Angelina Jeanne-Rose has been the helpmeet to Gabriel for 16 years. They have been blessed with 3 children.  They make their home in St.Francois, Québec.  They chose homeschooling as a way of life in 1999.  Angelina owns and operates Familytimezone.com from her home – Homemaking with a heart. You are welcome to visit her anytime at www.familytimezone.com

---MARCH 2007---

Cornerstone’s Canadian English Page     www.cornerstoneword.com/misc/cdneng/cdneng.htm

As its very introductory paragraph states, Cornerstone’s Canadian English page “explains the major differences between Canadian English and its British and American compatriots, follows the debate over colour and color, talks about place names and French, then looks at some unique Canadian vocabulary and ends with a short essay on pronunciation and regional variations.”  The site lives up to the above promise and more.  Covering the difference in spelling and vocabulary, it also tackles pronunciation and regionalism.  One paragraph though amused me greatly as it discussed the accent and influence on vocabulary in Quebec.  As a Quebecer born and raised, I won’t take a decision or shut a light as the website states, but will make a decision and turn off the light quite easily!

Karen’s Linguistics Issues     http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/BritishCanadianAmerican.htm

This website is equally interesting, but is constructed in a very different way.  Common words used today are presented in a chart demonstrating British, Canadian and American spelling differences.  It is a very interesting site to go through as many of the words under British headings I had thought used the same spelling as we did.   I am intrigued by the fact that the sites author has also included an asterix to delineate the more commonly used words.  This website would be a useful tool for a spelling comparison project. 
 

---Summer 2007---

WWF’s Schools for a Living Planet      http://wwf.ca/schools/

 This World Wildlife Fund website is, “…an educational program that provides educators with access to over 30 curriculum-linked, printable in-class activities for grades 3 to 8....” each grade has it’s own theme such as forests, water etc.
              Membership is free and it took exactly 30 seconds to sign up and start using the resources.  What I found especially nice was the fact they already had the option of ‘homeschooler’ in the pull down menu of the membership area.
              We have been receiving the WWF for schools print newsletters for years.  A quick online method of downloading pdf files that had over 50 pages of activities and information each is available.  They are easy to print out and will have the kids easily following along with the lessons and activities planned.  If you have more than one child, as I do, you’ll appreciate this function. Each child can have their own sheet and if they lose it or the dog eats it, you just print another one out.
An example of a unit is the eighth grade water unit; there are 111 pages and are already integrated with the Canadian school system, letting you know which province’s curriculum focus is involved.
A wonderful help in any science and nature study focus, you can easily expand into languages arts, social studies and more…

 Hinterland Who’s Who     http://www.hww.ca

 A quick visit to this site will jog your memory the second you hear the intro. That familiar flute…and a click away are the old classic video clips we used to watch on TV, as well as new revamped footage.  You can even make your own Hinterland video footage and send it in to them, check out the Things You Can Do link  to find more details.
              The great amount of relevant information for our Canadian ecosystems is vast and a homeschooler’s treasure trove.  There are tons of activities you can do in the Action and Awareness section of the Things You Can Do area.
              Browse, browse, browse and print, download  what you need for a well-rounded nature study that will have your children literally buzzing with activity and excitement. We’ll be trying out the backyard leaf bin this year, we’ve already set up a half-barrel pond.  The instructions are all there. In the educator’s section, you’ll find lesson plans such as the Plan Your Shoreline Project.  This site is a definitely a bookmark site.