HoD BLHFHG - Unit 20

It's been another exciting week with Heart of Dakota! 

Our verse this week was Proverbs 12:24.   We talked about what it means to be diligent and lazy.  The kids really stepped it up this week with their work and showed me just how diligent they could be. I was very proud of them! 

We added the word diligent to our vocabulary.  I loved hearing the kids trying to use it and having to explain what it means several times during the week. We are working hard to be very diligent in all we do.  

A couple of weeks ago, we added these simple round tokens to our school days. These little wooden circles have been amazing at keeping the kids on task and they love the immediate rewards. I purchased them at AC Moore and used sharpie markers to add creative rewards like:  15 minute computer time,  pick out a Netflix movie, choose their favorite cereal at the store,  stay up 10 minutes past bedtime, sweet treat, pj day,  sleepover with friend... Game night their game choice, etc.  

They are SO motivated! :)

They can earn them by doing things before they have to be told, listening the first time, showing Godly character traits, and getting their work completed on time. 

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In history, we read that Colonial children often attended school in homes or in one room schoolhouses. We learned that the schoolhouse had a fireplace on one end and the windows were not glass but of oil paper.  There were long benches and the older children would sit in the back and younger children closer to the teacher. We learned that if the children did not do their lessons they would have to stand on a chair in the corner wearing a DUNCE hat.  I think both kids jaws dropped to the floor when I read that! 

We read about how the Puritan children were given awards monthly and the ones who did their lessons got a colored ribbon and the others got a black ribbon. 

We made our own ribbons in art! 

My optimistic daughter said in regards to students that got the black ribbons... "Well, at least they got a ribbon at all! They should at least be happy about that!" Lol...  

On the way home from school that day, two of the  children were surprised when an Indian jumped out at them. He wanted to steal from and capture them. The young boy thought quickly and stood up to the Indian with his bright, red ribbon.  He gave it to the Indian and told him to run & go tell his village. The Indian did just that!  The children ran home as fast as a rabbit! 

We talked about how rabbits are known for their quickness. We learned God made each animal special. The kids nor I could twitch our ears but, we did try to jump like a kangaroo, hold our breath like the sperm whale, and flap our wings like a small hummingbird. 

We talked about as the sun sets we see different colors.  We did a science experiment & placed a drop of milk in a glass to cloud the water.  We were able to see different colors on the wall when we shone the flashlight thru the glass. 

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We finished our book review on First Flight. The kids were excited to learn this was actually a true story. We also added the Wright Brothers to our 1900 timeline when they first visited Kitty Hawk. 

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We began reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We made it to chapter 3 and the kids were begging me to read more.  It is captivating their little minds each time I read to them.  They really enjoy this and look forward to our story time.    

I found some great Valentine math sheets reviewing shapes and addition with double digits. You can get them too from my Pinterest homeschool page here.

We are progressing on our state study. The kids are enjoying the state coloring pages. They show state flags, birds, flowers and give other pertinent information. They are keeping the pages in a special "state folder" and find & color the actual state we are working on a US  map as we go.  This has been a fantastic and lively addition to Beyond during our winter blues.

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We started reading the Christian Liberty Nature Reader.  This week we talked about several different kinds of wasps. The kids learned that social wasps live in a colony and isolated wasp live alone.  The kids both decided they would prefer to be social like a paper wasp in a colony rather than being isolated as a digger or mud wasp. 

We also talked about spiders and how God made them. Since I DEPiSE the little creatures... this was a good lesson for me. We learned how God gave them special ways to stay safe and protect their babies. This book really has us saying, "God sure thought of everything!" 

We wrapped up the week by reading from 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9. We read how Paul showed by example how to work diligently. He warned not to be idle. The Puritans followed this example and worked diligently during the week and rested on the Sabbath. 

Our activity was to assign the children a task and have them work diligently on it and not be idle.  This was an awesome activity for me to get some extra help...   :)   Even if I had to show them exactly where it said in the guide they needed to unload the dishwasher! Lol! 

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We have started to go back thru the Early Readers Bible and this time the kids are finding a quiet spot and reading the stories on their own.  They are taking a closer look at the stories. I ask them questions and we talk about the stories after they've read it. 

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In our journal writing, I gave them the following prompt:

                 Have you ever wondered why...

and this was my dd response:

                "...God made his only son Jesus die on the cross for our sins?"

This really touched my heart and am so very grateful that I'm able to homeschool these little ones. How amazing it is to be able to teach them about God and pray with them. This journal writing was my encouragement for the week. Makes all the struggles disappear when you see such a sweet innocence come out in their writings.   Be encouraged homeschool friend...  I know there are bumps in the road each week.  If I could only count the times someone has responded to me when they hear I homeschool, "I don't know how you do it!"  I always say, every day is a new day and in the end... it is all worth it! 

I can't seem to say it enough.... Heart of Dakota has been such a huge blessing to our family and has me anxious to see what is in the next unit!  

Hope you've each had a great week. 

Be blessed.