Preparing & Res to Ref - Unit 9

Preparing Hearts for His Glory

This week we studied the meaning of names.  The kids searched for the meanings of their first and middle names ...  The referenced site from the guide did not exist so we just googled and of course there were many sites that provided the info we needed.  The kids made signs for their doors. They included pictures of things they enjoy and  characteristics that make each of them special. 

We talked about Greece this week and learned that in Ancient Greece they believed in 12 fairy tale gods.  We learned that our God is the one true God.

We read about the story of the Trojan horse.  The kids thought it was such an interesting story and are loving reading the Trojan Horse Book on their own.

The kids drew their own!

We learned that 2 long poems were written by Homer - Illiad and Odyssey. 

 The kids took such a fascination to this topic, so I found a great site with some excellent freebies.  We put together a lapbook about Ancient Greece.  

They colored the sheets, cut, flies, and put them together with little help onto a folder. 

There were a lot of pieces but, overall this is something they can do on their own.  I do help them with the research. 

I love how she used a string to close her lapbook. 

When we put this together it looked really great! The kids love lapbooks and are really proud of them when they complete them. 

I love that they are unique and different. These can be timely but, the history project this unit was simple so it fit well into this unit. 

You can find the link here:  Ancient Greece Lapbook

Resurrection to Reformation - Unit 9 

He was excited about the cookie project! Let's start baking! 

The dough was extremely crumbly and he ended up mixing with his hands too. 

We used Wilton icing colors to make bold coloring for our cookies. It wouldn't mix in with a spoon so we used the mixer. 

The colors were bright and dark.  They looked like balls of play dough!

Love the plastic sheets over his guide especially while we are cooking! 

We put the dough into the fridge in 3 colored balls. 

We removed the dough after about 30 minutes and divided into one inch balls. 

We baked 30 minutes on 300' and the shapes didn't expand or change much at all.

I personally wasn't a fan of these but, the kids ate them up quick! 

The Draw and Write through History is going a little better.  I think he did a great job with the castle. The struggle with art is easing with the step by step instructions.

He decided that his princess looked a little like a zombie but, I still think he overall had great effort. 

This week we had a group field trip with our co-op.  What a beautiful day at the pumpkin patch!  They had educational classes about pollination and the kids got some energy out bouncing and running through the mazes!

Of course, we found a crazy spider crawling in the pumpkin patch.  The kids enjoyed watching him closely and learning more about him when we got home! We learned he was a Marbled Orb Weaver. He is known for his bright colors. I don't like spiders but, this one was really neat! 

We love this time of year even though it is a bit busy.
Hope you had a great week too! 

Preparing & Res to Ref - Unit 8

Preparing Hearts for His Glory

We've continued our reading in our book, Grandpa's Box. The kids really are enjoying this book and honestly... So am I! As we read they love making the simple figures on index cards to go in our yellow box just like Grandpa.  So glad we are reading this book!

We learned that the Ark of the Covenant carried the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna, and Aaron's staff.  It went before the Israelites to remind them that they were God's people.  The kids drew the picture above from the draw and write book. Good job! 

God used Joshua to lead the Israelites in a march around the Jericho with the Ark of the Covenant.  The kids loved this story - even though they have all heard it many times before. We watched and learned the YouTube song:  Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho and the Walls Came Tumbling Down

We learned Gideon wasn't especially brave but, God used him to defeat the Midianites. He trusted God. 

We read about God choosing David -even though he was the youngest and smallest - to do great things because he had a heart for the Lord. The kids drew pictures of him and wrote a paragraph about him. 

We made maps of the 12 tribes  with a key and read about Naomi and Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite but, after her husband died God used her in a mighty way.  She went with Naomi back to her land in Bethlehem and ended up marrying Boaz, had a son named Obed - who was King David's grandfather.

There has been so many details in these Bible stories and I have been trying to help the kids understand who is who with my simple dry erase board drawings. What I wouldn't give for those old felt board characters they used in vacation bible school when I was a kid! I think those would be extremely helpful when trying to explain. 

The kids had to design the 4 types of seeds that travel - by air, by water, hitch hike, and through the body. Then, they experimented with them to see if they were a success or if they failed. 

They had fun designing and of course experimenting. I was impressed by their creations but, the puppy wasn't as amused! Lol! He just happened to be our only hairy test subject for the hitch hiker seed. 

The kids learned about some of the animals they might see in the desert after a rain. They drew the life cycle of a  spadefoot toad. 

Christian Light workbooks are going well for my younger 3.  We are cruising along with our lessons and they are grasping the new concepts introduced well. 

Resurrection to Reformation

This week we learned of the fury of the Northmen. We started the Draw and Write through history this week. He didn't balk at this as much... as the detailed instructions helped. 

He learned that the Viking ships were light and swift and had one large sail. The ships used to rowers and wind to travel. 

In reading, Famous Men of the Middle Ages, we learned that Rollo ("the Walker") was a Viking. The Vikings - sea pirates and robbers- came into Europe from the north. 

Canute was a Danish King who also became the sole King of England. 

For his Shakespeare reading, he studied Much Ado About Nothing. 

Another successful week in Geometry with Math U See. So glad this has been a great fit for him. 

We really had a busy week with fall sports since we finally saw some dry days. 

So thankful for the rain but, even more so for the beautiful fall weather He has given us. It's my favorite time of year!  I saw this great idea above that we will be trying as soon as our leaves turn a bit more colors. How beautiful are these leaf roses!! 

Hope everyone had a great week too! 

See you next week! 

Preparing & Res to Ref - Unit 7

This week we were able to see a Super Blood Moon lunar eclipse.  Our sky was a bit cloudy, but we were able to sneak in a few pics. 

Preparing Hearts for His Glory

We learned that God showed Pharaoh there was only one true God by sending a series of plagues.  The kids couldn't believe how stubborn the Pharaoh was and just how much he tested God.

This week we learned how Moses lead the Israelite slaves out of Egypt.  God prepared him for what was to come by allowing him to be raised in the Pharaohs palace and then by training him for life in the desert. 

God gave Moses The Ten Commandments on top of Mt. Sinai as a guide for the people to follow. The kids did a great job with their artwork this week.  We learned that Moses didn't think he was the right guy for the job but, knew God was in control and trusted him. 

I showed the kids a portion of the movie, The Exodus. They loved being able to relate it to what we read. 

Our creative writing in poetry this week was fun. The kids have struggled with this but seem to be getting the hang of it.  It's silly and they tend to enjoy that part!  

Our vocabulary words were famine, exodus, & hostile. I love these vocab sheets for them to record their definitions.  

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We learned that in Egypt the Pharaohs built pyramids to show their greatness and for the tombs for their bodies. We learned that pyramids were made from limestone, were often white, and would glisten in the sunlight.  We made our own pyramids from paper. 

We found the instructions for the pyramid in the Heart of Dakota guide to be a bit confusing and later discovered a post with this above awesome template. I thought I'd share it with you and save you the tears and frustration that we nearly had in our class.  :) 

Next, the kids used a watered glue paste to paint over their pyramid and drizzled sugar on top to make it shine. 

We tried salt, but the sugar seemed to shine much better. 

Next, the kids used a flashlight to shine as the sun onto the pyramid. They outlined the shadow their pyramid made on their paper. 

Then, they shaded the shadow in with their pencil. 

The kids added brown and yellow to be the sand around their pyramids. These turned out great and they had fun making this project. 

This week in Science the kids learned how dew is formed and how it is very helpful in keeping plants and animals alive especially in the desert.

Our experiment was to put ice in a glass, add room temperature water and a bit of food coloring.  We waited a short time and condensation began to form on the outside of the glass. When we wiped the glass the condensation water was clear.  We recorded our results.

The kids also learned about reptiles this week in Science.  They drew a snakes eyes as they would look during the day and at night. 

Resurrection to Reformation

It's so hard for me to capture steps of projects with my ds who excels on his own with the HOD guide.  The above is his painted finished shield as used by the Holy Roman Empire.  He added the German eagle emblem. I'd love to say he drew this but, after much frustration he used his resources, googled, printed, and cut this one out on his own. 

Charlemagne, who was the grandson of "Charles the Hammer",  became King of the Franks when his father died.  He fought and conquered the Saxons and attacked the Lombard's capital city of Pavia at the Popes request. Pope Leo crowned Chalemagne as emperor of the Western Empire. Charlemagne was a strong leader, warrior, and ruler. 

This week the map was The Empire of Charlemagne.  

Geometry with MathUSee has been a great fit for our 8th grader. He is doing great.  Love to give 100's when I'm grading!!

We had such a rainy week but, we tried to make the best of it.  The kids enjoyed walking around outside the library between rainfalls before it opened.   We have made a habit of a weekly library visit and the kids love to check out books.

We also made an impromptu trip to the Richmond Science Museum. The kids enjoyed the day exploring inside out of the rain.

The ds was excited to point this carbonized fish fossil out at the museum which is what he was studying this week in Science.


Hope you had a great week too!  
See you next week! 

Be blessed!