Making Beautiful Things Out Of Dust

Two weeks ago when we met, we learned about Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Holocaust Remembrance Day is a day where we remember what Adoph Hitler did and all of the jews and all of the people who were in concentration camps, and many people died. 6 million Jewish people died, and over 5 million other people who were gay and lesbian, gypsies, people who had dark skin and people who opposed Hitler were all taken from their homes and put into concentration camps and many of them died.

It was bad. It was sorrowful time when many lives came to an end. Thankfully we can learn about this so that we can learn about this so we can recognize not to do things like this again.

One of the things we learned was that at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC there are thousands of ceramic tiles made by children who wanted to remember the Holocaust. We made our own memorial tiles out of salt dough.

Insert pictures of tiles here.


Today, when we met, we were studying different kinds of poetry. We listened and looked at poems by e e cummings, W.H. Auden and Rudyard Kipling, Shel Silverstein and A.A. Milne. We each took a favourite book of poetry and chose poems to read aloud.

Eleanor reads from A Light In The Attic by Shel Silverstein

Miranda reads from Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Sophia reads from Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

We also talked about different forms of poetry. Sophia shared some haiku she had written when she was reflecting on a poster for some summer soccer, music and arts camps she had seen:

Music

Notes slur together
Kickdrums and snares keep the time.
This is our music. 

Soccer
Feet pounding in hope.
We know this is our game now.
Victory in view. 

Art
A dip in the pot.
Two strokes on a canvas page.
A new masterpiece. 

We spent some time learning about the poetry form of the cinquain. A cinquain is a five-line poem and it starts with a noun, then 2 adjectives, then three words ending with -ING, then a four word phrase and then a synonym for the first word (your topic). We then spent some time together on how we felt when we learned about the Holocaust two weeks before. We had been reflecting during the morning on how a poem can paint a picture in our minds with just a few words, or how poetry can convey sadness, anger or humour and fun. We spent some time brainstorming ideas from our recollections.  These are the cinquains that the three of us (Miranda, Sophia and Eleanor) wrote together.

Soldier
Brave, courageous
Hoping, caring, wanting
Fighting for their rights
Warrior.

Holocaust
Horrible devastation
Killing, stopping, hating
Lives frozen in time
Lost

Remembrance
Vivid nightmare
Learning, weeping, staying
We say never again
Recollection

Brownie Badge; All About Canada by Eleanor

I did it my All About Canada badge. I painted a picture on a T-shirt of maple leaf flag. The Maple leaf is a symbol of Canada because the maple tree grows in Canada.

Here is a set of Canadian coins. The Twoney has a polar bear on it. The Loony has a loon on it because it swims in the lakes of British Columbia. On the back of a quarter there is a caribou. It has a caribou on it because the Caribou roams in Canada. The dime has the famous Bluenose on it. The Bluenose is a famous fishing ship which came from Nova Scotia. The nickel has a beaver on it because it is a symbol of Canada. In the fur trade people used to trap beavers and use them as hats and blankets.

I made a collage of the provincial flower, mineral, bird, flag, and tree of British Columbia. The the flower of BC is the Pacific Dogwood. The mineral of BC is Jade. The tree of BC is Western Red Cedar. The bird of BC is the Steller's Jay.

A bear would also make good Canadian symbol because it roams in Canada and is a part of our country. A killer whale would also make a good symbol. Because it also roams in the seas of Canada and there are not many of them left.

What it means to be Canadian is it doesn't just mean that you are Canadian if you were born in Canada. If you were born somewhere else in the world you can become a Canadian citizen citizen by going to a special ceremony. Canadians can be all different kinds of people. They can be white people, black people, and brown people. What makes us different from other people in the world that we are all different and definitely special. 

Some of the rights as a Canadian is we have a choice to vote and the government has to be fair to us and honest. As a little girl I have the right of people being fair to me and me being fair to other people and nobody's allowed to just throw me into jail. And also I'm not allowed to just throw someone in jail and blame them them for something that they didn't do.  I have some responsibilities. 

Responsibilities that I have is I'm not allowed to shoot anyone or any animal or cut down every single tree in the world.  I'm not allowed to shoot every animal in the world because they also help us by making food for other things and they lay eggs and help other things grow. 

The One and Only Silverback Gorilla and Other Animals by Eleanor

This term I did a novel study about a Silverback Gorilla, (SBG) called "The One And Only Ivan". it was about gorillas and other animals. The problem is the humans are so bad in this book!

This is a book which is made up of some true facts, all mushed together in a very good book, that is funny, good, helpful, meaningful, and lots of other things.

This video is what the real things are based on - a gorilla that really lived in a shopping mall for 27 years. This video was made in 1992 and after people saw this video they got so much notice about this video that he got moved to the Atlanta Zoo, and it was a good safe place for him to live and be, and be present there.

Here is what he looked like at the zoo:

They made this video they day he died, he was 50 years old.

I learned some facts about SBGs. SBGs are mostly herbivores, and eat mangoes, bamboo, plants and bugs

They live in the mountains of Africa, where it is hot, jungly and damp. They live in a special protected place because they are in danger because people are shooting them for their walls and decorations and their forest is getting destroyed and using trees for fuel and farming and houses - HUMANS! Why do you have to do so many cruel things?

Male gorillas get silvery grey hairs on their backs at about age 11-13 and its silver and on the back.

Gorilla troops are made of males babies and females, there is one main dude who is the protector of the troop and if an enemy comes he stands on his hind legs and beats his chest - "IIIIIIEEEEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!" and scares the enemy away. The  other males in the troop are younger and when they get older they leave to find their own troop. Females leave their troop when they are 8.

They make nests in trees out of bent sticks and tied together leaves, if they are very heavy they stay on the ground and make a nest on the ground. The mamas and babies sleep cuddled together, and the babies travel on their mamas backs, like a piggy back ride, but they are not piggies.

Other Animal Growth and Changes
I also studied some animal growth and changes this term, and my favourite fact I learned was about ducks. In a duck's egg, the chicks of the ducks, the ducklings, have a little tiny pecking tooth, which they use when it's time for them to crack open from their shell. They peck, and peck and peck 'til they can squiggle out. And then the tooth falls off.

I visited Maplewood farm to see the animals, and I saw peacocks, chickens, bunnies, mountain goats, rams, sheep and mosquitoes.

I also participated in the GREAT CANADIAN SHORELINE CLEAN-UP with my Brownie troop, and we saw some goslings and geese. And I saw some goslings and geese at Granville Island too!

I learned how to use the Dewey decimal system at the library while searching for animal facts and I found out the Dewey decimal system connects to fairies, in a certain way I will not tell you unless you come to my house, because this can not be randomly posted on the internet. The end.

Rights and Responsibilities and Fort Langley by Eleanor

Right now I am talking about rights and responsibilities. I'll tell you the difference of this rights and responsibilities at this talk show. Wait, who said this was a talk show? I didn't even know it was a talk show.

Back to the point. A right is something that you SHOULD be able to have and do. Like you have the right to take out books from the library, but you have the responsibility to bring them back and take care of them. or, you have the right to be free and play on the playground, but you have the responsibility to pick up garbage on it and not leave garbage on it,  and also not climb over the fence, and follow the rules.

I went to Fort Langley,  and I played a piano and I wore some really cool old fashioned clothes, and I played Heart and Soul on the piano. I am in the Big House.

The Big House is the place where the guy in the big blue coat (who I am dressed up as, you can see in the picture) Gov James Douglas, he's declaring that British Columbia was a province - they were clinging to the rest of Canada, like a bug, like a moth to a wool sweater. I read the proclamation declaring BC a province.

Sorry my Mum cut off the gold in this picture but I got gold!!!!! Two whole great pieces Mister! That was where the gold rush was and I went crazy for gold!!!

This is Hazel with me in this picture, she is a very nice First Nations oman and she loved my bunny and it was really nice meeting her, she showed me how to make a barrel. And I really really liked it.

I asked Hazel about the rights and responsibilities of the kids who were at Fort Langley back when it started. We learned there were no schools, all of the kids did work, but they didn't carry yokes, man, I wanted to carry a yoke. There were no white kids there, because all of the white men married First Nations women  and so the kids were Metis, which means you are half white and half first nations.

Some of the things the kids did were, carved holes in stones with other rocks to make weights for fishing nets, and they helped their Mums and did stuff around the house and milked cows and things.

Here is Hazel holding Ittle, it was really cute. she told us about being taken away to residential school, where she had no rights, she was not even allowed to go to her brothers and sisters if they fell down or cried. She trieds to think more about happiness and hopoe.

Brownie Badge: Money Talk by Eleanor

Right now I want to buy earrings, I want to get my ears pierced on my 8th birthday, which is coming up on Feb 12. I have to save half the money for my earrings which cost $60, so I need $30.

My plan to earn the money is that I am doing chores, and doing the supper dishes to earn money. I also got some cheques at Christmas which I saved. I also help my sister Sophia with her paper route.

People keep money in banks and credit unions so that nobody steals it, to keep it safe. Also it's easier to bank and people use online banking for putting cheques into accounts, and paying bills.

I have opened a bank account and I am saving up my money. And someday I will kiss a mountain goat. Cara, can you tell me the status of where those mountain goats live? I wonder how much money it costs to kiss a mountain goat.

We're Kind Of Book Crazy & Update on #bringbackourgirls

This term Sophia read The Hobbit, Side Kicked, The Big Book of Spy Stuff, Spyology, Otoline and the Yellow Cat, Understood Betsy, 

Sophia entertains at a church event by doing a reading from Shel Silverstein and an original poem she wrote:

The Book

I saw a book of poetry at the public library,
It had been read many times,
and the author had written many rhymes.

Oh, the places you can see,
and oh, the things that you can be,
and all you really need
is to read a book of poetry.

This term Eleanor has read: Otoline and The Yellow Cat, Junie B. Jones and Her Big Fat Mouth, Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, P.S. So Does May! , Alvin Ho Goes To China, and lots of Garfield!, an LOTS of books to her little brother.

Our read aloud this term has been On The Banks Of Plum Creek  by Laura Ingalls Wilder and our audio books have been Harriet The Spy, How To Train Your Dragon, Judy Moody and Stink and The Bad, Bad, Blackout, Stink and The Freaky Frog Freak-out.

An update: we are still praying for the Nigerian girls to be released. This term Eleanor and I led a session of information and prayer for the leaders of the organization our family is a part of, and we had to do a bunch of research and then present it to them in a meeting. We stood up front of the leaders for Western Canada and talked.

This picture is of me being asked to come up to the front at church on the Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, to pray for the Nigerian girls.

The girls still haven't been released and we are wondering what is going on.

Eleanor Is Awesome

Dun, dun, dun, didle de dah!!!!!!!!!!! I AM A BROWNIE! Thank you, thank you, thank you for that amazing drum roll. To become a Brownie I had be enrolled which means I had to learn about Brownies and I had to memorize the brownie promise. it says:

I promise, to my best, to be true to myself, my beliefs and Canada, I will take action for a better world and respect the Brownie Law.

The Brownie Law says:

• Law

  The Guiding Law challenges me to:

  • be honest and trustworthy
  • use my resources wisely
  • respect myself and others
  • recognize and use my talents and abilities
  • protect our common environment
  • live with courage and strength
  • share in the sisterhood of Guiding

I think that stuff sounds good, I already do that stuff without knowing it anyway.

I have been earning badges. So far I earned the "Hurrah For Reading" Badge, the "Recycling Rocks" and "Cookies, Yum" - where you learn about being a safe cookie seller, counting money and being responsible - and Numbers and Math badge .

Mmmm. Yum, yum. His face looks so juicy! That is my new cousin Nathan. He is soooo cute. He as in the hospital for the first week of his life. Isn't that a long time?! When somebody has a new baby, it means I mean their it means they a family. They give the baby food, the give it air, energy, a home, everything it needs.

Here I am making pizza. I am a really great cook. I know all about the four food groups and how to eat healthy foods. We make home-made pizza and have movie night every Friday night. It's important to send time together as a family because of you guys are all busy and all around the place, so you can just be together, by yourself, you, only your family.

This is pattern a made with my Goldie Blox engineering set. I have started making my own patterns. I test them out on the pegboard first, then I decide if it needs and modifications, then I make the modifications, and then I do draw the modifications in my instruction book.

This is a fancy tea party I hosted for my brother and my next door neighbour.  To be a good host is to invite people to take a seat, ask them if they want more tea, if they want to have a DANCE PARTY! If there are new people who you don't really know, you say "Hi! What's your name, What's your age? Do you want to play a game, like ULTIMATE HIDE and GO SEEK?" 

We have new neighbours from Uzbekistan who are coming over for supper tonight, and we learn what they eat, what they do, and what's about them, what's about their country and the games they play - yippee, yippooo, I want to do something with you!"

Spies and Remembrance Day by $ophia

I've been doing a unit study on spies and the Canadian wartime spy camp,  Camp X. Some of my favourite things I've loved learning about are the codes, ciphers and secret messages.

Also, when it was Remembrance Day we had a Remembrance Day time where we made a family tree of some of the people in our family who served in the wars.

Drawing pictures to remember our Great Uncle Joseph Pallister, who died in Belgium in WWII.

Eleanor represented the Brownies and laid a wreath at the cenotaph.

Our great-grandparents, who served in WWII.

After was had researched our family tree, we were wondering what some of the women's jobs in the war. Later that day when we went to the parade with our Girl Guide and Brownies troops, Eleanor and Mum talked to a lady from the legion, and she reminded my Mum about code breakers. In WWII, some women were secretly hired to be special secret agents to intercept codes from the Germans during second world war. and helped to break the all-awesome Enigma code. The Enigma machine was a machine slightly a typewriter. You wrote down what you wanted to say in english and then it would come out in a complex secret code.The British only managed to crack these codes when they stole a German Enigma machine and were able to use it in reverse to crack the codes.

#bringbackourgirls by Eleanor and Sophia

A couple of weeks ago, some girls in Nigeria were kidnapped from their school by some really mean men, thy are being held somewhere in the jungle, and being forced to be old boring housewives, worst of all, they are Christians but are being forced to memorize Muslim scriptures. They are being forced against their own religion.

So, my Moaike (because they were taken on a Tuesday morning) every Tuesday morning, goes and stands on the Burrard bridge from 7am-9am and we were there because we want to raise attention for these girls and hopefully, not just in Nigeria, but the government in Canada will start to worry about these girls too. - Sophia

This me with a whole bunch of #bringbackourgirls signs all around me, eating apple sauce and holding flowers. It was fun. - Eleanor

The Land Of The N'kmip by Sophia

I went to a resort on a First Nations reserve in Osoyoos.  In Osoyoos, because of the desert mountain ranges, it makes a small microclimate that allows all the grapes in the vineyards to grow. 

This is me at a beach down the street from the resort.

This is me talking to an old lady at an old First Nations village where everything is old. Behind her is a very old pit house, which is a house that Okanagan people lived in in the winter.

This is the old sweat lodge in the village. 

This is an old teepee in the village that they lived in in the summer.

This is he old lady driving us back to the resort in a very new golf cart.

Rememberance Day: A report by Eleanor

All these pictures are in Victoria. It was Remembrance Day. It was at the Navy Memorial. This statue is of a daughter hugging her Daddy when he just got back from the navy. This statue makes me feel very happy. 

 This is a picture of the parade. All the people from the Navy and army and people who fought in wars.

This is a picture of me watching the parade with my Uncle Matt and my Papa. When all the old people who fought in the war go by my Mum makes me clap my hands and shout. I think we do that to make them feel proud.

This is my family. Part of my family.

This memorial is special to us because it has a memorial stone for my Granny's Dad and Mum. It says: "Remembered for his true patriot love, Bert Moloney, RN and his beloved Nell." RN means Royal navy in England. My Great-Grandad fought in World War II.

This picture is me seeing a weird man stone. Sophia tried to rip the newspaper out of his hands. The newspaper says "we won!"

I like this day because I got to eat a lollipop. I learned a lot about my family.