I guess technically we started yesterday.  We always begin our first day by looking through our curriculum (this year we have lots of new stuff!) and then going to brunch at Waffle House.  This year was no exception.  So yesterday that's what we did.  I got out all of the main books we will be using (which I'll list here in a minute), had brunch at Waffle House, and then met some friends for an afternoon of bowling. 

There is a local bowling alley that has $1 day on Mondays during the summer.  This was Ben's first time to bowl and he did quite well, scoring an 80 his first game!  I hadn't bowled in many years, probably 15, and scored a 148, so I was pretty proud of both of us.

Then today, we had our actual first day of school.  Things went quite well.  We have switched to My Father's World this year.  The program we are using is called Exploring Countries and Cultures.  For MFW, this is the first year of their 5-year history cycle.  They begin with a year of geography, really getting to know the continents and countries on them, before beginning the in-depth study of all the history.  ECC includes, of course, geography and also science in the form of learning the habitats of different countries.  There is a strong foundation in the Bible, particularly the book of Matthew, as well as missionary stories, and art and music around the world.    I think we'll have a wonderful year learning about our world and it's cultures.

The countries we'll be studying in depth are:

North America:  USA, Mexico, Canada

South America:  Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador/Galapagos Islands

Europe:  Norway, Germany, France

Africa:  Kenya

Asia:  China, India, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia

Australia and Antarctica

For language arts, we will be using some different items as well.  For English, it's Language Lessons for the Very Young and Lessons in Manners for Copywork by Queen Homeschool.  We'll add in Worldy Wise 3000, book 2, Sequential Spelling, and Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting to round things out.  For math, we are switching to Singapore math,  and also using Calculadders for drill and Right Start's Math Card Games.

We'll also be adding in Spanish this year with The Easy Spanish, Jr. and The Fun Spanish.  If you are looking for a Charlotte Masonish way to do foreign langauge, you'll want to check out both of these.

Of course, I can never just do a curriculum exactly as it is designed, so I'm adding in a few things to go along with our world culture studies.  The main thing we'll be adding is study of the Animal Kingdom.  I've ordered the God's Design for Life: The Animal Kingdom book from Answers in Genesis.  Since we'll be looking at habitats it seemed natural to focus some on animal classification and maybe even some units on specific animals.  Homeschool Share has several wonderful units on animals, so Ben and I looked through those and chose 2-3 animals (or classes of animals) to study for each continent.  We create a lapbook/notebook for our animal studies as well.  The animals we've chosen are:

North America:  desert animals, ants, salmon

South America:  butterflies, dragonflies, sea turtles

Europe:  birds of prey, pigs, frogs

Africa:  zebras, meerkats

Asia:  pandas, camels, tigers

Australia:  marsupials, coral reef

Antarctica: polar animals

Ben will also be attending an enrichment program  once a week, taking 4 classes:  General Music, Choir/Drama, Science:  Rocks and Minerals, and Art.  We are also planning to get together with another family or 2 once a week to work through Exploring Creation with Astronomy.  Add in scouting, fall soccer, spring basketball, and swimming lessons and we're going to have another full and fun-filled year!

Whew...it's our last week of school and things are wrapping up!  It's been a great year.  We've accomplished much, though maybe not everything I intended. 

History has been strong on our list of great accomplishments.  I'd dare say my 7-year-old is better versed in Native Americans, Explorers, Pilgrims, The Revolutionary War, Slavery, The Underground Railroad and the Civil War than I was when I graduated from high school!  Add a little sprinkling of WWII and it's been an amazing time.  He simply loves this stuff.  And we have been so blessed to have been able to learn so much of this, not only from books, but through vacations, work trips for my husband, and field trips.

To enhance our learning of American History, we have visited the KY Historical Society, Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace, and 2 pioneer villages (visiting a Native American museum at one of these), spent the day at a stop on the Underground Railroad in Ripley, OH, toured the USS Alabama and the Patton Museum, and spent a week in Washington DC where we saw most of the war memorials,  the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetary,  and stood in the presence of the Declaration of Independence.  And of course there were amazing airplanes in the Air and Space museum, including the spirit of St. Louis and the Wright Brothers flyer!  Not to mention the Lincoln Memorial, White House, US Capitol, and the Museum of Natural History.  The Museum of American History was closed for rennovations, but we were able to see a display of their top relics in a special exhibit at the Air and Space Museum.  What amazing things my little boy has been exposed to in one year!

Five in a Row and www.homeschoolshare.com have guided us through some of our history studies (The Glorious Flight, Paul Revere's Ride, Follow the Drinking Gourd, The Tale of Johnny Appleseed, The Ballot Box), along with fun learning about animals (The Bee Tree, Truman's Aunt Farm, The Salamander Room, Dinosaurs).  And who could forget our time spent with machines (more Glorious Flight, Katy and the Big Snow, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge)?!?

We have also greatly enjoyed our time spent on Christmas and Easter and the true meaning of these holidays.  The books, Bible stories, crafts, all of it were so much fun and really grew us both closer to God.

The last few months have been spent delving deeper into our Bible and character studies.  If you're ever looking for some fun stories and activities in that area, Focus on the Family has a wonderful, free (making it even more wonderful!) curriculum called Character Crew.  We have focused on different character traits each week.  I've seen much growth in Ben this past couple of months and am so enjoying watching him change, grow, and mature as a little child of God. 

The 3Rs have gone well too.  We made some changes in his math curriculum and next year will continue using Singapore math.    His handwriting has greatly improved and he is beginning to learn cursive.  He recently began corresponding with a penpal (also named Ben) in Louisiana, so that should help continue the improvements with his handwriting.   

His reading level has continued to grow.  But more importantly his love of reading for pleasure is really starting to blossom.  It's nothing these days to catch him on the bed reading a Magic Tree House or Time Warp Trio (more history!) book.  Of course there are times when he's reading Captain Underpants as well.  I can usually tell when he's reading on of those, because he laughs out loud at those!  (what is it with boys and potty humor?).  As a reader myself, it really does my heart good to watch and listen to him reading for the pure enjoyment of it!

He is also continuing in TaeKwonDo.  He loves going to classes.  Practicing?  Not so much.  But I'm glad he enjoys it and we'll continue going until he doesn't enjoy it any more.  I don't see him hanging in there to get a black belt, but he is learning all the same and really does have fun with it.  He will continue through the summer and will soon be testing for his next belt....orange!

He also just finished his first year as a Cub Scout.  He has loved every minute of this group and is looking forward to a week of daycamp this summer along with a weekend overnighter with his dad!  We'll definitely be continuing with Cub Scouts into the 2nd grade.

We've been on some great field trips, in addition to the ones I've already mentioned.  Our favorite was the Creasy Mahan Nature Preserve where we dug for fossils, planted a flower, and caught bugs in our nets, all the while learning so much about rocks, plants and insects.  We also loved our time spent at The Speed Art Museum, Bowman Field, The Derby Museum, Louisville Science Center, Salato Wildlife Center, Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory, Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and Muncie Children's Museum as well.  Oh, and the "Storm Watcher" weather class held at the Louisville Zoo was a huge hit!

For a little culture, we have  been to several children's theatre productions, including:  The Little Mermaid, Charlotte's Web, Treasure Island, and If you Give a Pig a Party.  We are very blessed to live in such a culturally rich, homeschool-friendly city.  Just walk out your door (or log onto your computer) and the opportunities abound. 

One of our favorite activities has been a bi-weekly playgroup.  There are about 12 families total in the group, and we meet at fun local spots or parks.  It's been great getting to know these moms and children better.  It's just an awesome group of friends, both for Ben and for me.

So here we are, the last week of first grade.  It is simply unbelievable that my little boy is going to be a 2nd grader.  He is so excited just at the mention of it.  We will do something special as a family next week, Nana too.   We're looking forward to a great summer (well 6 weeks of summer anyway!) off and time spent at  Cub Scout camp, Soccer camp, and VBS.

I'm already planning for next year, so stay tuned.  I'll be posting soon what curriculum we'll be using (or at least that I plan to use--we all know how that goes).

The HSB Front Porch is having a contest and you can win a $50 gift certificate just for blogging about The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Spring Promo before midnight April 30, 2008. Subscribe now to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and receive 25 BONUS gifts valued at over $550! The Winter Promo sold out, don't miss out on the free gifts this time!

They are also giving away a $150 gift certificate to the Schoolhouse Store. All print subscribers (new or renewing) between April 3 - 30, 2008 will be automatically entered into a drawing. No purchase neccessary to win. To enter without subscribing, please send a postcard with your name, address, telephone number, and email address to:
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Spring Promo Contest
PO BOX 8426
Gray, TN  37615

It just dawned on me that Easter is less than 2 weeks away and I had not even begun to make plans for Easter week!  So I sat down tonight and looked around at a few websites and came up with a tentative plan for our Easter Study.  Using a combination of ideas from DLTK Bible and an article from Christianity Today, I think I've managed to put together a fun unit, with the focus on the true meaning of Easter.

Each day will begin with a Bible reading, followed by a book, and then a craft or other activity.  I found with my Advent study, that less is definitely more!  Our study will begin on Palm Sunday (March 16) and end, of course, on Resurrection Sunday (Easter, March 23).  We'll also be putting together the Easter lapbook from Hands of a Child.

Palm Sunday

Bible:  Mark 11:1-11

Book:  The Colt and the King

Craft/Activity:  Palm frond collage

Monday:  Jesus Clears the Temple

Bible: Mark 11:12-19

Video:  The Easter Story Keepers (dvd)

Craft/Activity: plants seeds in egg cartons

Tuesday:  The Most Important Commandment

Bible:  Mark 12:28-31

Book:  The Parable of the Lily

Craft/Activity:  make a handprint lily bouquet, deliver real Easter Lilies to neighbors

Wednesday:  Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

Bible:  Mark 14:1-10

Book:  Lilies, Rabbits, and Painted Eggs:  The Story of the Easter Symbols

Craft/Activity:  make bath salts

Thursday:  The Last Supper

Bible:  Mark 14:12-47

Book:  The Very First Easter

Craft/Activity:  baked unleavened bread, deliver bath salts to neighbors, wash each other's feet

Friday:  The Crucifixion

Bible:  Mark 14:48-72, 15:1-40

Book:  The Easter Story

Craft/Activity:  stained-glass cross

Saturday:  Jesus is the Light

Bible:  Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16, Isaiah 60, Matthew5:14, 5:16, John 8:12, 12:46, Matthew 5:14, John 8:12

Book:  Easter Around the World,  The Egg Tree

Craft/Activity:  dye  Easter eggs

Sunday:  He Is Risen!

Bible:  Mark 16:1-19

Book:  Benjamin's Box

Craft/Activity:  Resurrection biscuits, Resurrection eggs, Easter basket

The Grand Opening of CurrClick, formerly the Homeschool eStore begins today.

If you haven't discovered this wonderful resource for homeschoolers, go take a look.  This company is just full of downloadable products at discount prices.  Everything from Amanda Bennett unit studies, to Hands of a Child and Knowledge Box Central lapbooks, to Evan Moor books, all in ebook format, immediately downloadable!

And every Monday they offer one of these wonderful resources for free.  I have collected quite a few lapbooks and ebooks over the past 2 years, just with these freebies!

If you'd like to take a peak, just click on the banner at the top of the page.  Then bookmark Currclick, because you'll be going back for more!

Ben set up his telescope on the front porch to watch the lunar eclipse tonight.  We had a very clear, cloudless sky but it was pretty chilly out.   He came in and out several times to warm up (I just looked out the front window of my nice and warm living room). At one point I hear this strumming sound and  look outside to find Ben sitting on the front porch looking up at the moon, strumming his dulcimer.

With the fierce winds that barreled through KY last night came lots of damage. In Louisville, there was one area particularly hard hit. It happens to be the area of town where we used to live and still own a house.

I drove by this morning to see if there was any damage to our house there.

First of all, let me say there was no damage to our house or the house next door. The tree that fell was an oak, about 100 years old. It was in the front of the neighbors house to the right. Had this tree fallen a different direction, it would have crashed into the neighbors house, possibly hurting or killing a wonderful 80 year old widow. Instead it fell across our driveway and front yard, and only damaged a Bradford Pear tree that was in front of our house. Blessing number one.

While I was there for about an hour this morning, several tree companies stopped by to offer their tree removal services for anywhere from $500-1000. But about an hour after I left, the city came by and removed it completely for free. According to my neighbor, it was completely cleaned up by 3pm. Blessing number 2.

We now live about 10 miles east of this home, in the direction the winds were coming through. It sounded like my house was being torn apart for about 4 hours. It seriously was eerie. I was home alone, which made me even more frightened. I went out this morning to look around, and not a bit of damage, not even an overturned garbage can. Blessing number 3.

Ben is scared to pieces of storms, especially those with high winds that sound like tornadoes. But he had spent the night with my mom last night. She lives south of where most of the damage was done and said they didn't get more than a few minutes of rain and gusty wind. Ben was not afraid there. Blessing number 4.

Shall I go on? I probably could. But I'll stop now and just share some pictures.

We were supposed to start our snow unit study last Monday, but it was 70 degrees outside.  Katy and the Big Snow would have to wait.  Instead we did some 3Rs and then spent the rest of the day with some friends at the park.  The boys rode scooters and skateboards, shot some hoops, played with light sabers, and had a grand time.  The unseasonably warm weather continued most of the week.  We had a great time, but deep down were wishing we had some snow!

Well this morning, we woke up to a light dusting, maybe an inch, of snow on the ground!  Ben was so excited.  He got dressed right away and went out to play.  When he came in, I had a fire going and some hot chocolate to warm him up.  After he warmed up and we had breakfast, we sat down with Katy and the Big Snow, our Five in a Row (FIAR) book for this week.

We managed to do a couple of FIAR lessons and some 3Rs in between Ben running back out to play in the snow.  He even built a model Geoppolis (the make-believe city in Katy) with his Legos.  He also memorized the first stanza of Robert Frost's poem, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.

All in all it's been a great day.  One of those "I'm so glad we use FIAR" kind of days.  The snow was definitely icing on the cake!  And more is expected later in the week.  I can't tell you how excited Ben is about that!

It's time to say goodbye to 2007.  What a year it has been!  We're making fun plans to celebrate at our house, so I thought I'd share in case you're looking for ideas too.  I didn't come up with this myself, I'm honestly not sure where it originated, but I first heard about it from my best friends on the web over at Five in a Row. 

I've put together a small lunch bag for each hour beginning at 5pm.  Each bag has the time on the outside with a small poem attached.  Inside the bags are the treat or activity for that hour.  Here's is how it will all play out:

5pm-party hats, crackers, and horns in the bag

"It's time to start the party

Count down to the new year

We'll open one bag each hour

Until 2008 is here!"

6pm- homemade pizza ingredients in the bag

"Pepperoni, green olives,

sauce and cheese.

Let's roll that dough!

And make dinner please!"

7pm-Play Yahtzee (dice in the bag)

"The time has come to play a game

Can you guess which one?

Roll the dice, score a full house,

Get the highest score and you've won!"

8pm-Ingredients for S'mores in the bag

"A better snack there will never be,

If you're camping or by the sea.

We must wait for '08 and little bit more,

But while we do, let's enjoy a s'more!"

9pm-make noise makers (pipe cleaners, beads, and jingle bells in the bag)

"2007 will soon be gone,

In will come 2008.

Let's make some noise and have some fun

This is going to be great!"

10pm- the movie, The Music Man, and popcorn in the bag

Pick a little, talk a little,

And popcorn too.

Time for a movie,

Will this one do?"

11pm- mugs and hot chocolate mix in the bag

"I know you're getting sleepy

Only 1 more hour to wait

So let's have some hot chocolate

While we wait for '08."

12 midnight (5 minutes before) champagne glasses with sparkling grape juice in the bag

"It's time to say good-bye to '07,

Watching the ball drop will be great!

A hug, a kiss, a sweet drink for the toast,

Happy New Year, it's 2008!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

In 1967, the year I turned 4, all I wished for Christmas was the Mrs. Beasley doll that Buffy played with on Family Affair.  I was granted that wish.  A few years later, during a move from Florida to Arkansas, Mrs. Beasley disappeared, never to return......until now.  I've often lamented losing my precious friend.  My mom has felt terrible for years for giving her away.  But this Christmas, my hubby found a vintage 1967 Mrs. Beasley doll, in perfect condition and working order.  I received her as my Christmas gift from him.  I wanted to share a picture of Mrs. Beasley and me at Christmas in 1967.  I'll soon add one of Mrs. Beasley and Me in 2007, exactly 40 years later.

Seven years ago today, we received the call that would change our lives forever.

"Tom and Marcy, there's been a little baby boy born in Indiana.  He needs a Mommy and Daddy.  Please call me if you want him."

That call came from my sweet friend, Barbara, an Ob-Gyn that was my good friend and a doctor that I worked with in a small community hospital in Indiana.

It didn't take long for us to decide that YES! we wanted you.  We were a little gun-shy after several years of trying to conceive and several failed fertility treatments.  But we were so ready to be mommy and daddy to a sweet baby.  Could it be true?  Was there really a little baby waiting in the hospital for his mommy and daddy to come?   Had God really blessed us with a sweet miracle?

The first time I saw you, I knew you were our baby.  I looked into your steel blue eyes and just knew.  It was almost like you recognized me and wanted me to know for sure, so you told me with your eyes.  I remember giving you your first bottle and singing You Are My Sunshine softly in your ear.  You still love for me to sing that song to you.  You nuzzled up into my neck and fell asleep.  Your Mommy was here and you weren't wasting any time learning to snuggle.  You grabbed onto your Dada's finger and would not let go, as if to say, "I've been waiting for you and now that I've got you both, don't even think about leaving me here."

I can't believe how quickly the time is going by.  You are 7 years old!  And we are so very proud of the little person you have become.  You have the most amazing smile and sparkling eyes.  You love to laugh and make others laugh.  You love Jesus, your family, your friends.  When you get excited, your entire face lights up the room.  You are the best snuggler ever.  You are the sweetest boy and so much fun!

So on this day, your 7th birthday, we just want you know how much we love you and how thankful we are every day that God made us a family.  Forever, you will be our sunshine.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Love,

Mama and Dada

I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church.  Advent was not a word that I was familiar with though, until just a few years ago.  Celebrating the Advent Season was not apart of the Christmas traditions in my home or in my church.  But for my family today, it will be a tradition.  I've been busily planning our study of Advent and Christmas.   Ben and I are really excited!  I found this advent calendar unit study online at and thought it was just perfect.  It's very meaty, way more there than we could possibly accomplish.  But I read through each day and decided we would attempt to use a lot of it. 

So today, I've been going through each day's activities and choosing what we would learn and do and made a list, according to these categories:

Advent Wreath-lighting the candle

Bible Verses-we'll read these when lighting the Advent candle

Words to Know-one or two vocabulary words related to the Bible verses

Books to read aloud.  One book we'll be reading aloud each day is Bartholomew's Passage.  This book is designed to be read throughout Advent.  We'll also be reading many picture books.

Arts/Crafts-one project per day, Christmas ornaments or some other kind of decoration mostly.  We may even set up a small Christmas tree in our family room to decorate with these projects.

Christmas Carol or Hymn--we'll listen to the songs throughout the day, hopefully Ben will learn the words to most of them

Holiday Traditions/Symbols--we'll learn how these traditions began. I'm also thinking of maybe doing the Christmas Symbols lapbook from Knowledge Box Central.

So the first thing I had to do was find an Advent Wreath.  I found a Nativity Advent Wreath that I just fell in love with at and it is now on it's way to my house!  To be very honest, I had to do some research on the Advent wreath and the meaning of the different candles.  Here, I'll share what I found out.

The candles of the Advent Wreath include:

The Hope (or Prophecy) Candle:  This candle represents not only the Biblical prophecies about Christ's birth, but the very feeling of anticipation which God's people experienced over hundreds of years as they awaited His coming. Advent is a time when we can, in our own way, join the generations of God's children in awaiting our Messiah. Of course, Advent encompasses both the arrival of the Christ child and His second glorious coming which is yet to occur!

The Peace (or Bethlehem) Candle:  This candle represents the preparations made for the coming Christ child. Bethlehem is an appropriate place to signify preparation because, even though no room was available for Mary and Joseph when they came, God had orchestrated events so that Caesar Augustus called for a census to be taken. Joseph and Mary had to leave Nazareth so that they could register in Bethlehem and the Scriptures below were fulfilled!

The Joy (or Shepherds') Candle:  The shepherds represent the message of great joy that is brought to the world about Jesus' birth!

The Love (or Angel) Candle:  This candle represents the love which God shared with the world when He sent His Son, Jesus! Another theme for this week is sharing--the angels announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds and they shared it with others. The magi also left the baby Jesus and probably shared the wonderful news of the Savior with everyone they met! So this week, as we read through the story of Jesus' birth from Luke 1 and 2 and light all four Advent candles, remember that the light of Christ can only shine brighter as it does on your Advent wreath if we SHARE the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world!

The Christ Candle:  This white candle represents Christ! Our Messiah, Jesus, Light of the World is finally here!

I spent a good deal of time going through the Advent Calendar I mentioned above.  I changed a few things around, added or subtracted some scripture, and substituted some different books, crafts, and hymns.  And now I think I have  the perfect schedule of activities for us.  I hope you find it helpful and perhaps it will inspire you to plan some activities for this Season of Advent, a glorious time for us all to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.

Day 1

~Advent Candle-Light the very first candle on the Advent wreath today--the Hope candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: Psalm 62:1-5, Isaiah 26:3, Isaiah 40:28-31, Hebrews 10:23

~Word to Know: prophecy

~Books-begin Bartholomew's Passage by Arnold Ytreeide (a passage of this book will be read each day of Advent when we light our advent candle), Waiting for Noel: An Advent Story by Ann Dixon

~Arts/Crafts-set up Nativity Advent Wreath

~Christmas Carol/Hymn-O Come O Come Emmanuel

~Holiday Tradition-Advent

Day 2

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Isaiah 11:1-5, Jeremiah 23:5-6, Isaiah 53:1-6

~Word to Know: righteousness

~Books-Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect by Dick Schneider, The Legend of the Christmas Tree by Rick Osborne, The Pine Tree Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs, and Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert Barry

~Arts/Crafts-pinecone Christmas tree ornament

~Christmas Carol/Hymn-O Christmas Tree

~Holiday Tradition-The Christmas Tree

Day 3

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Isaiah 42:1, 5-6, Isaiah 60:1-3, 19-22

~Word to Know: light

~Books-The Light of Christmas by Richard Paul Evans

~Arts/Crafts-stained glass candle holders

~Christmas Carol/Hymn-O Come All Ye Faithful

~Holiday Tradition-Christmas Lights

Day 4

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Daniel 9:24-27, Micah 6:6-8

~Words to Know-Messiah, annointed

~Books-There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve by Pam Munoz Ryan, Winters Gift by Jane Monroe Donovan

~Arts/Crafts- paper snowflakes

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Handel's Messiah

~Holiday Tradition-Christmas Colors: red, green, gold

Day 5

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Galatians 4:4-5, Ephesians 1:9-12,

~Words to Know-incarnation

~Books- The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg

~Arts/Crafts-graham cracker gingerbread house, hang candy canes on our tree

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Little Drummer Boy

~Holiday Tradition-Candy Canes

Day 6

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Numbers 24:17,19, Revelation 22:16, 2 Peter 1:19

~Words to Know-scepter

~Books-The Christmas Star by Marcus Pfister, This Is the Star by Joyce Dunbar, Only a Star by Margery Facklam

~Arts/Crafts-origami stars

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- O Holy Night

~Holiday Tradition-Christmas ornaments

 Day 7

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Malachi 3:1, Luke 1:67-79, Matthew 24:36-44

~Words to Knows-messenger, forerunner

~Books-The Last Straw by Fredrick Thury

~Arts/Crafts-make homemade Christmas cards for neighbors

~Christmas Carol/Hymn-God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

~Holiday Tradition-Christmas Cards

Day 8

~Advent Candle-This week, we will be lighting the Peace Candle. First light the Hope Candle, then the Peace Candle. 

~Read the Bible Verses: Micah 5:2-5, Revelation 21:1-4

~Words to Know- shepherd

~Books- The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado,  Saint Francis and the Christmas Donkey by Robert Byrd

~Arts/Crafts- fluffy lamb ornament

~Christmas Carol/Hymn-O Little Town of Bethlehem

~Holiday Tradition- candles

Day 9

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle, then light the second candle, the Peace candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11, Jeremiah 23:1-6, Revelation 22;12-17

~Words to Know- recompense

~Books- The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden

~Arts/Crafts-beaded ornaments

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Go Tell It on the Mountain

~Holiday Tradition- The Salvation Army Red Kettles

Day 10

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle, then light the second candle, the Peace candle

~Read the Bible Verses:  Luke 1:11-25

~Words to Know- angel

~Books- Bright Christmas: An Angel Remembers by Andrew Clements

~Arts/Crafts- angel tree topper

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Angels We Have Heard on High

~Holiday Tradition- Mistletoe

Day 11

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle, then light the second candle, the Peace candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Luke 1:26-38

~Words to Know- salutation, annunciation

~Books- Mary's First Christmas by Walter Wangerin, Mary's Treasure Box by Carolyn Kramlich

~Arts/Crafts-holly fingerprint art

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Mary, Did You Know?

~Holiday Tradition- Holly

Day 12

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle, then light the second candle, the Peace candle

~Read the Bible Verses: John 1:1-9

~Words to Know- witness

~Books- The Twelve Days of Christmas by Jan Brett

~Arts/Crafts- 12 Days of Christmas booklet

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Twelve Days of Christmas

~Holiday Tradition- 12 Days of Christmas

Day 13

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle, then light the second candle, the Peace candle

~Read the Bible Verses: John 1:10-18

~Words to Know- grace

~Books- Silent Night: The Song and It's Story by Margaret Hodges

~Arts/Crafts-snow globes

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Silent Night

~Holiday Tradition- abbreviation "Xmas"

Day 14

~Advent Candle-Light the first candle, the Hope candle, then light the second candle, the Peace candle

~Read the Bible Verses: Mark 1:1-11

~Words to Know- repentance

~Books- Through the Animals Eyes: A Story of the First Christmas by Christopher Wormell

~Arts/Crafts-pie plate ornaments

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Do You Hear What I Hear?

~Holiday Tradition- Yule Logs

Day 15

~Advent Candle-This is the week of the Joy Candle for Advent!  Light the Hope and Peace candles, and then the Joy Candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: Matthew 2:9-12

~Words to Know- worship

~Books- The Story of the Three Wise Kings by Tomie dePaola,  The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola 

~Arts/Crafts- Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- We Three Kings

~Holiday Tradition- Gingerbread

Day 16

~Advent Candle-Light the Hope and Peace candles, and then the Joy candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: Luke 2:8-20

~Words to Know- glory

~Books- A Certain Small Shepherd by Rebecca Caudill

~Arts/Crafts- gift wrap fans

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Hark the Herald Angels Sing

~Holiday Tradition- Gift-giving

Day 17

~Advent Candle-Light the Hope and Peace candles, and then the Joy candle.

~Bible Verses- Psalm 98

~Words to Know- praise

~Books- The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola

~Arts/Crafts- poinsettia napkin rings

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- The Christmas Song

~Holiday Tradition- Poinsettias

Day 18

~Advent Candle-Light the Hope and Peace candles, and then the Joy candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: Isaiah 61:1-3, 10-11

~Words to Know- exult

~Books- The Real Santa Claus: Legends of Saint Nicholas by Marianna Mayer, Flight of the Reindeer: The True Story of Santa Claus and His Christmas Mission by Robert Sullivan

~Arts/Crafts- Santa ornament

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

~Holiday Tradition- Santa Claus, elves

Day 19

~Advent Candle-Light the Hope and Peace candles, and then the Joy candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: Zephaniah 3:14-17

~Words to Know- zion

~Books- The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

~Arts/Crafts- jingle bell ornament

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Silver Bells

~Holiday Tradition- Christmas Bells

Day 20

~Advent Candle-Light the Hope and Peace candles, and then the Joy candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: 1Chronicles 16:8-36

~Words to Know- joy

~Books- The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

~Arts/Crafts- reindeer ornament

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- Joy to the World

~Holiday Tradition- Reindeer

Day 21

~Advent Candle-Light the Hope and Peace candles, and then the Joy candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: 1John 4:7-19, 1John 5:20

~Words to Know- rejoice

~Books- Cranberry Christmas  by Wende Devlin, The Nutcracker by Janet Schulman

~Arts/Crafts- string cranberry garland

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky

~Holiday Tradition- The Nutcracker Ballet

Day 22

~Advent Candle-We have reached the last Sunday of Advent!   This is the week of the Love Candle for Advent!  Light the Hope, Peace and Joy candles, and then the Love Candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: Luke 1:5-25, Luke 1:26-56

~Words to Know-love

~Books- The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot

~Arts/Crafts-angel paper chain

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- What Child Is This?

~Holiday Tradition- Nativity

Day 23

~Advent Candle-Light the Hope, Peace and Joy candles, and then the Love Candle.

~Read the Bible Verses: Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:57-80

~Words to Know- truth

~Books- All for the Newborn Baby by Phyllis Root, Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant

~Arts/Crafts- Christmas carol booklet, bake a Happy Birthday Jesus cake

~Christmas Carol/Hymn- The First Noel

~Holiday Tradition- Christmas Caroling

Day 24

Merry Christmas!

~Advent Candle-Today we light the past 4 candles of Advent and then the white candle, the Christ candle.

~Read the Bible Verses-Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 2:1-12

~Books-Away in a Manger illustrated by Thomas Kinkade

~Christmas Carol/Hymn-Away in a Manger  

~Holiday Tradition-Nativity

We began our Thanksgiving unit study today by reading our Five in a Row book, Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin.  We read it 3 times to be exact.  Ben just loves this book!  And then tonight, we baked a Pumpkin Pie. 

I've only recently started cooking and baking with Ben.  It wasn't something that held his interest much until recently.  But he is really starting to enjoy it.  And of course there are many lessons to be learned while baking a Pumpkin Pie, including following a recipe, measuring ingredients, and the chemical reactions that occur. 

There is also just the fun part of learning about how important pumpkins were to the Native Americans and how they introduced them to the Pilgrims.  We're reading an interesting book about that as well, entitled Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla and Peter Buchard.   It appears that this unit is going to be a big hit!

Here is a quick slideshow of our pumpkin pie making.  I hope you enjoy it.

For the past 2 weeks, Ben and I have focused our studies on more patriotic themes....Election Day and Veteran's Day. 

For Election Day, we used a unit from www.homeschoolshare.com based on the book The Ballot Box Battle by Emily Arnold McCully.  This story was about a lady named Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a famous leader in the struggle for the woman's right to vote.  It jumpstarted our study into the history of voting in America and how our government officials are elected.  We also read a couple of other very informative books:  You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton? by Jean Frita, VOTE! by Eileen Cristelow, and America Votes:  How Our President is Elected by Linda Granfield.  Ben and I also held an election of our own:  The Ice Cream Election. 

On Election Day, we had lunch at a local deli and visited the library.  We brought our Ice Cream Election ballots with us and asked people we encountered throughout the day to vote for their favorite ice cream.  We also polled family members and each other.  Everyone really seemed to enjoy it this activity, especially Ben.  Afterwards, Ben and I went to the polls so that I could vote.  He was very curious about who I was voting for and why.  I was able to find and print off information about our local candidates to show him.  Here are a few pictures from our Election lapbook.

Here is the cover with a photocopy of our book and some election clipart.

This is the lapbook opened up.  It is probably the smallest lapbook we have made.  But I decided with the Presidential election coming up next year, we can add to it then.

Here you can see the inside of or vocabulary minit book and our Ice Cream election ballots and tally sheet.  The winner of our election was Strawberry Ice Cream!  (Ben was quite disappointed having voted for chocolate)

Here you can see the inside of our Vote minit book, where Ben figured out not only how old he needed to be to vote, but when he would be old enough (2018) and in what election he'll first be able to vote (2019).  You'll also find his "voter registration" card and some info about the requirements to become the president, a senator, or a representative.

In this section of the lapbook, you'll find information about the amendments to the constitution that changed age, gender, and racial barriers to voting and information about the republican and democratic parties and their symbols.  There is also a sheet of copywork The copywork is the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

This week, we have focused on Veteran's Day.  Using the printable booklets from www.enchantedlearning.com, we were able to learn about the different US Armed Forces, their basic jobs, and their flags.   We also read a couple of good books, including:  The Wall by Eve Bunting and  Pepper's Purple Heart:  A Veteran's Day Story by Heather French Henry.  Ironically Mrs. Henry lives here in Louisville and is both a former Miss America and married to a local politician, former Lieutenant Governor, Steve Henry. 

We also watched the Reading Rainbow episode based on The Wall and a National Geographic documentary about Arlington National Cemetary.  And we read several entries from a wonderful book, The American Story by Jennifer Armstron.  This book chronicles American history in short story format 100 different tales.  There were stories about WW I, WW II, and the Vietnam War. 

We were also fortunate to have recently visited Arlington National Cemetary on a trip to Washington DC and were able to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.  Ben was mesmerized by this ceremony and it was a great jumping off point for this study.  I'm including a slideshow presentation of that ceremony in this blog entry.

As a service project, we are putting together a care package for our friends' husband and father, who is currently serving in Iraq.  We love you Damon, Christi, Dana, Dylan, Nate, and Jenna and so appreciate the sacrifice your family is making to keep us safe!

Our current Five in a Row unit is The Glorious Flight.  Ben is thoroughly loving this unit, learning all about airplanes and the history of flight.  In a few short hours (I really need to get to bed!), we'll be leaving on a trip to Washington DC.  The highlight of that trip will be to see The Air and Space Museum.  Ben is so excited he can hardly stand it. 

To wet our whistle a bit, we went on a field trip last week with a local homeschool group, to a local small airport.  The children were able to explore a couple of small planes, including sitting in the cockpit.  I put a quick slideshow of pictures from that field trip together.  I hope you enjoy it!  Next week, after we return, I'll add some picture of our trip to DC and of our lapbook to finish up this unit.

This is the lapbook cover.  This lapbook is made with 2 file folders glued together, with extensions added to both sides.  Like I said, it's big! 

This is the first file folder opened......

and this is the second file folder opened. 

In the first file folder, these minit books are on top of the extension.  There is a history of flight timeline, along with 3 minit books about Louis Bleriot, The Wright Brothers, and Charles Lindbergh. 

With the extension lifted, you'll find our maps, flags and clipart of France and Great Britain, along with pictures of several of Louis Bleriot's unsuccessful planes.

In the second file folder, you'll find several minit books on top of the center extension.  There are books about different types of transportation, onomatopoeia, a small French dictionary, and a book with different possibilities of book titles.  One of the alternate titles for The Glorious Flight that Ben came up with was, The Eleventh Try since it was Bleriot XI that finally flew well enough to make it over the English Channel.  On the left side of this half, you'll find his vocabulary book and on the right, a book about the job responsibilities of air traffic controllers and an airplane memory game. 

Lifting the extension in the second file folder reveals more fun.  There are minit books about ordinal numbers and Roman numerals, as well as a couple of airplanes to label.

There is one more little graph that I didn't take a picture of.  It's a paper airplane graph.  The premise is to make several different paper airplanes, fly them, measure the distance they flew, and graph the distances.  I put the graph in our lapbook (it's underneath the labeled airplanes) with plans of completing this as soon as the weather cooperates.

This photo is of Ben posing with the pilot, in the cockpit of the airplane that flew us home from Washington DC.  Every time we have flown (except for the time Ben was only 6 months old), he has asked to see the cockpit of the airplane.  And every time, the pilots have graciously given him that opportunity.  I think this child may be a pilot some day! 

I'd like to introduce you all to Flat Eli.  We are participating in a Flat Stanley exchange with our Five in a Row friends.  Flat Eli went with us to Washinton DC.  Here he is enjoying his "window seat."  And yes, that's the wing of the airplane with the beautiful blue sky above and clouds below the plane.  It was the perfect day to fly! 

Here is Ben standing in front of the Wright Brothers plane, commonly known as the Wright Flyer, housed in the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. 

Also housed in the Air and Space Museum is The Spirit of St. Louis.  This is the airplane that Charles Lindbergh made his non-stop flight over the Atlantic Ocean in.  He flew from NYC to Paris.  We were amazed at how small this plane is. (you can see Ben's head in the corner of the picture for a frame of reference on the size) 

This replica of a space shuttle was a big hit with Ben, but even more of a hit was.... 

finding out the answer to the question, "how do they go to the bathroom in space?"   

Here's the back side of the "space potty" display.  Ben spent quite some time figuring this all out.  Oh the joys of little boys and bodily functions! 

I feel kind of funny ending the photo shoot with a toilet, but I suppose it's fitting, since this is Ben's blog!  We hope you enjoyed our journey with The Glorious Flight.  It sure did take us to some amazing places, both in person and in our imaginations!

My sweet friend, Denise, started a small homeschool support group this year.  We meet in her lovely home once a month.  She has designed a wonderful schedule of guest speakers (I even get to talk about lapbooking in a few months!).  This month the guest speaker was a treasure, Malia Russell.  Malia is a local homeschool mom and I had "heard" of her, but not had the pleasure of meeting her.

Her topic for our meeting was "freezer cooking."  And yes, I am inspired to try that.  But in the course of talking with Malia, I discovered she has other wonderful gifts, especially in the area of organization.  She is in the midst of building a wonderfully helpful website with recipes and downloads of her organizational materials.  I think pretty much any homeschool mom would benefit from spending a little time surfing her website.

Here's a brief description of Malia and her website:

Malia Russell is a home educator of four children ages 2-17, a conference speaker and the director of www.homemaking911.com .  Her primary ministry is encouraging and empowering mothers and Home Educators to seek God's Word when facing challenges and encouraging women in their biblical roles of wives and mothers. Check her website for many free tools, downloads, recipes, and helpful articles for you to enjoy!

Ben and I just finished our study of Johnny Appleseed and yummy apples!  Well, we're almost finished.  We still have some apple taste-testing and apple pie-baking to do tomorrow!  But we finished our lapbook, so I thought I'd go ahead and post some pictures. 

Last week we were supposed to go on a "Johnny Appleseed" field trip to Huber's Orchard in Starlight, IN, with our local homeschool group.  But due to illness, we had to cancel.  So today Ben, Nana and I headed up there for our own field trip.  There was so much to do and Ben was having so much fun, that we never actually got around to picking apples!  But we did eat apple butter on our fried biscuits for lunch at the restaurant there.

Later when I have some more time, I will post a slideshow of the field trip today and maybe the apple pie baking tomorrow.  But for now, here are some pictures of our lapbook!  And for those of you who may be interested, most of the lapbooking components for this lapbook came from the FREE apple lapbook at www.liveandlearnpress.com.  The rest came from www.enchantedlearning.com.

The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed

One thing that we discussed quite a bit...Tall Tales.  There are many books about Johnny Appleseed and we read several of them.  We discovered there are many stories about him that are probably tall tales.   We listened to  Jim Weiss on CD tell several tall tales, including Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan.  This book took more of a simple, biographical approach, i.e. not so many tall tales.  The artwork in this book is absolutely beautiful too!

Here is the front of our lapbook with a color copy of our main book and a handwriting sample.

This is the lapbook opened up.  On the left, Ben colored pictures of apple trees through the seasons.  On the right are several "did you know" facts about apples.  In the center is our Johnny Appleseed fact sheet and a map of the states he traveled through. 

Here you can see the trees Ben colored of an apple tree for each season.

Here are the "did you know" minit books opened up to reveal the answers.  I had these facts plus 4 untrue statements printed out and Ben had to choose the ones that were indeed facts about apples.  He did great.  He didn't even fall for the "apples are not good for you" statement!  Now if I could just convince him of the benefits of broccoli!

Here is the Johnny Appleseed fact sheet opened up.  Johnny Appleseed was born on September 26, 1774 in Massachusetts.  His real name was John Chapman.  He traveled mostly along the Ohio River, visiting pioneer settlers and planting apple orchards for them.  One of the "tall tales" about him says that he was friend to all animals, even bears loved him.  And that he would sleep in the cold rather than build a fire into which a misquito might fly and die.

Here is the lapbook with the center extension opened up.  At the top is Ben's apple art project.  Underneath that you'll find a food pyramid and several minit books.  We touched on the food pyramid, mostly concentrating on where apples fell on it and how it is constructed with the healthier foods as the "foundation."

Here we see the minit books opened.  The minit book to the left is an "apple seed prediction" book.  Ben predicted how many seeds we would find in an apple (3) and then we cut open the apple to find out how many were really there (7).  On the right is our "apple fraction" book.  When cutting up our apple to count the seeds, we first cut it into 2 pieces to learn the fraction 1/2 and then into 4 to learn the fraction 1/4. The book on the bottom is of pictures of the apple life cycle.

Once we were finished using our apple for our math lessons, we moved on to art.  Ben used the apple to "stamp" paints in this beautiful pattern!  Did you notice that the 5 seed pods create a star when cut across the cross section?  Ben thought that was very cool!

Ben is now a Tiger Cub Scout.  Despite the frown on his face, he really is excited about it!  I think he thinks this scouting thing is serious stuff, so he's not supposed to smile in the pictures!  We've joined a Cub Scout Pack of mostly homeschoolers and are already having a great time.  Our first campout is in less than 2 weeks.  Ben has never been camping and can't wait to sleep in a tent outside with his dad, cook over an campfire, and go hiking.  Our first den meeting will also be at the campout and he's looking forward to receiving some awards already as well.  And personally, I think he's about the cutest little Cub Scout ever!  Congratulations Ben, we're very proud of you!