Bigger Hearts for His Glory - Unit 1

 2014-2015

Our first week homeschooling with 'Heart of Dakota's Bigger Hearts for His Glory' was a great success!  It looks like we have a future race car driver and a ballerina as of the first day of school!  I enjoyed summer break but, it sure felt good getting back into our routine.  

This week the kids loved the review of the globe, learning about persistence, the journey of Christopher Columbus, the seashore, and a famous hymn.  

We learned about the character trait 'persistence' and how Christopher Columbus persisted through many difficulties on his journey to find a "shorter way" to Asia across the ocean.  He thankfully was able to gain funding and support from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. We learned that on his journey Christopher Columbus was mocked and others wanted to return to Spain.  He told them if they didn't discover land within 3 additional days they would turn the ships around and return.  He soon saw the land of the Caribbean islands and planted the Spanish standard.

Using the history note booking pages, we drew Columbus journey on the map. 

We added Columbus to our timeline. 

We started our week making a paper mache globe. We used a 2 parts water, 1 part flour mixture and dipped strips of newspaper to cover our balloon.  It was a bit messy but, the kids had a blast with this ooey-gooey project.  

The first big balloon popped while we were working on it and the wet glue splattered everywhere! The kids thought it was hilarious!! 

Then, I decided they should each make their own smaller globe.  This worked a bit better, was quicker to dry, and just as much fun! We had to let them dry overnight. 

We used finger paints for the blue water on our globes. I printed the continents from this quick guide on Pinterest and the kids colored them and glued them in place.  You can get this guide and FREEBIE by clicking HERE.

   

Overall, this was a great project as you can tell they loved it... even the smurfy blue hands!  It also really helped them locate the continents and oceans with a bit of fun creative art. 

The kids were able to place the continents and label the oceans correctly.  It was neat to be able to show the kids - before they glued on the Americas - what it would have looked like had the Americas not been on the other side of the globe as some had thought. 

••••••••••••••••••••• ENGLISH

We have begun this week with Rod & Staff English 2. We learned the differences between sentences and phrases. We also reviewed and identified asking and telling sentences and learned the correct punctuation for each. 

I made these cute little balloon signs and read multiple sentences. The kids held up the correct sign after I read the sentence....   Asking or Telling.  They had fun with this! 

••••••••••••••••••••• STORY TIME

We started reading our Biography - Ben & Me.  This is a cute book and so far the kids are fascinated by the little mouse, Amos, narrating about Benjamin Franklin and his inventions. 

••••••••••••••••••••  VOCABULARY

Vocabulary is new this year in Bigger and the children did great! We are still working on dictation and I often have to spell for them but, overall this wasn't a battle and I was shocked!  They seemed to enjoy learning our new words, impostors, lamentation, and standard.  These vocabulary sheets are perfect to add into our binders.

••••••••••••••••••••• ART

The kids painted pictures of the waves in the ocean. They learned about fore ground, middle ground, and background as they painted their waves. 

They mixed different amounts of blue & red paint together to make different shades of purple for the ocean waves. Then, they mixed blue and white together for the swirly sky. 

I love seeing their unique creativity through their art expressions. 

••••••••••••••••••••• SCIENCE

In Science, we talked about high & low tide.  The kids made a diagram to show the gravitational pull. 

We learned God made the sea and dry land and designed the moon's gravity to cause the tides. He thought of everything!  The tides changing allows for plants and animals to live and eat as the tides change and water washes the shore.

We also talked about the strand line on the seashore. We are preparing for a beach day next week to look at all the cool things along the shoreline. 

One of our science experiments was about sinking and floating.

The ball floated because the water pushed back and kept it afloat. 

The coin did not float because it was too heavy and the water couldn't hold it up.

The kids completed their science sheets and we learned that water pushes back on the item but, heavy things sink. 

We also talked about what causes waves.  We learned that wind causes waves. 

We used a small glass dish and a little fan to show the wind making waves.  We learned that the tide makes the water rise and fall on the shore and wind makes the waves. 

These experiment sheets are great! I love the networking and sharing of the resources that the HOD Facebook pages offer. Everyone is always so helpful. 

•••••••••••••••••••••  MATH

Our 4th grader started with Christian Light Education (CLE) this week for math. We are new to CLE and so far I feel like this is a great fit for him.  It was a review of multiplication. 

Then quickly on to fractions. Great to review because the summer was a long break and there were some things forgotten.  

Our 2nd grader is continuing with Abeka Math and we are also beginning multiplication with Times Tales. We touched on this last year but, watched the video again this week.  She did great learning the stories and knows her first set of tables. Yay! 

••••••••••••••••••••• MUSIC

Music in 'Hymns for a Kids Heart' was about Reginald Heber, 1783-1826.  We learned he loved God and wrote a poem in school that won first prize. He wrote Holy, Holy, Holy! The kids listened to the famous hymn and sang along all week.  

The kids are using Rod & Staff Spelling workbook this year instead of the HOD list.  This workbook fit well into our schedule and gave time for one on one with math and reading while the other completed spelling and copy work.

We also started Cheerful Cursive with the little one. It's going good so far! 

Our verse this week was Proverbs 2:3-5.   I may need to print out some bigger lined paper with guidelines for better handwriting.  I love that there is room for pictures on this printable and the drawing my son did of Busch Gardens Mach Tower.  He has been persistent in trying to ride that for the past couple of years and finally did! 

We finished our week reading the parable of the woman who was persistent in Luke 18.  She did not give up.  We learned that we too should persist in our prayers to God.  We talked about being persistent with Him.  We learned that if we cry out to Him and seek Him, then we will find the knowledge of Him. What a fantastic study this week as we begin our homeschooling year. 

The kids had recess at the pool with some friends this week too!

I don't know about you but, I am already excited about this school year.  I pray that God will use this guide to speak through me and to me as we study more each week.  

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Thanks again for following our weekly blog!  Wishing you each the best in your 2014-2015 school year! 

See you next week! 

Be Blessed! 

Getting Ready for Bigger Hearts for His Glory

Getting ready to start Bigger Hearts and need a few ideas of what to print and how to get organized?

I remember feeling overwhelmed at the little things when we started homeschooling.   What was I going to do with all their work?  How do I stay organized?  What can I do to make trips easier with homeschooling supplies everywhere?  I wanted to take a minute to write about how we set up binders for each child.

We found these mega five star binders with zipper. It has a nice handle so the kids can carry their binders wherever we may roam. You can purchase this from Amazon here:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JIXY7PE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1431523576&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=five+star+binder+zipper&dpPl=1&dpID=51-9BhDjbnL&ref=plSrch

I like the nice zipper on the outside that they can store their extra spelling and math workbooks in an expandable file. There is also a nice inside zipper pouch for extra pencils, glue sticks, and colored pencils. 

I made each student a cover of their choice and I love that they keep their ruler clipped right into their binder. This saves time searching for lost rulers and they have one on the go for the impromptu oil change. 

I divided their binders into 5 main sections.  

Vocabulary

History

Science

Bible

Poetry

I really like to take advantage of the resources that other moms that have done this all before me and I print out the forms from the Heart of Dakota Bigger Facebook page.   You can find it here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/476563425689115/files/


The pages have most all been well thought of and have accounted for things I wouldn't have thought up on my own. I would suggest printing: 

Vocabulary Pages- this allows the child space to write the definitions, draw a picture and make a sentence using the word. 

At the beginning of the history section, we place our timeline pages. You can print these from the Heart of Dakota Facebook site as well as awesome timeline pictures we displayed on our schoolroom wall. 

History Pages are amazing! These are well worth printing out for your little ones.  It saves so much time and the kids thrived with these pages.

Science Notebooking pages are wonderful as well.  The verse is printed at the top and there is ample room for the children to write and draw.   It makes your day go much smoother when you can just tell your little one to turn to Science and complete their lesson. 

I also have a subsection in Science for all of their experiments.  These Science experiment pages are nice to take one out of the binder on your way to the kitchen for your experiment. 

For poetry at the beginning of the year, I printed these cursive worksheets. This helps refresh them and allows them to copy directly underneath.   You can create them at this site and customize them to the style your child likes best:  http://www.worksheetworks.com/english/writing/handwriting.html

We transitioned to this poetry sheet as soon as I realized they knew correct formation and could remember the letters from print to cursive. *I didn't always have them copy the complete poem as long as they took their time and worked hard at the stanza I gave them. 

For Bible, this could easily be on plain lined paper. I however, did print these out for my students. This gave them a little room for a picture as well as the character trait for the week at the top. 

The great part about homeschooling is finding what works best for you and your kids.
Hope this helps someone! Follow along to our weekly blog by units or  on our Facebook page to catch freebies and add ons.  Like us on Facebook here!    https://www.facebook.com/takingoffwithhomeschool

Best wishes and enjoy your year! 

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! 

************** 

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! 

HOD BLHFHG - Unit 33

Happy Mothers Day to all the beautiful moms reading. Hope you enjoyed your special day with your little blessings as much as I did. We had a great day, cooked out, played outside washing the cars, and ended the day at our favorite frozen yogurt spot! 

This week our verse was Proverbs 17:22. 

'A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.'

Our poem was so cute! Four Seasons by Anonymous

Look at that cursive, Folks! That, my friend, is what I call improvement from the beginning of the year! Yay! Love the effort my son puts into his Copywork!  No fuss... no fight.... he just gets it done and it is beautiful.  Be encouraged because persistence makes a difference! 

••••••••••••••

In History, we read about a little girl that moved with her family to the Great Plains from beautiful Norway.  She was saddened by the new flat land because it was so different from the beautiful cliffs of Europe.  The farmland had been given to them from the Farmland Act.  They trusted God and moved to America to begin a new life.  They built a sod house and prepared the fields in hopes of a magnificent harvest. 

We read that shortly after their sod house was built came a snow storm. The project was to cut out snowflakes but we modified with a little Epsom Salt water painting. The kids enjoyed this and we may add this as my daughters FROZEN birthday party activity. 

•••••••

We talked about the soil of the Earth and how it differs in color based on the area of land and the minerals in the soil.

We talked about how the Indians taught the pioneers how to grow crops.  The land needed more work to be ready to sow in the Great Plains. 

The kids made green playdough and then they formed it into this giant dough seed. We labeled the parts as food sack, seed coat, and new plant. 

The kids also drew and labeled a picture in their sketch book.  

Our baby caterpillars finally hatched out of their cocoons and the kids absolutely loved the watching this experience! They were in total awe as they imagined what it might be like to have their body transform into a new creature. To have wings all of a sudden and be able to fly after creepy crawling around as a caterpillar just days before.

We got to feed them sugar water on carnations for a few days and then we let them go in the front yard.  I highly recommend observing the change and sharing this experience with your little ones. Amazing! 

It was a fun week and we are looking forward to wrapping up the year next week! 

See you then! 

Be blessed

Hod BLHFHG - Unit 32

Our verse this week was Proverbs 18:24.  

'A man of many companions may come to ruin, 

but there is a friend who is closer than a brother.'

The kids had fun with the song this week. Who else laughed at their kids having a friend who "stinks"...  Lol!  I couldn't help control the unending giggling. 

In history, we read a story about a young girl on the Oregon Trail named Nell that had to stay at home with her young twin brothers while her dad took their ill mother to town.  Her dad showed her how to use a pistol just in case of danger while he was away. After the children had all fallen asleep, Nell heard a loud growl. She awoke to a huge brown bear standing in their doorway.  She was afraid and threw a jar of molasses out the doorway to distract the bear. Next, Nell closed the door and went to the window and fired a gun shot at the bear. The bear ran away into the woods. 

       

We studied more about bears and tried what it might be like with paws instead of fingers. The kids  put socks on their hands as paws and both had fun trying to pick up different objects.  They soon understood why the bear swatted at the jug of molasses instead of grabbing it.  

The kids couldn't believe they could weigh up to 1700 pounds!  WOW!

We read more about bears and the kids sketched a picture of the largest bear, an Alaskan brown bear or Kodiak bear. The fantastic drawing above is by my 6 yo. Pretty cute! 

Love these history worksheets for the kids to complete each week.  It's really great for double checking their comprehension of the reading. 

We read about California becoming the 31st state as everyone rushed to California for gold. We talked about panning for gold and why so many were seeking fortune.  There was a story about 2 stage coaches racing from San Francisco to San Jose to tell the great news! The kids enjoyed the race! 

**************

The kids math sheets have still been going well. 

A little messy because of rushing but, she understands the process and is adding correctly. Proud of her! 

Our Art Project in action. Painting the globe! Yes, those are ruffles around the edges of her land. LOL...

My son did a great job on his drawing of the globe too.  

In our bible reading, we read that God is always here to help us.  He watches over the world and holds the Earth in his hands watching over his creations. We sketched a globe and outlined it in pastels. The kids then used water colors. 

We made these cute outlines of their hands together with a heart in the middle! The kids enjoyed this project. 

We are looking forward to finishing up the year soon. The weather has been amazing outside and our activities are piling up. 

See you next week! 

Be blessed!