Art: Charcoal Drawing

I'm not much of an artist myself but I figure this year we'll just explore different mediums and in future I can get an actual art course that gives Scout Kid a little bit more helpful instruction. So today we swapped out his staple markers for charcoal pencils. Here's what we did, for about half an hour, guided by Scout Kid's interest:

-Picked a few toys to draw from: a wooden toy car and an alligator puppet.

-Draw the car. Talked about the shapes we could see and copied them one by one.

-Drew the alligator. Much of this involved making ferocious zigzags for "darp teef". 

-Experimented with smudging and shading. Enjoyed how messy our fingers were getting.

-Added some brown and red pencil crayon colouring to the pictures at Scout Kid's request.

-Wrote 'car', which Scout Kid attempted to replicate, and 'alligator', which he did not, on the picture along with the date and added it to Scout Kid's Learning Binder.

Science: Chemical Reactions

Scout Kid was very excited to start 'dool' this morning, and after breakfast once Feral Kid was down for his nap, we set up at his desk for our first lesson. We used an eyedropper, a squirt bottle, a teaspoon, and our fingers to experiment with the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar. Here's what we did, led by Scout Kid's interest, for about an hour:

-Talked about how two things can mix together to make something new or something happen, and how that is called a chemical reaction. (This led to Scout Kid dripping vinegar into the soda and exclaiming joyfully, "Someping new! Someping new!")

-Used the eyedropper and the squirter to make the baking soda in the tray fizz.

-Added food colouring to the vinegar to enjoy the pink fizz.

-Experimented with adding baking soda to the vinegar instead, including making handprints in the baking soda and then rinsing hands off in the vinegar bowl.

-Experimented with tasting vinegar and baking soda (unprompted). Result: "Dat taste nasty." Drank some water.

-Experimented with adding water to the baking soda, and discussing how some things cause a reaction and some don't. 

-Cleaned up. Not an insignificant part of the lesson.

Preschool Year One

Today we officially started preschool-homeschooling at the Parsonage! It. It's very low-commitment, just one short activity every day, cycling through 10 different subjects on a two-week schedule. The subjects are:

English: covers letters, phonics, reading, storytelling, vocabulary.
History/Geography: covers world & Canadian geography, map comprehension, reading of age-appropriate historical fiction, exploration of current and historical cultures, and study of our own heritage.
Computers/Technology: covers basic computer literacy like mouse/keypad/keyboard use, iPhone apps, and preliminary coding.
Music: covers musical instruments, dance, rhythm, music notation, and music appreciation.
Bible: covers catechism, Scripture memory, Bible reading, prayer, and singing.
Foreign Languages: I want the boys to learn sign language and French, so this will cover some basic activities we are doing to lay foundations in those two languages.
Phys. Ed: covers large and fine motor activities and sports. Mostly just playing!
Mathematics: covers numeracy & counting, geometry, patterning, telling time & dates, and weights & measures.
Science: covers observation and experimentation in kitchen chemistry, local wildlife, horticulture, simple machines, basic anatomy and astronomy, and things like light-bending, states of matter, and senses.
Art: covers basic colour theory, art appreciation, different forms such as sculpting, painting, collage, printmaking, textile art, and photography.

I'm so looking forward to seeing Scout Kid learn and grow this year, and to blogging all the different activities.

Listen Hard

I've been reading the Native Appropriations blog and really enjoyed this post on the phenomenon of hipster headdresses. It also represents a beautifully articulated discourse on the subject of listening to the marginalised in general:

"I’m trying to think of examples of things I respect, and how I show that respect. I’m actually struggling to think of a time when I respected something, and decided the best way to show that respect was by taking it. I respect the Dalai Lama, but I wouldn’t put on Tibetan monk robes to show that respect. I respect the Zapatistas, but I’m not going to don a mask and wrap myself in an EZLN flag. You know how I show respect? I listen. I listen hard, I listen deeply, and I listen constantly. I listen to stories, I listen to histories, I listen to learn, and I listen to hear when I’ve misstepped. I listen so I can become a more complete human being. It is clear from your response that maybe you heard, but you didn’t listen. If you would have listened to our voices as Native community members, you would have seen that the way to show respect to your Native friends and neighbors was not to put on a headdress and defend your choice, but to take it off and apologize."

Women's Wednesdays: Female Authors

Today just a quick list of 10 great female authors.

1. The Bronte Sisters. I love them for the extraordinariness of ordinary women in books like Jane Eyre or Agnes Grey. 
2. Agatha Christie. I love that I can never guess the murderer, no matter how many I read. After all, it might be the narrator, or one of the victims, or who even knows! (Roger Ackroyd, And Then There Were None, etc.) 
3. L.M. Montgomery. I first fell in love with the Emily Trilogy, and my current favourite is The Blue Castle. I love that she believes in romance and beauty, but writes them with humour and darkness, so they're never saccharine or cloying. 
4. Harper Lee. She only wrote the one book but it is perfect. 
5. Ursula Le Guin. The Earthsea Series is a good place to start but I've recently been enjoying her science fiction like The Word for World is Forest and Changing Planes. Such beautiful writing.
6. Jane Austen. No introduction necessary, correct? I think I like Mansfield Park best.
7. Rumer Godden. Start with An Episode of Sparrows. Characterization and insight into human nature always on point.
8. Laura Ingalls. Start at the beginning of the Little House series and read all the way through. Her memory is so sharp; not only does she capture all the details of pioneer life (it's practically a manual), but whatever age she's writing about, she inhabits that little girl or young woman so well, it's hard to believe it's not a diary.
9. Astrid Lindgren. Well-known for the firecracker humour and imagination of Pippi Longstocking, which is, of course, fabulous, but for something a little less on the beaten track, try Ronia the Robber's Daughter.
10. Madeline L'Engle. A beautiful marriage of theology, science, and humanity in every book, but never pontificating or out-of-place in the fiction. A Swiftly Tilting Planet is probably my favourite.

Toddler Tuesdays: Earthmovers

One of Steven's co-workers gifted Scout Kid a used toy earthmover, which he couldn't have been more thrilled about. We've been watching some big ol' trucks on Youtube this morning. I'm most impressed by how dang long it takes to wash this thing!

Music Monday: Song for Zula, Phosphorescent

Haunting and beautiful. When I first heard this song I was totally unmoved by it and then one day BAM! it shot up the ranks of songs I love. You know when that happens? That happened to me with Bound Stems. I must've had My Kingdom For A Trundlebed for a solid year before I realised it was incredible and I needed to check out the rest of this band's work.

Meal Mondays: Chicken Fried Rice

The Recipe:
The other night, Steven was eating a pack of chicken fried rice microwave dinner and I was like, "Man, I could make this at home and I bet it's easier, healthier, and cheaper." It turns out I was right. Recipe adapted from here.

The Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Pinch ground ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 each small white onion and carrot, finely chopped
1 cup frozen peas
3 Tablespoons soy sauce (more or less to taste)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped green onions

The Method:
1. Earlier in the day, preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, and garlic. Brush over chicken breasts in small baking dish; bake for about 40 minutes, flipping once to coat in sauce. Cool, shred, and set aside.
2. In a large wok or frying pan, heat sesame oil. Fry carrots and onion until soft. Stir in peas.
3. Push vegetables to one side of pan and scramble eggs in the other side. Stir together, then add shredded chicken, cooked rice, and soy sauce. Fry until heated through. Serve topped with green onions.

The Verdict:
Easy, tasty, healthier than boughten. We held back on the soy sauce and added more at table so it was very baby- and toddler-friendly.

Imaginary Daughter: Quincy Symonds

D'awww. I hope my imaginary daughter is as sweet and courageous as this little one.

Music Mondays: Shad & Dallas Green

City & Colour meets Shad.