All About Dinosaurs

Jaxon has been begging to learn about dinosaurs so I took on the task to learn all we could about these creatures! We 'hatched' a dinosaur egg which the kids were convinced would hatch a real dinosaur. Much to their disappointment it didn't!

We made T-Rex masks and the kids pretended to be dinosaurs for the day

Jaxon doing his online fossil dig

Measuring how tall Jaxon is and comparing it to the height of some of his favourite dinosaurs

Painting around a dinosaur stencil and it makes a neat dinosaur shadow

We worked on a poster all about dinosaurs, adding facts about height and length, where dinosaurs lived, what different words mean like herbivore, carnivore, fossil, extinct.

Jaxon and his siblings have been enjoying colour by number lately so we found one of a dinosaur

We did a fun messy craft and made some paper mache dinosaur eggs. They took a couple days to dry and then the kids painted them whatever colour they wanted.

We made our own dinosaur dig using 'fossil's' buried in plaster of paris, sand and rocks. Thankfully we had a dry afternoon to go for a fossil dig outside. Jaxon used hammers, chisels and brushes to uncover the fossils.

Apple Barn Farm and more Fall Fun!

It's so great when we can spend a fun day with friends and incorporate a school field trip in!
One of our favourite places to visit in the fall is the Apple Barn farm and this year we went for Jaxon's friend Danny's birthday! It tied in nicely with our fall studies as we saw lots of different fall colours all around us. We also picked out pumpkins to take home!

We painted our pumpkins this year instead of carving them- much more kid friendly! I taped a design or face on the pumpkin so once dry we peeled away the tape to reveal the picture.

We baked some yummy pumpkin donuts!

Jaxon coloured on coffee filters with markers then used an eye dropper to put water on and watch the colours blend together. Once they were dry we hung them on the window.

Experimenting with baking soda and coloured vinegar. We watched as the colours blended together to make new colours while the baking soda and vinegar fizzed and bubbled. This was a favourite activity we must have done more than 10 times!

We did a nature scavenger hunt outside as a family. Jaxon looked at the pictures on the sheet then he used the camera to take pictures of the items he found.

Jaxon wanted to help write out the grocery shopping list, he told me the word he wanted to write, I told the letters one at a time and here was the result!

We had an afternoon of crafting with Jaxon's Grandma making Christmas gifts for his uncle who currently lives in China.

Another trip to the library looking for dinosaur books

Jaxon started his skating class and loves it!

Jaxon Starts Kindergarten

A big year for Jaxon as he started kindergarten!
We decided to homeschool for a few different reasons, one being full days of school at 5 years old seemed a bit much. I am trying to cherish the time I have with my young children before I blink and they are all teenagers. A lot of it also had to do with Zoey being born, I wanted Jaxon to experience having a new baby in the house again and give him the opportunity to be the responsible big brother. He adored his sister from the moment she was born, he loves to hold her, and give her lots of hugs and kisses.

We got off to a great start with Jaxon as he learned so much in preschool the previous year, this term was a lot of review for him.

Before we 'officially' started kindergarten we did some activities on our own since the schools were on strike. We worked through a fall worksheet package, reviewed letters and enjoyed our endless summer spending lots of time outside, going for walks, trips to the zoo and playtime on the trampoline.

Experimenting with colours and how they mix to make new colours, using eye droppers to mix the colour from one part of the egg carton to the other.

A trip to the library and more playtime at the park

Some 'mixed media' art work, Jaxon picked the supplies he wanted to use and created what he wanted. Here he made a rocket ship with toilet paper rolls.

Working through kindergarten curriculum and following the fall theme

We went outside and collected different leaves, then glued them to parchment paper. Once they were dry we turned them into fall lanterns and waited for it to get dark to watch it glow!

Of course more beautiful weather meant more park days, bike rides and outside time!

The following pictures are of Jaxon working on various worksheets, practicing printing, cutting, colouring.