Preparing Hearts for His Glory -Unit 21

This week we learned the persecution of Christians continued. Herod put the apostle James to death. God saved Peter and helped him escape from prison.

Our history project was to make a mosaic picture of a cross. We learned that mosaics were a popular art form used in churches and usually showed stories from the Bible. 

The kids first drew their cross onto black paper.  It was easy to use white chalk as our outline and then we could wipe it away.  Then, we used magazines and cut the squares to make their mosaic art. I love how they are each unique.

We learned that Paul endured beatings, prison, earthquakes, shipwrecks, and stoning while spreading the news of Christ.  Luke was his friend and wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts.  We learned that the Jews tried to kill Paul when he was preaching to the Gentiles.  Paul used his rights as a Roman citizen to request a trial before Caesar.  Even though he endured this persecution, he was able to rent a small house, have visitors and spread the gospel while he was waiting for his trial in Rome.  

We read Revelations 22:1-5.  Paul knew that one day all believers will be in heaven with Jesus.  What a wonderful promise!

In completion of Grandpa's Box today, John had a vision. We learned that it is hard for Christians to trust in God because we still see so many daily battles that seem like Satan is winning.  We have the promise and assurance from the word that God has victory in the end. 

The kids really enjoyed making the items in Grandpa's Box on index cards.  Their characters are fun and cute.  It was a great way to keep them interested and engaged with our stories each day.  What a fantastic book to give them a glimpse throughout the bible.  I am so glad this book was a big part of this years curriculum.  

The kids Science experiment was to see why the Sun appears larger than the other stars.  We learned that it is because it is closer to Earth.  

Preparing & Res to Ref- Unit 20

Preparing Hearts for His Glory


We talked this week about the spread of the gospel and how it is all a part of Gods big plan.

God equipped the apostles and they received the boldness of the Holy Spirit and preached throughout Jerusalem. People's hearts were changed. The apostles were imprisoned and beaten, but they continued to preach. 

We learned about the symbol of the ichthys and that it was one of the first ways to identify Christians.      The early Christians met secretly to protect themselves from persecution.  They would etch the walls and rocks with an ichthys to signal a meeting place.

We went light on this history weeks project.  I gave the kids a press and seal square with  a bit of applesauce.  They shaped out the ichthys and then gobbled it up!  I really liked this idea and we may use it for spelling words at some point!  ;)

In Grandpa's Box our reading was about Stephen who was martyred for his belief in the vision God showed him of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God.  Stephen was stoned to death.  Many Christians were persecuted and fled for their lives.  As they moved, this helped spread the gospel.

We read about Saul's journey to Damascus and how his eyes were opened after he was made blind.  He was baptized and God used Paul to spread the gospel. 

We taped an army man to our globe.  And used the guide to make our constellation in aluminum foil.

We learned that the stars appear to rise and set in the night sky due to the rotation of the Earth.

Preparing & Res to Ref- Unit 19

PREPARING HEART FOR HIS GLORY

Although we had a few distractions with the beautiful snow in our area, we were able to press on through Unit 19!   Our week continued with Grandpas Box and we learned about the story of Lazarus. The kids learned that Jesus did not go immediately to Lazarus even though he knew he would die.

We learned that Mary and Martha might have been upset with Jesus for not coming immediately.  We learned Jesus wept with Mary and Martha.  After 4 days he raised Lazarus from the dead. 

We learned that in preparation of the body for burial, a perfume made of spices was used.  

We made our very own perfume like they used long ago with rubbing alcohol, and some random spices that I had up in the cabinet.  We combined the spices into 3/4 cup alcohol and left it sit for a week. We added quite a bit of cinnamon and so that was what it mostly smelled like. It definitely looked pretty gross all week sitting on the counter but, when we opened it and placed it on our wrists it smelled of a beautiful and warm cinnamon. We learned that perfumes and colognes are made in a similar way today.  The kids thought this was so neat. 

This week we also were blessed with the reading of the death and resurrection of Jesus.  We learned the events of the day of his death.  We made a timeline clock for the events. 

The kids wrote out the events on their clock. 

We covered it with a partial circle to only show the time.  This project was a bit time consuming with the writing that went into listing the events and honestly, my kids were discouraged. (Especially the younger one.)  However, it was so neat to show them everything that occurred and all that Jesus endured within a short amount of time.

We learned that Jesus chose to die for our sins.  He could've called the angels to save him but, he died in God's perfect timing... just for us.

We read about the resurrection and how it was at the time of the Passover.  Jerusalem - modern day Israel - was filled with people.  We learned that God sent the Holy Spirit to comfort the disciples and to equip them with boldness as they preached to the people.

This was a fantastic and very intense week and it certainly opened up many questions and discussions amongst us all.

Love this cursive and this narration! 

Preparing and Res to Ref- Unit 18

Preparing Hearts for His Glory

This week we resumed with our reading of Grandpa's Box.  The time was here for Jesus to be born!  The long awaited savior arrived on earth.  

We learned that the magi asked King Herod where the King of the Jews was to be born and he became worried. God warned the magi not to return to Herod and he warned Mary and Joseph to seek safety in Egypt. 

The kids history project was to draw and paint the Star of Bethlehem.  There wasn't specific instructions on what kind of star so, we chose one I was familiar with. 

Next, they were to erase the center lines of the star in the center, add a border, and draw shapes inside the star. We painted the outside border with blue. 

We slowly added more white into our blue color to paint the shapes. They gradually became lighter.  

I love how each of the kids stars are unique. 

 The kids cut the stars out and we hung them in our school room!  They really enjoyed this project.  Mixing the paint was a hit! 

Jesus' birth was announced with this special star! It led the magi from the east to worship Jesus in Bethlehem. 

Satan wanted Jesus to sin and he tempted Jesus three times. Jesus quoted God's word and did not fall for Satans schemes.

We learned God did many miracles as signs that he was indeed God's son. People had a hard time believing God had come to earth in human form through Jesus. It is pretty amazing that Satan tried to have Jesus killed more than once, but it wasn't the right time. 

This week we added constellations to our star books. We learned that Polaris stays north while the constellations seem to go around in circles because of the earth spinning on its axis. 

Our experiment was to pretend to be the earth slowly rotating on its axis. We looked up to see the Polaris staying in the north and the constellation seem to move. 

Resurrection to Reformation

This week we learned how the Renaissance spread through Europe.

Michelangelo was a talented sculptor, painter, and architect.  He sculpted the Pieta, David, and Moses. We learned that Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  The ceiling contained more than 300 figures and it took him 4 years to complete.  

The Sistine Chapel is part of the Pope's residence in Vatican City.

This week the history art project was to sketch and paint one of the most famous images painted in the Sistine Chapel of God giving life to mankind through Adam.  We thought it looked a little bit like ET but I am so glad he (my non art child) put forth effort to get this completed.  He got the chance to see that it would be very difficult to paint upside down.

Jan van Eyck was a flemish artist who lived in Flanders.  He used great detail and perspective in his art.

We did have time to enjoy the snow this week!
Stay warm!

See you next week! 

Preparing and Res to Ref- Unit 17

Preparing Hearts for His Glory

This week we learned that Rome rose as Greece fell.  Hannibal crossed the Alps to take the Romans by surprise but, the Romans attacked Carthage while they were away.

The Romans beat the Carthaginians in the 2nd and 3rd Punic Wars. 

The Romans made a coin called the denarius that was used to buy and sell.  We learned that Julius Caesar was powerful and took a census of the people in the land so he could tax them!  As there were talks of him becoming King, some of Caesars friends and enemies stabbed him in the back.  

Our history experiment this week was to make denarius using a messy bread and glue mixture.  As I read the directions,  I immediately had a "glitter/play dough" feeling. Ugh... Lol! So I admit that we, printed a color sheet!   You can find the link here:  http://www.oncoloring.com/coin-roman-empire-coloring-page_1251.html

 It sounded like a bit much mess to get the point across of a denarius coin, so we opted for a less dramatic project. 

The kids colored and cut out their coin and then glued it onto a colored piece of construction paper. 

We learned that the phrase, "All roads lead to Rome" is likely due to Rome leading the way with paved roads across the empire.  The Romans built strong cities and made the people of the places they conquered become slaves.   The city of Rome built sewers to carry dirty water and aqueducts to help carry the fresh water.

We also learned that after the death of Caesar that Antony and Octavius fought for control of Rome.

This week in Science, we learned that there are 15 brightest stars in the sky that each have a special name.  These stars are 1st magnitude stars and are apart of various constellations.   We added several new constellations to our star book.

Our experiment this week was to determine why constellations only show up in the night sky? 

We punched holes in an index card and placed it into an envelope. 

We couldn't see the stars showing through the envelope with the lights on. 

But, as soon as we turned the lights off and shown a flashlight onto it the constellation shined brightly! 

The kids took turns making constellations to shine! We learned that the constellations shine even in the day but, because of the sun's bright light we cannot see the others stars. As soon as the earth turns away from the sun, we can see the other stars! 

Resurrection to Reformation

Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa.

Our history art project was to create an african mud cloth.  I think he did a great job of making his look like the one in the guide!  :)

He learned that mud cloths, or bogolonfini are hand dyed cloth still made in Mali today.  Africa was an important empire in ancient history and medieval history.


It was a fun week!
See you next time!