20 hours with ButtonBoy

This past weekend, the kids cashed in their birthday present coupons from friend Giggles: a sleepover for Mustang, and an afternoon at the movies for ButtonBoy.

So there I was, back down to one kid at a time for a whole 20 hours!

It was a calm and quiet evening, just me and ButtonBoy, while Mustang enjoyed her sleepover. We watched a movie - with a bit of puppy-snuggling beforehand. We read some stories, then went to bed and fell asleep in short order. The next morning also passed in relative tranquility, with an orderly visit to the grocery store and library. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?

Well, except that it was calm and quiet and orderly.

The usual grocery store trip with both kids goes like this:
They take one cart, I take another. At the beginning of the rounds, I tell them they can each pick one treat and it has to be a healthy treat – no candy or junk food. I then send them off to fetch 3 jugs of Mustang’s milk and 1 bag of ButtonBoy’s. They come back with 1 jug of Mustang’s milk, 1 bag of Buttonboy’s, and 3 kinds of chips they love and absolutely must have and after all, Mommy, they’re off price and we need chips, don’t we?

I send the chips back (unless I want them and they’re on the list), then send the kids off to get the two missing cartons of Mustang’s milk and also some eggs and butter. They come back with a dozen eggs, margarine, and 4 cartons of juice that they absolutely must have because they want juice in their lunches and juice is good for you and this is off price, too, Mommy, and can’t we have some please?

I likely accept the juice because by now I’ve trained them in which varieties I will accept, and then send them off to replace the margarine with butter, find a bag of sugar, and don’t forget the two missing cartons of Mustang’s milk! They come back with butter and four boxes of cookies that are the best kind in the world and so yummy and Mommy we don’t have any cookies at home and please Mommy just this one thing?!

I tell Mustang we can keep one of the boxes of cookies as it’s relatively healthy and that will be her treat, right? She looks at the boxes, changes her mind – not quite the treat she was thinking of – and takes the cookies back, along with instructions not to forget the sugar and Mustang’s milk!!!

They come back with sugar, three boxes of crackers that are off price, and a ring of shrimp which is the best thing in the world Mommy and we can have it for movie tonight and we all love shrimp don’t we?

I tell Mustang we can keep the shrimp as her treat (and because it’s the small ring that’s not too expensive and yes, we do all like shrimp and it’s healthy) and she figures that’s an okay treat so we keep it. I tell her to return the crackers as we have lots of crackers at home, but she says nope, we’re keeping them and pops them into the cart. By then I’m at the milk counter so I pick up Mustang’s missing milk myself, and send the kids off to fetch a cucumber that I forgot back in the veggie section. While they’re fetching, I return the crackers to the shelf. Kids come back with a cucumber, a quarter watermelon, and a package of cow cheese because it’s very yummy, and watermelon is healthy, right Mommy and we love watermelon don’t we? I ask Button which he prefers to be his treat – the watermelon or the cow cheese? He rejects both as he wants a more treaty treat, but then he can’t think of what to pick so I suggest the watermelon as it will go well with the shrimp for movie snack. He ends up agreeing as he can’t think of anything else.

Compare that to this grocery store visit with just Button:
He takes one cart, I take another. I send him to pick three of his favourite kinds of fruit. He loads up with apples, oranges, and grapes. I then send him off to find 2 cartons of Mustang’s milk and one bag of his, as well as a dozen eggs. He comes back with 2 cartons of Mustang’s milk, one bag of his, and a dozen eggs. I ask him to go find 2 cartons of zoo juice and he comes back with two cartons of zoo juice. I take him to the fish counter and ask which kind of fish we should get and he suggests one that at first seems a bit expensive, but when I do the calculations to convert the price I’m given (per kg) to price per pound (the way everything else is posted) it’s not that much more than the other fish on offer, so I agree and we get one big fillet (I mean big – almost a kg!). He needs to go pee but the bathroom is out of order so I take him outside and we find some bushes with a bit of privacy and he does his business there (the advantage of being a boy!). The last thing on the list is some tea, so we head to the tea aisle together and as we go he notices that the cookies are on sale and asks if we can have some, but I say we still have lots of home-baked cookies at home, so he accepts that and doesn’t push back. We head to the check-out and are done – he’s never asked if he could pick a treat, and I never mentioned it.

If I had two kids like ButtonBoy, life would be easy.

Not nearly as interesting or exciting...

Mind you, there are days I’d pass on exciting for a little bit more easy.

Back to School - already??!!?

I could easily enjoy another month or two of warm summer weather, sunshine & shorts, no need for jackets, and long summer days. That’s one of the most noticeable things already – the days are growing shorter as fall approaches. It’s getting dark already before 8pm, which is a sure sign that summer is drawing to a close.

So here they are, the young scholars: Mustang entering Grade 5 and Button starting Grade 2.

Grade 5!!?!! How did that happen so fast? It seems just a short while ago I was dropping a little girl off at the school door for her first day of Kindergarten. Some days you think they grow up so fast. (These, of course, are offset by all the days you wish they’d display a lot more grown-up behaviour!)

Another cycle of life – plans for Thanksgiving, Villages season, Christmas and the winter to come and finally the burgeoning of new life once again. All in its due time…


So here it is – the beginning of another school year. I know Mustang would have loved another month – or two or three – of holidays. Button too, though he’s somewhat more academically inclined, is still not a fan of spending days at a desk.

Magical Monday

Holiday #1 - Sandbanks

Well, I thought I’d post a bit about what we’ve doing this summer (other than school-learning related activities!!)

This summer we stayed pretty close to home. Our first holiday, which began two days before school was out (owing to my work holiday schedule) was five days at Sandbanks Provincial Park. This is a very VERY popular park, and when I made the reservation back in late February, there were only about 3 or 4 sites available (and I had to modify out travelling dates by one day to get a site).














The kids and I, along with Lovely, drove down in our little PT Cruiser, but this time we didn’t have to pack along much of anything except our clothes, swimming gear, and a few books and toys, since Laolao and Laoye were driving from out west with their camper bus and we’d arranged for them to meet us at the campground.

We got there around 8:45pm, as dusk was settling. Laolao and Laoye had arrived a few hours earlier and were already set up in the campsite, a nice spot not too far from the beach. Although seeing as the closest beach wasn’t open to dogs, we ended up driving out to the dog beach most days.









I can see why this is a very popular place! Not only is it fairly close to a number of major cities, but more importantly it has great amenities and the beaches are fantastic. Being on a VERY large lake, we had almost ocean-like waved coming in to shore, and the shallow water extended way, way out into the lake, so the kids & dog could ride the waves and walk far far out before the water even reached their chests. The sand is magnificent, and one section of the beach has large dunes, small mountains practically, that we climbed up and down and explored. It was handy to have the car along with the bus, so we could drive to the far-away dog beach and the sand dunes, without having to move the big bus around.

The weather was quite good. Not particularly hot (not like one might expect in late June), and we had some rain, but the rain mostly fell at night and being in the bus, it didn’t affect us much at all.









The bus has sleeping capacity for 4, so one of the kids (and Lovely!) slept on the floor while the other slept with me (they took turns!). Given that it was a bit crowded inside, we mostly ate outside, and rigged up a bit of a tarp to keep the picnic table dry.

About all we did was play on the beach, sleep, eat, play some more, have ice cream, swim and play and sleep. It was great!!!

















On the way home, we parked the bus at a church parking lot in a small town a few hours’ drive from home, and all climbed into the car for the rest of the trip, because in just five days we’d be coming back this way for our second summer jaunt.

At the Fair

Every year the fair comes to our town during the last two weeks of August. The main attraction is the midway, with lots of rides for all ages. There are also concerts and other performances, and displays of animals that harken back to its agricultural roots. Last year, after our adventures out west (and since we’d attended a fair there), we didn’t go, so this year’s visit was Button’s first in our hometown.

We had planned to go the last Saturday of the holidays, but that was a cool and rainy, blustery day. So when Sunday dawned warmish and not too cloudy, we decided that would be day (or we'd miss our chance, as it was the last day to go!) We arrived a bit after noon, shortly after it opened, and immediately headed down to the midway. I had a coupon for one discounted “ride-all-day” bracelet and bought two more. The first few rides we went on were kiddie rides, but still lots of fun. Then we tried a few for bigger kids, and enjoyed them too. Both Mustang and – somewhat surprisingly – Button were not keen on the wilder rides like where you go upside down, but things like the ferris wheel and the house of mirrors and giant slide were favourites.



In the middle of the afternoon – during a bit of a squall – we went into the Agricultural Centre building and enjoyed seeing the animals there, then picked up some ice cream and fries for a snack.



At 5:30 Laoye picked us up after a fun-filled day and we headed home for a movie and bed.

School in the summer

Everybody tells you that if kids don’t keep up with reading and other scholarly activities over the summer, they can lose as much as half of what they gained the previous year. So it is important to work at maintaining the gains made.

I’m not 100% sure I believe that completely, given my experience with Mustang. Between Grade 1 and 2 I worked hard with her on reading. She slogged, I pushed, she complained, I insisted, she resisted, I stood firm. By the end of the summer I felt she had made good progress from where she had been at the end of Grade 1. She went back to school and – bingo! – her reading level slipped back right to where it had been at the end of Grade 1, virtually overnight. The regression didn’t last that long – by the end of September she was back at end-August capabilities, at which point I told her teacher to send home harder books for her to read.

Between Grade 2 and 3 I again really focused on reading, reading, reading. (I was off work all summer, so I was able to be persistent and pull out the current book two or three times a day.) For the first few weeks it was painful – slow and resistant. But by mid-July she picked up the pace, started reading much better and saying she actually enjoyed it. She wanted to try to read one book in a day – didn’t quite make it, but did manage to read 9 chapters (out of 10) in one day once. By the end of the summer she’d read 26 chapter books, which is quite an accomplishment for a dyslexic kid. When she went back to school I was watching for signs of regression, and again saw some though not as bad as at the beginning of Grade 2.

This just makes me wonder if perhaps the “regression” comes not from not working over the summer, but is somehow affected by the return to school. Of course, this is Mustang we’re talking about, so it may just be particular to her. It will be interesting to see how things go with Button from one year to the next.

In any case, this past summer we had learning activities too. Mustang was still working on her Brain Games, so that was the emphasis for the summer. Much less time was devoted to reading practice, though she still got through 5 chapter books. I also purchased a Grade 4 science workbook, with an eye to giving her some prior exposure to the concepts and vocabulary of the Grade 4 science curriculum. We were diligent at that through to the end of July, and then some day-camps and just wanting “time off” intervened. But she managed to get through about half of the units. The book did not go into great depth, but was sufficient for my purposes. I hope to pull it out again once she starts the units we missed (or perhaps over Christmas) to help provide extra support and exposure to the materials. We also watched a whole bunch of related videos borrowed from the public library, to provide another means of consolidating learning. While Mustang is good in science and enjoys it, she benefits from “pre-teaching” of concepts and vocabulary, so I am hoping this summer work will contribute to her success in science this year.

Similarly, a review of the Grade 4 social studies curriculum showed they will be focusing on Canadian geography and the Middle Ages. I found several children’s novels and videos about the Middle Ages and we’ve watched/read several of them. It’s harder to find novels about Canadian geography, but I’ve found one series in which the heroes move around from place to place in Canada, so hopefully that will be relevant. I also picked up a wall map and some pictures of Canadian symbols (beaver, maple leaf, RCMP, etc.).

As for Button, his summer work was a lot less extensive. For a few weeks in July we worked on his sight word recognition and “reading.” He also had a Grade 1 workbook he worked in all summer long, doing 6-10 pages every day (very simple stuff, covering phonics, vocabulary, math, science, and the like). He didn’t quite make it through the workbook, but completed over half of it.

Button also played soccer all summer, two evenings a week with a local league that has a developmental program. He really enjoyed it, and at the end his coach says he shows real talent and is a super fast runner. Mustang took riding lessons again, though unfortunately she missed three of the eight lessons (one absence planned, the other two not).

As a reward for all their hard work, in July we visited the Aerial Adventure in the nearby hills, and at the end of August I took them to the Fair, at which we rode rides all afternoon, saw lots of animals, and ate ice cream and fries.

Of course, not all learning comes out of books. So I tried to make the various activities we engaged in fun and to seek learning opportunities in everything. We went camping, fishing, playing at the beach; the kids each went to two day-camps: for Mustang, farm animals and being an “emergency vet,” for Button, farm animals and soccer. And just going for walks in the woods, catching frogs at the pond, and of course, watching puppies being born and helping to care for them.

Back to School!!!

The kids went back to school two weeks ago today. (Yes, I’m behind in my blogging.)

Mustang: Grade 4

Button: Grade 1 – French immersion

We’d done the back-to-school supplies and clothes shopping three weekends prior, since the previous weekend we’d had all kinds of activities (SuperEx, Upper Canada Village) and the one before that we were camping. Mustang had a list a page long of all the things she needed. Now that she’s in Grade 4, the school doesn’t provide supplies any more. I bought a few things for Button, too, though I decided I’d rather pay the $10 school fee for supplies than fork out $40-$50 to buy them myself. This made for a bit of upset later, when Mustang was glorying in all her stuff, but we got through it.

As far as clothes goes, they didn’t need much – just a couple of long-sleeved shirts each, and some trousers for Button as he’d either outgrown or worn out almost everything from last year. And some new runners – Button’s wearing the same size as Mustang, and it won’t be more than another year or so and they’ll both be able to wear my shoes!

So the fateful morning dawned, sunny and warm, and we all traipsed off to the bus stop by 7:30 to make sure we were there in good time. Took the requisite “back-to-school” photos on the front step, with the kids in their new duds. Mustang’s backpack weighed a ton, stuffed with all her new supplies, and each had a large lunch-bag as well (since Button didn’t have so much to take to school, I stuffed his lunch-bag into his backpack). They have a new driver this year, and he dutifully checked all the kids’ names off his list, then we waved good-bye and they were off!

Mustang in particular was a bit apprehensive about heading back to school – worried that the work would be a lot harder and she would have trouble keeping up. Button said he didn’t want to do French immersion because he wanted to stay with the friends he’d made last year. I said he had to go for at least a month before making a change. When they got home at the end of the day, both were happy – Button knew some of the kids in his class, and Mustang said it was easy and there wouldn’t be any homework for a few weeks.

And so a new year is launched!

Aerial experience

Last Saturday the kids, the dog, our friend Chuckles and I went to a spot in the nearby hills for an “Aerial Experience.” Well, Chuckles and the kids had the experience, while Lovely and I stayed put on the ground and I documented it. (Chuckles says her brother would never believe she did this without documented evidence. Well, brother, here you have it!)

Once we got there and signed the waiver saying we understood that acting stupid could kill us (well, not in so many words, but you know how these places have to cover their backs for insurance and liability purposes), the kids and Chuckles put on their safety harnesses. Each harness had two carabiners attached that would be the climbers “life-line” just in case someone took a tumble, and a pulley doodad to go on the zipline.

Then we took a short walk to the trees where the obstacle course was set up. There were two courses, one for kids (or anyone incapable of reaching 1.75m from toe to palm of the hand), and one for adults (or those with the appropriate reach). As neither child had the required reach for the adult course yet (maybe another 4–5 years growth required?) (though Chuckles did – just barely!), they all went on the kids’ course.

First you had to climb a rope and board ladder to get to the first platform. Even for that you had a life-line system whereby you hook the first carabiner onto a red cable attached to the ladder, then climb a step or two, hook up the second carabiner and unhook the first, climb a step or two, etc.

The obstacles consisted of a series of different kinds of “passages” from one tree platform to another. Each had an elevated “life-line” cable to which you would hook your carabiners as you negotiated the obstacle. First there was a “horizontal ladder” – two parallel ropes with boards every 40cm or so for you to step on. The kids zoomed across that one – especially Button! Then came series of rectangular suspended platforms, then a series of tubes to crawl through. (That was the one everyone said was scariest, as it tended to swing a fair bit.)

Following the tunnels came first a single rope to balance on combined with an overhead rope to hold onto, then two parallel ropes for the feet, again with an overhead rope to hand onto.

The final two “obstacles” in the first course were two zip lines, the second of which brought the participant back to the ground.

Then there was a second course. I didn’t get pictures of that one, as Lovely and I sat on a log to rest up a bit. But by all reports it was fairly similar to the first course.

The kids had a blast, and Chuckles said it was fun too! (She figured the kids’ course was probably enough of a challenge for her – the adult one looked a fair bit tougher, not to mention a lot higher off the ground!)

Oh, and when we first arrived and were getted suited up, we saw a pretty good sized bear loitering around the building. The employees said it came to visit fairly frequently, so no one was very alarmed though we were being cautious. At one point it scuttled up a tree; later it came back down and was lingering near the picnic tables a mere 6m from the doorway to the building.

All in all, a pretty fun day!