

FAIL!!  The boy dropped all his eggs in the dirt, but apparently they were all good LOL

Nature Study ~ Spring Buds and Catkins!

We have started our Spring Nature Study!  Here is the link for the Nature Study we use: http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.ca/2012/03/outdoor-hour-challenge-more-nature.html

This week was Spring Buds and Catkins

Didn't know that these were called Catkins :)

A Gall the size of Little Miss' head!