Wordless Wednesday: Perler Bead Project

Mario!

Wordless Wednesday: Star Wars dudes

Sometimes the Star Wars dudes just make math a little more bearable...

Canada!

I have a kid who really wanted to learn about Canada. Actually, for some reason, he really wants to just go to Canada. Somehow, somewhere, he got on this Canada kick. So, I thought it was time that we learn a thing or two about it.

Here are some of the fun shots from Day 1 of Canada today...

A Canada wordsearch, and crown.

An information card for Canada from our Where in the World game.

Aric working on a Geopuzzle of North America.

We also started our Canada lapbooks, and colored the Canada flag.

Here are some of the resources we used today:

• Canada Crown printable
• Wordsearch is from a book called World Searches, Grades 4-6
•  Canada lapbook from Homeschool Share 
• Where in the world board game
• Geopuzzle USA & Canada
• UnitStudy.com Expedition Canada Download and Go

Friday Field trip: Oregon Coast

We headed out early on Friday morning to a very wet and rainy Oregon coast for a special field trip with Aaron's life science class from co-op. We had 2 kids from our area get dropped off at our house so they could just ride over with us, so we had a full van with 5 kids and me the driver. It was a long drive over. Thankfully we watched some blue planet on the way over, and on the way back the kids mostly fell asleep because they were so tired from all the fun. Or maybe it was just all the teens that fell asleep because, well, they're teens. The 2 younger kids way in the back didn't seem to fade. Anyway, I digress...

It was beautiful even if the seas were rough, and the waves were high. There was even a "high gale" wind warning in effect.

The Whale Watching Center at Depoe Bay.

This was our 2nd stop of the day, but I like these pictures so I wanted to put them first. The Whale Watching Center at Depoe Bay. Even the whales couldn't be seen very well with the windy, stormy weather, but we stopped in anyway because we'd never checked that place out. It is pretty neat. They have binoculars in there and there are some Oregon State Park volunteers there to help you understand the things you're seeing. I think I'd like to stop in on a clearer day sometime.

Being outside was just downright cold and blustery, but these boys just loved it. I couldn't keep them inside. They just loved exploring everywhere. Alex was really disappointed that we wouldn't be able to go to any beaches that day. The weather and the water was just too rough to even walk out, but the Whale Watching center had these great lookouts.

Before we went to the Whale Watching Center we were at the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center this was the starting point of our adventures that day. We played with the tsunami wave station. The kids always play with this one for a very long time. They worked together building things to knock over with the waves.

There is a cool table with sand that changes the topography as the sand is moved around. It shows kids how the landscape changes as they play with it in real time. Pretty cool. I'm sure there is much more to it than that, but I don't remember all the technical details.

Another fun exhibit was the land erosion simulator. The kids could build things up on the sand and see how the waves will break it down over time.

After the kids were done with the science center the plan was to do a Quest (scavenger hunt type walk) outside. The rain wasn't letting up anytime soon. We talked to the workers at the science center to see if they had any ideas for other indoor activities we could do, but there wasn't much except the Whale Watching Center (which we did!).

Despite the rain a group of the kids still wanted to brave the rain and the wind and try to find the quest. Those who didn't want to go stayed in the cars with the Mom's who stayed behind to eat lunch, and just hang out until they were done. This was my view after I finished my sandwich. I never imagined that I'd get a moment to read on that busy rainy morning. It was kinda nice. The kids were visiting in the back, and the rain was trickling on the windshield, and our rained out coast trip was turning out to be a fun adventure.

The kids had success on their quest, but the paper was torn to pieces because it was soaked, so they had nowhere to put the stamp (or something like that). They came back and we headed back up the coast toward home, stopping at the Whale Watching Center on the way.

The weather at the Oregon Coast was really no surprise. I went knowing it would be a rainy day. This is pretty typical weather, but that day was a bit more stormy than we expected, and there are usually at least some pauses in the rain. It was just a downpour most of the day. Still a beautiful day at the coast!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for:

4. The beautiful drive we take every Thursday out to Estacada.
5. The strength to power through things even when I don't want to do them.
6. Our new "Come Follow Me" curriculum/scripture study for church.
7. The Little House on the Prairie series books.

To see the beginning of my list, I started here.

Practice Monkeys: Live Online Music Lessons (A REVIEW)

I am always looking for new ways to get music education in our homeschool day. My kids have all tried various instruments with different settings and teachers, and a lot of mixed results. For the online setting we've done online piano lessons, guitar courses, and YouTube lessons for the ukulele. Those are great options, but none of them really helped my kids get far (they would fizzle out after a while). They didn't have that live and personal element or connection with a teacher that I think is so helpful when learning an instrument. With Practice Monkeys my son Alex was able to start learning a new instrument, the violin, all from the comfort of our own home, and he was able to interact with a teacher through live classes with the Family Subscription to Live Violin Classes.

Practice Monkeys has a real live teacher, Sarah Van Kleeck

As soon as we knew we would receive the Family Subscription to Live Violin Classes our first step was obtaining a violin, and making sure we had a good way to attend the live classes (a computer, or phone with a camera works great). We have a great music studio that our oldest daughter takes her violin lessons through, so we went there to rent a violin, and he was all set to go!

Picking up his violin to start online lessons!

As soon as we walked in the door he was itching to try it out. He didn't waste anytime taking it out of the case and with his sister's help (she plays violin) he was able to get acquainted with it very quickly. She set it up for him to try out before we jumped right into the first video lesson.

Thankfully the place where we rented his violin from had nice people to help us figure out what size he needed...

But if you don't have that kind of help when buying a violin, Practice Monkeys has a video to help you get started with all the setup too!

At first it was pretty overwhelming. I am not sure if it is like this for all the levels, but since he started in Level 1 there was a lot of information to cover and wade through, and a fair amount when he moved to level 2 (with some of it repeating from level 1). There are many pre-recorded videos to watch (like the ones mentioned/pictured above), some for the parents, but many for the students who are doing the lessons. There are many basics covered in those videos. We started with those before we even got to the live classes. That gave him plenty to do in the beginning.

We started out hooking our laptop up to the big TV for those beginning videos, but for the live lessons he was usually in front of just the laptop so he could have the camera on him.

Alex during a Live Level 1 class

The live classes are shceduled for 4 days a week, and if we couldn't attend the times available we could watch the recording. He definitely preferred the live class because it had interaction as you can see in the photo above. He could show her how his fingers were placed, and she would ask questions and he could answer her. She would call him by name, he loved that. Something I didn't expect for the first live class was camera shyness. He ran away the first time, so we had to practice being in front of the laptop camera offline for a bit. Then he loved it!

Practice was encouraged 6 times a week, 4 times with Practice Monkeys, and 2 times for fun. We would attend or do the recorded classes as much as we could during the week, and then he would have a fun song practice. Alex would just do his own thing or we would put on some violin music and he would just try to play along and experiment.

He picked up most of the 10 essential skills for level 1 pretty quickly, and it was finally time for him to move on. To move up in Practice Monkeys the student does an assessment with the teacher, Sarah Van Kleeck, one-on-one. We had to schedule a test time with her, and get on the computer with the camera on Alex as usual. She asked him to show her each skill, and he confidently went through each one. He passed up to level 2. It was a great victory.

After passing his level 1 assessment he was so proud of himself.

He even got a little certificate to print up. Speaking of printables, there are printables too! Practice Monkeys is complete with forms for keeping track of weekly practice, coloring and practice sheets, and a skills and habits checklist. Pretty much everything you need except the violin are provided on the Practice Monkeys' website. It is also recommended to purchase a Suzuki Violin book according to your child's level too. We purchased the Suzuki book 1 for use with these online live classes.

Overall, I think this is a great way to do music lessons, and a great program. Especially if you're looking to go outside of the house less, and you don't mind the interaction through the computer. I'm always looking for ways to stay home! Also, Sarah is so good with the children. She is so friendly and inviting that I found it hard to resist sitting down and just having a chat with her while Alex was doing his live class.

She has a great offer for review crew blog readers right now if you want to try out this great learning opportunity in your home to learn the violin. This deal expires February 1, 2019.

If you need some more insight before taking purchasing, there are more reviews by fellow crew mates. Just click on the banner below.

New Year's day snow trip

We headed up to the mountains as a family for New Year's Day. It was cold and exhausting. A lot of work to round up all that gear, and to get it on. It almost seemed like too much, but this view was worth it. We hope to go again this season.

Our plan was to go snowshoeing. We had never done that as a family before. April went with Dad when she was about 8 or 9, but that was the last time anyone from our family had gone. So, we started out with her shoes, and Dad's shoes. We had to round up 4 more pairs of pretty much adult size snowshoes.

Getting all the gear on was a workout. The snowshoes were the trickiest because most of us had never done it before. It could have been a good idea to try putting them on before we got up to the snow. Oh well, it worked out! Though, I have to admit that I was tired after just getting to the trailhead and putting my snowshoes on.

I was also already hot! I had put on a fleece and a shell, and by the time I was done getting my snowshoes on I was sweating. I unzipped both. That helped a lot! I didn't want to take anything off because I didn't want to carry anything else. This picture is funny. I'm not sure why I left one of the walking sticks laying down.

Walking along the trail was just so serene. Besides the crunch of our shoes on the snow, it was pretty quiet. We passed a few other families too.

 Beautiful scenery. The world looks so beautiful in white!

 Aaron ready to go...

 Alex was all over the place. He loved the snow. He would go back into the tree areas off the trails and peek out. He had a blast.

Alex ready to go...

Aric ready to go...

In this picture it looks like someone might be enjoying the snow while making snow angels, but that is not the case. Aric had a hard time keeping himself upright! He would trip over his snowshoes, and it was hard for him to get back up. He just decided to lay there for a bit, and I snapped a picture of it. Imagine a lot of whining if you could hear the sound in this picture...

The trees heavy with snow...

 I was happy that I decided to bring my big camera, and not just my phone. I was able to get some great shots. Michele took this one of us walking down the trail. The sun was shining the whole time.

 April ready to go...

Walking along the trail...

April thought she could get that mound of snow off the tree trunk, but she didn't have enough leverage with her walking stick. That snow was stuck!

More scenery...

At the end we all took off our snowshoes and started lining them up at the back of the truck. It turned out to be a perfect picture, one of my favorites!

Afterwards we had some daylight left so the boys were itching to get in on the sledding action. They had fun going down the hill a few times.

The sunset as we were leaving was incredible!

That's about all! Our trip to the snow is complete!