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!