Preparing Hearts for His Glory
This week we had so much fun learning about the early civilization in Egypt. Conveniently, there was an Egyptian Festival and Bazaar in our town that we were able to visit and see some of the artifacts. papyrus, and clothing firsthand.
We learned that the Egyptians used hieroglyphics to write. Overtime their writings became unrecognized and a man set forth on a journey to break the code with what is known as the Rosetta Stone. The kids loved hearing about this neat bit of history and wanted to know more about hieroglyphics.
The kids enjoyed each using a hieroglyphics stencil to write their own names.
The kids were easily able to fill in the stencil shapes to spell their own name. You can find the Hieroglyphic stencil inexpensively priced here: http://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=032261
The kids did great with their Draw & Write projects this week. They drew a sarcophagus and a pyramid.
Our history project this week was to make Egyptian Cartouches. The kids mixed up the salt/flour dough and each had the chance to make their own.
We rolled the dough and then shaped it. Then using a toothpick they engraved the design of Queen Hatshepsut.
We let them dry for several days... Flipping it over back and forth. (Dries best on both sides if you can prop it up standing it on end.) The kids were anxious to paint their cartouche.
The kids learned that the circle around the outside was to signify importance of the person it represented. These turned out so good! We carved their names and year on the back too and my son added a hole at the top of his so we could add it to our tree at Christmas!
After they dried, the kids dabbed brown paint onto their cartouches and let them dry. Looking good! I love how they are each unique. My only recommendation with this is to have the kids dab the paint into the engraved areas first and wipe as you go so that it is darker in those areas. Our paint dried really quickly and then wouldn't wipe off as well as we would have liked.
In Science, we learned that animals and bugs live inside cactus to help keep them cool and safe from predators. We learned that the waxy layer helps protect the cactus and keeps the juicy layer inside from drying out. The kids drew a picture and labeled the layers of the cactus.
We read about Abram this week and how God chose him and promised him the land of Israel. Abram obeyed God, left his land and his family and God fulfilled his promises.
Drawn Into the Heart of Reading
The DITHOR biography report was due this week for all 4 of my kiddos. They each had their own reports to work on. I love how the people they chose all reflect their different personalities.
After completing their daily DITHOR workbook, they were each assigned a type of book report. Living Poster, Life Size Scroll, and Water Color/Pastel. To help them gather the facts they each started with the above Biography Graphic Organizer.
The 3rd grader made a living poster board character of her chosen, Betsy Ross. She thought this was so silly but, it was cute and she had a lot of fun making the 5 pointed stars and the simple paper bonnet. She also liked designing her dress and making a flag. She learned that Betsy Ross was a hard worker and was diligent with her sewing. Despite being widowed three times and losing a child she pressed on in her sewing shop.
The 5th grade project was a Life Size Scroll biography project. They outlined each others bodies and then made their outline into their biography character.
They spent a good bit of time on their character. One 5th grader chose, Dale Earnhardt, JR. and was extremely detailed with his artwork. He learned that Dale Earnhardt, JR. had to work hard to earn the fame and position he is in today. He overcame difficult times in his life and pressed on.
The other son chose Harry Houdini. He learned that he overcame difficulties and tasks and was famous for escaping! These were big & fun projects that the kids all really enjoyed. It definitely broke up the monotony of our school week routine. They even had homework to complete the projects. Reminded me why homeschool moms don't give weekend homework! LOL!
Our oldest wrote a 2 page typed report on his favorite basketball star, LeBron James. He learned that LeBron grew up without knowing his father and at an early age started working hard to accomplish his dreams.
Additionally, he made this awesome project with pastels, water colors, and a copied face of his character. I think it turned out great. This is my anti-artsy kid... being pulled from public school after 9 years doesn't understand why he can't just answer multiple choice questions for his complete education. I'm working on breaking that mindset and he's been doing amazing so far as we take on all these "silly projects". He's always so proud when he completes them!
Resurrection to Reformation
This week in history, the task was to make a grid and follow the directions given. Of course, my public school minded young man again didn't see the value in this. It turned out great though! I am really proud of his effort.
We are still loving these beautiful HOD note booking history pages.
I still need to work on getting more legible penmanship. His cursive isn't much better but, hopefully with enough encouragement he will get better as the year goes on. Still love and enjoying seeing his reverence to the Lord shine through in his writing.
This week in Science the experiment was to create a model to show the layers of the earth. He followed the recipe and it still turned out a little crazy! Our core wasn't placed in the exact center and so he had to make 2 slices to find it but, he could see the layers! LOL! Not our best but, he said it was YUMMY and was happy about the afternoon snack!
With that being said.... We did decide to make the change to Apologias General Science. I've ordered the coordinating notebooking pages as recommended and can't wait to get started with a little more advanced science that will be counted as a credited class on his transcript! YAY for progress!
Thanks for following our homeschool journey one unit at a time!
See you then!
See you then!
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