Week 5 Hola Mexico!

Passports? Check!

Train tickets?  Check!

Excited children eager to learn?  Check! Check! Check!

I had to preface that we weren't really going to Mexico!  Whew, I know I spared a tantrum there!

Wow!  What a jam packed week!  It seemed like a lot, so I skipped the Global Art crafts suggested and opted instead for the one thing they have been dying to do for like, a year now!





SHAVING CREAM & POWDER TEMPURA PAINT ART!!!  WOO-HOO!!

We also played a game that came included in our curriculum. This, I just cannot say enough good about.  It is AMAZING

how much we learned and retained the location of all/most the countries of North America in just one game!

We will have a gameboard of each continent we visit, and by the time we are through with this school year the world will seem a much smaller place. 

WE LOVE MY FATHER'S WORLD!!

I wish I had started 7 yrs ago with this curriculum, but am thankful we found it in time to start with Exploring Countries and Cultures.  I tell you it really makes me want to go be a missionary family. 

We listened to #5 Pin Pon and #6 Tingalayo and it's so cute to see Eli and Gigi sing and dance!

Here is a pic of them sharing at snack time

We have moved on from forests and are learning about deserts. Check back for updated pics on the geography cards tab.  We got a bit behind on these, so I'll have them all posted soon.

Fascinating factoid: Desert temperatures can get up to 120 degrees in the day and drop to nearly freezing at night.  Temps can also be 10-20 degrees cooler in the shade of an oasis.  So we had a little experiment of our own to see how fast bags of ice would melt in the sun vs. shade.

By lunch time the sun kept ice was melted about 90 % and the shade kept ice was about 60 % melted.  Conclusion: It stays cooler in the shade. Duh! LOL!

So I guess that just about covers our excitement for the week.  Unless diagramming compound sentences really does it for you!

anyone? ...anyone? ......Beuller??

Week 4- Where did you go???

Isn't it amazing how a whole week can fly by without a clue as to where it went?  That was our week, thank you and goodnight!  No seriously, we trudged through the week, playing catch up a bit.  Greg had my camera at the shop (woodworking) and I didn't take many pics.  We had some colds to contend with and overall it was just a 'bleh' kind of week.  You'll have that, right?  Boy, we have our share!

Anyway, we learned about Christian Hero, Harriet Tubman.  Wow, it's tough trying to explain slavery in America to the kids!  They just don't seem to "get it."  Anyone know of a good film to help them see and understand what slaves in the U.S. went through?  I think it's important that they grasp this a little better, especially the older kids. 

Luca, my kindergartner, is so excited to do his letters everyday.  Last year he could care less, so it's really cool to see him retaining the information this year, and the eagerness to learn.  Here is a sample of his work...

We have more geography cards on display, click here for a slide show.  We are learning all about forests.  It's so fun to learn all these awesome things alongside your children.  I hope they home school their own children someday, so they can get educated!  ;)  You appreciate the knowledge so much more as an adult. 

So, we took a tour around America.  Explored the diversity.  From the deserts, to the forests, the mountains, lakes, and cities.  We explored the bitter cold of Alaska, and the warm tropics of Hawaii.  If only...

We learned about our flag from the book, "Oh Say Can You See?  America's Symbols, Landmarks, and Inspiring Words"  by Sheila Keenan

This is a really fun book with great illustrations, and tons of really interesting facts about our country.  We learned the story behind The Star Spangled Banner.  I was prompted to sing it.  Why is it that I get choked up a little EVERY TIME I sing that song???   Yep, I do, right around the part, '...and the flag was still there...'   

Next stop, Mexico...ALL ABOARD!!!

See you there!

A New Day in My Father's World: Keepin' it Real

A New Day in My Father's World: Keepin' it Real: "Oh no, don't you dare think for one second that my family is perfect, near perfect, or even striving for perfection! Sure on the surface, i..."

Week 3

          What a week!  It was short, but sweet and jam packed!

We took off Monday for Labor Day, and Friday we start our Homeschool Co-op for the year.

We began our week with a treasure hunt using a treasure map!

I got up in the morning and hid treasure for the kids to find, each in a different spot throughout our neighborhood.  I had made up some maps, and they each had one, except Luca and Gianna shared one.

So we set off to find the treasure...

Luca & Gianna finding their treasure

Sofia next...

Sofia finding her treasure

Bella was last and farthest away...

Bella finding her treasure

What WAS  the treasure??


BOOKS!!!

Usborne's Sticker Dolly Dressing Popstars, Usborne's Sticker Dolly Dressing Movie Stars, Usborne's Gulliver's Travels book and CD, and Babybug.

After that, it was a little hard to focus on schoolwork!  But, at least they learned how to read a map key, and follow a map. 

We are studying the USA this week and next, too, I believe.  So, we had a Native American art project from Global Arts.   The Sioux Indians would draw pictures of events past on circles of rawhide and tie them to strings hanging from sticks to make Coup Sticks. These were useful for storytelling.

Gigi was happy to just use her face as a canvas for stickers instead!

She just loves our native American song for the week from Wee Sing Around the World <---click here for a sample, it's #3.

We added to our Geography Cards slide show, just click on the tab above to view those. 

Also, we are learning about Christian Hero's in a book; Hero Tales. This week's hero: Dwight L. Moody.

We're studying the different types of forests and waiting on some books from the library for tree identification for the leaves we collected.

I am writing this on Thursday, and Co-op is tomorrow, YAY!  So I have nothing to report on that, yet.  We are all looking forward to the classes this year.  I do hope we can find a good dependable, affordable van so we don't have to borrow again this year.  Prayers, please!!!

 It was a fun week, but I am glad it's almost over!  Hope you all have a blessed weekend!

Week 2- CAKE!!

"Week 2 was a piece of cake?" you may ask. 

No, literally, we had to make a cake! A WORLD cake! See?

We got to eat it, too!

We read an awesome book from the library called: Children Just Like Me  by Anabel & Barnabus Kindersley.  Then, we did a craft out of Global Art  pg. 113 Hands Across the World paper dolls.  This craft was very time consuming, but fun.  I thought for sure we would be in school all day, but we finished up by noon!  Amazing!

We learned that there are people all over the world very different from us, yet very much the same.  That our own country is the "melting pot," for people all around the world live here, and make our country truly unique.

We prayed for those in need and for the Gospel to be heard throughout the world.

We had some rainy days, (and on the day we were supposed to go leaf collecting!) so we learned about the water cycle instead!  We also had an impromptu study of a chipmunk ( and his niche! ;-)

 

Finally, got to take our walk and gather leaves for our collection, (forgot the camera)

Bella had a "field day" and went to work at Antonacci Custom Woodworks with her Dad!

The kids made geo. cards of  their addess, which you can view on the 'Geography Cards' tab.  We didn't get to do our treasure maps due to the weather, but there's always next week.

Here are some random pics from week 3:

Our "School"