Week 8 – Hocus Pocus

Yet another movie that I did not watch in childhood. This one is a tad bit scarier for younger kids, and lots of fun for adults.

Here is the link for the downloadable materials. (Again, please let me know if you have any problems so I can fix it!)

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
Watch movieelephant toothpastepumpkin carvingLearn about SamhainFlex
Summary of the week

Daily details:

Dance

Ballet and martial arts on alternate days

Music

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

Download materials

Counting objects/math-type activities

Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type – in download materials

Count pumpkin seeds after cleaning them

Count candy packages and group them (do some subtraction)

Storytime

Activity

Experiment: elephant toothpaste (link to experiment) ingredient list[JD1] 

Pumpkin carving: pick stencil and draw it on pumpkin, help scoop seeds (adult do carving)

Learn about Samhain (link to worksheets)

Next week: Coco


  1. [JD1]Ingredients for Elephant Toothpaste Experiment:
  1. A clean 16-oz plastic soda bottle.
  2. 1/2 cup 20-volume hydrogen peroxide liquid (20-volume is a 6% solution; you can get this from a beauty supply store or hair salon)
  3. 1 Tablespoon (one packet) of dry yeast.
  4. 3 Tablespoons of warm water.
  5. Liquid dishwashing soap.
  6. Food coloring.
  7. Small cup.
  8. Safety goggles.

Week 6 – ParaNorman Results

This Tuesday at virtual school, she was able to turn on and off her microphone (although it took a bit of time sometimes). The small groups were a bit chaotic, as it was the first time trying to do them. Hopefully they’ll be worked out by next Tuesday (although when this post goes live, it will have been yesterday…). Dragon raised her hand to talk three times – to sing the “Bonjour song”, to recite the days of the week, and to answer a question about trees. All of which she did in French! I’m so very proud of how well she’s doing. I’m very impressed by her teachers. She loves them. The homeschool portion of the week was short by one day, because of Thanksgiving, but that’s why we have a flex day worked into the schedule every week, to give us some wiggle room.

Dance

No martial arts this week, but she did ballet 2-3 times this week.

Music

I forgot to get her to practice with the letters, so we did it verbally just now as I’m writing this post. I’d say she’s doing pretty well.

She had another piano lesson on Saturday. They reviewed whole, half, quarter, and eighth notes, and tried clapping their rhythms. She was introduced to whole and half rests and how not to clap them. She played the piece from last week, as half notes, and had no trouble at all. She is holding her wrists properly. They’ve started learning “Chopsticks”.

We listened to a bunch of French music. Coeur de Pirate was the favourite yet again and I am thrilled because it is a beautiful album.

Crochet

We managed to get a few more stitches in on Friday.

Basic Information

Rather than pull out the papers, we did these verbally this week. She can now recite the days of the week in French without prompting. I took my thought about 12 being too many and shrank it down to only the first three, which we started learning on Friday. I think she’s remembering them by sound, but that’s okay for now. We’ll work on the first three months until she can say them with minor assistance before adding the next three months. I think this is working. *fingers crossed*

Printing words

Tracing the letters went better this week than printing them. I think she was having an off day today.

Counting objects/math-type activities

She’s still forgetting that sept comes after six. I’ll need to figure out a game or something to help her remember (note to self…)

Storytime

We didn’t read any French books together this week.

Activity

Film script in stop-motion (2 days: taking the pictures + putting them together on computer, find music to go with it) – She directed me in how to move the toys (and I showed her how to make the basket look fuller than it actually was – movie magic!) and followed her script and storyboard extremely well. She told Éric how long to make each frame and where to put the text. Then we recorded her playing her xylophone to make the music. Éric put it all together because the technical ability to do that was a bit beyond a 4 yo’s ability, especially since she can’t read yet!

The completed movie!

Make a shoebox diorama – we looked at the provided example, and then I asked her what she wanted in hers to make it Halloween-y. We searched google for the objects, put them in a word document, and added blocks underneath them (or on top) to be able to stick them to the inside of the box. Then we made the background very simply – just black with a yellow moon. She had fun using the “big-kid” glue.

Half Full – The Holiday Shopping List

Hello,

So far we have filled 15 of the maximum 30 spots for the Holiday Shopping list and it’s a fantastic mix of stuff. That means we still have some room if you’re interested in joining us.


JenEric Designs and Creative Ottawa Nerds (CON) have teamed up to create a list of 30 Canadian artists and artisans that have something to offer for the holiday season.

Beyond the list, we will create a post each day in November that highlights one of the vendors.

For those of you that need holiday shopping ideas, keep an eye on this blog. The list will be up November 1st.

As more vendors join, we will add their logos to the banner.

For those of you that would like to participate please email us at JenEricDesigns (at) gmail.com Subject: Holiday Shopping List with the following information.

  • Business Name:
  • Business URL(s):
  • Description of your products/store:
  • Final Shipping Date for Holidays:
  • Sales or coupons:
  • Photos: 1 logo, 3-6 product pictures (each must be smaller than 2mb)

This will be first come first serve. We will accept a maximum of 30 vendors. No resellers.

There will be a $5 fee for being listed. All money collected will be used to boost a post on CON’s Facebook page promoting the list.

Thank you and I hope you have a happy and profitable holiday season!

JenEric Designs and CON

ParaNorman – JenEric Movie Review

How This Works – Read Other Reviews

Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2012 film ParaNorman.

Story

The story is a pretty standard middle-grade mixed with zombie elements. It has a strong message and a great twist. I’m not a fan of the fat jokes but other than a few of those it was a very positive film.

Score: 1

Characters

All the characters were horror stereotypes but done with lots of heart. It’s great characterization that I ended up liking the zombies better than the townspeople.

Norman and his family are extremely believable and I have a soft spot for Neil. I definitely relate to him.

Also big props for Gay representation in 2012. Onward was banned in multiple countries for the same type of thing 8 years later.

Score: 1

Dialogue

The movie is utterly hilarious, balancing horror, humour, and heart, but it’s dialogue is forgotten as soon as it’s said.

Score: 0.5

Visuals and Music

The level of visual detail in the movie is utterly stunning. It’s beautiful even when it’s gross and grimy. The work and effect they managed is just fantastic. The blocking and camera work is so much better then most movies.

The music is suitably epic and well used.

Score: 1

Fun

My daughter loved it even though it was, “Kinda Scary”. I found that they created a great rhythm between scares and gags that helped her go from terrified to giggling. I enjoyed the adult jokes, the references to other movies, and the message that was well delivered.

Score: 1

Overall

A wonderful homage to horror movies with lots of heart and a great message. All that with some of the most impressive animation. It’s a perfect movie for October.

Final Score: 4.5

Igor – JenEric Movie Review

How This Works – Read Other Reviews

Hello Cinephiles,

Today we’re talking about the 2008 film Igor.

Story

A remake of My Fair Lady but with a Frankenstein twist. This could have been a wonderful satire of sexism, fat-phobia, classism, and racism, but instead they decided to ignore the messages of both My Fair Lady and Frankenstein to create a poorly executed adventure romance.

Score: 0

Characters

The titular character is the stereotypical nerd with a heart of gold. He triumphs by sheer brain power and luck. He manages to change his world without changing anything.

The monster is the most civilized and definitely the one that makes the difference in the story.

The only characters that weren’t bland and honestly saved the movie from being boring were Scamper, the immortal rabbit, and Brain. The sidekicks made the best jokes and insights.

Score: 0.5

Dialogue

The wry humour of the sidekicks and the referential jokes save this movie. If it wasn’t for those, the movie would get lost in it’s own blandness.

Score: 1

Visuals and Music

The animation is crude by the standards of it’s time and hasn’t aged well. The monochromatic world don’t help make it visually appealing.

The music is boring and the songs feel like they were chosen by someone who got a bad synopsis and didn’t understand the little amount of plot.

Score: 0

Fun

There were some fantastic jokes and some interesting moments and references to classic monster movies. That was fun but the fat-phobic jokes and constant tropes about beauty sapped the joy for me.

Score: 0.5

Overall

The movie could have used more Scamper and Brain, which are the only parts of the movie that are genuinely funny. Beyond that it’s mostly been done before and I wasn’t impressed.

Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5

Turkey Mash – Leftover Recipe

Hello Food Lovers,

I developed this recipe when I hosted a large dinner in university. I effectively put everything I had in a pot with rice and tater tots. It’s a great hearty-type meal for cold days.

It’s also really quick and easy to adapt to your taste.

Turkey Mash

Quick and easy way to use leftovers from a turkey dinner

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 package Tater tots
  • 1 Box Stuffing Feel free to substitute with 2-3 cups of stuffing
  • 2 cups Rice I like wild but it's your choice
  • 4-6 slices chopped bacon
  • 2 cups Chopped Turkey meat You can use almost any protein here.
  • 1 cup Peas I use frozen, feel free to use other veggies if you prefer.
  • 1 cup Gravy Optional but it really adds flavour and moisture.
  • 1 tbsp Jalapeno chopped or blended Optional
  • Salt and Pepper To taste

Instructions

  1. Cook anything that hasn't been cooked.

  2. Mash everything together in a big pot and stir.

So what do you think?

Éric

Week 7 – Curious George Halloween

Curious George is super cute, and throw in a little Halloween fun… your kids don’t want to miss this. You’ll have a smile on your face throughout watching this for sure!

Here is the link for the downloadable materials. (Again, please let me know if you have any problems so I can fix it!)

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
Watch movieDraw pumpkin facesFinger paintingLearn about monkeysFlex
Summary of the week

Daily details:

Dance

Ballet and martial arts on alternate days

Music

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

Download materials

Counting objects/math-type activities

Practice counting objects and writing how many of each type – in download materials

Count and group buttons

Math with pumpkins (on paper)

Storytime

Activity

Draw pumpkin faces (website)

Finger painting with Crayola washable paint on paper

Learn about monkeys (link to web) (Factsheet)

Next week: Hocus Pocus!