Amarilli, mia bella....by (Angela) Jean

Amarilli, mia bella,
Non credi, o del mio cor dolce desio,
D'esser tu l'amor mio?
Credilo pur: e se timor t'assale,
Dubitar non ti vale
Aprimi il petto e vedrai scritto in core:
Amarilli, Amarilli, Amarailli
è il mio amore.

Amaryllis, my lovely one,
do you not believe, o my heart's sweet desire,
That you are my love?
Believe it thus:  and if fear assails you,
Doubt not its truth.
Open my breast and see written on my heart:
Amaryllis, Amaryllis, Amaryllis,
Is my beloved. 

 

We've been working on a little science project here at Abelattanzedinio Homeschool.

Mimi, do you know what this is? 

A flower? Really? It doesn't look like a flower.

And this is the soil we're going to plant it in.

 

 

We added some warm water

....and waited....

we had fun choosing things that would float or sink

and of course

stirring

the mud

in went the bulbs

Ok, now what?

We measured and graphed the growth, daily.

one stem even grew 7cm in one day!

Ta Da!

 

 (if you find Cecilia's facial expressions distracting, just close your eyes and listen)

Field Trip Friday-Episode #4-Feed the Birds...by (Angela) Jean

The surprising and happy side benefit of planting sunflowers in my garden was the daily visits by goldfinches to our backyard.

But sadly, when the sunflowers faded, so did the visits.
The goal of this week's Field Trip Friday was to bring back the birds.

My Dad had an ingenious way of keeping the birds in his garden. It involved a trip to his friend's farm for some faded sunflowers, a wooden stake, and a roll of duct tape. Worked like a charm.

While I loved his idea, I was looking for something that would last the whole winter and that could be installed near our kitchen window for easy viewing during the winter months. The educational goal is to learn about the native varieties of birds....what they eat, how they behave, what they look like....

So this week, Beppe and Nonno came to visit and helped us with our project. We all piled into their SUV, me between the car seats in the back,

and headed to.....

Clearly we were in the right spot, since this was the display just inside the front door.

We purchased some supplies.

Pushed some carts, and admired some forklifts.

And headed home to fire up the power tools.

Nonno spoiled us by doing most of the assembly work ahead of time in his workshop, but Mimi helped drill some holes for drainage.

Nonno dug a deep hole for the post, and I covered the surrounding area with plastic sheeting to attempt to prevent my kitchen herb garden from being invaded by germinating bird seeds in the spring. (I'm not kidding myself though, I know I'll be pulling up seedlings for most of the next growing season.)

 Lastly, we added some seeds, and now we wait for the birds.

So far, no luck. Mimi suggested we make a sign so the birds know where to go. If we have no visitors by tomorrow, we may do just that.

Field Trip Friday-Episode #3: Crawford Lake

I believe we learn as much from our failures as from our successes, so with that spirit in mind, I will share with you the story of Field Trip Friday-Crawford Lake.

Earlier in the year we purchased an annual pass to our 6 regional Conservation Areas. We made several visits to Kelso, and Shawn and the kids visited Crawford Lake, Hilton Falls and Mount Nemo, earlier in the summer. The Niagara Escarpment has beautiful scenery, with some of the oldest trees in Ontario growing on the escarpment's cliff face. 

Crawford Lake Conservation Area has several trails, one of which is an elaborate boardwalk that goes all the way around the lake. It's picturesque and fun. P.S. It's also quite slippery when covered in snow.

Ethan peeking into the Iroquois Village that we will tour the next time we go.

I thought it would be fun to go back to Crawford Lake and see what it looked like in early winter. (I was also looking forward to the absence of mosquitoes)

Today was a PA day for the local schools so our friends joined us for the trip.

Interview:

Me:      Mimi, I have an idea. How about I interview you about our trip to Crawford Lake today, and then I’ll post the interview on the blog for my Field Trip Friday post?

Mimi:    I love it.

Me:      So....where should we start? Who came with us?

Mimi:    Ethan, Sam & Maddie!

 Me:      Anyone else?

Mimi:    Auntie Sarah!

Me:      Yep. That’s right. Did you enjoy having Field Trip Friday guests?

Mimi:    Uh huh.

Me:      So, do you remember what we did first when we arrived?

Mimi:    No. Well, yes...it was cold.....and freezing....and there was snow....and my hands were cold. Very cold.

Quick! Pose the children in the blinding sun and tell them to smile! Oh! And maybe if you make them stand by the school bus it will feel more legit!!

Me:      Do you remember anything else?

Mimi:    Hmmmm.....We had to find the blue trail! With the coloured trees to follow.

Run, Children, Run! Run into the icy forest! C'mon, it'll be fun! I swear!

Me:      Where did the path lead us?

Mimi:   To Crawford Lake. All around the lake. But we didn’t make it because we were cold....and we whined....and cried....and I fell down, and Maddie fell down on the slippery path....and Otis wouldn’t wear his mitts and so he was crying....and we wanted snacks but you wouldn’t give us snacks....but then you did. I had 2 bananas but my hands were still cold and I was still crying.

Me:      So it was fun then?

Mimi:   Yes. It was really, really, really super fun! Maddie rode in the stroller and I was on the buggy board and Auntie Sarah pushed us but we were sliding down the hill. Otis cried so you had to carry him and the big boys ran away.

Me:      Do you remember any things that you saw?

Mimi:    I saw a sign that said “No Swimming”.....and I saw rocks and snow...and other cold things. Mostly wind. Cold wind. But I couldn't really see the wind....but it was cold.

An informative and enthusiastic sign left by a previous group.

Me:      Were you sad that we didn’t make it all the way around the lake?

Mimi:    No, because I was cold. And I was crying. And Maddie was crying. And Otis was crying. And the pips-pot was very dirty, and the seat was cold and so I cried.

Tears, runny nose and frozen paws. Not a happy bear.

Me:     Yes, I recall that there were a few tears. But what was the best part of the trip for you?

Mimi:   I liked the van ride. It was fun in Auntie Sarah's van.

Lest you think it was a complete nightmare, I am still glad that we went. Sarah was a real trooper and kept my spirits up. It may have been a tad ambitious to try it on such a chilly day, but really, by January we’ll be thinking that -2˚ is quite balmy!

I want to go back again on a warmer day, or when we have enough strollers to fit all kids who might possibly want to ride at some point. I will also insist that Otis wears mitts. He hates mitts, but his hands turn all red and I can’t stand it. 

Well, there you have it. Field Trip Friday Fail. Sigh. Better luck next week!

Field Trip Friday-Episode #2....by (Angela) Jean

Welcome to the second installment of Abelattanzedinio Homeschool-Field Trip Friday. This week's adventure did not involve Public Transit, but it did involve a scenic drive to Hamilton, including a crossing of the Burlington Skyway; always a hit.

We spent the day with our cousins Hannah & Baby Clara, and Cora, the Labradoodle.

It was extremely educational, as every homeschool field trip should be.
We had lessons in engineering and locomotion.

It was Otis' first trip to Baby Clara's house, but it didn't take him long to find the toys with wheels.

After physics class, we worked very diligently on Performance Practice. Amelia improvised an interpretive dance involving balloons. It was riveting to audiences young and old.

Epic.

Baby Clara was enchanted.

 Lunch was homemade pizza and cookies--Field Trip staples.

How cute are these pizza plates?

Clara doesn't like cookies at all.

 It was such a beautiful day, so following lunch, we resumed our lessons outside.

Flexed Arm Hang

High Jump

Hill Training

Log Rolling

Crawling and Staring-a combination sport

 And although I swore that stuffies were no longer welcome on FTF, they somehow sneaked into the car. I  must give them credit, however, Big Cat and Teddy behaved themselves this time. Mostly.