HOD BLHFHG - Unit 34

                                        Our final unit was fantastic! 

Our verse this week was Philippians 3:13-14

'Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.'

We read and copied a portion of the poem 'Try Again' by William Hickson. 

The first grader made great improvements with her print handwriting this year. She likes to rush but, when I can get her to slow down she really does a nice job! 

In history, we read about the tough, young life of Abraham Lincoln. Yet, he forgot the past and focused on his future in becoming our 16th president. We learned that Lincoln approved the building of the Transcontinental Railroad  that would cross America.  This would make travel easier, faster, and safer for Americans.

We read a story about the Irish and Chinese competing to see who could lay the most miles of track per day. The kids both enjoyed this story as it was filled with suspicion right until the end.  

Blasting through mountains and chiseling thru rock, we talked about the different layers of rock. We made this awesome Earth treat! 

With a pudding core, a Chocolate Chip rocky layer mantle, & a graham cracker crumbled as outer soil, these kids were eager to eat up their Earth! What a great little project to finish the year! 

The Chinese won the railroad race laying 10 miles of track in a day. When the railroad was finished, the nation was excited. 

What an amazing excerp from our history reading. Just these last few paragraphs of our history story really wrap up what it is all about!  This, my friends, is one reason why we will continue with Heart of Dakota! I love how even on our last day of school we are still feeling blessed by the lessons we learn from this curriculum.  Thank you Carrie for your hard work in perfecting this curriculum with even the smallest of details.  It has been such a blessing to our family! 

We learned that many pioneers needed their faith in God as they had many difficult trials and struggles. They sought different lives from the ones they know. As Christians, others should see the differences in our lives too.  We talked about Jesus' return and how we each need to be ready for that day.  Of course this brought up an interesting discussion with my children and I am happy to say that both kids agreed that they are ready for His return.  If you've asked Jesus in your heart, you too will have a home with him in heaven someday.

Their final art project was to then make a paint with evaporated milk and food coloring and paint the clouds that remind them of what heaven will look like. 

We topped off our week with a MEGA test/review that I typed up covering all the units discussed in our year with Beyond.  They freaked out when they saw how many pages I was stapling together but assured them it was just for review and they could take their time going thru the questions.  I was surprised on how much they remembered on their own. It honestly went quickly because they were able to answer most of them.  We worked on their packets together as I did have to remind them a few times of past units, or experiments we did, and they even looked in their  portfolios to find answers.  Overall, this was a great way to determine what they had learned for the year and I wanted to share it with everyone.  You can find a dropbox link to the free printable here:  End of Year Mega Unit Test/Review  We aren't charging for this, but if you could like our Facebook page HERE .... and leave us a comment review that would be appreciated.  :)

Of course, I found some printable report cards and have been completing them along the way! The kids were excited to have a report card! 

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What an amazing journey this year has been.  I cannot be more happy that I discovered this curriculum.  It has been exciting to my children and to myself all year long.  I cannot wait to unfold what next year has in Bigger!  Thank you so much for following us on our first year of homeschooling. I hope that you have been able to get some ideas or inspirations from our blog.  You can always still follow our day to day on our Facebook page HERE. 

It has been an exciting year and we're looking forward to starting Bigger in the fall. Stay tuned for continued blogging of our journey. 

Thank you! 

Be blessed! 

HOD BLHFHG - Unit 33

Happy Mothers Day to all the beautiful moms reading. Hope you enjoyed your special day with your little blessings as much as I did. We had a great day, cooked out, played outside washing the cars, and ended the day at our favorite frozen yogurt spot! 

This week our verse was Proverbs 17:22. 

'A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.'

Our poem was so cute! Four Seasons by Anonymous

Look at that cursive, Folks! That, my friend, is what I call improvement from the beginning of the year! Yay! Love the effort my son puts into his Copywork!  No fuss... no fight.... he just gets it done and it is beautiful.  Be encouraged because persistence makes a difference! 

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In History, we read about a little girl that moved with her family to the Great Plains from beautiful Norway.  She was saddened by the new flat land because it was so different from the beautiful cliffs of Europe.  The farmland had been given to them from the Farmland Act.  They trusted God and moved to America to begin a new life.  They built a sod house and prepared the fields in hopes of a magnificent harvest. 

We read that shortly after their sod house was built came a snow storm. The project was to cut out snowflakes but we modified with a little Epsom Salt water painting. The kids enjoyed this and we may add this as my daughters FROZEN birthday party activity. 

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We talked about the soil of the Earth and how it differs in color based on the area of land and the minerals in the soil.

We talked about how the Indians taught the pioneers how to grow crops.  The land needed more work to be ready to sow in the Great Plains. 

The kids made green playdough and then they formed it into this giant dough seed. We labeled the parts as food sack, seed coat, and new plant. 

The kids also drew and labeled a picture in their sketch book.  

Our baby caterpillars finally hatched out of their cocoons and the kids absolutely loved the watching this experience! They were in total awe as they imagined what it might be like to have their body transform into a new creature. To have wings all of a sudden and be able to fly after creepy crawling around as a caterpillar just days before.

We got to feed them sugar water on carnations for a few days and then we let them go in the front yard.  I highly recommend observing the change and sharing this experience with your little ones. Amazing! 

It was a fun week and we are looking forward to wrapping up the year next week! 

See you then! 

Be blessed

Hod BLHFHG - Unit 32

Our verse this week was Proverbs 18:24.  

'A man of many companions may come to ruin, 

but there is a friend who is closer than a brother.'

The kids had fun with the song this week. Who else laughed at their kids having a friend who "stinks"...  Lol!  I couldn't help control the unending giggling. 

In history, we read a story about a young girl on the Oregon Trail named Nell that had to stay at home with her young twin brothers while her dad took their ill mother to town.  Her dad showed her how to use a pistol just in case of danger while he was away. After the children had all fallen asleep, Nell heard a loud growl. She awoke to a huge brown bear standing in their doorway.  She was afraid and threw a jar of molasses out the doorway to distract the bear. Next, Nell closed the door and went to the window and fired a gun shot at the bear. The bear ran away into the woods. 

       

We studied more about bears and tried what it might be like with paws instead of fingers. The kids  put socks on their hands as paws and both had fun trying to pick up different objects.  They soon understood why the bear swatted at the jug of molasses instead of grabbing it.  

The kids couldn't believe they could weigh up to 1700 pounds!  WOW!

We read more about bears and the kids sketched a picture of the largest bear, an Alaskan brown bear or Kodiak bear. The fantastic drawing above is by my 6 yo. Pretty cute! 

Love these history worksheets for the kids to complete each week.  It's really great for double checking their comprehension of the reading. 

We read about California becoming the 31st state as everyone rushed to California for gold. We talked about panning for gold and why so many were seeking fortune.  There was a story about 2 stage coaches racing from San Francisco to San Jose to tell the great news! The kids enjoyed the race! 

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The kids math sheets have still been going well. 

A little messy because of rushing but, she understands the process and is adding correctly. Proud of her! 

Our Art Project in action. Painting the globe! Yes, those are ruffles around the edges of her land. LOL...

My son did a great job on his drawing of the globe too.  

In our bible reading, we read that God is always here to help us.  He watches over the world and holds the Earth in his hands watching over his creations. We sketched a globe and outlined it in pastels. The kids then used water colors. 

We made these cute outlines of their hands together with a heart in the middle! The kids enjoyed this project. 

We are looking forward to finishing up the year soon. The weather has been amazing outside and our activities are piling up. 

See you next week! 

Be blessed! 

HOD - BLHFHG Unit 31

We started the week with a shipment of caterpillars. 

The kids were so excited to find the Insect Lore box

 in the mail!  They have both been anxiously awaiting this! 

We ordered 5 wiggly babies and we are going to watch them change into beautiful butterflies!  I know life cycles will be discussed in more detail in HOD's Bigger but, we couldn't wait!  The kids drew the life cycle of a butterfly in a journal and we recorded their changes each day.  

Each day the kids were eager to run to the jar each morning to see the changes these little guys made.  They marveled at each small detail and recorded it in their journals.

Watching their excitement learning about this life cycle was simply priceless!

This is what the little guys looked like. We could watch them eat and even shed their skin. Impressive! 

They ate and ate and grew and grew! 

Then, they climbed to the top and hung in J shapes.

                                                

Yes, we  documented the changes that we saw visually. Their drawings were so entertaining & cute! 

I'm amazed at how quickly these little wiggles are growing! They soon made their chrysalis and hung from the top of the jar.  

Then we pinned them onto the side of their butterfly netted garden.   Now we wait a few more days unit they emerge as painted lady butterflies!

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Our verse this week was about worrying. Matthew 6:25-26 

How we often need to be reminded of how much more valuable we are than the birds of the air. 

The poem this week was cute! Whether the Weather...  The kids tried to say it fast like a tongue twister! 

My little one was getting a little messy on her Copywork as she was rushing to get it finished quickly, so I had her begin tracing a little of my yellow guidelines. This helped in making her very conscious of how I'd like it to be written.   This is so much better than her rush work.

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In history, we read about Independence, Missouri. There were 3 trails leading out of the small city:  The Oregon Trail, California Trail, & Sante Fe Trail.  The kids traced the routes on their maps. We located the mountain passes, rivers, and plains. 

The kids sketched a picture of the boy from our story.  Notice the mouth organ aka: harmonica. Lol! Love the way she drew it! 

Our story this week was about a father and his boy, Nick, that were headed to Sante Fe on the trail. The boy had lost his hat in a storm on the long journey across the plains.  Hats were very useful and the boy wanted one of the big sombreros that others were wearing in Sante Fe. He tried to trade a few of his things for a used, black, hat that a young boy was wearing but, the young boy did not want to trade. Nick reached into his pocket and found his favorite mouth organ and started blowing 'Yankee Doodle'.  Nick didn't really want to give up his instrument and worried as he loved playing songs but, the other boys eyes gleamed and was finally willing to trade. Just as Nick was going to trade, his dad showed up and placed a special brand new sombrero on his head.  Nick was so happy as he slid his mouth organ back into his pocket.  

We listened to Yankee Doodle over and over again as the kids danced around a hat just like they would at a Spanish fiesta. 

She wanted to be Nick with the hat that was to big for him. 

It was hard to get a pic of this one being still while the song was on. Lol! 

We worked with contractions this week.  I made up this cute game and both kids did well with it. Yay!  

The little one is doing great with her addition and subtraction.  This week we worked on finding the missing numbers and adding multiple numbers.  The boy was working on multiplying and dividing.  

This week we also added a sombrero onto our timeline marking the Sante Fe Trail in 1825. The kids have really enjoyed the timelines we've made this year and reference them often as we are discussing history. 

A rainy week has kept us inside doubling up on our units. The kids didn't seem to mind the extra knowing that their summer break is just around the corner. 

See you next week! 

Be blessed!