Bigger Hearts for His Glory - Unit 20

One of the greatest part of homeschooling is all the fun little surprises along the way!  This was too funny not to share!!   So, does anyone remember the yucky mold project about microorganisms from several units back?  LOL!  The hubby sent me this text after he discovered a mysterious Tupperware when he was cleaning out the fridge....  and I nearly fell over laughing.  Shout out to all the homeschooling Daddy's out there that get to put up with our CraZy Science Experiments!

 (FYI:  It was actually incredible and the hairs growing on it were so very soft, no odor, and the kids actually even "petted"  our mold before we threw it away!)   

Good times! 
What a fantastic week with Heart of Dakota!  We learned a lot about loyalty this week.

Our verse was Proverbs 20:6.

We learned this week about William Henry Harrison.  He went into medicine but, soon George Washington made the young officer in the army into a soldier.  He was loyal to his country.

William Henry Harrison met with Tecumseh to see if they could come to an agreement.  He was an Indian leader who united the Indians to fight against the US.  Tecumseh wanted the settlers to go back to the other side of the Alleghany Mountains. 

Benjamin Franklin once said, "There was never a good war or bad peace."  We talked about the reasons both Indians and settlers wanted the land.  Indians wanted to go to war to save their land and to keep things the way they always had been.  The settlers wanted the land that the Indians had sold them and to move further east.  They wanted peace and wanted the Indians to leave them alone.

Both leaders, Tecumseh and Harrison were brave.  The Indians were loyal to Tecumseh and the settlers were loyal to America.  The kids played war with the playing cards. The Indians were the red cards and the settlers were the black cards.  They enjoyed this fun game.

We read about Captain Lawrence's famous last words, "Don't give up the ship."

We learned that Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner on the back of an old envelope while watching an attack from a British ship.

We watched this inspiring tribute about Francis Scott Key's, Star Spangled Banner.  You can find it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avHie2qV4_E   This was an eye opener to my kids and they all showed reverence and understanding after watching this.

Francis Scott Key was a loyal American.

The kids art this week was to use a straw to blow their paint in a splatter like pattern toward the center of black paper. 

This was definitely a different way of doing their art!  The kids thought it was funny. 

Next, the kids wrote 2 lines of the Star Spangled Banner. 

Our art was to show the lights they saw when they heard the bombs bursting in air. 

We read more in our pioneer book and learned about the backwoods schools.  The kids find learning about the ways they lived then to be very interesting.  Often the one room schoolhouses were filled in the winters as there wasn't as much work to be done.  The teacher was often a male and was usually very strict to keep the boys in line. 

 We learned a 'new' way to measure even when you don't have a yard stick.   The kids used a string to measure their arm span. 

Next, they measured from their feet to the top of their heads and to their surprise their arm span was very close to the same as their height! 

We read about the farms the pioneers had and the baby animals they raised. We learned about the different kinds of fences that they made by hand because they did not have the tools we have today.  

Then, the kids built some different kinds with our Lincoln Logs! 

 

With much war in the early years of American History, we learned that many great men and women were a part of making America strong and free.  We must not forget the sacrifices or price these early patriots paid for our freedom that we enjoy today.  The kids finished the week writing our Pledge of Allegiance in their history note booking pages. 

This week we listened to the hymn, Eternal Father, Strong to Save.  I love adding these hymns into our weekly lessons. 

I don't say it enough but, my how we love Heart of Dakota.  I am so thankful for this great curriculum.  I love teaching my children about history and showing them the relevance the past has on our present and future.  I love how Heart of Dakota weaves the Lord into our lessons and shows just how present He was and is. 

Hope everyone had a great week.  If you are reading through my blog, please let me know your thoughts or any questions or comments you may have.  Thank you!

See you next week!