Unicycling : Getting Closer and Closer!

unicycle stroller

We had a ‘big’ dose of unicycle lessons recently. By big dose, I mean about 20 minutes of practice over a few days. It was a push to see if he could get it before he turned six. He’s not there yet, but it will only be a few more tries…he’ll get it next month for sure…if he wants to…I don’t actually care if he does or not…as long as he keeps practicing whenever…there’s so many other ways they are both being active, it’s low on everyone’s list.

Welcome to Parks But No Bathrooms Season

parks open bathrooms closed

Here in Ontario, parks (at least their bathrooms) are closed in the winter. And into the Spring. No matter if it’s hot for several weeks before the opening date, like it always is.

Remember how convenient that was anyways during diaper years?

You can’t beat this time of year for the park-things to kids ratio, but having some bathrooms around, well, that’s just handy!

Mortal Kombat, Green Screen, Scootering, & Swimming : A Week of Unschool : Episode 4

How fun is unschooling? How beneficial is screen time? How comical is ‘video game violence = violent kids’?

Another great week of education and excitement!

The five year old beat Mortal Kombat Armageddon on the Wii. Leading up to this, and since this happened, there have been several dad-son ‘real life’ battles. They mostly end with me getting to his tickle spot (ribcage) but one, in particular, ended much differently. An accidental headbutt and a bloody lip on dad. He officially Finished me! His little sister is also getting on board. She threw a frisbee at me outside. She said it wasn’t a frisbee, but Kung Lao’s hat! (I haven’t caught on video the super cute way she mimics Scorpion’s ‘GET OVER HERE!’)

Meeting a Sloth & Mommy Touching a Snake

burmese python ray's retile

We had a great time at the Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo Meet a Sloth event! The biggest downside was it was on March break and there was an ocean of school kids there. Man, they make for a crowded event 🙂

It doesn’t take long after getting in to see how much the staff loves doing what they are doing and are so good with the kids; whether it’s answering their questions ‘at their level’ or artfully avoiding questions in order to maintain the flow of the presentations.

Our New Pigeon Family in the Making!

pigeons moved in and are nesting, what do you feed them

We’re so lucky a season of new unschooling classes just flew in! It’s quite interesting to watch what they are doing in their ‘unwatched and alone’ action…especially in watching how the nest gets built and pressed into shape while they go.

A Broken Keyboard

keyboard innards mask

We had to replace the keyboard. What to do with the old one? Take it apart!

Lots of screws to unscrew, and lots mysteries to unravel.

Dam Fun. Dad & Son.

big wheel scooter for kids

Our second T-shirt day of the season – our first was a month or so ago. (Let’s get with Spring, ammiright?) The great part this time was the high winds. Strangely enough, he seemed to benefit from the wind BOTH ways! When does THAT happen? Sure we have adventures that are enjoyable for both kids, […]

Community Firefighting for Homeschool

putting out fires for homeschool

Well, the 5yo says to his little sister, you’re officially a firefighter now.

Big day yesterday, we put out a fire! The 5yo smelled smoke first and we saw the ground burning. (when we got closer we could see it was all the wood chips at the base of the sign that were on fire)

Getting Around : We Now Convoy :D

unicycle stroller razor e90 electric scooter

Razor E90 Electric Scooter : Unicycle Stroller Speed Getting Around : We Now Convoy 😀 i can put heavier stuff up on the roof rack and still push it with one hand while filming with the other now that one of the kids pushes their own weight 🙂 walkie-talkie installed to handlebar so i can […]

Obstacles. Three Year Olds are Free. This One Should Be Paying!

ctc obstacles in london ontario

What a great place for kids of all ages, even for the adults who bring them! Disclaimer: Most adults come prepared to sit and wait, and the cousins we brought came prepared to hate it, so did 🙂 )

The catchphrase I’ve been hearing lately is ‘soft play’. Let the kids go do whatever they want in the safety of their injury-free environment. I suggest hard play for every child.

A Week of Unschool : Episode 3

unicycle lessons in london ontario

Another great week of learning! He learned how to more properly navigate a giant ice pile that used to be a snow pile. They even got to climb up and slide down it when it was a snow pile again.

We were on the DIY kick after our homemade playdoh, so we made up some homemade puffy paint. Just self-rising flour, salt, water, and food colour, but oh no, we didn’t have any self-rising flour. We had to find out if we could make some from our existing ingredients. You bet your baking powder we could!

Treading Water

no nose plug

Down to one kid in waterwings! Many hours have been spent in gramma’s pool between now and the time he was wearing swimming diapers. Swims with gramma, or grampa, or mom or dad, or his aunt, uncle, and cousins, or any combination thereof.

Just recently he mastered ‘goggles and nose holding’ for new underwater adventures and was excited to show me. (I got him to dip down sans-nose holding a few times, but it didn’t last long)

A Week of Unschool : Episode 2

We had another fun week. It was winter jackets and snow at the beginning and no coat scootering at the end of it. We went to the library and were excited to see they added two ipads to the computer section. The three year old went with me to get the cars and trains for the car and train table and wanted to return them before setting them up after I said ‘huh, oh look, they have ipads like at gramma’s library!’

It’s Been Super Cold. Out to the Snow Pile!

learn and play in the snow

Sometimes the time it takes you to get the kids dressed up and undressed is longer than the time you were outside playing.

Here are some great ways to maximize their enjoyment while being exposed to some pretty harsh conditions.

Better Than Travelling Around In A Rollercoaster? A Roof After Being On It.

unicycle stroller down a parking garage

When pushing your kid in a unicycle stroller is commonplace; even up & down 6 levels of a parking garage

This parking garage has a special place in our hearts. One of the landmarks we pass on our trips to grammas, it was one of the first examples I stumbled across of ‘introducing excitement’ to kids and how easy it is.

Wow! You know what that is??? A PARKING GARAGE!!

Week after week, looking for the parking garage, and staring at/studying it as we passed, it just became ‘our thing’.

Fun Ways To Educate? Use the Force. Always.

We knew she was ‘officially pregnant’ when she cried her eyes out seeing little Anakin leaving his mom in the desert…again…seriously, we had seen this several times already…)

Star Wars has always been a big part of my life (well, only if you include making a Star Wars reference whenever possible and owning and wearing too often an adult sized Star Wars costume) but the kids hadn’t really shown too much interest…no more than any of the other things they are in to – from every comic book hero to anything that’s in a ‘Flying Bag’ (blind bag)…or anything that they have seen on youtube.

Can you stay back, dad? I’m going to do this.

syringes for science experiments

A perfect example of unschooling? I think so!

The five year old was watching youtube. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t about some lady opening toys! He asked if we could do a science experiment…but we needed a syringe and we didn’t have that.

I let him know Walmart probably had them, and I knew of the general area where they might be.

“We need to ask someone if we don’t know where something is,” he reminded me.

Unschool Obstacles

Biggest Jump So Far

Do you know if your city has an indoor obstacle course or climbing-type place? I just happened to see a post in a facebook group…I would never have known about this little gem!

CTC Obstacles is in London, Ontario. An old warehouse turned climbing/swinging/playing facility!

I’m So Glad We Found Out About Skateparks! (for non-skateboarding kids)

medway skatepark bowl london ontario

We’ve been to three different skate parks in our city so far. (London, Ontario) There looks to be siz or seven that we will be sure to check out. (they call Victoria Park one, but meh…it’s mostly just some concrete blocks and broken glass)

The kids just get there and play. Scooters, little bikes, and just running…we’ll be back often. Whatever risks the kids are comfortable with (or are almost comfortable with) are right there. Have you heard about Parkour? (Where people jump from building to building and do crazy flips and things off of structures). Skateparks offer a great introduction to