Art Supplies - just a great little shop nearby!

I've recently signed myself up for an online art course, with a catchy title like the "Mermaid Circus", I couldn't miss out.  Teesha Moore is one of the fabulous and talented teachers, she was also the organizer of ARTFEST, the best little art retreat in Port Townsend.  Over the weekend I had to order my supplies online as I just could find them locally, something I do with a cringe as I much prefer to support local business.  This week I heard about the House of INDIGO in downtown Nanaimo (near the Royal Bank), it not only has some great gently used clothing, the temptation starts outside of the door, but it has a great selection of quality art supplies.   Yesterday I found the time to make a 5 min trip into the store.  The store is well stocked with Golden products (including fluid & open paints,medium & texture products), journals and water-colour paper as well as pens, watercolours, beads, feathers & endless supplies.  The prices for the Golden products are better than I've found elsewhere on Vancouver Island, it's locally owned and close to the Gabriola ferry, how lucky !  If your looking for some supplies that she doesn't have, just let her know as she's willing to bring in more products.

Enjoying Earth Hour on Gabriola Island.

Earth Hour

Last night (March 18 2013) we celebrated Earth Hour with our kids on Gabriola.  We turned off the lights between 8:30-9:30 pm and played a game of Catan by candlelight.  It's a way to show the kids that it is possible to do small things that make a big change against climate change.  If you haven't had a chance to play Catan, it's a great game about building, settling and resources for kids and adults alike.

Hand-painted postcard anyone ?

This morning I had the pleasure of speaking with Gretchen Markle, it didn't take us long to delve into the topic of art.  Within our short conversation, I learned about a project that she said I could share with all of you.  Are there any of you out there, that just love the touch of something hand made, whether it's crafted by hand of hand written ?  I think of this project as a celebration of our good old fashion mail system - something I love as well.

Here's what I found on Gretchen's website:
'WISH YOU WERE HERE' - The Postcard Project

"Hello,
Do you like to receive 'REAL' mail (the old-fashioned kind)? Well, in this new project of mine, I will send you a hand-painted watercolour postcard. Interested? Read on:
I will send you a handmade postcard the old-fashioned way, i.e., by post (REAL or 'snail' mail). All I ask in return is that you send me back a postcard (homemade or commercial). On it, tell me in fifty words or fewer why you like - or don't like - to get 'real' mail.
Eventually, I'm hoping to put together an exhibit based on the postcards I send and the ones I get in return.
If you would like to participate, please fill out the following form, making sure to fill in all the boxes with an asterisk (*). If you're not sure what to put for 'Suggested by', just put in 'Gretchen' or 'you'."

Twenty-Five Walk on Gabriola - Coats Marsh Regional Park

Coats Marsh, Gabriola Island

Last year the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust published a brochure with 25 walk on Gabriola.  We're aiming to do all 25 and share our experiences with you this year, here's the second one we've done.

In the Gabriola Elementary School the students have been given a topic that they will study throughout their years in school.  My daughter has ponds/lakes as her topic and my son has reptiles, they can explore any aspect of these topics that they want and the idea is that they learn about it in depth (LID).

I decided for this weeks walk that we should go and explore the Coats Marsh Regional Park (walk #11 in the brochure) as I thought it might help them generate some ideas that they might want to explore in their research.

We turned onto Coats Rd from South Road, and after about 1km we turned left onto Stanley Rd.  We parked at the end of Stanley (a very short rd) and found the trail head.  We were wearing our gumboots, came with our paper and pencils and we were almost dressed warm enough!  It's a very short easy 5 minute walk from the parking area to the marsh, where we were all awe struck.  In a quiet setting with no houses in site, we found an expansive marsh, about 20 beautiful white trumpet swans and the sounds and calls of nature.  

We had to stop several times on our exploration of the marsh, not because it was a difficult walk, but because the kids had found one more thing they had seen, wanted to research, or wanted to remember, and they needed to make a note of it.  After a bit of exploring, my son pointed out the Beaver dam across the marsh.  With a little more exploration we saw the trees that the beaver had been busy chomping down, and the pathways from the marsh to the trees.  

We spent about an hour on our walk, and we all decided it was one of the best walks we've gone on, but with the night setting in we had to call it a night and promises were made to return their soon, with our gumboots on and our notepads in hand!

Anti bullying on Gabriola - Thanks to the BCTF

The Gabriola Elementary School PAC has organized a presentation on Anti bullying through the BC Teachers Federation.  Benula Larsen will give a one hour presentation free of charge and allow parents to learn strategies, gain knowledge and share concerns.  Benula is a practising teacher who is volunteering to share her knowledge and experience in these areas.

This presentation will take place on Wed, Jan 23 in the Gabriola Elementary School Library from 6-7pm.  

Here's a bit of information on anti bullying from the BCTF website: 

Anti bullying
Bullying behaviours are no longer acceptable in our society and schools are attempting to do something about them.  This introductory session on anti bullying will include: the definition, the bullying triad, the cycle of bullying, and the signs to watch for if your child is being bullied.  Participants will also learn and share strategies for bully proofing children.

Twenty Five Walks on Gabriola - Sandwell Park

Sandwell Park, Gabriola Island

The Gabriola Land and Trails Trust published a great brochure with 25 walks on Gabriola.  We're going to try and do the 25 walks listed this year and share them you.
Over the holidays we took the kids to Sandwell Park (walk #15 in the brochure), a beautiful sand and pebble bay on Gabriola.  To get to the parking lot, you drive to the end of the Strand.  You'll see a yellow gate and a wide path, a 5-10 minute walk gets you to the bay, there is a steep part so watch your footing.  At the bay there are outhouses and an expanse of beach and driftwood lies before you.
It took us about an hour with kids in tow to walk down the path and along the beach, of course we stopped and beachcombed along the way.  There are some beautiful clear winter days when you can see down to Mt. Baker, we were lucky that this was one of those days.

Merry Christmas Gabriola

Berry Point Branch Library, Gabriola Island

Merry Christmas Gabriola....  The Lynch Group has gifted a small library, a great place to go pick up a book, or take your recycled books to share!  Just a small gesture to thank our amazing community....