Learning about ROY G BIV

 "I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth." Genesis 9:13

We did a study on rainbows after our review on Noah. We began by reviewing the colors of the rainbow and remembering our ROY G. BIV help. We colored a basic picture of a rainbow after finding the color crayons that matched. 

Our art project for the week was making these cute little rainbows.

 You can find the instructions here for making your own. They were very fun to make and they look super cute!

Math is WAYYY more fun when you get to EAT your manipulatives!

 It was all about graphing last week--and we enjoyed using Skittles--fitting since their slogan is "Taste the Rainbow!"

I made up this sheet for our final day. I asked Little Britches to write three sentences about rainbows and then draw a picture of a rainbow using the correct colors.

I was so proud! The only thing he wanted me to do was help him spell "are". He has his spacing and sentence structure correct--remembering his capital letters and periods! Woot!

It was a great week full of beautiful color--and the sun FINALLY came out on the last day---and it made the prism we have hanging in our living room window throw mini rainbows all over our wall! Perfect for the conclusion of our unit study!

In my soul, I am still that small child who did not care about anything else but the beautiful colors of a rainbow. ~Papiha Ghosh

Homeschool Mother's Journal for 12/3

It's been awhile...things got super hectic during the Thanksgiving weekend with guests and now we are battling illness...so I thought this would be a good way to catch up...

In my life this week...

Well, we are starting our week with head colds. Little Brtiches' started last week, so he's at the end of it with the nasty cough that gives you a headache. Baby Britches is just starting it. So far my husband and I have mercifully been able to keep it at bag with sleep and good hot Echninacea Elderberry tea!

• In our homeschool this week…
  we SHOULD be finishing up learning about the solar system and working with contractions. But that will be dependent on how much we can get done courtesy of the ickies.
  
  
• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
  When you get behind in homeschooling, don't freak out! Remember that when you decided to homeschool, you accepted that it was going to be adjusted based on how life just happened. So if you are behind, don't worry--you will catch up and there will be days when you get more done than planned. So just take it one day at a time.
  
  
• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
  We just enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving week with my family who came in from Washington state. We enjoyed 10 days with my mom and three days with my dad and grandma.
  
  
• My favorite thing this week was…
  Celebrating my 10 year wedding anniversary with my husband on the 1st of December. It's crazy to think we've already reached this first milestone. It came so fast!! We had a lovely time. I was surprised with a bouquet of 30 roses from my sweetheart on Saturday morning. Gorgeous ones! You can see them here:
   
  
  
• Questions/thoughts I have…
  Just getting back in the swing of things. It's so hard. It seems like we get back in the swing and then something sets us back. Last week we did great--until we got off. LOL! Then we can't get going full this week because of the ickies. And then it's my own "don't wannas" that get in the way. LOL!
  
  
• Things I’m working on…
  Staying on top of my Bible Study. It was going strong and then we had guests which threw off my schedule. And now the ickies have done it again. So I need to get back into my routine because I need the strength that comes from reading God's word every day.
  
  
• I’m reading…
  Oh a few things. Remember. I am someone who can read more then one book at a time. LOL!
  
  
• I’m cooking…
  well, it's more like I'm reheating. LOL! Last night I made a big pot of soup, so I'm reheating that. But I have plans for making banana bread or banana muffins later today.
  
  
• I’m grateful for…
  knowing that though we are battling the ickies, they WILL go away and my boys will be healthy again. That is something I'm so incredibly thankful for with all the crazy childhood diseases out there which ravish children's bodies.
  
  
• I’m praying for…
  Strength to keep going every day instead of just crawling under my blankets every morning and hiding. LOL! Also for the ability to find joy and glory in simple chores like housecleaning. It's something I really need to work on. And of course...GOOD HEALTH!
  
  
• A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
  Here is a photo from our wedding day...it's one of my favorites...
  

A bit of yummy...

I just had to share a picture of these fabulous cupcakes I made on Friday. It was a new recipe that I found on Pinterest (my new favorite cookbook! LOL)...Well actually I was looking up a different recipe and then found this one off the site I was taken to.

I always love it when people make cutesie desserts and I was determined it was my turn! I found some cupcake wrappers with matching toppers for $1.00 at Wal*Mart and decided I needed to use them. I found a can of pumpkin in my pantry and decided to try to find a pumpkin cupcake--I succeeded with finding this recipe and after tasting, it is a definite keeper!

Here are my Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting...

 Aren't they yummy looking?

Here is me with my cupcakes. My husband's idea not mine. LOL! I had been preparing for Sabbath all day and doing a bunch of baking, so I look rather worse the for the wear! LOL! 

As for their taste...mmmm...definitely a hit and a keeper! Delicious!

Here is the link to the original recipe--the only difference is that I opted out of the white chocolate in the frosting--why mess with a perfectly good cream cheese frosting?! LOL!

School Days ~ Week #10

Hard to believe we are already 10 weeks into 1st grade!
It's amazing what 10 weeks can accomplish with skill levels!

Week #10 October 29th- November 2nd

LITTLE BRITCHES ~ 1ST GRADE

Bible

The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.
Proverbs 12:22

A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.
Proverbs 13:1

*Memorize the Books of the Bible

We began with our memorization of the Books of the Bible--this week was Genesis and Exodus. I will be teaching him a song over the upcoming weeks where you SING the books of the Bible. I was taught a similar song when I was little and I still use that song to find books of the Bible during church! LOL!

Activity

*Dictate a letter

To remember that the Bible is a letter from our Father God to us, Little Britches dictated a letter to his Aunt Cindy, signed it and then mailed it.

Reading

long vowel i spelled y

long vowel e spelled y

The clapping syllables really helped Little Britches on this and I don't think he'll have issues with it.

We are continuing our reading in the Bible reader including in Day 1 and Day 2 of creation. I wrote the new words to learn for each day's reading on the laminated and magnetic 3 x 5 cards and put them up on the board for review. This works perfectly for us.

Math

A continuation of addition practice. He is getting so much better, though adding numbers larger than 4 worries him at times. But he uses a number line and does splendidly!

 

Science

"Under the Sea"

Things Outdoors pg. 28-29 USBORNE

We watched the Magic School Bus Episode "Takes a Dive" to go along with this--a fun way to reinforce science.

Experiments:

*Underwater vision

We examined a spoon resting in a glass of water and discussed why it looks broken. Then we moved it until we found the point where it appears straight.

*Water Density

This was the real joy this week. I followed an experiment from the 101 Great Science Experiments book I own. Using corn syrup, oil and water, we made density layers and then dropped a collection of things into it and noted how the objects varied in their density. Very cool experiment for Little Britches AND Momma!

 The objects we decided to drop in: a peanut, Lego, plastic jewel, match, chocolate chip, screw, plastic beads, bow tie noodle, wood token and popcorn kernels.

 Here is our jar with the three layers of liquid and all those things dropped in. We had things go to every level which was great since I was hoping that would happen! LOL!

Little Britches filled out his observation sheet drawing pictures of the liquid levels and where the objects ended up.

Geography
"Beginning Geography" (Evan-Moor)

*Landforms and Bodies of Water Puzzle

We scattered the pieces of the puzzle around and then he had to match the picture of the landform or body of water with it's name and description.

*Landforms and Bodies of Water Review

We did three levels of review and I am tickled that he only missed one question!

History

Story of the World: Volume 1

Chapter 2: Egyptians lived on the Nile River

We began by reviewing the lineage of the biblical character Nimrod--reminding ourselves that he is a descendant Cush--son of Ham--son of Noah. We then learned that Noah's son Ham had another son named Mizraim who is the one who settled in Egypt. Then we began reading Chapter 2 from SOTW about Ancient Egypt.

We completed our map of Upper and Lower Egypt from the workbook.

Imagine our surprise when we discovered that the Bible Study at church this past week was on Ancient Egypt. Never have I seen Little Britches so excited about a Bible Study! LOL! He even went up when it was over and told the speaker that he had been learning about Ancient Egypt in school!

Art

My mother-in-law rocked it this week with helping Little Britches create an Under the Sea diorama! I sent him over with an empty cracker box, paper and stencils...and he brought me home this!

He was so proud of it! 

We added some shells on the bottom of it from our collection we picked up this year at Jekyll Island, GA and last year at Virginia Beach, VA!

That's our week!

School Days~ Week #9

Brrr...talk about change in weather! Last week our weather was a beautiful and pleasant 70-80 degrees! Perfect fall days with sunshine and breezes. Today it's a mere 38 and raining! I want my fall weather back!!!!! LOL!

Week #9~ October 22-26th

LITTLE BRITCHES

Bible

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18

The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.
Proverbs 12:22

Reading

U like /us/ in the forms of a, e, i, o and u

Wor like /wer/

Long i spelled igh

Yeah. After trying to teach the /uh/ sound when it is a, e, i and o....I decided that it was no WONDER English is so hard to learn! I mean there is no rhyme or reason for when this one will be the case! And some of the words that were supposed to have the /uh/ sound didn't have it when I said them! LOL! Like "robin"--I say "Ro-bin" but they had it like it needed to say "Ro-bun". Even a few words Little Britches sounded out on his own, but there weren't any "uh" sounds in them! LOL! So I didn't bother to teach him differently in those circumstances

 We also began with the Bible Reader included in the MFW-1st grade curriculum.

I took the words he was to learn and wrote them each onto my laminated/magnetic 3 x 5 cards and put them up on the white board. We reviewed them each morning and he read his first page of the Bible Reader to me and daddy several times during the week. The written orange words are ones he quickly knows by sight. "Only" is at the bottom because it's a bit more tricky to figure out.

We also did a quick blend review with this set of worksheets from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Activities

 *Hebrew/Greek and the Bible

He had to mimic the Greek alphabet letters. He loved this.

*Timeline

We put our timeline up on the wall near the ceiling. Little Britches chose a dark green yarn for the line. We put up the Hebrew card he had colored earlier in the week at the beginning and added a picture of he and Baby Britches.

 This is the view of the timeline from Little Britches' desk.

Art

My mother-in-law had him practice making a tower of cards then had him draw shapes to make a Tower of Babel. He learned that you can use shapes to draw animals too.

Math

*Addition and Time

Little Britches completed a few more worksheets and enjoyed playing the Hickory-Dickory-Dock game from a shoebox learning center EBOOK I bought during the Scholastic Express Dollar Days. He loved it except he didn't win which then led to a lesson on good sportsmanship. I actually went through and printed out quite a few of the games and laminated them for future use.

He enjoyed doing this Angry Birds Time match worksheet. I think it's from the Angry Birds unit from 1 +1 +1 = 1.

History

Completed up our study on Babylon and Nimrod with coloring pages and activities

Geography

Worked on the unit for bodies of water in our Beginning Geography book. We found the bodies of water studied (Lake Superior and St. Lawrence River) on the pull down US map and the globe.

Science

"Beach and Waves"

Things Outdoors p. 24-27 USBOURNE

Perfect timing for this study since we just got home from the beach! We learned about the surf and how waves are made.

Experiment: We fastened a piece of string to a doorknob and then worked it up and down from across the room to see how the waves work.

 Little Britches thought this was exciting...

Baby Britches eagerly wanted a turn...

Little Britches used this knowledge over the weekend as he heard about Hurricane Sandy. He told me "We learned about that!" when they started discussing how the hurricane can be out at sea and still cause big waves.

(Yay for reinforcement of our lesson!)

Read Aloud

We finished up Mouse and the Motorcycle this week. When it ended, he didn't believe me and I had to show him that it was over! LOL! Needless to say he's eager to start up the second book in the series.

I had him tell me his most favorite part and draw a coordinating picture.

 

"My favorite part was when he rode in the ambulence."

BABY BRITCHES:

Baby Britches and I went on an expedition to see what treasures we could find. We found some beautiful leaves, a cat-tail and some fun seed pods. Here is a pic of our treasures:

Baby Britches only had to see the bright red leaves one time before he was pointing them out to me as we rode around the farm on the 4wheeler. And he LOVED the seed pods. I learned they are from the Trumpet Vine (aka hummingbird vine) that grows wild here all over the fences. We opened each pod and he could use his little fingers to get all the papery like seeds out inside. We saved the pod casing as they will make great little boats!

Here is a pic of Baby Britches working on his "schoolwork"...LOL!

It was a good week and we got through a lot of schoolwork as well as enjoyed afternoons in the glorious weather!

If you are in the path of the storm on the East coast, please stay safe!!! 

We are thinking and praying for your safety!!

School Days~ Oct 15-19 (Week #8)

Oct 15-19-Week #8

Little Britches

Bible

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
Proverbs 29:11

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18

Bible Activity

Learned how to draw a map of the Holy Land using a cute little Fisherman Story. This was a great idea and Little Britches caught on very very fast. He also learned the naming phrase "ET purrs in the red nile med". Now when we see pictures of the Holy Land it is MUCH easier to identify! I'm in the process of drawing a larger one and laminating it for reference as we go along.

Reading

AR, OR, IR, ER, UR

We learned great helps for figuring out these sounds. I love the way they teach this part of the phonics! We review the cORn and cAR words in the booklets he has. We also did the Word Family letter strip for AR that I printed off last year. I actually printed, cut out and laminated all these word family strips. Great resource!

Math

Reviewing shapes and beginning our Addition chapter

The favorite activity this week was the "Roll a Sum" one. I have big blue dice that I found at the Dollar Tree. I gave them to him and had him roll them and write the numbers down. Then add them all up when he was done. He got into this and even let Baby Britches have a die to throw! LOL! I'll be pulling this back out for sure on the days when we need to "lighten up" math.

We also used these GREAT wood disks for counters. My mom found bags and bags of them at Goodwill for pennies and asked if I wanted them--Absolutely! So he enjoys using them for his counters. Especially since they are two sided.

Baby Britches uses them to practice putting things into slots. I made him a "token bank" from an old sour cream container and he LOVES dropping them in and then taking them out and doing it again.

We also started working on the +1 facts...I let Little Britches go through his number ring for those facts. He did it very easily.

History

Covering the story of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel from the Bible.
We are using THIS LESSON for this study.

Science

"Rivers"

Things Outdoors pg 22-23 USBOURNE

We learned about how rivers are created, and how they get polluted. We identified the things on our own river which can cause pollution.

Experiment: Made a water filter to see how the river cleanses water as it washes downstream.

(giggle) This didn't exactly have the result we were looking for. I totally forgot that OUR sand is 75% sand and 25% DIRT. So imagine our surprise when our water was DIRTIER than it was when it started! LOL! So we discussed the reasons and determined we would re-do this experiment with GOOD SAND at another time.

 Getting the water for the experiment

 Submitting a hypothesis

Pouring the water into our "filter"

Geography

Canyons and Valleys (Beginning Geography K-2)

We learned the difference between a canyon and a valley. Then viewed photos of the Grand Canyon and the Yosemite Valley. We colored pictures for each landform.

Art

My mother-in-law is working on maps with Little Britches. She had him put together a map puzzle of the United States. Then she had him use tracing paper and trace our state (Kentucky) and the ones around it. She wants him to be able to find our state on any US map--especially when it's shown on the weather channel.

Read Aloud

Mouse and the Motorcycle. We love this book, but it had been awhile since we had read it--and we hadn't finished it yet. You can imagine how happy Little Britches was to pick it back up. We are only a couple chapters from the end so we should be finishing it up on Monday. I think we will start up the second book in the series after this one is completed. He just loves reading about Ralph.

There is our week! It was so nice to be back in the groove again. We are working on great things and all this focused attention on letter combination sounds has helped Little Britches gain confidence in his reading. I let him keep his Reading Chart (from the MFW-1st grade) with him when he reads his books aloud. I've seen him glance at it a few times--especially for the new "er" sound. I'm so happy that he's not complaining as much when it comes to picking books from his book basket to read.

Baby Britches

We did the token slot bank I mentioned above. We also enjoyed playing with the new wooden block set I found for $5 at a store nearby. This keeps him amused for quite awhile right now--and the big boy too! LOL!

Back in the swing of things...

Ah. It is always nice to come home after a long trip. We arrived home on Tuesday night and everyone went straight to bed! Then Wednesday and Thursday I dealt with the men in my life who all had head colds. My husband was the worst, but thankfully he is FINALLY doing better! We always go homeopathic for treating our colds and this year we added Elderberry Cough Syrup and a "miracle" tea by Traditional Medicinals called Organic Echinacea Elder. Oh man. That tea has been a lifesaver! It works great especially when you add a dollop or two of honey. My boys have been drinking it like it's going out of style and really it's the only thing that is helping! Thankfully everyone seems to be doing a lot better and I got the best sleep I've had in a very long time last night.

We are eager to start a new week on Monday and get back into the swing of homeschooling. We had a nice break and spent a lot of time with focused learning about God and His Word while we were gone...now we are going to work on applying what we learned!

There were a few trials that occurred while we were attending the feast--the main one is that I had a miscarriage on the first Sunday we were gone. That is the day before the Feast started so it was quite a challenge to focus myself. But I prayed and walked and meditated with our Almighty Father and Comforter every day and just asked that He would help me to find joy every day. And He did. He showed me so many things to be thankful for and I was granted peace almost immediately during the trial. Satan could not rob me of being able to rejoice at the Feast! Through the sermons and hymns I was granted healing words and comfort beyond what I could have hoped and prayed for. I am grateful that our most wonderful Father allowed me to have this trial while surrounded by family and friends instead of being home alone. It truly helped the healing process move so much faster. I was also early--just 7 weeks--so my body was able to do what God made it to do on its own. I told myself that first day that if our mighty Lord wants me to have another baby, NOTHING will stop it from happening. But obviously we are saddened by our loss since we have been trying for quite awhile (since February 2011) to add to our family again. But as you and I know and draw comfort from, God is in control and if He wills it...it will be done in HIS time which will be the PERFECT time.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [His] purpose." 

Romans 8:28

Leviticus 23:39-43

Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD [for] seven days; on the first day [there shall be] a sabbath-[rest], and on the eighth day a sabbath-[rest]. And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. [It shall be] a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I [am] the LORD your God.  Leviticus 23:39-43

We arrived at our Feast of Tabernacles site here in Jekyll Island, GA on Friday and we've been enjoying having the extra time to get settled before the feast "officially" starts this evening. Our home is beautiful and perfect for our family. Our setting is stunning as the weather is a balmy 80+ degrees and sunny! Our first night here was on Friday night and God set the nearly full moon into a stunning sunset in cotton candy pink and baby blue. Oh it was so beautiful and a most excellent start to the Sabbath! I wish I had taken my camera with us to the beach that night to capture it on film.

We attended services here with the other early birds yesterday. It was fantastic! They had only expected about 100 people for the Sabbath and there were 200! The message was so amazing. A reminder about the truly important aspects of the feast--hearing the Word of God, Breaking of Bread with brethren, Fellowship with brethren and our relationship with the Father. It was a perfect pre-Feast sermon! We were blessed to find that one of my friends from South Carolina came early as well and so we enjoyed chatting with her family. Little Britches is already finding new friends and he is having the time of his life playing in the surf. Baby Britches is adoring the surf as well and just loves chasing the tiny crabs.

Naturally they both are also sleeping like rocks every night! LOL!

Our excitement is high as the Feast of Tabernacles will start this evening. I am looking forward to attending our first festival choir practice this afternoon too. I'm curious to see how large our choir will be this year. And I love lifting my voice in praise to our great and marvelous Father!

All in all it is going amazing...

Here is a little photo for you to enjoy: