field trips

Christmas 1914

December 11, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

In the middle of November, my son, host son and myself took in Christmas 1914 at Fanshawe Village. We had a fantastic time and learned ever so much. As it drawing nearer to Christmas I thought I would tell you all about it! 🙂

Our visit started with a reenactment of the Christmas Truce of 1914. First they walked us through a trench with men telling us about their experiences, the cold, the hunger, the muck and the constant threat surrounding them.

I mentioned to one fellow that it was cold. He said “yes, it is truly miserable”. This portion of the program wasn’t very long but it gave us a glimpse into what it would have been like for these soldiers. Living within all that and then learning to trust the men in the other trenches, at least enough on Christmas to greet each other. A tough call.

After we saw the re-enactment we were able to go around and visit the various buildings which reflected different aspects of World War 1.

Our first stop was at the church were we listened to a girl choir. Some aspects were not period (like the Santa hats and the organ) but that wasn’t completely the point. 🙂 The point was music was still part of that time period and we got to listen to songs about the time period as well.

We sat through part of the program, but the boys were feeling antsy so we headed out to get some hot chocolate and have an impromptu snow ball fight. It was good to see the boys having fun together (until they ganged up on me). I ran quickly into the building with the hot chocolate. 🙂

The lady working this house helped us to understand how the French boys and the boys from other countries were treated.

Once done here we headed back to finish listening to the girls choir. They did an excellent job. I wish I had the recording from Christmas in the Trenches. The one young lady did an excellent job.

We also stopped at the Red Cross booth. Here we learned about how the soldiers received care packages. We could light a candle to remember those who had gone on before. We were also able to write a Christmas card to a Canadian soldier currently serving.

Christmas 1914 re-enactment, writing letter to a soldier

We spent some time at a home set up for the 1900’s. We saw a pamphlet to help people adjust to living during the war. It was full of practical advice.

In this house we were walked through how people would have lived, and the story of one family. We learned the best way to string popcorn and saw period Christmas decorations.

Our last stop was the guard house. Each of us got a period Christmas card, much like the boys would have received in the war. We learned abit about how injured soldiers were cared for. I have to admit, the fire was cozy warm. The men inside the building also educated the boys are terminology use, and many other items. Other than the hot chocolate I probably enjoyed this station the most.

Not to be forgotten was the artifact set up in the main building. This was a treasure trove of information. From the lady who had a display of period Christmas Cards, and an obvious love of communicating what was special about them. I never knew one could learn so much from an old card!

The boys were most interested in checking out the equipment the soldiers used and the weapons they carried. The person manning the both was very knowledgeable and from him we learned that most of the soldiers that participated in the 1914 truce died as a result of their actions. Their commanding officers for the most part transferred them to areas with active fighting. Their actions were firmly frowned upon, and thereafter in the war, some of the heaviest fighting was on Christmas day.

We learned a lot about gas masks, how they progressed over the years. What the gas did. Some gas dissipated easily, other gas settled in down lying areas and just stayed there. The lad tried on a gas mask and said “it’s hard to breathe’. Our instructor said “Now try running with that, carrying all your gear, in the mud”. My son’s face when he took off the mask said it all. Imagine how hard that would have been. The soldiers needed to carry them at all times.

This was an incredibly informative evening and I highly recommend if you have a chance to go, that you do so.

Want to Know More?

Some songs were written about this series of events.

Articles about it

Some books to check out.

Colborne Lodge

December 4, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

When we were on vacation we needed something to do before we went to our airbnb apartment. Enter in Colborne Lodge in the southern end of High Park in London. Our guide was wonderfully informative and very personable. You’ll have to pardon me if the pictures are a bit dark, no flash was allowed.

Colborne Lodge was the home to John and Gemima Howard. Mr. Howard was an architect and engineer originally from England. The house holds a number of pieces of art work that he did himself. A lot of the art work he did involved ships on the water, usually in trouble.

They had one of the first indoor toilets. There was a small replica of it so that we could see how it worked. This area of the house was built in such a way that when the door was closed it looked like a solid wall. If I recall correctly, it was because not everyone was accepting of indoor toilets.

Our tour guide walked us through all the different areas of the house, telling us about each of the paintings. She gave plenty of time for questions to be asked and answered. The Howards lived a fair piece out of town. The house was comfortable for them.

They had this rather neat picture frame sitting on the mantel. I can’t recall if this one is authentic to the house. They needed to do a fair amount of work on the house as it had merely been shut up when the Howards’ had passed on. Vandalism and theft had happened before the house was turned into a museum. I loved the intricate detail on this picture frame and how it fanned out like a peacock. It would have been neat to see photos in it. I would happily have this in my house.

They had these tiny corner closets. I have not seen closets like this before in these early homes. It’s hard to imagine only have three or four outfits to wear.

We were walked through the various bedrooms, seeing their vanities, dresser drawers and the like. There were paintings throughout the house, most done by the Howards, and the odd one by friends.

It’s hard sometimes to know what our student understands, so when he stops to take a picture I wonder what caught his attention. I never did figure this one out as when I asked he just flashed a grin at me.

It’s a fair sized house with a basement, main floor and upper floor. It has a greenhouse or summer patio attached as well.

Oh, I almost forgot this part. They are buried on the property, but not really close to the house! We needed to cross the access road to get to it.

All in all it was a lovely visit with a good tour guide. We learned so much! If you are the Toronto area, take in Colborne Lodge.

Wallenstein Feed & Supply

November 20, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Last week Wednesday my son and I went to Wallenstein Feed & Supply. Since my hubby works at a feed mill he wanted us to go check out what they do here. He would have loved to go but couldn’t due to work issues.

I should have written this post last week when all the information was fresh in my mind but life is what it is right? I will simply have to do the best I can. 🙂

It was just a small group of us from the co-op that went, but we learned a lot about the making of farm animal feed in south-western Ontario. This mill is highly automated. Runs at least 50 trucks from as close as Wallenstein to up north.

Before we started the tour we all had to put on safety vests, a hard hat and a headphone. Some sections of the mill are quite loud, so having the headset means we can still hear each other.

Off on the tour!

Wallenstein Feed & Supply has four mills in one area, well okay.. they might only have three active. I think they had torn down one mill and are looking at building the fourth. We were mostly shown around mill four.

We learned they have a few different trucks. Some trucks come with panels that can be moved to accommodate different size orders, and other trucks come with prebuilt storage areas.

When trucks come in with supplies the load needs to be tested before it is accepted. This year they need to be particularly careful because corn is carrying high levels of vomitoxin. This toxin is dangerous to give to pigs (causes them to not eat and to have stillbirths or spontaneous abortions) so they need to be careful. The mill my hubby works at can only take to 4% but Wallenstein Feed & Supply has three different levels for it. The higher levels require more work as they need to be diluted and used differently.

Testing the feed

Depending on the mill the men work 8 hour or 12 hour shifts. As I was watching the men work I saw clothing incentives, business perks etc pass along the screens. They all seemed like decent incentive programs and who doesn’t like $’s off places you would go away? A business treating it’s employees right.

The opportunity was given to watch a skid of feed by bagged. Two people, and a few machines and the job was done quite quickly.

Our last stop of the tour was to see how a trucker loaded his truck. He gets his part of the puzzle from the office that organizes the shipments. He needs to take a sample of every feed he puts on his truck and that sample is kept, I think she said for three years, so that if a farmer has a problem with the feed it can be tested by them or an off-site lab.

The green circles mean open/empty bin, and the rest of the colours…. no one was really sure what they signified for the rest of the buns. It is known the one of those colours means medicated and another means that a vibrator is attached to the bin. Otherwise all we know is the truckers understand the system. 🙂

It was a good, very educational and interesting tour.

Other agricultural field trips:

Jack the Police Dog

October 30, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Today my son and I joined other members of the HOPE group to see a police dog demonstration. We got to meet Jack and his Handler Jackie. She is the smallest dog handler and has the largest dog in this area. She talked with us about the work that Jack does with her, his training, his likes and dislikes and demonstrated some of his skills.

Jack spends most of his time during general duties – going on patrol, clearing houses, looking for people, and other such normal activities for a police dog. He has also been trained in drugs and one other thing… bombs I think. My memory isn’t completely clear.

Came from Czechoslovakia when one year old $10,000. They work with European breeders because they need the pedigree of solid working dogs with good noses.

His handler did all the training with him. Jack works for his toy (a ball with a rope on it). His ball is his “good job” marker. They are trained using positive reinforcement only. She trained Jack in London and returns there twice a month to maintain training.

Carries a gun, pepper spray and a tazer. Tazers come with an inbuilt confetti that is marked with the number of the tazer. So forensics can always tell which tazer was used.

The students (and some of the moms) asked good questions that ranged from size of Jack (75-90 lbs), to ammunition needed (carry two clips with 14 bullets), to items they need to carry. The fun of trying to keep with a dog who can clear a 10 foot fence. Jack is currently the largest dog in the London, St. Thomas, St. Mary’s and Stratford area. He is a black German Shepherd.

He has had 6 apprehensions in his life. An apprehension is when a dog bites a suspect to hold them. They are trained to bite and hold rather than to bite and reposition. This training minimizes damage to the suspect.

She helped us understand why a police dog can clear a house quicker than a person can. Having a powerful nose lets them know if a person is hiding in a room even if a door is shut and locked. Means the officer doesn’t have to wait for a key to gain entrance nor do they have to search every cubby, closet or even the ceiling.

His handler was pleased to show us some of Jack’s skills. He SO loves his ball and watched it eagerly be tossed away and did everything he was supposed to before he finally was able to keep it. He ran through his exercise twice showing off different skills I only caught the first part on camera.

His handler ended up being called back to duty, but before she headed off, we were shown a secret from the police car. She has a button on her suit that can remotely open the back door of the vehicle. Jack is trained to burst out in full protection mode. Unfortunately Jack got the protection sleeve off his handler before I got the camera out and snapping a pic.

We learned that Jack lives with his person 24/7. At night he has an outdoor kennel that keeps him comfortable. The police vehicle is equipped with Jack in mind, with a temperature controlled environment and everything.

It was a great demonstration and I’m glad we went.

Wizardry with the boys

September 25, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

This past weekend I went to the festival of wizardry twice. On Friday I went with my son, and then on Saturday I went with my temporary son. 🙂

Friday we ended up getting sent home since we had a spell of high winds come through that threatened the lives of people. We helped a vendor put their stuff away after working in the children’s tent for about 30 minutes.

I had just enough time to mostly finish my wand. We were given the instruction of “inspire others” so making a wand and chatting as we did so seemed a great way to do that.

My son liked this quote so I snapped a pic.

On Saturday, our student and I went up. Originally I had planned to go with the lad and our student on the Saturday but they miss-booked us and the lad had a cadets thing come up and couldn’t go. So we worked with the miss-booking and went two days in a row.

Anyways, we were assigned to helping mind the gate but they had lots of volunteers there, instead we went to the non-alcoholic bar and served drinks, cookies and candied. We were run off our feet but had a lot of fun!

The Job:

We worked hard for an hour and a half and then needed food, and since I was working twice with a student we got a free lunch voucher. The lines were horrible for the standard fries, pizza, burger places so we took a chance on a small place doing a perogi with chicken stew dish. IT WAS FANTASTIC! I need to learn how to make this it was so very good.

Back to work with a student who kept enjoying the caramel sauce. I gave him fitz but he just grinned at me. 🙂 The ladies working with me grinned at him and told said “teens!” 🙂 So it was all good. It was good to hear his attempted chatter and the ladies responding to him. It was such a nice day.

The recipe:

The recipe we used for better beer “caramel sauce, cream soda, and real whipping cream”. It tasted good but was very sweet. The cookies came in all house colours, glasses and sorting hat. The glasses were very popular with families with multiple kids because they could break them in half easily. YES, I bought some and brought them home for the guys.

Once 4 oclock came around we were done for the day so wandered around seeing what all was there. I was tempted by honey, our student tempted by a neat ornament. I had no money for things though (since I had bought cookies) so we just bought with our eyes. I met a lady who wrote what looks like an interesting book so I talked to her about reviewing it. 🙂

We heard some noise so headed over to see what was going on and discovered a game of quidditch was going on…. a match between Toronto and Guelph. It’s an immensely confusing game…..

Just so you know… we learned that bacon flavoured cotton candy tastes good but wrong. 🙂 The vendor said it was a good seller combined with her maple flavour. I told her I believed that but wasn’t brave enough to buy any. I did take a sample stick home to hubby who liked it. 🙂 (I told her I thought he would).

That was our wizardry weekend. SHOULD you ever be up this way in September of 2019, come join us at the Festival of Wizardry. It’s a good time!

Victoria Park at Night

August 28, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

This post is making me smile, it’s our tip to Victoria Park at Night.

I am remembering the fun we had in 2017 when we went to Victoria Park at night, the lights were one, people were skating, and it was such a gorgeous night. Cold but not too cold, just perfect for twinkling lights and I just wanted to share a few of those pictures with you. Because I can and I need a smile today!

I remember not having to have my hands in my pockets the whole time. This random statue caught my eye. I think he wants to go skating on the outdoor rink.

The Christmas trees were absolutely gorgeous. My pictures simply don’t do them justice.

I remember struggling to take pictures of the garland? They had strung up around the park. It was hard to get a clear image. This one didn’t turn out half bad.

I do have other pictures but they turned out a bit too blurry. Some days I take better pictures than others, and night time, cold, shiny is apparently NOT my time to be taking pictures. 🙂

It was good to smile though, and I hope you smiled too!

Exploring Canadian History Through Field Trips

August 21, 2018 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Welcome to day two of the Back to School Blog hop, today we’ll be talking about Exploring Canadian History Through Field Trips. You may remember yesterday that I gave encouragement to the parent concerned about readiness for the beginning of the new school year. Since today’s topic is Take a Look Tuesday I thought it would be fun to look at Canadian History …both that which I’d like to see some day and those we’ve already accomplished.

One of the places I would love to visit is Casa Loma in Toronto. I had hoped to go this year, but buying our house put a different spin on our finances. I did find this video that gives me a bit of a taste.

Earlier this year we visited the Radar Museum. This is a good look back at the use of radar on Canadian soil during the wars and beyond.

Another place I’d like to visit is Fort Henry. Up in Kingston, this Fort does reenactments and apparently has a overnight stay you can do as well.

I am thinking that it would be as interesting to visit as it was to see Fort York. Seeing and learning history by visiting actual places of history brings a new dimension you know? Better than reading about it in a book. 🙂

We took a trip this past year up to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. That was a great trip, learning about a part of history we don’t often hear much about.

One of my goals that I am hoping to achieve at the end of September this year is to go to Ottawa to visit my brother and his wife, as well as to tour the Parliament building, the War Museum and other such places. I am really hoping we can make that happen! If my sweetheart can take a Friday off to go camping with the lad, and then take another four days mid-week to do the Ottawa tour… it would be good. 🙂 I do need to talk to him more about this and work things out with my sis-in-law (who has given us an open invitation).

Visiting Joseph Schneider Haus is always a place I like to visit, bringing the lad here when the currants were ready was just plain fun. 🙂 We learned much and enjoyed a good snack as well.

Anyways, that’s enough for today. I hope you enjoyed this brief stop in’s at places we’ve been and places we’d like to go. Wouldn’t you like to come join us?

This post is part of the Back to School blog hop from the Homeschool Review Crew. Please visit others of the crew won’t you?

Christine @ Christine Howard
Christy @ The Simple Homemaker
Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag
Debra @ Footprints in the Butter
Diana @ Homeschool Review
Felicia @ Homeschool 4 Life
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine
Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life
Lisa @ Farm Fresh Adventures
Lori @ At Home: where life happens
Margaret @ Creative Madness Mama
Marla @ Jump Into Genius
Meredith @ Powerline Productions: Being World Changers/Raising World Changers
Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Missica @ Through The Open Window
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling

field trips

Christmas 1914

Want to Know More?

Colborne Lodge