This will be the last project I do on my MSPaint Art course.  It was fun to do, but I did struggle when trying to draw the Curves.  Even Mum found it difficult to do!  Otherwise, I think I did pretty well.

I decided to give this creation the name of "ImpossiTower". 

This was a fun activity!

We had our Green Kids meeting yesterday at Chorlton Water Park.  This time we went pond-dipping.  We started off with a quick lesson from one of the rangers, Andy, who told us how to scoop things out of the pond and how to stay safe near the water.

I have my back to the camera, but you can still tell that I'm the biggest (and oldest) in the group!

We then split up into small groups and put whatever we had collected into trays.  We were able to take a closer look through a magnifier and made an attempt to identify each creature.  I caught a water-boatman and a ram's-horn water snail!

After we had had our fill of dipping in the pond, we went for a short walk along one of the forest trails to hunt for minibeasts (or bugs).

While I had lunch with the grown-ups, the younger children had a play-time on the playground equipment.

I am still having fun making pictures on MSPaint.  My latest masterpiece is a picture of a Chunky Robot.

I used the rectangle tool mostly. The only parts I needed help with were the hands because they had to be curved.  Once I'd drawn one arm, I just had to copy and paste another one and rotate it so that it was the other way round.  This was great, as I wouldn't have wanted to have to try and get both arms the same size!  I did the same with the legs and the antennae.

If I were to do this picture again, I'd like to be able to add some text on his front panel.

I spent this morning at the Water Park on an introductory course - "Have a try at Canoeing!".  Some of our homeschool group went to a pre-booked session and it was FREE!!!

I really enjoyed myself - I was shown how to get in and out of the canoe, how to use the paddles and also how to turn in a circle, etc.  One lesson I got that the others didn't was - what to do if you fall in!!  That lesson was so good that I did it THREE times.  Boy, did I get wet!!

However, I was not put off at all - I just climbed back into my canoe and carried on!  The instructor thought that I'd been canoeing before as I didn't say, "That's it, I'm going!".  What I did say was, "Well, it's all part of the experience.  Where's my paddle?"  Our group leader thought that that showed a great strength of character - and my Mum and Dad were really proud, too!

Thankfully, we had remembered to bring a change of clothing and a towel.  My best friend, Declan had dry clothes, but no towel, so I let him use mine.  Another friend, Matt, had no dry clothes at all, but someone let him wear a pair of her son's trousers so he could get home in comfort.  When I got home, I had a hot bath and got rid of any "bugs" that might have been in the water!  Despite falling in, I wouldn't mind trying this out again!

Last Monday was our "Green Kids" Club day.  This time we had a visit from the Mobile Zoo - a man who brings animals around for children to see.  We had a wonderful time!

Here is a photo of me holding a blue-tongued skink:

It felt really strange in my hands, especially as it kept on moving!  Blue-tongued skinks come from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.  They are omnivores, but particularly like to eat fruit, molluscs and insects. 

The next creature I held was a snake.  It was a small snake and kept on rolling itself up into a ball!

Unfortunately, I have forgotten what type of snake this was.  As you can tell from my face, snakes are not my favourite creature (perhaps I could get the part of "Young Indiana Jones"?)

This snake was much bigger than the last one I held, it was also very heavy!

I couldn't even bear to look at it! I'm not much better in this photo:

Do you think I look scared, or what?

The final creature I held was much more my "cup of tea"! The Mobile Zoo man had brought a beautiful barn owl with him. I had to wear a special glove so that its talons wouldn't hurt my hand and the owl had a string attached to its leg so that it would always go back to its owner.

I loved the feel of the owl's feathers when I was stroking it, they were so soft! All in all, this was a very enjoyable day - everyone got to hold the creatures and everyone had fun!

On Saturday, I went to my first meeting of Manchester Museum's Young Archaeologists' Club.  The first meeting was all about Egyptian Mummies and Modern Medicine.  This meeting was held, not in the Museum itself, but in part of Manchester University.

When we first got there, we were taken into the Students' Lounge and slit into two groups.  My group started off by going on a tour of the top floor of the building.  We saw lots of interesting machines that are used to look inside the mummies that are brought to the University.  We also saw some of the tools used to cut open the outside layers of the mummies.

After that, we went back to the lounge for a drink of juice and some biscuits.  Then, my group had a look at hieroglyphics and how they were used by the Ancient Egyptians as an alphabet.  We found out about Cartouches as well.

All in all, it was a very interesting day.  Whilst I was at the Club, Mum and Dad had some time for themselves.  They went to the Museum and had a drink and a snadwich in their restaurant.  They also bought me a small Mummy's Sarcophagus to put inside my model Egyptian Temple that I made a few years ago!

I am really going to enjoy being a member of this Club and I can hardly wait until next month's meeting!

This week, I had another try at making a picture using the Paint program.  I decided to do a picture of the Loch Ness monster!  Some parts (like drawing the head, tail and spikes) were not easy - I had to make sure I had a really steady hand!  Anyway, here is my masterpiece:

Yippee!  I've got an award from Mamabugs!  And, more than that, it is the Excellent Blog Award - I don't often get an "Excellent" grade!! So that makes it extra special - Thank you Mamabugs!

 

The rules read: By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you have to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want but please award at least 10. Thank you out there for having such great blogs and being such great friends! You deserve this! Feel free to award people who have already been awarded…

Here are the blogs I would like to pass the encouragement along to:

You can pick up the award graphic by clicking on the one shown above!

I couldn't believe it when my Mum said that I was going to do some "painting" on the computer!  She showed me a program called "Paint" and how to use some of the tools to produce a picture.  I had great fun "painting" a picture of Fireworks!

I used the Rectangle, Colour fill, Brush and Airbrush tools to make my picture.  It was fun!

I'd never have imagined that anyone could paint a picture on a computer - but then I remembered - What about all the graphics that are used in computer games?

I can't wait to do some more!

Today was the first meeting of Manchester Home Educators "Green Kids' Club".  Rest assured, we do not have green skin!! This Club is all about nature and the environment and how we can take care of it.

One verse of the Old Testament that I take very seriously is Genesis 1:26, which says - Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth,  and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

I take this to mean that it is up to us to care for the world and its creatures.  I care a lot about our envronment and about the creatures in it.  I also get very upset when people do not take care of the world around them - like throwing litter on the ground, treating animals cruelly or just not caring about the amount of pollution that we produce each year.

Today, we concentrated on caring for birds during the season of winter.  We got into groups and made bird feeders from monkey-puzzle tree branches - we plastered them with melted margarine mixed with nuts and seeds.  It got a bit messy, but it was fun!  These were kept at the Education Centre for putting out round and about the park area.

We also worked in pairs  making bird nesting boxes - I made one that was suitable for birds like robins.  I brought it home, but can't decide whether to put it up in our garden or to take it to the Animal Sanctuary we help look after at Banky Meadows.

{Mum has taken some photographs but they're not ready to upload yet!!}

I think it is important to care for other creatures.  I also think that, by caring for them, we can learn how to care for each other. 

Of course, God cares for every living thing, as Jesus said, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:26).  Isn't it wonderful to think that the same God who cares for all the tiny birds, cares even more for us?  It certainly makes me feel glad to be alive!

Today I went to Explorers Club instead of going to the Gym!  Explorers Club is a Club for Gifted children in this part of Britain (it is part of the NAGC which covers all of Britain).

We spent the morning looking at, listening to and learning how to play various African instruments.  I got to play an African talking drum.  As the name implies these drums are used in communication. They are also considered a solo instrument as they are easy to hear and can change pitch. The drums change pitch when you squeeze them under your arm (or between your legs) while you are playing.  Most talking drums come from West Africa.

My friend, Declan, played an instrument that looked like a xylophone.  They are actually called Marimbas or Belefons.  The keys are made from wood and each key has a gourd resonator which makes the sound louder.

At the end of the session, we gave a special performance to the parents.  It was great fun!!

Hiya Again!

Over the last few days, my computer has been behaving really strangely.  I could be working away happily for several minutes, and then - it would just turn itself off and "reboot" again! And again! And again! And again! And - is this starting to annoy you?  Well, it certainly annoyed me!

My Dad took it to his friend's workshop and they tightened up a few things inside, which seemed to fix it.  However, a few hours later, the "box" was up to its old tricks again!

Today, it looks like Dad has solved the problem.  He took a look inside the "box" and found that the fan was not turning at all!  So, he went to the shop and bought a new fan and fitted it for me.  Now, the computer seems to be working fine ......... but only time will tell!!

Bye for now!