The Learning Curve

We're taking a trip across Canada...Kind of.

We're following a journey with Honey over at Sunflower Schoolhouse and we are quite excited about it.  Squirt was just asking all kinds of questions about Canada, especially after the Olympics and hearing where all the different Canadian athletes were from so this will be good for him.

So far, since Squirt was born, we've traveled through part of Saskatchewan (north of our home mostly) as well as Drumheller and parts of southwestern Alberta and into British Columbia (Okanogan region).  This summer we are hoping to hit southern Saskatchewan and into the Manitoba area.  Hubby and I toured the Riding Mountain Park area many years ago and would love to travel there again so fingers crossed that time will allow such a holiday this summer.

As we go on our journey, I will post our trip here and I will try to post pictures.  I misplaced my camera cord and the computer refuses to read the camera memory card so will have to search for the cord this weekend.  I know I was downloading pictures to the laptop over summer while we were camping so I'm thinking it might be in the camper.  I do know I will definately be posting links and images about this beautiful province I call home and talking about the things we have here.

Like I tell everyone not familiar with Saskatchewan - the only thing flat and straight about this whole province are the borders!

We have been using Story of the World as a basis for our Social Studies, History and Geography programs.  We've spent a lot of time exploring the different countries of the world via SOTW and Squirt knows not only where Egypt is but the surrounding countries as they were and as they are.

But I've decided that for the next couple months we are going to focus a little closer to home.

So starting today, we are going to explore Canada.  We will be learning about Canada's rich history, the Aboriginal peoples, the provinces, resources, economy and all that kind of stuff.  But we will also be focusing on Saskatchewan - our home province.

I decided this after a discussion DH and I had last night about what we're going to do this summer.

In June we are going to the science centre in Regina with the Beaver Scouts.  We will even be spending the night IN the science centre so the Beavs are looking forward to that one!  Watching IMAX as well...It is going to be a fun trip!

So then we started talking about how to extend this into a family holiday like we did with the Scout trip to Drumheller, Alberta last June.  We went to Drumheller for the weekend with the Scouts, then extended our trip and visited the Calgary Zoo, Pincher Creek, Frank Slide and took the "scenic route" through the mountains and down into the Okanogan and back up into Banff, Alberta and home again.

So I thought, why can we not do the same thing this year BUT keep it in Saskatchewan?  And what a better way to reinforce what we have learned about Saskatchewan than to explore a small corner of it?

DH agreed...but then added...

"Or, we could get our passports and maybe head down into the States and take him to see Yellowstone.  And we never did make it into the Dakotas.  I'd like to visit them someday so maybe this year since I'm planning on at least two full weeks..."...

So I guess holiday plans are still in the discussion phase...And two full weeks?  I am still reeling from that announcement since he hasn't taken two full weeks of holidays since 1995 when we won a cruise on a clipper ship!

Anyways, you would think being Canadian and having lived in Saskatchewan I would KNOW what we're going to study right off the get go.

Oh...so wrong!

And I've come to realize just how much a person takes for granted and just lets slip by when it is part of a person's daily life.

• I can tell you the name of the governor of California...but I honestly had to look up to see just who our MLA and our MP were!
• I know who the president of the US is (and yes, the prime minister of Canada)...And I could tell you who were the two who ran together against Obama...but I had to look up to see who leads the opposition party of this country and the leaders of the parties who ran against Harper!
• I can tell you the name of Obama's wife and that they have two girls...but I honestly couldn't tell you a single thing about Stephen Harper's family...I can now tho!  His wife's name is Laureen, and they have two children, Benjamin and Rachel.

I could go on...and on...

Just goes to show how American television is such a part of our lives.

I think I'd better start watching the CBC a bit more.  Dad will be happy with that.

Dawn over here got me thinking about it with her post and reminded me of just how lucky we are living in Canada.

I have always appreciated the fact that we in Canada have universal health care...Just as I appreciate the fact that I live in the province that started the whole trend.  After my mother's lengthy fight against cancer, that appreciation was even more so due to the fact that we did not have to worry about health care costs while spending the last days with Mom.

But sometimes, you take those things for granted and tend to let the appreciation slide by the wayside and you have to be reminded about just how lucky you are - thanks Dawn for the reminder!!!

Yesterday, Squirt twisted his ankle.  It started to swell almost immediately and I was concerned that there was more damage than just a twisted ankle.  I called his doctor who said that he would likely just send him straight to the ER and the hospital for xrays anyways so he suggested we just head straight there.

Cost of the phone call to talk to the doctor about this matter?  Nothing.

So I loaded up Squirt and off to the hospital ER we went.  We were promptly met by a nurse at the door who immediately retrieved a wheelchair for me to place wimpering little man in.  Then she immediately wheeled him into an examination room.

Total time from door to examination room: possibly 2 minutes.

She called for the doctor and while we waited we began to fill out the necessary forms.  I was in the process of retrieving Squirt's Health Services Card from my purse when the doctor walked in.

Total wait for the doctor: 10 minutes at the most.

She examined his ankle and announced that she was pretty certain nothing was broken (which immediately calmed my crying child - bonus!!!) but she wanted to make sure there wasn't any hairline fractures so she called down to xray and asked if we could get him in there still.

Yup.

No problem.

The nurse wheeled Squirt to the elevator and I followed along as the two of them chatted - about Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, by the way - and she left us with our forms by the xray room.  It was a very short time later that a young gentleman came out, wheeled us into the room and proceeded to take xrays.

Total wait time from getting to the room until the technician started to take the xrays: 15 minutes maximum.

After that, we were wheeled back upstairs and I sat in the examine room again as we waited for the results.

Wait time: we might have waited 10 minutes tops.  I wasn't really keeping track by this time simply because Squirt was feeling much better and was complaining about having to wait "forever" and having forgotten his DS in the truck.  Yeah...Put on your big boy underwear and deal with it...such is life, dear child of mine...

The doctor came in, announced that there were no breaks, no fractures and proceeded to wrap his ankle in a tensor bandage.

Cost of bandage: nothing.  They felt sorry for me because I happened to have no money on me.  Usually it would cost $ 4.50 the receptionist winked when she told me.  (I am going to go back there and pay them for it...I just didn't have cash on my yesterday and Hubby needed my truck today as his employees had the van at another site...)

Total cost out of pocket for yesterday's adventure: 0...Zero...Zip...Nada...

Well, there was the $1 that I had to stick in the parking meter, which also happened to be all the money I had in my purse at the time - but we won't include that in health care costs.

And we got home before Hubby and we still had supper before 6 in the evening.