Goldstream Park

Close to our home, Goldstream Park is one of our favorite places and we will be there tracking the salmon through their life cycle all year. Can't wait for the salmon run next month, if in fact the salmon will be able to run. Praying that there is enough cold water for them to enter the stream to spawn!

Many Steller's Jays

Running, running, running

Maelle took these pics of mushrooms.
Still need to ID them.

The campground at Goldstream
has a really great playground

Maelle ripping it up on the mini BMX track

Tuckered out!

Maelle's favorite part of the day was the Nature House, which I failed to take any pictures of. Next time though, and soon we will have guidebooks for identifying the plants and animals we see along the way.

snap shots from the past week

The giant slip and slide that Chris Burdge built at camp. Awesome!

Maelle the brave. Focused, determined, fearless.

Getting some help from dad but unfortunately, the board broke!

Another try, this time successful :)

At home, dicing up green beans for soup

Baking chocolate chip cookies

What, doesn't everyone bake in a ballet bodysuit?

Helping dad treat the chickens with diatomaceous
earth for possible mite infestation

Maelle says she wants to be an animal doctor so
she loves getting hands on experience

Shoveling chicken manure

home learning kick-off

We were at Fort Rodd Hill last Friday, and Maelle asked me "When are we going to start homeschooling?" I thought for a moment and said, "Ummmm, NOW!". And that was that. We are going to be intentional about learning, but my real desire is that education will be woven somewhat seamlessly into the fabric of our lives. I'm excited that this segment of our journey has begun.

There was a lot to see and learn and do at Fort Rodd Hill, a Parks Canada National Historic Site (located about 10 minutes from our home). Maelle was given a Parks Canada Xplorers booklet with a bunch of suggested activities that served to guide our visit. I was surprised at the 'nature' content of the booklet and the amount of wildlife at the park. I always have thought of Fort Rodd Hill mainly as a historical site, but enjoyed the well-roundedness of the activities in the booklet.

Gunning with daddy, former artilleryman in his element ;)

Sibling love 

Maelle took this photo. The geese were alarmingly tame.
We also saw an abundance of deer, raccoons, squirrels,
and many kinds of birds including turkey vultures,
wrens, robins, sea gulls and (we heard) an owl. 

Collecting leaves

The "oTENTik" where we stayed, thanks to our friend Ben,
a Parks Canada intern who invited us to camp for the night.

Maelle hauling our cart of stuff back to the parking lot. PE credits for sure ;) 

Creating a rubbing of the Queen's seal

We learned that this glacial rock is called an 'erratic'

Fisgard, the West Coast's oldest lighthouse, established in 1860

Collecting shells at the beach

More guns...

One of our favorite activities was identifying plants on the Historic Nature Trail

We might just get a membership and return to the Fort throughout the year. The kids loved the lighthouse, the beach, the nature trail, and the fort buildings! A great first official day of home learning to be sure :)