Friday, 23 November 2012
Thursday, 22 November 2012
Club Day. The Nature Version.
Today Jaelyn had a friend over for Nature Club. Two children (three including Nicholas) was just the perfect number for today's craft. I was a little worried about logistics if there were more children, but it turns out everything works out the way it is supposed to in the end.
We made Blossom Bands from Maya Donenfeld's book, Reinvention. This little craft leads to a pretty versatile end product - a Blossom Band could be a necklace, a headband, a way to dress up a wrapped gift, ornaments, or alien beings (as my son preferred). We used the jersey we dyed with natural materials for the pompom and sewn flowers. I also took a bit of a shortcut from the original instructions and used the waistband of some holey leggings for the jersey band. Since the girls really didn't want to wear them as headbands, we simply tied the the pompoms to the bands instead of sewing them.
We had a very brief chat about how this craft tied into our Club's love of all things nature. Yes, we made flowers and flowers are in nature. Yes, the material was dyed with natural materials (the green material even had a slight celery smell to it). Then we talked about re-purposing items - that the shirts and bands we used were items that would otherwise go into the garbage, which would more quickly fill up our landfill. If we can turn items that are broken in their current form into some other useful (or pretty thing), then we as a society don't need to use up as much space storing all those things we no longer have.
We made Blossom Bands from Maya Donenfeld's book, Reinvention. This little craft leads to a pretty versatile end product - a Blossom Band could be a necklace, a headband, a way to dress up a wrapped gift, ornaments, or alien beings (as my son preferred). We used the jersey we dyed with natural materials for the pompom and sewn flowers. I also took a bit of a shortcut from the original instructions and used the waistband of some holey leggings for the jersey band. Since the girls really didn't want to wear them as headbands, we simply tied the the pompoms to the bands instead of sewing them.
We had a very brief chat about how this craft tied into our Club's love of all things nature. Yes, we made flowers and flowers are in nature. Yes, the material was dyed with natural materials (the green material even had a slight celery smell to it). Then we talked about re-purposing items - that the shirts and bands we used were items that would otherwise go into the garbage, which would more quickly fill up our landfill. If we can turn items that are broken in their current form into some other useful (or pretty thing), then we as a society don't need to use up as much space storing all those things we no longer have.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
A trip to the vet
We've been making weekly trips to the vet for the last three weeks. It turns out that our dog, Boomer, has an ulcer in his eye - ouch! The weekly vet visits are to monitor its healing. Unfortunately, it's taking longer than normal for his poor eye to heal. So, he had a very quick and minor surgery today and is now sporting a new look.
As you may guess, he's feeling a little down right now. He wasn't the most agile pooch to begin with, and he's even more clumsy now that he can't see (because of both his eye and the cone)! So, there's lots of noise and things being knocked down (read: two-year old) or knocked into (read: this Mama's legs, the walls, the doors, anything that sticks out of a flat surface - take all the knobs on our drawers, for example).
All of these vet visits have been attended by my children. They have had the opportunity to learn from someone other than me. "Why are you putting that neon goop in his eye?" "What does the blue light you're shining in his eye do?" "What is an ulcer?" "What does that medication do?" - all questions patiently answered by our vet.
Today, the vet entered the world of play in our house. Jaelyn fashioned herself some vet tools and set up shop in a small corner of our living room. I brought in her stuffed animals for their annual check-up. Her business is going so well in fact, that she is offering check-ups free of charge.
Thank you Doctor Selinger!
As you may guess, he's feeling a little down right now. He wasn't the most agile pooch to begin with, and he's even more clumsy now that he can't see (because of both his eye and the cone)! So, there's lots of noise and things being knocked down (read: two-year old) or knocked into (read: this Mama's legs, the walls, the doors, anything that sticks out of a flat surface - take all the knobs on our drawers, for example).
All of these vet visits have been attended by my children. They have had the opportunity to learn from someone other than me. "Why are you putting that neon goop in his eye?" "What does the blue light you're shining in his eye do?" "What is an ulcer?" "What does that medication do?" - all questions patiently answered by our vet.
Today, the vet entered the world of play in our house. Jaelyn fashioned herself some vet tools and set up shop in a small corner of our living room. I brought in her stuffed animals for their annual check-up. Her business is going so well in fact, that she is offering check-ups free of charge.
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| The lights had to be turned off so Jaelyn could look in Wolfie's eyes with her special blue light |
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| Jaelyn checked his ears with a Q-tip to make sure they were clean |
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| Jaelyn listened to Wolfert's heart beat with her home made stethoscope |
Thank you Doctor Selinger!
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Club Day. The Birds of Prey Version.
Today was the last session for the fall for the Birds of Prey. Nicholas has been begging to dissect owl pellets, and today his wish came true.
What is an owl pellet you ask? Here's the non-scientific definition: it is a combination of owl puke and owl poo. Any part of an owl's meal that can't be digested (fur, bones, teeth) is regurgitated in the form of a hard pellet.
I found my owl pellets locally through one of our used websites - it turns out there was a former science teacher getting rid of his stash of science goodies. He also provided me with a layout of a vole skeleton and some general instructions for what to do.
We decided to do a trial run last night. We soaked the pellets for about 20 minutes so that we wouldn't break the delicate bones inside while opening the pellet. Then we gathered our equipment - tweezers and toothpicks, plus somewhere to put the bones - then drained the water.
We measured our pellet (scientifically yesterday with a tape measure, while today we eyeballed it). Then we gently broke them open and started sifting the bones and teeth from the fur. For the boys, it seemed that they had hit treasure when they found the skull or the larger bones of the hips, femurs or humerus's. We talked a bit about how the skeleton of an animal, such as a vole, is remarkably similar to that of a human (so similar that the bones often have the same names), and how the highest concentration of bones for both mammals are in the hands, feet and torso. We also talked about how the vertebrae with the larger holes are closer to the head, as the brain stem and spinal cord near the head are larger and therefore need a wider opening to go through.
After a while, they did find it tedious to fish out all the metacarpals, metatarsals (paw bones), ribs and vertebrae. One Clubber did make an attempt to put together the larger bones of the skeleton. I was happy, though, to hear their shrieks as they found another bone.
Treasure, I tell you!
What is an owl pellet you ask? Here's the non-scientific definition: it is a combination of owl puke and owl poo. Any part of an owl's meal that can't be digested (fur, bones, teeth) is regurgitated in the form of a hard pellet.
I found my owl pellets locally through one of our used websites - it turns out there was a former science teacher getting rid of his stash of science goodies. He also provided me with a layout of a vole skeleton and some general instructions for what to do.
We decided to do a trial run last night. We soaked the pellets for about 20 minutes so that we wouldn't break the delicate bones inside while opening the pellet. Then we gathered our equipment - tweezers and toothpicks, plus somewhere to put the bones - then drained the water.
We measured our pellet (scientifically yesterday with a tape measure, while today we eyeballed it). Then we gently broke them open and started sifting the bones and teeth from the fur. For the boys, it seemed that they had hit treasure when they found the skull or the larger bones of the hips, femurs or humerus's. We talked a bit about how the skeleton of an animal, such as a vole, is remarkably similar to that of a human (so similar that the bones often have the same names), and how the highest concentration of bones for both mammals are in the hands, feet and torso. We also talked about how the vertebrae with the larger holes are closer to the head, as the brain stem and spinal cord near the head are larger and therefore need a wider opening to go through.
After a while, they did find it tedious to fish out all the metacarpals, metatarsals (paw bones), ribs and vertebrae. One Clubber did make an attempt to put together the larger bones of the skeleton. I was happy, though, to hear their shrieks as they found another bone.
Treasure, I tell you!
Monday, 19 November 2012
Weekend crafting
My free time has been spent with my hands busy, given that Christmas will be here soon. I've been machine sewing, hand sewing, stuffing, crocheting, and felting.
Here's the latest to come off the crochet hook - a chainmail hood inspired by a little knight in my life. The free pattern can be found here.
I am very new to crochet - so new that I found out while watching YouTube tutorials that the few attempts I had made earlier were wrong! Well, not wrong, just not what I had intended. The main challenge I faced with this pattern was working in the round - knowing where to stop, where the slip stitch to join was to go. I also struggled with adjusting the sizing to work for the little one I had in mind. For while the picture looked like it would fit the child I had in mind, in reality what I had created would be on the large side for my husband. After a couple of attempts, I found the right size, and then it was a cinch to finish.
Today, as I finished off the hood, I smiled at the progress I made. Sure, I grumbled about having to pull out some of my work. Sure, I wondered aloud what to do to alter the pattern, because I didn't know how altering it early in the pattern would impact other alternations later on - I've never altered a pattern before. But then I took a breath and everything just worked. First, I experimented to find the right size for the top of the hood - I had lots of volunteers to help me. Then, I put my brain to work to think through the future adjustments, which required just a smidge of effort. And while it isn't perfect, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And I'm delighted that our pace of life allowed me the space to take a few dances with failure without getting to stressed out about it.
Here's the latest to come off the crochet hook - a chainmail hood inspired by a little knight in my life. The free pattern can be found here.
I am very new to crochet - so new that I found out while watching YouTube tutorials that the few attempts I had made earlier were wrong! Well, not wrong, just not what I had intended. The main challenge I faced with this pattern was working in the round - knowing where to stop, where the slip stitch to join was to go. I also struggled with adjusting the sizing to work for the little one I had in mind. For while the picture looked like it would fit the child I had in mind, in reality what I had created would be on the large side for my husband. After a couple of attempts, I found the right size, and then it was a cinch to finish.
Today, as I finished off the hood, I smiled at the progress I made. Sure, I grumbled about having to pull out some of my work. Sure, I wondered aloud what to do to alter the pattern, because I didn't know how altering it early in the pattern would impact other alternations later on - I've never altered a pattern before. But then I took a breath and everything just worked. First, I experimented to find the right size for the top of the hood - I had lots of volunteers to help me. Then, I put my brain to work to think through the future adjustments, which required just a smidge of effort. And while it isn't perfect, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And I'm delighted that our pace of life allowed me the space to take a few dances with failure without getting to stressed out about it.
Sunday, 18 November 2012
The Bowl
We have a great little spot for tobogganing by our place. It's been lovingly and aptly named "The Bowl" because it is essentially the shape of a bowl - sledders can go down a hill from pretty much any side of it and wind up in the middle. Every year, there are kids who build jumps at strategic points on the hill too, so there is even more of an attraction to the hill. Today, we trekked to The Bowl for the first time this season for some winter fun.
As I watched the children slide down the hill, I smiled at the chaos below me. I was amazed by how narrowly kids avoided sliding over others who were either at the bottom or climbing back to the top. I felt the sting for an older one who took one of the jumps and landed rather loudly. I grinned as my now big two-year-old whizzed down the hill with her brother or sister. It is, after all, just a rather large and white slide - what could be better than that?
As I watched the children slide down the hill, I smiled at the chaos below me. I was amazed by how narrowly kids avoided sliding over others who were either at the bottom or climbing back to the top. I felt the sting for an older one who took one of the jumps and landed rather loudly. I grinned as my now big two-year-old whizzed down the hill with her brother or sister. It is, after all, just a rather large and white slide - what could be better than that?
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Sweet, sweet 2
Our littlest one turned 2 today. As I gave her a good-morning hug and a birthday kiss, I wondered if this last little one can remain a babe forever, or if she really does need to grow into a toddler. I think back to when she was a year old, or the tiny little one I held in my arms, and my she has grown! She speaks so well, observes the world around her so keenly, and fearlessly tries out new things.
Many asked us for gift ideas, and I must say that this little one is hard to give ideas for. We have a small box full of toys for her age group, and she politely ignores them in favour of other pursuits...reading (lots of this - yay!), songs and fingerplays, helping in the kitchen, trying on shoes from the closet while I fold laundry, colouring...just everyday living stuff. I love that about her.
Yet I tried to make a few items that she could use or come to like eventually. So did her siblings. Jaelyn and Nicholas likely went with the right theme - they made her books (one a picture book and the other a comic-style book). Nevertheless, all gifts that entered our house today arrived with love every step of the way, full of symbolism and our little twinkling star in mind.
Happy Birthday Astrin!
Many asked us for gift ideas, and I must say that this little one is hard to give ideas for. We have a small box full of toys for her age group, and she politely ignores them in favour of other pursuits...reading (lots of this - yay!), songs and fingerplays, helping in the kitchen, trying on shoes from the closet while I fold laundry, colouring...just everyday living stuff. I love that about her.
Yet I tried to make a few items that she could use or come to like eventually. So did her siblings. Jaelyn and Nicholas likely went with the right theme - they made her books (one a picture book and the other a comic-style book). Nevertheless, all gifts that entered our house today arrived with love every step of the way, full of symbolism and our little twinkling star in mind.
Happy Birthday Astrin!
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