Bigger Hearts for His Glory- Unit 34

Happy Mother's Day to all the homeschooling Mom's out there! This sweet note from my student brightened my day! 

Our final week with Bigger Hearts for His Glory...  What an amazing curriculum.  I can't say enough about how blessed we have been through finding Heart of Dakota.

This week we read about the Moreno family who were migrant workers. Their lives were filled with hard work and long hours.  The workers showed respect to their contractor as we should show respect to God.  We also read about the Bui Family. After the Vietnam War, they were left to suffer with a Communist government in South Vietnam.  They feared their government and the military.  They were eventually allowed to come to America from Malaysia.

We learned that this kind of fear is different from being in reverence or awe of the Lord.  The Lord doesn't want us to be scared of Him.  He is a just God.

After President Jefferson approved the Louisiana Purchase, the United States doubled in size. We now have 50 states and some outlying islands.  We are grateful for our freedom and thankful to the men and woman who fought and died. We learned that God has blessed America through the years.

We learned that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France for America's 100th birthday.  She stands in the New York Harbor and welcomes all who come to the United States.  The kids cut out the Lady Liberty's crown and wrote the poem that is on the pedestal of the statue. 

We listened and sang "America, the Beautiful"...  There is something special about listening to your children sing along to a song that has much more meaning at my age than at theirs.  I can only pray that they will see the value of our great land as they grow.


We finished our reading of Thomas A. Edison.  We learned that he was an inventor.  He invented the light bulb before there were any electric lights.

Our state requires end of the year testing.  This week we also did the CAT test.  The kids did great from what I can tell.   We will send off for processing and then send the results to our school administration.

We finished the week with a 30 page Bigger Hearts for His Glory End of the Year Packet.  Aka:  Test.  I made one last year with Beyond also.  Of course, it is just for me to see what my kiddos have retained throughout the year.  They are allowed to use their resources and work together to find the answers and then we go over the correct answers together also.  If  you are interested in this test for your little ones, please like us on Facebook  HERE and send me a message with your email and I will provide you with more information. Thanks!  

 

We are looking forward to a nice summer break with amusement parks, beaches, and family reunions! Then, starting Preparing in the fall. I know it will be a great year too! These books get me excited! Can't wait! 

Have a safe summer! See you in the fall!

Bigger Hearts for His Glory- Unit 33

Wright Brothers National Museum - Kitty Hawk, NC

This week we talked about visionary.  Our verse was Proverbs 14:6, "The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.

We read about 'The World's Fair' showing the progress made around the world in science, art, and literature.

We read about Cal Rogders who wanted to fly the Vin Fiz from the east coast to the west coast in 30 days to win a prize.  He crashed many times along the way and took 49 days to get to the Pacific Ocean.  His accomplishment was the first man to fly across the country in an airplane in spite of all the obstacles.













We also read about the talented African American, Louis Armstrong.  We learned that at the young age of 21, he set forth on an unknown path.  He left New Orleans in 1922 to head to Chicago, Illinois to join Papa Joe Oliver's jazz band.  We listened to some classics and our state song, 'Carry Me Back to Old Virginny' sung by Louis Armstrong & the Mills Brothers. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUY-69YOziA  

Louis Armstrong became famous all over the world for his incredible musical talent!

For art this week, the kids took a look at www.50states.com to see our state license plate.

They drew and colored their state plate.  They took a little liberty in their designs.


We read about the Panama Canal and learned that it shortened the route from San Francisco  to New York by over 8000 miles.  The kids were able to locate Panama on the map and identify the isthmus.

We experimented with chemicals to see what makes a mixture foam up. The chemical reaction was impressive to say the least! 

We added a tap of baking soda to a glass of water. There was little reaction. 

When we added a teaspoon of baking soda to the vinegar, the reaction was quick to overflow! The kids were impressed! We learned it's never okay to test chemicals on people! 

We experimented an learned that a chemical reaction is when 2 substances combine together to make a new substance. Baking soda and lemon juice combines to make a carbon dioxide gas. 

The kids thought this drink was yummy! 

We read that Tom Edison invented his own telegraph to talk to his buddy.  Then he later got a job on a train. 

Our big event of the week was the field trip to visit Kitty Hawk to solidify the Wright Brothers Book we have been reading.

 The kids loved already knowing so much about the 2 brothers and their family. 

It was neat to watch their faces light up as they recognized another part of the story. 

The plane and glider were so neat to see up close! 

These are the sheds the brothers worked in each year. 

"Hey Mom, look isn't this a centennial?"   That's our vocabulary word this week!   Always neat when they recognize one of the words! 

The kids were able to climb and play on an outside large replica of the plane! This was a favorite part of our day for sure! 

Of course, we couldn't leave without a souvenir. 

These boys have been playing for 2 days with these Wright Flyer planes. Cute!! 

What a great week! 

Looking forward to our final Unit next week! See you then! 

Bigger Hearts for His Glory- Unit 32

This week the character trait we studied was Patience.  Our verse was Proverbs 14:6.  'Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.  Cast but a glance at riches and they are gone for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.'

In our finale of the Wright Brothers book, we learned that the boys were patient as they tried many different ways to better their invention.  Their plane flew and no one believed the Wright's.  They were patient in waiting for the government officials from France and the United States to decide what they should do with their flying machine.  

This week we talked about the 4 different forces that help planes fly.  The kids spun around with a stuffed animal and noticed their animal lifting as it spun. 

Gravity; we dropped 2 objects at the same time. 

As  we rubbed our hands together we created friction.  Friction slows the plane down.  Propellers pull the plane forward and  the friction from the air pulls the plane back.  We learned that this is called 'Drag.'

We learned that an engine thrusts the plane forward thru the air. We used their powered remote control cars to show the thrust the car has as it goes forward. 

Since Daddy is a pilot.... the kids have really enjoyed learning about the Wright Brothers and learning  how planes fly.  Couldn't resist posting this silly pic of how planes fly.  LOL! 

We took a closer look at the past 100 Years of Flight by Bill Sweetman. 

In geography, we used a globe and map to locate France; the area where Wilbur perfected his flights.  I printed out the blank map here:  http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxfrance.htm

We learned that Paris is the capitol of France.  The kids drew the France flag and labeled the map with the areas that Wilbur visited. 

We talked about the Eiffel Tower and the kids colored a picture of it I found online. 

This week in our book we read that Thomas Edison fell through the ice.   He wondered why the ice looked lighter in the areas that weren't frozen solid.  

We experimented by freezing a shallow amount of water in a small bowl.  

The kids were able to poke there finger through the center easily and realized that the water turned into a solid ice on the sides.  

We read that Thomas Edison and his family moved to Detroit.  Thomas wanted to take along his goose, Lulu.  

The Edison family rode a steam engine train to their new home in Detroit.  Thomas got to ride with the train conductor and asked many questions about how things worked.  We watched this quick youtube video showing how a steam engine works.  The kids thought this was so neat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8LrAsL4oH0

We experimented and learned about the 3 parts of matter; solid, liquid, and gas. 

We dropped one drop of food coloring into both a cold and hot glass of water. The cold glass of water kept the food coloring close together and the color slowly moved around. When we placed a drop into the hot water, the color moved about quickly and spread throughout the glass. 

We wrote down our experiment findings for our science experiment notebook. 

We learned that solids have slow moving or even still particles, liquids move quicker but still bump into each other, and the particles in gas move very quickly.  Water becomes steam when heated. Water becomes frozen into ice when it is cold. 

 

We also learned that heat is transferred  through metal easiest.  The wood burning stove soon replaced the fireplaces. 

Our vocabulary words this week were aviator, inscription, and beret.  The little girl wanted to wear her sequined dance 'beret' all day! 

In math, my 4th graders learned how to add, subtract, and simplify mixed numbers.  We had a competition on the dry erase board to earn a piece of chocolate!  That was the ticket in our 2 day lesson.  So awesome getting to see the light bulbs turn on for your kids when they finally understand something they have been struggling with.  We love homeschooling!

 

We had another great week in Bigger.  Only 2 more units to go for this year!  Yay! 

See you next week!