KINDERGARTEN ~ "Mini" Field Trips and a "Beach Party"....

In the last few days of Kindergarten, Isobel's class has been taking some "mini" field trips around the Village.  The children have, for the most part, lined up and walked to and from the school (when it rained one day, they were "rescued" by the spare bus)!

The first time they ventured out, the students went to the Synergy Credit Union and the Co-op Grocery store.  Isobel was thrilled that the children were allowed to scan items into the cash register.

Another day they walked to the local hair salon and the Lakeland Vet Clinic.  This would have been quite a long walk for the children as the clinic is on the far edge of town.  Isobel had enjoyed the trip but complained that when they got back to the school, they didn't have any time and "not even a drop of recess!"

The group also toured Pat Gibbons Ford dealership.  They had also initially planned to tour the Canada Post outlet but due to the current strike action (and the lack of mail flow) they cancelled the visit.

Tuesday afternoon the Kindergarten students will participate in a "Celebration of Excellence" where they will sing "O Canada" with some of the other elementary children.  They will also be called up to the stage to receive recognition for completing their first full year of schooling.  Wednesday, June 29 the children only attend school in the morning. To wind-up the year, the Kindergarten class plans to join the Grade 1 and 2 students at a "Beach Party" in the Village Green Park!  Isobel keeps asking, "How long till the beach party??"

Thursday morning is "Report Card Day."  The students, and their parents, are expected to pop into the school and to pick up any belongings that remain in the building and to get their Report Card from their teacher.  For Isobel, it will also mean a farewell to Mrs. Winsor as she will be on maternity leave for the 2011-2012 academic year, so they will not be frequently bumping into each other.

It's hard to believe my "baby" is all ready for the adventures of Grade 1 ... she's growing up, all too fast!

CELEBRATIONS ~ We are IN the News!

Since I have written local news for the North Battleford News-Optimist/Regional Optimist, for more than a decade, the "writer within" decided to submit my "First Person Account" of our trip to Calgary to see "Titanic:  The Artifact Exhibition" to the editor for publication.  The article was basically the same as my blog post about this experience.

Yesterday, (Wednesday, June 22), this feature was published.  Due to the postal strike, I have not yet seen a hard copy of the paper, however the story is also in their online edition.

The article is titled, "School Lesson Leads to Titanic Adventure".  The webpage shows the family photo we had taken at the exhibition that I couldn't post here due to technological difficulties.

I'm looking forward to eventually obtaining a copy of the newspaper to add to Alisdair's binder!

LETTERS ~ Off Colour Advertising Irks

The local Synergy Credit Union has a new advertising campaign.  Benches, billboards and print ads bolding exclaiming "I did it in my slippers," and another boasting, "I did it in my truck."  Underneath, there is a caption that reads, "I got a mortgage."

When we were driving through Lloydminster recently, Alisdair commented to me about the ads and after our discussion, he said he was going to write a complaint letter to the bank.

And so, despite the mail strike, he wrote a letter to Synergy Credit Union's President, Wayne White.  In order to deliver it, we put the letter in the night depository at the local branch and asked that the envelope be sent through the courier bag.

Alisdair's letter read as follows:

"I am an 11-year old member of Synergy Credit Union.  I am writing about your recent advertising scheme.  These ads are inappropriate.  They sound sexual.

Let's say this is on a billboard and you can't see "I got a mortgage" and only see "I did it in my slippers."  You would read:  "I did it in my slippers!"  This is bad enough, but take a look at this:

Once again, lets say you didn't see, "I got a mortgage."  You would read, "I did it in my truck!"  Is this some kind of a joke?  If you would say, "I got a mortgage!  It took no time at all!"  -- that is appropriate.  Does everything in today's modern life have to sound like it has something to do with sex?

Please try to keep your advertising cleaner."

Let's hope the "powers that be" take heed to Alisdair's concerns when they plan their next advertising campaign!

COOKING ~ Recipe for Raspberry Jell-O Salad

Raspberry Salad

No ~ we haven't actually made this "Pink Salad" (as Isobel called it) for ourselves yet, but I didn't want to lose the recipe, so I thought I'd post it here, as promised, for others to enjoy. Isobel ate two helpings of this dish at the Lloydminster Homeschool Association's wind-up BBQ and asked for the recipe on her own!

So, on a hot summer day, when the raspberries are in season, you can whip up a bowl of this pink treat.

Raspberry Salad

Serves: 4-6 (very generously)
Prep. Time: 30-35min. (not including chill time)

Ingredients:

3 oz. Raspberry Jell-O (smallest package that serves 4)
2 c. Whipping cream (whipped--that's 1c. of plain cream)
¾ c. Boiling water
½ c. Sugar
1-2 c. Raspberries, fresh or frozen (thawed, if using frozen it is recommended to use the fresh, frozen ones, NOT the ones frozen in syrup)
1 c. Mini marshmallows

Directions:

Dissolve Jell-O with water and sugar (It will want to stick to the dish, so you need to scrape it away from the dish and keep stirring until it is ALL dissolved--about 5-8 minutes!!!)

Let chill until syrupy (about 15 minutes).

Put whipped cream in a medium bowl; add Jell-O.
Fold whipping cream into Jell-O.
Add raspberries and marshmallows.
Fold in raspberries and marshmallows.
Chill thoroughly (Preferably overnight, but can do 4-5 hours).
Before you serve it, gently mix it up so it doesn't look smooth.

TIP: Make a double batch because people LOVE it!

* Thanks to the Krenz family for the link to this recipe and the photograph of the finished product.

SWIMMING LESSONS ~ Last Session at the Pool. . .

... Time in the Pool ...

Although Alisdair was very reluctant to take swimming lessons, we thought this was an important skill to learn.  He was going to take lessons in Lloydminster back in the fall of 2010, however there was a shortage of instructors at the Leisure Centre and the session (sponsored by the Lloydminster Homeschool Association) had to be cancelled.

Then, we were going to sign him up for another 8-day session at the end of March/beginning of April, at the Leisure Centre, but some of the dates conflicted with the Battleford Kiwanis Music Festival we had already registered for.

At that point we began thinking swimming lessons were no longer an option.  Then, we learned about a series of lessons, sponsored by the Battlefords Homeschool Association.  They were to be held on Friday afternoons from 3 to 4 PM.  Since Isobel's Kindergarten classes occasionally fall on a Friday, we enlisted the assistance of Grandma and Grandpa.  On the days when I couldn't take him to the lessons, his grandparents kindly met us halfway and we would exchange Alisdair in the parking lot of a restaurant!  Sometimes, he would even get lucky and be able to stay with them for a couple of days before returning back home.

... One-on-One instruction
(while other students enjoyed the hot tub
 for the last few minutes of the lesson time) ...

This afternoon is the final session of this series of swimming lessons.  When Alisdair began taking these lessons, he was extremely scared of being in the water.  He didn't even want to get his head wet.  Now, if he is wearing a life jacket and his bright orange goggles, he will even go in the deep end of the pool . . . I call that progress!

So, although we'll be surprised if the instructors present Alisdair with a badge for successful completion of the course, (as some of his skills are still a bit "weak") -- he is a winner in my eyes.

With a little more practise, I am sure he'll soon be successful with his flutter kicks and underwater breathing!

COMPUTER FUN ~ How Well Do You Know Your Geography??

How well do you know your World Geography?  Back in 1989, I convocated with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Major in English and a Minor in Geography, so I thought I knew something about the topic.  But last night, when I was looking online for math games to play with Alisdair to reinforce his numeracy, I discovered I knew a whole lot less than I gave myself credit for.

We found a site called "Cool Math" and, in addition to various puzzles and games to assist pupils with that subject, there were also other things posted.

One of the things we found we several "Snap Maps".  We started with a game featuring the 50 States.  The outline of a state would pop up and you were given four choices to choose from to provide the proper name of that particular shaped piece of the map.  Some were easy (like Hawaii and Alaska), while others (like the New England States) were pretty complicated.

Then we found a "Snap Map" of Canada.  Of course, being Canadian and having such large portions for most of the provinces and territories, we were able to complete the task very quickly.  Next, Alisdair and I decided we should do the map of Europe!  That was a completely different ball game . . . Do you realize how small Litchtenstein really is?  You could hardly click on the tiny green shred representing that country!  And the countries in the Balkans were really difficult to piece together, too.  Slovakia? Croatia? Tricky, indeed!

Like the Canadian map, the one for Australia is also fairly easy.  Then I tried South America and on to Asia... again unbelievably tiny pieces for countries like Oman and Kuwait, or Lebanon and Israel.  You know countries like Laos exist, but where exactly ARE they??  I persevered and eventually got all the pieces snapped in and the clock stopped but the minutes had added up to a ridiculous total.  I didn't even try to do the map of Africa!

This is a website we will be bookmarking as I am sure we can learn a lot more about the world around us if we try to become more familiar with Geography facts.  I'm just glad my old professors weren't around to witness my struggle with the various "Snap Maps."

Try your hand at some of the maps and leave us a comment about how you managed!  Good luck . . .

Lloydminster Homeschool Association ~ BBQ Wind-Up Held

Sunday evening (June 12) the Lloydminster Homeschool Association held a wind-up BBQ at Sandy Beach Regional Park, just a few miles north of the city.

Although we were a little late, the children and I went to meet with some of the people we have come to know through our homeschooling adventure.  I'd never been to Sandy Beach before but it is a beautiful place worth returning to!  Even if they do charge $8 for admission to the park if you don't have a season pass!

Isobel enjoyed playing on the swings on the playground, while Alisdair made a new friend named, Johannes.  He is a homeschooler who lives in Lloydminster but is originally from South Africa.  They played on the teeter totter together.

... enjoying the swings ...

...  please let me down!" ...

Isobel and I took a walk down to the water's edge and she enjoyed wading in the cool lake. 

Isobel also enjoyed a pink raspberry salad that one of the group members had brought.  She liked it so much, Isobel asked for the recipe and they kindly emailed it to us.  Watch for a future cooking post when "Chef Isobel" learns to make this delicacy!

We left the park about 7:30 PM as we didn't have extra time to linger ~ due to our early morning start for Dorintosh the next day.  However, it was nice to briefly experience what Sandy Beach was like and hopefully we'll be able to go back later this summer for a family picnic (or maybe even for a camping trip ~ although apparently there aren't many fish in the lake).  It's definitely a hidden gem!