Video to come!

We stayed the night in Sudbury knowing we would go back to Science North because we only had an hour there yesterday for Ethan to explore. But we were also in desperate need of a shower!

Luckily, we got both things done and with time to spare.

Morning

We woke up a bit earlier than usual because we had to get to the local pool for their 9-9:55am public swimming. Public swimming for us means a quick dip and a long, hot shower. When you’re traveling in a VW Westfalia and free camping, showers are not a regular occurrence.

We had a nice breakfast of oatmeal with organic milk. We decided to try drinking regular cow’s milk again, as Ethan has been really craving it. We feel that if your body is craving a certain type of food, it’s telling you that you need a particular nutrient. We’ve been feeling that way towards meat and Ethan towards dairy, so we’re going to start adding these products back into our diet.

But it’s also about getting a proper balance of nutrients while on the road; in particular, getting enough protein. We started feeling a little low on energy, and Ethan would get hungry quickly, even after a big meal. So, Dong Eun thought that adding meat or fish to our diet on a more regular basis would help.

We have tried cooking lentils, but it takes too long and tofu hasn’t been easy to come by. So we had some chicken stew and noticed something different… Ethan’s appetite increased and he was staying full for longer periods of time. Plus, we’ve had more energy and feel better overall.

Ethan was very excited today because we would be going back to Science North after our swim. He also loves playing in the pool so it was a fun start to the day.

We got to Gatchell Pool with only 25 minutes left for our swim, but it was more than enough to play in the water. Our showers were probably longer than the swim!

Interestingly, if you’re between 7 to 11 years old, they’ll make you take a swimming test before letting you go in the deep end. Part of the test is treading water without moving around for one minute. Ethan wasn’t going to go in the deep end, but he wanted to try treading water, anyway. He got to about 15 seconds, so he’ll need some more practice.

After getting cleaned up, we drove over to Science North. This time, Ethan also brought is journal to make notes about some of the things he found interesting. I went with him for the morning and Dong Eun would go in the afternoon so I could do some work.

One bad thing is that I realized after we had long left Sudbury that I forgot my down jacket at the pool. It’s nearly 2 hours away now, so it looks like I’ll have to find other ways to stay warm for the duration of the trip.

Science North is a cool place. There is a lot to see and do…Almost too much, in fact. I’ll explain later, but we started off seeing that the building is built on some ancient rocks.

Each floor has a different theme, and they were all interesting to Ethan in some way. He was particularly interested in the butterfly habitat and the insects. Today, he got to hold a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach and we found out that they would taste like shrimp. I asked. Not sure how the guy knew, though.

There were many hands on exhibits, which made it a lot of fun for Ethan. We also wanted him to write down anything he found interesting, but wasn’t easy to stop when you’re so excited to see things.

However, he did write that the touched the tarantula.

At some point, we misplaced his notebook. It was most likely me, as he had given it to me to hold. We looked and asked around but couldn’t find it. Ethan didn’t seem overly upset, but we wanted to find it because it contained Ethan’s thoughts and observations for learning that he has been doing.

Anyway, we looked at a lot more exhibits without realizing the notebook was gone until we had to leave for lunch.

Afternoon

Dong Eun prepared a very nice pasta and potato salad that we ate with the bread we bought the day before.

After lunch, Dong Eun took Ethan in to continue playing at Science North while I got some work done. And that’s the thing we weren’t so crazy about with Science North… It started feeling like an entertainment centre, rather than a place of learning.

The reason is that there were so many exhibits. It seemed like Ethan was only interested in the stimulation, rather than the educational experience. I’m not saying it’s wrong to play, as play is where kids can do much of their learning.

Perhaps if there was a central theme or two, instead of seemingly 20 or 30, it might have been a richer, deeper learning experience. Maybe even if the staff there, the “blue coats,” offered more information about what the visitors were looking at or experiencing, it might have been better.

Ethan still had a great time and is looking forward to the next science centre.

Oh! And Ethan and Dong Eun found his journal! Lucky for him.

We left Science North and took a stroll around the park behind the centre. Ethan is fascinated with birds so he wanted to get up close and personal with the Canada Geese around the park.

As we were walking on the grass, there was a flock of geese grazing and we noticed something white on the ground. Dong Eun thought it was an egg… but it turned out to be a big, white mushroom.

Evening

We finally left Sudbury and headed for Parry Sound. We decided to drive in the early evening to cut down of driving a lot on Saturday.

The drive to Parry Sound was quite easy, and we arrived early in the evening. We went to the local library to read and catch up on some computer time for Ethan and myself.

He also worked on some of the programs that SelfDesign had registered with. One of the early favourites is ProdigyGaee, a math based adventure game.

We had a late dinner and afterwards, Ethan did some drawing. He didn’t like what he drew so we tried to explain that art is subjective.

Ethan was again craving milk so he had some camper van banana milk, which is basically mashing a banana into some milk. He loved it.

Tomorrow, it’s on to Toronto!

The post Home Learning Journal October 6, 2017 – More Science North! appeared first on How to Do Stuff With Ethan.