October 23 - Manitou Lake Bible Camp - FUN DAY

Welcome sign just outside the camp property.

Manitou Lake Bible Camp (MLBC) is conveniently located just six miles down the road - between Neilburg and Marsden, and on the shores of Manitou Lake.  MLBC held their annual "Fun Day" for Junior (and Squirt) aged campers on Saturday, October 23rd. The fun began at 2 p.m. with on-site registration.  Deseri Adrian, of Kitscoty, was the guest speaker. Fifty-three campers came out to enjoy the nice weather, participate in various games, and munch on a beef-on-a-bun supper. The day, which was chock full of activities, ended at 8 p.m. when parents picked up their children from the Dining Hall. Alisdair enjoyed attending this event and was relieved that he didn't break his arm again (like he did during his summer session last August!) 

The Parachute Club??

Waving the 'chute



Alisdair was a cat in this game!



VIDEO - How Do You Socialize Your Children?

My cousin (who has homeschooled her children for several years) sent me this video link. Alisdair and I found it amusing.  This video does a good job of explaining the reasons why parents choose to homeschool and how we plan to enable Alisdair to be "socialized" as he learns. Enjoy the video!

BOOK REVIEW - Katie and the Mona Lisa - By James Mayhew

Katie and the Mona Lisa

Since Alisdair is studying some of the great Master Artists using the "Hands-on History Activity-Paks Artists CD-ROM," I was doing some research on Leonardo da Vinci.  While searching for other materials, I came across the colourful picture book, "Katie and the Mona Lisa" by James Mayhew (published by Orchard Books/New York and copyright 1999 - 32 pages). 

It sounded intriguing, so I ordered this book through inter-library loans.  We were not disappointed.  Even Isobel enjoyed hearing about young Katie and her encounters with five paintings from the Italian Renaissance period.

The content is summed up at Google Books as follows:  "At the art museum, while her grandmother dozes, Katie steps into the painting of the Mona Lisa and together they have adventures with the characters from four other well-known Renaissance paintings. Includes information about the artists."

The first featured painting is, of course, the Mona Lisa:

The Mona Lisa - Leonardo Da Vinci

 The next work is St. George and the Dragon by his contemporary, Raphael;

St. George and the Dragon - Raphael

 This is followed by Primavera by Sandro Botticelli:

Primavera - Sandro Botticelli

and The Lion of St. Mark by Vittore Carpaccio:



The Lion of St. Mark - Vittore Carpaccio

 and the final painting is An Angel with a Lute by one of Leonardo Da Vinci's students.

An Angel with a Lute - by an associate of Leonardo Da Vinci

This book is the perfect way to introduce some of the classic paintings of the Renaissance to children, of all ages.  My 5-year old daughter loved it (I am sure she was imagining that she was Katie as I read her the book several times).  She also enjoyed saying "Mona Lisa" every time we got to a place in the text that used the name of the mysterious smiling lady in the painting.

I was pleased to note there are ten titles, in the Katie series, including the first adventure titled "Katie's Picture Show."  The others are:

Katie and the Bathers
Katie and the Dinosaurs
Katie and the Sunflowers
Katie in London
Katie Meets the Impressionists
Katie and the Spanish Princess
Katie and the British Artists
and the most recent publication - Katie and the Waterlily Pond.

Mayhew has also written and illustrated ballet books about Ella Bella, a ballerina, as well as several other titles.

Since Isobel is very keen on ballet, I will be ordering the rest of the volumes from the Katie series and the Ella Bella ones, too.

For more information on James Mayhew and how he began writing the Katie books (the name was chosen for his sister Kate), follow the link, below:

http://jamesmayhew-katiespictureshow.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-it-all-began-part-one.html

He also has a blog for Ella Bella the Ballerina and a personal blog.  Introduce yourself, and your children, to the writing and illustrations of James Mayhew.  You'll be glad you did!

PUZZLE - Bonfire Night "The Gunpowder Plot"

Alisdair's Puzzle Grid

One of the activities we found, when researching Guy Fawkes' Night, was a puzzle for Bonfire Night.  The puzzle asked people to see how many smaller words could be made out of the letters in the phrase, "THE GUNPOWDER PLOT."

We printed off a page and gave another one to Granny Trudy and challenged her to fill one of the grids out too (there were spaces for 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 letter words, as well as space for any words that were larger (7 and upwards).

The worksheet can be found here:   http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/Bonfire%20Night%20Puzzle.pdf

It was amazing to discover how many words could actually be made out of just a few letters.

Alisdair and I came up with a total of 142 words (with 20-2 letter; 39-3 letter; 38-4 letter; 19-5 letter; 16-6 letters and 10 words with seven letters and more.)  Granny Trudy found 131 words (16-2 letter; 36-3 letter; 40-4 letter; 17-5 letter; 17-6 letter and 5 words that were seven letters or more.)

And now, dear reader, we challenge you to try this brain teaser!  How many words can YOU find?  If you try it, let us know in the comments section.

Good luck!

"The Comic Book Guys" - Graphic Novel Presentation

Synergy Credit Union recently announced that they were going to be the corporate sponsor for "Graphic Novel" presentations at schools in Neilburg, Lashburn, Maidstone and Marshall.  When I first heard about these presentations I was a little confused as I immediately thought of risque novels with revealing pictures.  I was relieved to learn I wasn't on the right wavelength!

According to an article by Keir Graff in the American Library Association’s Booklist/February 1, 2003, “A graphic novel, like a regular novel, is a stand-alone story that is published as a book. It’s easy to get confused, though, because some people will still use comics for the whole genre or graphic novel for any comic-style work that’s handsomely published, even if it’s just a collection of superhero stories.”

Jay Bardyla (Middle)
Kyle Sams (Left)
Daniel Schneider (Right)

This morning the three men from Edmonton, who were speaking at these events, were at Neilburg Composite School.  The students in Kindergarten to Grade 6 had an assembly at 9 a.m. -- which Alisdair attended.  Later, the students in Grades 7 to 12 also had a chance to learn about graphic novels and the lengthy process followed in the creation of comic books.

Mickey Mikkleson, who works for Synergy Credit Union, introduced Jay Bardyla, the owner/operator of Happy Harbor Comics in Edmonton.  In turn, Bardyla introduced his two assistants - Kyle Sams and Daniel Schneider.  While Jay (who is wearing the Superman t-shirt!) spoke to the students, Kyle and Daniel sketched large colourful pictures of various comic book characters.

"Draw what you see," advised Bardyla. "And develop your own art style."  For the younger group, Bardyla explained how comic books are made and printed. 

Daniel Schneider draws

"I learned from it that in the old, original comic books there were only red, blue, yellow and black inks so if they wanted to make a colour like green, for example, they would have to squish the dots together (so they'd have blue and yellow dots squished together) and then that would create an illusion as if the picture was green," Alisdair told me later.  "But today they have a little over two million colours they can use in a comic book, since it is all done by computer!"

Bardyla told the older students about attending comic book conventions and encouraged students interested in the arts to try creating their own comic books.  This prompted Alisdair to go to http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/ to create his own strip titled "Evil Postman"!  Perhaps he will become a famous cartoonist like Charles Schultz!

LETTERS - Official Response from Minister of Health

Today was a "golden" letter day for Alisdair as he received a response from the Saskatchewan Minister of Health. (He had written to Don McMorris at the end of September, asking why dental treatment was not covered for children but annual eye exams were.)

The reply reads as follows:

"Thank you for your letter of September 29, 2010, regarding health care coverage for children's dental work.  I am glad you took the time to write to me about this important matter.

In Saskatchewan, only a few dental services are covered by the goverment.  Dental service is just one of many health services that must be considered within the money we have to spend on health care.  This means that the Ministry of Health has a certain number of dollars to spend on health care and not all services can be paid for.  Our government always reviews what services can be covered, that will help the most people.

If people have a limited family income, they can sometimes get assistance with certain health care expenses under the Supplementary Health and Family Health Benefits programs.  For more information, your mom may wish to call 1-866-221-5200.

It is our hope that over time we will be able to cover other expenses, as more money becomes available.

Again, thank you for writing to me."

Minister of Health

Flames, Fireworks and a "Penny for the Guy"!

"Remember, remember the Third of November..." could have been our cry as Porter's Primary staged the first annual Guy Fawkes' Night in Neilburg! Although we celebrated two days early, excitement reigned and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Of course, the first step was to get prepared -- and that meant creating a "Guy."  Alisdair used some paper plates to make a "head" and then I found some old clothes that would be no sacrifice to burn.  He helped me sew the arms and legs shut and attach the bottom of the shirt to the waistband of the trousers.  Both children assisted with stuffing crumpled up newspaper into our "Guy" (which Isobel called "a little man.")

Stuffing the Legs

"Bottoms Up!"





Almost Finished

Once the "stuffing" was completed, we stapled the neckline of the t-shirt shut and then stapled (and taped) the "head" to the "body."  When "Uncle Guy" was done, John told us he had already put a metal stake in the middle of the backyard fire pit and that we should tie him to it.  He gave us a piece of yellow nylon rope to use.  Soon, "Uncle Guy" was standing guard, waiting until darkness would fall upon our corner of the world.

Awaiting nightfall

A final portrait



Guy and the Children

At last we were ready - the potatoes scrubbed and wrapped in aluminium foil; the venison sausage fried and eaten like hotdogs; and the fireworks in the car waiting for the trip to the lake.

The children sat in plastic lawn chairs as John stood by, waiting for the signal to light the pyre. 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the first annual Porter's Primary Guy Fawkes' Night," I began, as John snickered quietly next to me.  The children were perched on the edge of their seats, knowing what was going to transpire in a few seconds.

I began to read one of several traditional rhymes that usually accompanies this type of festivity:

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot..." and then Alisdair chimed in for the sentence:  "I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot."

Then I read the rest of the poem:

"Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
A traitor to the Crown by his action
No Parli'ment mercy from any faction,
His just end should'st be grim,
What should we do?  Burn him!
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring,
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King!"

... and at that, John took a burning piece of board and tossed it into the fire pit.  Thanks to his "special mixture" of chemicals splashed on the wood earlier, the fire began instantly.  If only I had been prepared with the camera as it was a magnificent sight - for an instant - with flames licking up both sides of the fire pit and both legs of the effigy, before he was consumed.

The nylon rope soon melted and Guy fell forward, with his face leaning over the edge of the fire pit.


Guy - slumped forward

 

Safety first

Flames dying down

John was "at the ready" with his trusty shovel to pick up any loose bits that had fallen outside the ring of fire and place them safely back within the confines of the pit.

We sat and watched the fire, for a little while.  As the flames died down, we took the prepared potatoes and put them in the fire.  I was unsure what would happen to them, but since I'd read this was a Guy Fawkes' Night tradition, we thought we would try it.

Since it would take a while for the potatoes to bake, we got into the old gold stationwagon and headed for the nearby lake (about six miles away).

It was time for the fireworks!

Not wanting to spend a small fortune on fireworks, we had settled on an assorted package for $18.99.  It contained:

a tube of Purple Flying Fishes; a silver palm tree; a snowstorm, an original air bomb, a silver moon wheel, six mini air bombs and ten sparklers.

The children stood on the right side of the car.  John took each firework, individually, down on the left side of the beach, planted them in the sand and lit them.  I was the light controller -- turning the headlights on so John could see to safely light the fireworks and then quickly switching them off, when it was beginning to explode.

Sparklers at the beach

It didn't take long to go through our small supply of explosives!  But it was a bit chilly and none of us were sorry to get back into the warm car and return home to the waiting potatoes.

Isobel "helping" retrieve the potatoes from the firepit



Out of the fire

Potatoes and hot coals

During the proceedings Isobel had excitedly exclaimed, "This is how to spend a night!"  Later, John and Isobel had gone inside and Alisdair was left in front of the fire, with his bowl of baked potato.  "This is nice," he said, "Just you and me, the fire and my potato!"  And then he smiled and said, "Mum.... you said this was the FIRST ANNUAL Porter's Primary Guy Fawkes' Night!"  I had to admit, he'd gotten me there -- that was what I HAD said.  It WAS fun - and, who knows, if there is no snow on the ground next November, it might not take too much persuasion to host the second annual event! 

Thank you, Guy Fawkes, for a "Night to Remember," 405 years after your gunpowder plot was foiled!

(Incidentally - we learned that the gunpowder in Guy Fawkes' barrels was actually degraded and would not have had the intended result of blowing up the Houses of Parliament.  Experts figure the powder would only have made a bit of a splutter.  Yet his actions cost Guy Fawkes his life.)