School Field Trip to the Petting Zoo

Jaymi's Gr. 2 class is learning about how animals grow, and animal classification.
So this week, they went to the petting zoo to observe and take notes about the goats (tons of baby goats there right now), pig, turkeys & chickens, roosters, peacocks, other birds, ducks, mice, and rabbits.

Goodies in the mail, and WildArc Open House

Yesterday Jaymi and I went to WildArc - a rescue centre that helps out sick and abandoned wild animals, and releases them back into the wild.

We learned a lot about many different animals, and got to see the various habitats that they place the animals in, while they are there.

We saw the x-ray room:

They even have incubators that they use for some of the baby animals.

Jaymi, of course, loved that they had face painting, and thought it was funny that it was a lady dressed as a squirrel, doing the painting. 

Jaymi requested to be painted as a ferret.  For some reason, she has decided that she likes ferrets now.

She also picked out a t-shirt for herself, and 50% of the proceeds went towards helping the centre.

One of the most fun things to do, was getting to pet a hawk!

Today, Jaymi got a fun package in the mail, from her Granna.  Lots of new, sparkly clothes - her favourite!

She put three of the new items she got, on, and put on a dancing show for us tonight.  (She's been doing that non-stop for the last few days.)

I guess we're doing an alphabet-ordered theme set ;)

I had originally planned on doing an art unit with Jaymi, because she is soooo into art and has wanted to be an artist (and a vet) when she grows up, for a long time now.
I had also been planning on doing a bird study once the weather was nice enough for a bird walk...around the beginning of spring.
It just so happens that we did the art study a while ago, and then the weather got nice during Spring Break and we studied birds.  At some point, Jaymi said to me, excitedly, "Are we doing alphabet weeks?".  I didn't realize that we had started one!

A - Art
B - Birds

So...Jaymi requested the next unit.  She chose Cats.

We're not going to do a ton on cats, because:
#1 - we have done a cat study before,
#2 - Jaymi has been interested in cats for years,
#3 - she has read so much about cats for the past few years,
#4 - and she already knows so much about cats.

So, we began this week, and Jaymi decided one day, to dress all in 'cat'.
:)

We learned today, thanks to this website, how to draw a careful, detailed, proportioned drawing of a cat, which we coloured in with pencil crayons, erasing lines that we didn't need, as went progressed.

We also did a fun game that I had found on the internet.  I wish I could remember where I found it.  Anyway, it's called Velcro Ball.
We just stuck some sticky velcro on to a light, ping-pong ball, and got 2 dollar store knit hats, and we threw the velcro ball to each other, trying to catch the ball on our heads, where it would stick.  It was a fun game!

Jaymi asked me to cut her bangs today too.  She was getting tired of them getting in her eyes all the time.  So I did.  I'm pretty sure (now that it's done) that I liked it better before, but oh well.  It'll grow back.

We also went to the new library that is closeby.  It has a cute little 'book' bench out front.

Lots of cooking and a new study unit

Since Spring Break ended, I have been trying to do a bit of cooking, freezing food, and preparing some lunch foods for Mark and for Jaymi.  I like to try to make preparing meals a bit easier, for those days when I haven't planned well, and need easy things to just grab.  But keeping it healthy, you know?

So, here are the things I have made this week:

Black-Eyed Pea Stew
4 cups vegetable broth
8 ounces collard greens, chopped (8 cups)
1 14.5-oz can chopped tomatoes
12 ounces potatoes, diced (2 cups)
15.5 ounces black-eyed peas (either canned, or if they're raw...boil for 5 minutes, then soak for an hour, then drain)
pepper

Bring broth and 2 cups water to a boil over high. Add greens, cover and simmer 15 minutes.
Add tomatoes and potatoes and return to a simmer. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes. Stir in peas and simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Season with pepper to taste.

Crockpot Vegetable Pasta Sauce
1 small zucchini, cut up
1 yellow squash, cut up
1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 can tomatoes, whole
2 cans tomatoes, diced
1 can tomato paste

Put everything in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Powerballs (I made these for Jaymi's lunches and breakfasts...she loves them!)
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
3 cups oats
1/2 cup flax, ground
2 cups any combination of dried fruit and nuts
(If you want, you can change the dried fruit and nuts for chocolate chips, coconut, or anything you can think of)
Mix together peanut butter and honey until smooth.  Gradually add oats and flax.  Add nuts and fruit and mix gently.  Roll into spheres and put in paper mini muffin cups.  They freeze well, layered on wax paper in an airtight container.

Seasoned Broiled Pork Chops, Brown Rice, and Green Beans
salt
freshly ground pepper
4 loin pork chops, 1" thick
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsps parsley, minced
3 tbsps onion, minced
1-1/2 tsps paprika
3 tbsps olive oil

Cook brown rice (1 cup of rice for every 2 cups of water) in a rice cooker, and steam the green beans.
Salt and pepper the chops. In a small bowl mix the garlic, parsley, onion, paprika and olive oil. heat the broiler, grease the broiler pan, and arrange the chops. Spread half the garlic mixture over the chops and place the pan 4-5" from the heat. Broil the chops about 5 minutes. Turn, spread with the remaining mixture and broil 5 minutes more, or until the chops are cooked through but still juicy. 




I also made a fresh batch of yogurt this week, and some jello for Jaymi, so that she could squish it through her new tooth hole.  ;)
And tonight, Mark wasn't here for dinner (he was at a charity golf event) so Jaymi and I had a special Mommy-Daughter dinner (pasta) with a few heart sprinkles on top.

Besides cooking this week, Jaymi and I have started a new study unit, which I will tell you about very soon.  

And she is very proud of the fact that she has learned (thanks to one of her friends at school) how to hang upside from the monkey bars, with NO hands now!  She could hang there all day. ;)