Yesterday was a really nice reprieve from stress. We had a nice laid-back & normal day of school. I have been so stressed out that I have been snapping at the children-especially my son. I apologized to everyone and they so sweetly forgave me quickly and said they understood. Hannah has gone above & beyond in helping me out lately. Jonah doesn't seem to quite understand why I've been so crazy, but I have noticed he's been picking me a lot more flowers than usual.
Even little Susanna has been asking me if she can help me with anything.
Last week we started a new study using the Prairie Primer to do a literature-based unit study on Little House on the Prairie. We are loving it. We're also glad to be done studying ancient civilizations & to be back in American history.
The Prairie Primer is fantastic. We're reading a chapter a day of Little House in the Big Woods then we answer comprehension questions & do the activities that are in the primer book. We are learning so much!
Yesterday we did chapter 3. We learned that owls can turn their heads 270 degrees & we turned our heads to see what angle we can turn. Also did research on owls. We're going to dissect owl pellets, but they haven't come in the mail yet. We've done that before, but Jonah doesn't remember it.
We learned about rust & what causes it & are doing this experiment as soon as our calcium chloride gets here (w/ the owl pellets):
We learned how Pa loaded his gun & dramatized that. My dh talked to the kids about gun safety & they discussed present gun laws & pending gun control policies w/ pros & cons. (yes, that was an activity in the planner).
We also talked about Pa's story when he disobeyed his father & discussed what Bill Gothard said:
"the essence of submission is not getting under the domination of authority, but rather getting under the protection of authority."
Then we read Ephesians 6:1-3, Proverbs 6: 20-21, Proverbs 15:5.
Then they drew our family standing under an umbrella. Inside the umbrella, they wrote 1. God, 2. Husband, 3. Wife, 4. Children. They also drew arrows flying at the umbrells (the devil's arrows), but they're bouncing off the umbrella & not hitting the family. Over top of the parents' heads is written, "Parents' Authority"
This activity really seemed to make a big impact on Jonah-he talked about it a lot & apologized for misbehaving so much the day before. He was very good yesterday-but I also was behaving better, too. Ever notice when you're not yourself the whole family gets off kilter? That's what it's been like here the last couple weeks.
We also did two experiments that went along w/ chapter 2 because I didn't have what I needed for them that day. We reviewed why we were doing the experiments (they related to things read in chapter 2) & then really enjoyed doing them & watching the videos on the computer for them. This is from Robert Krampf's "experiments of the week." The kids love watching him on the little videos:
We also did the "Flame Color" experiment that is listed on the left hand side of the page.
We've been reading the chapters outside on the porch & that has been really nice.
Later in the day I got to some fun things w/ Susanna while the older kids were busy w/ Pat when he got home. She & I made layered sand jars, made cookies w/ her playdoh & read books.
It sure was a nice day!
May. 7, 2008 - Prairie Primer
Holly : I loved the Prairie Primer. It was a fantastic year the year Allison and I did it. We are going to try The one on Anne of Green Gables next year,(by the same author)
Good going on your relaxing day. Sounds like you needed it. Blessings as you get closer to the baby's arrrival
Cyndi
May. 8, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Cyndi
