Sunday, September 19, 2010
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..."
Thursday, September 9, 2010
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...
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| Luca & Gianna finding their treasure Sofia next... |
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| Sofia finding her treasure |
Bella was last and farthest away...
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| Bella finding her treasure What WAS the treasure?? BOOKS!!!     |
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.
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!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Week 2- CAKE!!
"Week 2 was a piece of cake?" you may ask.
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:
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Our "School"     |
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A Cup of Coffee...
You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again...
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.
She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about 20 minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted they were soft. Then mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened.
The ground coffee bean were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
"Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts out with a malleable heart, bust changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside I am bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?"
"Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, they very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you."
When the hour is the darkest and the trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle the adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't move forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.
May we all be COFFEE!!!!!
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.
She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about 20 minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted they were soft. Then mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened.
The ground coffee bean were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
"Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts out with a malleable heart, bust changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside I am bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?"
"Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, they very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you."
When the hour is the darkest and the trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle the adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't move forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.
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