Glassy Beach

This week some of the homeschooling families in our area got together for a hike to glassy beach. We were blessed with a beautiful day for it and we had a great time. Here are some of the children enjoying their adventure.



Glassy beach is a beach in a small cove in our community that is covered with bits of broken glass and pottery that have been rubbed smooth by the ocean and the elements. You can dig way, way, down and still find mostly the smooth bits of glass and pottery. It is really neat. It's a bit of a hike to get there and the beach is quite small, but it is well worth the visit. Here Little One and I are searching for treasures



We went there for the first time years ago and I was awed by it. It seems to me that there is not as much there now as there was then, probably because there have been a lot of visitors since then and many people have taken bits of the glass and pottery for souvenirs and to use in crafts. I have heard that the town was trying to institute a by-law restricting what people take from the beach in order to protect it as it is. I can understand that, but I can also understand people wanting to bring a little home. We didn't bother to bring any home, we brought home some great pictures instead. :)

Here are my two beautiful daughters. This is the only picture I took. The rest were taken by DD#1.



Little One looking out over the ocean.



My beautiful eldest daughter sitting on a rock looking over the ocean. She took this herself!



Me. DD insisted this one was a keeper so I was a good mommy and let her keep it. I'm really working on trying to let my children have more pictures of me because they are so few.



DD took lots of great scenery pictures too. Here's a sampling:

Wanna trade Candidate cards with us?

A few posts back I mentioned that DD and I were planning on making Election Candidates Trading Cards. Shortly after I posted that DD and I were chatting and we came up with what we think is a great idea. We thought it would be neat to actually trade Candidate cards with others. Read on to see if you're interested.

We have decided that our cards will be 3 1/2 x 2 1/4, the size of a normal playing card. On one side of the card we will have a picture of the candidate, something to indicate the party the candidate is running for, and the riding the candidate is running in. The other side of the card will have information about the candidate - name, age, and a short bio including information about family, work, education, political experience, etc. There really won't be room for a whole lot of information so we'll have to see what we can fit. We are hoping to get cards made representing each of the candidates in the seven ridings in Newfoundland and Labrador but we will definitely be making cards representing each of the candidates running in our riding.

Most likely the design of the cards will be done on the computer and then printed and front and back stuck on to cardstock to make the card. This would make it pretty easy to make as many cards as you wanted of the same kind. If we decide to make the cards without the computer somehow we could still scan the finished cards and make duplicates if needed.

If you decide to make cards representing the candidates in your area we would love to trade with you - you sending us a set of your cards and we sending you a set of ours. Anyone interested? Leave a comment to let us know

A whole new twist

Our election studies have taken a whole new twist. I found out that a friend decided to run as a candidate for our area and I offered to help with his campaign. I've never done anything like this before and it really gives you a whole new side to the election process. I didn't realize before all the work that goes into an election campaign!

Today DDs and I were busy putting together lawn signs.

DD was thrilled to get to use DH's chop saw to cut the posts for the signs.



She made fun of me when I struggled at first with using the power tool to screw the placards onto the posts, but I got the hang of it before too long.



She had a better understanding of how difficult it was at first when she finished cutting the posts and tried her hand at using the power tool, but she soon got the hang of it too.



Even Little One had a part to play. All on her own started taking the finished lawn signs and putting them up with the others.



It was a new learning experience for us all on all kinds of levels, and it was fun to all be working together.

First Homeschoolers Hike of the year!

Not this past Friday, but the Friday before, some of the homeschooling families in our area got together for our first hike of the year. We decided to try out the new boardwalk that has been built in one end of our town. It's not completely finished yet but what is finished is beautiful. We had a great day for the hike and we got some great pictures. In the one above you can see little one trotting off after the others thinking she's just as big as they are. In the picture below she is enjoying a cookie from a stash of homemade cookies that one of the moms brought. They were yummy!





I took a group picture of all the children but I won't post it because I'm not sure how everyone feels about having their pictures posted on the web. Some of the older children weren't too pleased about posing for the pictures but it turned out really nice.

Here's my oldest dd clipped from the group picture:



And here's little one, my youngest dd, clipped from the group picture:



I even got DD#1 to take a picture of little one and I on the hike. Pictures of me are rare because I always try to hide from the camera but I'm realizing how silly that is and how important it is that my children have pictures of me with them as they are growing up, so I'm trying to be better about getting some taken.



The pictures below are beautiful scenery pictures DD#1 took while we were on the hike. She has a real eye for taking great pictures. She actually took all the pictures on the hike, except for the group pictures that she was in.





It was a great first hike and I'm looking forward to others throughout the year.

Election Candidates Trading Cards :)

Inspired by part of Renee's post today, DD and I have decided that the next project for her political studies will be to make player/trading cards for the candidates that are running in our province in this election. The front will be a picture of the candidate and the back will have information about the candidate. We will probably include something on the front to indicate the party the candidate is running for. We're pretty excited about this idea! It will be something neat to add to her election 2008 lapbook. I'll post pictures when we actually get some done, which will probably be a while as we gather information and work on a design.

Who knew elections could be so fun!?! :)

Another homeschooler watching election happenings

I've been watching Becky's blog for a while now. She often gives me food for thought. I kind of thought she would be having something to say about the federal elections. While I may not always agree with what she says, I like hearing what she has to say because she causes me to think. If she's okay with her, this is where I will link her posts on the election.

Cracking up II

Coming back with their marbles

On the shoulders of...

Opportunities and opportunism

Highs and lows on the Canadian Campaign Trail

A pause for what is truly important

Once again Ann causes me to stop and consider what is really important. I have been so caught up in so much. My blog has been overtaken by election posts as I try to encourage learning along those lines. It, too, is important, but I must not forget what is truly most important.

In Ann's post today, titled A Place for Everything..., she tells us, as only Ann can, about her prayer bench. It's simple, yet extraordinary. I love it. I want one like it. I love how she's thought it all out and made sure that it serves the purpose it is set to serve - to make prayer a visable, vital part of the every day, every moment.

Thank you, Ann, for the reminder to pause and consider what is truly important.

Consumer costs

According to this article, consumer costs, including the price of gas, is one of the issues that leaders will be addressing in this election.

In this article Jack Layton explains some of his plans in this regard.

Political Ads and Party troubles

Often times parties encounter all kinds of troubles during a campaign and often times these troubles are associated with ads and statements that are made without thought. Here is where I will collect links that have to do with that in this campaign.

This Toronto Star post talks about the Puffin Poo ad that the conservatives pulled.

This Canadian Press post talks about a statement made by Ryan Sparrow, a top Conservative Campaign official, to a father of a dead soldier.

CBC article about the same incident.

Conservative Candidate makes joke about listeria outbreak.

Leaders Travels

A great idea would be to create a map to use especially for tracking the travels of teh party leaders during the elections. It would be a good way to get some review of the layout of our country and the different provinces, along with following current events and learning some politics. You could make this as creative as you want. Design your own mini airplanes for each party, making it easily identifiable with the party, and park it at each place as you learn about the leader visiting that place. Create an individual mark of some kind for each party to leave on each place as they leave so that you have a permanent record of where they leaders have been.

Here I will link articles that I come across that talk about the leaders travels:

This article lays out the leaders travel plans for Thursday, September 11

This article includes information about the leaders travels on Friday, September 12

This article says that Layton and Harper will be in Newfoundland and Labrador on Saturday.

This article gives some information on leaders travels for Monday and also gives information on some issues.

Military Issues

One of the issues in this election is that of the Canadian military, especially as related to our role in Afganistan

In this article Taliban claims to increasing attacks on Canadians in attempt to influence elections

In this article party leaders react to Taliban claims.

In this article Harper commits to to a 2011 end date to the Afganistan mission.

Provincial Candidates

Here I will collect links about the candidates that are running in our province.

This post announces that Ryan Cleary will run for the NDP in the St. John's South riding.


This post announces Craig Wescott running as Conservative candidate in St. John's east and Merv Wiseman running as Conservative candidate in St. John's south.

This Western Star Article announces candidates in St. John's East riding - Craig Wescott for the Conservatives, Walter Noel for the Liberals, and possibly Jack Harris for the NDP

This Western Star article talks about the candidates for the Random riding - Liberal Judy Foote, Conservative Herb Davis, and NDP Terry White.

This Western Star article confirms Jack Harris running for NDP in St. John's East

This article points out how Westcott and Cleary have in the past publicly ridiculed the very parties and leaders they are now running for.

In this article Jack Layton laughs off Cleary's former remarks about him and his party.

This article is mainly about Cleary running for the NDP but it also mentions other candidates.

This Western Star article announces conservatives have candidates in 5 of the 7 ridings. Craig wescott in St. John's East, Merv Wiseman in St. John's South, Fabian Manning in Avalon, Herb Davis in Random, Andrew House in Bonavista.

In this Western Star article Gerry Byrne talks about his plans.

This Western Star article introduces Lacey Lewsis as the conservative candidate for Labrador.

This Western Star article announces Mark Kennedy as NDP candidate in Humber riding.

This Western Star article announces the candidates in humber riding - Liberal Gerry Byrne, Conservative Lorne Robinson, NDP Mark Kennedy, and Wayne Bennett for the Newfoundland First Party

In this article Fabian Manning says he expects to win, but some voters tell why they won't vote for him.

Labrador not happy that candidates running in their area are not from their area.

Reminder and update

DD learned a lesson today. She had used one site for information in making her poster about the candidates in the different ridings in our province. When my dad was visiting today he noticed that some of the info wasn't right. Turns out that the site we were using has some information from the last election posted and haven't updated it for this election. It was a well needed reminder for us to not just depend on one source for your information but to be sure to use more than one source and be sure your sources are reliable.

Also, I got a call from the Student Vote people today. Their program is available for homeschoolers so be sure to check out their website and register.

Williams' "ABC" Campaign

This is a topic that is of specific interest to us Newfoundlanders.

Newfoundland and Labrador's Premier Danny Williams thinks that Prime Minister Stephen Harper backed out of a promise he made to Newfoundlanders during the last election. The promise had something to do with the issue of equalization. As a result, Primier Danny Williams, though he is Conserative, has launched an "Anything But Conservative" Campaign and has said he will do his part to see that Newfoundland and Labrador has no conservatives elected in the upcoming federal elections. For the most part I really like our premier but his thinking in this matter baffles me. Maybe I'll understand it better once I research it, or maybe I'll just be all the more baffled, we'll see.

In this post I will be collecting links that have to do with Premier Williams' and his ABC Campaign.

I only have a rough idea of what the whole "equalization" thing is all about so I need to learn more about that. As I get time I will try to find links that will help with that and the equalization issue may end up becoming a separate topic but for right now I will deal with it here.

This article tells about Williams email to MHAs seeking support for his ABC Campaign.

This article states that only one of the MHAs, Elizabeth Marshall, has said she does not support the campaign

This article says that the ABC campaign is making it difficult to find candidates and volunteers for the Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador.

In this article St. John's East Conservative candidate, Craig Westcott, explains his argument against Williams' campaign.

In this article Craig Westcott and Merv Wiseman, another Conservative candidate, speak to the equalization issue.


This article tells about Premier Williams sending a letter to each of the main party leaders detailing specific questions to answer.

Here you can get pdf's of the actual letters.

This article tells about Danny Williams attacking Stephen Harper in a speech. I have debated whether I should just leave this as links to articles with no comment about them but I just can't resist with this one. Danny Williams complaining about Stephen Harper's cuts sounds a little like the pot calling the kettle black. Many Newfoundlanders are upset at the way that Danny has been running things in Newfoundland and Labrador. He has done many things that he deemed necessary for our province, even though they may not have been popular. I think Stephen Harper has done the same thing in running things in our country. Also, it seems crazy for a member of the Conservative party to say that "the future of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians — and indeed all Canadians — will be very bleak under a Conservative majority". It just doesn't make any sense!

In this article Danny Williams says he may take his ABC campaign to other provinces.

This Western Star article talks about local MHAs support of the ABC Campaign.

This article talks about the media emailing MHAs about stand on ABC campaign.

This article talks about the cost of the ABC campaign.

This article talks about Danny Williams increasing his attacks.

In this article Harper addresses Williams ABC campaign.

Article talking about Conservatives helping other parties.

Williams has a website for his ABC campaign.

Williams takes ABC campaing to Manning riding.

The Leaders Debate

The Leaders Debate is a televised debate between the leaders of the main political parties.

There has been a big fuss about who should be participating in the televised leaders debate during this election. Here I will collect articles about the leader's debate in general and articles about the debate. If you have any link you think I might be interested in adding, please leave a comment.

In this article the Green Party threatens to go to court if they are excluded.

This article reveals that the networks have ruled that Green Party will not be a part of the debate.

In this article Green Party Leader, Elizabeth May, accuses Harper and Layton of threatening to boycott the debate is she was a part of it.

This site was posted by the green party about the issue.

This article announces that the networks have changed their minds and the Green party leader will be a part of the debate.

A Toronto Start Editorial about the debate about the debate.

Information about the debates to be aired October 1 and 2.

This is ridiculous!

According to this news article, Elton John is playing back to back concerts in St. John's on October 2nd and 3rd, but rather than stay in St. John's over night he is flying back to Halifax after his concert the first night and flying back again for the concert the next night!

I am not a concert attender at all. I hate crowds. I also hate overly loud music, except on very, very rare occasions for very brief moments, like when DD and I occasionally bomb down the road singing at the top of our lungs to our favorite songs. I also don't understand the outrageous costs ($112.50 each!) for tickets to these concerts. I could find a lot of other uses for the money. But to each his own.

I am also not a big Elton John fan. Actually, I'm not an anybody fan. It's not that I don't like Elton John's songs or music. I do like some of it, but I like a variety of music at different times depending on my mood. After reading this, however, I am even less of an Elton John fan.

I take it as a bit of a snub that he isn't staying overnight in our province. It just doesn't make any sense to me! Maybe there is a logical reason, but I sure don't see it. All I see is a snob that thinks he's above staying in what he considers a lesser place. I could be wrong, but that's what I see. I'd love to know the reasoning behind the decision.

Thoughts anyone?

It's Federal Election Time!

I love to use current events as a jumping off point for our learning. This morning DD and I brainstormed about how we could do that very thing with the upcoming election.

She came up with some very basic questions to start with - why is there an election? what are the different levels of government and what are their responsibilities? We discussed this some and discussed how we could do more research into these questions and the different ways we could present our findings. She's thinking about doing a "Politics" lapbook.

I had already done a little research for possible resources last night and found a site called Nodice.ca, "an independent website which contains educational resources and links for Canadian teachers and students, and information about federal, provincial and territorial elections in Canada." This looks like a really great resource that I hope to use in the future, as well as during the current federal election.

DD and I perused the Canada Federal Election 2008 portion of the site after our brainstorm session and had a great discussion time. Our perusual promoted more ideas. She plans to contruct our own Count Down to Election Day poster to keep it fresh in our minds and to get all of us talking about it. She's also planning on making a poster of the ridings in our area and filling in the candidates running for the different parties in each riding as we learn about them. She may also make a little mini booklet about the party leaders.

I was thrilled with how she jumped right into the topic and actually seemed to enjoy it. She reminded me that during an election a few years ago she had set up a voting booth in our house and everyone had to cast their vote for the local candidates. I had forgotten all about that. Then I told her about the Students Vote Organization I learned about through the NoDice site. I don't know if the program is open to homeschoolers or not but it would be a neat thing for homeschool groups to take advantage of if it is.

This lead to a discussion about the voting age limit, which lead to a discussion of the history of the right to vote, which is most likely going to lead to more research and project possibilities.

So, we're off and running! Are you doing anything to incorporate the election into your learning? I'd love to hear about it if you are.


Edit: Just found some more great resource sites!

Link to Learning is a site "Linking you to web sites supporting the Ontario curriculum." Although it states it is specifically for Ontario Curriculum it can be a great resource to any homeschool. This resource is not specifically for the election but I found this work sheet, about the different levels of government and their responsibilites, from the site. In reality there is nothing fancy about this worksheet and you could quite easily just make your own without printing it off.

Government in Canada is the site you are supposed to use to fill in the worksheet. It has great information about the different levels of government and their responsibilities.

Canadainfo is the main site where the page above is found and it is another great resource, not just for the election.

Election 2008 is a specific section of this site for the upcoming election. It looks like it will be a great resource. It answers DD's question about the timing of the election, among other things.

I'm trying to decide if I should just added resources to this post as I find them, or make a new separate post each time I find new resources, or if I should make a special section in the sidebar for the resources I'm finding. Any thoughts on that?


EDIT: I have decided that rather than add to this post I will be making new posts about specific election issues. You can find all thet posts about the 2008 federal election by clicking on the federal election 2008 label at the bottom of this post.


EDIT: Just a reminder to be sure to check the validity of facts and statistics and not to rely on just one source of information. DD and I have discovered that the Nodice site information is not correct for your province, at least as of September 11. Also, the Students Vote program is available for homeschoolers so go register!

revised and published in the October issue of Homeschooling Horizons Magazine and also published on Homeschooling Horizons website

The drive to be number one

Debbie makes some great points in her recent post titled "One week in town and ranting all ready...". This particular quote is very thought provoking:

"I read somewhere online the other day that over 80% of parents encourage their kids to be at the top of their class!!! Over 80%!!! Now I know it's been awhile since I have sat in math class, but it doesn't take a genious to know that 80% of all kids will not be at the top of the class. So what about all those kids who fall short?? How do they feel when they know their parents want them to be number 1, or at least number 2 or 3, in their class, but they just can't do it?"

There's nothing wrong with encourging our children to be the best they can be, but there is something wrong in expecting them, and passing that expectation on to them, to be "the best" at whatever they are involved in. Failure is inevitable if that is their expectation because nobody is best at everything. We need to encourage our children to compare themselves to themselves, and steadily work at improving themselves, rather than compare themselves to others and try to surpass them. Big difference.

Comments lead me to great site

Just yesterday Julie commented on a post I made a while back. This lead me to check out her site. What a great find!

Homeschooling Ideas is where Julie, an experienced home educating mom of 6 years living in the UK, collects homeschool ideas to share. Lots of great stuff here!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

21 years ago to day was my wedding day.



It hasn't always been easy or fun, but we're still together today.