A WINTERY MORNING

Brrr! What a cold day it is today!! It doesn’t get cold enough to snow in Rowville like it does in Owen Sound, but it gets very chilly and windy in the mornings. When I woke up at Ben’s house the grass was all crunchy with frost. Ben’s mum thought I might get cold at night so she gave me some toasty warm socks to wear. Tyana’s mum had the same idea and made sure she was wearing a warm jacket and woollen beanie before she left the house to go to school.

CAMPBELL'S NEW CAT

On the weekend I went home with Campbell. It was a special weekend for Campbell's family because it was his Mum's birthday. You won't believe what she got as a present... A new cat! It's name is Yoda, which is a name from a movie called Star Wars. Campbell tried to make Yoda look at the camera for the photo, but I think he needs to learn some manners because he wouldn't listen! Afterwards, everyone had some party food, and Campbell let me try some chips. Yummy!

A WEEKEND WITH CHELSI

This weekend I went home with Chelsi. It was a very special weekend because Chelsi was going to a Christening! We both made sure we looked extra nice for the celebration. Chelsi put ribbons in her hair and I put on a nice, clean jumper and made sure my fur was brushed. Cheli and I went to have a look at the cake. Doesn't it look absolutely delicious?

HANGING OUT WITH KATRYA

This weekend I have been hanging out with Katrya, literally! We had a great time playing on her gym set, and she showed me a new way of looking at the world, upside down! In two weeks we have our holidays, and I can't wait to see who I'll be spending them with and what we will do. I wonder if everyone at Owen Sound is on holidays yet. We get two weeks holidays, but I know that Owen Sound gets much longer! Does Bounce know where he is going to spend his holidays?

A ROCKING WEEKEND

Last weekend I went home with Damon. The weather wasn't too good, so we decided to have a few cosy and warm days inside. Damon has some really great things to play with, and I was having so much fun that I didn't miss the outside too much. We played Harry Potter chess, and then we rocked out with Guitar Hero! We were so good on the guitar that I think we should start our own band! What should we call our band?

BOUNCING AROUND

At Rowville every week the Grade 2 children go outside for some sport. They play games and do exercises, and everyone has lots of fun. This week I joined 2F for sport because they needed someone small to bounce in their giant parachute. It was so much fun! When everyone lifted the parachute up, I flew up into the air, and then I landed in the parachute on the way down. It felt just like flying!

FIESTA ITALIANA!

Today was a very exciting day for everyone at Rowville because it was Fiesta Italiana! The children explained to me that every year they have the festival to celebrate all things Italian. Everyone dressed up in the colours of the Italian flag, which are green, white and red. I fit right in with my red Owen Sound jumper.
We went out onto the basketball courts to do some chalk drawing, like the beautiful chalk pictures on the streets in Italy. I got to do some drawing as well, and I drew a picture of my school and all my friends back in Canada.

We also watched a play called Alladino, which was like the story of Alladin, but parts of it were in Italian! The children learn Italian at school, so they could understand what they were saying, but even I could understand the story because the actors were so good!


Later the children worked on mosaics of some famous Italian landmarks, like the leaning tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, and a Gondolier. Here I am helping Isabella colour her mosaic in.

SWIMMING LESSONS

On Friday the children of 2F took me along to the last day of their swimming lessons. It was a great day to go along because we all got to play some really fun games in the pool. Rohan and David took me on a ride on a floatie board which was really fun, even if my paws did get a little bit wet!

PYJAMA PARTY

This week in Victoria was Education Week. On Thursday, to raise awareness of the importance of reading and especially bedtime stories, the kids of 2F all went to school in their pyjamas! It was really cold in the morning, so we had some games and stretches to warm us up a bit. Some of the kids had their cosy dressing gowns with them, and it's lucky I have such a warm fur coat to wear when it gets so cold!

Afterwards, when everyone was warmed up, all the year 2 kids got together and shared some of their favourite books. It was great to hear about which books people liked to read, and I even shared some of my favourite books with everyone.

A BUSY WEEK

This week 2F have started their swimming program, which has kept us all very busy, but we all just love to swim! Soon I will write and tell you all about my adventures in the pool, but at the moment I'm just too tired. I think Rohan and I might have a little nap! Good Night!

PHILLIP ISLAND

Last weekend I was lucky enough to go on a trip with Irene and her family to Phillip Island. The Island is connected to the mainland by a really long bridge that you can see in the photo. Phillip Island is famous because every night on some of the beaches lots of tiny fairy penguins come out of the water onto the beach. They walk all the way up to the sand dunes, and into their holes to go to sleep. People from all over the world come to Phillip Island to see these cute little Penguins, so maybe I'll get to meet some other people visiting Australia like I am!

FAST TIMES WITH JACK

On the weekend I went home with Jack and his family. I had heard that when Bounce went home with Jack he had a fantastic time at Lake Eildon, so I was really excited about what we were going to do! We went for a ride on a motorbike, which was so much fun, and then I had a ride in a Ute. I was too small to see out the windscreen, so Jack put me on the front Bullbar! It was really dusty, but at least I could see where I was going!

When we got back to Jack's house he showed me some Yabbies that he had caught and cooked, ready to eat. Jack told me they taste like lobster, and that they are a very popular food in Australia, especially in the bush.

LUNCHTIME TREATS

I got to go home with Tyana and her family on the weekend, and what a great weekend it was! We all went out to Hungry Jacks for lunch, and yummmmm....it smelled so good! Tyana introduced me to her pet dog toy, who she said was really very friendly. To me he looked huge though, and I wasn't taking any chances! This photo was taken while I was hiding from him in my jumper.

MINIBEASTS

At the moment the children of 2F are learning all about Minibeasts, which are all kinds of insects and spiders! I watched a drama class where the children put on special costumes and pretended to be Minibeasts. There were worms, butterflies, ladybirds, spiders, caterpillars, slaters and crickets. We were learning about how insects and spiders hide from predators, especially using camouflage. The drama teacher pretended to be a bird, and whenever she came swooping down, all the insects had to curl up and hide. I hope the bird doesn't see me, because I haven't got anywhere to hide!

BEN'S HOUSE

Over the weekend I got to go home with Ben, and meet some of Bounce's relatives out in the bush. They were all very interested in how Bounce was going in Canada. I got to sit on the Boat with Ben and his parents took this great photo of us.

G'DAY AUSTRALIA

Oh my gosh! I'm so excited to have finally arrived in Australia! It's so lovely over here, and everyone is being really nice to me. As soon as I arrived Danielle and Kaejan gave me a tour of the school. Everyone I met was so interested in who I was and where I came from. I just love telling them about all my friends back in Owen Sound.



Afterwards we all went out to the playground and I spent some time getting to know everyone from 2F. I hope Danielle catches me at the bottom of the slide!

FAREWELL PARTY

I have been so lucky to be in grade 2/3E. The children have been lovely and they have all taken good care of me. Unfortunately it is time to continue my adventure and luckily for me I am going to Australia. I hear there is a very nice grade there and they are going to look after me. I will be going to Rowville Primary School and I will be in grade 2F. I wanted to say good bye to everyone so I decided to have a Farewell Party. The only problem was I can't cook so I had to ask my friends to make things for me! Boy did they do a great job. They brought in beautiful fresh fruit, cheese and biscuits, chips and cakes. Hayley was very clever and brought in juice boxes so we could have something to drink.

They made a guard of honour for me to walk through with Mitchell bringing me in. The Australian National Anthem was playing in the background. Then they sang Home Among the Gum Trees and introduced me to some Australian animals I am going to see when I arrive. The children were all keen to start eating the delicious food and they all shared with me.

ICE FORTS

The one last thing I wanted to do before I left Owen Sound was to go in a snow fort. The children of Sydenham were building the fort and Jennifer very kindly took me in. The children love building them and they quite often make them in their backyards.

I'M NOT A POLAR BEAR

Hayley took me home on the weekend and one of the days she took me took a charity event where these very silly people cut a hole in the ice and dived into the chilly water. This was all to raise money for charity. They then saw me and must have thought I was a polar bear and decided to take me for a swim too. It was freezing!! I quickly told them I was a black bear and lived in a forest and they quickly returned me to Hayley.

FIELD TRIP

What fun!I got to go to the Art Gallery and Library with 2/3ES yesterday. First we went to the library. There were so many good books there. I wish I had a library card. Joan, the librarian read us a story about Backbeard who was the hairiest pirate.
Next we went to the Art Gallery. There was an exhibition by Sally Thurlow. She had created 12 different sorts of canoes. It was interesting how she had created these canoes.

GETTING READY FOR AUSTRALIA

Today was another snow day but it was really funny because it was 10 degrees and raining. Mrs. Wynde and I have found out that they cancel buses when the roads are icy too. The snow had started to melt making the roads icy so we only had 11 children at school.

Mrs. Wynde is getting me prepared for Australia and is teaching the grade and I some Australian songs. Isaac,Marshall and I are practising G'Day G'Day.

The children and I have been learning about money. It is different here because they have pennies(1c), nickels (5c), dimes (10c), quarters (25c), loonies ($1.00) and twoonies ($2.00). They have set up a shop are are enjoying buying and selling things. I hope they don't sell me!

SKATING DAY

Oh boy! How lucky are we! We get to go skating in the middle of the day.
All the children in grade 2/3E had to remember to bring skates and a helmet to school. After first break at 11.30am Hayley held me on the bus to the Coliseum. When we arrived the children had to put on their skates and helmets. It was cold on the ice but my sweater kept me warm. Sheila taught me how to skate and looked after me when I fell.
Grade 2/3E and me got to skate for an hour. If you were a beginner you had a special place to skate and a beginner lesson.

VALENTINE'S DAY

Wow, they know how to celebrate Valentine's Day in Canada. The grade made little bags the day before and then this morning each child came in with little cards and gifts for each child and teachers and put them in the bags. I only received cards because I can't really eat chocolate or lollipops as they are not good for my teeth. The children then spent time looking through their bags and thanking everyone for their gifts and cards.

WIARTON WILLIE

I was so lucky last weekend because I got to spend the weekend at Mitchell's place. Saturday was Ground Hog Day! Wiarton Willie, a white groundhog, wakes up from his hibernation, crawls up the tunnel from his burrow and looks around. If he sees his own shadow, that means six more weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow that means early spring is on its way. Willie did not see his shadow today. Hooray, that means an early spring.
We did not go to Wiarton to see Willie but Mitchell and I went “on line” this morning to watch the Wiarton Willie webcam. We did not see him. In the afternoon I went for a drive with Mitchell’s family to a toy store called The Rocking Horse and we bought a birthday present for Mitchell’s cousin.
We found out at school on Monday that Mrs. Wynde got to cuddle Wiarton Willie at the parade and her husband took a photo. So you can see what Willie looks like
( not the real Willie though!)

TOBOGGANING

I am really enjoying my time in Owen Sound. The kids in grade 2/3 have so much fun. They do all these really great things on the weekend.This weekend Austin took me home and we went to his hockey match and also went to Jarrett's birthday. At Jarrett's birthday we went tobogganing. I had so much fun sitting with Austin in the toboggan.

SNOWCROSS RACES

I was such a lucky bear to be invited by Jarrett to the Snow Cross races at the Colliseum in Owen Sound on the weekend. Jarrett was in the races and came 4th. I watched with Caleb in the stands and then I got to sit in the snow mobile with Jarrett. It was so cool!Jarrett and his family do alot of racing and he was in races both Saturday and Sunday. He also played hockey on Sunday afternoon. Both Jarrett and I were very tired by the end of the weekend.

CRAZY CARPETING

What fun I had today!! We were finally able to go Crazy Carpeting. The children had to get dressed in all their snow gear and take plastic toboggans out to a small hill behind the school. They then put me on their laps and we went tobogganing down the hill. Yeah!!!

WRITING TIME

In our grade this morning we were learning about how to write an Explanation. Mrs. Wynde thought it would be a good idea to bring in a bike so the children could explain to me how to ride a bike. I had never seen one before and after sitting on the seat found out there was no way I could ride this one as my feet don't reach the pedals! We had fun talking about the parts of a bike and how and where we would ride it. Then we wrote a planner for our explanation. Tomorrow we would be writing it. I like writing but I find it hard to grip the pencil with my furry fingers.
Bye for now Buddy

BUDDY THE SCIENTIST.

Today I helped the grade 3 boys make some science discoveries. Did you know that magnets are ATTRACTED to most metals but not to me? We tested materials to see if they were attracted to magnets. We discovered that a steel can, spoon, keyring, gold , the chalkboard and our chair frames were attracted to the magnets but that Sam, an eraser, keys, an aluminium can and our chair seat weren't. The boys did some nice bookwork about our discoveries.

My Home

Hi, my name is Buddy and I am a black bear. My relatives live in heavily forested areas, bushes and wooded mountains of North America. They eat twigs, buds, nuts, berries, fruit and Salmon.

Me, I prefer the warmth of my classroom at Sydenham Community School, Owen Sound, Canada. My best human friends are the children of grade 2/3E. They share their chocolate milk and pizza with me. They are also teaching me new words and reading to me. At the moment it is snowing and the children have to get dressed in their snow pants, jackets, mittens and hats before they go outside. I am lucky I have a thick coat so all I need is my Owen Sound Windcheater. They take me outside and play on the equipment and build snow huts.