Pet Smart and the London Children's Museum

Our school curriculum is project based learning, meaning a large portion of our daily routine is hands-on group participation.  This allows for open discussion, the development of team building strategies, and real world applications.  I would venture to say our kids spend more time out of the classroom than in it.  It's been a very hard contrast to our previous school experiences that did incorporate these initiatives in small doses, but the day-to-day learning was more individually focused in a classroom learning environment.  At first I was a bit concerned about how this method would impact Brenna and more specifically if it would cause her to lag behind in skills when this assignment is over and we return to the US.  But as time goes on, all those concerns have fallen away.  The kids are so much more engaged with the subject matter and because of that they seem to retain the information much easier.  It's been a very enlightening experience and I won't ever look at education the way same again.

That leads me to this post.  Earlier in the year while covering our Animals Unit of the curriculum, we took a field trip to Greenview Aviaries.  You can check it our here Class Field Trip to Greenview Aviaries.  Keeping with the same idea of hands-on learning, we took two more field trips a couple of weeks ago to supplement our curriculum unit.

The first trip was to Petsmart.  The kids had been pushing our teacher, Mrs. R, for a class pet.  But they couldn't come to an agreement on what to get.  So, Mrs. R decided to use this as an opportunity to incorporate some more fun into the curriculum.  First, she stretched their descriptive writing skills with an assignment to write what pet you'd like to have and why it's the best choice.  Next she tied it into their math and research skills by provided a trip to Petsmart.  The kids broke into groups based on which pet they wanted.  Then they had to research all the needs of the pet and calculate its total cost, including both one time purchases like habitats and monthly costs like food.  There were groups for guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, birds, turtles, rabbits, and lizards.

The plans are to have a fundraiser and then use the money that they make to determine which pet the class can afford based on their findings.  Brenna is certain that a hamster is best choice.  It was a quick and easy field trip that had a big impact on the kids and they had a great time!

Wrap Up on Basketball

We finally wrapped up basketball last week after 25 straight weeks.  That would be 3 back-to-back-to-back seasons.  That is by far the longest straight run that we've ever committed to a sport.  One reason being, it was our only viable option through the winter.  Brenna's not steady enough on the ice for hockey.

On the plus side of this experience, she really upped her game.  Coming from Houston, she already started off with a better base than most of the others in her age group.  As the sessions went on, she continued to improve.  She scored in 23 of the 25 games and hit 12 points in her highest scoring game.  As she grew, so did her companions.  By the end of season the group made for a fast-paced and interesting game.  I'm so proud of the work she's put in and how she's been able to see that effort leads to results.

There aren't a lot of pictures this season because the double gymnasium with two games going simultaneously didn't lend itself to a lot of photo opportunities.  Instead, I've got a great highlights reel!

The Run Down

Wrapping up winter with the Run Down!

The End of Winter

This post marks the end of winter!  The snow tires are off, the snow boots are stored away, and I've replaced parkas with regular jackets.  Surviving our first Canadian winter should come with an award.  This February was officially the coldest on record for Sarnia, with our lowest temperature reaching -29F.  It was brutal at times and seemed to go on forever, with our last snowfall on Easter morning.

Some things I learned this winter:

1. Once you hit sub-zero temperatures, the air stings your face and your fingers will go numb in a matter of seconds.
2. Frost bite happens fast, just ask Brenna.
3. My iPhone battery can not tolerate temperatures below 15F.
4. Snow salt is gross, road snow is grosser, and my car has been a disaster inside and out.
5. I fished-tailed through my neighborhood all winter; eventually it just becomes part of driving.
6. Snow squalls are bad!  Avoid them at all cost!
7. There are many different kinds of snow; glittery snow, fat-flake snow, wet snow, snow/ice mix, snow/rain mix, really I could go on and on.
8. Sometimes even when its not snowing, it still is because of blowing snow.
9. Lake Huron in winter might as well be Antartica as far as I'm concerned. 
10. Snow shoveling is not fun.
11. Half-way through winter I abandoned all efforts of snow shoveling the back porch.  Why do it?  Nobodies going out there!
12. I wore the same pair of shoes for three months straight.  Snow boots are the only form of footwear in winter.
13. What I would call a toboggan (winter hat), they call a toque (french term).  Here a toboggan is a sled.
14. Don't stand under the eave of the building when someone else shuts the door.
15. Our favorite winter game while driving in the car is to find the house with the longest icicles.  They actually touched the ground at one house.
16. Ice skating is not like roller skating!
17. And most all, I had to adjustment my previously conceived ideas of dealing with snow, because life goes on no matter how cold it gets!

Snowy Easter

Toronto Spring Break with Disney Frozen

This year, we did Spring Break alittle different.  Usually we stay close to home and enjoy the company of friends and all the activities that Houston had to offer.  Not surprisingly, there's nothing going on here and everyone leaves to get away from the cold weather.  While we didn't travel south to Florida like every other Canadian in the country (almost literally!), we did have an action packed Spring Break with some traveling.

Our school gets a week and a half off for Spring Break, so we had a nice long break.  We kicked off Spring Break early with our first family hockey game.  The Sarnia Sting is a member of the Western Conference Junior Hockey League, which is basically the minors leagues of the NHL.  We went to see them play the Guelph Storm.  We were fortunate, because Imperial has a luxury box and Jacob hosted a game for his team where they could bring along their families.  The box definitely made it a more pleasant for the kids, since they had room to move around both in the row seats and in the box and there was an endless supply of popcorn.  The game was fun and I enjoyed getting to met Jacob's team and their families.

In true hockey fashion, there was one fight that I found amusing.  While I won't deny there is their fair share of fights on the football field, it's handled a bit differently in hockey.  In football, the first punch is usually quickly followed by a separation of parties by the refs and everyone is pushed to their appropriate sidelines.  In hockey, the first punch is followed by a beat down.  The refs circle the participants, preventing anyone else from joining in, but allow the parties involved to duke it out until they’re too tired to continue or blood is spilled on the ice.  You can image how fun it was to explain that to Brenna!

Buzz and Baby Buzz, the official Sarnia Sting mascots visited the kids in the box.  At halftime the kids got to Chuck the Puck onto the rink.  If your puck made it onto the targets at center rink, then you won tickets to the next Sting game.  We were alittle high and I feared for the safety of the people below us, but Brenna did mange to chuck it all the way onto the ice from our box.  All around it was a great experience and I look forward to making another game next season.

Career Day

This year our school held Career Day.  Kids were encouraged to explore their options, pick a career, and dress the part.  Lately, anything involving a choice for Brenna is a long, thought-out process.  Whether its something as simple as the socks she should wear for the day, or her future career.  About a week ahead of the Career Day, Brenna made a very comprehensive list of about 20 possible careers.  This included an array of choices ranging from artist, engineer, car salesman, archeologist, the coffee maker at Tim Hortons, a ballerina, geologist, explorer, etc.  You get the point.  It was all over the map.  Each day she eliminated options based on her reasoning until we were finally left with engineer, marine biologist, and zoologist.  After a great debate and my assurance that she would indeed have an opportunity to change her mind later in life, she settled on zoologist.  So, with her safari hat, binoculars, and butterfly net (I have no idea how a zoologist dresses) she set out to be a zoologist for a day.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to me!  Snow with no wind, so it settles softly on everything!

Family Day

Canada has an official holiday for Family Day.  Most businesses close for the holiday to allow the employees time with their family.  Imperial, of course, was not one of those companies.  We did have a great day though.  The local mall held a Family Day event that kicked off with a My Little Pony Equestria Girls Live show.  Brenna was so excited and loved dancing and singing with the show.  It was a perfect fun event for her.  Next we wandered through the mall taking part in the many YMCA events; super slides, an indoor swim meet on rolling body boards, face painting, life sized jenga, and balance beams.  I've been very pleased with our mall.  Since Sarnia is such a small community, the Lambton Mall seems to be hub of happenings for the area.  So far, we celebrated Halloween, Family Day, and some of Spring Break there.

Sunset in the Backyard

It's amazing how it can be a clear bright sunny day with no clouds in the sky and still be below zero.

Winter Storm Linus

We got our first snow of the season on November 1st.  From then, it would snow on and off, stick around for a few days, and then eventually melt, since we still maintained a temperature just at freezing.  After a snowless Christmas, it started to snow at the very end of our winter break on January 4th and I haven't seen my back yard since!  Through January we continued to get colder.  We would have snow showers of an inch or two every other day or so that slowly accumulated.  It was just enough snow to enjoy all the winter activities, but not so much that it would be a problem.  Jacob would plow the driveway in the morning and it would be good for a few days.

Then on February 1st Winter Storm Linus came.  Over the day the storm dumped snow across Sarnia.  We had areas of snow drift that were as deep as 4 feet.  That's when we learned how hard it really is to deal with winter.  Jacob couldn't even get the snow plow out of the garage because of the mountain of snow that had drifted between our front door and driveway.  He spent the pre-dawn hours trying to dig our way out of the house.

Our back patio is built about 1.5 feet off the ground due to the basement.  Because of the way the snow drifted there was about 3 feet of snow on the back deck and you couldn't tell where the patio ended.

Brenna's First Sled Adventure

In early January once the snow had accumulated, Brenna insisted that we try out the new sled that Santa brought her.  Despite the fact that it was 5 F with a wind chill of -13F, we visited the sledding hill located in a park not far from our house.  When we arrived there were two boys with sleds and snow boards enjoying the runs.  After Brenna watched them go a few times, she was ready to give it a try.  It was fun, but very cold that particular day and we only lasted about 20 minutes.  We left with the satisfaction that she had tried it and the promise that we would do it again on a better day.

Sarnia Then and Now

One afternoon, I suited up with determination to brave the cold (especially cold on the lake) and get some pictures of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River.  I revisited some of our favorite places that we spent time at this summer.  After returning home I realized that I had inadvertently captured several of the same images that I had taken this summer.  It provided some very interesting "before and after" pictures.  The summer images were all taken in late July and winter images were taken in early January.  I'm considered another outing because since then things have continued to significantly change.  These pictures were taken before we plummeted into sub-zero temperatures and had not yet accumulated the significant amount snow that we now have.  Eventually I may have "after the after" images!

The Seasons of Ontario

I'm very behind on blogging and hope to have some winter pictures up soon.  Until then, I thought I would share our first real experience with the seasons since our move to Canada.

SPRING - April 15th, 2014
Within two weeks of moving we experienced our first snow the week of Easter!  What a way to welcome us to Canada!

The Really Big Christmas Post

I got behind on blogging during the holidays, which happens every year.  So I decided to roll everything into one big monster Christmas post.

Unfortunately, this year we caught "The Christmas Crud."  We obviously have no immunity for the kind of yucky stuff that is circulating here.  Over the month of Decemeber, Brenna caught a stomach bug, a cough, and then a cold.  We did have a couple of uncomfortable days that were filled with kitty snuggles and lots of movies and computer games.  Luck for us she always bounces back quickly.