I stopped into the Superstore this morning for some groceries, and popped into their garden center as I needed more compost for my potatoes.  I have been getting “good stuff” from the “real” garden center, but since I was there anyway I thought I’d see what they had.

At first, I saw just some no-name cow manure and a brand of sheep manure I’d used before and been very unimpressed with (for some reasons, there are large pieces of sea shells all through it).  Then I saw something I wasn’t expecting to see at all — mushroom compost!

Yup, President’s Choice (Loblaw’s proprietary brand) has bags of mushroom compost. It’s not cheap — $5.99/bag, whereas the unimpressive sheep manure is just $1.99/bag.  But this stuff is black gold. It’s worth twice that, in my opinion.

I only wish I’d known about this back when I was making all my Mel’s Mix.  It’s now too late to really mix it in to all the beds, since they’re all planted and settled in their ways heh… But I can use it to finish the potatoes, and for any topping-up and re-filling needed in the existing beds.  I have a bucket of Mel’s Mix left over which I’ll be using for topping-up as well (some of the beds compacted more than I expected so I’ll add more mix as the plants grow, especially so that the carrots will have more than 3.5″ to grow in…) so I think I’ll go ahead and mix some mushroom into that.  It will throw the mix a little off 1/3-1/3-1/3, but that’s okay.  It’s MUSHROOM COMPOST!!

There were days that we abided strictly to the schedule, eschewed distractions, and were finished everything by noon.  There were days that we scattered ‘lessons’ throughout the day, fitting them in here and there, while doing other things in the meantime.  And there were days when we just said “screw it, we’ve got other stuff to do today” and tried to squish that day’s lessons into the rest of the week as best as we could.  That’s one of the great things about homeschooling, though… that flexibility.

So here we go, subject by subject:

Math

We’re using RightStart Math, on level E.  At the beginning of the session, we were on lesson 39, and ended at lesson 59.   My goal was to end at lesson 65, doing a lesson pretty much every single day.  This means we “lost” one lesson each week. So, I think for the next session, I will only schedule 4 lessons each week and leave on day as a ‘games day’.  We’ve really been neglecting the games, and Flipper really does love them.  I confess that I’d like to get through this level quickly so we can get to Intermediate Geometry, but I really need to take my own advice and not worry about hurrying him through so much.

On the whole, the lessons have gone well.  He still has occasional ‘stubborn days’ where he insists that he’s forgotten everything he’s ever learned about math — or insists that he never learned it in the first place — but these are becoming rarer, and by the end of the worst of these lessons he always says “you know what?  That was actually kind of fun!”

He’s learned about area, square feet and yards, mixed and improper fractions, decimals, converting tenths and hundredths from fraction to decimal and vice versa, and metric measurements.  Along the way, he’s picked up squares (and other exponents) and square roots, and order of operations.

Canadian Studies/Geography

We started at lesson 2 and have completed lesson 5 out of the guidebook I’m using for a foundation, just for structure.  Each lesson involves several days of activities and we don’t do this topic every day.  We’re using some of the worksheets from this book and I’m adding in other activities like our Canada Puzzle Map.  I had hoped to be into lesson 6 but I’m happy with this pace.

He’s learned the provinces and territories and their capitals, both in terms of name and location.  He knows the oceans around the country and the postal abbreviations for each province. We also start each week singing O Canada together.   I didn’t do anything formal or grand or even print out the lyrics… I just sang for him!  He now sings along for the entire song in English, then I repeat it in French.  He’s starting to pick up some of the French bits too, and was very interested about the very different meaning of the French version of the anthem!

French

We had previously done some French language curriculum, but it never stuck and we couldn’t keep it up.  So this time around I decided to just forego the curriculum altogether and do what Charlotte Mason suggests — we’d just speak it first.

Flipper is not a boy who enjoys the physical act of writing.  All the written exercises were getting in his way.  It also just makes sense that we learn language first and foremost as a way of speaking, and then only afterwards do we learn to transpose that symbolically onto paper.

We started with reviewing the dozen or so words he already knew and adding a few ‘extra bits’ to make a couple basic sentences.  He already knew all the colour words, for instance.  So I asked him “Quel couleur est-ce que c’est?”, pointing to various things, and he’d answer “c’est rouge” or “c’est noir” or whatever it happened to be.  We didn’t worry about how c’est is a contraction of the pronoun ce and the verb est which is the third-person present conjugation of être… blah blah blah. He’ll figure that out later.

Over the session, he’s learned to count to 100, tell time, identify various foods, use comparative opposite adjective (lourd-léger, long-court, grand-petit, etc), and we’ve started singing the avoir and être conjugation songs (to the tune of Mexican Hat Dance, if you didn’t know…)

I can’t believe how much he’s loving this approach.  We spend at most 10 minutes a day and he never complains, in fact he’s excited and keen to show off what he knows.  He especially loves colours and started turning things around, asking me the question “quel couleur est-ce que c’est?” at random times.  Important point:  I never specifically taught him to say that sentence, he just imitated me saying it.

We’ll probably do purely oral french for at least one more session if not two.  Now that we’ve learned the basic verb conjugations, I plan on working in more complete sentences for him.  We’ll learn some animals and some related verbs, maybe things like dormir and courir and manger and marcher…

Literature

Under this heading, I’ve created a list of “great books” that we own, which he hasn’t read yet.  Each day he reads one chapter, more or less, and narrates it to me.  I’ve offered for him to do alternate narration styles, such as drawing a scene or making it in Lego (which, honestly, I thought he’d love), but his preference is always to just orally tell me about it.  He has really, really taken to narration.

First of all, at bedtime I’ve been reading to him from The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  I don’t officially count this as “school” for him, but we do practice narration.  In fact, we started this before we started the “new” Charlotte Mason curriculum, as kind of a ‘test run’ to see how the style suited him.  Basically, at the end of each reading I ask him to tell me “what happened”, and at the beginning of the next session I ask “now, where were we?”  It’s fascinating to see what he picks up on, what he misses, what he does and doesn’t understand.

For his “official” literature, which he is reading himself, he started with Pippi Longstocking and finished that within a week.  I couldn’t stop him from reading more than he was “supposed” to each day!

So we went to something a bit more challenging  — The Secret Garden.  I had to warm him up to that one by reading to him myself.  I would have happily read the entire book to him, but by chapter two he was hooked and insisted on reading it himself!

When that was finished, we moved on to “Island of the Blue Dolphins,” and that’s where he is now.

I had only expected to finish Pippi and be into The Secret Garden, so in this area he’s surpassed my expectations!

History

As this is the first time we’ve done history formally, we started at the very beginning.  Not in terms of the most ancient history, but just readings about history… Why we learn about history, how historians do their work, and especially, archaeology.

We also started a Book of Centuries and while we’re not yet in a regular routine of adding to it, he was surprisingly keen on the idea.

He already subscribes to Dig magazine which was a great resource in addition to the encyclopedias we’re using as our “core” books.  No real ‘living books’ for history this session, but we’re going to more than make up for that next session – Ancient Egypt!

Science

We’re using NOEO Science, Biology II.  Four days a week, and generally he does this independently.  I had planned to be finished week 23 at this point… looking at his notes, it seems that he’s on week 22, but hasn’t been doing the summaries for the last 2 weeks!  So some backtracking is in order, to make sure he’s actually covered everything.  And I’ll need to keep a closer eye on things next session.

Of the summaries he did in the first few weeks, one especially caught my eye.  He generally does just a short written narration, a couple sentences at most, and a more detailed drawing (one of the reasons we love this science program!)  This particular lesson was about the opossum’s defensive death-faking.  His sketch showed an opossum (with an arrow pointing to it labelled ‘opossum’), a predator looking over it (with an arrow labelled ‘predator’), and a word balloon from the predator saying “I’m not going to eat a DEAD opossum!”

He also did a really cool experiment, digging rodent bones out of an owl pellet.  I actually meant to blog about that, we took a ton of pictures… I’ll have to remember to do that.  It was fascinating.  After he had found and cleaned all the bones, we identified them and glued them onto a skeleton template.  It makes quite a keepsake!

Music

My intention for this session was to focus on Mozart… listen to Mozart every day and read a book about his life.  This got derailed a bit in the second week when the book disappeared, which was a shame because Flipper was actually enjoying it.

Still, we listened to Mozart quite a lot, and talked about some important things about him.  He knows that I’m currently playing the Requiem with the orchestra and that I’ve previously performed it in choirs.  Maybe we’ll be able to get him to come to the concert…

I had also hoped to get him back on track with regular piano practice, but that didn’t happen this session.  He is playing his electric guitar regularly and has started watching some instructional videos on YouTube.  All the same, for the most part he only wants to figure out songs he knows from “Guitar Hero”, and make up his own bizarre nonsense songs, and isn’t responsible about actually learning to play well.  Not that there’s anything wrong with what he’s doing — he actually shows some fantastic innate feel for riffs and patterns with the songs he makes up — and he’s gone so far as to create an entire tracklist for his “debut CD”, recording himself on his MP3 player, drawing the cover artwork, the whole shebang.

So I’m not at all knocking that part of it… it’s just that it’s not enough if he wants to actually get further with it, which he says he does.  He’s going to need to learn to buckle down and do some nitty-gritty practice, not just playing for fun.  One step at a time, I guess….

Grammar

We’re using Daily Grams, grade 5, one page every day.  He’s finished lesson 100, and I had planned to be on 105.  So, like Math, we’ve lost about one lesson per week.  So I’ll probably bring it down to 4 times per week for the next session.  He’s doing fine in this… still has a habit of guessing when he doesn’t know instead of looking a word up in the dictionary or (heaven forbid!) asking me for help, but he’s improved a lot.

Handwriting

Using A Reason for Handwriting, level F.   We fell behind when his book was misplaced for a couple weeks.  I used that as an opportunity to do some more ‘traditional’ Charlotte Mason style copywork, taking selections from his history or literature books, for example.  He didn’t really like that.  He complained that I made the passages too long!

The book was eventually found, and he’s completed week 18.  Hopefully next session will be more on-track.  I think maybe I’ll alternate, a week of Reason for Handwriting followed by a week of copywork from his other books… and I’ll try not to make them too long!

Poetry

Starting in the second week, we’ve been working through a basic poetry-writing manual, doing lessons twice a week.  He’s learned how to write limericks, concrete poems, rainbow poems, and parodies (possibly his favourite!)

We’ve now finished that part of the book, the next part is on writing prose stories.  I gave him the option of continuing with that, or instead, staying with poetry but reading poems (such as A Child’s Garden of Verses).  He’s chosen to write stories, so that’s what we’ll do next session.

Art

We added art appreciation in the fourth week, twice a week.  We decided to start with DaVinci.  I put the Mona Lisa as his desktop picture, but he wasn’t impressed, he wanted his dolphins back!  We looked at a bunch of DaVinci’s paintings and sketches online and chatted a bit about his life and importance.

I had him copy one of DaVinci’s paintings, and he chose “Lady with an Ermine”.  He hasn’t finished colouring it yet… but he enjoyed the project.

In our last week, we found a fun book about DaVinci in our library, a real “living book,” a kid’s story based on real events in DaVinci’s life with large colourful pictures.  It was a very easy read for him, intended for younger kids for sure, but he found it fun and enjoyable.

Miscellaneous

Finally, there are a few various things that we put in once or twice a week.  To work on his logic skills, I schedule a Mind Benders puzzle once a week — though he loves these so much he’ll often do extras on his own time.  He’s now in book A3.

To work on reading comprehension and analysis, he has one Reading Detective lesson per week.  He’s very good at getting the point of a story, but still has trouble with the analysis of where the information came from.

And also on reading comprehension but also with values lessons, he does studies on Aesop’s fables twice a week.  I believe the workbook is called “Christian Values Using Aesop’s Fables.”  They’re short and easy lessons, and he enjoys them.

Whew.  I think that’s it… It really is enlightening to get this all written up, to see just how much we are doing!  Some days we just feel so lazy, it’s good to remind ourselves that overall, we’re more than fine.

In addition to these, I’m hoping to add some journalling and/or dictation next session, or maybe get back into our spelling practice.  I’m really looking forward to the Ancient Egypt studies, though!  I’ve learned more just in preparing for this unit, than I ever learned in school about Ancient History (which is precisely: nothing at all).

We should want to sing the anthem because we love our country, because we feel it to be a country worth being proud of.  The cause and effect goes in that direction, not the other way around.  We don’t come to love our country by singing the anthem!

Anyway, I still think it’s important that my kids know the anthem, and can sing it.  So we’re going to start singing it together… maybe once a week.  Maybe not that often.  Whatever, just so that we learn it.  And the history of it is quite  interesting, so we’ll take a look at that too.

For instance, there’s the whole changing-of-the-lyrics thing.  I found this great clip on youtube, which is a wax cylinder recording of a performance of the 1908 lyrics.  These were not the first english lyrics, but they are the ones from which our current version eventually evolved.

Then I visited the official government heritage website detailing the history of the anthem.  It was fascinating, except…

According to the listed history, a committee formed in 1967 recommended a version of the lyrics which are the ones we use today, adding “from far and wide” and “God keep our land” to replace two of the “we stand on guard” phrases.

But that did not match my memory.

I distinctly remember having to learn the new lyrics in elementary school, in the early 80s.   I wasn’t even alive in 1967.  What’s more, the lyrics that I remember having learnt first did not match the previous version as listed on the official website.

Leave it to wikipedia to clear it up for me.

In 1980, the song was (finally) officially adopted as our national anthem, with a revised set of lyrics.

The original 1908 lyrics went, from just before the ‘chorus’:

And stand on guard, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee,
O Canada, O Canada,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee

The lyrics used until 1980 were:

And stand on guard, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee,
O Canada, glorious and free
We stand on guard, we stand on guard for thee
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee

Ahh… THAT’s what I remember.  And THAT is not mentioned anywhere on the official heritage website!  How confusing must our anthem’s history be, that even the government’s own history website does not get it right?

And of course, here is the version officially adopted in 1980 that we use today:

From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee,
God keep our land glorious and free
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee

Even our modern version is not without controversy.  Many Canadians object to the religious aspect of “God keep our land” — interestingly, that was one of the lines added later, and was never in the original.

There is also objection to the “In all thy sons command” line, as it is gender-exclusive.  Before you go thinking “oh that’s just overly PC, we should keep it the way it is for history and tradition’s sake” — you should know that this was also not part of the original.  The original line, as you can hear in the youtube clip, was “Thou dost in us command,” which was changed to the “sons” line in a 1914 revision.   Considering that at that time in our history, bills proposing women’s suffrage and property rights were still being defeated in some parts of the country, it is not unreasonable to interpret this as a sexist sentiment, that women are not capable of “true patriot love.”

A proposed modern alternative is “In all of us command.”   I could live with that.

The other line that raises hackles is “Our home and native land,” and this one has always bothered me.  The issue is simply that this is not the ‘native land’ of all Canadian citizens.  Not only is it not true for more recent immigrants, but the vast majority of the Canadian population is descended from immigrants.   This is only truly “native land” for the aboriginal populations, and it’s quite offensive IMO for us white folk to loudly proclaim that this is OUR native land, after everything we’ve done to the aboriginal peoples.

In fact, when I sing this line, I make a subtle change in my head.  I don’t change the words, just the meaning.  This is “our home”, but we are living on “native land.”

This week, the 3rd edition of 2009 visits five blogs in four provinces.

They’re looking for more contributors, so if you happen to have a Canadian homeschooling blog, or know someone who does, please spread the word!

… specialty baby shops are starting to carry some slings other than the Baby Bjorn-style carriers.  But buyer beware!  Most of these are c-r-a-p.

Well it turns out that there is a baby boutique right here in little ‘ole Fredericton, New Brunswick, which actually carries some of the GOOD slings.

BUMP Maternity and More. This boutique carries a variety of useful (and some not-so-useful, of course) baby items, many of which are harder to find in your typical baby chain stores.  For instance, they carry Babylegs.  And Bummis cloth diapers.  They support ‘mompreneurs’, Canadian companies, and ethical business practices.

But – perhaps most importantly – they carry slings.  And not just the crap slings either (though they do carry the Heart to Heart, which – while Canadian (yay)- is not a favourite of mine… I’ve seen too many parents struggle with the excess of padding, unable to get a good, secure carry).

They carry Cuddly Wraps.  They carry Hotslings pouches.  They carry Ellaroo mei tais and ring slings.   And they carry the Ergo structured carrier.

Their website is a bit splotchy, with links called “test1″ and areas labelled “place info here.”  The shop is similar… the floor is strewn with area rugs which almost but not quite completely fail to cover the busted flooring underneath.   If they were brand new, this would be more understandable, but apparently they have been around since at least 2007.  Perhaps this is simply a mark of the disinterest our society has with actually supporting small shops and baby-friendly accessories.  Or maybe they’re just lazy and disorganized.  I don’t know.

What I do know, is that it’s downright shameful that this shop is not crawling with customers every hour of every day.  That they haven’t had to expand in order to meet demand.  That most people don’t even know about this place.

The website gives their address as 88 Regent St, but the shop I visited is in the Priestman St. mini-mall, where Blockbuster is.  I’m assuming they’ve recently moved.  This might explain the half-finished appearance of the store, but just further exacerbates the sloppiness of the website.

At any rate, I can only commend them for their efforts.  Shops like this will never be successful and popular until they at least exist… we have to start somewhere.  I know that I will be contacting them, to perhaps organize some babywearing workshops for New Brunswick moms.  Or to offer tips on website maintenance…

Okay, I know what you’re thinking.   PLASTIC?  Isn’t this blog eco-friendly?

Well, yeah.  We try to be.  But we still need to store things, and as wonderful as it would be to have all our storage in vintage wooden trunks, bamboo baskets and stainless steel Bento boxes, in real life that’s not always possible (or affordable!).  Plastic does have its place, though it’s far too easy to overuse and abuse.

So… we try to limit our plastic use, but when it’s necessary, we try to make the best decisions we can.  That’s where these boxes come in!

First, let’s look at the practical side of things.

• The Omni series of boxes come in a wide range of sizes, from 6″x8″ accessory boxes to 60L totes.
• Unlike some boxes which claim to be stackable but don’t really fit properly, these ones do.  There is a recessed area in the lids where the bottom of another box fits just nicely and they are quite stable.
• The plastic is surprisingly soft and flexible, while still being strong and sturdy.  I expect this will lessen the likelihood of cracking.
• While many boxes are see-through, these are exceptionally clear, not opaque in the least.  (The larger sizes have solid blue lids, while the smaller boxes have clear lids).
• The lids are simple to snap on, with no fancy latches or doohickeys, and are easy to remove — you don’t need a crowbar to lift the handle!  And yet they are well-fitting and secure, not at all flimsy or loose.
• They are very affordable, the accessory box is only $1.99, or $9.99 for a pack of 6 at Canadian Tire.

Now for the bonuses:

• These boxes are “number 5″ plastic, which is considered among the ‘safest’ of plastic types, and is readily recyclable.
• While KIS is an Italian company, their North American  products are manufactured right here in Canada.  That’s right!  Not China.  Canada.  Brampton, Ontario, to be precise.  So we are supporting Canadian jobs when we buy these boxes.  Plus, there is much less pollution and waste from around-the-globe transportation.

We’re in the process of organizing my son’s mountains of Lego, and these boxes are doing the trick!  We can easily see the contents of every box, the uncomplicated but secure lids are easy for him to use, and we can feel good that it’s actually Made in Canada.  They are so very practical, that we know we’ll get good use of them — unlike many other plastic storage boxes we’ve purchased in the past, which end up sitting empty, unused, and unloved… and often non-recyclable.  That is true waste.  A plastic box that gets well-used and is recyclable when you’re done?  Well, there’s a good argument supporting that, I’d say.

In brief, we should still all try and reduce our consumption and over-dependence on plastic.  But when plastics are unavoidable, or at least the most obviously practical solution, we should at least endeavour to use the safest types, and support local businesses whenever possible.

I usually stammer off the best reply I can manage at the time, but what I really want to do is collect a list of the greatest places to find slings in Canada.  Then I can just send them to the list.  So here it is!

First of all, for the most part, you can only get slings online.  Of course, most online shops are located SOMEWHERE, so if you happen to live in the city where they’re located, you’re in luck!  If you don’t, though, you’re stuck with online ordering.  But don’t panic – most of these shops are very small and personal, and will bend over backwards to help you make the right choices!

A few chain stores and specialty baby shops are starting to carry some slings other than the Baby Bjorn-style carriers.  But buyer beware!  Most of these are c-r-a-p.  Overly padded monstrosities that are bulky and difficult to use and occasionally even dangerous!  If you’re new to the slinging game, you might not yet recognize which brands are good, quality carriers, and which are just… well… not.

(Author’s Note:  Please Read This Article About A Shop I Found Later, Which is an Exception to These General Rules)

If in doubt, wherever you’re thinking of buying your sling, first head over to The Baby Wearer and check the user reviews.  Oh, and while you’re there, browse the many great articles and the extensive forum for everything you need to know about babywearing!  It is the single most comprehensive resource on the net!

Quick glossary:

• Pouches – Hotslings is a common brand.  Simple one-shoulder sling, non-adjustable (must get the correct size), very easy to use and inexpensive.
• Ring Slings – Maya Wrap is a common brand.  One-shoulder sling adjusts via a double set of rings.  Long “tail” provides versatility and a touch of elegance.
• Wraps – Moby is a common brand.  Long pieces of cloth which are tied around mother and baby in an enormous variety of holds.  Maximum versatility and comfort, can be one- or two-shouldered, require learning how to tie the different carries.
• Mei Tais – Or Asian-Style Carriers.  Babyhawk is a common brand. Two-shouldered carrier.  Long straps tie over shoulders and around the waist.
• Structured Soft Carriers – or SSC’s.  Ergo and Beco are common brands.  Similar to Mei Tais, but with added buckles, security straps, padding, etc.  Think of a hybrid between Mei Tais and Baby Bjorns.

On to the shops!  These are all located in Canada, and are in no particular order. Many also have tons of other great non-babywearing-related products too, please check them out!

Pooka Baby (Toronto)
Pouches, Ring Slings, Mei Tais, SSC’s, Wraps, a few accessories

Tadpoles and Butterflies (Edmonton)
Pouches, Ring Slings, Mei Tais, SSC’s, Wraps, accessories

Milkface (Ottawa)
Pouches, Ring Slings, Mei Tais, SSC’s, Wraps, accessories

Panda Pouch (Hamilton)
Pouches, Ring Slings, Wraps

Continuum Family (Victoria)
Pouches, SSC’s

Parenting By Nature (Toronto)
Pouches, Ring Slings, Mei Tais, SSC’s, Wraps, accessories

The Baby Sling Shop (Chilliwack)
Pouches, Ring Slings, Mei Tais, SSC’s, Wraps, accessories

Mom and Baby Boutique (Brantford)
Pouches, Ring Slings, SSC’s, Wraps

Finally, don’t neglect second-hand sling shopping!  Once their babies outgrow the slinging ages, many mamas are happy to part with their beloved carriers at reduced costs.  Check the For-Sale-Or-Trade forums at The Babywearer and the Yahoo Group canadianslingswap.  I’ve got a couple I’d like to sell myself – feel free to email me for details.

And please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.  Seasoned babywearers are ecstatically happy to help those considering wearing their babies!  Ask on the forums I’ve mentioned above, ask the retailers themselves, or just ask me!  Happy babywearing!

So I set out to come up with simple, affordable clothes for mom. And while we’re at it, what about baby too? We have been practicing EC with our daughter, and once again it’s quite difficult to find clothes suited for this. For instance, toddler pants are always cut with a huge diaper allowance, with the crotch seam down to their knees! When your toddler is wearing underwear or training pants, this is rather annoying!

The Mother By Nature name is meant to convey many things. I am a mother, by my very nature. Mother Nature is the source of our inspiration and our fabrics. And the processes of Nature have made me a Mother.

“Mother” has everything to do with us. I shared my dream with my mother, and we are becoming business partners. My mother is an exceptionally talented seamstress and designer, with experience in baby clothes and nursing wear (and everything else!)

In addition to clothing and toys, we also plan on producing green bags — reusable cloth bags for shopping, gift-wrapping, whatever you like! We will offer workshops in Fredericton on babywearing, and may in the near future carry slings as well. We’re looking into other green products that are difficult to find in Canada. And of course, my handmade jewelry will be available, all from natural materials such as hemp, leather, bone, wood, and semi-precious stones.

My husband and I, with my son and our daughter, are currently living in Ontario. We are moving to New Brunswick this summer, where I will be teaming up with my mother and by this fall, Mother By Nature will be launched!