This week kicks off Black History Month, and will feature movies with Black main characters or themes of prejudice (in the case of the animated animals). The movie (2018) this week might be a little advanced, but you never know until you try, right?
Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano
Crochet
The project she is working on (currently she is making herself a poncho)
Basic Information
We talk about the days of the week and play games with the cutouts of the names. We do the same thing with the names of the months of the year. You can find the print-outs here.
Printing words
In download materials
Counting objects/math-type activities
Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type –in download materials
Dragon had some issues this week, so she kept having to leave class. But when she was present, she tried very hard.
The morning routine was a little bit frustrating, because although she was asked to sing the bonjour song, she wasn’t asked anything for the next section or the one after that, so she got very upset about that, because she raised her hand and they didn’t call on her. I had to remind her that there are other kids in the class that need to answer as well, and the teachers already know that she knows her days and months.
They learned some words with the letter ‘e’, and she wrote a word that was on the screen very well (I don’t remember it).
After lunch, they did math, and Dragon was called on several times. She answered two addition questions and then counted several snowmen cards. She ran into difficulty when asked to count dice spots and indicate which one was which; she kept trying to point at the screen to show the teacher. a) she can’t reach the screen, and b) the teacher can’t see what she’s pointing at. lol
Then she presented last week’s lava lamp. There was some miscommunication, because I have no idea how to describe it in French, and the teachers didn’t know the name or couldn’t hear the name in English. But Dragon was able to say “eau” on the bottom and “huile” on top, and “tablet” starts the reaction, and she dropped the tablet in. The reaction was very clear and looked good on camera, so we were both happy.
Piano: Her counting of the notes and rests is doing amazing. She remembered all of it, it was really good. They had to start over because she was reading the letters of the notes instead of the notes on the clef, so they are back to only using A, B, C, D and E (around middle C). They covered up there letters. She did one of the lessons and half of the next one. First page was no problem, but the second page was a little intimidating. She is grasping it well and her teacher is very pleased.
We have a new French playlist that I can play through the Google, with a variety of artists.
Crochet
She did not do any this week.
Basic Information
We are working on the day before (hier) and the day after (demain) any given day. The months of the year is going well. We’re working on the month before and after any given month. That’s coming slowly.
The saisons de l’année are all memorized. We’re working on how each of them feel and the types of things we can do during each of them.
When I ask her “combien” for any of the above, she now responds in complete sentences.
Printing words
Printing went very well this week.
Counting objects/math-type activities
She had no trouble with these.
Math: The easier one was a breeze. The more complex one was a challenge, but she really enjoyed it. I will be making more of these for future weeks.
Storytime
We read stories from the teacher’s outline that was sent to us on Monday. She enjoyed that, and we will continue to do it next week.
We watched Vampirina in French on Disney Plus, one episode a day. Dragon is enjoying it immensely, and is even recognizing some words!
Activity
Zhezhi – We chose to make a fox. The instructions weren’t super clear at the end, but we figured it out, and I think they look super cute!
Make noodle soup – Dragon and her Papa made the broth on Monday (no pictures) and the filling on Thursday. She even used a knife! They popped it in the slow cooker, and we had delicious turkey noodle soup for dinner! Pegasus gave it the seal of approval.
Learn about Kung Fu – We had our friends call in for a video chat this week (they were extremely patient), and they talked about the different forms of Kung Fu and how they all came from different regions of China. It was super cool to learn about.
“Political Correctness has Gone MAD!” is a phrase I’ve heard in various ways a lot in the past ten years. I might have heard it before, but I hadn’t noticed. It’s a nice easy way to identify someone who feels slighted by diversity and angry about not being able to mock certain groups of people.
I’m bisexual, I’m attracted to people no matter what their gender. I don’t talk a lot about this question because I’m married to a woman and that means I have a certain level of privilege.
However, you’ll notice that a large portion of my protagonists are bisexual. I also try to include other sexualities, genders, races, etc. It’s harder to get it right when writing something that isn’t me. I’ve gotten some criticism for one of my protagonists who was trans, while getting praise from others about the same character.
So I sat down to write this post and wracked my brain for bisexual representation in movies, TV, and books from when I was young. The bisexuals I remember are in 2 categories, villains/monsters and exceptions.
I grew up with Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions, the alien from Species, Frankenfurter from Rocky Horror, and countless “alternate universe” evil doppelgangers in Star Trek DS9, Buffy, Stargate etc. I’m sure there were more, but it was mostly the trope of the Sexy Seductress evil girl that was bi. Men were gay or straight.
Then there were the confused women like Willow, who wasn’t bi according to the show but always a lesbian, or Dax from Star Trek DS9 that had a lesbian kiss, but only because the woman was the lover of a previous host. She breaks Dax’s heart and we never see anything outside the mirror universe to show that she’s bi.
The first positive character I remember seeing or reading about that was openly bi was Angela Montenegro from Bones. It wasn’t a big thing, except to have her love interest be a little awkward about it. She was shown as flaky, but that was pretty normal for all the characters in Bones.
The next character was Jack Harkness from Doctor Who. I’m not happy with the fact that they made him into a joke in the early seasons with Tennant and I’m still pissed with the way he interacts with Donna, but overall he was pretty awesome. It was the first time I saw a male character who wasn’t mocked, killed, or turned out to be a closeted gay. (Yeah, like it’s any easier to be bi)
Now we have a lot more representation and I think it still doesn’t come close to reflecting real life. Statscan says 1.7% of people say they’re Gay or Lesbian and 1.3% say they are Bi. Considering this doesn’t take into account the rest of the rainbow, that means that 3% will admit on a census that they are LGB. I’m sure it’s higher considering there are still quite a few negative reactions to being out and if you add it the rest of the Queer rainbow you’ll find, I’m sure, that we represent a quarter or more of the population.
If you think that representation has gone mad and there are too many Queer people on television and in books keep this in mind; In 2020-21 scripted TV had 9.1% openly Queer people. That means that despite being nearly a quarter of the population there are only a tenth that are shown on TV.
Some genres are better both in film/TV and books, but it’s still not a big difference from when I was a confused kid who thought his attraction was unnatural and monstrous.
It’s very much a DC Comics movie, lots of angst, lots of grim-dark, and very little humour. There are only two characters that show any form of compassion or common sense. Wonder Woman seems to now care about as much about collateral damage as Superman and goes out of her way to confront the villain at the worst possible time only to give us an action sequence.
A lot of movies set in the 1980’s have a nostalgic sheen. There’s no nostalgia here, more of a deep loathing. The movie spends a lot of time setting up how greedy and hateful humanity is and how even those who know they are hurting others don’t care. It makes the ending feel cheap and un-earned.
The movie recycles tropes from other superhero movies from the “evil oil guy” to “nerd with glasses feels entitled and goes evil” and doesn’t add anything new to them.
The ethical issues of her boning some dude who’s possessed by her ex made me uncomfortable the entire movie.
Score: 0
Characters
I have a hard time with Diana’s obsession with Steve. He’s handsome and he was a genuinely awesome guy. But she was pining (pun intended) for 70 years? It feels like a stretch.
I really find the body possession to be one of the worst ethical issues. She played dress-up with a possessed body and did other things. She effectively raped a man. Yuck.
Steve was posted in London during the First World War. He has seen a subway before. He’s seen a garbage can before. Other than to mock modern art, why would he not be able to tell a garbage can from art but somehow be able to fly a fighter jet? When he was alive, they didn’t even have cabin pressure, but now he just feels how to fly?
The villain was a Trump stand-in with a child, so you know he’ll be redeemed in the end by his love for his kid. It’s so cliché as to be insulting. Especially to those of us who grew up in “broken homes”.
Selena, Willow, Harley, uhm… Barbara is the typical super-nerd who people ignore for some reason. She’s a female Daniel Jackson without the allergies or alien theories. I’m not sure if she’s a male wank fantasy or just a power fantasy. It’s an old trope that hasn’t gotten any more interesting or less insulting.
Score: 0
Dialogue
Other than some over explanations and condescensions, the dialogue was okay. Steve was funny and loveable and the rest was meh.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
We had some technical issues with the streaming service so we didn’t get this in full 4K and the music was stuck in stereo instead of full 5.1 surround.
That being said, the beginning on the island was spectacular. I wasn’t a fan of the filter they used for the 80’s faux look but overall it was a beautiful movie. The CGI on Cheetah was pretty bad though.
The music was fantastic. It elevated certain scenes that could not hold up otherwise. I was disappointed we never heard the full Wonder Woman theme.
Score: 1
Fun
The beginning of the movie and the end credit scene were awesome. There were some interesting bits in the middle but overall it was a little boring. Neither of my kids sat still for it.
Score: 0.5
Overall
All the grim-dark expected from a DC movie. The non-redeemable set of villains that are magically redeemed with a pretty speech. The action set pieces seem overly destructive and add nothing to the plot. The glossed over possession and rape is played as cute and romantic instead of horrifying. Overall, this movie gets lost in it’s hate for the 80’s and humanity and forgets to get to a point.
Some of my favourite memories from being a kid were meals that I got to build with my family but were just for me. Tacos, nachos, and pizza were event meals where we each got to make our own.
I’ve been coming up with other options to do with my kids and even guests. It makes them feel more connected to their meal. I guess it’s an IKEA effect for food.
Quiche is great for this, it can handle almost any extra ingredients, it’s filling, and most people like it.
Recipe-ish
What you need to make it is:
Eggs;
Milk, cream, Half and Half;
Muffin tins;
Oil spray; and
Fillings.
The important thing to remember is the ratio:
1 Egg + 1/2 cup of cream = 3 muffins with stuff
One caveat I’d have is if you’re using watery veggies like zucchini or mushrooms, you should lower the cream to 1/3.
Cook at 375 for 20-30 minutes.
As far as filling goes, my family’s favourites are: Shrimp, chicken, ham, bacon, onions, garlic, jalapeno, brie cheese, sharp cheddar, mushrooms, zucchini, and broccoli.
There’s no rule as to what you can put in, but all meats should be pre-cooked and I’d recommend cooking the watery veggies too.
Another non-Disney movie, although we did see another movie by this studio in the Fall semester (Abominable). This one references a beautiful myth about the moon goddess. Again, I wanted to honour Chinese New Year on February 12th, but did not want to encroach on Black History Month.
Singing, listening to different pieces, learning piano
Crochet
The project she is working on (currently she is making herself a poncho)
Basic Information
We talk about the days of the week and play games with the cutouts of the names. We do the same thing with the names of the months of the year. You can find the print-outs here.
Printing words
In download materials
Counting objects/math-type activities
Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type –in download materials
Addition and pattern – worksheet
Storytime
Activity
Experiment: Galaxy Jar (weblink to experiment) Print out made in folder/ or this Crayola weblink for water-based paint (print out made in folder). (Note: we’re going to be using pillow stuffing for our attempt)
Make mooncakes (link to recipe) Print out made in folder
Virtual school was a bit rough today, especially in the morning. Dragon was NOT doing well and got very upset when she wasn’t called on (there are other kids in the class, she won’t be called on every week, obviously!), and then the noise level was higher than usual and she started to melt down, so I had to put the computer on mute so that I could get her to calm down. There seemed to be a lot of confusion happening.
After lunch, she presented, but it seemed as though she didn’t know how to begin. I think I’ll start getting her to present to me at least once during the rest of the week so that she gets used to the format.
Math was not a good time for her either. They were supposed to be counting by twos using a website, and Dragon couldn’t figure out how to drag the pieces and was getting more and more upset. Finally, once I told her that she didn’t have to do it, she was able to get it.
The day was exhausting and stressful, for both of us.
Homeschool was actually surprisingly good this week, especially considering how poorly virtual school went this week.
Dance
She did not do ballet this week, as our basement was taken up by inflating mattresses (the kids both got new mattresses).
Music
Piano: They did clapping and counting, but no piano this week.
We have a new French playlist that I can play through the Google, with a variety of artists.
Crochet
She did not do any this week.
Basic Information
We are working on the day before (hier) and the day after (demain) any given day. The months of the year is going well. We’re working on the month before and after any given month. That’s coming slowly.
The saisons de l’année are all memorized. We’re working on how each of them feel and the types of things we can do during each of them.
When I ask her “combien” for any of the above, she now responds in complete sentences.
Printing words
Printing went extremely well this week. I am very impressed.
She played with the alphabet magnet board, and wanted to write some words. I suggested she get a book and try writing a couple sentences. She was very enthusiastic.
Counting objects/math-type activities
This is too easy for her, but she really enjoys the pictures, so I don’t mind doing them. Also, it gives her practice with printing numbers.
Math worksheet: This was WAY too easy for her. We thought last week was a fluke, or that she recognized that it was in number order, but she had no trouble with this one. So I’m going to make another math sheet that’s slightly more advanced for each week.
We also traced her hands and had her write down the numbers inside each finger. She enjoyed that, and we’ll do it again sometime, but with my hands so that there’s more room inside each finger so she can count higher.
Storytime
We read stories from the teacher’s outline that was sent to us on Monday. She enjoyed that, and we will continue to do it next week.
We watched Vampirina in French on Disney Plus, one episode a day. Dragon is enjoying it immensely, and is even recognizing some words!
Activity
Draw a new invention – It’s a lightbulb that makes light so much brighter because it’s connected to a computer by a cord.
Lava Lamp Experiment – VERY easy and simple experiment. And repeatable. It’s not as flashy as I thought it might be, but still fun and Dragon was enthusiastic about it. So was Pegasus, who watched us.
Make marshmallow robots – This was a fun (and tasty) little build. Big hit – although I don’t think she cared too much about building the robot and was just excited to eat the marshmallows.
I’m working on a new writing project and it seems to have taken over a large portion of my brain. In order to free up my brainspace I’ve been trying to write. Not easy with all my other responsibilities but I’ll make it work.
It’s really exciting and a little different then what I normally do, but so far it’s great.
Now I really need to go finish the last hundred or so words of this chapter.
Have this cute picture of Dragon building Maleficent the Snowperson.
