Grouse Mountain Field Trip

The field trip to Grouse Mountain was PHENOMENAL despite the constant downpour of rain throughout the day!  (Many kudos to our stalwart parents and volunteers who braved the wet weather!)

After a long bus ride we arrived at the Grouse Mountain Tram.  It was exciting to all squash into the Skyride tram and head up to the Alpine Station. We could feel the swaying, bumps, and shakes as we headed up the Mountain, but it was so rainy and foggy that we couldn’t actually see how high we were!  Our morning was spent in an authentic Pacific Northwest Coast Longhouse, where we both watched and participated in, the educational Hiwus Presentation (First Nations Cultural Experience) led by an elder of the Squamish Nation. We learned about the ancient customs, legends, dances and rich history of our First nation people. We listened to singing and drumming, and got to do our own “Raven Dance”!

During the lunch hour we watched the Lumberjack Show.  The Lumberjacks didn’t worry too much about falling in the water for the log rolling competition, because they were already soaking wet!  They were really funny! Fortunately, after the show we were able to eat our lunches inside where it was dry and warm.

The afternoon was spent learning about the similarities and differences between the three species of North American bears.  The videos were wonderful!  Then we got to explore different tables of artifacts.  We had to sort out skulls, claws, and footprints to match them up with the correct animal.  All the parents were put to work at the tables, so we didn’t get any photos… too bad!  We also got to see the orphaned Grizzly bears as they wandered through their enclosure.  Wow, they were SO BIG!

 

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What was YOUR favourite part of the day?

 

 

Bonhomme Carnaval

We may not have much snow here, but we certainly have the SPIRIT of snow!  Our French Immersion teachers put on a fantastic activity day to celebrate the traditional CARNAVAL that is enjoyed in Montreal at this time of year. We even had the famous “Bonhomme” come to visit!

We were VERY lucky… we got the ice cream station first!  It was especially enjoyed by those brave enough to have it with Maple Syrup!  We had a little extra time, so we played a game of “hangman”.  The next station was in the gym.  We played bean bag toss… which is a little bit like a curling target.  Then we got to use the scooters and hockey sticks to do the “canoe race”.  Wow!  That was REALLY hard!  Pin the face on the Bonhomme was fun.  Some people could see through the blindfold, so we changed the rules to make the FUNNIEST Bonhomme face the winner! Then we had a “snowball toss” game. You could get 5, 10, or 15 points depending on which basket you threw your snowball in.  Pictionary was really hard.  You had to draw or act out words that are part of Carnaval or French Canadian traditions.  Last of all we went to the music room to learn to play a French song on  the xylophone.

What a fun day!

 

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Did YOU try Maple Syrup on your ice cream?

Spirit of the Season

We had an AMAZING December… full of activities!  We collected food for the Food Bank, and practiced our Canada Food Guide food groups.  We donated money to the FireFighters, and were treated to a Pancake Breakfast.  We bought secret gifts for our parents and siblings at the Nestor Craft Fair.  We made beautiful Yule Log centerpieces as our main gift to our families.    We learned how Christmas is celebrated differently in many places around the world.   We sang (like angels!) at our Winter Concert.

Enjoy the show!

 

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Did you have a favorite activity?

 

Yule Log Christmas Craft

This week we made Mrs. Boekhout’s FAVOURITE craft of the year… Yule Logs!  This craft comes from an old English custom, the bringing of the Yule (Christmas) Log.  These logs were HUGE because they had to burn for all TWELVE DAYS of Christmas!  Can you imagine how big those fireplaces had to be?  In those days, the only heat for the house came from a fireplace, so no wonder they were large.  At the end of the 12 days, a small pile of kindling (little sticks) from the Yule log was carefully saved so that they could be used to light the next year’s Christmas fire!  Mrs. Boekhout was taught this craft by her best friend, who is English. She has been making Yule logs for 25 years now!

The most important part of this craft is the log, of course, and Mrs. Boekhout is lucky to have her very own “Christmas Lumberjack“!  Mr. Nussle has been supplying beautiful logs (he even drills holes for the candles!) for more than 10 years now!  Both of his girls (who were in Mrs. B’s Grade 2 class) are now in University!  Wow… that’s a long time!

You can see the steps in the photos… first we hammer a cardboard base so that the log won’t scratch the dining room table.  Next comes the “snow” (secret ingrediant!), it has to look like it is gently sliding down the sides of the log. We arrange real greenery, like a skirt, outwards from the candle hole.  Then special ornaments are carefully placed on top and the candle is added.  The final touches are a dusting of “glitter frost” on the tips of the leaves and fluffy “snow” glued along the base of the log.  Each log is SO DIFFERENT and SO BEAUTIFUL!

 

Yule Log Christmas Craft from Nora Boekhout on Vimeo.

 

Where did you put
your Yule Log?

Snow Time in Canada

This is a SPECIAL POST for Mrs. Milton’s class in Australia!  Some of her students have NEVER SEEN snow!   We are pretty well into the soggy, rainy season in our area, but the local mountains and many other areas of Canada still have lots of snow!  We decided we could at least spend a little time thinking about one of our FAVOURITE parts of winterSNOWY DAYS!

Some of our favorite thoughts about snow are:
* snow is white flakes falling down from the sky in the winter, snow is COLD
* stick your hand in the refrigerator and that feels like snow
* snow can be soft and fluffy or sometimes it is hard as ice, it can be wet or dry, it can be slippery
* snow is cold.  You need to wear mittens and boots and hats amd scarves
* snowflakes will melt in your hand and it’s fun to catch snowflakes on your tongue
* you can build things like snowmen, snow angels, snow forts and you can make snowballs and have snowball fights
* you can go sledding or skiing, or if the ponds are frozen you can go skating or play some hockey, 
* too much snow makes a blizzard and that’s not good

* most of all, snow is FUN!
You might like to investigate a SNOW website to learn more about snowflakes!

We hope you all get to experience snow one day!

Have you ever seen snow?
What is YOUR favourite snow activity?

 

 

Can you think of ways that SAND and SNOW are the SAME?
How are they DIFFERENT?

 

 

 

Winter Snow

*Let it snow! * Let is snow! * Let it snow! *

We FINALLY got some snow here!  It didn’t last long enough to build any snow forts, but we enjoyed it while it lasted!

Monty Moose had just come back from Montebello, Quebec, so he was glad to see we got some snow too.
Lucky Monty even got to go DOG SLEDDING in Quebec!

 

Dog Sledding in Quebec from Nora Boekhout on Vimeo.

 

What is YOUR favourite activity in the snow?